By Zephyria 
The meal lasted a long time.
It was partly because they were eating leisurely, but Aska’s appetite was more voracious than Sakira had anticipated. Of course, it was better to eat well than to not eat at all, so she even told him to ask for more if he was still hungry, and he really ate without restraint.
Even a pig starved for four days wouldn’t eat like that.
“Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“……”
Sakira hesitated, then cautiously placed her hand on Aska’s stomach. The clothes he wore weren’t made of thick material, so it felt like she was touching bare skin when she put her palm on it.
Even to the naked eye, it looked flat, and it didn’t feel like a stomach that had just devoured that much food.
“Where did all that go?”
As she muttered to herself, Aska, who had been staring blankly at her, laughed with a whooshing sound. But Sakira was serious. This was beyond simply eating a lot.
“Do you eat like this every day?”
“No? I just haven’t eaten in a while.”
“You said you hadn’t slept in a while, and now you’re saying you haven’t eaten in a while either? But even if you’re eating after starving…”
If the food Aska had eaten were stacked up, it would probably be much taller than Sakira. Aska spoke to her, who was witnessing the mystery of the human body and marveling at it.
“I don’t need to eat food or drink water. I just eat because it’s delicious.”
At those words, Sakira remembered something she had forgotten. Aska wasn’t human.
“Then what’s your staple food?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think I need to eat anything unless I’m injured and need to recover… Am I an omnivore?”
He spoke as if he were talking about someone else.
“It’s your body, don’t you know?”
“Yeah, I don’t even know what species I am. It didn’t seem important, so I never bothered to find out.”
“Species? Aren’t you a monster? A Magical creature, I mean.”
“Magical creature is a general term for any non-human creature, but there are different types within that category.”
Sakira watched Aska rattle on and then asked.
“I guess we should keep the fact that you’re not human a secret from other people, right?”
“Do whatever you want. Say it or don’t say it.”
“You don’t care if they know? Then they’ll try to get rid of you, won’t they?”
“Who?”
Watching him chuckle, Sakira suddenly felt puzzled. Why was he laughing so much since a while ago? She thought it was bad for her heart, and it might be better if he just covered his face.
“……”
No, but you have to face each other when you talk.
She quickly changed her mind as if flipping her palm and said.
“Isn’t there anyone in the world stronger than you?”
From what she had heard so far, it seemed like they were still in the research phase when it came to Magical creatures. Since the number of individuals had increased, there would definitely be subjugation squads.
“There probably is.”
“Then why are you acting so carelessly? Even if there isn’t anyone like that here right now, what if rumors spread?”
And this was just her guess, but Aska seemed to be a unique being even among Magical creatures. That’s because most Magical creatures had distinct characteristics that distinguished them from humans.
If it became known that there was a Magical creature who could speak and act like a human, living among them… Aska would instantly become an enemy of humanity.
“I’m being careful enough.”
“Be more careful. Don’t tell that to just anyone. You won’t tell me what I’m really curious about, but you’re happy to talk about this.”
Sakira didn’t care if Aska was a monster, a Magical creature, or even an earthworm on the side of the road. What she was most curious about was what kind of relationship they had, but he would never tell her.
At that moment, Aska, who seemed to be pondering something, asked her.
“What if someone comes along who’s so powerful that I can’t do anything about it and tries to kill me?”
Sakira was also plunged into deep thought.
Although she was living in hiding, she was still a prince, so couldn’t she use her position? If that didn’t work, she could go to Actan and ask the Emperor for help.
Of course, there was no guarantee that the Emperor would grant her request.
She should start investigating Actan’s fatal weaknesses or the Emperor’s shameful secrets from now on. That way, she could at least use them for blackmail in an emergency.
As she seriously thought about various countermeasures, Aska stared blankly at her and laughed again.
“Then I’ll have to run away with you.”
“……”
Last time, he said he would kidnap her, and this time, he was saying he would run away with her. The thought of it was so exciting that her heart was racing.
The fluttering gradually spread to every corner of her body, and now even her eyeballs were throbbing. She raised her hand and rubbed her eyes.
“My eyes hurt.”
“Why suddenly? Did something get in them?”
“Take a look.”
When she suddenly leaned her face closer, Aska gently pulled down the skin under her eyes with his thumb. Aska’s body temperature and even his hair were slightly cool, but now it wasn’t just that level, it was strangely cold.
“There’s nothing there.”
“Look more closely.”
At a distance where their breaths mingled, Sakira stared unblinking into his jewel-like eyes. Vivid, blurry, beautiful, dark, and clear colors were mixed together like paint in a puddle.
Then, as the focus sharpened, his gaze met hers and turned blood-red. Aska quietly looked down at her and asked.
“Does it still hurt?”
“It hurts.”
At her words, Aska’s gaze shifted slightly downward. Then, he very lightly kissed her lips. The sound of skin touching and separating tickled her eardrums.
It wasn’t like last time, where they mixed tongues and exchanged saliva in a vulgar kiss, but she felt dizzy. She felt like he would do something more if she kept saying it hurt, but she couldn’t help but open her mouth.
“I’m sure of it.”
“What?”
“Before I lost my memory, we were in love with each other. Tell me if I’m wrong.”
She was certain in her heart, but Aska’s expression was subtle.
“Love?”
“Aren’t we?”
“I don’t remember ever hearing you say you loved me?”
She was shocked by his words as he tilted his head and muttered.
“Why? That doesn’t make sense.”
Why? Why didn’t he say it? Did he not have a tongue back then?
She was momentarily flustered, but she quickly calmed down.
“You don’t necessarily have to say it to know.”
“There are some things that you have to say to convey.”
“……”
She was speechless. It was partly because he was repeating her words, but also because his expression made it seem like he was joking.
She should have been annoyed by the fact that he wouldn’t tell her who he was and was just teasing her, but she wasn’t even angry.
“Are your eyes okay now?”
“……”
Seeing him talking with that smug look on his face, she realized that he had noticed that she had said it hurt because she wanted to kiss him.
“So, were we lovers? Were we?”
“Lovers… It’s ambiguous.”
She felt like she was going to die of frustration at his words as he muttered with a serious expression. But even that frustration wasn’t so bad. Really, even she thought her condition was serious.
“It’s either yes or no, what’s ambiguous? Why are so many things ambiguous with you?”
Aska laughed again as she grumbled. She was about to tell him not to laugh, but she closed her mouth. That’s because she would be the only one in trouble if he really didn’t laugh.
“Anyway, I don’t lie like you, so ask me more questions if you have any.”
“……”
What does he mean he doesn’t lie like her? Did he have to add that unnecessary remark? She was dumbfounded, but she let it go for now. It seemed like Aska wanted to play riddles.
Before she lost her memory, she was a prince… She remembered that she had repeated marriage and divorce, so she asked.
“Did we break up while we were dating? Or were we having an affair?”
“Why do you always think like that?”
Aska frowned. Sakira unconsciously reached out and pressed the furrowed brow with her fingertips.
Knock knock.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Sakira was visible through the slightly opened door.
“What is it?”
“Zero will be arriving soon.”
Zero? Ah, the one she sent a letter about the Ruins to before she lost her memory…
She didn’t want to go out, but she couldn’t help it.
“I’ll just change my clothes and come, so wait a moment.”
She closed the door and turned around to see Aska stroking the wolf’s head.
“I’ll be back. You stay here. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Okay.”
She took off her gown and tried to grab any clothes to put on. But there were too many buttons and strings, and she couldn’t put on the clothes properly. As she clumsily tried to put the buttons into the holes, Aska approached.
“Call me if you need anything.”
“If I need anything?”
“Like if a monster suddenly appears or someone’s bothering you.”
What was he talking about? She was dumbfounded, but her heart was racing again.
His hands were close to her chest as he helped her put on her clothes. She was a little worried that he would notice this throbbing. But wouldn’t it be fun if he found out?
“……”
She imagined untying the tightly bound knots and rummaging through the layers of fabric, and she felt ticklish all over, but then she suddenly felt uneasy.
When she thought about it, they hadn’t known each other for very long, and she didn’t know much about him. Other than the fact that he was so beautiful that it was easy to believe he wasn’t human, what else was there?
Actually, when she thought about it, there seemed to be something, but it was still too strange that she was falling for him so quickly.
Could it be Aska’s ability? He could heal people with a kiss, so how could she be sure that he didn’t have the ability to hypnotize or charm people?
She entrusted her body to Aska and looked at him with suspicious eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that again?”
“……”
Just like she had done a little while ago, Aska pressed her brow.