Chapter 37
Enya stepped down from the carriage and admired the low houses and stone walls built on the grassland.
On the boundless grassland, where the horizon stretched endlessly no matter how far one traveled, even a one-story building had a strong presence.
“Where did they get all this stone?”
“The caravans must have built it bit by bit as they came and went. These houses and walls probably weren’t here from the start.”
Tarmin said as he jumped down last from the carriage bed and pulled down his backpack.
Instead of responding to Tarmin, Enya folded her arms over her chest.
She turned defensively and glared at Tarmin with suspicion.
He felt a pang of guilt, but asked Enya as if nothing had happened.
“Enya, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Taal,”
“Yeah?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Enya was still on guard, but didn’t seem intent on pressing him.
Merchants and travelers in thick robes were carrying their luggage inside.
It would be hard to ask, ‘Did you touch my breasts on purpose?’ with other people around.
Especially for Enya, who was very conscious of other people’s eyes.
Hadn’t she freaked out the other day just because he’d hugged her in an empty backyard?
Lise, who’d gotten off the carriage one step ahead of him, was walking up ahead.
Tarmin let out a deep sigh, relieved yet overcome with self-loathing.
They’d been having a serious conversation, judging by the sound of it, but he’d still lost to his desire.
Instead of shielding Enya by asking what she wanted and why she was approaching them, he’d pretended to sleep and kept fondling her breasts until the carriage stopped.
Honestly, it had felt so good he thought his head might short-circuit.
The risk of someone catching them, and the soft sensation lingering in his hand.
Enya’s breathing as she suppressed her lewd moans.
He shook his head hard and entered through the opening in the stone wall.
**
Inside the caravan’s lodging.
The temporary stone shelter had no other amenities; all it had was a place in the center where they could light a fire.
Among those unloading their belongings was Ivar, the young knight.
After carrying the two backpacks and securing a spot, Ivar looked as if he might faint.
Seeing the vermilion-haired girl suddenly leap into his arms, he cried out in surprise.
“L-Li-Lise! W-Why are you doing this?”
“I’m sorry I rode in another carriage after we fought, Ivar. I won’t leave your side again.”
“What? No, I have no idea what you mean…”
Lise rose onto her tiptoes and brought her mouth close to his ear.
Ivar was on the verge of fainting from their bodies touching, but before that, Lise whispered.
“Quiet, Ivar. Play along with me from now on.”
Was Lise’s strange behavior part of the mission?
As Ivar wondered that, the Hero and her companion were just entering the bare stone building.
At that, Lise, who’d been in his arms, pulled away.
While Ivar felt a little disappointed, Lise turned to the two of them and said,
“Thanks to you, we were able to make up. Enya, thank you for worrying about me.”
“I’m glad, Lise. ‘A married couple riding in separate carriages,’ I was really worried, you know?”
Lise’s eyelid twitched at Enya’s words.
A conversation between women that sounded friendly, but felt icy.
Ivar’s eyes widened.
“What? Wait, did you just say married couple? Huh!”
His dumbfounded question was cut off when Lise hooked her arm around Ivar’s.
Ivar sucked in a breath at the softness brushing against various parts of his arm.
Enya was quietly watching them. She and Ivar had clearly met before, but instead of greeting him aloud, she gave him a beguiling smile.
Her scarlet eyes, imbued with an almost supernatural aura unlike those of ordinary people, gazed at Ivar.
While Ivar tensed, Lise was speaking to Tarmin.
“Thank you for worrying about me too, Tarmin. My blanket is in the backpack he brought.”
“…I suppose you two really are married.”
The man standing beside the Hero, Tarmin, said with a gloomy expression.
Lise calmly nodded as if he’d asked something obvious.
“Yes, this is Ivar. Ivar, these two helped me a lot on the carriage. This is Tarmin and Enya.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ivar. I’m Tarmin.”
“…Hello.”
After exchanging introductions, Tarmin set his luggage down beside Ivar and Lise.
When he looked over, Lise had spread out a mat and was resting with her head against Ivar’s shoulder.
At a glance, she seemed to be flirting with her husband, but her gaze was fixed on Tarmin.
Tarmin shook his head.
**
Winter days are short.
The sun was setting quickly, and the apricot-colored bricks were turning red beneath the evening sky.
The inside of the stone wall was crude, but had the basic facilities needed for survival.
There was shelter from the rain, and though there was no well, barrels for storing rainwater stood lined up along one wall.
Most importantly, there was a primitive toilet.
“Come to think of it, you told me to prepare myself, but there’s a toilet.”
“That was a joke. They probably built this first out of all the buildings here. Caravaners are people too.”
Enya gave him a sidelong glare.
As dinnertime approached, Tarmin set down his backpack and went outside to avoid Lise’s gaze. Enya followed him.
As Enya walked along behind Tarmin, she murmured with a wicked smile.
“Lise, saying things like ‘a weak man’ and all that? She should try being held by a weak man herself. Hehehe.”
“…Hey, you, Enya.”
“Yeah, what is it?”
He called out as if scolding her, but when she looked at him with a smile, he had nothing to say.
They walked together along the stone wall as he thought.
The wager between Enya and Lise was that Lise would pretend to be married so Tarmin wouldn’t find out she was a knight.
The problem was that he already knew more or less what the wager was—and Lise’s true identity, too.
In Tarmin’s view, even if he hadn’t known, the loser was unlikely to accept the outcome.
He didn’t know if Lise would back down if her fake marriage was exposed, and even if it wasn’t, he still couldn’t let them into his father’s cabin.
There was no guarantee Lise wouldn’t resort to force once the bet fell apart.
For now, the best option was to play along with their little wager and buy time.
But if he pointed this out, he’d reveal that he’d pretended to be asleep and eavesdropped.
Aside from the eavesdropping, he’d have to admit that he’d thoroughly fondled Enya’s breasts under the blanket right in front of them.
How had things gotten so tangled? It felt terribly unfair.
If he’d just groped her openly, right in front of her, at least he wouldn’t have to feel guilty.
Honestly, they’d already kissed several times. Wasn’t it all right to touch her breasts, too?
That sensation of her breasts still lingering in his hand.
Right in front of her?
“…”
Tarmin swallowed and glanced around without Enya noticing.
The sunset had faded, and it had grown so dark that he could hardly make out faces unless the moon came close enough to illuminate them.
He looked around and confirmed they were the only two idiots taking a walk during the precious dinner hour.
He called Enya in a low voice.
“Enya.”
“Seriously, why do you keep calling my name without saying anything… Oh.”
Enya was starting to sound annoyed, but stopped when the hand stroking her cheek startled her.
He gazed at Enya’s eyes, glimmering in the dark.
Enya said in alarm,
“Taal, are you getting worked up here? With other people around?”
He silently stroked her soft blonde hair several times.
Enya hunched her shoulders and trembled faintly with each stroke. When he lifted her chin, she whispered, startled and chiding,
“Hey! What if someone sees us?”
“It’s dark, so it’s fine. No one can see.”
“But what if someone comes out?”
“Then I guess we’ll have to be even quieter?”
“No, stop talking nonsense. There might be people keeping watch on the roof, and more than anything, if we don’t get back soon, Lise will—mmph…”
He silenced Enya’s rambling with his lips.
Ignoring her frail arms pushing against him, he pressed his lips against hers.
Worried that someone might hear, as Enya had said, he kissed her gently instead of drawing her in as greedily as before.
The soft, wet sounds of their kiss echoed along the stone wall.
He grabbed the arms pushing at his chest and slowly pressed her back.
Before long, Enya’s back tapped against the apricot-colored stone wall.
Worried that Enya might have hit the wall, he pulled away and asked softly,
“Haa, are you okay, Enya?”
“…N-No, I’m not okay.”
Enya had both arms pinned against the wall and was only able to turn her head.
Seeing her barely able to hide her face gave him a strange sense of dominance.
He murmured into her ear,
“Enya, you can tell me if you don’t like it,”
“I don’t.”
“You can say no, but I’ll only listen.”
“You pervert.”
Tarmin grinned.
Normally, this was the kind of situation that would have embarrassed him enough to back off, but the night gave him courage.
Even Enya’s insults sounded like praise in the darkness.
Come to think of it, they’d only ever kissed in a bright room lit by the hearth, or during the day.
Besides, he’d already crossed the line once that morning.
In other words, he was now a werewolf who’d gotten a taste for human flesh.
Tarmin raised both of Enya’s arms and pinned them together with one hand.
Then he brought his free hand toward her chest.
Enya, flustered, let out a small cry.
“T-Taal! Wait, just a moment!”
“Enya, can I touch you?”
“No, I’m not ready yet…”
“Come to think of it, you said I could touch you last time, didn’t you?”
He brought his hand closer.
It was the very moment his fingertips touched her breast.
Before he could even register its soft, yielding texture.
“Haaah…”
A sultry moan that was hard to believe had come from Enya.
Startled, he froze.
A voice came from behind him.
“Who’s there?”
Tarmin quickly turned around and saw a dark silhouette standing in the direction of the lodging.
“The toilet’s not that way, it’s the other direction. The water is over here, too!”
From the voice, it sounded like Danis, the caravan captain.
Flustered, he quickly replied,
“Ah, yes. Thank you, Mr. Danis. I came the wrong way. Are you on night watch?”
“No. I’m on my way back from the toilet, too. It’s unusually dark tonight, so be careful. Don’t end up with your foot in a hole like I did.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
After Danis disappeared into the lodging, he stood still for a while, trying to calm his pounding heart.
After confirming no one else was coming out, he turned around and looked at Enya.
Enya was sitting there with her hand over her mouth.
*****