A few minutes passed in silence.
I sat there, absentmindedly poking at the campfire with a twig, letting my mind drift through thoughts of today’s class... aura... monsters... everything that had happened.
Then I felt it—
A quiet, lingering stare.
I turned my head.
Elena was watching .
"..."
"...?"
For a mont, neither of us said anything.
Our eyes t, and a strangely heavy silence settled between us—nothing awkward, but nothing simple either.
Her eyes...
A clear, shimring blue, almost too bright in the dim light of the cave.
Her hair, pale and soft, glowed faintly in the firelight... and before I even realized it, a sweet scent wrapped around —warm, close, distracting in a way I couldn’t explain.
Thump.
My heart reacted before my thoughts caught up.
I quickly looked away, tugged the blanket closer, and wrapped it around the two of us—an automatic, instinctive gesture to block out the cold.
But instead of facing her, I turned my back, pressing my spine lightly against hers.
I could feel her warmth imdiately.
"...Good night, Louis," she whispered softly behind .
Her voice was gentle... almost fragile.
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t.
Instead, I pulled the blanket up until it covered half my face, trying to ignore the growing heat on my cheeks.
I closed my eyes.
But her presence was impossible to ignore.
Every small breath she exhaled, every tiny shift she made, every steady beat of her heart...
thump... thump... thump...
It pulsed faintly through her back and into mine.
For so reason, listening to that soft rhythm made the cave feel a little less cold.
---
As soon as morning light touched the sky, I got up and headed straight for the riverside.
Only after splashing my face with water—cold from the night air—did my thoughts finally begin to untangle.
Last night...
No matter how hard I tried, sleep refused to co.
Elena’s steady breathing behind , the warmth of her body pressed against my back... it all kept replaying in my mind.
Every ti I closed my eyes, the mory crept in again, stirring a mix of emotions I wasn’t ready to sort through yet.
I dunked my head into the river.
Splash—!
"Puah..."
The shock of cold snapped back to reality, my mind finally shaking free of the haze.
Am I out of my mind?
Thinking like that about Elena.
Soone whose story I knew—whose happiness I used to root for.
Soone I’d admired from a distance long before eting her here.
There was no reason I shouldn’t feel sothing for her...
But the lingering sense of guilt made everything complicated.
"You’re up already?"
I stiffened for a mont.
Elena walked toward , wrapped in a blanket, her hair slightly ssy from sleep.
The early chill made her breath visible, and her voice was softer than usual—still carrying the warmth of morning.
I quickly looked away, rubbing my thumb against my ear as if that could hide how hot it had beco.
"Yeah... just needed to clear my head."
She stepped closer and extended the blanket toward .
"Here. Thanks for yesterday."
I hesitated before taking it.
The faint warmth left behind... her scent still lingering in the fabric...
It all hit far harder than it should have.
And for a mont, those confusing emotions from last night stirred again—quiet but unmistakable.
"...No problem," I managed, trying not to sound as awkward as I felt.
Elena watched quietly.
She didn’t say anything, but the way her eyes lingered on made it obvious—she could tell sothing about my mood had shifted.
Not wanting her to worry, I quickly shook my head and pretended nothing was wrong.
I tucked the blanket back into my spatial storage, trying to move naturally, when Elena suddenly spoke.
"What should we do now? Should we keep waiting for rescue here?"
We only needed to endure three days... but honestly, there was no reason to waste ti sitting around.
"No," I said. "Let’s go back to the academy."
She blinked. "...How?"
This place—Lumine’s realm—was filled with various trials.
Most students didn’t know that.
But those who managed to pass the right trial could return to the academy early, without waiting out the full three days.
And unlike everyone else, I had already read about these trials in the webtoon.
I knew what they were, where they were, and which ones were actually doable.
So trials were brutal, borderline impossible.
But there were also a handful that weren’t too difficult—at least, not for .
After quickly explaining the situation to Elena, I suggested we head to where the World Tree was supposed to be.
The mont we reached the top of the high hill, a breathtaking sight unfolded before us.
Stretching beneath our feet was a vast, panoramic landscape—lush forests,
winding rivers, and the shimring crown of the World Tree rising far in the distance like a scene straight out of a painting.
For a mont, I just... stared.
Now it finally felt like I was in a fantasy world.
The wind at the hilltop carried a fresh, earthy scent, and the scenery below glittered under the sunlight.
But the peaceful mont didn’t last long.
"Look over there!"
Elena’s urgent voice snapped back to reality.
I followed her gaze—and imdiately tensed.
A pack of wolves was sprinting in our direction, their silhouettes growing larger by the second.
"Wolves...? Why are they coming straight at us?"
"I don’t know, but get ready!"
I handed her a spare sword, and the two of us stood side by side, preparing for the worst. The wolves moved unnervingly fast, their paws kicking up dust as they charged.
But then—
We froze.
Soone was riding on the lead wolf.
"Wait... soone’s on it?" Elena whispered, stunned.
As the figure drew closer, the details beca clearer—pink hair streaming wildly in the wind, bright eyes, and a grin way too carefree for soone charging into battle on a wolf.
"...Lisa?"
Sure enough, Lisa was perched on the wolf’s back like she’d been born there.
"Hey, you guys!!" she shouted, waving as if she were greeting us from across a street and not while riding a wolf straight at us.
Elena blinked.
I blinked.
Even the wolves slowed down like they didn’t understand what was happening.
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