MTM 62

Leon’s teleportation spell brought the three safely to the front of the inn room.

“I’m glad I set up a magic passage right after we arrived, just in case.”

Leon rubbed the mark carved into the corner of the hallway wall, erasing it. It looked like a doodle unless one looked closely.

“…Hm?”

Sniff sniff.

Leon flared his nostrils as if he caught a scent and murmured.

“I think… something smells really good somewhere…?”

Zed didn’t answer and led Harto into the room.

“We’ll be inside.”

“Ah, wait! I have to apologize properly to Harto at least…!”

Leon hurried to follow them inside, but the door slammed shut right in front of him.

“Whoa… my nose almost got smashed…”

Leon rubbed the tip of his nose and grumbled, then went into the room across the hall.

“Well… anyway, I’m glad they’re safe. Haaahm…! Fate or whatever, who cares when I’m this sleepy… why did I even obsess over that earlier…”

Yawning wide, Leon muttered complaints about the fortune teller, closed the door, and threw himself onto the bed. A moment later, the room was filled with Leon and Allen’s breathing sounds, they were both already sleeping like the dead.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

As soon as Zed entered the room, he drew the curtains and lit the lamp on the nightstand. As the soft light spread, Harto took off the cloth wrapped around his body and hid himself under the blanket.

“Harto, do you want to wash?”

Zed hung his coat on the rack, leaned his weapon against the wall, and asked while walking toward Harto. His tone was as gentle as usual, but his voice sounded cold.

Harto slowly shook his head. The magic oil was said to stay on the body for a whole day, even after washing with water. More than that, his mind and body were too drained. He wanted to just fall asleep like this, even if he turned into a monster.

‘But Zed… wants to hear it. So I have to say it myself…’

He had to tell Zed that there was no one else he needed to protect like Zed had thought. He wanted to explain that he wasn’t hiding anything, and that he hadn’t meant to stop Zed from touching his head.

But for some reason, he couldn’t speak. He kept remembering the cold look in Zed’s eyes back at the abandoned house.

“……”

“……”

Silence passed between them. Zed sat on the bed across from him without saying a word. Harto had expected him to question what had happened, but Zed just sat still.

Then he stood up.

“Where, where are you going?!”

Harto shouted with a face full of anxiety. Zed looked slightly surprised, then smiled and gently patted Harto’s head.

“I’m going to the dining room to get some warm water. You must be thirsty.”

“Zed, I’m not thirsty… it’s fine. I… I mean….”

Harto reached out from under the blanket and grabbed Zed’s collar. He wanted to tell him about what had happened in the Feast District, but the words wouldn’t leave his mouth.

Zed looked quietly at Harto’s trembling hand and spoke.

“I’m not angry.”

“Huh…?”

“I told you before. When I look angry, it’s actually because I’m blaming myself.”

At Zed’s words, Harto cautiously nodded. When Zed sat back on the bed, Harto somehow felt calm and began to explain what had happened that day.

Zed’s expression hardened while he listened, but he didn’t interrupt. He remained silent until the end.

But Harto didn’t mention the part where the mustached pervert touched his butt. He was frustrated with himself for failing to protect his body, and more than that, he knew that if Zed found out, he would storm back there and hurt someone immediately.

It might sound spoiled, but tonight, he just wanted to stay with Zed.

After listening to everything, Zed’s expression remained composed. He said he’d still bring water, then went down to the dining room and returned with a cup of warm water.

“Here.”

Harto took the cup with both hands as if he had been waiting and drank it. The warmth spread through his whole body, and he felt refreshed.

Zed took the cup back from him and asked calmly.

“So, that bastard… no, that man called Ser applied the oil with his own hands?”

“Yes…”

“Where on your body?”

“O… on my chest and my stomach…”

“And?”

“N, not other places… he didn’t touch, but… he just poured it…”

Harto’s voice grew smaller at the end. He didn’t explain further, but Zed could already guess enough. Harto’s face grew hot, and he hid himself completely under the blanket.

The lamp on the nightstand flickered. It looked as if it reflected Harto’s anxious heart.

“…Hey, Zed.”

After a while, a small voice came from under the blanket where the two lay together.

“Hm?”

Harto slightly lifted the blanket. His eyes and cheeks were still red, and his lips, just as red, parted several times before he managed to speak.

“I… you know. My body… how was it?”

“…What?”

Zed wondered if something worse had happened beyond being touched, but what came next was completely unexpected.

“I mean… you saw it, right?”

“……”

Harto’s shy whisper left Zed dumbfounded for a moment, then he understood what Harto meant. He was talking about his penis.

Even after all that had happened, he was worrying about something like that. Or maybe it was good that he was. It meant he cared more about Zed’s gaze than about the earlier shock.

Zed smirked.

“It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve seen it.”

“What? When did you see it?!”

Harto’s eyes widened, and the blanket slipped down to his shoulders when he abruptly moved.

“I saw it at the cabin, and at the river, and every time you changed from a monster to a human.”

Zed answered calmly and pulled the fallen blanket back up over him.

“Really…?”

Harto looked at him with a doubtful expression, then he nodded. After a pause, he asked with a trace of expectation.

“How was it?”

He wondered if Zed thought it was strange that there was no hair down there.

“Hm…”

Zed lowered his gaze and muttered quietly.

“Precious.”

“Precious?”

“I thought, ‘He’s got something precious attached.’”

“Something precious…?”

“Yes.”

Harto blinked. The way Zed said it so plainly made it sound like having no hair wasn’t strange at all. Just that fact made Harto feel a wave of relief.

‘So… it wasn’t weird after all.’

Harto muttered inwardly to reassure himself, and asked with a bit of newfound confidence.

“Then… can I see yours next time, Zed?”

“Mine…?”

Zed’s eyes wavered for an instant.

“Yes. Ah, but if you’d feel embarrassed, then it can’t be helped. It’s precious… so you have to take good care of it.”

“……”

Seeing Harto speak so innocently without any hidden intention, Zed stifled his laugh. But the fact that Harto, who had been timid just moments ago, could now say something like that meant he had calmed down a lot.

“Next time. If there’s a chance, I’ll show you.”

“Really? Okay, you have to show me next time.”

Harto smiled like a child, and Zed nodded.

“Are you sleepy?”

“Yes…”

Harto blinked a few times and let out a long yawn. Considering what happened in the Feast District and the days of camping before that, it was no wonder he was exhausted.

Zed quietly lifted the blanket. It was the same as before he fell asleep.

“Can I sleep with you this time, Harto?”

Before Zed even finished the question, Harto nodded and instantly changed into his monster form. He slid into Zed’s arms, and his black body, still covered in perfumed oil, shimmered like starlight.

Zed opened his arms wide and embraced him. As the small body snuggled up to his chest, the emptiness in him was filled.

“Haa…”

Harto must have been very tired. He immediately fell asleep. The sooty black slime let out soft breaths even though its nose couldn’t be seen.

Zed felt those small breaths and closed his eyes. Normally, he would have torn the place called ‘Honey’ apart by now. Just knowing someone had laid a hand on Harto made him furious. But he had to hold it in. For now, he could finally relax because Harto was safe in his arms.

‘When did I become so forgiving…’

He realized he had changed a lot since being with Harto. Not even a season had passed, yet this small monster had taken root deep inside his heart.

Thump, thump.

Harto’s heartbeat against his chest pulsed loudly. Zed listened to it and suddenly remembered the small heart he had seen in his dream.

[If you give all your strength to the wanderer who bears the same sorrow as you, salvation will descend upon you.]

‘A stranger who bears the same sorrow as me… could that be Harto?’

He had never thought so before, but when he considered the possibility, the prophecy that had once sounded ominous now felt warm and full of hope.