IPDT 54

It was half a year ago that the man came to the ‘village’. It was the last stronghold they reached after fleeing the monsters and desertification that had suddenly swept over the eastern continent. Here, at least, they did not have to suffer from monsters and famine. Though they chose a ‘sacrifice’ to offer to a new god once a week, that had nothing to do with the man.

The sacrifices were usually useless humans. Children or the elderly who couldn’t work, those with disabilities, or those who were injured.

In a situation of such great famine, humans who only consumed food without working deserved to just die. But how merciful was the new god, to accept even such useless humans as sacrifices. The man, whose job was ‘to draw water,’ sincerely thought so.

“The sun is especially hot today.”

The village and the oasis were quite a distance apart. That was why they needed people like the man to draw water. After scooping water into the dented bucket until it was full, the man wiped the sweat that flowed down his temples. Hoo, he let out a hot breath and was about to hoist the two large buckets onto his shoulders.

If only he hadn’t heard the sound of people murmuring not far away.

The man raised his head and looked ahead. He could see two figures treading heavily on the hot sand, hot enough for a heat haze to rise. One was a tall man wearing a hood, and the other was a small, pretty-looking boy.

The man unknowingly frowned. Outsiders were welcome guests, as they would become new sacrifices, but these two instinctively felt ominous. No, to be precise, it was from the man wearing the hood…

“Oh, a human.”

The boy, who was leading a horse that was clearly exhausted, pointed at the man and said. The man unconsciously flinched. The boy, who smiled brightly, approached him in a single bound and asked in a sweet, singsong voice.

“You’re a human who lives in the village where the flower was first planted, right?”

From the moment he saw the boy’s green eyes, the man felt as if he were bewitched by something. And then, his mind slowly began to sink, as if he were gradually falling asleep.

The man opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. That was all the resistance he could manage. The focus disappeared from the man’s eyes.

“Yes.”

“We finally found it!”

Clap, Ilyas clapped his hands and commanded the man, who was standing blankly.

“We’re survivors you picked up from outside. Got it? You have to introduce us properly to the villagers, okay?”

“Yes.”

The man nodded his head like a well-behaved child. Ilyas, having confirmed the satisfactory result, looked back at Kwon Yul, who was standing behind him.

“Yul, hurry and—!”

Before he could finish his sentence, their lips met. Ilyas stared blankly up at Kwon Yul, who naturally licked his own lips and pulled away. Kwon Yul’s black eyes, which held a dangerous glint, curved softly.

“Let’s go.”

“…Yeah, okay.”

As Ilyas nodded, his curly golden hair fluttered at his nape.

Kwon Yul looked down at the back of Ilyas’s round head. Ilyas probably didn’t know, that because of his white skin, the reddened rims of his ears were especially visible. Kwon Yul licked the round rims of his ears with his eyes.

The reason Yul and I decided to enter the village ‘quietly’ was to catch the tails of those who brought about the ruin.

Of course, there was also a way to enter violently instead of quietly. If I were to wield the wind or drop fire, the village would be a wreck in an instant, and the humans would surrender to me to survive. Then we would have easily entered the village, finished the purification, and put out the urgent fire.

But that method would only help ‘those who brought about the ruin.’ The moment we struck the village, they would surely cut their tails and run away.

Since they were the ones plotting ruin, they would be as cunning as snakes. And a snake was a tenacious creature that could survive even if its body was severed and only its head remained.

If such people were to hide and plan for the future, it would surely become a troublesome problem. Therefore, we had to catch them before they cut their tails and drag them out, head and all.

So the method I chose was very simple. Yul and I would naturally blend into the village and observe the situation.

While we’re at it, finding out how closely the villagers are associated with them, and where they’ve hidden the Flower of Chaos, a week would fly by. After spending a week like that, we would find and ambush ‘the hooded ones’ who come to pick a sacrifice, and that would be the end of it.

I would catch the ones who dared to dream of ruin and protect the balance of the world, and Yul would be hailed as a great hero. A flawless plan with no room for criticism. Hmm, hmm, good. As I was nodding my head, the human walking ahead of us stopped in front of a small building.

“This is the lodging provided for survivors wandering near the village. You two may stay here.”

“This is the lodging?”

“Yes.”

It was smaller than the first lodging we stayed at in the eastern continent. Is this really a lodging? It looks smaller than Fleabag’s bed. I was at a loss for words, opening and closing my mouth, when the human with soulless eyes blinked and continued.

“There are doors on the left and right of the stairs. The room you two will be staying in is the one on the left on the second floor.”

“So we don’t even get this whole building, but just one room…?”

“Yes.”

Needless to say, it was the worst. It seems I unknowingly recoiled in disgust. Thud, Yul’s chest bumped against my back.

“Let’s go in.”

“You want to go in here?”

“Yes.”

My finger was pointing exactly at the lodging. So he really does mean that. Does Yul like this lodging? My shoulders slumped. Since Yul was okay with it, I didn’t want to be a dragon who was being difficult. I trudged into the lodging.

“…Hmm.”

The room on the left, on the second floor, was really small and cramped. To the point where no other assessment came to mind. In the room, there was only a bed that looked like it would be completely full if Yul and I lay down on it, and a bathroom the size of my palm.

…I should ask him again if he’s really okay with staying at this lodging. It was just as I made that resolution and raised my head.

“Whoa?”

Yul lifted me up in a flash and strode into the room. What? I was held still in his arms, not knowing what was going on, when Yul set me down on the creaky bed. Then he immediately got on top of me and put his hands behind my knees. My feet lifted into the air on their own.

“Yul?”

Yul didn’t answer and deftly slipped the shoes off my feet, tossing them onto the floor. I glanced once at my shoes rolling on the floor, then looked at Yul again. Never imagining that our lips would meet.

“Ah.”

Yul didn’t miss the gap between my lips, parted in surprise. A sleek tongue delved inside and scraped the roof of my mouth. A soft feather seemed to be tickling my throat, and a faint moan escaped.

“Nnngh…”

Yul sucked on my tongue as if licking up the moan that had slipped out. The feeling of our saliva mixing and our breaths tangling was strange. My head felt kind of floaty. My heart pounded with a pleasant sense of elation and heated excitement.

If just any human had touched me like this, I would have only felt displeasure, but is it different because it’s Yul? Because he’s the human who took half of my heart?

Yul’s hand, which had been holding the back of my knees, slid down to caress my inner thigh. My fingertips curled up on their own, clutching and wrinkling the bedsheets. I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth, unsure whose it was, and looked at Yul. When our eyes met, his eyes curved into a smile.

Why is he smiling like that? Could it be that he knows I’m helpless when he smiles like that? I felt heat rising in my face.

“Hut…”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Because opening my eyes was more harmful than keeping them closed. Looking at Yul’s face was visually too stimulating.

As soon as I closed my eyes, Yul put his hand under the hem of my clothes. The hand caressing my waist was ticklish. My body squirmed on its own. I have to stop him, I have to stop him before he does anything more.

“Hnngh.”

I tried to grab Yul’s hand that was stroking my back, but only clutched at the empty air. This was a real problem. As time went on, I was only realizing that I couldn’t win against Yul.

I was definitely stronger, but regardless of that, I felt like I was being consumed by the human named Yul. It was as if I were being drawn by an irresistible force. I wanted to understand everything about Yul. Regardless of whether it was wrong or whatever.

If Yul wanted it, it felt like giving him the world wouldn’t be a waste.

“Uht, ngh.”

Yul placed my feet on his shoulders. My hips lifted, and the position became a bit strange. It felt like my groin was pressed too closely against Yul. I placed my hands on Yul’s firm chest.

“Hey, it’s time to work! How long are you planning to slack off?”

My eyes flew open at the sudden shout. Yul, too, seemed to have heard the noise and frowned. Was that directed at us? For now, I pushed Yul away.

“We’re coming out right now!”

The reply came from the floor below us. I looked at the floor where my shoes were rolling around. The thin wooden floor seemed to provide no soundproofing at all, and it seemed that was actually the case. Annoyance tangled in Yul’s eyes.

“Yul.”

When I called his name softly, Yul shifted his gaze to me. The sharp black eyes turned gentle. Yul rubbed his lips together with an innocent face. The Yul who had been expertly exploring the inside of my mouth just a moment ago seemed to be gone from this place. It felt like being with a large, wolf-like animal. For some reason, laughter burst out of me.

“Why are you laughing.”

Yul cupped my cheek in his large hand. Unable to swallow the ticklish laughter that was seeping out of my throat, I opened my mouth.

“Being like this with you makes my heart tickle. When you’re ticklish, you laugh.”

Yul stared at me intently, then tried to kiss me again. I quickly blocked Yul’s mouth with my hand.

“Yul, wait a minute!”

“…”

Yul’s eyes, visible above my hand, narrowed. He had a look that seemed to ask what the problem was. I averted my gaze, pointlessly rolling my eyes.

“It’s a problem if I kiss you. …Because I can’t stop in the middle.”

As I muttered, Yul grabbed my wrist. He seemed to want to say something, so I moved my hand away. As expected, Yul had something to say, and he murmured in a low voice.

“Do we have to stop?”

“It’s not that we have to…”

“Then it doesn’t matter, does it.”

Yul stared at me intently and nibbled on my hand. I was blankly captivated by his seemingly single-minded black eyes before belatedly coming to my senses.

“…It does matter right now! We decided to look around the village together.”

Yul, who had been gnawing on my hand, stopped nibbling abruptly. His black eyes narrowed. He had a look on his face as if asking when he had ever said such a thing. I felt a little wronged.

“You nodded your head when I said, ‘We’re going to stay in the village for a week and go around together.’”

“Ah.”

“You remember now?”

It seemed he just now remembered the conversation we had before entering the village. I scooted closer to Yul, who had a reluctant expression.

“You’ll go with me, right?”

Yul, who was looking at me wordlessly, changed his expression. His black eyes curved pleasingly, and his lips drew a pretty arc. I blinked. No light was coming into the small lodging, but for a moment he sparkled as if sunlight had poured in.

“Give me a kiss when we get back.”

Mesmerized by Yul’s face, I nodded my head, then understood his words a beat later. Wait, a kiss? As my eyes widened, Yul tilted his head with an innocent expression.

“You don’t want to?”

“No, I don’t not want to!”