SWY 46

“You kissed me, didn’t you.”

“A k-kiss is just a kiss. Sex is different.”

“How is it different?”

“The kiss was… like an accident. But sex… Anyway, I’m not doing it. Never.”

“Bit too passionate for something accidental, don’t you think?”

Sharhan stammered, trying to come up with an excuse, recalling how he’d pounced first, using his pain as an excuse just a few hours ago.

“T-that was…”

But no matter how hard he racked his brain, no decent excuse came to mind, and he ended up trailing off. Lestel glanced at him and provoked shamelessly.

“Now that we’ve kissed, don’t you think our sexual compatibility might be good too?”

Sweat broke out along Sharhan’s spine as he struggled not to blush even harder. He glared at the pleased-looking Lestel.

‘A kiss, I could pretend it didn’t happen if I really forced it… but sex? That crosses a line. Damn it, how did it come to me even thinking about having sex with Lestel?’

What unsettled him the most was the fact that, despite never having considered it before, the thought of sex with Lestel wasn’t all that repulsive. It was probably because the kiss had been surprisingly good.

Sharhan shook his head quickly, trying to shake away the vivid image of their bodies entwined.

“I said I’m not doing it, didn’t I? You and me, having sex? Ridiculous.”

“We’ll see.”

“See what…? A-anyway, starting tomorrow, let’s thoroughly search the cabins. There might be hidden food supplies. Maybe even some magic bullets Pharrell couldn’t take with him.”

His voice rose without him realizing, and Derry glanced over in confusion. Sharhan had to quickly change the subject. He gave Lestel a disapproving glare. He wanted to punch him out of spite, but Lestel’s smile was too pretty, so he held back. Still, he didn’t stop glaring.

“Honey, you’re gonna rip your eyes at this rate.”

Lestel gently smoothed out the corners of Sharhan’s eyes, then looked at Derry.

“Starting tomorrow, let’s check one cabin at a time. Shan, don’t even think about helping. Just rest and recover.”

Knowing Sharhan’s personality better than anyone, Lestel warned him early. Sharhan had always insisted on tagging along no matter how sick he was, and usually ended up collapsed with a high fever. Unless he was on the verge of passing out, overexerting himself had become a habit, so Lestel had to be firm.

It was the same now. If Sharhan had just said he wasn’t feeling well earlier… well, not that it would’ve helped. They’d been surrounded by walking corpses, unable to leave the cabin anyway.

“…Fine, I get it. Stop glaring like that.”

Glancing at Lestel’s stiff face, Sharhan deflated a little and gave in. He hadn’t planned on pushing himself anyway.

“Let’s eat and rest early.”

Lestel, now smiling again, poured the rest of the lagyun tea into a bowl.

“I’ll go get some snow.”

Derry grabbed the kettle and hurried outside to scoop up clean snow. After melting it, they added the remaining corn flour and geullin grass to make soup and shared it.

The only food left was flour now, but the three of them avoided thinking about it and simply filled their stomachs. By the time they finished eating, the fire had gone out, and the warm air inside the cabin quickly turned chilly.

“There’s a snowstorm outside!”

Derry shouted in surprise as he opened the door to toss out the ashes. No wonder it was getting so cold so fast. A blizzard was raging outside.

“Looks like it’ll snow all night.”

Lestel glanced outside and said with concern. If the snowstorm got worse, it would get even colder.

“Yeah, it’s really coming down hard. Can barely see a thing out there.”

“Close the door, hurry and come back in.”

Derry quickly shut the door at Lestel’s words, shivering all over. The snow had soaked him in the brief moment the door had been open. Seeing that, Lestel offered him his robe, but Derry shook his head.

“I’m fine. I held up just fine last night too.”

“Take it unless you want to freeze to death.”

“But Lord Sharhan needs it more…”

Sharhan cut in when he saw Derry hesitating.

“Just take it. Your lips are turning blue.”

“S-still, he’s the one who’s sick…”

“Shan has me, he’ll be fine.”

Derry remembered how Lestel and Sharhan had spent the journey clinging to each other for warmth, and awkwardly accepted the robe. Then he settled down not far from them, as usual, making a cocoon to sleep in, before suddenly sitting up.

“Oh right! I can cast Fireball now!”

He chanted the spell and formed a sizable fireball in the air. It looked strong enough to distract the walking corpses or even deal a direct hit.

“Not bad.”

Sharhan was genuinely impressed. He hadn’t expected much from Derry, even after absorbing all the mana stones, but this was unexpected.

“After absorbing the stones you gave me, Lord Lestel, my mana core grew bigger than I thought. And my heart’s rhythm that supplies the magic sped up too. I can use stronger spells now, and I refill faster.”

Pride filled Derry’s face as he touched his chest. He could finally carry his weight. All thanks to the stones Lestel had given him.

“Even so, that’s fast progress. You’re really talented.”

“My master said that too. I formed my mana core early, and with just a bit of help, it grows fast.”

Derry scratched his cheek, embarrassed but clearly pleased.

A mage’s talent comes from the heart. You need the right aptitude and a magical tool to form a core. Once it’s formed, you fill it using your heart’s pulse. The greater your aptitude, the larger the core can be, and the faster it can be filled. Without talent, even endless stones won’t help. By that standard, Derry was definitely gifted.

“You’ll be a huge help to our strength from now on.”

“I can even make a big Waterball, so we won’t have to worry about water anymore.”

Blushing at Sharhan’s praise, Derry smiled awkwardly and went back to his cocoon. Watching his shy retreat, Sharhan chuckled and lay down too.

Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Lestel pulled Sharhan into an embrace and covered them both with two hunter robes. They weren’t high quality, and unlike Derry’s, didn’t have magical properties, so they weren’t all that warm. Still, it was better than nothing.

“Don’t rub your butt on me in your sleep again. I’m sexually frustrated, and it’s too easy to get excited.”

At Lestel’s whisper, Sharhan flushed red again.

“That’s just an instinctive action for warmth… Move.”

Sharhan grumbled and turned over, only to end up face-to-face with Lestel, chest pressed to chest. Their bodies were fully aligned from top to bottom. ‘This isn’t what I meant,’ he thought, but it was already too late. Lestel laced his fingers together behind Sharhan’s back, locking him in place.

“Move away a bit.”

Sharhan protested, unable to squirm away.

“It’s cold. Don’t you hear the blizzard?”

The howling of the storm was indeed fierce. The temperature was dropping fast. If they separated now, they’d likely freeze by morning.

Sharhan bit his lip and eventually just closed his eyes. If he pushed Lestel away and caught a cold, it’d be a bigger problem. They were both hungry, tired, and weakened, getting sick would be far too easy.

‘Damn it. My crotch is driving me insane.’

He couldn’t stop focusing on the sensation of their groins touching. He was most worried about getting hard. And then, right on cue, Sharhan flinched.

Lestel’s cock had twitched and grown. It pressed thick and hard against his own. And then, inevitably, Sharhan’s also started to swell. His pants felt too tight, and pain throbbed between his legs.

‘What the hell. Since when was my dick this easy?’

Morning wood was always strong, but around others, it rarely reacted. That modesty had helped him stay a virgin, yet now it was standing up like it had no shame.

Sharhan stayed frozen in Lestel’s arms. He didn’t even dare to breathe deeply, afraid it’d break the fragile control he had left.

Lestel didn’t move either, but the hot breaths against Sharhan’s crown and the occasional soft groan made it clear he was holding back arousal too.

Pressed tight together with swollen arousals radiating heat, the two felt each other’s excitement. They could hear their hearts pounding faster and faster, feel their rising body temperatures. The sensation was strange. Not just their bodies, but something deep in their chests was heating up too.

‘Fuck, what even is this.’

Sharhan shut his eyes tighter, overwhelmed by the unfamiliar emotions and heat clouding his head.