SWY 83

Sharhan glanced sideways at Lestel, who had just tucked a bottle of scented oil into his pocket, then let his eyes subtly drop. The pants Yuel had given him weren’t particularly loose, so even the slightest arousal would make the bulge between his legs obvious.

“Honey, if you look at me with those burning eyes, I’m going to get hard.”

Noticing his gaze, Lestel leaned in and whispered against Sharhan’s ear, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Sure enough, he was already swelling. As expected, the outline of his erection was clearly visible. Sharhan jumped in shock, shook off Lestel’s arm, and stepped aside.

“When did I ever look at you with ‘burning eyes’? And seriously, do you have no self-control?”

“I used to have plenty. Not anymore.”

Lestel gave a shrug, watching Sharhan move away with regretful eyes.

“And why don’t you have any now?”

“Because I don’t need to hold back anymore.”

“What?”

“I don’t have to hide that I’m in heat for you. Isn’t that right, honey?”

“It’d be great if you’d still try to hide it a little.”

Sharhan’s earlobes flushed as he glared at Lestel’s shameless grin. Even though it was cold enough to see their breath, it felt like the air around them was heating up. Feeling awkward, Sharhan waved his hand vaguely in the air, when suddenly,

Boom! Bang!

A loud, blunt noise rang out, as if someone was beating on something with a club, followed by shouts, “Block it!” “We’re under attack!”

Sharhan and Lestel rushed out of the room just as others did the same, and saw everyone moving in perfect coordination.

The weaker, elderly and women, were quickly escorting children toward the inner part of the mansion, while the men grabbed weapons. No one panicked. Each person moved as if they knew exactly what they were supposed to do.

Even the women and elders, trying to comfort crying children, looked tense but not panicked or helpless.

Simon came running out from where he’d been talking with Elieas and gave Lestel a quick nod before barking orders.

“Kal, Tim, Leaf, Hans, you protect the elders, women, and children! That group guards the main entrance! Niman’s team, take the back door! Gyle’s group, handle anyone trying to climb over the wall! Everyone else, follow me!”

The men responded swiftly and smoothly to Simon’s orders, proving this wasn’t their first time. Just as Sharhan had initially sensed, the group was highly organized. Simon too looked strong and resolute, nothing like the man who’d burst into tears in front of Lestel just a short while ago.

Sharhan and Lestel followed him outside. The crowd that had filled the garden had already vanished, evacuated quickly. Only the armed men remained, eyes cold and alert.

“Who are the attackers?!”

Simon shouted. A man with his hair tied back answered.

“The Black Deer bastards!”

“Black Deer?”

Mercenaries? Sharhan was about to ask when–

“They’re a group formed from small-time mercenaries, traders, and a few criminals. Their leader’s a fraud convict who escaped during the outbreak. He calls himself one of the new lords.”

Elieas stepped up beside them, voice full of disgust.

“Are they a large group?” Sharhan asked, turning to her.

“Not especially, but once they pick a target, they attack relentlessly day and night. They’re not strategic, more like reckless thugs willing to take losses just to push through. It’s a pain once you’re on their radar. They’re based quite far from Central Road, so if they’ve come this far, they must be pretty desperate.”

The Black Deer were pounding on the barricaded carriages and trying to pry them loose. Even when wounded by the defenders’ counterattacks, they didn’t retreat.

“They’re coming over the wall!”

Sharhan had wondered why they were making such a racket despite the risk of attracting moving corpses, but it was a diversion. The real plan was to infiltrate while attention was drawn elsewhere. But it was useless. The Central Road survivors weren’t inexperienced. They responded calmly and efficiently.

Though Elieas had said the Black Deer lacked strategy, they weren’t completely mindless. They’d strapped leather to their arms and legs to try and protect themselves.

“Die!”

But every one of them who climbed the wall was swiftly taken down by the defenders waiting below. Ordinary men who looked like they’d never held a weapon in their lives showed no hesitation in cutting down the invaders. The garden was soon filled with the stench of blood.

Sharhan and Lestel had come out intending to help, but it was clear they weren’t needed. In fact, stepping in might’ve gotten in the way. Even Derry came running out breathlessly, blinked at the sight of the scene, then awkwardly turned back around.

“Shit, the moving corpses are coming! Run!”

Even the attackers who had been causing the commotion in front turned tail and fled as moving corpses came into view. Some were caught and eaten alive mid-escape, but the Black Deer gang didn’t stop, they just abandoned them. The attack ended pointlessly, without any results.

“From the moment I arrived, I could tell this group was well-organized. And there’s no hesitation in their actions. Even their expressions are good. This is a solid group, with a solid leader.”

Elieas’s praise came with a conflicted expression, clearly, she now thought negotiating with Simon would be difficult.

“Once the moving corpses are cleared, drag the attackers’ bodies out and dump them!”

Lestel gave the cleanup order, then quietly watched Simon as he checked for wounded or casualties. A moment later, he smiled and nodded in agreement with Elieas.

“A solid leader… That’s true.”

“Master.”

Simon approached, having finished his tasks.

“You handled that really well.”

“Huh? Ah… Yes. We’ve dealt with attacks like this often. Were you not alarmed?”

“Not really. You ran out in the middle of a conversation, go finish it. I’ll rest in the meantime.”

“Understood. I’ll send someone to fetch you for dinner later.”

Lestel nodded and turned away. Sharhan followed in silence.

“So it’s still just the three of us heading to Serman.”

When Sharhan shut the bedroom door behind them, Lestel nodded. Simon was clearly the rightful leader here, and it didn’t seem like he could leave. The survivors trusted him deeply. Lestel knew this as well as Sharhan did.

“Yeah. This is where Simon belongs.”

Sharhan glanced at him. He looked somewhat bitter.

‘What’s with that face? You’d think he’d lost an arm or something. Why do I feel this way too?’

Sharhan was annoyed with himself for feeling petty and shot out a question in a lighter tone.

“Are you sas?”

“Not really… no.”

“So you are?”

“…Yeah. So comfort me.”

“Is that a demand or a request?”

“If it’s a demand?”

“Of course I won’t listen!”

Sharhan narrowed his eyes, answering sharply. For Lestel to make demands, how arrogant. But as if expecting this, Lestel grinned and said,

“Then I’m asking. Please, comfort me. I’m so disappointed I could go crazy. Sharhan Kaios.”

Sharhan just looked at him as he held out his arms. Lestel gave him a look that said, ‘Well? What are you waiting for?’

“When were we ever the type to comfort each other? If anything, we’d kick each other when we were down.”

Grumbling loud enough to be heard, Sharhan still hesitated before stepping in and wrapping his arms around Lestel. Lestel, like he’d been waiting for it, held him tight and murmured in a softer voice,

“You’ve always been my comfort.”

“…What? What kind of nonsense is that? When have I ever comforted you?”

His tone made it sound impossible that he would’ve ever done something like that. Lestel laughed.

“You always did. Even when you were rough most of the time, you were warm when I was having a hard time. Like the day my mother passed. Remember that?”

“Th, that was a special case. That doesn’t count.”

Sharhan clearly remembered Lestel breaking down in despair after losing his mother. He’d been too young to do much. All he could do was hug and pat Lestel like his own mother used to do when he was sick or scolded by his father, and hope that Lestel would bounce back and bicker with him like always.

“And after that too. The day my stepmother arrived. The day the twins were born. The day I got scolded badly by my father. Whenever something bad happened, you were always there. You were always beside me when I was in pain.”