Episode 41

Was she embarrassed because she got too immersed in the role? Lydia was as still as a statue, her eyes firmly shut.

Weeell… I was just as engrossed in the character I had created, so I couldn’t claim to be oblivious to her feelings.

I opted to wait in silence until her embarrassment faded. But then…

“Excuse me, Miss Lydia? How long do you plan to stay like that?”

“…….”

Time passed, yet Lydia wouldn’t open her eyes.

Wondering if she had dozed off, I gave her arm a shake, but she remained motionless, clearly indicating she was wide awake.

“Miss Lydia?”

“…….”

“Miss Lydia? Miss Lydia? Miss Lydia?”

“…….”

I circled Lydia, calling her name three times in succession as if summoning a demon, but still, she didn’t stir.

Huh? Is this an opportunity?

Seizing the moment, I decided to study Lydia more closely.

The first thing that caught my eye was, of course, her ample chest. While its sheer size was notable, that alone wasn’t enough to captivate me.

To be frank, in the Pan Continent, ample bosoms were a dime a dozen. Come summer, such sights were commonplace.

And the larger they were, the more likely they were to be on display.

Of course, I’d never encountered anyone with a chest as generous as Lydia’s before…but I wasn’t so deprived of such sights that I’d obsess over them to this degree.

So, what was it that had me so entranced? I decided to dissect my fascination, piece by piece.

Beyond her chest, the first thing I noticed about Lydia was her petite stature.

Though she was still taller than me, both her height and build were modest. Yes, objectively speaking, she was quite petite.

That probably explained why she once passionately lectured me on how smaller individuals could compensate with weaponry.

In her early days as an adventurer, Lydia would have been weaker than other women.

But that didn’t mean she appeared frail now.

Those who awakened their aura underwent a transformation, their bodies becoming combat-ready. This meant achieving a toned physique without an ounce of excess fat.

From a distance, Lydia might appear slender, but up close, her muscles were well-defined and neatly arranged.

Of course, they weren’t pronounced enough to be immediately noticeable. Whether due to her natural constitution, a lack of training, or simply the ideal form for Lydia…

Aside from a six-pack, you wouldn’t sense the muscularity unless you looked very closely or touched her.

Next, my attention was drawn to her long, red hair cascading down past her waist.

With such a diminutive frame, her flowing hair was eye-catching, but the vivid red hue was even more striking.

Given that this was a fantasy world, hair colors varied widely. My hair was pink, after all. Naturally, there were many redheads.

…However, none had a color as saturated as Lydia’s.

Her red hair stood out wherever she went. It was as if the hair alone had been painted over this world’s canvas.

The way her hair moved and fluttered… Yes, if I had to describe it, it was like a dancing flame.

Her eyes, though closed at the moment, were the same shade.

Only after all this did I finally focus on Lydia’s face.

She had a youthful appearance, exuding a soft and gentle aura. It was as if she was a blend of 70% beauty and 30% cuteness.

It was a shame she was usually expressionless…but lately, deciphering her expressions had become its own delight.

Reflecting on it, I realized I’d never truly examined her face closely because my gaze was often drawn to her chest.

Nodding to myself, I stood on tiptoes to scrutinize Lydia’s features more intimately, starting from the bottom up.

Her light red lips were firmly closed. A hint of baby fat lingered on her cheeks, and her nose, while not sharp, was pert enough to be considered so.

Finally, my eyes settled on her closed eyelids.

Her soft eyelids and long lashes fanned out from them. It was obvious, but her lashes were the same red as her hair.

Humans typically had hair of one color all over. In other words, the color of one’s hair matched the rest of their body hair.

So, it wasn’t odd that her eyelashes were red…but this inadvertently led me to ponder the color of her hair in other areas.

Perhaps because she wore bikini armor, or maybe due to regular grooming, but her underarms were smooth.

For a brief moment, I struggled to keep my gaze from wandering lower.

“Sigh…”

But just then, Lydia began to stir.

Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing red eyes that stared directly at me.

…From a distance close enough to see my reflection in her pupils.

“Kyaaak!”

“Huaahh…!”

I screamed out of guilt, and Lydia, she screamed in surprise.

Even though I instinctively leaped back and turned away, my heart continued to race.

“Why did you open your eyes all of a sudden?!”

“What were you trying to do, Jonah?! Don’t tell me…”

We shouted at each other, both with our backs turned.

In words, it might have sounded like a cute exchange, but in reality, it was so awkward and embarrassing that I wished I could disappear.

I sighed deeply and spoke up.

“…I guess I’m never getting married.”

“I didn’t do anything, though?!”

“The problem is that I was caught staring at Miss Lydia, admiring how pretty your red eyelashes were… and then wondering if your other hair was the same color!”

“That’s what you were thinking of…?”

Lydia, who had instantly stepped back several paces, looked at me with a mix of shock and horror. Her reaction stung, as if she viewed me as a source of potential trouble.

After a while of uncomfortable silence, I, being the more composed one, decided to offer an olive branch first.

“Hmm. Well, both Miss Lydia and I are in an odd state, so misunderstandings like this can happen, right?”

“…Shouldn’t I be the one saying that? I see why Senior Ellie calls you a naughty boy.”

“Ah! Let’s forget the details! The important thing is that it’s Miss Lydia’s turn to honor our promise!”

“Promise? Ah, the skin.”

Lydia nodded, her gaze shifting between me and the longsword in her hand.

“I’m just clarifying, but the oath from earlier was…”

“Oh, that? It was a joke, of course. I got swept up in the moment, but I don’t intend to hold you to it!”

Even for me, blurring the lines between role-play and reality was a bit much, wasn’t it? It would be no different from failing to distinguish between fiction and reality.

Wait, then what did that say about me, who had become so absorbed in my own novel?

While I pondered this, Lydia trembled, her expression one of utter dismay.

“A joke…? My first time…a joke…carried away by the moment, a mistake…it never happened…”

“…Miss Lydia? What’s with that reaction, like someone who thought they’d found true love only to learn it was just a fling?”

“How could you say such…!”

“Did I really do something terrible to you?!”

Taken aback by Lydia’s intense gaze, I inquired about her distress, but all I received was a look of profound loss.

“Yeah. I get it. It’s already too late to turn back…”

“Uhh… Miss Lydia? You’re really okay, right?”

At my cautious question, Lydia forced a smile.

“…It’s fine. Just lost in thought for a moment.”

“That doesn’t look like the face of someone who’s fine at all.”

“More importantly, about the skin. You wanted me to cut it with my aura, didn’t you?”

“Ah! Yes! Will you do it?”

“A promise is a promise.”

Lydia nodded, then positioned herself before the Iron Wolf’s corpse, pointing her longsword at it.

Vwooong-

A soft hum emanated from the blade as red mists enveloped it, amplifying the aura I could sense.

Aura was truly fascinating. I knew that an Aura Blade, a manifestation of aura, could slice through anything with ease, but it was still baffling that it became sharper just by being shrouded in a light mist.

It’s a staple in novels, but witnessing it in reality, I could appreciate that this was a power beyond the ordinary.

After all, though commonplace, it was still deemed a divine miracle.

“Hup!”

Lydia inhaled sharply and swung her sword. A red arc split the air, descending upon the Iron Wolf’s remains.

It was a mere fleeting slash. Yet, that was all it took.

Slash!

The thick hide was cleaved in one smooth motion, the innards spilling forth.

Lydia burned away the few drops of blood on her blade with her aura, then sheathed her sword with calm precision.

“Now. The rest is up to you.”

“Thank you, Miss Lydia! You know I really do love you, right?!”

“Confession. Troublesome.”

Back to her usual self, Lydia leaned against a nearby tree to rest, cradling her longsword as if it were a precious treasure.