As Rontlos returned, the Lemif soldiers finally began to move actively. They spoke and acted with renewed hope and motivation. No one ordered them, but they finished preparing meals as soon as morning came, and as soon as the meal was over, preparations for moving were complete. Along with that, Azwin and Gerald also had to hurriedly eat their food like during their mercenary days.
Now the Lemif soldiers treated Azwin in a friendly manner as well. In the most critical moment, two Ugehs whose origins were unknown stood at the forefront and protected the two most important Lemifs, so it was natural to gain their trust.
“We call this place the ‘Hup’. We are calling it that.”
Rontlos was still awkward with human language but had become much faster than before. And his attitude had become as comfortable as a friend’s.
“If you go half a day east from here, you’ll reach an endlessly deep valley, and if you go north, you’ll reach a large mountain connected to the Sky Mountains. It will appear. The Zvi tribe calls only that valley the Hup, but we call this entire area that.”
“What about the forbidden zone or something?”
“We call that place ‘Mount Epnuvmadut’. It means ‘the place not permitted’. I heard the Zvi tribe also calls it that. I’ve heard it but don’t know well.”
Rontlos explained to Gerald, pointing in the direction of the valley and mountain that were not yet visible.
“If it’s to this extent, it’s appropriate to be a sacred place managed by the dragons’ Le-Hopet. I thought so and came here.”
“I thought you were moving around carelessly, leaving the path to Gider, but you had a somewhat rational reason.”
Gerald said with relief, thinking they were really wandering around relying on luck.
“Gider also flows in a good direction only when you do your best. It flows that way.”
Rontlos patted Gerald’s shoulder.
Sermei still walked holding Azwin’s hand. Now Azwin also took it for granted to walk that way. Not out of suspicion like before, but out of genuine reliance.
In case of another surprise attack, the soldiers sometimes thoroughly kept watch when resting. Gerald took the lead and joined the guard duty. He casually conversed with the black-skinned Lemif soldiers and learned the language. There was no way Gerald, who had no talent in any field except fighting, could learn the Lemif language that even sorcerers found difficult to learn. But surprisingly, he even attempted jokes with the few words he had learned.
What was amazing was the fact that the Lemif soldiers laughed at those jokes. The honesty of the Lemifs was so excessive that they rarely laughed out of courtesy. It was clear that this was genuine laughter.
‘He said his jokes only work on people with matching tastes, but it seems the taste-matching race was different. He should have been born as a Lemif.’
When Azwin felt like they had circled the same place several times, it became evening. Rontlos gave the order to stop.
“What have you been looking for? I feel like we’re going around in circles.”
Azwin asked.
“You’re right, we have been circling. What I’m looking for is the entrance to the sacred place. I think it will be somewhere on this mountain. I think so, but Gider has not yet permitted the entrance.”
Rontlos was polite when dealing with Azwin, unlike when dealing with Gerald. It was awkward to tell him to act comfortably. It wasn’t easy to interfere in the incomprehensible friendship between the two men.
Around lunchtime, they entered a cave they had discovered in advance. This time, it wasn’t a small pit between tree roots or something that looked like it had been dug by a giant earthworm. It was a huge limestone cave large enough for an army to be stationed in.
“You found a place like this well.”
Azwin said to Rontlos.
“There are many caves like this in the Sky Mountains. We often use them as landmarks for finding paths. We habitually memorize them in our heads. It’s not difficult. If you do that.”
The entrance was wide, but the inside was also spacious. Although the wind blowing from deep inside the cave was a bit cold, it wasn’t bad to stay in.
Rontlos spread out a bonfire and began to plan the next strategy with the Lemifs. Occasionally, Gerald’s voice could be heard asking if it would be good to search separately or explore deeper into the valley instead of here.
Sermei watched the meeting with tired eyes next to Azwin. She also occasionally threw a few words at Rontlos. Azwin recalled the conversation with Sermei that remained like an old memory.
“Gerald, if you’re not needed for the meeting, come over here for a bit.”
“Not needed? My value of existence is growing day by day, what are you talking about?”
Even while saying that, Gerald eventually came over, patting his lower back.
“What?”
“Help me a little.”
“With what?”
“Let’s have a match. Bet about half a life.”
Azwin requested. Gerald was about to say something but closed his mouth. He seemed to have seen an unusual energy in Azwin’s eyes when he tried to brush it off as a joke. Still, without losing his smile, he asked,
“Did something happen?”
“I’m going to die.”
“Huh?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Huh?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Who said that?”
“Sermei said so. That I’ll die by the hands of a guy named Nathan of the Excelon Knights.”
Azwin said while fiddling with the blade.
Gerald silently went to his spot and brought his axe.
“Did you suddenly lose confidence?”
“I don’t know about that either. It’s true that I lost confidence. Always sparring only with you guys, I don’t even know my own skills anymore.”
“If it’s to get rid of distracting thoughts, I’ll help, but you’re much stronger than you think. You say it’s because we haven’t risked our lives fighting each other so far, but you won’t die from being hit by a sword during a match.”
“Then you mean I’ll be caught off guard? That’s even more unpleasant.”
“When you’re feeling down, you should move your body.”
Waiting for Gerald to take his stance, Azwin raised her sword. She didn’t hold a shield. When the two clashed their weapons, the Lemifs were startled and approached.
“Ah, it’s practice, practice.”
Gerald told Rontlos and attacked Azwin again. Anyone could see that they were charging at each other as if trying to kill one of them, so everyone was uneasy. As the fight dragged on, both Azwin and Gerald felt threatened by each other and retreated simultaneously.
Gerald signaled to the Lemifs that it was over. The soldiers stepped back, relieved.
“You see. If we had fought to kill each other, we would have both died just now. Who the hell is going to kill you like this?”
Gerald slung his axe over his shoulder.
Azwin absentmindedly looked down at the tip of her sword.
“Sermei was right. She told me not to listen, but I got cocky and listened. But I shouldn’t have listened. The name Nathan won’t go away.”
Gerald approached and put his arm around her shoulder, asking,
“Did Sermei say I’m going to die too?”
“She didn’t say that.”
“Then you won’t die either. Because I will never let you die before me. At least if you die, I die too, and if I don’t die, you don’t die either.”
Azwin laughed out loud.
“Somehow your confidence feels like a higher concept than Sermei’s prophecy.”
“Of course it is.”
Gerald grinned. When he smiled like that, Azwin was often gripped by the feeling of a vague memory. Even though it wasn’t the first or second time this friend, who practically lived with her, showed a smile that instilled trust.
☆ ☆ ☆
‘If the entrance to the dragon’s sacred place is nearby, there’s no need for everyone to wander around together. Especially compared to moving with Sermei, it would be more convenient for a small number of quick-footed soldiers to find the entrance and then come to get Sermei.’
Rontlos made that decision at yesterday’s meeting. Azwin and some soldiers stayed to guard Sermei, while Gerald left with Rontlos.
“We’re left alone again, waiting for the men. This position doesn’t really suit me.”
Azwin said, doing push-ups alone, sweating and getting up. Sermei intently watched her exercise and tried to follow, but couldn’t do a single one.
“I think I heard the sound of water over there earlier. I’ll go wash up and come back. I haven’t washed in days except for getting rained on.”
Azwin roughly said and went into the cave with a torch. The inside of the cave became more spacious as she went deeper, and several rock pillars twisted like cow dung were seen. Azwin, seeing this kind of cave for the first time, touched the shiny wall with curiosity. She poked the damp moss with her fingers and touched the white stone flowers spread out, following the sound of water.
A stream of water flowing along the wall had pooled on the floor and formed a creek. A small ditch less than a span wide flowed towards the deeper part of the cave. The water was cold and clean. She wedged the torch between the rocks and took off her clothes.
After washing her body and rinsing her short hair, someone approached from behind. It was Sermei. She asked for permission with a slightly shy smile.
“Of course you can.”
Azwin moved aside slightly. Sermei knelt down and modestly took off her clothes and put them down. The way she loosened her long hair and carefully dipped it in the water was elegant, unlike herself who crouched like a man and shook her hair. Azwin wiped her body with a towel and went to help Sermei wash her hair.
“As expected of a princess, your hair is nice.”
Azwin continued, pulling her own hair.
“Look at this. It’s all messed up like this after not taking care of it for a few days. In the past, I hated being treated like a man for being a mercenary, but with this appearance, I can’t help it even if I’m told that. Huh? You, your body is skinny, but why are your breasts so big? Is that a characteristic of your race? I’ll have to put my clothes on since I’m being compared.”
Azwin asked and answered by herself.
Sermei occasionally said something in Lemif, but it was incomprehensible. However, Azwin kept talking. They were talking about different things, but somehow it felt like the conversation continued.
The two sat side by side under the torch to dry their hair and enjoyed the sound of water flowing like music.
Thoughts don’t always come with precise plausibility. The sound of water abruptly stirred up Azwin’s memory. Was it because she saw Sermei washing her body? The face of Queen Sanadiel bathing suddenly came to mind. The queen’s shining eyes and damp hair flickered before her eyes.
The words Master Quain had said when he first gave her Aranthia’s sword also came to mind without any connection.
‘The orders given with this sword are orders on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. Appoint Azwin as captain and have her leave the White Gate tomorrow immediately, following the messenger from Camort.’
A rather playful yet too cruel decision.
‘What did I say back then? Did I say it was mean? But why did Master designate me as captain?
Excelon. The Black Knight. The Red Rose Count of Camort.
‘Why am I suddenly thinking of this? It strangely seems important.’
The Sky Mountains. Dragons. Lemifs. And again, the Excelon Knights.
Master said we would fight beings that are not human.
The Wolf Knights basically receive almost no group training other than individual training. However, among the few group trainings they put effort into, there were suspicious items. The Wolf Knights followed orders but didn’t understand why they received such training.
‘Azwin, create Formation 21 for the White Wolves.’
It was another order from Master. Azwin thought it was a joke because there was no need to number the formations that high. However, after learning the postures and methods Quain taught, Azwin was so surprised that she asked,
‘Against whom are we supposed to be fighting using this method?’
She naturally thought it would be kept secret, but Quain answered.
‘It’s a formation hastily devised by the other White Wolves long ago, except me, to fight the enemy they fought at the Ice Castle in the north. Irine was at the center of this fight. Now you need to take her place. You will do better than Irine.’
Azwin still hadn’t heard where that Ice Castle was or who the previous White Wolves had fought against. Quain ended the teaching, saying she would find out someday but hoped it would end without knowing.
The twenty-first formation. It was a combat method for all five White Wolves to fight against a single enemy. A method of attack against a being who was a sorcerer and a swordsman, who wouldn’t die even if cut with a sword or stabbed with a spear.
‘I don’t want to overestimate the White Wolves, but can such an enemy even exist?’
“Sermei.”
Azwin pointed to her own forehead, then to Sermei’s.
“Let’s talk a little.”
Sermei nodded and slowly brought her head close to Azwin’s face. Sermei’s voice was heard.
“This place is not as safe as before.”
Sermei’s voice seemed to overlap in several layers, then became clear.
“Moreover, we’re half-undressed, so it’s not a situation to have a long conversation. It would be awkward if the soldiers came to call for me.”
“I know that too. Let’s keep it short so we don’t catch a cold.”
“I’m not worried about catching a cold, but…”
“There’s something I’m worried about.”
“If it’s about the prophecy, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“It’s not that. You said you read my past, right?”
“I couldn’t see everything.”
“What does the current situation have to do with the monsters I encountered in the past?”
Sermei couldn’t answer easily. It didn’t seem like she couldn’t answer because she didn’t know. Even though she said there was no time, she dragged out the answer.
“What you’re thinking is right. What you’re worried about is right. Beyond that, I don’t know either.”
“What kind of being is Guanil? In relation to the world of Ugehs, besides what you’ve told me so far.”
“That’s too far in the past. I’m too young. It’s something even the longest-living person in the Lemif world hasn’t experienced.”
“But that means you do know, right? What is it?”
Sermei hesitated until the end and said,
“Guanil has attacked the human world before. A very, very long time ago.”
“Is that related to me?”
“I don’t know if it’s related or not because you don’t know, so I don’t know either. I only obtained information about Acrand’s history based on your and Gerald’s memories.”
“I see. Then what about Excelon? What is the relationship between Excelon and the Black Knight I met in Camort?”
“The beings you met in Camort are dead, and these ones are alive. They’re not the same.”
“Nothing is certain.”
“I guess I wasn’t helpful. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“Ah, someone is calling for us now. It’ll be big trouble if they come.”
As Sermei’s forehead left her head, she suddenly returned to reality and shivered. It was because she had stayed for a long time with her body not properly dried and thinly dressed.
Gerald was looking down from above, holding a torch. But it wasn’t a gaze particularly observing Sermei’s or her own figure.
Sometimes it was surprising to see. There were many times when he seemed unexpectedly uninterested in women, even though he looked like he would be promiscuous and lustful no matter how you looked at him. When asked, he would answer that they weren’t his type.
Sermei hurriedly finished dressing and stood behind Azwin. Gerald didn’t peek or ignore them and quietly said to Azwin,
“You get dressed too.”
“How much time has passed?”
Azwin asked, getting up from her spot.
“You said you don’t have a good sense of time with that way of talking, right?”
Gerald caught on right away and continued,
“It’s evening now. And the enemies have followed us all the way here. They haven’t discovered this cave yet, but it’s a matter of time. The talent for finding caves won’t only be on our Lemifs’ side.”
“We’ll have to leave in a hurry.”
Azwin said, putting on her dried clothes.
“But it seems the bastards are searching near the cave, so it’s ambiguous to leave through the entrance we came in.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I came to see if there’s a way out the back of this cave. Let’s go together. Leave the entrance side to Rontlos.”
“The two of us? What if we get lost?”
“We’re just checking if there’s a rear exit to the cave. We won’t get lost like in the forest since it’s inside the cave.”
“Wouldn’t the risk of getting lost be greater because it’s inside the cave?”
Rontlos approached from behind and said something to Sermei. He probably told her to go back to the entrance side first. Sermei said goodbye to Azwin and disappeared into the darkness without a torch.
Rontlos advised Gerald in a soft tone,
“If the cave is too deep or a fork appears, just come back. It’s better to come back.”
“Got it.”
Rontlos was about to follow Sermei back but turned around again.
“And there may be a bad path in the middle. If it appears, it’s good to use this rope. Make sure to use it.”
Rontlos gave a bundle of rope that was less than a finger thick, with white and black strings twisted together. Gerald took the rope bundle and pulled it. Strangely, the rope stretched as long as it was pulled and shrank back with elasticity when released.
“Ooh, this is interesting. Is it made with magic?”
Gerald repeated pulling it several times for fun, then pulled it too hard and got hit on the back of his hand with a snap!
“Ouch!”
Rontlos laughed, seeing that.
“Ugehs make swords and spears good enough to amaze us, but Lemifs create amazing things in other aspects. This rope is one of them. It’s one of them, there are very few craftsmen who can make this even in the Lemif world. It’s very rare. We call it ‘Naizdak’. That’s the name. If it’s the weight of about one person, it can instantly lift them up to a tree. Our adults who can’t fly sometimes use it to fly.”
“They’ll crash immediately after flying, right?”
Gerald joked, and Rontlos also laughed, moving his short wings.
“It’s a crash pretending to glide.”
Gerald tried pulling the rope called Naizdak a few times but eventually gave up.
“I don’t have the confidence to use it. Azwin, you use it.”
Azwin also curiously and willingly took it. Rontlos advised one last time,
“If you find another exit, don’t go out and wander around, come back immediately. Come back.”
“Will do.”
Gerald answered and walked ahead. Azwin followed behind him, holding a new torch given by Rontlos instead of the one that had almost gone out while talking with Sermei.
Although two torches were lighting the way, there was a limit to illuminating the deep darkness inside the cave. Azwin made sounds by flicking the Naizdak a few times in the heavy silence, but feeling that the act was somehow hollow, she just hung the rope on her shoulder.
Even Gerald, who unfailingly chatted to dispel anxiety at times like this, didn’t speak. Having no choice, Azwin brought up the topic first.
“You still haven’t found the dragon sanctuary or whatever?”
“We’ll find it soon.”
Azwin stood next to him and asked,
“Geri, you know you’ve become quite cold lately?”
“It must be your imagination. When have I ever become cold? I did become cold after drinking four mugs of beer with thin ice in the winter.”
“No, you’ve become cold. You really have.”
Azwin shouted for no reason. Her voice echoed through the cave walls.
“I haven’t become cold.”
Gerald’s voice sounded quite cute as he made excuses like a child.
As the cave got deeper, it became brighter instead. The path didn’t lead outside. It was because the torches the two were holding reflected on gemstone-like rocks embedded here and there in the cave.
Several streams of water, about the amount Azwin and Sermei had washed their bodies in, flowed here, and the sound of water rang beautifully like a piano melody. The darkness didn’t remain as darkness but was like a black cloth holding light. Small specks of light sparkled red one by one as if to indicate the direction to go when the two approached.
Occasionally, large insects with a pale gray body hurriedly ran away, startled by the presence. The fish swimming in the still water moved away from the water’s edge upon hearing the footsteps. They were fish that looked like maggots with hardly any eyes or fins. The inside of the cave seemed mysterious, as if it had never been touched by the hands of humans and Lemifs.
“Still scared?”
Gerald, who had been walking silently for a while, asked. When Azwin looked at him, wondering what he meant, he added,
“You said you’re going to die.”
“Someone said he’d protect me, so I’m at ease!”
“You looking anxious means you’re feeling uneasy.”
Gerald, who had only been sharp occasionally, had been sharp frequently lately.
“Hey, who’s analyzing my mind as they please?”
“If not, do you really want something?”
“I’ve always wanted only your body, so that’s why.”
Gerald, who had been walking looking only ahead, stopped for a moment and looked back at Azwin as if interested.
“Azwin, your free-spiritedness is not bad to see as it doesn’t go too far, but sometimes, why don’t you say such things seriously?”
“Why would I do that when you won’t fall for it even if I’m serious?”
Azwin poked Gerald’s side and walked ahead.
Gerald slung his axe over his neck, closely following behind and asked,
“You’ve never said it seriously, have you?”
“You’re being ambiguous. Talking about being serious or not is trite.”
“Me not getting swept up in your jokes is my consideration out of concern that our friendship will break.”
“Why would friendship break over that?”
“I think it breaks. Can you die for me?”
“I can!”
Gerald smiled meaningfully again.
“That’s why it can’t happen.”
“What can’t happen?”
This time, Azwin stopped and blocked the path, asking.
“Ah, ah, ah. Look at this? Geri, you’re hesitating inside right now, aren’t you? Hug or not hug this charming woman in front of your eyes? Right?”
“You’re getting excited alone.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’m alone, Gerald Wolf! There can’t exist a man who can resist with a sane mind the temptation sent by a woman with wet hair emitting a red light in the darkness. Isn’t that so?”
Azwin threatened Gerald in a thick voice. But he mercilessly ruffled her wet hair and passed by.
“Don’t view all men in the world from your perspective. I’m not tempted by you looking like that.”
“Then what appearance would tempt you?”
“Your usual appearance is enough. Besides, I’m already tempted, so there’s no need to deliberately tempt me, is there?”
Gerald pointed forward with his finger, babbling something that didn’t make sense back and forth.
“We’re here.”
A white light was visible in the distance. There was a hole in the ceiling large enough for one person to escape through. It was a bit high, but if the two combined their strength, they could sufficiently climb up.
“It’s not a height where we need to use the Naizdak.”
Azwin tried to use the Lemif rope once, but Gerald said that and climbed up the wall alone in one go. In the meantime, Azwin checked the slope and height. It looked like even Sermei could easily climb up with the help of other soldiers.
“With this much, even Sermei…”
Azwin stopped talking there. She could see Gerald’s back carefully poking his head out, hanging on the wall. He was checking for any danger outside. She vaguely felt the distance between herself and Gerald that she had sensed before.
‘Now Gerald is ahead of me. We definitely started at the same starting line, but not anymore. Sheyden, Dunmel, and Loyal have all gone far ahead.’
Azwin put her hands on her waist and let out a deep sigh.
‘I shouldn’t think like this. Thinking like this isn’t like me. I’ve lost confidence now.’
Gerald was still mumbling with his head out.
“I have no idea where we are.”
He looked down at Azwin and continued,
“Well, whatever. Our job is to find an exit, not to find the way. Rontlos will take care of the rest. He’s a very capable friend, even though he doesn’t say it because he’s humble.”
Gerald lightly jumped down from above.
“Let’s go back now.”
“Geri.”
Azwin called out solemnly.
“Yeah?”
“How much are you?”
“How much what?” (TL Note: She’s implying how much better he is.)
“Be honest. How much are you?”
Azwin asked with an almost tearful face. Her fingers trembled and her voice shook.
‘I shouldn’t do this. This isn’t me. I shouldn’t show such a weak side. Especially not in front of this guy!’
Even so, Azwin grabbed Gerald’s sleeve.
“How much are you?!”
Gerald lightly held her hand and replied,
“I’m the best right now.”
In a serious tone, without boasting or showing off, Gerald continued,
“Since coming to the Sky Mountains, I don’t feel like I’ll lose to anyone.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you also met someone in your dreams and were drawn to them, right? I also heard someone’s voice in my dreams. Come, it said. Come to me, it said things like that. But it keeps feeling like I’ve heard it before. It sounded like Grandma’s voice.”
Gerald gently pulled Azwin.
“Anyway, the Lemifs of Tachisel are holding out on the entrance side, and leading those Lemifs are the Excelon Knights. Our opponents will probably be Excelon Knights. If it was prophesied that you would die by one of them, leave all the fights to me. You, with your confidence shaken, are not a White Wolf. The one baring the White Wolf’s fangs now is me. Leave it to me. Whenever I become dull, that’s when you can fight.”
Gerald picked up the torch again and retraced the path they had come. Azwin followed him with a frozen face, then suddenly hugged his back.
Gerald stopped walking and waited, saying,
“I won’t tell anyone, so…”
Gerald turned around and embraced Azwin.
“…cry now.”
Azwin burst into tears and said,
“I am a White Wolf, right?”
“Yes.”
“Only we ourselves can survive seeing my fangs. Right?”
“Yes.”
“So I won’t die.”
“You won’t die.”
“You’ll protect me, right?”
“I’ll protect you. Because you’ll protect me too.”
Azwin looked up at him with red, heated eyes. In the darkness with only the torch remaining, his eyes sparkled beautifully.
“A crying woman isn’t attractive, right?”
“Why are you asking that?”
Azwin wiped her tears and answered, sniffling.
“Because I want to do exactly that right now.”
“You want to do that…”
Gerald smiled meaningfully and continued,
“If you want to do that, then do it. I told you that before, didn’t I?”
“Huh? You… said that?”
Gerald hesitated for a moment.
“Did I? My memory is getting hazy now too. It might be something you told me.”
Azwin kept sniffling and placed her hand on Gerald’s neck. And as if hanging on, she looked up at him with her fingers interlocked.
“If I tempt you now, you’ll fall for it, right?”
She tried to show a natural and charming smile, but she ended up with a stiff expression from being too tense. But Gerald, as always, only showed a gentle smile.
“You probably won’t remember, but the very first moment you said you liked me, I had already fallen for you. Since then, you never seriously said this to me, so I pretended not to fall for it until now.”
“When was the first moment I said I liked you?”
“Does that matter?”
“No, not at all.”
Azwin carefully stomped out the torch with her foot, keeping in mind to light it again later. The inside of the cave became very dark. She said, blowing out the smoke from the extinguished torch with her mouth,
“And it’s a waste of the torch to discuss such things here. We still have a way back.”
Gerald glanced at the torch he was holding and said,
“Even if we say it’s time for one torch to burn, it won’t last long.”
“I’m confident.”
Azwin said.
“Really?”
Gerald pulled Azwin’s waist with one hand. Her body stuck tightly to Gerald’s firm body, and her legs floated lightly in the air. He softly kissed Azwin’s lips and said,
“Then me too.”
☆ ☆ ☆
Rontlos was the first to discover Gerald and Azwin returning with a torch about to go out.
“You’re late. Was this cave that long?”
Rontlos asked worriedly. Gerald waved his hand and said,
“Not very long. There was just some business in the middle.”
“The torch is still alive. Still lit. I thought the fire would be out by now, and I was thinking of going to rescue you. I was thinking of doing that.”
“There was something that would take some time, so we put one out in the middle.”
“Good job.”
Before Rontlos could ask what that business was, Gerald quickly changed the subject.
“More importantly, have the Lemifs of Tachisel arrived nearby?”
“There is movement in the distance. We should spend the night here for now and leave before dawn.”
The two immediately began discussing the situation outside and the plan to escape the cave.
Azwin sat next to Sermei and stretched her body long. Sermei looked at her with round eyes and asked,
“Gerald?”
“Huh? What about Gerald?”
“Gerald, Azwin.”
Sermei pointed at the two alternately and smiled brightly. Azwin tapped her head with a finger.
“Hehe, I should have learned to say thank you in Lemif, huh?”
Azwin lay down, supporting the back of her head with her hand. She was sleepy. Conversations with Sermei always took a lot of energy.
Of course, even if not for that, today was a tiring day in many ways.
–TL Notes–
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