His Confession

Karvan, who had muttered indifferently, slowly lowered his head towards me.

‘Surely not here?’
Thinking that, I covered my imprint vein with my hand, but plop.
A warm sensation touched my lips and then fell away.

[Valta’s Imprint: When present in the same field as the imprinted target, an additional buff is activated. (※ Ignores the ‘Freeze’ status abnormality.)]

“Wh-why…”

I couldn’t even get angry and ask why he was kissing me without permission.
Because the buff the man gave me was amazing.

“The weapon I gave you.”

Thinking he wanted it back, I took out the weapon from my equipment window.

[Awakener ‘Shinbi’ has summoned the <God-Slaying Sword>.]

I held out the weapon, which, even if I looked at it while doing a somersault, clearly had an ice-attribute effect, but he didn’t take it.

“Use that to get rid of it.”

He gestured with his head towards my back and then leaned against a tree with his arms crossed.

‘Get rid of what?’
I thought, and unconsciously turned around, then gasped.

[Fire Deer: A deer-type monster whose horns are burning with flames. It burns down the forest by ramming its head into trees to eat fruit. (Habitat Field: Forest of Trials)]

‘…What is that.’
I looked at the deer with its horns blazing like a torch with a disgusted expression.

Just in case, I looked back at the man, but he just looked at me indifferently and didn’t budge.
With his arms crossed, he was in a position to watch the show in earnest.

‘He really has no intention of helping at all.’
I grumbled and swung the sword Karvan had given me.

[Due to the <God-Slaying Sword> passive, the ‘Freeze’ status abnormality persists on the <Fire Deer>.]

The burning deer let out a monstrous scream, dropped its frozen horns, and ran away.

After that, bizarre monsters poured out, but Karvan, as he had declared, didn’t lift a finger.
He just leaned against the tree and watched me deal with the monsters.

[God-Devouring Wolf: Due to the ‘God-Slayer’ passive, ‘Dichotomous Beings’ do not appear in the current field.]

But it was definitely helpful.

The moment the Observer appears, it strengthens the surrounding monsters.
It forces an event called ‘Shadow,’ which only occurs in a specific field under certain conditions.

It was one of the reasons I avoided fighting the Observer and just ran away.
Because the moment they appear, the surrounding monsters, which have become several times stronger, turn their eyes red and only aim for me.

But, just by Karvan’s presence, the Observer didn’t appear.

[Valta’s Imprint: When present in the same field as the imprinted target, an additional buff is activated. (※ Ignores the ‘Freeze’ status abnormality.)

• Evasion mobility is greatly increased.

• Critical hit chance is greatly increased.

• ‘God-Slayer’ exclusive pressure is applied to the field.

• Frost Edge: The movement speed of the attacked enemy is temporarily decreased.]

Moreover, just by being near him, an additional buff was applied, so I dealt with the monsters very easily.

“You bastards, stop coming!”

Did my earnest wish reach them?
Or were they fed up with seeing the God-Slaying Sword in my left hand and the Leviathan in my right, which I was swinging mercilessly?
The monsters no longer appeared.

“…Did I defeat them?”

‘No, I shouldn’t say that. It’s a flag.’

I thought nonsensically and plopped down.

As my body temperature, which had risen from the intense movement, dropped rapidly, the cold set in.

I was told I had to survive one night, so I would have to stay here until the sun rises.
I was on the verge of freezing to death before then.

As I was hugging my trembling body, crunch.
Two legs filled my vision.

“……”

It was Karvan, who had been leaning against the tree at the edge of my vision, just watching my sword dance.

“…Why?”

He looked down at me without answering.

Suddenly, an ominous thought came to me.

“No way, are you the final boss? Do I have to defeat you too?”

“……”

“Why, why are you…”

He didn’t seem to be listening, and then he plopped down next to me.

Startled, I was about to move away, but I stopped.

‘…It’s warm.’

The man had an unusually high body temperature.
Unlike his always emotionless and cool gaze, his touching hands were hot enough to burn.

As if possessed, I stretched out my hand and was about to use it like a heater, but my eyes met his expressionless ones.
Ahem.
Embarrassed, I was about to lower my hand, but he grabbed it and placed it on the nape of his neck.

“…Haa.”

‘Wow.’
‘This is amazing.’
As I made a languid expression, I flinched and corrected my expression.

I should push him away and ask what he’s doing, but I couldn’t shake off the temptation of a hot pack being handed to me in the middle of winter.

Since I was trapped in this world, I had gradually lost my senses.

Like a game character, I didn’t feel the cold or heat, and I became desensitized to pain.

I could barely taste anything, so food was just a means to replenish my stamina.
Since I didn’t feel happiness in the act of eating, I naturally lived on cheap food or health potions, but after coming to Bahalgras, I could taste things clearly.
It felt like my senses had been reactivated.

‘…Is this also related to the imprint?’
I was happy to have regained my sense of taste, but I was somehow disturbed.

I wanted to ask him what he had done to my body.
But as I sneezed softly, I couldn’t hate the man who was pressing his body closer to me.

‘It’s nice and warm because we’re sticking together.’
‘But what if he suddenly goes crazy and attacks me again?’

I cautiously watched his expression.
Did he know my anxiety?
He didn’t even look my way and just closed his eyes with his arms crossed.

After hesitating for a moment, I also hugged my knees and curled up.

The touching body heat was so high that just being near him made my body hot.
As I was dozing off with my chin on my knees, feeling drowsy, someone’s hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me.

‘…Huh?’
I woke up with a start and looked up, but Karvan still had his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

What pulled my waist was a tail.

The fluffy, tail-shaped mist pulled me and made me lean against his forearm, then disappeared with a slither.

‘That must be his unique skill.’
I remembered him disappearing by turning into a mist like that before.

After thinking for a moment, I pretended not to be able to resist and leaned my head against the man.

“…Can I ask you something?”

He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at me.
A look that said, ‘Go ahead.’

“Why do you have so many enemies?”

“What did they say to you.”

He immediately got to the point of my rambling question, so it seemed he already knew.
It would be strange if he didn’t know, considering how Tegen had been so angry and even beaten up.

“Just, that I’m an outsider… but I really don’t care.”

I was refreshed and happy that someone was reacting to me.
So I even enjoyed them whispering about me.

“That must be the female who imprinted with Valta.”
“Look at her fur color, how shameless. His taste is really strange.”

When I would peek at them, curious about what they were saying, the Sura would always be at a loss.

“They are uneducated fools. We will definitely teach them a lesson later, so please don’t mind them.”

“I really don’t mind, but the Sura were upset.”

Mashak didn’t show it, but seeing how he was so worked up in the meeting, he must have taken it to heart.

“You’ve become quite close to them.”

As I was thinking of the Sura who were angrier than I was, an indifferent voice fell from above my head.

“Because they’re the only ones I can hang out with.”

At his face, which looked strangely displeased, I blurted out an excuse.

“I want to go for a walk with you too, but you’re never here.”

“……”

“So I mean, you’re the Valta! If I go with you, it’ll be safer…”

“The imprint sickness is not only for you.”

‘It’s not just you who’s in pain, so bear with it.’
‘Don’t complain.’
I thought he was chiding me.

“If I stay by your side for a long time, the heat will be triggered.”

But, the words that followed were unexpected.

“It means I will lose my reason and take you by force, just like in the prison.”

‘…Ah.’
Only then did I realize.

I thought the man only came back and sought me out when he wanted to have s*x, but it was actually the opposite.

Karvan would leave as soon as the act was over, and he wouldn’t even try to contact me outside of that.
I thought it was because he hated me, but it was actually to control his body in heat.

“I-I. I didn’t know at all. If you had just told me beforehand…”

“What would have changed?”

The man said expressionlessly.

“You would have just avoided me and feared me more.”

I flinched and closed my mouth.
Karvan had understood me better than I thought.

“But you should have told me important things like that! I-I thought you had betrayed me.”

“……”

“I was suddenly called in front of the Varg, and you didn’t say a word, which made me anxious, and then you suddenly told me to prove myself and pushed me into a forest teeming with monsters…”

My throat tightened.
Recalling the desperate feeling from just a few hours ago, I must have gotten emotional without realizing it.

“I’ll try.”

As I was rubbing my teary eyes in embarrassment, a monotone voice fell.