A Sudden Fever

Agniele did not hesitate once he perceived the distance between himself and Ensius. He closed the gap in a single stride, and seeing Ensius’s trembling eyes, he let out a sharp intake of breath.

“Do not cry.”

The veins on the back of his hands bulged as he suppressed his instincts. Agniele struggled to relax his hand, which was shaking from the sheer force of his restraint. With a touch that had become soft and gentle, he stroked the corner of Ensius’s eye.

“—Agniele?”

He had told him not to come closer, so why the sudden change of heart? Ensi tried to look up at him, puzzled.

But Agniele felt he wouldn’t be able to endure it the moment he met those clear eyes. Recognizing the movement, Agniele quickly reached out and pulled the boy into his arms.

“It’s not like that. That’s not it……”

Agniele held the back of Ensius’s head, forcing him to bury his face in his chest so he couldn’t easily move. His mind was growing hazy, making it difficult to form a proper sentence.

Despite opening his mouth to soothe Ensius’s sorrow, Agniele couldn’t even manufacture a suitable excuse.

He bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to maintain his sanity amidst the feast of seductive pheromones. He tasted the metallic tang of blood from his mangled flesh.

Yet, perhaps because the scent of plum blossoms wafting toward him was so thick, even the blood tasted sweet. His head began to spin, but Agniele endured, clenching his fist tight.

“The smell of blood—. Agniele, what on earth is wrong with you?”

His fingernails, kept blunt rather than sharp, finally carved scars into his palm from the strength of his grip. Unlike the blood hidden in his mouth, the blood seeping from his palm announced its presence to Ensius.

Ensi, pinned in place by Agniele’s hold, furrowed his brow in frustration.

Why did he smell blood, and why was Agniele reacting like this?

Something was wrong. There was definitely something he was missing.

He wanted to examine Agniele’s condition closely, but the hug was so tight he couldn’t move. Ensi could only fidget his fingers with his face buried in a chest where the muscles were firmly knit from constant training.

What should he do? While Ensi racked his brain for a solution, a loud crash echoed from outside, followed by a shout that was practically a scream.

“Whatever it is, you can’t! Stop!”

As if shouting at an invisible pet, Donovan repeated “no” and “stop” as he burst into Ensi’s room.

I knew his disposition had changed, but I didn’t expect a reaction this fast! And I certainly didn’t know it would be a heat cycle!

Donovan knew something about Ensi had changed, but he hadn’t identified the cause or the nature of the change. Because of that uncertainty, he had secretly planted spirits around Ensi to prepare for any situation.

Thanks to that, he had noticed the situation in time and ran to Ensi faster than anyone. No, “flew” would be the more accurate term.

Regardless, the important thing was that he had arrived before it was too late. Surveying the room quickly, Donovan was relieved to see that nothing had happened yet.

“……Donovan.”

“Fortunately, I’m not late.”

Truly, what a relief. Muttering again, Donovan grabbed the nape of Agniele’s neck to pull him away from Ensi. To help, a spirit pried Agniele’s fingers off Ensi one by one.

Gaining a slight bit of freedom, Ensi moved back. Perceiving the attempt to force them apart, Agniele suddenly tightened his grip on the hug.

[Kyaaah—! Look at this human! He’s freakishly strong!]

[We can use force too! We’re only holding back because Donovan said not to!]

Accompanied by the screams of the spirits, Ensi was once again forced to bury his face in that solid chest. Since Agniele’s chest was so firm, Ensi’s nose actually hurt from the impact. When Ensi let out a small groan, Agniele’s shoulders flinched.

“This won’t do. Could you help me?”

[Of course!]

Realizing that simple strength wouldn’t solve this, Donovan whispered to the spirit with a light sigh.

The spirit smiled brightly as if it had been waiting for this and gave Agniele a sudden dousing of cold water.

“—What is this, Donovan!”

“If I don’t go this far, he won’t snap out of it. It’s not like you’re going to spend the night together!”

Ensi, who hadn’t considered his own physical state until the situation reached this point—no, precisely because the situation had reached this point—called out to Donovan in a shocked voice.

A sudden downpour of water? What kind of absurd rudeness was this? Ensi tried to scold him, but Donovan stood his ground.

Right now, this was the right thing to do!

“Snap out of it? Why? More importantly, do you know why Agniele is acting like this?”

“What? It’s because Ensi is in heat right now. What’s with you, why don’t you know? You actually look better off than this guy. Why is that?”

Heat? ……Me?

At Donovan’s remark, Ensi’s fingertips twitched. Until now, he hadn’t put much effort into escaping Agniele’s embrace, but now that he had heard the word ‘heat,’ he couldn’t stay still.

Ensi wiggled his hands onto the other man’s chest and gave Agniele a light push.

“……Oh?”

Agniele was pushed back easily. Not just Donovan, but even the spirits gaped in absurdity.

[……Unbelievable.]

[Can he even do that?]

[What kind of human is this!?]

The effort they had put into separating the two scattered like dust. Ensi, the one who had unintentionally rendered their efforts moot, blinked in surprise at how easily he had escaped.

“F-First, Ensi. It’s better if you go inside.”

Having achieved the goal regardless of the method, Donovan slid between Agniele and Ensi to prevent Agniele from grabbing him again.

“Is it really heat? I feel far too normal for that.”

“I’m not a doctor so I can’t be sure, but…… seeing as Agniele’s reaction is different from usual, it’s certain that something is wrong with your body, more specifically, your pheromone organ.”

Donovan responded firmly to the skeptical reaction from behind. Ensi couldn’t see it himself, but right now, Agniele’s eyes were unfocused.

Seeing him half-dazed, the thought that an accident could happen at any moment dominated Donovan’s mind.

If Agniele went wild, would they even be able to stop him? Donovan, who had felt Agniele’s strength for a moment, swallowed hard.

“Ensi, hurry.”

“……Make sure he can rest in a room until he snaps out of it. I’ll be in the greenhouse for now.”

At Donovan’s urging, Ensi stepped back. His body temperature did seem higher than usual. Even so, his hands and feet were ice-cold, and it was only his cheeks and forehead that felt lukewarm.

“Go out through the terrace. This little one will help you.”

[……Me? How bothersome—, ugh. Fine. I’ll help.]

Donovan patted the head of the spirit hanging onto his shoulder without taking his eyes off Agniele. The spirit, unable to ignore the emotions flowing through the link, picked itself up sluggishly.

Fortunately, Agniele showed no significant reaction even as Ensi moved further away.

In fact, he became quieter than when they were touching. As the pheromones that had been binding his body moved away, Agniele’s faint reason struggled to push through his instincts. Though his head was still spinning and instincts were clawing at his mind, he was in a better state than when he was pressed against Ensius.

He placed a hand over his tightly closed eyes and regulated his ragged breathing. As if enduring something, he clenched his fists again until his palms bled. Agniele was currently doing everything in his power to suppress his raging instincts.

Now, only the relatively fine Ensi needed to leave, but the sound of footsteps that should have been heard behind him didn’t come.

“Ensi?”

When Ensi hesitated strangely, Donovan’s voice rose an octave. Even though he knew in his head that he really had to go, Ensi felt a strange lingering attachment that kept him from moving.

To help the visibly anxious Donovan, the spirit peered intently at where Ensi was looking and then floated up.

[Is this what you’re looking at?]

A flutter of artificial wind shook Agniele’s outer coat. Realizing what he wanted only after the spirit pointed it out, Ensi’s cheeks flushed red.

“……I’ll talk to him and bring it to you.”

“T-That, sorry.”

“It’s okay. Go on, Ensi.”

Ensi felt embarrassed by Donovan’s resigned voice, but he didn’t refuse. Ensi followed the spirit out onto the terrace.

Since he was staying in the top-floor room, the height was considerable, but with the spirit’s help, it wasn’t a problem. Ensi soon set foot safely on the ground.

[I helped, so we’re good, right? I’m leaving. Man, this is exhausting.]

The spirit left after making a cynical remark, despite helping Ensi land comfortably without a scratch.

Ensi hadn’t expected much more help anyway, so he just rubbed his lukewarm cheek with the back of his hand and didn’t try to stop the spirit.

“Ensi! Did something happen? I saw Donovan running suddenly.”

“Luke.”

Luke had been left half-dazed by the sight of Donovan screaming and running away while they were installing artifacts. Having followed the trail Donovan left, he found Ensi standing there blankly and approached him.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

It seemed something had happened in the main building where Ensi stayed. Luke wanted to check on his friend’s safety first.

“I’m told I’m in heat.”

“What kind of nonsense are you saying so seriously?”

Luke, who was checking for injuries, frowned at Ensi’s words. He was someone who knew well that a heat cycle should be impossible for Ensi, who suffered from Utia disease.

However, seeing Ensi looking straight at him without a word, he realized the words weren’t a joke or a prank, but the absolute truth.

‘He really means heat?’

Though he wasn’t a manifestant and couldn’t feel pheromones clearly, now that he heard it, there seemed to be an unusually fragrant scent of flowers in the air……

The eyes of Luke, who finally accepted the natural flow of thought, grew as wide as saucers.

So, he’s really in heat? Ensius, who has Utia disease, is in heat?

“—Hic.”

The reality before him was so shocking that Luke ended up getting the hiccups.