Jasmine pressed her lips against Oleander’s with surprising precision. Unfortunately, their noses bumped.
She tilted her head and blinked. Nothing. There was no apple or sweetness.
Just the soft warmth of his lips against hers.
"Oh, gracious. This girl really is shameless. I knew it. Now that her sister is dead, she’s already looking for a chance to flirt with her sister’s fiancé."
"Jasmine, you can’t enter his spiritual realm li—"
"Let’s drag—"
The voices around her blurred into an indistinct mess.
Jasmine felt a hand grab her shoulder, but she tightened her fingers around the back of Oleander’s neck and adjusted her head again. Something was wrong with the angle. She still wasn’t getting it.
She blinked.
Oleander’s eyes were slowly closing.
What? Is he passing out?
She pressed her lips against his again and swallowed. Still tasted nothing.
Either she couldn’t enter his spiritual realm, or Chef God was having another laugh at her expense.
Right. Let’s stop.
Apparently, kissing was nothing more than transferring germs between two mouths. Nothing special about it.
Jasmine loosened her grip and began to pull away.
Then Oleander’s hand suddenly closed around her waist.
He pulled her forward, and Jasmine landed directly on his lap.
Her entire body jolted.
Warmth rushed through her so suddenly that her thoughts scattered. The hands trying to pull her away disappeared from her awareness. The professors’ voices became distant and muffled until there was barely anything left except Oleander’s arms around her.
It felt as though he’d swallowed her whole.
Jasmine gasped for air and instinctively tapped his shoulder.
If he’s awake, he can at least let me breathe so we can do this again properly—
Her lips parted.
Oleander’s tongue slipped between them.
Jasmine froze.
For the first time since she’d started this experiment, her mind went completely blank.
His tongue was warm and soft against hers, moving with a confidence she definitely didn’t possess. The sensation made her stiff body slowly relax, and then—
There it was.
A crisp sweetness spread across her tongue, followed by a faint sourness.
Apple.
Jasmine’s eyes widened.
It worked.
The discovery should have been enough to make her pull away.
Instead, she closed her eyes.
The unfamiliar sensation moved beyond her mouth, sending a strange warmth through her body. Something fluttered low in her stomach, twisting and turning until she couldn’t decide whether it was pleasant or simply confusing.
She’d never experienced anything like it.
But Jasmine was a fast learner, though. Once she understood the rhythm of his kiss, she instinctively followed it, her hesitation fading as she matched his movements.
The kiss deepened.
And somehow, she stopped thinking about whether she was doing it correctly.
Her awareness began to drift. The room disappeared. The warmth disappeared. Everything disappeared.
When Jasmine opened her eyes again, she was standing in the middle of a field.
Grass reached her waist, moving gently beneath the night breeze. There were no artificial lights anywhere, yet the field was bright beneath the enormous full moon hanging overhead.
Jasmine slowly turned in place.
Nothing.
Only grass stretching into the distance, with a few scattered trees breaking up the horizon.
So this is Oleander’s spiritual realm?
She frowned slightly.
It’s quiet.
She remembered his explanation from earlier. A Sentinel’s spiritual realm was the place a Guide could enter to purify mental corruption.
But this place didn’t feel corrupted.
Not yet, anyway.
A rustling sound moved through the grass.
Jasmine turned toward it.
The sound came again.
She followed it, pushing through the waist-high grass until the field opened into a large, still lake.
And there, in the middle of it, a boy was drowning.
He had shoulder-length brown hair and kept desperately reaching for the surface. His head dipped beneath the water before breaking through again, each breath coming out in a panicked gasp.
Jasmine’s expression changed.
Oleander had warned her not to touch anything living inside a spiritual realm without knowing what it was. Some creatures could be dangerous illusions designed to trap a Guide inside.
But there was one thing Jasmine had hated seeing all her life.
Children and animals suffering.
She didn’t think twice.
Jasmine jumped into the lake.
Then immediately stopped.
She blinked down at the water.
It only reached her knees.
"...Oh."
She stared at the struggling boy several feet away.
Apparently, this was a very dramatic drowning in an exceptionally shallow lake.
Jasmine waded through the water and grabbed the boy before pulling him toward the shore.
The boy coughed several times after she sat him down on the grass. Jasmine sat beside him and patted his back until his breathing settled.
A few minutes later, the boy looked up at her and smiled.
"Thank you for saving me."
Jasmine blinked.
She wasn’t entirely convinced he’d needed saving. Still, the smile looked genuine enough that she decided not to point out the obvious.
"Who are you?" she asked. "Are you Oleander?"
The boy tilted his head.
Before he could answer, his stomach growled loudly.
He immediately grabbed his stomach and gave her an embarrassed grin.
"I’m hungry."
His eyes shifted toward Jasmine.
"Can I have your apple?"
Jasmine frowned.
My apple?
She glanced down.
An apple was lying in the grass beside her right hand.
She picked it up and examined it.
Then she looked back at the boy.
"If I give this to you, will you tell me your name and why you’re alone here?"
The boy nodded enthusiastically.
Jasmine held out the red apple.
The moment his small fingers closed around it, he jumped to his feet and ran.
Jasmine stared after him.
"...Hey."
The boy disappeared into the grass with surprising speed.
Jasmine immediately chased after him.
Damn it. Kids really are the same everywhere.
She sped up as the boy ran toward a forest filled with towering trees.
He was fast.
Far too fast for a child his size.
Jasmine pushed herself harder, following him until she was almost at the edge of the forest.
Then—
Bang!
Something invisible struck her.
Jasmine was thrown backward and landed hard on the grass. She stared at the empty space in front of her. Nothing was there. Yet she couldn’t move forward.
A translucent blue screen appeared before her.
[Boundary Reached.]
[Divine Kiss access is restricted to the designated area of this spiritual realm.]
[Perimeter crossing is currently unavailable.]
[Recommended solution: Increase your Guide rank.]
A second line appeared.
[You are, however, performing better than expected.]
Jasmine’s eyebrow twitched.
The screen updated.
[Chef God’s Emergency Bravery Bonus: +100 GR.]
[Reason: Entered an unfamiliar spiritual realm and rescued an unidentified child without authorization.]
[Please continue making questionable decisions. They appear to be producing satisfactory results.]
[Guide Resonance: 225/10,000]
Jasmine clicked her tongue.
She’d been so close. And now the stupid boundary wouldn’t even let her chase the child.
Fine.
She closed her eyes and focused on leaving Oleander’s spiritual realm.
The next moment, warmth returned.
Jasmine felt Oleander’s arm still wrapped around her waist, while her own hand remained tightly curled around his neck.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Their lips separated.
Both of them were breathing hard.
Jasmine remained on his lap for another second, staring at him from dangerously close range. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her face, and her own heartbeat was pounding hard enough to make the strange fluttering in her stomach return.
She frowned.
Apparently, kissing has some very inconvenient side effects.
"Are you back now?" she asked breathlessly.
Robbin’s voice came from somewhere nearby.
"His corruption is dropping! It’s down to eighteen percent. He’s safe."