Was it because of the night, or was it because a woman was lying right next to him?
She constantly stirred the desires hidden within the deepest, darkest corners of his rather ‘pure’ soul.
Unknowingly, he gulped multiple times out of anxiety and nervousness.
However, for a woman experienced with men, lying next to one wouldn’t be difficult or unnatural.
“…Fine, have it your way then.”
Calix turned over irritably and closed his eyes, turning his back on her.
Then, the sound of her breathing began to reach him.
They were so close that he could almost hear her heartbeat.
‘Let’s dump her in the city and be done with it.’
He resolved not to care about the woman and tried to fall asleep.
But soon, he felt her shivering.
“Damn it….”
The temperature difference between day and night here was significant, which was why Calix had made a fire on purpose, something he wouldn’t have done if he were alone.
The fire was for her.
Yet, she still seemed cold.
After all, she was almost scantily-clad.
‘Just sleep.
Just ignore her and go to sleep, then everything will be OK.’
‘Whether she’s cold or not, it’s none of my business, right?
Saving her life should be enough, there’s no need for me to strip my clothes for her or anything like that.’
Calix tried to focus on other thoughts, ignoring the woman’s warm breath, her soft trembling body, and her audacious moves as she moved closer to him, clutching his clothing.
“Damn. Damn it!”
Eventually, he got up and draped his cloak over her.
‘Right.
If she catches a cold tomorrow, it’ll be me who suffers.
Or worse, what if she freezes to death?
There’s no need to deal with a corpse first thing in the morning.’
She appeared pitiable in his eyes, enough to stir his compassion.
“If you catch a cold tomorrow, I’m just going to leave you he-…‘
How could he leave this tiny, frail woman behind?
Even if he didn’t really mean it, he just wasn’t cold-blooded enough to be so harsh towards this poor, little creature.
Despite having no such intention, the mere thought made him feel guilty, which caused Calix to remain silent.
“….”
His cloak was enough to cover her body and more.
He wrapped her snugly in his cloak, like a cocoon to ease his inexplicable guilt.
Now, perhaps he could sleep.
Lying down, Calix finally felt comfortable enough to close his eyes.
But unfortunately, sleep eluded him.
“Ah… Dang it.”
Since leaving the temple, Calix wasn’t able to sleep properly for even a single night.
But tonight, his senses were especially sharp.
As he lay down with his eyes closed, he found the presence of the small, mysterious creature beside him even more delicately perceptible, and the fact that she was trying to cuddle onto him didn’t help him, neither.
That’s why the sound of her moist breathing became his concern.
“Huh.”
Calix’s heart dropped unexpectedly.
The surrounding silence made her sobbing sound all the more distinct.
Slowly opening his eyes, he saw her sobbing again.
Despite giving up his cloak to keep her warm, she still cried.
Though he wanted to scold her, he couldn’t bring himself to do so this time.
“Huff… Sob… Hngh.”
Her tears were swallowed back with effort, as if she didn’t want to cry herself.
The awkward sobbing sound made him feel solemn, weighing heavily on his heart.
Come to think of it, he knew more about why she was here than she did.
She had no choice in coming here.
For outsiders from another world, arriving in this world was accidental.
‘She must be feeling trapped.’
The woman’s predicament suddenly became clear to him.
Unable to understand the language, and even if she could learn, she’d be unable to speak due to her disability.
And to add insult to an already painful injury, she had absolutely no clue on how to survive alone in the wild.
Moreover, she was completely unfamiliar with this place.
What she must have gone through was quite predictable for Calix, considering their first encounter.
It felt as if a stone was lodged in his stomach, or rather, a prickly thorn was irritatingly embedded to his heart.
A tiny thorn, unaware of its place, stuck inside.
He didn’t want to give any attention to her, but found himself unable to ignore her presence.
He was curious about her circumstances, yet didn’t want to know.
If only she could speak, or at least understand him, they would have conversed.
He found it regrettable that they couldn’t.
‘Is she really unable to speak?
Was her disability acquired here, or has she always been mute?
How old is she?
What is her name?
What exactly has happened to her during her time in this world?’
He had a mountain of questions that he wanted to ask.
“What did you do for a living in your world?”
She seemed to lack basic life skills.
Her physical strength was also poor.
But with no way to communicate, Calix couldn’t know.
Who really was she?
He was curious about her story, her life.
He was curious about….
Her.