A gentle yet intense heat surged between them. Beneath their pressed skin, the beating of their hearts echoed with a dizzying throb.

The hand that had gripped her so tightly that it had hurt only moments before loosened its grip. Twisting her head away, she gasped for air through the small gap between her teeth.

A short cough escaped and Ethan gently lifted her chin. With her airway open, breathing became much easier.

“You love kissing so much, but you’re such a slow learner.”

“That’s not true.”

“I’ve told you to breathe through your nose and yet you always forget, don’t you?”

With a gentle nudge, Ethan brushed his nose against If’s. His voice was close in the small space between them. The ticklish gesture made If crinkle her nose.

“I know, but it’s not that easy.”

Whenever Ethan touches her, it feels like her whole body collapses. Even when she doesn’t want to, her body moves on its own.

“Well, still… not bad.”

Ethan murmured with a grin as he lowered his head again.

Their lips met and parted, and Ethan’s tongue slid gently inside, exploring her depths.

“Mm…”

The tension melted from her cold body in his arms.

Squish-a second finger slipped into the hole where only one had filled it until a moment ago. For all the tension, a single kiss seemed to do the trick.

The body cooled slightly, but the heat inside was intense. Ethan moved slowly along the inner walls.

“Hngh!”

If shivered at the unfamiliar sensation deep inside her – so unlike anything she’d ever touched herself. Her arms were wrapped around Ethan’s neck.

Her tongue, which had been wandering aimlessly, was gently drawn into Ethan’s mouth and playfully nipped without pain.

Startled, If flinched and a soft chuckle escaped between their joined lips.

Not to be outdone, If quickly pulled her tongue back and gave Ethan’s lip a teasing bite.

‘So, that’s how you want to play?’

At first she had been uncomfortable with everything, reacting to the slightest touch, but now she was even fighting back. Ethan grinned as he pressed his fingers firmly against the inner wall.

“Hngh!”

A loud moan escaped as If’s mouth fell open. She widened her eyes, embarrassed by the sound that had slipped out on its own.

Even though it wasn’t the first time Ethan had touched her, the strange noise had come at such an unexpected moment.

“…Sounds weird.”

Ethan laughed softly at the mumbled words.

“Of course it sounds like that.”

“Ugh, ah…”

“It doesn’t hurt, does it?”

It wasn’t painful – just unfamiliar.

If nodded slowly.

Watching If’s reaction closely, Ethan moved his hand again.

“Ah…!”

Her back arched as he pressed against her cl*t. It was only a tiny part of her body, smaller than a thumb, but the jolt of sensation from it was intense.

“Shh…”

She felt dizzy, her vision flickering. If’s body collapsed, sinking completely into Ethan’s arms.

“Ah, mmph!”

Even as she clung to Ethan’s arms for support, soft moans kept slipping out.

She hadn’t even moved yet, but her breathing was already coming in short, shallow gasps.

The moans echoing through the cave were soon drowned out by the sound of heavy rain pouring down outside.

Thud, thud – Ethan’s fingers, still inside her, continued to press against her inner walls.

With each touch, the waves of pleasure grew stronger and harder to bear.

“Mmph!”

With a loud moan, her entire body tensed as her hips lifted off the bed. As his finger slipped out, a sticky liquid followed. Even though the source of stimulation was gone, her inner walls continued to quiver uncontrollably. Clinging to Ethan’s arm, If panted heavily.

“All right, are you happy now? It’s late – get cleaned up and get some sleep.”

This time he was determined to pull out before she was finished. His hands moved quickly as he wiped If, who was drenched in honey and love juices.

“This is amazing.”

If said, barely able to catch her breath as she stroked her own p*ssy. She was sure she had felt something intense here, but when she touched it again, it felt completely normal, as if nothing had happened.

The intense sensation of a few moments ago was still vivid. The stimulation focused on a spot smaller than a fingernail, the heavy pressure pressing from deep within, the moans that spilled out without pause – it all combined into something that exploded inside her.

It was the feeling of reaching a point and having all her strength drained from her in an instant.

It wasn’t exactly pain, nor was it simply pleasure – something else entirely. The way her body reacted on its own, against her will, was confusing as it was the first time she had experienced it, but it also made her want to try it again.

Although she was too exhausted to go again today, she felt she could do it again tomorrow.

Looking down at her now clean body, If suddenly reached out and grabbed Ethan’s collar as he tried to get up.

“Where are you going?”

“….”

Ethan looked down at If, her face clear and calm, as if she was the only one who had satisfied her desire.

With a deep sigh, Ethan lay down beside her, careful not to let his still *rect p*nis touch her. If he did, she would surely start bombarding him again with endless questions and curiosity.

***

A signboard covered in mould and moss. The letters, once written in ink, were now completely obscured, their original shape no longer visible. She stared at it curiously, as if fascinated.

It wasn’t a screen, nor did it seem to use any special technology. How could it tell you where you were? It wasn’t even GPS.

It was just a wooden board, carved from a tree – what could you do with it?

The time it took to leave Belphirn was short compared to the time they had spent preparing. Most of that time had been spent training.

Ethan let out a deep sigh, remembering how he’d racked his brain trying to teach when he knew he wasn’t good at it.

“Ethan, I can’t read this.”

“It’s not letters.”

Ethan brushed the shield roughly with the side of his hand. His gloves got dirty, but since they were made from the skin of a magical beast, a few shakes were enough to make them look as good as new.

“A picture?”

“Do you think nobles would ever come to a village like this? How many commoners do you think can read? That means there’s a village this way.”

A simple arrow and a house drawn next to it – a cluster of houses symbolised a village.

“You can’t read?”

She tilted her head.

How could anyone not read? If you can speak, shouldn’t you be able to write? Isn’t speaking and writing something you learn together?

“Yes. Even the merchants can barely do arithmetic. The only ones who can read are probably those who work closely with the merchants.

After all, writing and arithmetic are two different things. And even simple arithmetic is so difficult for them that when people buy several items, they usually calculate the price of one first and then add up the rest one by one.

That’s why all business was conducted verbally. Since it was only a matter of trading within the village, verbal agreements were sufficient.

On the contrary, many people lost everything when they tried to make written contracts with nobles – because those nobles would make unfair contracts with illiterate commoners and cheat them out of everything.

But even if they knew that, what could they do? If a noble handed them a contract, a commoner had no choice but to stamp it without a word.

“Once we’re inside the village, don’t leave my side — no matter what.”

“Okay.”

Ethan spoke as he pulled If’s hood down low over her face, but the reply he got didn’t sound very reassuring. He gave up trying to warn her anymore. It was easier on his mind just to keep her right in front of him.

Even though she was somewhat trained, there was no telling what she might do, so he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

Pulling his own hood low over his head, Ethan took If’s hand and led her along.

As soon as they entered the village, all eyes were on them, the outsiders.

Belphirn – a place used as an execution site.

And before that, a nameless village.

The only people who lived here were the handful of villagers – no more than a few dozen. The village’s only source of income came from the soldiers who occasionally escorted condemned prisoners. What they spent on food and accommodation during their stay was all the villagers had to live on.

But these outsiders clearly weren’t soldiers, no matter how you looked at them. And the one beside him was unmistakably a woman. Even though she was covered from head to toe in a hood, nothing could hide her narrow shoulders and slender frame.

Especially when the man walking beside her was tall enough to make the contrast even more obvious.

Noticing the growing looks from the villagers, Ethan’s face twisted in displeasure. Whispers began to spread among them.

Curiosity about the outsiders soon gave way to wild speculation about who they were. Ethan’s hood, made from the fur of a magic beast – was he a magic beast hunter or a mercenary? And the woman – was she a slave? A runaway noble?

With so few people coming and going in this village, it was only natural that such stories would arise around the first outsiders they had seen in a long time. Bored villagers with nothing better to do all day would eagerly feed on the gossip as a rare source of entertainment.

If, for her part, was too busy watching the villagers to care what they said. These were the first people she had seen outside of Belphirn, apart from Ethan. Sure, she had seen others in Belphirn, but they either spoke incomprehensibly or were too unintelligent to hold a proper conversation.

‘Would the people here be any different?’

There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but with Ethan holding her hand so tightly, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

“When I hold your hand, don’t talk. What should you do when I’m holding your hand like this?

” Um, stand still and don’t say anything?”

“Right, well done.”

If knew she shouldn’t talk when her hand was being held. She closed her lips, which were about to move. Hmm, but what about whispering? Would that be all right?

When her lips parted slightly, Ethan immediately leaned over.

“What?”

“Ethan, where are we going?”

The question slipped out, as if she had been waiting for the chance to ask it.

Just as he was about to answer, she had already turned her attention elsewhere.

As If started to walk away, Ethan pulled her back towards him, swallowing the wave of frustration that was rising in his chest.

“Why do I even bother asking if you’re going to act like this…”

But no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, the frustration was hard to ignore.