“It was a lot of fun.”

Like a child with a fever after playing excitedly, her cheeks were flushed. Her breath was coming out of her mouth, and the sight of her panting on the bed came to mind.

But instead of moans, the room was filled with happy chatter.

“The clown was funny too. But why was his face painted white? And he had a red ball on his nose that made a sound when he pressed it.”

He had also seen the clown dancing ridiculously around the float. But they were talking as if he hadn’t noticed.

Ethan leaned back slightly in the chair by the bed.

“Because they have to be funny.”

“That’s supposed to be funny?”

“Well, things like falling over or making mistakes when doing tricks.”

Every time Ethan spoke indifferently, If’s head would turn this way and that. When he finally gave up trying to understand, If’s attention shifted to something else.

Ethan’s body curled up slightly as he rested his elbows on his thighs. He rested his chin on his fist and watched If as she spread her arms wide, mimicking the parade float.

“Why did they use fake paper flowers? They have no scent and they’re not even that fancy.”

She remembered the artificial flowers that had covered the float. The white and red flowers were crudely made, lacking important details like stamens or sepals. Their petal shapes were so odd that it was hard to tell what kind of flowers they were.

If not for their roughly rounded shape, it would have been difficult to recognize them as flowers at all. That was how poorly made and artificial they were.

“Because fresh flowers in winter are expensive. And they don’t last long.”

Expensive. Or cheap. If still found the concept of value unfamiliar. To receive something from others, one had to give ‘money,’ and to obtain that money, one had to work.

she don’t really understand what it means to work.

Where If had lived, everything was automated. From operating machines to maintaining them, androids handled it all, making human labor unnecessary.

So, in the era she had lived in, money was no longer needed. The concept of value for goods had disappeared. There was no need to work to acquire things, no need to exchange money— it had long since vanished into history.

She remembered the currency she had seen in this world. One hundred copper coins were equal to one silver coin, and one hundred silver coins were equal to one gold coin. Thanks to Ethan’s teaching, she only understood the different types of coins.

“Flowers don’t bloom in winter. It makes it harder for them to grow. All the flowers you see in winter have been made to bloom by magic.”

Noticing If’s curiosity, Ethan added an explanation. Ordinary magic wasn’t enough – it required a careful balance of light and earth magic, making it an extremely labour-intensive process.

Only nobles had the ability to use magic, and if a commoner wanted to wield such power, they would have to use expensive magical tools. There was no real reason for commoners to go to such lengths just to make flowers bloom in winter.

“Winter…”

“Yeah. It hasn’t snowed yet, but at this time of year, it’s already early winter.”

She had been to a winter city before – a place where the snow fell endlessly. She had once wandered the streets watching the snow fall, but eventually she had grown tired of the monotonous whiteness and returned home.

“Why can’t flowers bloom in winter?”

She remembered the flowers she had seen in that winter city. Snowflakes had gathered on the petals, only to grow too heavy and fall to the ground with a soft thud.

“Because it’s cold.”

“Cold?”

Was it cold there? Her eyes rolled in thought, filled with curiosity. Seeing this, Ethan held back a sigh that was almost on the tip of his tongue.

‘Do I have to explain the difference between the seasons now?’

Ethan remembered an ancient ruin that had once recreated the sky underground. If they could do that, it would be possible to create a winter that wasn’t cold enough to freeze.

“Usually it gets cold enough for plants to freeze.”

So that’s what ‘usually’ means here. If rolled her eyes thoughtfully and stored Ethan’s words in a corner of her mind. There were too many things in this world that were different from what she knew, so she had to remember them, like building a personal dictionary.

“Does that mean you can’t see flowers in winter?”

“Well, they do exist, but they’re expensive. And there are a few rare flowers that bloom in winter.”

Because of where they grew naturally, people rarely had the chance to see them. If a nobleman’s daughter hadn’t asked for them, he wouldn’t have seen them.

Catching magic beasts while picking enough flowers for a bouquet had been exhausting. On top of that, he had to walk without rest to keep them from wilting, leaving him no time to sleep. Even now his feet ached at the thought of how blistered and swollen they had been.

“The people here have it really hard. They can’t even see the things they want to see, and they have to work so hard.”

Every time she made such carefree remarks, Ethan’s stomach churned. No matter how he looked at it, their lives couldn’t have been more different.

He had never known freedom. He had run endlessly to reach this point, but in the end only execution awaited him.

Randall, then slavery. And finally, mercenary work. It was almost laughable. No matter how hard he fought, his life never rose above the lowest depths.

If, who had been grumbling, suddenly tilted her head in thought. Then she pressed down on her stomach. After a moment she moved her hand and pressed another spot.

“Ethan, I think my stomach hurts.”

Even when she complained, Ethan just clicked his tongue indifferently. The reason was obvious.

“Of course your stomach hurts after eating like that.”

He had lost count of how many skewers she had thrown down. She had also guzzled drinks like there was no tomorrow. Had she kept on eating without realising she was full? It was hard to believe that anyone could lack such self-control – but if she did, it was quite possible.

“Does a stomachache feel like this?”

Considering she hadn’t eaten properly before they met, this was probably the first time she’d ever had an upset stomach.

As Ethan turned his head absentmindedly, his nose twitched.

The scent of blood.

His body tensed instinctively as he stood. A fight? It was close. The smell wasn’t strong yet, but it was getting stronger by the second. That meant the bleeding was…

As Ethan quickly scanned his surroundings, his gaze suddenly landed on If standing in front of him.

“…Ah, so that’s it.”

He had forgotten. They called her an Ancient – so it seemed her inner structure was the same. Ethan let out a dry chuckle before removing If’s clothes.

Even as his hands moved without warning, If remained calm. Her attention was entirely focused on the dull pain in her stomach.

Ethan removed his own clothes as well and lifted her effortlessly into his arms.

Before leaving for the parade, he had paid extra for a prepared bath. This meant that there would be a wooden tub in the bathroom.

If, unaware of her own condition, absentmindedly rubbed her slightly rounded belly. Usually flat, today her belly was slightly swollen.

‘…So that’s what happens when you put something inside.’

A fleeting pang of jealousy rose in him, but it was quickly pushed aside by another, more primal urge. Ethan scoffed at his own thoughts before leading If into the bathroom.

Even in a decent room, a commoner’s quarters only had room for a single bathtub.

Since they had arrived in time, the water was still steaming. Ethan lowered If into the tub and let her feet sink into the warm water.

“Hik.”

“Is it too hot?”

Startled by the sudden heat, If flinched and instinctively curled her legs, clinging to Ethan.

Ethan dipped his hand into the water, but his calloused skin barely registered the temperature. He had endured much hotter conditions – and spent countless nights in freezing cold, cold enough to cause frostbite. His body had long since become desensitised to temperature.

“Tsk.”

Clucking his tongue, Ethan swirled the water with his hand, trying to cool it. Thick, misty steam filled the bathroom.

“Something felt funny.”

At her words, Ethan pulled his hand out of the water and grabbed her small, pale foot as it floated in the air. It was small enough to fit completely in the palm of his hand and twitched slightly as it brushed against his calloused skin.

“What’s so strange about hot water? Don’t you bathe where you come from?”

Back in Belphirn, he had been too busy to notice, but now that he thought about it, it was strange. They had spent days together, yet he had never once seen her bathe.

“Well, isn’t it true that dirt or dead skin accumulates over time and makes you dirty?”

“That is true.”

“Sometimes I use low frequency waves to shake it off. And with reinforced skin, the dust doesn’t stick, so there’s no need to bathe.”

“For someone who says that, you get dirty a lot.”

Ethan had no idea what low frequency waves were, but he had wiped her mouth many times during meals when she got food all over herself.

“I could shake it off, but I don’t – because I like it when you wipe it for me.”

Where did that blunt honesty even come from?

With a sigh, Ethan lowered himself into the now slightly chilled bathwater. As his large body was submerged, water spilled over the edges of the tub and splashed onto the floor.

Watching the overflowing water, If hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering herself into the tub as well. As soon as the heat touched her, she winced and pressed herself tightly against Ethan.

Seeing that she didn’t seem too bothered by the heat, Ethan lowered himself further into the water. As he did so, If followed suit, the water rising to her shoulders.

Her body had been stiff at first, but as she adjusted to the warmth, she began to relax, her muscles loosening.

“Hoo…”

Ethan let out a slow breath. Back in Belphirn, he had only been able to wash in the freezing river, so it had been a long time since he last soaked in warm water.

“Now I finally feel like I’m thawing out.”

“How can you thaw? The human body isn’t made of ice.

“It’s just a way of saying it.”

If tilted her head, she still didn’t quite understand. Well, if she kept travelling, she’d probably get used to it. Unlike in Belphirn, where they had no choice, they could bathe in inns if there was nothing urgent – at least in places as large as this one.

Ethan reached out and picked up the small wooden containers that stood next to the tub. No wonder they had charged extra. The lids were labelled with the names of various scented oils.

“What’s this?”

“Makes your body smell nice.”

“What do the letters say?”

Ethan froze at her question.

“Wait, are you saying you can’t read?”

With that level of intelligence?

When he asked, If nodded matter-of-factly, her expression innocent.

“I never learned.”

“You speak just fine, though. Wait, was it just the same language by chance?”

“No, it was different. There were people above me.”

“Huh?”

What was she even talking about now?

“They were talking up there, so I listened and learned.”

She learned a language just by listening?

“…But they wouldn’t have lived long, so you couldn’t have heard many languages.”

“It was seventy years.”

“……”

Was that even possible? Learning a language just by listening, without anyone actually teaching her?

Ethan was still in a daze when If trembling voice snapped him back to reality.

“Ethan, I’m bleeding.”

Her voice was turning more and more distressed. Letting out a deep sigh, Ethan clicked his tongue.

“Am I going to die?”

“Die, my as$. If something like this could kill you, then every woman in this world would be dead.”

All this fuss over a period? He could already see the trouble ahead.