He just silently shrugged his shoulders. If a place that produced salt was nearby, she could somewhat understand why this place’s livelihood seemed comfortable.

Though the food tasted good, he kept urging her even when she was full.

“That’s enough now. I ate deliciously and well.”

“What do you mean enough when you’ve barely eaten anything?”

Murat was greatly surprised and counted the number of spoonfuls she had accepted.

“I don’t understand why you want to stop after just tasting. Are you perhaps too sick to eat?”

“I really ate my fill.”

He put down the bowl with a dissatisfied face. The huge bowl was still full of soup with no sign of being eaten.

Murat treated her almost like a patient. He wrapped blankets around her shoulders and carefully examined her complexion. He also put his hands inside her clothes to feel around here and there.

“Hmm, the milk scent has gotten stronger……”

He bit his jaw hard as if the fragrance was difficult to endure. His eyes seemed to have glazed over slightly too.

“Really?”

On the other hand, Riena couldn’t smell the scent at all, and she guessed it was probably the same effect as when you spray perfume — you only smell the fragrance at first and become completely insensitive afterward.

Murat silently lowered his head and struggled to suppress the excitement rising from below.

“And why is your belly so flat?”

“People’s bellies are naturally like this.”

“No. Women’s bellies should be bulging from giving birth to babies, and men’s bellies should be like this.”

He then exposed his own belly. Deep muscle contours were carved into his rock-hard abdomen. Even after spending the night together n*ked, seeing his body felt new. Riena glanced then turned her head away.

“Anyway, I’m full and can’t eat more.”

Murat reluctantly sighed and withdrew. After eating several times more than her, he busily moved around doing various tasks. He cleaned up after the meal, replenished firewood, and went outside to rustle around with something.

Riena sat on the bed with blankets pulled over her, then lay down around the time her food was digesting. Being inside the house, perhaps because her eyes had adjusted, she no longer felt it was dark.

Still, this place remained unfamiliar and tense.

Though she didn’t show it to Murat, they might be Riena’s enemies. If the guess that they had dragged her in through sorcery and intended to keep her was correct, they were somewhat similar to kidnappers. But it didn’t seem wise to show hostility outwardly. It would be wise to pretend to cooperate while finding a way to return home.

‘For now, it’s better to follow along with what Murat wants to do.’

Thin light occasionally entered through gaps in the log walls. The warm hearth and Murat’s presence heard from outside were quite peaceful.

In the ambiguous gap between confusion and worry, she felt another sense of alienation. For some reason, the noise he made was comfortable.

Was the plan to pretend to follow his words really based on her own judgment? She was afraid because her heart was flowing along with reality too obediently. Perhaps she felt decent emotions toward Murat? Or was it the power of the supernatural phenomenon called sorcery?

She absolutely didn’t think she could sleep comfortably, but at some point her eyes slowly closed.

***

Riena’s eyes suddenly opened as if she had suddenly escaped from a deep swamp. She woke up shuddering from a nightmare she couldn’t remember. She didn’t know how long she had slept, but rays of sunlight was still seeping through the door cracks.

Still, after sleeping a bit, her condition seemed to have improved enough to move around. Riena got out of bed. Since she was barefoot, she looked around but couldn’t find shoes.

Even after waiting a long time, Murat didn’t return, so she had no choice but to move around without wearing anything on her feet. Though it was fine dirt floor, it was prickly for her.

She tiptoed with quick steps and went outside. She could meet Murat right in front of the house. He, who had been working busily, hurried over as soon as he discovered Riena.

“Why did you come out already? Is there anything uncomfortable?”

He asked while looking her over from head to toe.

“What time is it now?”

“What? What does ‘time’ mean?”

He couldn’t understand the meaning of asking what time it was. Was there no concept of time divided into twenty-four hours in this place? She had to roughly guess it was around noon by seeing the shortened shadows.

“Never mind. I just felt stuffy. Can I stay here with you?”

“Of course. I should get you shoes first.”

His gaze lingered on Riena’s feet. Her heels were lifted as she stepped on the ground barefoot.

“Yes, it stings a little.”

“Wait a moment. There should be shoes somewhere that might fit your feet.”

He brought roughly woven straw sandals from a house that was almost half collapsed. They were the same type Murat wore. When she looked uncertain about how to put on the shoes, he naturally helped her put them on. He placed her feet on the firmly woven soles and wrapped thin rope up to her ankles to tie them.

But she couldn’t walk more than a few steps before frowning. Something had pricked her foot.

“Ah…… It hurts.”

She stopped in place.

“Don’t they fit your feet? They look fine to me.”

“Something is stabbing my foot.”

Murat looked troubled and easily lifted her up. His arm strength was so good that he made her sit on one of his forearms like a chair.

The lush leaves of a large tree standing tall in the village center covered the sky. In the shade where direct sunlight didn’t reach, a low table was spaciously positioned. Various grains were spread on top of it. Murat gently seated her on the table.

“Let me take a look.”

He knelt on one knee in front of Riena. He placed her small foot on his thigh and touched it, then slightly turned over her sole. The small foot had already turned red at the front, and there were also scratched areas on her ankle bones from the straps. Murat’s worried gaze rose to her face.

“Riena, have you never walked at all?”

It wasn’t a casual joke. He knew Riena as someone who came from the divine world.

But Riena didn’t carelessly look down on Murat and the people of this place. The fact that they maintained such decent lives in a situation with almost no secured civilizational benefits seemed amazing. She had admired it inwardly earlier, and even seeing it again after resting, it was impressive.

She had no confidence she could live well if placed in such an environment. Even if she retained her current knowledge, she didn’t think she could do it.

She didn’t think the sandals with sharp grass stems that pricked her feet were primitive either. Riena’s world and this place were simply different environments.

While not emphasizing the differences between him and herself, she felt she needed to say this much.

“The place I lived isn’t the divine world. I don’t know what connection there is between this place and my world, but at least gods aren’t close to me.”

He listened attentively.

“And the shoes I wear are softer than this. Made of leather and such.”

“Soft shoes……”

“Could you lend me some if you have any?”

“We do have leather shoes, but they would probably injure your feet too. I’ll think of something else suitable.”

While cleanly wiping the dirt from her feet, he cast a gaze with gentle ripples.

“And for now, I’ll have to carry you around.”

“You don’t need to go that far……”

“If there’s somewhere you want to go, call out to me. I’ll be somewhere not far away.”

Murat stroked her head like treating a child, then got up from his seat. Even though he seemed to have many small tasks, he always moved within Riena’s sight.

She just watched blankly. At most, she only touched the barley and wheat spread on the low table. There was no reason to put on the thorn-like sandals again, and the aftermath of last night’s s*x still remained, making the area between her legs throb.

The painful areas weren’t just her p*ssy. Her n*pples that still had swelling and her nape and limbs densely marked with bruises all hurt evenly. If this place had been Harriton City where she lived, she would have already gone to a hospital.

She was bored, and there were many things she wanted to know about this unfamiliar and rough world. She called out to Murat, who was fixing something in the distance.

“Murat, you said the person at the funeral earlier was the tribal chief, right? Can I ask what he died from?”