Love that transcended species applied to Shahar as well. He was always lovable, but these days, I had the urge to bite his black and solid surface every time I saw him.

Well, no matter how beautiful this world was, it couldn’t surpass him. The world would soon disappear, but Shahar wouldn’t.

My future afterlife depended on his hands. He was my future and salvation.

‘It would have been better if I had realized this sooner.’

“Mate, do you have something to say to me?”

“No?”

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”

“Huh? How am I looking at you?”

The answer came not from the coal, but from Seren.

“Do you really not know? Even I feel burdened just watching from the side.”

“Burdened? I was just expressing my honest affection. Do I make you uncomfortable, Shahar?”

“……”

He was silent again.

Reading the awkwardness in his silence, I slightly turned my head to look at the dressing table.

In the mirror, there was me, with a sly smile, leaning my face close to Shahar. As Seren said, it was unbearably awkward.

I cleared my throat awkwardly and straightened my posture.

“Ahem, sorry. I couldn’t contain my affection… But you know how I feel, right?”

“Ugh, your lines are so cheesy.”

Hearing Seren’s criticism, I flinched.

‘Damn, I’ve been influenced by Grandpa Michalis.’

“Seren, could you stop interfering and leave us alone?”

“Yes, yes.”

Seren pouted her lips and left the bedroom.

Without even glancing at her, I focused all my attention on Shahar.

As soon as the intruder disappeared, I boldly lay down on the bed with Shahar.

“Mate, we haven’t formally held a ceremony, so how can we share a bed…”

“Stop nagging and grow a bit bigger. Quickly.”

As I urged him, Shahar grew just enough to fit in my arms.

I patted the lower part of the coal as if I were patting a cat’s bottom. I had experienced that his true form was a complete man last time, so there was nothing to be bothered about now.

“You, you.”

“Why? Do you dislike it?”

“It’s not that, but…”

“If not, just stay like this.”

I pulled Shahar closer.

What did it matter if he was handsome or a rock? His essence didn’t change.

Maybe this was true love.

Gined, who had lost his reproductive ability, might not accept it, but it didn’t matter with Shahar. Anyway, there wasn’t much left of my life. It wasn’t a waste to give everything to him.

“I love you, Shahar.”

At those words, Shahar started vibrating like crazy. I had hoped for something, but nothing happened other than that.

Such platonic and universal affection didn’t seem to meet the conditions Lina had mentioned.

Or perhaps he didn’t love me enough yet.

But I had lived too shamelessly to feel disappointed about that.

Compared to Shahar, I was far inferior in specs, and I often turned my eyes to other men, so it was a wonder he had any affection left.

“Shahar, aren’t you upset?”

“About what?”

“……You know I’ve been meeting other men.”

He had almost never shown jealousy directly towards me.

It seemed like he was a bit wary of Gined, but even that was just mentioned once.

I couldn’t fully understand his feelings, whether it was because he had no interest in humans and thus didn’t feel jealousy, or if he was suppressing it inside.

“My appearance is shabby, so I think I should endure it. Also, you had a reason to do so.”

“What are you talking about! Shahar, you are the most perfect rock in this world! Even Janet acknowledged it.”

“But the one you truly want to love is not a rock.”

“……”

Despite being a rock, he was as sharp as a blade.

Hesitating, I quickly changed the subject before the conversation turned more unfavorable.

“Shahar, is there anything you want to do with me? Ah, never mind saying it. You’ll just say you want to do whatever I want to do.”

“Yes. I am satisfied just being by your side.”

“I knew it. Then I won’t ask and do what I want.”

I pondered what I should do with that lovely rock.

He didn’t need to eat, didn’t like fancy clothes or accessories, and wasn’t interested in a spacious and luxurious mansion.

All he could do was see, hear, and speak.

“Then shall we travel? We’ve been stuck in the mansion every day. There are many beautiful places in the empire besides the capital.”

“Travel?”

This time, there was a subtle excitement in his voice.

“If you want, we can leave as early as tomorrow, Shahar. Just the two of us.”

Whispering seductively and rubbing the smooth surface, the coal began to vibrate again.

Taking advantage of that moment, I gave myself a full-body massage. The tension in my muscles eased, and my fatigue vanished.

If he gave me massages like this every night, traveling alone with a rock wouldn’t be so worrisome.

From that day on, I started looking for cities suitable for travel.

There was no option to delay anymore. Even if I did everything I wanted, there wouldn’t be enough time.

But my plan started to falter from the beginning.

Surprisingly, Seren opposed it strongly.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Travel?”

“You know I’ve never really seen the world properly except for family trips. Now that I’m an adult, I should broaden my horizons, right?”

“But you haven’t received permission from the Duke or the Duchess. Besides, going alone is too reckless.”

“What do you mean alone? I’ll be going with Shahar.”

“Shahar may be your mate, but does he serve any other purpose? How will you manage without an attendant or a guard?”

Most people, except for a few, still regarded the coal as just a talking rock. Seren was no different.

“I can just smash things with Shahar. He’s really hard.”

“Talk some sense.”

Seren looked at me with pity.

I didn’t back down and took out the largest gem from the jewelry box, shaking it in front of her. Seren’s eyes sparkled like stars immediately.

But she wasn’t as easy as I thought.

With strong willpower, Seren resisted the temptation and glared at me even more fiercely.

“Even though I have no loyalty to men, do you think I would betray my master for a few bucks? I won’t betray you for just some money!”

“Betrayal? Your master is me, not my parents.”

“What are you talking about? A servant’s master is the one who pays the salary.”

Realizing that one gem wasn’t enough, I took out another ring and added it.

This time, Seren was greatly shaken.

I coaxed her with a gentle voice.

“Why don’t you take a few days off too?”

“No, absolutely not! If the Duke and Duchess find out, not only me but the entire household staff will be scolded. If you really want to travel, you must take me and a guard with you.”

“…Alright, alright.”

I had no choice but to give in to that.

Thus, Seren and the family’s knights had to accompany us on this trip.

Our first destination was the Holy Kingdom.

I swear, it wasn’t a choice made with any ulterior motives.

The one who chose the destination was Shahar.

When he said he wanted to go to the Holy Kingdom, I thought he was joking at first.

Of course, he didn’t know about the incident between Gined and me. But I couldn’t understand why he wanted to go to the Holy Kingdom, where his rival Gined was.

“Why… did you choose the Holy Kingdom?”

“Because it was the first place I traveled to after meeting you. Also, it’s the sanctuary of my mother, Elle.”

“Ah.”

Even though he didn’t follow the usual reproductive process, Shahar was still the child of a goddess. Naturally, he would be interested in the Holy Kingdom, which served his mother.

Moreover, our last visit was too short to even call it a trip, and most of that day was spent locked in a solitary room, so it was understandable that he felt regretful.

I felt sorry for not understanding his feelings sooner.

So, we arrived at our destination in three days.

“Wow, is this the Holy Kingdom? It’s amazing…”

Seren kept exclaiming as she looked at the gigantic cathedral in the distance.

I nodded. It was my third time seeing it, but the grandeur of the cathedral was always refreshing.

Leaving the cathedral behind, we first headed to the immigration office.

To protect the Pope and priests, the Holy Kingdom thoroughly checked the identity of visitors, and of course, no weapons were allowed.

Fully armed holy knights guarded the immigration office sternly. Despite the many tourists, the office was as quiet as a mouse, perhaps because everyone was intimidated.

“I feel like a criminal.”

Seren whispered. Having never left Arcadia before, she looked quite scared.

Though it was my third time, making me somewhat accustomed, I felt uneasy for different reasons. All the holy knights wearing helmets looked like Gined to me.