The Place Where The Frozen Moon Has Settled

‘Could it be that I’ve been found out? What should I do if they ask me what this is?’ Sel swallowed nervously.

Philip’s eyes widened as he slowly lifted his gaze, meeting Sel’s eyes. Then he gave Sel a thumbs-up.

“Wow. You might not look like much, but those abs are solid as a rock. Even your back was firm earlier.”

“Uh… th-thanks for the compliment.”

“Good guy, you’re a real man.”

Thud. Philip smacked Sel’s back once more before humming and walking ahead. He led Sel up to the fifth floor, saying that the Commander probably wasn’t awake yet.

—

The entrance that had crumbled like a snack yesterday was now replaced with a shiny new door. Philip knocked on it loudly.

“Commander! New recruit Sel is here!”

Despite Philip’s enthusiastic shout, there was no response from inside. Philip sighed, trying to pull open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

With a look of disappointment, Philip told Sel to wait while he went downstairs to fetch Vice-Commander Eric.

“What’s up with all these doors here? This isn’t a strongman contest,” Sel muttered.

At her current strength, she couldn’t even budge the main gate. If the bathroom door were this heavy, she might actually wet herself in the building.

Just as Sel shook her head to rid herself of the awful thought, she heard footsteps approaching from the stairs. Moving at a leisurely pace, Eric appeared with a towel draped over his damp hair. Wearing only a short robe that barely covered his thighs, he looked like he had just finished showering. His well-defined leg muscles were visible beneath the luxurious silk robe, which clung to his sturdy upper body, gently outlining his broad chest.

Contrasting with his damp, pale skin, Eric’s eyes remained cold and dry.

Eric greeted Sel expressionlessly, then casually opened the thick iron door with one hand.

“Lavi, Sel’s here.”

Eric directed his words at a bundle of blankets on the sofa. But there was no answer.

“Lavi.” Eric’s voice turned chilly as he called out again.

The bundle of blankets wriggled slightly, then lay still again. Sighing, Eric approached, looking annoyed. He took the towel off his head and smacked the blankets with it.

With a loud thud, the blankets burst open, sending goose down feathers floating through the air.

“…That hurt.”

A quiet voice came from the crumpled blanket bundle.

Eric, watching impassively, swung his hand down again, only for a muscular arm to shoot out of the blanket and grab Eric’s wrist.

“…Fine. I’ll get up.”

Like a caterpillar emerging from a cocoon, Lavi slowly came out from under the blankets. Squinting at the bright light, he muttered, “Today’s roll call, isn’t it?”

Still half-awake, he finally noticed Sel was there and waved lazily in his direction.

“Where did you go last night?” Eric’s gaze traveled down to Lavi’s shirt. His half-blood-stained shirt was a dark red color. Lavi lowered his head, glancing at the stains on his shirt, and chuckled faintly.

“I went to meet Rose… and well, my body acted up again.”

“Quite the spectacle you must have caused.”

At Eric’s words, Lavi groaned and lowered his head.

Sel, watching them from a short distance, was puzzled by their conversation and tilted her head.

Philip sidled up close to Sel and whispered quietly in his ear.

“It looks like the Commander went to see the bar owner, Rose, last night. But it seems he acted out again.”

“Acted out? You mean he… hit or killed her?”

What? That’s the worst. So, all those fake smiles were just a front, and he’s actually like that? Judging by the bloodstains, he’d probably caused a near-murderous incident. It was time to run for it. No amount of money could make working for a killer worthwhile.

“Hey, what do you take our Commander for? Our Commander would never do that. It’s because of a spirit.”

“A… spirit?”

“At night, his body apparently moves on its own under a spirit’s influence. He goes hunting in the Black Forest or practices sword dancing alone in the training grounds. The spirit practically has him doing dog training.”

“Ah…”

Sel sighed. She thought this guy, with his weasel-like face, would live a sly life, but it turned out he was living a surprisingly tough one.

He was someone with considerable power and authority, someone who had effortlessly lifted Sel out of the swamp of her miserable life.

But it was only a miracle because their worlds were different—like an ant saved by a human, Sel, the ant, had spent her life looking down into the anthill, while the human had been climbing high stairs.

For being possessed by a spirit, he’d probably taken many kicks from others, tumbling and climbing those high stairs repeatedly.

The more she thought about it, the more bitter she felt.

Turning off her wandering thoughts, Sel finally asked Philip what she was wondering.

“What about those bloodstains?”

“He probably went hunting last night. Poor guy.”

“Poor?”

“With a face like that, you can imagine how popular he must have been. But after a while, every woman ends up running away screaming.”

“Look at that face.”

“He’s seriously handsome!”

“That face like a weasel?”

“Pfft. Hey, just because you cover your face doesn’t mean you can go around judging others.”

While the two of them whispered, Eric and Lavi finished their conversation.

Eric draped the towel around his neck with a sigh.

“Lavi, just give up and take it easy already.”

“No way! You wouldn’t understand the passion of my youth.”

“Passion…”

Eric, eyebrows lowered, trailed off and looked at Lavi’s lower half.

Lavi threw a pillow at Eric, who openly looked at him with pity.

Eric leaned back lightly, dodging the pillow.

Wham! The pillow, heavy as if filled with metal balls, smashed into the opposite table, breaking it.

“Get out of here, you jerk!”

“A man shouldn’t have a crooked heart.”

Eric, unfazed by the pillow toss, grabbed Philip’s hand and disappeared out of the room.

The room soon felt empty, leaving only Sel and Lavi.

Lavi lowered his feet to the floor from the sofa and ran a hand over his face.

A muttered, “I’ll kill that Eric,” was faintly heard, but Sel pretended not to notice.

—

Here’s the passage with Lavi’s pronoun changed to male:

—

“Look at that face.”

“He’s seriously handsome!”

“That face like a weasel?”

“Pfft. Hey, just because you cover your face doesn’t mean you can go around judging others.”

While the two of them whispered, Eric and Lavi finished their conversation.

Eric draped the towel around his neck with a sigh.

“Lavi, just give up and take it easy already.”

“No way! You wouldn’t understand the passion of my youth.”

“Passion…”

Eric, eyebrows lowered, trailed off and looked at Lavi’s lower half.

Lavi threw a pillow at Eric, who openly looked at him with pity.

Eric leaned back lightly, dodging the pillow.

Wham! The pillow, heavy as if filled with metal balls, smashed into the opposite table, breaking it.

“Get out of here, you jerk!”

“A man shouldn’t have a crooked heart.”

Eric, unfazed by the pillow toss, grabbed Philip’s hand and disappeared out of the room.

The room soon felt empty, leaving only Sel and Lavi.

Lavi lowered his feet to the floor from the sofa and ran a hand over his face.

A muttered, “I’ll kill that Eric,” was faintly heard, but Sel pretended not to notice.

—

Lavi, who had been half-lying on the sofa, rubbed his tired face and straightened up.

His short, curly black hair looked soft to the touch, with a faint scar cutting across one of his brows, fitting him so well it looked intentional.

In his deep green eyes, clear as they sparkled, there was a hint of exhaustion.

A high, straight nose and well-shaped, full lips looked as if crafted by a god.

His lightly tanned skin and handsome features captured the hearts of women at first sight. Yet, despite being twenty-three, Lavi had never dated a woman.

Because of that damn spirit.

But he didn’t intend to die as a bachelor.

Lavi had tried his best yesterday, but once again, he had failed miserably.

Slumping his shoulders, he tapped the small round stool next to the sofa.

It was an invitation for Sel to sit.

Sel approached Lavi slowly and took a seat on the stool.

“You’re here early. And cleaned up. Much better than yesterday.”

While she wasn’t thoroughly clean, the smell was noticeably less.

“It’s past nine o’clock.”

Sel emphasized it was past the time for Lavi to be lounging under the covers.

“For me, it’s dawn.”

Ah, damn morning inspection.

Lavi threw his arm over the back of the sofa, tilting his head back and groaning before straightening up.

“Is that all you brought?”

“What?”

“…You came empty-handed?”

Lavi looked at Sel’s empty hands with curiosity.

His large hand reached over to brush off Sel’s hair, stiff from the winter cold.

A faint mutter about “properly cleaning oneself” could be heard.

It wasn’t that she’d come completely empty-handed.

There were a few Clotherus leaves she’d taken from the cabin in her pocket, but she didn’t mention it.

The dried Clotherus leaves were no bigger than her thumb.

A medicinal herb harmful to vocal cords, eating it raw lowered the pitch of one’s voice.

Once a month, along with her period, Sel would chew and swallow a Clotherus leaf.

If her identity as a woman were discovered, she’d be at serious risk.

Sel was well aware of this and took it seriously.

She planned to hide her gender here just as thoroughly.

Both Lavi and Eric had hired her under the belief that she was a man.

The fact that there were no other women in the mercenary group proved it.

“I heard you asked for a single room.”

“…Yes.”

“Why?”

Lavi’s eyes looked surprisingly serious as he asked.

After hesitating, Sel gave the same excuse she’d told Eric the day before.

“I’ve lived alone in the cabin all this time, so I’m not used to being around others. I also don’t like people seeing my scars.”

“I doubt that’s the only reason.”

“W-What do you mean…?”

Was it possible he’d sensed something because of the spirit?

Sel feigned ignorance, but her heart pounded.

Her eyes darted around nervously.

She felt the chill of a cold sweat trickling down her spine.

Thank goodness she was wearing a mask. If not, her anxiety would have shown plainly.

“Just a feeling, I guess?”

“If you make assumptions like that, it’ll throw me off.”

“Indeed. Sel, you’re flustered.”

Why was she so flustered? Lavi tilted his head, narrowing his eyes.

Sel kept her gaze fixed on Lavi’s slippers, standing rigidly in place.

It was best to remain silent now.

“If a man keeps too many secrets, he won’t find a wife, you know?”

Though he himself was more at risk of ending up single, Lavi lectured Sel.

With no intent to pry further, he laughed and got up from the sofa.

Sel let out a slow, pent-up breath.

It seemed that even a mystical spirit couldn’t pick up on everything.

Lavi stretched as he walked over to the wardrobe, shedding his blood-stained shirt to the floor.

His broad chest and defined abs exuded an intimidating presence fitting his large build. Every time he moved, his muscles flexed gracefully, only to disappear under a fresh shirt as he buttoned it.

“Hmm, those eyes are burning with intensity.”

Lavi smirked as he caught her watching.

“I’m… just… envious.”

Sel answered awkwardly, smiling. She was envious.

If she had a body like his, with strength like his…

She wouldn’t have had to wear a mask, enduring life alone in a cabin.

No one would mock her or pick a fight.

She wouldn’t have to sleep clutching a pistol every night, fearing monsters—or worse, people.

Her unfocused gaze drifted into the distance.

By the time she returned to herself, Lavi had buttoned his shirt and stood right before her.

“I don’t know what’s got you thinking so hard, but don’t worry. You’ll get there.”

“…What?”