"Huff..."

I exhaled sharply, finally finishing the camp setup for the night.

My eyes drifted to Merin, still crumpled where she’d hit the tree, completely unconscious.

I sighed.

I’d originally planned to order her around and make her set up camp, carry our stuff, all the grunt work... But Lydia had handed her over to me already knocked out cold. Great. Just great.

And Nexar too.. He’d been sleeping a lot these days too. Though honestly, he always slept a lot anyway.

I turned toward Sera, who was sleeping peacefully under the tree.

Moonlight cascaded through the leaves above, painting shadows and light across her face, sharpening her delicate features.

The furrow that had been in her brow earlier was gone now. She must have finished whatever battle she’d been fighting in her dreams.

I smiled despite myself and walked toward her.

Crouching down beside her, I carefully placed the Blood Raven aside. I’d torn my sword belt during my two-day grind, and now I was really understanding the importance of those things.

Mental note: get a new one.

Slowly, carefully, I slid my arms beneath Sera, one under her knees, one supporting her back. I lifted her gently, watching her face for any sign of waking.

Her head rolled naturally against my shoulder, her breath warm and steady against my neck. She was completely out, trusting and vulnerable.

I carried her into the tent I’d just finished setting up, mindful of every step so I wouldn’t jostle her awake.

Inside, I lowered her onto the bedroll as gently as I could, cradling her head until it touched the makeshift pillow.

Her skirt had shifted during the move, riding up slightly. I reached down and adjusted it carefully, pulling the fabric back down to cover her properly.

I’m such a responsible guy, I thought to myself with a bitter smirk.

.... I’m pathetic, aren’t I?

I stood up, brushing off my knees, and walked back out of the tent to retrieve Merin and the Blood Raven.

As much as I didn’t care about Merin... I couldn’t just let her sleep out in the cold.

I needed her to do the heavy lifting for us from now on. I mean, if not for Nexar constantly interfering, I would’ve already tortured her to death by now.

Well... this was fine too. I could torture her daily instead. Small pleasures.

I walked toward my sword, still leaning against the tree where I’d left it.

Click

And I froze mid-step.

My instincts tingled, sharp and insistent, that primal warning that screamed danger .

Is there a monster around here?

I immediately scanned the area using my aura. Intermediate aura sharpened my perception significantly, extending my awareness outward like invisible tendrils searching for threats.

Nothing.

I found nothing within our radius.

But my brain was screaming at me. Every nerve in my body was telling me the same thing:

Don’t take another step toward that sword.

I looked at the Blood Raven and a smile crept across my face.

I pushed my hand forward, and the sword vibrated in response, humming with recognition.

In the next instant, it sprang into my hand, crimson aura crackling and dancing along the blade.

"If you come out now and state your business, I’ll let you live," I said, my eyes still scanning the darkness for the threat. "But if I have to find you, I’ll kill you regardless of why you’re here."

"Woah... that’s an awful way to greet someone."

A sultry voice came from behind me. The corner of my eye caught long black hair dancing in the night breeze.

A smile tugged at my lips.

"Did you miss me already?" I said as I turned to face Lydia, who was smiling, her eyes soft and warm, her hands tucked behind her back.

"You speak as if you didn’t miss me," she said, smirking at me with that knowing look.

"After all, it’s you who begged me to join your crew." She pouted slightly, her lower lip pushing out just a bit.

I didn’t remember doing any begging... but whatever. Lydia was here. So did that mean Nexar was right about this being the perfect time?

Damn that Nexar, sleeping instead of generating recruitment dialogue for me.

"So... does that mean you’ll jo—"

"Rune!" Lydia cut me off, smirking as she stepped back, her hands still behind her. She puffed up her chest and stood tall, like she was preparing for some grand announcement.

"Rune. From this point on, you’re under my surveillance." Her tone shifted, becoming slightly more serious, almost official.

"We might know each other from before, but I’m not going to let that affect my mission." She declared it like she was reading from a script.

Mission? What was she talking about?

"I’m here to make sure you don’t... sell out information related to us to anyone." The words came out hesitant. She really sucked at acting.

"At any time, if I find you revealing our secrets... I will... have to..."

"Lydia," I interrupted.

"Welcome back." I smiled at her, genuine and warm.

She froze. Her eyes immediately turned glassy, moisture gathering at the corners. Her body trembled slightly, just enough for me to notice.

"It must have been hard to make this decision," I said softly.

It must have hurt real bad to leave Quinn. She was like a mother to her.

"Thanks for putting your trust in me."

In the next instant, she thudded against me, her body colliding with mine.

Her weight sank into me, smaller and more fragile than I expected. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, holding her against my chest.

"What kind of surveillance hugs her target?" I said sarcastically.

"It’s a seduction tactic," Lydia replied. I could sense her smirking against me, her breath warm through my shirt.

"Let me tell you before you try it on someone else... you really suck at that!" I teased.

"Hey..." She was definitely pouting now.

"I don’t plan to try it on anyone else anyway," she murmured against me, her voice so low I almost didn’t catch it.

I glanced down at her attire. She didn’t have much in the way of warm clothes... she must have left in a hurry without making prior arrangements.

The night breeze here wasn’t something to take lightly, especially for someone dressed like her.

Then I looked over at Merin, still unconscious by the tree. She couldn’t use her aura while chained up like that. She might actually freeze to death at this rate.

"Lydia, take Merin and go into the camp," I said, still holding her.

She pushed lightly against me and looked up at my face, then over at Merin slumped against the tree.

"What about you?" she asked, concern flickering in her eyes.

I scratched my cheek awkwardly. "That camp is for two people... three fit barely. If I join, it’ll be four. We won’t fit."

Lydia looked at the tent, guilt written all over her face.

"I lived most of my life outside before I became a warlord anyway," I added quickly. "I’m accustomed to it."

Lydia nodded slowly, but I could see something cunning flash in her eyes, some thought she was already scheming about.

She walked over to Merin, grabbed her, and started dragging her toward the tent.

As she bent down to pull Merin inside, her back arched, and her black skirt lifted slightly, riding up just above.

"Damn..." The word slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

I sat down under the tree where Sera had been resting before I’d put her inside the tent.

I glanced at the closed tent flap one last time before leaning back against the rough bark, Blood Raven in my hand.

I planted the sword into the ground beside me. Its hilt rose past my shoulders, and I coiled my arms around it in the familiar position I always took when camping out.

Back when I wandered around collecting stat points with Nexar, this had been my default sleeping posture.

The breeze was chilly, biting through my clothes.

I sighed. Well... morning wasn’t too far away.

With that thought, I slowly began to doze off, faint threads of my crimson aura instinctively wrapping around me to fight off the cold.

I’d mastered using aura on an instinct level in my past life under the Beast King’s tutelage, so using it during sleep to ward off the cold wasn’t a problem.

My consciousness slowly faded into darkness.

Click.

My hand rose on its own and caught something mid-air. I pulled it toward me as I unsheathed Blood Raven slightly with my thumb, the blade sliding out with a soft clink

.

"Wahh...!"

The voice came out in surprise as I caught the owner and she fell into my lap.

"Lydia?" I asked, my vision still blurry from sleep.

"The hell kind of instincts are those?!" she exclaimed, genuinely shocked. "I even had my phantom cloak on!"

I sighed, blinking away the grogginess. "Shouldn’t you be sleeping?"

She looked away sharply, hesitating. "Well..."

Her index finger curled around a strand of her black hair nervously.

I noticed the blanket draped over her arm, mine, actually. She must have taken it out of my bag.

"I thought... you’d be feeling cold... so..." Her words trailed off into nothing.

"If you give it to me, what will you use?" I asked.

Sera’s blanket will barely cover herself and Merin.

"Yeah... so... I thought we could use this together..." she said, her lips pushing forward as she whistled slowly, still looking away.

Her index finger kept twirling that strand of black hair.

I smiled, my hand still holding hers from catching her. I dragged her toward me suddenly.

She fell against my chest, her own chest pressing into mine, her eyes going wide with surprise.

"The breeze is cold and the night is long..." I whispered near her ear, letting my breath brush against her skin.

"Are you not afraid...?" I asked, the hidden meaning clear in my tone.

Her body twitched as my breath hit her neck. "Wha-what do you mean...?" she stammered, stumbling back slightly.

"Haha." I laughed, breaking the tension.

"Just go back to the tent. I’m fine." I waved my hand dismissively, smiling.

Lydia looked down, exhaling furiously through her nose. Her lips pushed forward in an adorable pout.

"No way!" she declared as she threw the blanket around both of us. She pushed herself toward me, her side touching mine. The blanket fell over us like a cocoon, covering us completely.

"You serious?" I asked.

"Yes! I’m not letting you suffer because of me," she said, her lips still formed in that stubborn pout.

"Like I said... you’re not—" I started, but Lydia spoke over me.

"Don’t talk. I have to sleep." She leaned against the tree, half her back pressing against me.

I sighed. She’d just made it way more difficult for me to sleep. How did she expect us both to fit comfortably against the same tree?

My arm passed around her back, and I pulled her closer toward me. Now her back was completely leaning against me, her weight settled into my chest.

Lydia didn’t push away. She quietly adjusted herself against me, her skirt shifting slightly on my lap as she leaned her back more fully into me.

Warmth spread between us, the blanket covering us up to our necks. The cold breeze didn’t feel so chilling anymore.

Lydia’s chest rose and fell slowly, her breathing already beginning to even out as she drifted toward sleep.

She’d been through so much in a single night, the decision to leave, the trek through the forest, everything.

I smiled and slowly tapped her shoulder gently, rhythmically, letting her ease into sleep.

A small smile crept onto her face as she finally drifted off completely, relaxed and safe.

I dozed off slightly after her, my chin resting lightly on top of her head.

From tomorrow, a new adventure would begin. I’d visit the orphanage before we left the forest, I’d promised Sera we would, after all.

With those thoughts drifting through my mind, I too slowly fell into sleep, Lydia’s warmth against me and the night wrapping around us both.