Chapter 63: Southern Hunting Tournament (2)

 

Even though I reside in the tent of Kraus, the items within the tent were simpler than expected.

 

Inside, there was a modest bed, a single chair, and a small table. Apart from these, only a few essentials such as a whetstone for maintaining my equipment and a set of clothes for my stay were present.

 

There was no tea set prepared like we had in the castle, nor any simple refreshments available. Ken, who always attended to my needs, wasn’t here either. It wasn’t essential for him to accompany the knight brigade on their hunting training, and more than anything, Ken really disliked camping.

 

He had been working with Kraus for a long time, but Ken was a butler, not a soldier. He would probably be waiting for us in Legion now, the location of the upcoming tournament.

 

The reason we were currently in the forest was solely for the practice of Orcus and Noel. It had nothing to do with the format of the tournament. Given that the tournament was a competition among the nobility, with various prominent and minor southern families participating, it always began with one castle as its base.

 

With these thoughts in my mind, I turned to look at Elena. She met my gaze and offered a gentle smile, to which I reciprocated with a subtle smile, tinged with a hint of guilt.

 

The current setting was admittedly lacking for a lady and young master who lived as nobles.

 

While Noel and Orcus seemed to have adjusted for now, having a clear purpose for attending the tournament, Elena, who had no such commitment, could’ve chosen to stay with Ken in Legion.

 

Although her future might involve navigating such inconveniences, she didn’t need to bear them now. While her choice to join us brought me joy, a part of me wished she’d stayed in the comforts of Legion.

 

Yet, contrary to my concerns, Elena appeared to effortlessly handle her two-day camp stay as though it was second nature. Still, that didn’t mean I was comfortable with it. Going forward, I felt Elena should remain in the castle for endeavors like this, even if she feels otherwise.

 

Lost in thought, as I was contemplating this, my gaze shifted to the subtle movement on the blanket. It wasn’t hard to find the cause. It was Elena’s hand pressing it from the side.

 

She seemed intrigued by the bed I used, and without a word, she started pressing on the bed with her palm, much like a curious cat. Surely her bed was prepared just like mine, along with Orcus’ and Noel’s. Could she feel something different about it?

 

Hmm...

 

This was a bit embarrassing.

 

Seeing Elena pressing down on the blanket was adorable, but knowing that she was touching the blanket I usually use made me feel strangely self-conscious.

 

It was perfectly fine just moments ago. But now, her pressing down on my bed seemed to be the issue.

 

“It’s damp...”

 

“What?!”

 

I blurted out in response to Elena’s murmured words, having been so intently focused on her.

 

Was the blanket damp... Did I spill something on it?

 

Her unexpected comment made me pat the blanket with a flustered face.

 

My primary concern was any potential misconceptions she might form. Seeing my flustered reaction, Elena burst into laughter, as if finding my bewildered expression amusing as I examined the blanket.

 

Only after her laughter did I realize that she was simply referring to the moisture trapped within the fabric.

 

Meeting her gaze again, I was met with a mischievous grin.

 

“Why are you so flustered?”

 

“Um... No, it’s nothing.”

 

I’ve had tea on this bed more than once or twice.

 

If it was truly damp, I would have noticed. Yet the recent occupant of the bed wouldn’t know that. Being taken aback by her unexpected comment was my own fault.

 

In response to my answer, Elena playfully tapped her fingers together and started to wave her other hand in the air. Following the flow of mana from her gestures, I could tell that Elena was doing more than just simple hand movements.

 

Tiny droplets floating in the air started to gather towards the pattern she was creating.

 

Neither my clothes nor the blanket beneath us were exceptions.

 

Droplets formed in the air and soon levitated onto her hand. The blanket, which Elena had called damp, now felt as if it had been freshly dried in the sun.

 

Gathering moisture from the air reminded me of a dehumidifier, but unlike a dehumidifier, the sight of visible droplets converging in the air was rather magical.

 

In no time, a small ball of water had formed above Elena’s hand.

 

Although it took the shape of a round sphere, one could tell it was water from the way it shimmered and rippled delicately.

 

Elena touched the water orb, but it didn’t burst.

 

It went in deeply, as if pressing on jelly, and soon surround her fingers. As I stared in amazement, Elena began to draw something in mid-air with the floating water.

 

The transparent stream of water originating from the orb turned into a line, following her hand, gradually forming a new shape. I decided to guess what Elena was trying to draw as I watched the forming picture.

 

“Hmm...”

 

It doesn’t seem to be a person. So, an animal?

 

The outline became clearer.

 

Starting from the tiny water stream, the picture was nearing completion. Yet, I still couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Clearly, it was an animal. A dog perhaps? Or a cat? The pointed ears make it seem like one of the two, but I couldn’t be sure which.

 

What is this?

 

Having finished her drawing, Elena looked at me with expectant eyes. Normally, I would’ve met her gaze with a smile, but now I felt an apprehension looking into those twinkling purple eyes.

 

Elena... you can’t draw, can you?

 

This wasn’t even mentioned in the novel.

 

Realizing one more thing about her should’ve been delightful, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile now. The drawing was done, and it was my turn to answer. Still uncertain if it was a dog or a cat, but I couldn’t ignore her gaze any longer.

 

After a long ponder, I succumbed to the pressure and spoke up.

 

“Is it... a dog?”

 

There was a brief silence between us.

 

Did I get it wrong?

 

Should I have guessed cat?

 

Just as a myriad of thoughts filled my head, Elena spoke. Disappointment gleamed in her eyes, but her lips curled into a smile.

 

“If you say it’s a dog, it could be. The correct answer is a wolf.”

 

“Oh, I see. That’s unfortunate.”

 

So it was a wolf...

 

Of course, a wolf.

 

Perhaps because my answer was somewhat close, Elena didn’t seem too upset.

 

Come to think of it, the emblem of the Edelweiss family did feature a wolf, didn’t it? I was so relieved I didn’t say it was a cat. Or maybe a fox.

 

“Shall we move on to the next question?”

 

Ah.

 

Before I could even respond, Elena’s hand began to move rapidly again.

 

Seeing that made my blood run cold, but watching her smile so brightly and move her hands in various ways made it hard for me to tell her to stop.

 

Elena wasn’t the type to take offense at a wrong guess.

 

In the end, I quickly resigned myself to the situation and shifted my gaze back to Elena rather than the drawing she was making. After all, whether I looked now or waited until the completion, the unpredictability would remain the same. It felt like a better choice to calm my heart by watching her smiling face.

 

How long had I been watching her? Suddenly, Elena stopped drawing and spoke to me.

 

“Damian. Would you like to try it too?”

 

Elena’s unexpected question caught me off guard. Maybe she asked because I hadn’t been watching the drawing and kept looking at her. I was just enjoying seeing her smile. I hesitated for a moment before nodding.

 

Gently, Elena took my hand, directing mana through it in a manner distinct from before. It felt as though a refreshing energy was passing through my hand. Unlike the fleeting wind, this energy lingered around my hand.

 

“You’re set. Give it a try now.”

 

Following her words, I raised a finger, and just like she did earlier, the moisture in the air began to gather around my fingertip. Seeing this, I drew a straight line of water as if I was handling a pencil for the first time.

 

“It feels quite fascinating. It’s refreshing too.”

 

“Right? Now, draw something, and I’ll try to guess what it is!”

 

Confident in her words, I smiled slightly and began to move my hand.

 

***

 

“Wow... I didn’t expect it to turn out like this.”

 

I exclaimed in amazement as I looked up at the ceiling, which had transformed into a shade of blue. The paintings made of water floated in the air, giving off an ethereal, dreamlike sensation.

 

How should I describe this?

 

They hovered around the canopy of my tent like clouds, but they weren’t white, nor did they give off the light feeling of clouds.

 

It felt familiar. I think I had experienced something like this before... Yes, it felt as though I had stepped into an underwater aquarium. An aquarium where it seemed like fish were flying through the sky. Here, however, it was water-formed creatures flying in the sky.

 

Neither Elena nor I had intended to create such a scene from the beginning.

 

We were just engrossed in our drawing. When we ran out of space to draw and looked up at the ceiling, our surroundings had transformed into this panorama.

 

“Hmm, should we do it like this?”

 

Seeing no more vacant space, Elena began gathering the paintings she had drawn so far. As they were all crafted from water, the paintings merged upon contact, forming one massive water droplet.

 

Was there this much water in the room? A huge drop of water appeared in front of my eyes, covering the ceiling of the room. The person who made it proudly pointed at the drop of water and told me.

 

“Now, we can draw with this.”

 

Clearly, she seemed to have enjoyed our drawing game just as much as I did.

 

I thought it would be nice to play this game with Alphonse when we would be back home and raise my hand towards the droplet. This time, both Elena’s and my hands moved simultaneously. At some point, our game had shifted from challenging each other to freely drawing together.

 

Elena flattened her palm, stretching the round droplet into a square, while I drew lines on it, crafting the land and the sky. Although there were no colors, just lines, our creation turned into a reasonably decent drawing.

 

Elena didn’t only draw animals...

 

With the paintings gradually coming to completion in front of us, the sensation of the blanket held in my hand fleetingly brushed through my mind.

 

It wasn’t damp like before, but fluffy. I lifted my hand from the blanket and touched my palm with the other hand. The unique feeling of discomfort of a rainy day was no longer present on my skin.

 

Outside, the rain continued to pour relentlessly. The sound of raindrops striking the tent and the ground was a pleasant backdrop. From that sound, one could deduce that the rain was far from ending.

 

Above my head floated that massive water droplet, and from the sky outside the tent, it seemed like water was pouring as if from a hole. Yet, at this moment, I couldn’t feel any of the discomfort caused by the humidity.

 

The reason was simple. When she made the water droplet, a minuscule amount of the moisture that had been on my skin was also included. It wasn’t so much that my lips felt dry, but it felt as if I was experiencing a spring day without rain.

 

While feeling my skin’s moisture with my hands, I reached out toward her.

 

“Huh?”

 

I didn’t have any particular intention.

 

I thought that perhaps physical contact wouldn’t give an unpleasant sensation like before, and there was no need to just touch fingertips as we had previously done. That was the only reason.

 

Grabbing Elena’s shoulder, I pulled her close to me. My sudden action made her stop drawing. She turned her head towards me, but I said nothing and simply leaned my head against hers.

 

Her soft hair brushed against my head, tickling me.

 

Elena neither blushed nor avoided my gaze by bowing her head as she had done before. Just like when we went out together previously, she comfortably leaned against me.

 

“Hehe...”

 

As I playfully tickled her chin, Elena giggled and moved even closer to me, as if chasing the warmth of my hand.

 

The sound of rain, resembling a song, combined with the floating painting made it feel as if this wasn’t the tent I had been staying in, but some other world entirely.

 

Was it the feeling of being the only two left in a single world? Or was it being drawn to her lively, radiant smile? I was steadily closing the distance between us.

 

Elena didn’t push me away as I approached.

 

She didn’t turn her head elsewhere either. Instead, she looked back at me, narrowing the gap between us.

 

The distance between us was so close that our breaths touched each other’s skin.

 

Even when we danced together, we hadn’t been this close. Where had the old me, who would blush and avoid her gaze, gone? Damian’s influence on me might have played a part in my actions, but the familiar anxiety I felt every time I got close to her was nowhere to be found in my heart.

 

Holding my breath, I stared at her lips.

 

“Um.”

 

The moment of moving closer to Elena felt fleeting, but in my mind, time seemed to stretch out. I didn’t expect my thought processing, which surpassed normal human capability, to hold me back. It layered several thoughts, adding tension to what could’ve been a simple moment.

 

Just as both the distance and my racing heart reached their peak, I heard a sound different from the continuing rainfall.

 

-Splash

 

The sound of thick mud splattering echoed.

 

Someone was approaching. I couldn’t see who it was, but the following voice revealed their identity.

 

“Damian! It’s serious! It seems my older brother is very sick! Once the rain stops, let’s go hunting...”

 

- Whoosh!

 

Noel’s following words were drowned out by the pouring water. The painting hovering above our heads turned into a massive waterfall, soaking the room.

 

I couldn’t believe this was happening.

 

Seizing the moment, I veiled our actions behind the cascading water and shared a swift kiss with Elena. Then, with a calm expression, I looked at Noel and asked,

 

“I couldn’t hear you properly. Can you repeat what you said?”

 

There was no response from Noel.

 

--- END OF CHAPTER ---

 

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