Sebi couldn’t function well with the view of Necomir’s beauty, his damned eyes constantly distracted so he couldn’t really fully enjoy the experience at the beach.
It was just the male body, what was he getting so flustered for! It’s not like Sebi didn’t have what Necomir had!
Although… if you look closely… Sebi’s muscles were nothing compared to the divine toned, sinewy abdomen and limbs that Necomir had…
Sebi inhaled and exhaled loudly, keeping himself together. He needed to get used to it because Bellona had booked a lot of activities that had something to do with taking their clothes off and water. Plus, he and Necomir shared rooms. They had a few more days of vacation, Sebi might unexpectedly find himself accidentally entering the room before Necomir could put his clothes on. Sebi absolutely cannot act like an idiot robot with his mind going haywire in front of him!
Necomir looked at Sebi and chuckled, understanding that his imagination might be running wild again and he had no means of understanding what he was thinking.
They were currently walking down a night street filled with all sorts of booths for food, trinkets and even performances. It was particularly lively, especially since it was a day dedicated to the patron god of the area.
“We’ll go pick something up here first,” Bellona suddenly said as she grabbed Misharu and Akhenaten while she made gestures at Necomir. “Sebi, go with Chunmi and reserve a table somewhere nice. Barbecue is mostly preferred. We’ll be quick!”
Before Sebi could ask what they were up to, Bellona had pulled the other men away and disappeared into the crowd.
“What are they up to?” Sebi wondered, looking like he wanted to follow after them out of curiosity.
“Nothing, it’s just food,” Chunmi nonchalantly said as she hooked her arm through Sebi’s and dragged him down the street.
“Hey Sebi,” Chunmi suddenly spoke up. When Sebi hummed and turned to her, she suddenly reached up and slipped a flower from out of nowhere behind his ear.
“What…” Sebi mumbled as he took the flower and stared at it. He blinked in surprise, finding the flower really beautiful. It was crystalline, with a golden sheen almost similar to diamonds.
“Where did you get this?” he wondered.
“It’s the starblaze flower, endemic to Planet Phohenus,” Chunmi said. “I got it from a booth we passed by just a while ago.”
“It’s a flower?!” Sebi asked in shock. “But it looks like a precious stone!”
“The story behind it is actually really beautiful,” Chunmi smiled. “Want to hear it?”
Sebi nodded.
“Well… do you believe in gods, Sebi?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He thought about it deeply.
Glv Vfyl yfilfnf lc ubvr?
Zjsyf, yea Vfyl tjv jikjsr yffc bcf ktb bcis yfilfnfv ktja tf rjk. Lf tjv rffc Gfjat atfc obecv ilof jujlc, jcv jiatbeut atlr kbeiv ifjv tlw ab yfmbwlcu vfnbafv ab j gfilulbc yjrfv bc tlr fzqfglfcmf, Vfyl tjvc’a yffc jyif ab rff ubvr.
Snfcaejiis, Vfyl rlwqis rtgeuufv. “P’w cba gfjiis regf…”
“It’s said that a long time ago, a primordial god fell from the Fore Realm and landed on Phohenus,” Chunmi began. “This god was named Iphion, a god who dwelled among the stars and was responsible for their life and death. They were powerful, but due to a conflict with the god of destruction, Luheus, Iphion was thrown out of the Fore Realm.
Weak and half-dead, Iphion was found by the locals of a village that once stood in this region. They cared for him and treated him very well.”
Chunmi reached out to touch the flower and sighed. “But not long later, a meteor from Sukarin’s path of destruction fell in Phohenus, endangering the village.
In order to save them, Iphion mustered all of his strength and blended with the surroundings. He made a protective layer around the village. When the meteor came, it simply shattered together with Iphion’s essence.”
Sebi gave her a sympathizing look. “Iphion died?”
“He didn’t,” Chunmi smiled. “The local celestial master saw through his identity and quickly called the people to worship him. Iphion regained his strength bit by bit. He then swore to the villagers that he would protect them, as they were kind enough to him during his lowest moments.
Since then, Iphion became the patron god of the region.”
“How about the starblaze?”
“The starblaze was formed from the shattered pieces of Iphion’s essence when it stopped the meteor. It is a symbol of his protection.”
Sebi hummed as he stared at the starblaze. Although he wasn’t very familiar with the belief systems and religions within the Terra Star System yet, Sebi knew he had a course for it soon. It would be best if he studied more of it so he understood who this Iphion or Sukarin are.
And besides, hearing about gods has really piqued his interest…
Boom!
Out of nowhere, the loud, violent sound of something exploding rang through the area. It sounded a lot like the large firemakers used by locals at the welcoming of special holidays such as the Starblaze Festival, but that was not the case when law enforcers mingling in with the crowds rushed in to respond. Eventually, it was revealed that a suspension car had malfunctioned and chaotically fell down the street, exploding after crashing into several other land cars.
“What a mess,” Chunmi mumbled as she and Sebi made their way to the chaos.
The familiar vibration of Sebi’s lightband suddenly made him flinch, which was the same for Chunmi. They exchanged glances before turning on the interface.
“Sebi!” Misharu’s face came in the hologram. “Is Necomir there?!”
“We left the table we reserved after a suspension car exploded, we haven’t met him,” Sebi said. “Why? Did he separate from you?”
“Yes!” Misharu nodded. “We were supposed to meet after getting all the stuff, b-but only Bellona came and we couldn’t contact–”
Misharu’s words fell on deaf ears as Sebi suddenly reached out to Chunmi who was still trying to calm a panicking Bellona.
“Chunmi, can you connect to Neco’s lightband and find his location?” he said.
“I’ll try,” Chunmi resolutely answered.
Sebi nodded and turned back to Misharu.
“You need to tell me where you last exactly saw him and the place where he needed to go. I’ll come look for him.”
Sebi’s eyebrows were furrowed and he looked really serious. Misharu and Akhenaten thought he looked really scary, but deep inside, Sebi was the one scared shitless.
How could he not feel scared? Like his friends, Sebi couldn’t help but feel frightened, especially with that sudden explosion. They couldn’t help but think of the worst.
But Sebi needed to calm down. He wouldn’t know what to do if he was overwhelmed by panic. He needed to keep his head clear and do his best with the help of his friends.
“Necomir’s lightband seems to be broken!” Chunmi helplessly spoke. “Sebi, I’m sorry–”
“Don’t worry,” Sebi hastily said before she could say anything more. “Misharu told me the route that he had taken, we’ll figure it out.”
Much to Sebi’s grave expectations, the route was close to the area where the suspension car had first set the chaos. The area was closed, with the horrendous view of the suspension car and other cars burning while people rushed around tending to the wounded or subduing the hazards.
Without hesitation, Sebi reached out and probed the minds of every person within the vicinity.
A prickling sensation pecked at his temples due to the large-scale usage together with the emotional and mental burden of all these people on him, but Sebi was very focused. Desperation and worry gave him strength as he fumbled about, searching for that one important person.
“Sebi can’t see me like this… Fuck, it hurts.”
That one thought entered Sebi’s mind. It was flimsy and easy to miss in the ocean of more intense thoughts, but Sebi was highly alert and sensitive, thus he was able to grab hold of such a thought and zero in on the person.
“I found him!” Sebi cried out as he bolted towards the direction of the thought with a speed that made Chunmi struggle and nearly lose him a couple of times.
On top of a law enforcer car’s hood sat Necomir, one side of his head dripping with blood. He looked annoyed as he tried resurrecting his lightband, but it seemed to be broken. A woman stood beside him, rummaging through her kit as she prepared to tend to his wounds.
“Neco!” Sebi screamed as he bolted towards him.
Necomir flinched and looked at Sebi’s direction. There was a hint of embarrassment on his face, but he didn’t try to hide himself.
When he got close, Sebi quickly threw himself on Necomir, hugging him tightly.
“Hey, hey,” Necomir laughed softly, giving Chunmi a confused glance as he ruffled Sebi’s hair. “What’s with all the…”
His voice died down when Sebi leaned away and he saw his face.
“We were so worried,” Sebi said, his eyes watery as he gave Necomir a look of worry and helplessness. The look on his face was so profound, it gave Necomir the impression that Sebi wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he suddenly lost him.
Necomir’s heart suddenly fluttered.
“I’m sorry,” he reached out, putting a palm on Sebi’s cheek. Necomir thought Sebi might shrink away, but surprisingly, he naturally held on to Necomir’s wrist and kept him there.
“I-I…” Necomir suddenly found himself stuttering. “I was… I was just standing by, trying to contact the others when that thing suddenly crashed into traffic and some shrapnel hit me out of nowhere…”
Sebi looked around hastily before his eyes set on a conspicuous-looking metal stained with blood lying on the ground nearby. Necomir followed where he was looking and was surprised to see Sebi looking aggrieved as he reached out and made the metal dissolve into a heap of dust.
“Sebi…” Necomir called out softly.
He turned back towards him, lips pressed in a thin line.
While gazing intently at Sebi’s face, Necomir seemed to have realized something…
Author’s Notes:
Life is not daijobou, thus please expect sometimes 1 or sometimes 2 updates a week from now on 😔
No fair! We got left with a cliffhanger!
What did he realize? stares at screen
thanks for the chapter! <3
Serious Sebi is kinda scary but i bet Neco liked it lol.
Thanks for the chapter!
oh i’m curious 🧐