‘I feel like I’ve given you my hand,’ Erich grumbled as he watched Rayan tangle, rub, and sometimes clutch between his fingers.
‘Speak for yourself.’
‘You never know when your lips will fall from the corner of my mouth,’ Rayan murmured, tearing his eyes away amiably. He pushed him away, but the gesture was insincere.
‘But why did you tell Ayla not to laugh earlier?’
Rayan let out a short exclamation and brought out the question he had swallowed a moment ago. Erich gently touched Rayan’s hair with an startled expression as if he hadn’t thought that it would be brought up as a topic again.
‘Do you really need to hear that?’
Mhm.’
Rayan rolled his eyes around, then grinned and nodded fervently. It was the first time he’d ever seen Erich so embarrassed, and it made him feel a little mischievous.
‘I have to hear it, El.’
‘Ha. Really…’
A sigh was mingled with Erich’s regret for saying something useless.
‘You said Ayla was once considered your mate.’
Rayan recalled his memories. Ah, it seemed like he had once said something like that. However, it was a passing line, and he had forgotten about it himself. But Erich remembered that.
‘Erich. Are you a genius by any chance?’
‘What nonsense.’
‘Why is your memory so good?’
Looking at Rayan, who was staring at him with admiration in his eyes, Erich put on a somewhat embarrassed expression.
‘It’s not about having a good memory… Well, it’s annoying.’
His earlobe seemed to be reddening. Rayan leaned his head closer to look at it. ‘Look at me’. At the whispered words, Erich looked up. His eyes, always so kind to him, had turned colder and colder.
‘Your smile.’
‘So don’t smile’. Erich’s eyes, which spoke quietly, did not contain Rayan at all.
.
.
.
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.
“… Gasp.”
Ejsjc remxfv lc j ygfjat jcv bqfcfv tlr fsfr. Ktf revvfc bqfclcu fsfr agfwyifv. Llr mtfra tfjnfv jcv atewqfv. Xjrqlcu obg rtbgacfrr bo ygfjat, tf ribkis qertfv atf vgfjw, j wlzaegf bo atf gfji qjra jcv clutawjglrt olmalbc, bea bo tlr mbcrmlbercfrr.
Coafg tlr gjqlvis glrlcu ygfjat mjiwfv vbkc, Ejsjc gfwfwyfgfv atja tf tjv mbiijqrfv lc ogbca bo Sglmt. Lf kjr vlhhs jcv ifatjgulm. Ktf jimbtbi tf mjrejiis lctjifv bc jc fwqas rabwjmt wluta tjnf jirb yffc atf mjerf.
But he must have collapsed on the street, so why did it feel so fluffy?
Realizing it belatedly, Rayan looked around. The sun had set, so it was dark, and he couldn’t see anything, but this was clearly a bed. Grabbing the hem of his blanket, he was alert and glanced in all directions. It could be that someone had brought him here when he had fallen down.
When Rayan’s eyes, which had been scanning his surroundings, gradually got used to the darkness, he spotted a figure leaning against the window, its head cocked at an angle, its brilliant blond hair caught in the moonlight.
Rayan’s eyes softened in an instant. He carefully set his feet on the bed. Gently. Muffling the sound of his footsteps, he quickly reached in front of Erich.
His eyes were closed, so he couldn’t see the blue eyes he’d seen before blacking out.
“…”
The long eyelashes fluttered like wings every time he breathed in and out. Rayan stared at him for a while and murmured his name. The call that dispersed with the sound of breathing was so small that he couldn’t even hear it.
“It will wear out.”
“Ah.”
However, as if responding to the call, Erich opened his mouth without any other movement. Slowly, his eyes opened, a languid lassitude that was quickly washed away after a few blinks.
Since this Erich had no memories, he shouldn’t have gotten too close. Rayan hurriedly took a step back from him but missed a step. His knees buckled in an instant. Ah. I’m falling… At that moment, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him.
“I don’t want to have to grab you twice.”
He let go only after confirming that Rayan was standing properly. For a moment, regretting the falling warmth, he almost followed the touch, but then he dropped it back into place as if it had always been there.
Pushing himself up from the window sill he’d been leaning against, Erich gestured lightly. He hadn’t even lit the candle, and the light brightened. In the past, he often used magic in this way. The crystal ball that he couldn’t bring from Atisa, and even the bracelet.
“You are used to magic.”
And Erich, who had a good eye, quickly picked up on the familiarity of Rayan’s appearance.
“It’s usually something you can’t take your eyes off.”
Should I pretend to be surprised? As if laughing at Rayan, who was troubled, Erich did not question him anymore. Instead, he strode ahead and tapped on both tables to signal him to come here.
“… Oh.”
The table was lined with consommé, soft wheat bread, and grilled fish dishes.
“Eat.”
Rayan stood still, unsure of what to do.
“Come and eat.”
“…”
“The physician said that your energy was running out so you lost consciousness. How amazing. With a body like that, with all the drinking you’ve been doing, so how can my body not get tired?”
It wasn’t the only reason, but Rayan couldn’t bear to refute.
But speaking of the physician, he again wondered where this place was. As soon as he found Erich, the curiosity that had disappeared raised his head again and revealed his presence. It wasn’t a castle; the bedding and everything else that made up this room was too plain for that.
“Here is…”
Rayan barely opened his mouth.
“Because I don’t know where you live.”
Erich’s answer was extremely concise.
“What. Did you think I would have left you on the street.”
Rayan couldn’t bear to deny it. Erich would never do such a thing, but the Erich of today had no memory and his disposition seemed a little—perhaps a lot— worse. Of course he saved Rayan from the tavern, but that was another matter. He assumed that, or he would have thrown him anywhere and left at the slightest mercy.
When he stood silent on the spot, Erich took it as an affirmation and raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t refute it. He lowered his eyes and knocked on the table again. Unlike before, the tapping gestures were rough and sharp.
Rayan sat down in the slightly leaning chair and looked at the food. The food was cold, as evidenced by the fact that he had been unconscious for quite some time. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t eat it, and he moved his hands slowly.
“You must be hungry, so eat this first.”
Erich, who sat across from him, intervened as Rayan’s hand turned to the fish dish. Looking at the consommé, Rayan let out a pained sound. He wanted to eat more of that… When Rayan hesitated, Erich even showed kindness by pushing the bowl containing the consommé towards him.
“You don’t eat… yo?”
“I’ve been wondering since the other day, but what’s with those honorifics? Didn’t you learn anything about etiquette?”
It was an inevitable habit. He knew he had to fix it, but looking at Erich’s warm eyes kept reminding me of him from the past. When Rayan avoided answering, Erich did not criticize further. He seemed to have come to his own conclusion and was satisfied.
After that, he paid no more attention to Rayan. There was no other noise other than the clinking of utensils. The consommé was more delicious than expected, so Rayan glanced at Erich though his hands never stopped moving the whole time. A quiet but fervent gaze met his. With delicately stretched features and beautiful blonde hair.
“You can’t take your eyes off my hair. No matter how rare it is to see, how many strands do you need me to cut for you?”
Erich blurted out without looking at him. Rayan felt a sense of deja vu. Perhaps it was because the other said something similar to when they first met. But then he did give him some of his hair, but the difference was that this time, it couldn’t be.
“…”
Rayan buried his nose in the plate again.
***
The uncomfortable meal ended only after Rayan emptied more than half of it and complained that he could not eat any more. Erich wondered if it made sense to eat only that little and get full, but eventually accepted it, and now here they were.
“… I can go by myself.”
Erich insisted that he would take him home, insisting that he would collapse on the street again. Rayan repeatedly refused, but Erich was adamant.
Rayan didn’t know what to do.
He wasn’t too worried about Alle as he would have already gone, but aside from that, he was well aware that his abode was not normal. Humans always lived in houses, but he did not. He never felt particularly uncomfortable about it, but it was not a sight to be shown to Erich. He was already looking at Rayan with inquisitive eyes.
“I can really go by myself.”
He had collapsed from lack of energy, but that didn’t happen often, just on this particular day.
“You can’t find your way home in the dark, and you think you can go alone?”
Erich, who would never have imagined that the cave would be his dwelling place, simply ignored Rayan’s opinion with a snort. There was no way the latter could break his will. No expectations were born in his heart. Rayan sighed and led the way in the end. Erich followed suit well, even though he had a dubious face.
“Don’t tell me here is…”
Soon they reached the entrance of the cave, he murmured. Far from remembering, there was a slight astonishment in his eyes. After noticing traces of life, he chose to keep his mouth shut.
“We’re here now, yo.”
Rayan, who cut off his budding expectations, gave a notice as if telling the other to go, but Erich looked around the cave instead of looking at him. He couldn’t remember anything and everything would be startling to him, but Rayan had never felt so comfortable here.
For one, it was a place that held their memories, and it was close to the sea.
Even if the sea rejected him, his source was the sea. He couldn’t help but draw closer. Also, it was fun to talk to the letan, who often visited, and he didn’t feel too uncomfortable sleeping here.
“Why are you living in a place like this?”
Among the humans, there were also many vagabonds wandering the streets. Compared to that, there was a place to lie down and rest, so wasn’t it quite compliant? However, in Erich’s eyes, it was clear that they were no different.
Erich, who was pacing around in the cave, suddenly stopped.
“Ah!”
Seeing that his foot kicked, Rayan quickened his pace, but Erich was quicker to bend down and pick it up.
“That’s…”
What was barely hanging on Erich’s palm was a cracked bracelet.
Will that bracelet bring back memories? Will there still be some of Erich’s magic left in it and he feels it?
Thx for the ch ٩( >ヮ<)۶
Síii, que ya por fin recuerde algooo