The hot springs in the snow had a unique charm. Aesc couldn't help but think so.
She hadn't forgotten the purpose of this trip. Her plan was to rest briefly, wait for the weather to clear, and then head to the Bell Temple. But Shiomi kept persuading her, saying things like, "How can you have the strength to ring the Pilgrim's Bell if you don't rest properly?" Unable to resist his persistence, Aesc finally gave in and let herself enjoy it with him.
The artificial spring nestled in the forest outside the city walls was the place where she and Shiomi had once met in secret. No other fairies knew of it, and it had been spared from destruction. After Shiomi made a few small adjustments, the hot spring was ready for use again.
Letting the steaming water wash away the dust and fatigue of their journey felt out of place amid the ruins of her homeland, yet Aesc couldn't help but enjoy it.
But sharing a bath often led to… complications. Perhaps because their first stirrings of passion had happened in a hot spring, the moment she stepped into the water, Aesc always felt an illusion—as if her body burned hotter than the spring itself.
Desire bloomed in her mind. Was it she who clung to him, or he to her?
It hardly mattered. What mattered was that, in this frozen land, they could hold each other close, warming one another with their bodies—until one of them was completely exhausted.
—Though it was always her who ran out of strength first.
—Still, Aesc couldn't help but feel a little guilty about using the displacement mirror just to travel between the hot spring and the library.
In the library she cherished so much, Shiomi had cleared a corner and set up a bed just big enough for the two of them to sleep in each other's arms.
Now, recalling the hot spring, she lay sprawled on that bed in thin underclothes, completely at ease. Shiomi sat astride her back, pressing down with steady hands.
"Ah… that feels so good…" Aesc murmured lazily, then turned her face with a teasing smile. "Can't you press a little harder? Is my husband getting tired?"
"I'm just worried I might hurt you if I press too hard." Shiomi sighed helplessly, but then suddenly applied more pressure.
Aesc cried out at once. "Ugh—!"
"See?" Shiomi went back to his earlier gentleness.
"No, that doesn't seem right," Aesc said thoughtfully. "My husband, try that again?"
"Again?" Shiomi thought she was just being stubborn.
But Aesc shifted slightly, raising her hand in a small wave to signal him. In the glow of the lamp, it looked like a white butterfly fluttering, its wings flickering between light and shadow.
"It's not like you could really hurt me anyway. Try again," Aesc said.
"Alright," Shiomi agreed, pressing down once more.
This time, her cry wasn't nearly as sharp as before. It was more like she had been caught off guard by the sudden change.
"Ah… it really does feel better with more pressure. Let's keep it this way from now on, my husband." Aesc's face was flushed, her expression full of bliss. Her bare shoulder, half-revealed as she leaned back, had also taken on a soft pink hue.
"Looks like you've gotten tougher. When I first massaged you, even a little extra force made you cry out in pain." Shiomi laughed heartily, his hands moving with even more precision. "If only your skills could improve this fast too."
"Oh, well…" Aesc hesitated, looking as if she wanted to say something but stopped short.
She was trying to figure out how to explain it to Shiomi.
Around the age of twenty, her body stopped growing. As a Paradise Fairy with a lifespan far longer than the faeries of Britain, she would remain forever youthful unless she chose otherwise.
But in exchange came the limitation of her combat abilities.
Her study of Magecraft theory had advanced again after the Wasteland period, but her aptitude as a Magus—especially her Mana capacity—had reached its absolute limit. Unlike Shiomi, whose growth was merely slow, she could go no further.
The reason was simple. It was one of the traits of being a Paradise Fairy.
"The 'Paradise Fairy,' as the name suggests, is a fairy dispatched from the Inner Sea of the Planet... Avalon. But as I've said before, the mission itself was vague. The only words I heard at my birth were: 'Go to Britain, and correct the error.'" Aesc began her explanation from the start.
"Hmm. So did Avalon do anything to you to prevent accidents?"
"'Adjustment' might be a better word. The 'Fairy of Paradise' is a 'Seed of the Stars' flowing down from Paradise. If it's fortunate enough to take root and sprout on earth, it grows as a larva. Before becoming an adult, it develops like a human—it is a fairy that can 'grow.'" Aesc's voice grew quieter. "As you've seen over these three hundred years, even when I try to disguise myself as an ordinary fairy, the purer the bloodline of each clan, the more instinctively they reject me."
Like the leader of the Wind Clan, who, upon seeing Shiomi, revealed an intent to take him away. Even though that glance lasted only a moment, Aesc noticed it.
Because Minerva wanted to kill her. She had never liked Aesc much to begin with, so killing her would be no problem. That was the thought behind it.
"Because I'm not a native faerie of Britain. To them, I'm an invader from that 'foreign land called Paradise,' the true heir of the island."
Shiomi understood this well.
Even concealing her identity led to such rejection. If her true identity were revealed, she would likely face a fate similar to the annihilation of the Rain Clan.
[To make these fickle, blood-drenched faeries submit... requires a shadow larger and clearer than Mors—something that can never be destroyed, that will never stop slaughtering them. The foundations of human society no longer apply here. A simpler, harsher method is needed...]
"Your hand... it stopped," Aesc reminded him.
"Got too caught up in thought. I can't multitask," Shiomi replied apologetically, pressing down again.
Aesc raised her brows but stayed silent. In the moment she glanced back, she caught the flicker of darkness in Shiomi's eyes. It had nothing to do with her, which only made her worry more.
"So you still haven't said it. Why can't your strength grow?" Shiomi asked.
"It's because before I ring the 'Pilgrim's Bells,' my individual power is greatly restricted. The six clans correspond to six bells, and those mean six restrictions," Aesc said.
"Then that makes it all the more important." Shiomi smiled. "Once you ring all the 'Pilgrim's Bells,' you'll be stronger than I am now, won't you?"
Aesc blinked, then suddenly sat up, pulling Shiomi's hand onto her lap.
"Then I'll be the one to protect you."
"No. We'll protect each other."
Shiomi stroked her face.
Aesc nodded firmly in response.
...
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