Sylvia's eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat.
By the time her mind caught up, her body was already pinned—not by force alone, but by a weight that felt inevitable.
A tangible energy held her in place as the sweet pulp and nectar of the peach were claimed from her mouth in a slow, deliberate rhythm.
The eyes hovering just before hers burned with a restrained hunger that shook Sylvia to her core. It also made her understand—this wasn't a kiss. Acheron was hungrily devouring memories of the past.
When understanding dawned, Sylvia went still. Her grip on Acheron's wrist softened, then fell away. She braced one hand behind her, steadying herself beneath the other woman's pressing form.
She couldn't begin to fathom the storm inside Acheron now.
There was something wild and possessive in her touch. Even someone as unyielding as Acheron seemed swept into this sudden, intimate chaos.
Long after the last trace of peach had faded from their lips, Acheron did not pull away. Her hand slid to the back of Sylvia's head, holding her close.
Teeth grazed the tender skin of Sylvia's lips, then pressed—not quite breaking the surface, but hovering at the edge.
A sharp, breathy gasp escaped Sylvia's lips.
The sensation—half pain, half pleasure—made her shiver. She tried to shift, but Acheron's strength was absolute.
Then the bite came—delicate but decisive. The taste of blood bloomed between them, metallic and intimate. Acheron's eyes fluttered shut for a moment, a tremor running through her.
That familiar iron tang—never so vivid, so real. And beneath it, a lingering hint of peach.
Slowly, the fever in Acheron broke. Her breathing steadied, though her gaze remained clouded, intense.
As if waking from a dream, she released Sylvia's shoulder. Her tongue swept gently over the small wound, collecting the last droplet of blood.
"Hah… haah…"
Sylvia panted softly, her vision clearing. Acheron's lips were stained a haunting crimson. Her eyes, full of regret, searched Sylvia's face. And Sylvia—she smiled.
She lifted a hand, brushing the blood from the corner of Acheron's mouth.
"Better now?" she whispered.
As she spoke, a drop of blood trailed from her own lip and fell onto the half-eaten peach beside them, splashing into a vivid, crimson mark.
"…"
Acheron watched her, something fragile and alive stirring behind her eyes.
"My apologies. I am skilled with a blade, but not so much with healing."
"It's fine. Compared to your training, this barely even counts as an injury. No need to apologize." Sylvia wiped her mouth. In just that short time, the bleeding had already stopped.
She paused, studying Acheron's face.
"What came over you? You weren't yourself."
Acheron knew Sylvia was deliberately steering past what had just happened, so she simply nodded and followed along.
"Due to… certain reasons, I've nearly lost my sense of taste. My memories are also fragmented. The sweetness of peaches is one of the few flavors I still remember."
"Just now, for the first time in so long, I tasted that sweetness from my memories—something that should have been impossible for me. I was desperate to confirm it, to taste more… I even wanted to see if I could remember a second flavor…"
As she spoke, Acheron's gaze drifted downward, toward Sylvia's peach, where a drop of blood had mingled with the juice.
Sylvia nodded thoughtfully.
"The taste of blood, right?"
"Mm."
Acheron gave a slight nod.
Strictly speaking, what she remembered was the taste of death—and blood was only a part of it.
But she didn't plan on telling Sylvia that.
To her relief, Sylvia didn't press further.
Instead, a gentle smile touched her lips.
"In that case, in the future, you must go to more places and taste more wonderful things, so that blood is no longer a flavor you need to remember. You should reclaim all the sweetness you've missed from the past."
"…"
It had been so, so long since someone's words had moved Acheron like this.
Maybe it had happened before, but she'd forgotten.
For the first time, Acheron wanted to forever preserve this very moment.
"Sylvia, may I take a photo?"
"Huh?"
Sylvia was caught off guard—the question felt a little too sudden.
But Acheron was already pulling a phone from her pocket. Seeing that, Sylvia didn't feel she could refuse.
Then—click.
A young woman's smile, bathed in sunlight, was captured within the frame.
On the ring finger of her left hand, which held the unfinished peach, a silver ring glimmered brightly.
After taking the picture, Acheron tapped and swiped on the screen for a moment before showing it to Sylvia.
"Is it nice?"
Her tone was calm, but Sylvia couldn't help sensing a hint of pride in it.
Pride about what?
Sylvia wondered if she was reading too much into things because of that ambiguous "kiss" earlier.
Chuckling faintly at herself, she looked more closely at the line of text inscribed on the photo.
And then her smile faded.
"You recorded what I just said…?"
"I thought it was beautiful. I like those words very much. Is that not allowed?"
Anyone would feel flustered having their offhand remark treated so seriously and preserved like this.
Sylvia could even feel her cheeks growing warm.
But with a woman like Acheron sitting right in front of her, asking so carefully whether she could keep the photo—
How could anyone resist that?
"Fine, fine, you can keep it. It's not like I'll see it anyway, so I'll just pretend I don't know."
"Mm. Thank you."
Acheron nodded, withdrew her phone, and gazed at the screen a while longer before promptly setting the image as her wallpaper.
Now, every time her screen lit up, she would see that soothing smile.
Of course, Sylvia didn't see any of that.
She was busy nibbling on her peach, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Just as she finished the peach and realized she had nothing else to say—
Acheron's voice reached her.
"Now that I think of it… you don't have a phone, do you?"
Sylvia looked over. Acheron's phone screen was dark now, but she was holding it up slightly.
Phones in this world came in all shapes and sizes, with all kinds of names, but the one Acheron held looked pretty similar to what Sylvia remembered.
"I don't."
"I have a spare here. You can take it. There's an account on it with some credits stored—it'll be useful once we leave this place."
As she spoke, Acheron pulled another phone from her pocket and handed it to Sylvia.
"Thank you."
Sylvia expressed her gratitude without refusing. She really did need a phone and credits—without them, things would get complicated once they moved on.
She couldn't just stick by Acheron's side forever. If she did, she'd only end up a burden.
Acheron waited until Sylvia had familiarized herself with the phone before rising to her feet and gripping her scabbard once more.
The atmosphere shifted instantly into one of readiness for battle.
"Rest time is over. It's time to resume training."
Sylvia, who had already been nearly overwhelmed by her own restless thoughts, shot to her feet and hefted her greatsword.
"What's next in the training?"
"Next," Acheron said, "you'll experience real combat. The Fragmentum creatures and the Antimatter Legion are everywhere. Your task is to clear out all of them in this ruined city."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.