The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 158

He climbed up the gentle hill behind the log cabin and first examined the air. Though it had cooled somewhat, it wasn’t cold enough for ordinary people to sense tomorrow’s heavy rain. Cassis lay down carelessly on the dry grass first and said.

“Look at the night sky.”

“What…? W-wow!”

The moon wasn’t floating above their heads but near the mountains beyond, and instead, stars were embedded densely throughout the sky. Evelyn tilted her head to examine the stars that seemed ready to pour down with their brilliant light. The starlight was so bright that the darkness seemed meaningless, making the night not feel like night at all. Not a single star appeared hazy—each one magnificently radiated its own light.

“Evelyn. Come over here and lie down to look.”

At his urging, Evelyn approached his side. Though this wasn’t her first experience lying on a grass field and watching stars lavishly embroider the sky, she felt strangely cautious. Her lips trembled involuntarily at the sound of the grass rustling as it willingly welcomed her.

It wasn’t because she was cold. When she lay down as Cassis instructed, she was moved by the breathtaking sight that appeared. The stars that must be so far away shone dimly, and she wondered if she could catch them by flying with wings like Nike.

But I don’t have wings.

Even as she groped through her reality, she found the brightest star among them. Setting aside the moon shining white over there, it was a star among the stars that poured out such enchanting golden light that it could dare be called radiance.

“If that star keeps growing, someday it could become a moon too.”

“Is that so?”

Cassis smiled briefly, then pointed precisely with his finger at the star she had chosen. Then the star that had only been shining in the sky, unable to fall like a meteor shower, seemed to fall toward him and appear as if it could be caught in his grasp.

“That star has no name.”

“…What?”

At words that made her doubt her ears, Evelyn was flustered but tried to recall something. Had she seen such a star in the kingdom’s sky, in her homeland’s sky? She had quite a few memories of giggling with friends while looking at stars at night… No. She knew the names of a few bright stars, but they hadn’t shone that brilliantly.

His quiet words resonated in her ears, made more sensitive by the night.

“Though the sky belongs to everyone, Jupiter’s sky is somewhat more special. That star is a kind of magic that the founding king created for us who walk on permitted land. So it can’t be seen once you leave Jupiter’s borders, despite being so bright. That’s why it has no name. Even we of later generations cannot arbitrarily decide on a name that the king who created that star didn’t give it.”

“Ah… I see.”

“There was briefly a proposal to name it with a runic word meaning signpost, but I understand it was dropped. For a signpost, it would be meaningless since it can’t be seen outside Jupiter. To me it looks like that. Like a warning light shining to tell us not to do anything shameful even under the night sky.”

To think that star, which shone particularly bright among the stars embroidering the night sky in gold, wasn’t actually a star. It was surprising, but that didn’t diminish the special feeling she had when she first noticed that star. It became even more special.

The two lay side by side, watching the scenery of stars gradually flowing in one direction. Even as the other stars moved, only that ‘nameless one’ remained in exactly the same place, making them feel firsthand that Cassis’s words were true. Even as the night air seeped into her skin, Evelyn just kept gazing infinitely at the stars. Eventually, her eyes naturally closed softly.

“…Evelyn?”

When Cassis, thinking they should get up soon, called out, her head tilted and her cheek ended up touching his shoulder. Realizing from just that small movement that she had fallen deeply asleep, he laughed helplessly.

A pleasant night when he couldn’t blame her for being careless.

Just as he had during the day, Cassis lifted the sleeping her onto his back and headed toward the log cabin. Evelyn didn’t wake up, only letting out satisfied murmurs in her sleep talk, apparently finding something so pleasant. That too was satisfying. Thus, Cassis didn’t feel the weight of the person on his back at all.

Pitter-patter, drip-drop… whoooosh!

The change from raindrops that had been tapping on the window to a downpour around dawn was instantaneous. Though it almost matched the time he had predicted, since he had rather hoped to be wrong, Cassis narrowed his eyes instead of sighing. Beside him, she was sleeping.

He had arranged for excessive rain not to pour in this area, but hadn’t blocked it completely. Even though the timber composing the log cabin was cut wood, if it were left completely dry without absorbing any moisture, it would deteriorate. There was no particular reason not to comply with nature’s providence when there were no major problems.

‘Should I work some magic so she can sleep more soundly?’

Just as he was about to command spirits so that Evelyn’s comfortable sleep wouldn’t be disturbed, her light brown hair swayed and her green eyes sparkled open. He, who had awkwardly raised his hand, stroked her forehead and covered her eyes.