Chapter 67
“Doesn’t it feel like the weather has gotten a bit warmer lately?”
“Well, I am not quite sure.”
“How can you be so sensitive to the cold yet so oblivious to things like this?”
Idris glanced down toward where the chiding voice was coming from. A bright-faced Irene was naturally holding onto his arm.
Because she acted this way with such an unbothered expression, it made him feel like the strange one for being repulsed by physical contact.
With a subtle expression, Idris turned his gaze away from her.
“A person can be like that.”
“Is that so?”
Irene laughed softly. What could possibly be so amusing about such unremarkable words? Idris could not hide his bewildered gaze.
Her habit of smiling so frequently that it was difficult to ever see her expressionless was something he simply could not get used to. Even now, her smiling face occasionally felt alien to him. It lacked a sense of reality. How should he put it? It was somewhat similar to the feeling of having a vividly lifelike dream and suddenly noticing something amiss.
Her radiant, cloudless smile was like an illusion in that way.
No, was every single aspect of her like that?
Her dazzlingly beautiful face, her red eyes that belonged to no human, her bright laughter, and even her voice that was perpetually tinged with mirth. Everything about the woman named Irene was entirely alien. Was that why they seemed to fit together when brought as one? Was that why she remained stuck in his head, refusing to leave? He did not know.
Thinking about how hard it was to adapt to the warm body heat enveloping his right arm, Idris looked down at Irene. At that, Irene smiled naturally and met his gaze.
Apart from his mind, which was immersed in useless thoughts, Idris’s mouth diligently lived in reality.
“You said you believed you saw a few crayfish upstream, did you not?”
“It wasn’t that I thought I saw them, I did see them. I’m certain.”
“Do not worry, as I was not doubting you. More importantly, it would be wonderful if we could catch plenty of crayfish just as you said, Miss Irene.”
“Indeed……. But will they be delicious? I’ve never eaten them before, so I’m not really sure.”
“I have only ever eaten lobster, but it was not bad.”
“Then it’ll probably be fine. Well, even if the taste is a bit different, it’s not like it’ll be inedible, right?”
“I believe so as well.”
Chiming in with her, he continued to move his steps through the shaded forest. Beside him, Irene’s small stride matched his pace and followed along.
Because it was not a frequently traveled path, the overgrown weeds were trampled mercilessly beneath their four feet. As they advanced further and further in that manner, a faint chill was felt against his cheeks. At that, Idris exhaled a breath of warm air for no reason. Truly, the temperature around this area alone was always strangely low. It was the reason he felt certain this direction led closer to the source of demonic energy.
“Ah, I see it over there!”
Irene raised her voice. Idris’s gaze followed the tip of her finger toward the valley where clear water flowed. Beyond the gentle current lay a birch forest. The clear water seemed to distinctly divide the ordinary forest full of lush greenery where they stood from the white forest.
Irene abruptly released the arm she had been holding firmly and ran toward the stream. His firmly gripped left arm suddenly regained its freedom. Watching her wheat-colored hair, which bordered on light brown, sway, Idris moved his steps to follow her.
Irene, who already seemed full of enthusiasm, unfastened the buttons that tightly cinched her sleeves. Pale, slender wrists that did not match her extraordinary strength were revealed.
“How many do you think we should catch?”
An utterly excited voice asked. Beneath her lips shifting into various shapes, white teeth were momentarily visible. It was obvious she was far more excited than usual.
‘I knew she was bored, but it seems she hated farming even more than I imagined.’
She had been smiling with an expression that said she was dying to slack off since earlier……. Thinking she will never starve anyway, is that it? It was a spiteful mindset, but since he was managing to barely scrape by and survive either way, it was not enough to make him furious.
“Well. Since you mentioned they were barely the length of a palm, I believe it would be best if we could catch about five or six.”
“I noticed you always use words like ‘well’ or ‘I am not quite sure,’ Mr. Idris. Could it be a habit of speech?”
Irene tilted her head to the right.
“It could be viewed that way.”
“I think it suits your personality quite well, Mr. Idris.”
“Is that so? I am curious to know what made you feel that way.”
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