Chapter 155: The Mirror and the Kiss

Beside the small fire pit was a bed made entirely of soft bee skins.

Ryan’s gaze lingered on it for a moment.

The bed wasn’t particularly large. In fact, the entire hut seemed rather small compared with the spacious caves he was accustomed to.

He silently calculated the space.

My fish tail should still fit.

The thought came so naturally that Ryan immediately felt embarrassed by it.

Why was he thinking about something like that?

He quickly turned his attention elsewhere.

Sora had already walked deeper into the hut.

She went straight to the simple wooden table beside the bed and picked up the object she had made.

The mirror.

She turned around, intending to show it to Ryan.

But she stopped.

Ryan wasn’t looking at her.

His attention was fixed on the beast-skin blanket covering her bed.

His normally fair face had turned an unmistakable shade of red.

Sora blinked.

"Are you sick?"

Ryan’s head snapped toward her.

"What?"

"Why is your face so red?"

Sora stared at him suspiciously.

It wasn’t an exaggeration. His cheeks were visibly flushed, and even his ears were turning red.

Ryan instinctively touched his face.

It felt warm.

He suddenly became even more embarrassed.

He didn’t know what to say.

Sora continued staring at him.

Ryan finally looked away.

"Maybe it’s too hot."

Sora frowned.

Too hot?

She couldn’t help thinking that explanation was strange.

If Ryan could spend so much time soaking in the hot spring, how could he suddenly be unable to tolerate the temperature of her hut?

Still, she didn’t question him further.

Instead, she held the mirror out toward him.

"You were talking about this, right?"

Ryan looked at the object in her hand.

For a moment, he was stunned.

He hadn’t expected Sora to bring it out so quickly.

He had thought she might show him something else first.

But then his attention was completely captured by the smooth, shining surface.

Ryan stepped closer.

"What is this?"

"It’s called a mirror."

Ryan carefully took it from her.

The moment he looked into it, his eyes widened.

His reflection appeared with astonishing clarity.

He could see his own eyes.

His nose.

His mouth.

Even the tiny scales around his face were visible.

Ryan instinctively touched his cheek.

The reflection copied the movement perfectly.

He turned his head.

The figure in the mirror turned with him.

He stared.

Then he looked at Sora.

Then back at the mirror.

"This is incredible."

His fascination was immediate.

He lifted the mirror slightly and examined it from different angles.

It didn’t merely reflect his face.

Through it, he could also see part of the world outside the hut.

The window.

The trees.

The sunlight.

Everything appeared remarkably clear.

Ryan had seen reflections in water before.

But water could never produce such a precise image.

Even the clearest pool would distort the shape of a person’s face.

This object was different.

It captured every detail.

"What is this mirror made of?" Ryan asked.

Sora smiled.

She had known he would ask that question.

Before she could answer, the familiar mechanical voice sounded in her mind.

Ding!

Congratulations, Host! Ryan’s attraction value has reached 90.

Ryan’s heartthrob value has reached 90.

Sora’s eyes brightened slightly.

She wasn’t surprised.

She had already expected Ryan to be fascinated by the mirror.

For someone who loved technology and new discoveries, this was exactly the sort of thing that could capture his attention.

Sure enough, Ryan immediately asked another question.

"How did you make it?"

Sora looked at the mirror.

The actual process was considerably more complicated than Ryan probably imagined.

In the apocalypse, she had access to many things that simply didn’t exist in this primitive world.

A modern mirror could be manufactured through industrial processes.

But here, she had needed to improvise.

The mirror itself required a smooth piece of natural glass.

Obsidian had become her best option.

The volcanic glass contained a high proportion of silicon dioxide, making it possible to polish into a reflective surface.

Then there was the silvering process.

She had needed silver compounds, ammonia, sugar, and several carefully prepared materials.

Her metal-type ability had helped her locate silver ore.

She had processed the ore and prepared the necessary compounds through a series of difficult steps.

Even obtaining nitric acid had required patience.

She had processed saltpeter with wood ash, carefully extracting the materials she needed.

Then there was the ammonia.

The salt wells contained natural ammonium compounds, which gave her another source.

Sugar had been another challenge.

Fortunately, she had discovered sugar-rich plants near the hot springs and processed them through cooking and evaporation.

It had taken time.

It had taken effort.

And it was certainly not something she could explain to Ryan in a few sentences.

So Sora simplified the explanation.

She picked up a thin piece of polished obsidian from the table.

"This is one of the important materials."

Ryan leaned closer.

"You made the mirror from that?"

"Partly."

Sora pointed toward several bamboo tubes and small containers arranged neatly on the table.

"These contain different powders and prepared materials."

Ryan immediately became interested.

"Those?"

"Yes."

Sora picked up one of the containers.

"You grind the silver-colored stone into a fine powder, prepare it with the right material, then combine it with the things inside these bamboo tubes."

Ryan stared at the various powders.

The more he looked, the more amazed he became.

Could these simple powders really create something as extraordinary as the mirror?

He had seen containers like these before.

Usually, such things were found around the shaman’s residence.

But he had never imagined that Sora would understand how to prepare and use them.

Ryan slowly turned his gaze toward her.

The sunlight streamed through the window behind Sora.

It fell across her figure, surrounding her in a warm golden glow.

For a moment, Ryan forgot about the mirror.

His attention shifted to Sora.

She wasn’t the most beautiful female in the tribe.

At least, that was what he had once believed.

But now, when he looked at her, he saw something else.

Her intelligence.

Her confidence.

Her ability to create things no one else could.

Her endless curiosity.

She could take ordinary materials and turn them into something extraordinary.

Ryan’s heart began beating faster again.

He lowered his gaze toward the mirror in his hand.

Then, almost unconsciously, his eyes drifted back toward Sora.

He remembered the previous night.

He remembered the hot spring.

The accidental closeness.

The sensation that had confused him so deeply.

Ryan took a slow breath.

He tried to calm himself.

But it wasn’t working.

Sora, meanwhile, was thinking about something entirely different.

She looked at the mirror with satisfaction.

Compared with the mirrors she remembered from the apocalypse, this one was crude.

The craftsmanship was nowhere near as refined.

But in this primitive world, being able to create a mirror at all was an impressive achievement.

She couldn’t help feeling proud.

I actually managed to make one.

And judging from the system’s notification, her efforts had paid off.

Ryan’s attraction and heartthrob values had both reached ninety.

Sora was pleased.

She had another thought.

The small pig Mark had brought earlier was waiting outside.

Once Lucas and the others finished cleaning it, she could season it and roast it.

She needed to prepare the spices.

With that in mind, Sora turned toward the door.

"Since you’ve seen the mirror, I should go prepare—"

She stopped.

Ryan was standing directly in front of her.

He hadn’t moved.

He was simply staring at her.

Sora blinked.

"Ryan?"

He didn’t answer.

His gaze remained fixed on her face.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Ryan’s thoughts were a mess.

He had entered the room because he wanted to see the mirror.

He had become fascinated by its construction.

He had learned something new.

That should have been enough.

But now that he was standing so close to Sora again, he couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened the night before.

He remembered how unexpectedly soft her lips had felt.

He remembered her startled expression.

He remembered the warmth of the water around them.

His heartbeat grew heavier.

Sora tilted her head.

"Are you okay?"

Ryan finally moved.

He slowly reached out.

His fingers lightly caught her chin.

Sora’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Ryan, what—"

She didn’t finish.

Ryan lowered his head and kissed her.

For a brief moment, Sora froze.

She hadn’t expected it.

The kiss was sudden, but not forceful.

Ryan himself seemed almost surprised by what he had done.

Yet he didn’t immediately pull away.

The thoughts he had been trying to suppress for so long finally became impossible to ignore.

He had spent days telling himself that he was merely interested in Sora’s inventions.

That he simply admired her intelligence.

That he enjoyed her food.

That he wanted to know what she would create next.

But none of those explanations could completely account for the way his heart was racing now.

Sora’s mind, meanwhile, had gone completely blank.

She had invited him inside because he wanted to see a mirror.

She had expected questions about technology.

She had expected his attraction value to rise.

She had not expected him to suddenly kiss her.

The room became strangely quiet.

Outside the hut, several beastmen who had been secretly watching suddenly froze.

Ace’s eyes widened.

Lucas stared in disbelief.

Lukan’s expression changed.

Damien’s mouth fell open.

And Xavier’s purple eyes became frighteningly dark.

No one had expected Ryan to make the first move.

Least of all Sora.

And Ryan finally understood something that he had been avoiding for a long time.

His fascination with Sora’s inventions had never been the whole reason he kept approaching her.

Somewhere along the way, his curiosity about what she could create had become curiosity about the woman herself.

And now, standing in her small wooden hut with the mirror still in his hand, he could no longer pretend otherwise.