Chapter 99: The Tail Incident

The enormous wild boar charged straight toward them.

Before Sora could even scream, a warm arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

A brilliant emerald-green light suddenly burst from Lukan’s body, surrounding both of them in a shimmering cocoon.

The light was soft but dazzling, bathing the grassland in a gentle glow.

Sora blinked.

"..."

Why did this look so...

...romantic?

If someone walked by right now, they’d probably think they were sharing some moonlit lovers’ embrace blessed by the heavens.

Only...

There was one tiny problem.

The "romantic atmosphere" currently included an extremely angry wild boar trying to ram them into next week.

Sora bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.

This was such a ridiculous situation that her brain couldn’t decide whether to panic or giggle.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to decide.

"ROOOOAAARRR!"

The boar let out a furious howl.

It slammed into the edge of the green barrier with a loud THUD!

The magical shield rippled like water.

Unable to break through, the beast snorted angrily, stomped its hooves a few times, then finally decided these strange glowing creatures weren’t worth the effort.

With several heavy snorts and an extremely offended expression, it wandered back into the darkness.

Only after the footsteps disappeared did the green light slowly fade.

Silence returned.

Sora blinked several times before whispering,

"...What just happened?"

Lukan released her waist and calmly rolled onto his back, as though nothing unusual had happened.

"A wild boar."

"...I noticed the wild boar."

"I meant..."

She turned toward him.

"...what was all this?"

He looked puzzled.

"I protected you."

"..."

"...Oh."

Heat rushed straight to Sora’s face.

So...

That dramatic embrace...

The glowing barrier...

The close distance...

None of it had anything to do with romance.

He had simply been saving her life.

She silently thanked every deity she knew that she’d managed not to throw herself at him a few moments earlier.

Otherwise...

She would have remembered that embarrassment until the end of time.

She covered her face.

Close.

That had been dangerously close.

Lukan glanced sideways.

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

"My pride is slightly injured."

"..."

He looked genuinely confused.

"...Your pride?"

"Never mind."

He wisely decided not to ask.

After recovering from her embarrassment, Sora looked around the dark grassland.

"We should build a fire."

"In the apocalypse—I mean..."

She quickly corrected herself.

"I mean...in dangerous places..."

"Fire keeps wild animals away."

She scanned their surroundings.

Unfortunately...

There wasn’t much wood.

The area was filled mostly with shrubs and low bushes instead of tall trees.

Enough for berries.

Not enough for a proper bonfire.

Lukan nodded.

"It would help."

"But there isn’t much fuel."

Sora sighed dramatically.

"Wonderful."

"First no trees for my hammock."

"Now no wood for a campfire."

"What’s next?"

"The mosquitoes decide to hold a family reunion?"

Almost as if answering her...

A mosquito buzzed past her ear.

"..."

"...They heard me."

She slapped the air dramatically.

Missed.

The mosquito escaped without even apologizing.

She looked awkwardly toward Lukan.

Now came another problem.

Sleeping arrangements.

Technically...

They had two blankets.

Practically...

The dangerous wilderness wasn’t exactly the place for polite social distancing.

While she was still wondering how to bring it up...

Lukan quietly turned toward her.

His blue eyes reflected the silver moonlight.

Calm.

Warm.

Gentle.

He reached over.

His fingers lightly brushed a few strands of windblown hair away from her face.

The movement was so natural...

So careful...

That Sora completely froze.

"Don’t worry."

His voice was soft.

"I’ll sleep beside you."

"As long as I’m here..."

"You won’t be in danger."

Her heartbeat immediately betrayed her.

Thump.

Thump.

THUMP.

Seriously?

Could her heart calm down for one evening?

It sounded loud enough to scare away another wild boar.

The night breeze swept across the grassland.

Despite the cool wind...

Sora’s cheeks kept growing warmer.

Meanwhile...

Lukan simply lowered his hand again.

As though he’d done nothing unusual.

Then...

He closed his eyes.

Just like that.

"..."

"...That’s it?"

Sora stared.

Wasn’t he supposed to realize how dangerous that smile was?

No?

Apparently not.

She quickly rolled over onto her side, facing away from him.

Facing him directly while trying to sleep...

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

She’d never fall asleep.

She tried counting sheep.

One sheep.

Two sheep.

Three sheep.

By sheep number eighty-seven...

The sheep were judging her.

By sheep number three hundred...

They’d formed a committee.

By sheep number six hundred...

Even the sheep were asleep.

Finally...

Somewhere around sheep number nine hundred and ninety-nine...

She drifted into dreams.

Much later...

Lukan slowly opened his eyes.

Moonlight illuminated the sleeping woman beside him.

The breeze gently played with the loose strands of her dark hair.

She looked much younger while asleep.

Far less guarded.

Far less stubborn.

He quietly looked away toward the bright moon overhead.

The wind carried the scent of wildflowers across the open plains.

Everything was peaceful.

For a long while...

Neither of them moved.

The following morning...

Sora smiled in her sleep.

"...Fluffy..."

She unconsciously reached out.

Her hands grabbed something wonderfully soft.

Warm.

Comforting.

Just like the plush wolf-tail pillow she’d used back on Earth.

"Mmm..."

She rubbed her cheek against it happily.

"So soft..."

She cuddled it tighter.

Even gave it an affectionate little nuzzle.

Lukan, already awake, stiffened almost imperceptibly.

His wolf ears twitched.

His tail...

Unfortunately...

Was currently being kidnapped.

Several long seconds passed.

Sora frowned in her sleep.

"Huh?"

"This pillow feels..."

"...alive."

She squeezed it once more.

The tail flicked.

Her eyes slowly opened.

She blinked.

Looked down.

Saw a large gray wolf tail securely trapped in both her arms.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Her brain stopped working.

She had...

Not only hugged Lukan’s tail...

She had also spent several minutes rubbing her face against it.

She released it so quickly it practically flew away on its own.

"I-I-I—"

Her face turned crimson.

"I can explain!"

Lukan calmly sat up.

"I don’t think you can."

"..."

"...Fair point."

She buried her face in her hands.

"I wish the ground would open."

"It won’t."

"I know."

"I checked."

For a brief second...

The corner of Lukan’s lips curved upward.

Not quite a smile.

But close enough.

Thankfully...

He pretended nothing had happened.

He stood and folded his beast-skin blanket neatly.

"I’m going to gather wild fruit."

He looked back at her.

"Would you like to come?"

Sora shot to her feet so quickly she nearly tripped over her own blanket.

"Yes!"

Absolutely!

Changing the subject sounded like the greatest invention in history.

She hurriedly folded her blanket and handed it to him.

"Lead the way."

Lukan accepted it without mentioning the tail incident again.

For which Sora silently thanked every god, spirit, and imaginary sheep she’d counted last night.

The land ahead was completely different from the forest they’d left behind.

Instead of towering trees...

Colorful shrubs stretched across rolling hills.

Clusters of bright berries sparkled beneath the morning sun.

Red.

Blue.

Purple.

Golden.

Tiny fruits decorated nearly every bush like colorful jewels.

Sora’s previous embarrassment disappeared instantly.

Her eyes lit up.

"Berries!"

She darted forward like an overexcited rabbit.

"Oh!"

"Blackberries!"

"Raspberries!"

"Golden currants!"

"Wild nightshade..."

She stopped.

"...Not eating that one."

Lukan watched her bounce happily from bush to bush.

He’d planned to teach her which fruits were edible.

Instead...

She confidently identified every single one before he could even speak.

He blinked.

"...You know these?"

"Of course."

Sora happily filled her basket.

"These would be perfect on top of a cake."

Lukan tilted his head.

"...Cake?"

Her eyes sparkled.

"Oh..."

"You poor, unfortunate people."

He suddenly had a feeling...

Whatever "cake" was...

His peaceful life was about to become much less peaceful.

And judging by Sora’s grin...

It was definitely going to involve food.