Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Revela
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Revela
◆
“⋯⋯Hero.”
“What.”
“It’s suffocating.”
“Bear with it a bit.”
“⋯⋯.”
Suffocating.
Carlyle fidgeted quietly with his head.
The sensation transmitted from the Hero’s stomach, pressed against the top of his head, felt unnecessarily warm.
Kneeling pillow position, crown of the head stuck to the Hero’s belly—an odd posture.
Better not to open his eyes. In this position, opening them would mean staring at an embarrassingly intimate body part.
In that state, they simply stayed pressed together in silence, neither saying a word.
“⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯.”
A suffocating silence descended.
To be precise, Carlyle was the one keeping his mouth shut.
While he stayed silent, the Hero gently stroked his head.
She didn’t stop at stroking his head but pinched and tugged at his cheeks.
Like savoring the glutinous rice cake texture as they stretched out, she kept fiddling with them⋯⋯
“⋯⋯Hero, so.”
“Hey. Raising conductivity here.”
“⋯⋯.”
“Necessary process, so stay still.”
With that firm cutoff, even as this bizarre treatment continued, he couldn’t muster a single complaint.
‘Back then⋯⋯’
Letty had once diagnosed that after returning from death, his constitution had changed, boosting mana conductivity.
What the Hero was doing now: pressing their bodies together and rubbing supposedly raised it.
When he’d asked how that worked, she’d glared with a gruff reply.
“You don’t trust the Hero right now?”
“⋯⋯No. I do trust you.”
“Then stay still.”
“⋯⋯.”
Hmm.
Watching her face and actions up close like this freshly reminded him how headstrong she was.
If he didn’t play along here, he’d probably eat a dropkick on the spot.
⋯⋯Not little girl Gray’s, but adult Gray’s—the sheer size difference made it devastatingly powerful.
“⋯⋯.”
As those thoughts crossed his mind, the Hero kept stroking Carlyle’s head.
Pinched his cheeks too.
Rubbed his jaw.
“⋯⋯.”
What to say.
Felt like a pet.
A little.
Uncomfortable.
⋯⋯Actually, more than a little uncomfortable.
Honestly, to any onlooker, it’d look like nothing but affectionate cuddling overflowing with fondness.
“Hero—”
Carlyle’s mouth, opened to speak, snapped shut.
Something heavy had settled on his forehead.
Feeling the soft give, even he could tell what it was.
“⋯⋯Hero.”
“Conductivity.”
“⋯⋯.”
In this world, how the hell does smooshing a chest into a forehead boost conductivity?
As that thought swirled in his head, he felt eyes on him.
Peeking upward through narrowed eyes, the Hero was boring holes into Carlyle’s lower body.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
What the hell is she doing.
“Hero⋯⋯?”
“⋯⋯.”
Ignoring his call, the Hero stared piercingly at Carlyle’s lower half for a good long while.
As if expecting some kind of reaction.
But nothing happened.
⋯⋯Like a mirror-still pond without a single ripple, Carlyle’s body showed zero physiological response.
Utterly indifferent to Gray rubbing her entire body against him—
“⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Gray slapped Carlyle’s cheek.
A sharp smack echoed as his head whipped violently aside.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯Hero?”
Why.
No, seriously, why⋯⋯?
“How can you be this⋯⋯ Never mind. Knew you were always like this⋯⋯”
With a voice laced even with regret, the Hero staggered to her feet.
⋯⋯Well, at least she wasn’t furious to the tips of her hair.
If she were truly enraged, it wouldn’t have been a slap—she’d have grabbed his neck and twisted.
“Check your body.”
“?”
Hearing Gray’s words next, Carlyle’s eyes went wide as he patted himself all over.
No, something really felt different.
“⋯⋯Did conductivity actually go up?”
Somehow.
Circulating mana through his body, it flowed noticeably faster and smoother than before.
“Two seconds added.”
“Huh?”
“Time you can manifest me inside your body. From ingesting the inner core and me tuning you up, that’s the gain.”
Oh.
⋯⋯Oh.
Originally barely three seconds, now plus two.
Might seem trivial at a glance, but considering what Carlyle had pulled off in those mere three seconds so far, it was world-shattering.
‘Five seconds⋯⋯’
For someone who could stop time at will if he wanted, two extra seconds—what couldn’t he do?
“⋯⋯That’s actually great. Guess all this messing around paid off.”
“Right. Thought I was lying?”
“⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯.”
Carlyle and Gray traded an awkward silence.
“⋯⋯You?”
“Honestly, figured you were just groping me to vent stress and slapping on convenient excuses.”
“⋯⋯.”
“Honestly, it’s not like you’ve never done exactly that.”
In past loops, pissed at everyone, she’d used his belly as a pillow and slept like that. Claimed it boosted health or whatever.
⋯⋯Did it all night, woke up next day with his lower abdomen ballooned out.
Hard to pin down, but from then on, Carlyle had felt like Gray’s stress doll or something⋯⋯
“Well, grinding up and eating that weird mountain spirit crap must’ve worked wonders.”
As Carlyle spoke, the Hero nodded and picked up.
“Hm. Worth me tuning you daily from now on. Panhima did solid work.”
“⋯⋯.”
Hold on.
What did she just say?
“Daily?”
“You’ll keep touching me like this ongoing. In dreams.”
“⋯⋯Pardon?”
Color rapidly drained from Carlyle’s face.
This face every damn bedtime?
“⋯⋯.”
Hate it.
Straight-up hate it.
Unless there’s some goal at least.
“⋯⋯Like now, abilities keep improving?”
“Might not see gains every time. But we’ll keep at it.”
“⋯⋯.”
No.
No⋯⋯
“So, Hero.”
“Hm.”
“Like combat training or something⋯⋯?”
“Might do some, but main point’s testing stuff on your body.”
“⋯⋯.”
“Well, tons I wanna try.”
Ah.
⋯⋯Ah.
◆
“Yes, you called?”
“⋯⋯.”
“Heard it was urgent.”
Felix stared blankly at Carlyle’s face.
As if spotting something suspicious there.
“Didn’t sleep last night?”
Dark circles, sallow skin, chapped lips.
⋯⋯Signs of torment all night by something.
“Slept like a rock.”
Tormented mid-sleep, sure.
“⋯⋯Whatever it was, clean yourself up. Leaving right now.”
“Yes?”
A single sheet of paper dropped before Carlyle as he reacted.
“Ten Glyph Society movements you tasked investigation on. Got a solid outline.”
“⋯⋯.”
That’s.
Definitely an emergency.
Carlyle’s gaze sharpened.
Last place their trail was spotted.
“⋯⋯Revela, huh.”
Empire’s biggest port city. Among the continent’s most thriving commercial hubs.
Geographically, the near-only link between the Far East and Empire.
Makes sense. For a shadowy group slipping in from the Far East, what better hive than a whirlpool of cash and schemes?
Its uniquely murky vibe made it prime for Devil Worshippers to mix in too.
‘Why one Archdemon always crawled out of here.’
Not fond memories for Carlyle.
Every major disaster hit here at least once.
But a line dropped that flipped the grim image.
Unexpected good news.
“And one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“Eyewitness accounts of multiple Devil Worshippers getting ‘hunted’ here.”
Carlyle’s eyes flew wide.
“All dropped by a single arrow clean through the forehead. Fletching matches Sand Kingdom make.”
“⋯⋯.”
“Fits your description to a T. Hunts Devil Worshippers, bows, Sand Kingdom gear. Right?”
He let out a huge sigh.
Meaning crystal clear.
“⋯⋯Drexler.”
Hero Party’s backline ace.
Ultimate long-range support outgunning even Gray.
Divine Archer, Drexler Declan.
Here you were, you bastard.
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