Bloodline (3)
Because of that meal-prep duty, Ren and Jain ended up spending time together quite often, if not every single day. The once curt and closed-off Jain seemed to have opened his heart a little; now, whenever he had a favor to ask or a task that needed doing, Ren was the first person he sought out.
One day he threw a tantrum about needing to collect a very particular type of honey, and the two of them had slipped into the territory of the ferocious demonic beast known as the Red Bear, stolen the honey, and fled for their lives.
“────────────!!!”
After the Red Bear’s long roar faded into the distance, two heads cautiously poked out of the lake.
“Is it gone?”
“Yeah, it’s gone.”
They had been running from the Red Bear and thrown themselves into the conveniently placed lake to hide. Jain climbed out first, peeled off his soaked outer robe, and wrung it like a rag. Water poured out in a miniature waterfall, drenching the light-green weeds below.
“We got lucky.”
Ren’s clothes were protected by a blessing, so she didn’t need to wring anything out. She simply combed through her wet hair with her fingers. The brilliant midday sun shattered into rainbow sparks across her silver strands, which clung damply to her skin.
She’s got a surprisingly toned body.
While pretending to fix her side-swept bangs, Ren stole another glance at Jain’s upper body. His robe usually hid it, but the man was far more solidly built than any mage had a right to be. If you only saw him from the neck down, you’d swear he was a swordsman.
“Got something to say?”
“W-why, why why why?”
“You’ve been sneaking looks at me for a while. Figured you had a question.”
Jain, who had dried his clothes with a quick spell, shrugged the robe back on as he spoke. Flustered, Ren hemmed and hawed before finally squeezing out a single question.
“So… why make it so complicated?”
“What do you mean?”
“With your skill, you could’ve just killed the Red Bear and taken the honey.”
It really did seem like the logical approach. But Jain’s answer was completely unexpected.
“I was going to. But then I saw a bunch of cubs inside the den—too young to find food on their own.”
“Ah…”
“Stealing their honey was bad enough. I didn’t want to make them orphans too.”
“Wait, are you some kind of animal rights activist? Or an environmentalist?”
“Nothing that grand. It’s just… how I feel.”
Jain scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed.
“Sorry for dragging you into my personal hang-up.”
“Huh? No, not at all! You did the right thing. Hearing that actually makes me feel the same way.”
Ren smiled brightly. At those words Jain suddenly sat down hard, then rummaged through the spatial distortion pouch he always carried and pulled something out. It was the honey they had just stolen—the stores the Red Bear had gathered from a cliffside hive.
He stirred the bottom of the jar with a wooden dipper, scooped up a spoonful of rich, golden honey, and held it out to her.
“Eat.”
“What is this?”
“Queen’s honey. Only two spoonfuls per jar. Seems wasteful to split it, so let’s just finish it between the two of us.”
“Really?”
“We’re the ones stuck doing all the cooking anyway. Call it the rightful privilege of the people who control the supplies.”
“You’re including me in that ‘we’? Even though you keep telling me to get lost?”
“If you don’t want it, forget it.”
“No! I do want it!”
Ren leaned in close to the spoon, opened her mouth politely, and accepted the honey. Its subtle tartness and faint styrax aroma made it so sweet her tongue felt like it might melt. It was like swallowing spring itself, condensed into a single spoonful.
She swallowed, covered her mouth with one hand, and smiled.
“It’s delicious.”
“See? Worth the trouble after all, right?”
“Yeah.”
Jain gave a little shrug, looking pleased, and Ren found the gesture oddly cute. At that moment a pleasant breeze swept over them, cool and refreshing, before vanishing again. From the leafy canopy above came the cheerful chirping of small birds.
This is nice too.
It wasn’t the most heartrending, passionate love in the world, but simply being able to talk and enjoy each other’s company like this felt good.
I want to get a little closer.
From that day on, Ren began actively looking for excuses to spend more time with Jain. She even started pulling pranks—something she had almost never done in her life.
One afternoon, while Jain was wearing a headband and preparing dinner, Ren pointed at him dramatically.
“I’ve figured out your true identity!”
Jain kept chopping without pause, then let out a long sigh.
“Out of nowhere again. Are you catching that idiot’s stupidity now? If you start acting like him too, I’m really going to lose it.”
“Huh? Uh…”
“Stop talking nonsense and come slice the carrots.”
“Okay.”
Ren, deflated that her joke had been ignored, shuffled over and began julienning carrots. It looked like he was making the dish he called “kimbap.”
“All done.”
“Done? Then slice the cucumbers too. Long ways, vertically.”
“Wait, you’re putting cucumber in kimbap?”
“Obviously.”
“I don’t like cucumber in it.”
“Wow, you really are a picky eater.”
“C-cucumbers aren’t picky eating!”
“Why not?”
“Picky eating is refusing something that’s good for you just because it doesn’t taste good. Cucumbers taste bad and have no nutrition. So refusing them is just smart eating.”
Jain listened to Ren’s stubborn logic, nodded slowly, and began removing the cucumbers from the cutting board.
“Well, they do say some people have a genetic inability to eat cucumbers. Fine. I’ll leave them out of yours.”
“Really? Thank you!”
Her mood instantly restored, Ren pointed at him again.
“See? Your true identity is that you’re actually a good person, right?”
“What the hell? That’s like waking up and randomly smashing the side of the kimbap.”
“Your mouth is harsh, but whenever I ask you to do something you grumble and still do it. You’re actually kind, but you pretend to be a jerk so people won’t take advantage of you. Right?”
“Just think whatever you want.”
“Ah, I’m getting dizzy…”
When Ren suddenly clutched her head like she was about to faint, Jain’s expression changed instantly. He rushed over and caught her shoulder.
“Are you all right?”
His face was dead serious. In complete contrast, Ren stuck her tongue out and grinned.
“See? I caught you again.”
“Tsk. Don’t joke about being sick.”
After all the back-and-forth they finally finished cooking. Jain was carrying the tray of kimbap toward the rest of the party when—thud—something collapsed behind him.
It looked like Ren had fallen into the grass. Jain glanced back, sighed deeply, and said,
“I told you not to joke about being sick. Should I just leave you here?”
He took several steps forward before he realized she wasn’t getting up to follow.
A terrible thought struck him. Jain’s face went rigid. He flung the tray aside and sprinted back to her.
“Hey!”
Ren lay unconscious. Her lips had turned a pale, icy blue.
I’ve collapsed again.
Ren thought through the familiar wave of dizziness. She knew exactly what was happening. It had occurred dozens of times since she was seven years old. The blocked meridians had flared up and stolen her consciousness once more.
The sensations were all too familiar: her toes and fingertips felt frozen solid, her mouth was bone-dry. It was like walking barefoot across a thinly frozen winter river and coming back.
In her hazy mind she heard Jain’s grim voice.
“As expected… it’s the blocked meridians.”
Huh? Did I already tell him?
“Damn it. I didn’t realize it had progressed this far… We’re right on the edge of a dead end. That worthless bastard—how little did he level her up? If her level were even a little higher she might have built some resistance…”
With great effort she cracked her heavy eyelids open. Through her blurry vision she saw Jain’s devastated expression. It was the first time she had ever seen him look that way.
She hated it. She didn’t want anyone making a face like that because of her.
Ah… I’ve added one more person I’ll have to say goodbye to.
In her half-delirious state, Ren mumbled the words she always said at times like this. Don’t worry. It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. So dying… I’m not scared. Not at all. Everyone has been so kind and good to me, and I’ve been happy all this time…
She wasn’t sure how much she actually managed to say, or whether the words even left her lips. Her sense of self was too foggy.
But she clearly remembered hearing a voice answer:
“Stop talking nonsense and just lie down and sleep.”
A white, beautiful hand gently closed her half-open eyes.
And as her consciousness sank deeper, she thought she heard one last thing.
“Plan change. I was going to take it slow, sweeping up every fortuitous encounter while dealing with Balaxas, but that won’t work anymore. We’re speedrunning. First priority—obtain the Succubus Queen as fast as possible.”
Not even ten days later, the hero’s party reached the dilapidated citadel of the first of the Four Heavenly Kings—the Succubus Queen—and set up camp.
“So this is the infamous stronghold of one of the Four Heavenly Kings…”
The hero gazed down at the ruined castle from afar and muttered in a weary voice. No wonder. Even at a glance the defenses looked brutally tight. Dozens of wyverns capable of ripping a hero apart in three seconds circled overhead on patrol.
“For now, let’s sleep on the citadel strategy and discuss it together tomorrow!”
Since the hero, acting as party leader, had made the declaration, everyone returned to their tents and went to bed.
That night.
“J-Jain? Why did you suddenly come to my tent?”
Ren, who had been tossing and turning because sleep refused to come, widened her eyes when Jain slipped through the flap.
He glanced around, then pressed a finger to his lips.
“Shh.”
He took her hand, pulled her to her feet, and spoke with deadly seriousness.
“The Succubus Queen. Let’s take her down with just the two of us. We have to go secretly.”
“Just us? Why me?”
“I need you.”
His eyes were utterly earnest. Overwhelmed by his intensity, Ren could only nod.
A short while later the two of them stood before the towering gates of the citadel.
“How are we supposed to get through here?”
The gate was sealed shut like an iron wall. She couldn’t understand why he had chosen the front entrance.
But Jain simply took Ren’s hand and pressed it against the gate.
“Huh?”
With a deep rumble the massive doors swung open, as if welcoming their master.
“W-what…?”
“Let’s go.”
Jain strode inside as though he had expected nothing less. Ren followed in a daze. Once they were through, the gates rumbled shut again and locked tight.
The reason Jain had shortened their entire schedule to reach this citadel was simple.
The essence that could be obtained by defeating the Succubus Queen was the cure for the blocked meridians afflicting Ren.