Chapter 79
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: First Kiss
The world of superhumans. At those words, Enoch's pupils trembled faintly.
It wasn't because he had only now realized he'd finally stepped into the realm called superhuman.
It was simply that one phrase from Lione—now, at last, he stood on the same level as her. His chest trembled with overwhelming emotion at that fact.
The end of that distant road he'd vaguely thought he'd reach someday. And a new starting point.
Without suppressing the joy bursting from his gut, Enoch smiled brightly.
"Welcoming me?"
"Of course! You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day, little bro."
Lione smiled just as brightly and pulled Enoch's now-larger body into a tight embrace.
"Now I can finally worry a little less."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. At this level, you really won't get beat up anywhere anymore."
Not just avoiding beatings—if he wanted, there were few things he couldn't do now.
As long as he didn't suddenly feel like unleashing half-divinity or Life-Death Severance or something.
"Hmm... that's kinda disappointing."
"Huh? What is?"
Lione pulled back slightly, flustered by the unexpected response.
Looking down at her, Enoch curved his lips in a playful smile.
"I was hoping you'd worry about me a bit more, Lione."
"Oh, come on! You scared me."
"I'm serious."
"Really..."
Lione pouted and leaned against Enoch's chest, looking up at him. A gaze height she'd grown used to. Below it, her vividly red lips stood out.
"...Pervert."
"Huh?"
"Wh-what!? Pervert what!?"
Did that come out of her mouth!? Startled, Lione leaped back in an instant, her movements as swift as exquisite footwork.
That astonishing speed would have even made Enoch clap in surprise. In real combat, facing it head-on would make it look like her figure had vanished.
[Soon... it'll happen....]
"Eri? What'd you say?"
[No... I just said it looks like big trouble's coming.]
"......?"
Unlike Enoch, who frowned blankly, Lione's heart pounded so fiercely it felt like it might burst any second.
'...I'm losing it.'
She groaned inwardly and glanced at Enoch's face—now all she could see were his lips.
Just close her eyes and go for it? The thought crossed her mind, only for a sudden fear to make her hesitate, gripping her ankles.
'Later, for now....'
Forcing a smile like she was composing her expression, Lione exaggeratedly pointed outside.
"Anyway, that outfit! It looks like clothes, but it's actually armor, you know? Wanna go test it out?"
Somehow, she had a feeling tonight would be a sleepless one, piled high with worries.
*
Night fell, and Enoch slept. He was all grown up now, but he still fell asleep in the same bed.
It had always been that way since meeting Enoch, but tonight, with her restless heart, she carefully slipped out of bed.
'The moon's bright.'
As if drawn by the moonlight streaming through the window, she left the house and climbed onto the roof.
A cool night breeze. Stars splendidly embroidered across the deep blue sky. The moon, nearly round again—it made her crave a drink.
'He cared more for others than anyone, so it must've been that much harder to create something truly precious. And being born an elf would've made it even more so.'
She recalled the calm words her father's illusion had spoken in the dungeon.
Lione grimaced and tilted her head back to gaze at the sky.
Words any elf could relate to. For them, with their different sense of time's flow, most things in the world were like grains of sand that would eventually scatter.
That was probably why elves were said to be gentle.
They didn't take others' words too much to heart. Even if someone hurt them, it was just a fleeting bruise that would fade in no time.
The happiness given by those living short lives was as sweet as the density of those lives, but the malice they spat was like unripe fruit, barely aged a century.
So they smiled and let it pass, smiled and moved on. Before they knew it, they'd built a massive wall without realizing.
That was why elves had little interaction with other races. Even when they did, it mostly ended in superficiality. It was an inescapable fate of their kind.
Lione was the same. Among elves, she'd lived quite a long life, stacking that wall over nearly nine centuries.
A wall so solid even a Grandmaster superhuman couldn't touch it lightly. One misstep, and it might crumble her very foundation—a wall that daunting.
"Haa..."
That was why her bond with Enoch felt like a miracle. Like there was no sturdy wall at all, the boy had hopped over like a low fence and become an irreplaceable presence she could never tear away now.
Why was that? What made Enoch different from the others?
Pondering, a dry chuckle escaped her throat unbidden.
'Who cares.'
It didn't matter at all. She had no desire to define human hearts like some formula.
She'd simply realized there was now just one thin layer of wall between her and Enoch, and it felt so suffocating she wanted to rip it off.
Closing her eyes and looking inward made it even clearer.
A massive tree. Herself curled up like a fetus in its knot. And one thin but firm wall encasing it like bark.
'I don't need to be overly brave, but avoiding happiness for that reason is another matter. Even if you're not unhappy, one step forward could make you both happy—why turn away from that?'
I know, Dad. But that one step takes so much courage.
What if he rejects me? What if Enoch leaves first? What if he gets bored of me due to human fickleness?
Their age gap was centuries. Wouldn't a younger, cuter human girl suit him better?
Such scattered thoughts, refusing to cohere, tangled her mind.
Her sighs piled up enough to dim even the moonlight, and as the sun rose on the distant horizon, illuminating her bare, shameful face, Lione finally stood, still clutching her unresolved feelings to her chest.
"...Is this really so hard?"
In the end, the elf who couldn't muster the courage fled from the sun.
*
A tangle of worries couldn't stop time. Inevitably, time flowed on, briefly anchoring at the moment of parting, and Lione swallowed a sigh as she gazed at Enoch, now ready to leave.
"...Off to Demisto now?"
"Yeah. Wanna come with, Lione?"
At his straightforward words, Lione smiled bitterly.
"No. It'll be good for you to see a wider world without your big sis around. Sorry if I got in the way this time too."
"In the way? What nonsense is that?"
Enoch stepped forward and enveloped Lione's small frame in a fierce hug.
"Then this time I'll go without you, and next time we'll go together."
"Is that necessary?"
"Yeah. You said varied experiences are important."
Looking up from within his embrace, Enoch's eyes were utterly calm, without a flicker.
Those black pupils seemed to pierce her soul, making her body shrink despite her age.
"Even ordinary scenery looks different with you. Even places we've been before would feel totally new together."
"Really...? You think that?"
"Yeah."
A nod, without hesitation—how could that be so lovable?
Impulsively, as if pushed from behind, she rose on tiptoe to lean in, only for the fear squeezing her chest to make her casually lower her foot.
"And now I think I get it."
"Get what...?"
"Lione's scared of everything."
"...What? You can't say that to your big sis."
She furrowed her brows, pretending to be angry, but Enoch just continued with a smile tugging at his lips.
"Always lost in weird thoughts by yourself. And you're terrible at lying."
"So...? Your unreliable big sis finally turned you off?"
"See? Even an idiot wouldn't say that."
Enoch's large hand gently brushed her cheek and cradled her head. Her firmly held chin lifted, meeting his eyes. Those pitch-black depths burned with an unknowable emotion, threatening to draw her in.
Snapping to her senses, just as she tried to pull away from his hand,
"Hnng...!"
Pupils so close they stole her breath, respiration grazing her lips.
Holding her trembling breath, she pursed her lips—his black eyes flicked down, and the corners curved.
"Told you. Now I get it."
An unfamiliar sensation overlaid her pursed lips. Soft and warm, yet it slashed through her chest, leaving her gasping.
Just lips meeting lips, like hands clasping—yet a storm of dizzying, inexplicable emotions raced through her body.
A soft *smack* echoed as the lips pulled away, the lingering heat making her chest burn.
She couldn't grasp what was happening. Staring at Enoch like she was clinging, his face flushed deep red, brimming with embarrassment.
"...Crying?"
"...Yeah."
"Was it bad...?"
So bold when smashing through her walls moments ago, now fumbling and rolling his eyes—that was adorable.
"...I think I get it too."
"Huh...?"
Grabbing Enoch's cheeks, she stretched on tiptoe and crashed her lips against his.
*Smack*—
The shy chime of their kiss, like a bell signaling the start, magically unraveled the tangled threads of her emotions.
"Hesitating was so stupid."
Now she could say it. To her indecisive self, you'd shown such deep feelings.
"I love you, Enoch."
*Crack*—the child curled in the tree's heart broke free from the shell, stepping onto the ground with tender feet.
"Lione...?"
In his arms, only his desperate hands roamed the air, groping for traces of the scattered elf.