Chapter 94: Chapter 94

"Are you feeling better now?"

Xenos sat beside Gaia on a grassy hill, the two of them overlooking the little town they’d just come from.

The roofs glimmered faintly under the moonlight, making it quite a beautiful view, only a bit ruined by the fountain square not so far below them, still stained red from earlier, though from this distance it was hard to tell that it was even there.

Gaia didn’t answer Xenos’s question.

She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, her hands resting over them, with her face buried between her legs.

He didn’t know if he meant it as a promise to her or a reassurance for himself; either way, it didn’t help much, if at all.

The poor girl breathed out quietly, more of a sigh than a word, making Xenos scratch his neck.

"It’ll get better, don’t worry."

He leaned back on his palms for a moment, then hesitated before sliding closer.

With no particular elegance, he wrapped one arm around her shoulder and pulled her gently against his chest.

Gaia, of course, didn’t resist.

She stayed there, shaking faintly against him.

"And that guy wanted you dead, you know?"

Xenos added after a moment, his tone a bit too casual, something which had finally gotten a reaction.

Gaia let out a short, messy laugh.

"...really don’t know how to handle these things, do you?"

Her words came hoarse from all the crying earlier, but there was a little life in them again.

Xenos looked at her and shrugged.

"Don’t expect that to change."

She neither agreed nor disagreed.

And that was that; the two no longer speaking.

They just sat there, feeling the wind brush over the hill, carrying the scent of grass and faint smoke from the town’s hearths.

Gaia leaned more and more of her weight against him as time passed, her breathing slowing down, finally evening out.

It seemed she only wanted warmth from him now. And for once with her, Xenos didn’t fill the silence.

He leaned his head back, staring at the stars overhead.

So bright and distant, the same as always, no matter what realm.

After a while, his thoughts drifted a little.

They reached someone important.

’Eris, thanks for the help earlier.’

He heard nothing back.

Xenos frowned slightly.

He wanted to thank her for snapping him out of it earlier, as, besides that one moment, it’d been a while since She talked to him.

’Eris, I said thank you.’

He rubbed the back of his neck.

’Hm, is she sleeping, or is it...?’

He guessed something before immediately shaking his head.

’No way. She’s a Goddess. They don’t... right?’

Xenos hesitated, then mentally nodded to himself.

’Yeah. No way. Definitely not.’

He exhaled and let it go.

Time passed quietly after that.

Gaia didn’t say another word, and Xenos didn’t push her to. He wasn’t exactly good at "comforting" anyway, so sitting there in silence worked more than fine for him.

When night deepened and the town below began dimming its lanterns, they finally made their way back.

Gaia refused to walk far from him the entire time. If he stepped too far ahead, she’d grab his sleeve and pull him back beside her.

By the time they reached the manor, Theodore was waiting in the entry hall.

His face was red, and his fists were clenched.

No doubt holding it in for hours now.

"You nearly let assassins harm my daughter, and now—now you want to sleep in my daughter’s room?!"

Medea stood beside him, biting her lip, clearly guilt-ridden.

"It’s my fault... I should’ve been there... I should’ve protected her—"

Xenos cut in before she said anything triggering.

"Now’s not the time for blame."

That silenced both of them.

It was the first time they saw him with such a face, and no, he didn’t look angry, just done with the entire conversation.

Theodore’s eye twitched; he clearly wanted to yell more, but Gaia, who hadn’t spoken since the hill, clutched Xenos’s sleeve tighter and pulled him upstairs, caring not for what her father had to say.

That ended the argument.

Her room wasn’t what Xenos expected.

It was simple... far too simple, almost minimalist.

A large bed, a wooden wardrobe, and a desk with only a single flower vase.

It was like someone who had money but no idea what to do with it, unused to such a large space and the ability to actually buy things.

That, of course, spoke much of her past, something that Xenos made sure to never even think of mentioning now.

Gaia led him to the bed and sat down, still holding his hand. After taking off her sandals and he his boots, she tugged him down beside her.

He let himself fall onto the edge of the bed, lying stiffly, and she leaned back, pulling the sheets over them both.

Xenos froze up a little.

He had no idea where to put his hands.

On the bed? On his chest? Near her? Official source ıs NoveI~Fire.net

No, definitely not near her.

She might think he was taking advantage of her.

That’d be bad... very, very bad.

So he just kind of kept them awkwardly away from him before resting them flat at his sides like he was posing for a crime scene chalk outline.

An act that Gaia quickly noticed.

She reached up, grabbed his arm, and pulled it around her waist. Then, pretty awkwardly, she pulled his other hand too.

His eyes went a little wide.

She cut him off quickly.

Though quiet, she sounded certain.

Xenos paused for a moment before sighing.

"...Alright. I’ll be gentle."

Her shoulders relaxed, and she leaned her back into him while he did the opposite.

Outside, the night wind moved through the garden, brushing against the window, where a lone cat sat perched on the sill, staring at the two humans doing weird things on the bed.

It had been watching them for a while now, its head tilted, its dark eyes wide and curious.

To the cat, Xenos’s strange movements looked like some kind of elaborate ritual.

So, naturally, the cat decided to try it too.

It sat up straight, stretched both paws forward, then leaned in with its lower body.

Its golden eyes narrowed in deep feline concentration.

Up, down, up and down.

It looked oddly proud of itself.

Unfortunately, physics did not share that pride.

Because, as it extended its tiny paws outward in another imitation, the cat’s balance slipped, and in one perfectly graceful second of betrayal, it realized it had made a terrible mistake.

The cat vanished off the sill, landing somewhere in the garden below with a startled "Mrrrp!" followed by the sound of rustling leaves.

Inside, Xenos paused and blinked at the sudden noise.

He turned his head toward the window with furrowed brows.

Gaia mumbled in a moan with her eyes half-closed.

"...probably the wind."

He stared for another moment, then shrugged and continued the ’elaborate ritual.’

Outside, the unfortunate cat poked its head out of a bush, twigs sticking out of its fur.

It gave the window a betrayed glare before shaking itself off indignantly.

Deciding that mimicry was overrated, it stalked off into the shadows of the garden, its tail held high.