“…Good morning… Alfred,” says Lian.
I approach him at a slow pace, taking care that I don’t surprise him, before planting a gentle kiss on his silver hair.
Usually, he’ll grow angry and say, “What are you doing, you idiot?!” But Lian currently just woke up. In this state, most of his mental faculties are still sluggish, so I can casually kiss him like this and he won’t burst with rage.
In fact, whenever our eyes meet, he often stares at me with this dazed expression and flashes me a soft smile.
Even when I stroke his cheek, Lian doesn’t appear to hate it. On the contrary, he squints his eyes in comfort and even seems to rub his cheek against my palm.
Seeing this, I remember something.
He’s just like that silver cat. Only when it has just woken up can I manage to stroke its fur without getting scratched in the process.
Another thing is that both of these silver-haired—or furred—creatures remain half-awake for a considerably long time.
When I slide my hand down to the bottom of Lian’s chin and give him a gentle scratch there, his cheeks darken to a faint red. He lets out a small sigh.
Does it feel that comfortable? Then Lian leans into my hand, defenselessly exposing his pale neck, eyes slowly sliding shut.
His body has completely grown lax against me.
This… no way.
Is he… giving me an invitation?
No, wait. I have to calm down.
He’s merely half-asleep.
I need to get a hold of myself.
Endure. Endure this.
If I do something to him because of this passing impulse, then there won’t be a next time for me anymore.
So forcefully, I squash my urges, which have once again risen to the surface. Put a lid and even a weight on top of them for good measure.
While I sit on the side of the bed, Lian’s body, along with his hair, faintly sways from side to side, similar to the bouncing motions of a spring upon release from its compressed state.
When Lian is about to fall diagonally onto the bed, I extend my arm to support his unstable body. He also grabs my sleeve, probably to hold himself up. “…It’s about this Saturday,” he says.
It seems that he called me today to talk about my task for the coming Saturday.
“In the southwestern area of the village, two bloodclaw bears were spotted on the mountain path…”
“Bloodclaw bears? How unusual.”
The bloodclaw bear is a demon with a semblance to bears, its size approximately that of an adult man.
However, what makes them terrifying are their claws, which are about three times larger than those of a normal bear. And colored red, as if blood fully coated them.
They also have red eyes and two extra heads.
According to the demon encyclopedia, bloodclaw bears scare their opponents into believing that they’re as terrifying as they look, hoping to avoid any confrontation. They certainly appear brutal enough to be convincing.
In spite of their appearance, these bears are incredibly vigilant by nature. They only hunt wild animals and small demons deep in the mountains. Rarely do they descend into human civilization.
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Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death
Romance"Please, I implore you to save the world." This is what a goddess in white says to me in a pure-white space. Such is the standard line that suggests the game is about to begin. Please say this stirring line to boys and girls with sparkling eyes! It'...
