Until they left their seats, no one held onto Aslan or Phey.
Whether it was intentional or not, it was unclear, but the fact that they were left alone was evident.
Aslan and Phey walked together.
Passing through the corridor leading to the laboratory, they headed toward the city.
A strange yet familiar smell of the sea tickled Aslan’s nose.
And beside him was Phey, clinging to his arm with her own, pressing her body uncomfortably close as they walked.
Aslan tried to avert his gaze from the sensation beyond Phey’s dress but consciously turned his head to look at her.
The sight of Phey he beheld was akin to this city.
It was somewhere unfamiliar yet familiar.
Barefoot, with a distinctive dress barely covering her backside.
Along with the knife at her waist.
Each of these elements clearly belonged to the old Phey, the one who used the venom of the Poison-Spitting Dragon to transcend her limits before her body changed.
But that was all they had in common.
Her actions, her words.
Everything about her seemed foreign, unlike the old Phey.
Aslan couldn’t tell if these changes were due to her body’s transformation or emotions she had harbored but hidden until now.
He couldn’t distinctly differentiate between them.
Thus, he couldn’t decide how to respond either.
If these feelings stemmed from the emotional turmoil brought on by her rapid physical growth, it would be right for Aslan to not accept them.
Boiling emotions. Emotions spewed out under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or the atmosphere were sure to lead to regret, based on his personal experiences.
However, if these were emotions that had lain dormant within her and emerged upon finding an opportunity…
Feeling dizzy, Aslan squeezed his eyes shut, only to snap back to reality by the sensation of Phey pulling on his arm.
“Aslan!”
The cheerful voice calling out was familiar.
Aslan lifted his head, and Phey, tilting her head significantly as she observed him, smiled brightly.
“Let’s go there!”
The destination was unknown. Nonetheless, Aslan gave a vague response and followed where Phey led him.
Though aimless, his thoughts momentarily wandered behind his eyes.
Caught up in his musings, Aslan looked at Phey.
Aslan knew Phey to some extent.
Of course, he was aware that Phey harbored deep kindness toward him.
Only, he couldn’t discern whether this deep affection amounted to romantic love.
Even now, he couldn’t properly distinguish it.
Was this deep affection truly romantic love from the beginning, or did it emerge due to her body’s change?
Aslan could only guess.
And because he couldn’t determine the appropriate response, Aslan remained ambiguous in his attitude.
Following awkwardly, his steps were unhurried, but Phey didn’t rush him, continuing to walk while holding onto Aslan’s arm.
When their steps halted, a shop with a shirt-shaped sign hung in front appeared before them.
It was a clothing store. When Aslan turned his head to look at Phey, she grinned and led him inside.
“I want to try on some clothes! Will you buy them for me?”
“…Yeah, I’ll buy them. Of course.”
There was no reason not to. Anything would be better than her current indecent attire.
Moreover, there was no reason to refuse what Phey desired.
Still, there was a question.
“But why clothes? Weren’t you someone who didn’t particularly like clothes?”
At Aslan’s question, Phey tilted her head while gripping the doorknob of the clothing store.
Then, straightening her tilted head, Phey chuckled.
“No, Phey likes pretty clothes too. It’s just… there weren’t many nice ones that fit my body before. Most of them were uncomfortable, cumbersome, and didn’t fit well.”
But now, there are more fitting clothes. Just as Phey said, she now had a body that could wear regular clothes, unlike before when she could only wear children’s clothing.
So without hesitation, Phey opened the door to the clothing store.
Her confident strides showed no hesitation, even when the owner of the clothing store looked at Phey curiously.
Probably because it was rare to see someone enter a clothing store barefoot.
Soon after Phey began rummaging through fabrics and garments and started picking up clothes, the owner approached, but Phey ignored them and chose her outfits.
Aslan waited while watching Phey freely select her clothes.
Before long, Phey picked out several outfits and disappeared to the back of the store, returning shortly after.
“Ta-da! Now Phey is Angie!”
Indeed, Phey was dressed in attire suitable for Angie.
A casual shirt paired with tight leather pants.
The black leather pants gleamed, creating a different allure compared to when Angie wore them.
When Angie wore them, they had a provocative charm that instinctively drew one’s hands.
But when Phey wore them, it felt different.
Like a noble engaging in mischief.
Even though her legs were pressed tightly together, there was no visible gap, and the thin, long thighs compressed by the leather pants possessed a power beyond expectation.
Phey spun around once in such an outfit.
Despite her bare feet being exposed, which gave a peculiar feeling, the ensemble suited Phey so well that it made one forget such details.
“How does it look?”
“It’s beautiful. Truly.”
“Yeah, Phey is both beautiful and seductive!”
Grinning, Phey chimed in enthusiastically.
Phey’s azure eyes sparkled before she picked up another piece of clothing.
“I’ll try on some other clothes too!”
This time, Phey picked up a dress.
A modest green dress typical of commoners.
Yet, the fabric was excellent, the kind that wizards in the city of wizards might wear as casual wear.
Phey held the dress and casually disappeared to the back of the store before reappearing.
As expected, the dress suited Phey well.
Though it extended down to the ankles, the corset that tightened the chest and the subtly revealed shoulders and collarbone made it an attractive garment.
“What about this one? How does it look?”
“This one is beautiful too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
Perhaps because they were a race created by nature and creation, elves inherently possess cute appearances.
Likewise, Phey could be said to have been blessed by the deity with her looks.
Even the modest dress complemented her uniquely cold eyes, giving her a distinctive aura.
Amidst this, Aslan watched Phey grin and felt again the strangeness he had noticed earlier.
Their eyes met, and Phey smiled coyly while picking up another piece of clothing.
This time, it was undoubtedly a revealing outfit.
With exposed shoulders, a visible cleavage, and a side slit exposing her legs.
“Hold on, Phey…”
“Just wait a moment! Don’t peek!”
Before Aslan could intervene, Phey disappeared with the clothing and reappeared after a short wait.
Sure enough, the outfit Phey wore was stimulating.
Her long legs stretched out without any obstruction, visible all the way to her toes, creating a visually striking impression.
Not only that, Phey continued to try on several outfits, seeking Aslan’s opinion each time.
She even came out wearing a nightgown intended for sleepwear, a traveler-like ensemble of trousers and a shirt, and a jacket with a cloak.
At one point, she even picked up some underwear from a corner of the store and asked what he thought.
“No way. It exposes too much skin. Rather, something warm like this would be better.”
When Aslan objected with reasons and recommended a warm, puffy pumpkin undergarment typically worn by children,
“Does Aslan like those undergarments? Is that your preference? Do you want Phey to wear those?”
Phey blocked Aslan’s words with such a response and chuckled softly.
In the end, they had no choice but to buy everything.
Unless Aslan wanted to implant the mistaken perception that Phey enjoyed dressing like a child, there was no other option.
However, when they exited the clothing store, Aslan and Phey were empty-handed.
They had placed an order to send everything to Anna Helmenius.
Thus, their hands were free, and naturally, they strolled while snacks occupied their hands.
Dried fruits, fried seaweed, candied nuts and ginger.
While heading towards the coastline, Phey clutched these snacks in both hands and ate them heartily.
Stuffing her mouth full of snacks and smacking her lips, she smiled coyly.
This aspect hadn’t changed from the previous Phey.
For Aslan, it was a satisfying scene.
Today’s display of Phey was that unfamiliar.
Carrying snacks, lost in their own thoughts, Aslan and Phey walked along.
As they approached, the frozen sea under the descent of the Veil of Mercy came into view.
A sea that neither time nor space flowed, frozen like a photograph.
Phey gazed at the sea and suddenly extended the snack in her hand.
“Here, Aslan!”
Was she offering to feed him?
Having almost emptied the snack into a wooden bowl, Phey held the bowl in one hand and extended the snack towards Aslan’s mouth with the other.
Though there was no real reason to refuse, the gesture made Aslan hesitate for a moment before opening his mouth. A candied apple entered Aslan’s mouth.
The peculiar mix of the dryness characteristic of dried fruit and the subtle sweetness enhanced by caramelized sugar swirled ambiguously in his mouth.
It wasn’t particularly luxurious, but it was a taste that occasionally lingered in his mind.
A taste that would make any child ecstatic.
As Aslan chewed thoughtfully, Phey was licking her fingers that had briefly touched Aslan’s lips.
It was a slightly embarrassing sight.
Nevertheless, a more pressing question arose.
Elves didn’t need food.
The sole reason Phey ate was not to satisfy hunger but out of personal preference.
Yet, the snacks they had just eaten weren’t particularly delicious to warrant such enthusiasm.
There was no need for Phey to eat them.
So why?
Aslan looked at Phey with curiosity, and Phey sat on a rock overlooking the coast.
“What did it taste like?”
And she asked.
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Aslan opened his mouth hesitantly before answering.
“It was sweet. A bit excessive.”
“Is that so? Try feeding me too!”
Exclaiming cheerfully, Phey opened her mouth wide.
Aslan, looking at Phey, picked up a snack from the plate in her hand and placed it in her mouth.
The moment the snack entered her mouth, it closed, and Aslan’s finger was briefly sucked by Phey.
Moistened by saliva without any trace of odor, his index finger slipped out as Phey chewed the dried apple slowly.
“Mm, it’s very sweet! It would’ve been better with less sugar!”
Aslan returned to the earlier question. Phey couldn’t have failed to predict that.
Aslan’s curious emerald-green eyes met Phey’s steady gaze.
“But I’m glad it’s the same taste.”
The unexpected honest statement startled Aslan.
“I’m glad your tongue has healed, Aslan. Now Phey can feel the same as what Aslan tastes.”
Silent Phey. Quietly smiling Phey. Her legs swung back and forth, and her other hand tapped lightly beside her.
Unable to resist the gesture, Aslan sat down.
Upon sitting, the scenery that greeted him was unfamiliar.
The city of wizards seen hundreds of times in the game.
The dynamic coastline had become static.
It was the mark of the Veil of Mercy descending.
Countless suspended water droplets in mid-air, cold air, and the dying flow of time and space.
Facing countless deaths rendered white and lifeless, Aslan blankly stared when Phey suddenly spoke.
“Phey hopes Aslan becomes happier.”
It was an unexpected remark. But it wasn’t entirely out of context.
Phey was responding to Aslan’s earlier curiosity.
Phey was saying that she ate for Aslan’s happiness.
Aslan knew Phey well, and thus understood what Phey didn’t say.
Happiness is experience.
One becomes happier with more experiences.
The quality of experiences doesn’t determine happiness or sadness.
What matters is the type of experiences and who shares them.
When Aslan looked at Phey, she smiled with an unusually mature expression.
Her eyes were gently fixed on Aslan.
“I think it would be better if Phey is part of that happiness.”
Moved by the statement, Aslan solemnly acknowledged it.
Because Phey had always been such an elf.
Thinking about it, she had always been like that.
Phey was fast and skillful; there was no need for her to stay by Aslan’s side.
She was an elf capable of handling her own tasks.
Considering Phey’s agility, she could have finished shopping much faster alone.
But she didn’t.
Phey stayed with Aslan.
She spent her time leisurely.
Aslan wasn’t stupid to the point of not understanding why.
Phey also knew that.
That’s why perhaps, an unusual mature smile graced Phey’s face.
A smile she occasionally wore even before her body transformed but went unnoticed.
Words flowed soon after.
“Phey…”
No, Phey added and smiled faintly.
“I’m an elf. You’re human.”
The smile slowly faded, and Phey’s fiery red hair brushed against Aslan’s shoulder.
“Elves live forever, but humans don’t.”
Her legs swung back and forth.
As if running.
“Therefore, no matter how hard I try, I cannot give Aslan enough. Since Aslan won’t live as long as me.”
Phey’s message was simple.
What Aslan had given her was so immense that it provided sufficient sustenance for her eternal life.
“If I hurry, the time I can spend with Aslan will decrease even more. Since I don’t know how much longer we can be together, I want to enjoy it leisurely.”
Phey’s rare sincerity.
As Aslan fell silent, Phey leaned her head on Aslan’s shoulder and spoke.
“I’m happy when I’m with Aslan. I want to be happy longer. So… this moment is precious to me.”
Once again, Aslan became solemn.
The raw sincerity, the soft emotion bordering on melting, was palpable.
Aslan recalled.
Phey had always been like that.
Phey had always been sincere with Aslan.
That’s why she understood when Aslan pushed her away and left on his own.
She understood even when Aslan didn’t see her as a woman.
Torn by Phey’s raw pain, Aslan opened his mouth.
“Phey—”
“Shh.”
Phey silenced Aslan with a mature smile.
“Don’t push yourself.”
Because Phey could wait a little longer.
Lazily opening her azure eyes, Phey suddenly lowered the hand that had covered Aslan’s mouth and grabbed the back of his neck.
Pulling him closer.
Aslan didn’t resist and was drawn closer. The approaching face.
Just as Aslan considered closing his eyes to brace for impact, it suddenly stopped.
A precarious distance where their lips were about to touch.
Phey paused there, giggling.
“I won’t eat you up… yet.”
She pushed him away again. As Aslan sat back, Phey pulled her knees to her chest.
“When you’re ready. Got it?”
Leaving those words, Phey stood up.
Clearly still in the form of a child, the recently grown elf displayed an astonishing maturity.
The past behavior was merely that of a child, acting childishly.
It wasn’t a surprising truth. Perhaps only Richard among the group might not know.
Aslan wore a slightly apologetic expression, and Phey responded with a smile indicating it was alright.
“Let’s go back! Everyone must be waiting.”
“…Yeah, we should. Let’s go back.”
Aslan, faced with Phey’s attitude, grappled with clear conflict but managed to find some direction.
It was time to seriously confront this issue.
Aslan took Phey’s hand as the sun sank beneath the dead sea.
