- Uuuhhmmmm - exclaims a kobold as she exhales. The night was very comfortable for her and her muscles soon wake up along with her mind. It takes her a while to open her eyes, her nose waking her up before she does. She smells her master a few meters from the camp they've made.
Opening her eyes to the world, she is struck by the rays of sunlight streaming through the leaves of the forest. Looking to the side, she sees her husband doing some exercises shirtless. The morning sun beats down on his muscles with a little sweat. On another occasion she would be drooling to see her husband in this delicious state, but knowing why he's like this, she can only worry about his condition.
Although he says it's good that he keeps training to maintain his current strength, starting heavy training before dawn must surely be bad for him.
It's been like this for over a week, since the second night they left Lescatie. The first night, after what Jonathan was forced to do, they walked until dawn and rested for a while in a cave. Jonathan asked Melanie to go to sleep so that he could rest, but he himself didn't bat an eye for a second. At night, when he could hardly stand up, he ended up sleeping sitting up. When Melanie woke up, she draped a blanket over him, but soon afterwards he began to struggle and mutter to himself. He was having a nightmare, and one strong enough to wake him up.
Melanie spent a few minutes calming him down. Jonathan was honest and told her that he had had a nightmare, but he didn't want to go into too much detail. Since that night, the two of them had decided not to sleep apart. Melanie's presence calmed him down, but he still woke up before sunrise every day to train. Even if he didn't say anything, it was clear that he was using physical exhaustion to avoid having to think about the nightmares.
He seems to be following the same toxic behavior that left him on the edge of the abyss when he was training in Lescatie. Ignoring his problems and focusing on physical improvement so he doesn't have to think about the uncomfortable things.
Turning to Melanie, Jonathan, now that he has his clothes back on, for the kobold's sake, tries to smile nonchalantly, thinking that he is discreet enough with his problems.
- Good morning Melanie, did you sleep well? - Even so, the young man continues to worry more about her.
- Uhmm - Just making a sound with his mouth to indicate that he understood.
Although the atmosphere is calm for the moment, Melanie still feels a strong discomfort inside. Looking at Jonathan now makes her want to comfort him. The immense guilt the young man feels produces an unparalleled uncomfortable odor. Like stale bread in the middle of the sun surrounded by maggots that destroy the food little by little.
The words don't exactly come to the kobold's mind, she's never dealt with the death of someone close to her, and seeing her husband in this situation gives her a sense of uselessness within their relationship. Jonathan will always be her protector, it's stupidly obvious how much stronger and prepared he is in almost every scenario, but if only she can be a safe haven for him. Someone he can take back into his arms and take off the mantle of responsibility and strength.
- Melanie, let's pack up, we're going - Clutching the bags they've packed, he puts away his essentials and starts to break down the camp they've made and bury the fire they've lit during the night. Throwing dirt on the weak embers that still remain, they could very well be used as traces for anyone on their tail. None of them have any reason to think they're being followed, but it's something that keeps Jonathan calm at night.
"Tonight I'll talk to him, at least that much I can do." The two of them need to pick up the pace if they want to get close to the next town. According to the map Jonathan has obtained, they are still a day and a half's walk from the neutral city of Mamonos. A region like this so far inside the continent may be an anomaly, but in reality they just didn't have the military to guarantee the dominance of order in this city, at least that's what Jonathan gathered from listening to rumors and gossip inside the barracks.
The two of them walk off, in a cute way, Melanie approaching and holding Jonathan's hand. Given their height difference, it may seem a little funny, but Melanie's grip on his hand lets her know that her husband appreciates her quick display of affection.
It's amazing how big some trees can get if there's no human interference or natural disaster. If in a civilized world like Jonathan's there were still gigantic sequoias with thousands of years on their trunks, which would serve as a tourist attraction and a reminder of how much time and patience can make something big. A world that hasn't even entered its first industrial revolution, and is hardly needed for the constant use of magic that exists in the simple mechanisms of this society. It's with a giant tree like this that Jonathan and Melanie decide to call it a day and camp out until dawn.
The site is nice and flat, near a river with clean water and fish to eat. Jonathan took advantage of this and caught a tilapia-like fish that was munching on the water using a blood spear. His control over his constructs still needs polishing, if they were completely solid and compressed to the maximum, no blood would leak into the water, but as it is, a little blood stains the river, a kind of red stream comes out of his spear, but it's almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
While the two of them wait for their food to roast on the fire that Melanie has lit, from what she's said she survived very well in the woods during the days she was traveling near Lescatie, the constant fire they've managed slowly roasts the fish, but neither of them is in any great hurry. Even though Jonathan needed a lot of food, he wasn't in a hurry; he'd eaten some normal fruit along the way.
The two of them sit side by side on a log nearby. Melanie's soft fur rubs against Jonathan's arms, giving him a constant reminder that she is by his side. The feeling of something cuddly helps him concentrate on the present, he feels like taking her hand, but doesn't know if it's time or not, that old social urge that plagues him. In the end, Melanie is the one who takes his hand and intertwines her fingers with his. Jonathan tries to hide the red in his cheeks.
"That's so cute," he thinks, seeing how rash Jonathan is being. But her expression soon changes when she remembers what they need to talk about. She continues to think about how to approach the subject, but it seems that her husband takes the initiative.
- You know, Melanie, I've talked about what I wanted to do, but I've never told you how, right?" Referring to a few days ago when he spoke in a catatonic tone after the incident, Melanie notes that he hasn't said anything about it since that day. - "Like, I said something really extravagant, but it probably sounded crazy at the time.
- Hmm - Showing that her attention is on him, she turns and looks into his brown eyes, the color of fire hitting his skin as a few embers fly near him.
- "It's not like I'm talking out of my ass, I really do intend to change this world and my own, I just don't have the power right now. But I do have a plan - Looking at her and showing a finger indicating 1, he smiles.
- A plan? So you've already thought about how we're going to do this - Impressed by Jonathan's intelligence, she shows her surprise.
- Yeah, well, half of one, or 35% of one - Trying to correct this misconception, he continues - But it's more of a general outline of how we're going to get there. Uhum, first, we have to get power and allies, a trip like this is bound to give us a lot of problems, and I doubt that me alone and as I am now will be enough. Secondly, we have to find a way to get to the demon continent and have an audience with the Demon Queen and her husband, so I have to have enough power to at least get to the door. -
- But why, it wouldn't just be talking to them - Turning her head, Melanie let out her doubt, if it was that easy.
- I don't think it is. These two are the pinnacle of this world, if I want them to listen to me seriously, I have to have power that they can't ignore, even if I have to force them to the discussion table - Perhaps that's a rather violent way of looking at things, but Jonathan doesn't want to take the risk of just hoping for their goodwill.
Seeing the way her husband talks, she remembers some of the things her mother told her. - The demon queen and her husband once defeated the chief goddess, they are the model that almost all mamono aspire to, even if in their own ways, my mother told me many things about our queen's achievements - Recounting to him the stories her mother always told her when it was time to go to sleep, she remembers how comfortable it always felt to be covered up in her bed and her mother watching over her from the side. She compares this feeling with waking up in Jonathan's arms and finds it impossible to classify the two sensations. Both are the supreme of what she considers security and comfort.
- Did your mother know her? -
- Not exactly, she lived right in the center of the continent and I heard various doings from her on a daily basis. She met my father outside the continent and I was born a long way from there, but she continues to tell these stories to my sister -
- Juliette, right, you told me about her when I asked you if you'd like to stay with me and you told me about your family - It's been a while since that conversation, but he remembers completely what his wife's family is like. It's funny, it used to take him a long time to remember things like that before, having to have a conversation or be reminded several times until the information stuck. - Any stories about how strong they were? -
- Hmm, I think there is one - Putting a finger to her lips, she rambled a little in her memories - AH! My mother told me that once, in an argument they had with a Pharaoh, she split the desert in two with her screams - Leaning on her hands, she came close to Jonathan, her eyes full of admiration and wonder.
- GHK! - He almost chokes when he hears that information, if it's true and not hyperbole then they could have multi-continental to planetary power. You can imagine how they basically competed with the final boss of this world. - I-that's amazing - Maybe being nervous and excited was presumptuous of him, but maybe, just maybe...
- Most of the stories are about their romance. How even after centuries the two still seem to be in a newlywed period. That their romantic outings can take months, and their kisses and caresses are felt by everyone around them as the ultimate demonstration of love - While telling these stories, Melanie can't help but move around and sketch various reactions with her face, each part of the story taking her deeper and deeper into her memories and even making Jonathan visualize these scenarios.
Melanie continues to tell the collection of stories she's heard, from tales of the romantic adventures the world's most powerful couple had to some tales of the beginning of their reign. She never loses her emotion, no matter what the story, and even though she sometimes speaks loudly, she doesn't seem to get hoarse. The young man feels in a warm atmosphere, it's amazing how the Kobold always manages to bring him a calm and peace. So calm that he has to admit that sometimes he misses a bit of what she's saying because he's admiring how her face brightens and changes so cutely, and when she realizes that his attention has been lost, she makes a little pout but without any real frustration goes back to telling him the part she thought he'd missed.
Although the atmosphere starts off a little tense, a calm soon sets in. For Jonathan, it's nice just to hear Melanie talk and retell the stories of her childhood. While for Melanie, it's good to see that her master is calm and not focusing on his negative thoughts.
But that still brings into question the problem he's been hiding. Knowing this, she can't let this chance slip away.
Seeing that he continues to pay attention to her stories, she abruptly interrupts. The young man is surprised to see that she has suddenly stopped talking.
Gathering the courage to talk about this heavy subject, she takes a breath and clenches her fists - Master, you feel guilty about what happened - Perhaps it was a little too direct, but Jonathan still needs to stop running away from it.
He is speechless, even though he knew that Melanie intended to talk about this subject at some point and was even preparing for this conversation, hearing these words from the kobold's mouth makes him instinctively want to look at the ground and run away from her eyes, afraid of seeing some judgment in them, but he is surprised again when she pulls his face towards her and forces him to look into her eyes.
Emerald green ones that shine with enormous kindness and patience stare back at him, and with that alone, his fears dissipate.
Swallowing dryly to take courage, he speaks - I feel like I could have done things differently, that I could have listened to him better, or explained myself better - Maybe in fact what decided everything was when he lost control, maybe when he couldn't go against him while they were fighting, or many other things that could have been different - I try to think logically that dwelling on the "what ifs" won't help me. But it doesn't, I get angry with myself because I'm the one who killed him Melanie, I keep seeing him dead on the floor without his fucking head, and I start to doubt, you know, if I deserve to go on. -
- You want to stop - Holding his hand, since he's at a very delicate moment - You know, if you want, we can stay here, we'll build a little house here, you'll give me some puppies, we'll live until we're old here - As he talks about this scenario, various images flash through Jonathan's head. Them building a wooden house together in the middle of the forest. Jonathan hunting wild pigs to eat. Melanie growing small crops of vegetables to support herself and sell in the nearest town. Melanie pregnant with perhaps more than one calf while Jonathan makes her laugh by dancing silly. All this while a fluffy red appears on the kobold's face.
While such a scenario is the picture of a happy ending, Melanie knows Jonathan well enough to know that he's not 100% okay with it at the moment.
- But, you know, I think you still want to follow your dream, don't you? - She continues to look at Jonathan without judgment, and yes, she's right. - I'm not going to leave you alone no matter what happens ok, I know you, and I know that what happened is going to be on your mind for a while, so you don't have to face it alone. - Smiling distinctly like Melanie, some of the stress Jonathan has accumulated is being exorcised.
He's already decided on his path, and however guilty he feels, he still needs to keep going, for the sacrifices he's made so far.
With this in his mind, he lets his head lie on Melanie's lap while the fire roasts his fish.
"I still don't know how right I am, but I still want to fulfill my dream" of both changing this world and becoming the greatest hero of all. Perhaps that's the best way to honor his friend Mureau.