Chapter 9: 9

As soon as Rayan met those eyes, he could feel the tension and nervousness that had been holding him back relieved. At the same time he was a little annoyed. He didn’t like the confident expression of the young human who was sure he would come. He was unnecessarily grumpy.

“Because you said you would answer me if I come.”

No, Rayan didn’t know how to treat him.

It was his instinct to save the human who was shining like the sun, and he felt affectionate to the human being he saved with his own hands. However, Erich was a human being, so he was someone he shouldn’t be close with. When Rayan tried to be on the alert with that in mind, he was relieved that the human didn’t seem to have any intention of harming him, but also annoyed at his tactics to trick him to come out again.

It was difficult.

Rayan had clear likes and dislikes, and he liked more than turned away from it. He didn’t hate Alle, Yuri, Ayla, Atisa, let alone Mer, who now doesn’t even want to see him. But he couldn’t define that human being. That’s why it was difficult.

“… Since I’m here, will you tell me?”

“I said I’d tell you when you come tomorrow. Rayan.”

It’s been three nights already. He answered by spreading his three fingers and waving them.

That answer was nothing more than an excuse for Rayan to come meet him. Still, Rayan’s lips pursed hearing his words. Unlike the last time he had splashed water with his hands, Rayan swept up the water surface with his tail. The wave of water, which was incomparable to that time, was poured onto the human.

The man, covered in sudden pouring water, blinked his eyes. His wet eyelashes moved slowly as if they were drooping. Unlike the last time, he twitched the corners of his lips as he watched Rayan throw a fit, rather than being wary.

“… Cold.”

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Erhart, who barely held back his laughter, crouched down. He murmured that it was cold, but of course it wasn’t cold. Unlike Djerba, it was spring in Argen.

Moreover, Erhart, who had to endure the cold without even turning on the fireplace because of the lack of firewood in the winter because the Imperial Household Agency did not send the goods properly due to the emperor’s schemes, had to get used to the cold, so this was nothing. Nevertheless, he may have lied because he wanted to see the green eyes stained with concern.

“Human. Is it cold?”

As expected, Rayan was restless. Forgetting that he was keeping a certain distance, he came closer to look at Erhart. The other time, he had just made a simple assumption, but this time it was more obvious. Rayan looked at him weakly.

Why?

Did he ever look like that? No, besides that, . It was Rayan, not Erhart, who looked feeble. He looked so delicate as if he would break if touched. But in Rayan’s eyes, the other person seemed weak. He had heard Leah say the human was still young several times, but it was strange because he didn’t hear of him being fragile.

“Mhm. Cold.”

It was a little unfair to him but suppressing those feelings, Erhart rolled down his eyes and pretended to be cold. Rayan flinched with his troubled eyes, and then he moved closer. It was clear that his intention was to gently stretch out his hand and flap them in the air, so that the water would not dry out.

“Still?”

Rayan’s flapping gestures did not create even the slightest breeze. Erhart looked at his shallowly webbed, pale hand, and drew a magic circle in the air with his finger, creating a weak wind. The hot wind swept by the wet clothes. The water on his hair dried. Rayan thought that this was due to the wind he had caused, so his expression brightened.

“Rayan.”

It typically wouldn’t be anything special to be called by his name, but Rayan looked at Erhart as if he were seeing something strange. The eyes that were a colour warmer than emerald yet deeper than peridot, were so beautiful that he did not feel it would be a waste even if he gave up the whole kingdom.

“Come, look.”

As Rayan didn’t come any closer, Erhart took off the shoes he had been wearing and sat down on a rock. His legs were submerged in seawater up to his shins. You said it was cold? Rayan widened his eyes with such a meaning, and Erhart pretended not to notice and took out the crystal ball he had brought from the hem of his robe.

His face was reflected on the touchable surface of the transparent crystal ball. Rayan tilted her head. Seeing him like that, Erhart smiled briefly and injected mana into his crystal ball.

The inside of the crystal ball, where initially held nothing, shook, and as the smoke clumped, congealed and loosened, certain forms appeared. Golden sun and blue sky. The sea is green like Rayan’s eyes. White birds flying to somewhere with the white clouds in the background, small ships floating in the distance.

It was the daytime world.

Probably something that Rayan was curious about.

“Do you see it? This is the sun.”

Erhart said, tapping the sun formed in the crystal ball.

Rayan’s eyes were already fixed on the crystal ball as if being possessed. Looking at the passionate eyes, Erhart felt proud that his hard work of the past few days was not in vain. Though, his hands trembled slightly as his energy was low due to excessive use of mana.

This was something that should not be done in the first place.

For the first time in 100 years, when Erhart was born into the Imperial Family, he was able to handle atmospheric magic without magic stones. He was the one who could revive the law of succession to the throne that had been dead. But he was also a thorn in the eyes of the emperor.

If the emperor finds out, whether Erhart is Olivia’s son or not, he would not hesitate to remove him, who will be the source of trouble for him, even if Olivia threatens that she would follow him to death.

Knowing this, Olivia wanted to keep Erhart’s secret until he grew up and gained some power. He also knew his mother’s heartrending maternal love, even though he had no other lingering attachments in his life, he did not use his magic power for harmful purposes. Besides, he had no intention of using it because he was still struggling to freely use his magical power anyway.

The reason he conjured the atmospheric magic and controlled it with both hands was because of the existence of an unknown phenomenon in front of me. Even if this place was Argen and not Djerba, he had no regrets even though it was not without risk.

“This is the sky.”

“… Blue.”

His ears were red, visible through his hair. His pale cheeks were flushed with red. The little mermaid was obviously overjoyed. It made Erhart have no time to get caught up with the feeling of regret.

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“Bright, like Atisa.”

Atisa. He didn’t know the name, but he could understand from the context that the word was referring to the realm the mermaid was staying in.

“Then it’s daytime, it’s so dark?”

“Alle didn’t say anything, Yuri only talked about the shining sun.”

“Who are they?”

“My guardians.”

They were the heirs of the killer whale and dolphin clans. Rayan, already interested in something else, babbled about something he didn’t even ask. He was very loose as if he hadn’t ever been on alert. But his eyes weren’t even on him in the first place. Erhart was quiet, half wanting to steal his gaze and half wanting to leave him be, and gently pulled his hand holding his crystal ball closer to him.

Rayan approached Erhart gently and came close enough to touch his body.

He didn’t seem to notice at all that his flesh had come close enough to touch. Had he known, he would have gone farther away. He was like a cat. If you pay attention, he would be wary, and if you pretended not to notice, he would approach defenselessly first. Erhart took the moment when Rayan was completely absorbed in and took a closer look.

Rich eyelashes were hung like curtains, and the hand placed close enough to touch was a little smaller than Erhart’s own. From the side, his eyes were large, his lips were red, and his black hair, like onyx, gently stretched down to his waist, in sharp contrast to his pale skin.

“…”

Just as Rayan was possessed by the crystal ball, Erhart couldn’t take his eyes off him. His fingers wavered and then touched his droopy hair. Rayan’s voice kept dulling his sharp nerves again. His voice reminded him of a dreamy song that had been immersed in the depths of his memory, making him feel drowsy as if his eyes were closing.

Erhart, who had half-closed his eyes and twisted Rayan’s hair with his fingers, suddenly realised that he couldn’t hear the other person’s voice and lowered his gaze. Rayan was looking at Erhart.

“… Hand.”

“Hm?”

“You’re touching my hair.”

“Can’t I?”

Can he? Rayan didn’t think so. Rayan missed the time to answer because he was contemplating.

“Or do you hate it?”

He didn’t seem to hate it either. There were more things he liked than disliked, but Rayan had a clear affinity for most things. When he failed to answer again this time, the human being, who accepted it as a positive thing, smiled satisfactorily and did not take his hands off his hair.

Yuri and Alle often nuzzled with their snouts, but this is the first time someone had stroked Rayan’s head with their hand. Mer treated him as her successor, but did not show affection and love him like a child in her arms. However, it felt strange to see a human who was much younger than him touching his head.

He felt strange with the unfamiliar sensation, but the back of a sliding hand touched his cheek like the previous time.

He was surprised, but it was hot.

“Why do you keep avoiding me?”

When Rayan moved his body back to escape the heat, the human showed a dissatisfied expression.

“… It’s hot.”

“My hand?”

The human who grabbed his hand with a puzzled expression murmured something. A magic circle with a strange pattern rose with a blue light and he touched it with his hand. The hand touched Rayan’s cheek again.

“It’s not hot now, is it?”

The hand that Rayan had felt the heat from was now cold. What did he do? Ah. He is human. Although they looked fragile, they were people who once dyed this blue sea with blood… With this realisation, it was right to keep a distance and be wary, but Rayan did not distance himself from him.

He was the one who made his skin feel cold when Rayan said that physical contact was hot, and he was also the first to show Rayan the daytime of the outside world, even if it was not real.

“… Erich.”

Other than the times when Rayan tried to prevent Erhart from calling his name over and over again, this was the first time. When Rayan, who had been stubbornly calling Erhart ‘human’, suddenly called out his name, he furrowed his straight eyebrows as if trying to understand Rayan’s true intentions.

Rayan wiggled his fingers over his palm and wrote his name. Rayan. Then he turned my palm over and reached out to him. There was no conversation, but the human scribbled something like Rayan did.

His skin was cooled but still felt warmer than Rayan’s. The sensation of the finger that fell while drawing gentle strokes, remained like an afterimage. As he was about to move his finger away, his hand was grabbed.

“Erich.”

Only after the tickling sensation passed did Rayan roll his name on his tongue once more. The sensation of the tip of his tongue being pressed down was a little strange.

“Mhm, Rayan.”

The gaze and the voice calling tickled his heart.

“…”

In Rayan’s hand, the daytime scene still shimmered in a small ball, and the moonlight that had just re-rounded was illuminating them.

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