#044
‘Carlisle Lightinger…?’
Why is this bastard sleeping next to me?
Thinking I might still be dreaming, I stared blankly at Carlisle’s sleeping face, but as I became aware that this seemed to be reality, I slowly backed my body away. I couldn’t go far before stopping because a long arm suddenly stretched out and caught my lower back.
‘Huh.’
“If you want to fall, just say so. I’ll let you go.”
A rough voice heavy with sleep rumbled low. My body stiffened at those words. I was flustered both by the fact that the person I thought was asleep was awake, and because I only then realized that my still-clumsy body was precariously hanging on the edge of the field cot.
Reflexively moving my body inward, I ended up pressed against Carlisle again. Carlisle’s face was right in front of my nose again. It was fortunate that he still had his eyes closed. It seemed like he had only briefly awakened from my movement and was falling back into sleep.
I had no intention of having an intimate eye-to-eye moment with Carlisle Lightinger on this narrow bed. So I waited with my body frozen, hoping he would fall back into deep sleep.
Meanwhile, I carefully rolled my eyes to look around again. I was inside a tent that seemed to accommodate about 5-6 people.
Besides the field cot where he and I were lying, there was only one small table. On it was a single lit lamp, probably in preparation for any emergency situation.
Naturally, the field cot wasn’t very large. It seemed bigger than usual, but since Carlisle Lightinger was large-sized, it was just a single-person bed tailored to his size. With me squeezed in there too, we had no choice but to be stuck together like newborn puppies.
‘What kind of whim is this?’
I couldn’t imagine that Carlisle Lightinger had willingly let me sleep in his bed out of philanthropic reasons. Of course, just because I was curious about the reason didn’t mean I planned to wake him up to ask.
When Carlisle’s breathing began to sound even again, I turned my gaze back to Carlisle, having done my best to keep my eyes focused only outward.
‘He’s handsome…’
It was a thought I couldn’t help but have reflexively whenever my gaze went to his face. He was objectively handsome, but also handsome according to my taste. Probably that’s why I became so immersed in what was just a game character.
I’d never particularly thought I was attracted to people’s appearances in life, but Carlisle had caught my attention from the moment I first saw him. I guess I was more of a face-person than I thought. Or maybe this appearance was too much my type. The fact that I didn’t even distinguish between men and women says it all. The illustrator who designed this face must have had exactly the same taste as me.
Even though I’m someone who doesn’t welcome manga or anime being made into live-action, Carlisle Lightinger’s live-action version exceeded expectations. The familiar feeling of having seen him somewhere might have played a part too. (I can’t remember right now, but does he resemble some movie actor or model? Is that why he feels familiar?)
I thoroughly scanned Carlisle’s disheveled hair (this style is definitely more my taste), his straight forehead, well-shaped eyebrows and long eyelashes. Since he wasn’t spouting annoying things and was quietly keeping his eyes closed, it was nice to be able to look at him freely like appreciating a work of art. His sharp nose bridge and jawline, smooth clean skin, and…
His shirt buttons were undone. My eyes focused with some intensity. Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d seen Carlisle’s shirt buttons undone since entering this world. Below his firm neck, I could see his deeply carved collarbone. And below that, his muscular chest…
‘Wait, what’s this?’
Something was drawn on Carlisle’s skin.
‘Tree branches? Leaves?’
I suddenly remembered the tattoo I’d glimpsed on Carlisle’s wrist.
‘What? Don’t tell me he has tattoos all over his body?’
It looked like trees or vines or something in that category… When I first discovered the wrist tattoo, I thought the same thing, but why use such a mottled, messy color instead of just black or green?
Just as I unconsciously leaned my head closer, wanting to see more clearly—
“What might my ex-husband be doing? Surely you’re not missing my chest at this point.”
A large hand gripped my chin. Before I could compose my flustered expression, my head was pulled up to meet Carlisle’s gaze. Sleep-laden eyes were looking down at me. Shame washed over me as if I’d been caught doing something shameless.
“No, that’s… not it.”
“Not it?”
The corner of his lips lifted mockingly. I opened and closed my mouth. I said it wasn’t, but… thinking about it, my gaze going in that direction from the start had impure motives. But if I admitted that in this atmosphere, it felt like the situation would become irreversible.
“That’s, um, I saw the tattoo…”
I made up an excuse. No, it wasn’t really an excuse. While my initial gaze might have had impure intentions, leaning my head in to look closely wasn’t to see his chest but to examine the tattoo. (Now that I say it, both seem impure.)
But the moment the word “tattoo” left my mouth, Carlisle pushed me away. It was such a rough movement, like truly shoving me off, that my startled body was pushed backward.
“Whoa!”
Crash.
In the end, I met the ending of tumbling to the floor. If it was going to be like this anyway, I should have just fallen from the beginning.
“If you’re awake, go out and take over watch duty from Taro. Don’t lurk around stealing glances at other people’s chests like a pervert.”
A voice filled with cold air shot down from above. Since it was just a field cot, it wasn’t high, so falling wouldn’t cause injury, but the rapidly chilled atmosphere made me tense up. Thanks to that, embarrassment and shame completely fled, which I suppose was fortunate.
I sprang up like a jack-in-the-box and fled from the tent. However, as soon as I went outside, I froze before I could go far, overwhelmed by the cold that covered my entire body.
‘Wow, what is this cold? This is insane!’
I shivered as soon as I came outside. No matter how cold desert nights are supposed to be, thinking of that hellish heat during the day, this was an excessively sharp temperature drop.
‘Where is Taro?’
When I heard about night watch duty, what came to mind was the typical fantasy world image of warming oneself by a cozy campfire, but I saw neither campfire nor Taro. At least there was a lamp lit inside the tent, but outside was complete darkness. Even the light from inside the tent didn’t leak out at all.
My body quickly became cold and my hands and feet began to feel numb. Standing guard like a scarecrow all night in this state was impossible. The fact that no light leaked out, and that I hadn’t felt any cold inside despite it being this cold outside, suggested this tent was probably an item too.
Whether Carlisle was uncomfortable or not, I wanted to go back inside the tent. At the very least, I needed to ask how I was supposed to stand watch and where Taro was.
It was a night when monsters would be swarming around. As soon as I realized this, yellow and red lights began twinkling in the distance. Those twinkles multiplied instantly and long, sharp cries could be heard from somewhere. I reflexively drew my sword and gripped it. My entire body stiffened with tension.
Right then, something grabbed my shoulder. Screaming internally, I unconsciously swung my sword halfway. The only reason I stopped midway was thanks to the warmth of the hand touching my shoulder and the effects of the Tranquility Potion.
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. It’s me, me.”
Fortunately, the other person wasn’t as dull as me. He quickly pulled his body back and avoided the sword.
“Taro?”
“Yeah, me.”
Only then did Taro’s face come into view as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I sighed with relief internally. It had multiple meanings. First, I was relieved that he had safely avoided the sword I swung, and second, I was relieved that I didn’t have to go back in and make uncomfortable conversation with Carlisle. Except when he was behind the wheel, Taro, who seemed relatively normal, was easier for me to deal with than Carlisle.
“I heard you were on watch duty. Where were you?”
“I was in the car.”
“Where’s the car?”
Taro pointed somewhere, but it was so dark I couldn’t see anything at all.
“Where exactly?”
“This way.”
Taro grabbed my arm and led me in the direction. He added an explanation.
“Some monsters get stimulated by light, so we deliberately keep all the lights off. Once you get used to it, you’ll be fine too.”
In the brief time, the yellow and red lights multiplied and came closer. The cries also became more varied and noisy. Taro frowned.
“It’s been quiet until now, but I don’t know what those bastards got stimulated by to act like that.”
He glanced at me while saying this. I felt wronged. What? Are you trying to say it’s my fault? I’ve been outside for less than five minutes!
Fortunately, the car wasn’t far away. We quickly got into the car. Surprisingly, there was light inside the car. Just like the tent, no light was visible from outside.
“Sit comfortably, make yourself comfortable. It’s a bit messy though.”
Taro offered me a seat while gathering up scattered items.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
