# 66
* * *
“…Stars…?”
His vision was blurry. Jin-ha doubted his eyes. Was this sight of stars embedded in the pitch-black sky… real?
“So you’re awake now.”
When he turned his head, Riyekan was lying on his side, looking at him. Jin-ha rubbed his throbbing forehead, feeling as if he had slept too long.
“Is it night already…?”
“Yes. You must have been tired. You were sleeping so soundly.”
“You should have woken me up…”
“You looked tired.”
“I’m fine…”
Jin-ha sat up unsteadily. Somehow, everything had been tidied up, including the canopy. It seemed like everything except the mat had been put into the basket.
He couldn’t believe it. There must have been noise while cleaning up, yet he hadn’t heard anything and remained asleep?
No, rather than that, he felt like he had seen something before falling asleep… Green…
Realizing that everything around him was green, Jin-ha groaned. During that brief moment of distraction, his vague memory completely faded away.
Riyekan extended his hand to him.
“Come on, get up. It’s time for the last item on our schedule.”
Jin-ha took his hand, stood up, and looked around. Even at night, the Fairy Garden was far from gloomy; it was even more beautiful, surrounded by mysterious light. Jin-ha stared blankly at the sight of soft lights like dandelion seeds floating in the darkness.
Strangely, his drowsiness wouldn’t fade. Half nodding off, Jin-ha was led by Riyekan as they walked.
Unlike before when they had walked along the main path, they pushed aside vines hanging like curtains from giant branches and stepped onto a side path. Beyond the path paved with solid stones and flower beds decorated with colorful flowers, there was a small cottage.
“Welcome, Hunter Lee Jin-ha. You are the first person to visit this place besides the Master of the tower.”
“Where… is this?”
“Master Senistry’s cottage.”
“Master Senistry’s…”
It was a house built not with straight construction timber but with twisted wood. One wall was tilted all the way to the floor, and thick moss had grown on the soil piled up to the roof, making it look as if the house had sprouted from the ground. Though peculiar, it was a proper house with a door and windows.
Riyekan led the still dazed Jin-ha into the house.
“I heard this cottage is where Master Senistry lived before coming to the tower. Originally, it was somewhere in Abon, but was moved here by fairy power.”
“That’s…”
A large continental map was attached to the front wall. Jin-ha finally understood why Riyekan had brought him here. He unconsciously rushed toward it.
From the map, he could see that Abon was not a small country. It had access to the sea, contained mountain ranges, large forests, and several vast lakes like seas.
Just learning this fact made him feel strange.
Probably the country where his father was born.
Until now, Jin-ha had only heard or read about Abon, never having seen concrete evidence with his own eyes to properly grasp the country of Abon.
“This is… Abon.”
Jin-ha ran his hand over the Abon Kingdom on the map.
“You said you wanted to know about Abon, right? Access permission to this cottage… no, that’s not it.”
Riyekan paused, crossed his arms, and then said,
“I’ll move the materials here to my room, so come there to look at them.”
“Yes, Riyekan.”
Jin-ha answered without even turning around. He clearly hadn’t been listening properly. Riyekan smiled at the back of his head, completely absorbed in the map.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes. I like it very much.”
It wasn’t just the map. One wall was completely filled with a bookshelf containing numerous books, and the table, bed, and bedding were all made in unfamiliar styles he had never seen before.
Since it was said that the house had been moved from the Abon Kingdom, these must surely be in the Abon style.
Having slightly opened his Information Eye, Jin-ha’s heart trembled at the countless pieces of information unfolding before him.
“Thank you, Riyekan. Sincerely.”
Jin-ha turned to Riyekan. The eyes looking back at him, as if expecting a reaction, were gentle.
He knew this man had ulterior motives. However, in truth, Riyekan didn’t need to go this far for his purpose.
Riyekan was the Master of the Noon Moon Tower. In Legas’s words, a genius who had changed the landscape of the magical world. An alpha who held power, authority, and money in one hand.
Jin-ha was merely an envoy from another world. He was in a position where he had to bow and beg to pay for knowledge, someone who would have to lick the soles of shoes if told to do so.
If Riyekan had handed him a few books and called it the agreed-upon payment, Jin-ha would have gladly accepted. But to offer materials from the room where Master Senistry, the princess of Abon, had stayed? Being a personal space, the bookshelf contained not only magic books but also various genres of books that could hint at Master Senistry’s personal interests. There were even fairy tale books tucked in one corner.
This wasn’t the only thing Riyekan had done for him today. The strategy for conquering the dungeon they visited in the morning was information Jin-ha could never have obtained without visiting the place, and the same was true for the fairy-repelling powder. He knew that fairies liked pranks and fun things and disliked sad things and tears, but the fact that a powder to drive them away could be made by mixing three types of gemstones with tears of deep sorrow was information not revealed by his Information Eye.
He couldn’t help but recognize the deep kindness inherent in this man, who had no need to do so, checking his mood, guiding him to places he might like in ways he might enjoy, and telling him stories he might like.
There was a slight mishap in the middle, but wasn’t that this man’s true nature? The fact that despite having such a nature, he showed uncharacteristic kindness to gain favor, struck Jin-ha’s heart.
“It seems my bribe today was quite effective.”
“It’s the most appealing bribe I’ve ever received.”
When Jin-ha readily admitted it, Riyekan raised one eyebrow.
“What? I thought you couldn’t accept bribes? According to the Act on the Prohibition of Improper Solicitation and Receipt of Money or Goods, public officials cannot accept gifts over 50,000 won.”
“Saying under 50,000 won means I can accept things like a 500 won instant coffee mix.”
So sometimes he did accept the goodwill of elders.
Jin-ha quietly took Riyekan’s hand.
“Riyekan, your information is actually much more valuable, but fortunately, information doesn’t violate the law as long as you don’t use it for profit. So it’s fine.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Riyekan smiled gently at Jin-ha’s excited tone, as if he couldn’t help it. Tilting his head slightly, Riyekan subtly asked,
“Then, will you caress me a bit?”
“……”
“Hmm? Just a little.”
“…If you hadn’t said that, you would have seemed more admirable.”
Jin-ha shook his head helplessly. Though he clearly looked exasperated, he didn’t refuse and brought his hand to the side of Riyekan’s head.
“Mmmm…!”
The touch that gently parted his hair and pressed in caressed Riyekan’s soul. Riyekan tried not to moan, but when Jin-ha’s thumb gently stroked his temple, he couldn’t hold back.
It was the best.
His knees weakened at the strange sensation that felt like both a dizzying rush of pleasure and, conversely, a sense of stability. He barely managed to cling to Jin-ha’s shoulder.
“Riyekan?”
“Hnng…”
Riyekan, half gasping, rubbed his forehead against Jin-ha’s shoulder. Jin-ha, suddenly having to support a man larger than himself, hesitated for a moment before simply embracing Riyekan’s back with his free hand. Now, as he gently stroked Riyekan’s hair with his right hand that was touching the back of his head, Riyekan’s chest expanded greatly, then trembled and subsided again.
“Ah… It feels so good…”
“Please, don’t make such strange moaning sounds.”
Doesn’t it feel like they’re doing something obscene? Jin-ha frantically tried to stop him.
“A bit more, okay…?”
“I said don’t…”
“Please. Just a little, just a little more…”
Ah, it was an unbelievably intense feeling of fulfillment. Riyekan was euphoric at the sensation that seemed to scramble his brain.
From deep within his soul, a longing surged up, targeting Jin-ha. A destructive desire to plunder, extort, and devour everything before him trembled.
“Jin-ha, please…”
But instead of following his desire, Riyekan begged. He knew well that doing otherwise would mean he couldn’t have this moment. It was clear that forcefully extorting would only yield a single strand of hair at most. He had to make Jin-ha give himself to him willingly. It would be even better if Jin-ha offered himself without being asked, but if that wasn’t possible, it had to be at least in the form of responding to a request.
Riyekan wished Jin-ha would hold him tighter. He wanted to be embraced so that their bodies were completely touching, to be held firmly with both hands, and have his back caressed.
“……”
The blue eyes, now moist, were enough to persuade Jin-ha. The hot breath that seemed painful and the trembling breathing. They pushed against Jin-ha’s back.
Jin-ha quietly placed his hand on Riyekan’s cheek, hesitated, then took his chin and lowered his head. His slowly descending lips swallowed Riyekan’s hot breath.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
