# 90
“I didn’t see him often, but whenever I did, the Master always had a bored expression. Of course, I’ve never seen him playful. Far from being playful, he even found it difficult to get out of bed. Legas would do anything to get the Master out of bed, but his success rate was extremely low.”
Hearing this, Jin-ha recalled what had happened at the tower. When Riyekan began researching alongside Jin-ha, who was busy searching through materials in Master Senistry’s cottage, Legas was so surprised he dropped his tray. From then on, he served Jin-ha and even brought other materials about the Abon Kingdom without being asked.
“In the past, another… Ah, no, never mind.”
Bennis rolled his eyes as if he had made a mistake and pretended to drink his tea, evading the subject. Jin-ha, who had guessed what he was about to say, smiled gently.
“There’s no need for that. I already know.”
“You do?”
“Yes. A stone for two weeks, a sheep for a year.”
“Ah, so you really do know. Yes, even when his condition improved at other times, he was never as active as he is now, nor was he gentle enough to be described with cute words like ‘playful.'”
Come to think of it, when Jin-ha first came to meet him, Riyekan had a twisted side to everything. He treated people carelessly, became excited easily, calmed down just as easily, and was capricious.
“Even now, he never smiles in front of us.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
But lately, he hadn’t been like that. Of course, he was still somewhat twisted, a man with a bad personality, but he was much better than before.
He would tease, smile, prepare gifts and expect a reaction, be hurt when Jin-ha wasn’t particularly enthusiastic, and yet quickly be soothed when appeased…
Jin-ha had thought this was a change that occurred as Riyekan’s soul gradually became complete. That his sensitive side had softened as his soul stabilized.
“He’s only like that in front of you, Hunter Lee Jin-ha.”
A strange flutter shook the inside of Jin-ha’s heart. As he slowly felt that sensation, his gaze turned back to the flashing light of magic in the distance.
* * *
Kwuooooooo——!
Finally, the last narwhal leader’s breath ceased. Riyekan’s extended wind current had pierced through its eye and ravaged its brain. With that agonizing scream, all combat ended.
“I never expected two narwhal pods to cooperate and attack us,” Legas said as he descended onto one of the dozens of narwhal carcasses floating in the sea.
It was already the fourth day since the battle began. They hadn’t planned to fight for so long, but the unexpectedly large number of narwhals left them no choice.
Normally, narwhals weren’t monsters that joined forces between pods. They deeply cherished their own pod but rejected other pods except during mating season.
The fact that these narwhals had united to drive away the Sea Serpent meant that the Sea Serpent had accumulated grudges against both narwhal pods. That tyrant must have deliberately targeted and eaten their calves or played with them beyond merely hunting.
He sighed and glared in the direction of the sea near the island where the Sea Serpent was lying low. Having paid for the grudge on its behalf, he intended to make the Sea Serpent pay him back thoroughly.
As Legas was stewing in irritation, he realized there was no sound from above and looked up.
“…Master?”
It was nothing new for him to be ignored, but it was strange that there was no movement even though the battle had ended.
“Master, are you alright?”
At the repeated question, Riyekan took a deep breath as if inflating his chest and slowly turned toward him. Simultaneously, his pheromones spread widely around him.
“No, I don’t think I am.”
Riyekan clicked his tongue irritably and consciously tried to stop the pheromone release. Only after two or three attempts did the pheromones stop flowing out.
His pheromones weren’t being regulated properly.
“I need Jin-ha.”
The moment he spoke heavily, the sky, thick with pitch-black clouds, rumbled and rain began to fall.
“Right now.”
* * *
Pheromones flowing out uncontrollably during combat was a natural phenomenon. Pheromones were used not only in sexual situations but also when intimidating others.
However, being unable to control them properly even after the battle had ended was a very bad sign. Moreover, wasn’t he a dominant alpha? The only time a dominant alpha couldn’t control his pheromones well was when a rut approached.
Not all alphas detected the signs of rut sensitively. But Riyekan was a dominant alpha who had endured ruts without taking an omega. Having watched closely how his condition changed according to pheromone fluctuations while suppressing his instincts with medicine and holding onto his reason, he was now experienced in gauging his own state.
Riyekan gritted his teeth as he examined his body’s condition with familiarity. The impulses and desires that had been suppressed, merely squirming at the bottom while he was filled with the excitement of battle, were now increasingly boiling over at their own will.
At this rate, he would be dominated by his instincts within an hour.
“Master, we’ve almost arrived,” Legas said with a brightened face.
The two had left the cleanup of the battlefield to other magicians and were flying back ahead of them. They were hurrying because it was impossible to welcome a rut over the sea.
That’s when Riyekan suddenly stopped upon seeing the white walls of the summer palace.
“Master?”
“…I’ve changed my mind.”
“What? What do you mean, Master!”
Riyekan descended to the ground.
The forest at night in the rain was eerie, as if something might jump out, but he proceeded without concern.
“Master, what are you trying to do?”
“If I meet Jin-ha in this state, I don’t think I can control myself.”
“…Pardon?”
“There’s a cabin around here. Find it.”
“Yes, Master.”
Legas nodded and began to search the surroundings using detection magic.
Riyekan stood beside him, arms crossed, lost in thought.
He had been making efforts to win Jin-ha. He had been working hard all along to establish a relationship where Jin-ha sincerely desired, wanted, and longed for him, not just a relationship limited to possessing his body.
But he didn’t have confidence if they met now.
If they met now, he would surely pounce on Jin-ha, tie him up, and devour him aggressively.
Riyekan unconsciously licked his lips.
‘Do I really have to hold back?’
The memory of Jin-ha’s naked body glimpsed through the gaps between book spines when they bathed with a bookshelf between them at the tower flashed through his mind. The shoulders that had shrunk while glancing cautiously in his direction, and the long back below them. The beautifully protruding shoulder blades and spine looked so delicious he wanted to bite them.
And what about just recently? The usually impassive man moaning in pleasure while tied up unable to move had been intensely erotic.
With his blue-glowing eyes, Riyekan looked back toward the palace. More precisely, toward Jin-ha who would be sleeping somewhere inside.
Ah, he really wanted to go and embrace him.
In truth, Jin-ha was in a state of almost having given in. Since Jin-ha disliked him using drugs, if he heard that Riyekan’s rut had arrived, he would certainly not be able to refuse and would give in.
‘No, not yet.’
Jin-ha hadn’t given in completely, he had ‘almost’ given in.
Jin-ha thought himself tough, but in reality, he was delicate and excessively sensitive once his outer shell was slightly peeled away. Pouncing on Jin-ha now would be like peeling away the thick outer shell through various hardships, only to smash the one remaining thin membrane with a fist.
Riyekan closed his eyes tightly, then opened them.
“I found it! This way!”
The place they arrived at following Legas’s guidance was an herbalist’s cabin. It was shabby and old, but there would at least be a place to lie down. He intended to endure this rut here.
“Ah. Legas, do you have the medicine?”
“Yes, Master.”
Legas respectfully handed over Riyekan’s rut medicine, which he always carried, from inside his coat. Riyekan chewed and swallowed it, then approached the cabin door.
It was the moment Legas quickly opened the door. Wind rushed in through the opened door, and the air inside was pushed out by the same amount.
The moment he breathed in that air, Riyekan felt that something was wrong.
“…Damn it.”
That curse was the last thing Riyekan could say while in his right mind.
His brain felt like it was burning, his head was hot, and his vision swam. Beside him, Legas approached and said something, but all he could hear was a buzzing sound.
A terrible thirst welled up.
“……”
When he regained consciousness, he was in the middle of the forest. As he raised his head, he could see white walls through the gaps between the trees.
“……”
And when he opened his eyes again, he was in the lobby of the summer palace. He couldn’t remember how he had gotten there.
While Riyekan was looking around like a wild animal suddenly dropped in an unfamiliar place, Legas pulled over a sofa and laid him down.
“Master, I’ll prepare a room right away. Please wait here for a moment.”
Unable to resist, Riyekan was laid down and tightly clenched and unclenched his hand, which didn’t respond well. He was out of breath and his body was hot.
How had this happened now?
Ah, yes. He had just inhaled an “aphrodisiac for play” at the herbalist’s cabin…
Seeing that Legas, who had been with him, was fine, it must have been a drug that could be resisted by alphas with strong traits. However, he, who was already entering rut, couldn’t resist and had apparently instinctively come here looking for a safe place.
Riyekan bit his tongue hard to avoid losing his reason. While holding onto his reason through the taste of thick blood and pain, he extended his hand toward Legas.
“Legas, medicine.”
“What? No, Master!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
