Chapter 7 – “It seems to like you very much”

Chapter 7- “It seems to like you very much.”

Editor: Vivi

The fog was thick.

In the early morning of the mesmerizing dark forest, a faint light pierced through the night and into the somewhat dim sky.

Arnold tightened his black robe and followed closely behind the path opened by the knight.

The two of them had walked a short distance. When they looked back, the dense forest cast interlocking shadows and the cabin could no longer be seen. In places Arnold couldn’t see, those shadows disappeared into the ground like living creatures and merged into the figure of the knight.

There were many fierce beasts in the Dark Forest of Labyrinth and various rumors said that there were also many magical creatures. However, Arnold had never seen a living creature with his own eyes. Instead, he saw the knight carry bodies back a few times which slightly reduced his fear of these beings.

The forest was so quiet that it was a bit chilling to the heart.

Arnold dared not make a sound in fear of disturbing the silence, nor did he want to distract the knight. Keeping in mind the purpose of his trip out, he continually searched the visible parts of the forest for the Enchanting Mushrooms that were not rare in the wild.

The Enchanting Mushroom belonged to the category of hallucinogens, and the dust on them was often used by alchemists to create illusionary hallucinogenic arrays or various kinds of delirium-inducing drugs. In the Church, potions made from the enchanting dust were used as the basic material— used to build resistance to “demon whispers”.

Rumor had it that the more highly regarded a person was by the gods, the more likely they were to hear undesired hallucinatory whispers that could not be heard, and see illusions that could not be seen. According to the scriptures, these were all temptations and bewitchments of demons.

However, the millions of ordinary people living on this continent were unaware of the purpose and usage of the Enchanting Mushroom. Even if they were accidentally affected by the dust, they would only experience a slight trance. These were not even poisonous fungus that needed to be labeled as dangerous. At most, people would just be reminded not to eat them.

About two hours later, Arnold’s stamina was somewhere near the bottom.

“Have a rest.” Said the knight. He raised his hand and supported the young man’s back, helping him slowly sit down at his feet.

The surrounding withered thorns had been cut and cleared, leaving only a dry patch of land and soft grass on the ground. Arnold sat by the other man’s leg and reclined slightly against the bloodstained armor. He leaned lightly for a moment, unwilling to borrow any more strength from Sir Kaos or make the knight bear his own weight.

The little monster in the black robe moved aside.

The small tentacle stared at him drooling in the shadows also moved aside in dissatisfaction.

Kaos remained silent, indulging in the ebb and flow of a thousand thoughts and countless fantasies that belonged to him, but also did not belong to him. He indulged in countless eyes opening in the air and sleeping soundly under the beautiful scenery of light and “spirit” that intertwined around Arnold’s body.

Arnold didn’t know how those “eyes” looked at him. He sat next to him and rubbed his face habitually, thinking that he couldn’t slow down the other man’s hunting progress. After taking a break, he stood up… As soon as this idea bubbled up, he caught a glimpse of something purple.

He withdrew his hand and looked carefully towards that direction— about a few dozen meters away from him, beneath a towering ancient tree, there stood verdant grass blades containing dewdrops. Below those, there were several Enchanting Mushrooms connected together.

 Lavender mushrooms.

Arnold’s eyes lit up and he looked up at Kaos, who was wearing a mask under the helmet, and was vaguely unable to feel his mood. He felt the distance of several tens of meters between them and gently said, “I see mushrooms.”

The knight paused for a moment, then nodded slightly.

Arnold stood up, patted the dust off his black robe, and then ran a few steps toward the ancient tree. He carefully picked off the few Enchanting Mushrooms and caught the dust falling off the fungus on the spot with a sewn cloth pocket he had made himself.

He deliberately avoided the area invaded by the dust, allowing all the sparkling purple particles to enter the cloth pocket and sealed it. At the moment when the stone in Arnold’s heart finally landed, he felt a sudden sense of horror at the same time.

Hiss—

He felt a chill in his ear, and a familiar smooth sensation of snake scales brushed against his neck. The long dormant poisonous snake on the tree had launched an attack. At the moment when the icy coolness was felt, his heart skipped a beat and he hastily turned his head to avoid it.

However, it was already too late to dodge.

The fact that the snake’s teeth didn’t pierce his skin wasn’t the reason for his stillness. Arnold gasped as he held his head down against the ancient wood, breaking out into a cold sweat. His breathing was chaotic, and he turned his head to see the middle part of the snake nailed to the tree trunk with a sword.

It was the same as the knight’s old sword.

Rust stains and blood dripped over the sword body, and the bandage near the handle gradually loosened and lightly spiraled down in circles.

The knight was right behind him.

It seemed that he would always be behind him at any time.

Arnold’s heartbeat had not yet subsided, and he felt once again a sense of emptiness from this moment of life and death. The black haired young man lowered his head against the trunk of the tree, pressed his hand against his thumping chest, and after a long while, he closed his eyes. The words in his mind lost their usual chains and rational constraints of reason, and he suddenly spoke, “Kai.”

“Hmmm.”

“Are you my guardian angel?”

“…” The knight did not move, he — it was him, and he suddenly forgot to react.

“I’m sorry.” Arnold turned his head to look at him and apologized for his momentary impulse earlier, “I’m sorry. I seem to have said something weird. I only had one thought in my mind just now. Thank goodness, I’m still alive. No, thank goodness, thank Kaos… People in this world choose to give their faith to something they cannot receive protection from, and you’ve easily cared for me time and time again. If these words bother you, I… I’m sorry.”

“No.” The knight finally reacted. He reached out his hand and pulled the young man up.

It wasn’t until Arnold stood firm that he remembered that the other party was a devout knight, and his words might have offended other man’s beliefs. However, based on the current situation, Kaos seemed to have been particularly lenient and indifferent to this matter.

He no longer knew what he had said in his moment of crisis, his mind blanked, and he blurted out various words, all of which were fleeting. At the next moment, he might have immediately forgotten his previous impulse. Arnold tidied up the dust from the Enchanting Mushrooms and obediently followed the knight to watch him hunt.

The man was indestructible and steady as a heavy sword. The hunting process was like a perfect performance, and he was the only spectator.

Just as the hunt was over and Arnold was returning with the knight, the tall man in front suddenly stopped.

As if he had just reacted, he turned around, and lowered his head. 

A half-skeletonized mask, a bandage wrapped around both eyes, and there was a gray light, all underneath the swaying canopy of the expanding shadows.

“Arnold.” He continued, “You’ll have a guardian angel.”

Arnold stood in a daze, waiting for the other party to turn around and continue moving forward. Only then did he find himself feeling as if he’d been hit and slowly whispered,      “…Okay, Kai.”

————

Night came particularly early in the forest.

A fire burned in the cabin’s fireplace. In addition to the routine carcass of wild animals after the hunt, today’s Kaos also caught a rabbit… To be precise, this was a furry monster that resembled something between a cat and a rabbit, grinded against its cage with its long and sharp teeth.

It ground the iron bars of the cage with a creaking sound.

In the lull between Kaos washing his sword, Arnold sat by the fire and stared at the strange creature. The fluffy being had long ears and round cat eyes, but it was fierce and furry, with a terrifying carnivorous appearance that told strangers not to approach.

After observing it for a while and confirming that the threat from the other creature was not great, Arnold moved from his position and took out a little bit of the enchanting dust from his cloth pocket.

This is his opportunity to test the “Apprentice Magic to Enchant Beasts.” For this reason, he even told Sir Knight that he wanted to raise a rabbit- however, who actually wanted to raise such a fierce creature?

Mother bless me, let me succeed in one fell swoop, otherwise it would be too terrifying to raise this meat eating and biting cabbit ¹ According to Google- a fictional hybrid between a cat and a rabbit.

Arnold thought anxiously as he took a deep breath and constructed the basic model of sorcery in his mind. He had already memorized the “Enchanting Beasts” by heart and recited it when it faintly lit up.

As the purple dust was gently blown up, the powder interacted with the successfully constructed model, and a very faint, but existent, pink-purple glimmer swept past the eyes, drifting into the crimson and terrifying pupils of the cabbit.

In the next moment, Arnold received a response to his successful implementation. He watched as the fluffy demon in front of him transformed from fierce to dull, its eyes became dazed, and looked up at him.

In the series of magic spells in the enchantment category, the higher the caster’s charisma, the more outstanding the effect would be.

If this was a game that could be calculated based on data, then the poor creature would definitely have a purple critical hit value floating above its head, directly clearing their health bar up to a certain extent. It stared blankly at Arnold for a long time, no longer biting the cage nor grounding its teeth. It even took off its ferocious expression, becoming cute and adorable.

The plush animal lay on the edge of the cage, pitifully rubbing against the iron pole, eagerly looking at the suddenly pleasing person. If it weren’t for their clear identity as a male creature, it might have developed a desire to court the human youth in front of them. The ebb and flow of this particular uplifting emotional fluctuation tormented the little cabbit, causing its ears to turn red, constantly rubbing against the railing.

It seems like it was a success. Arnold thought as he put a hand to his chin.

He leaned closer, his eyelashes like slender fans, almost comparable to the beauty of a demon. Coupled with enchantment magic, he could break down the aesthetic limits of any creature.

I just don’t know how long it will last. Arnold reached out his hand and let the fluffy demon rub against him.

“It seems to like you very much.” A voice said coldly from the side.

Arnold froze for a moment and instinctively searched for the source of the sound. When he turned his head, he almost collided with the knight’s armor.

The footsteps of the other man were ignored by him again. The strong sense of trust he had in the other caused him to relax his vigilance, Arnold thought as he scolded himself in his heart. However, if Sir Kaos didn’t reach out to protect his forehead, he would have bumped into the knight’s armor.

He reached out and pulled down the man’s broad palm saying, “It doesn’t like me that much.”

“Since it’s so gentle,” Kaos continued, “let it out and take a look.”

Arnold was stunned and stuttered, “This, this is a magical creature, it…” It doesn’t really like me, it’s all magic.

Kaos nodded and replied, “I’m here.”

The knight was full of confidence, and Arnold thought about it based on the opponent’s demonstrated strength. He realized that no matter how fast the cabbit ran, it was just as simple as chopping up vegetables in Kaos’ eyes. On one hand, he felt at ease knowing about the existence of Sir Knight, while on the other hand, he slightly condemned himself for cowering under the wings of others.

But he still lowered his body and reached out to open the cage.

The plush creature had no desire to attack at all. It was mesmerized by the colorful world from the enchanting dust on its head. The beautiful experiment that the whole church had once marveled at was disarmed. Instead, like a domestic cat, it lay on its back near Arnold’s shoes, wagged its tail and revealed its belly.

It seemed to be shamelessly asking to be touched.

The cautious little monster didn’t dare to move, but in any case, he was only eighteen years old, and his heart flooded with the wave of emotions that came with furry animals— if domesticated, it should be a very gentle and soothing creature.

Just as Arnold began to struggle, the cute and gentle cabbit, who had just become adorable, suddenly stopped moving, and its eyes turned crimson again. With a bounce, its claws rushed towards Arnold.

Crunch.

Then, it was caught by the knight and had it’s neck broken before being thrown back into the cage.

Kaos pressed his right hand on the other person’s shoulder, remained silent for a moment, and then whispered in disappointment, “It seems that it didn’t understand.”

Arnold blinked and only then returned to his senses. Subconsciously, he followed his words and asked, “Didn’t understand what?””

“It didn’t understand how to appreciate beauty.”

T/L Note: 

Thank you for reading! Hope to see you in chapter 8! 

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  According to Google- a fictional hybrid between a cat and a rabbit ↩︎