Chapter 5 – Do You Think He’s Cute?

Chapter 5- Do You Think He’s Cute?

Editor: Vivi

The carcass of the prey handed over to Arnold had been simply processed.

Kaos had no intention of changing his mind. The knight, who had returned from the dense forest and was covered in cold air, sat opposite of him. There was an old bloody sword that was rusty and heavy which was standing upright beside his knee.

No one could question the killing power of the sword. Under the “gaze” of the other party, Arnold cut the skinned beast’s body into pieces according to his knowledge, picked up the bones, and then placed the seasoning found in the hut in front of him.

The small table that was prepared for him to cook on was improvised and washed clean with water, but bore remnant traces of knives and axes on it. This made Arnold suspect that it was once a wooden board used for decapitations or church executions.

Such a crude and wild way of doing things. Arnold thought quietly in his heart.

He had never cooked, but apart from continuous surgical experiments, his treatment was no different from that of the true Son of the Church. The nobles who were eager to throw themselves at him spoke softly and took great care of him when they had the opportunity to meet. Despite the “care”, they all carried the contempt and condescension of doting on a small animal.

Arnold knew of their intentions; they wanted to bring a beautiful toy into their hands when the church didn’t need him any longer… Now, he had escaped his fate.

The texture and resilience of the prey was very strong, with fresh blood continuously flowing. There was also the knight waiting next to him, emitting a “father like benevolence” (only Arnold thought so), and he didn’t want to disappoint Kaos even more.

The sharpened knife steadily cut the meat into fine, small pieces. The collected coarse salt crystals were dissolved in the water bottle, and there is also a plant flower powder that was used as seasoning, which added some spice.

He stewed the pot of soup according to his own assumptions.

Kaos waited for a moment without moving at all. It wasn’t until the youth scooped up a bowl of soup for him, that the man lifted his hand to remove the armor and mask he wore during the hunt.

Arnold watched as he picked up the bowl and took a sip without any expression.

The wind stopped and the heat of the soup rose slowly. Kaos remained silent for a long moment before he continued drinking without any reaction.

Arnold breathed a sudden sigh of relief— at least it didn’t seem too bad, and as such, he had already completed his mission.

“Sir Kaos,” he said, uttering his long awaited wish, “May I read the books you have here?” Including that notebook.

“You can read?”

“Mmhmm.” At the moment, Arnold’s black hair was not carefully arranged, and was a bit messy, like the head of a small black cat. With this nod, he appeared even more adorable.

“You may.” The little tentacle in the shadow thought the other was so cute that he nagged and agreed in his mind. Kaos paused and said,“You can read anything you want.”

The young man’s mood relaxed and he even felt a bit happy. He picked up another bowl and took a small sip.

…?

What is this…

Arnold tried to taste it again in disbelief.

???

He lifted his head and watched Kaos eat with an indifferent and expressionless face, without even furrowing his brows. He then recalled the chaotic and explosive taste of uncooked blood in his mouth, the coarse sand-laced salt, and the seemingly nauseating flavor of seasoning combined with meat.

It was too frustrating.

He should have tried it on his own first… Sir Knight, what kind of taste was this? Didn’t he find it too unpalatable? Was his tongue constructed differently?

Arnold was puzzled and could only categorize it as the knight’s “father like benevolence”, a kind person’s encouragement to himself. He was ashamed and moved, looking at the other person with a look that said, “you’re really a good person.”

The “good person” Kaos couldn’t actually taste human food.

But when the cute young man who was preparing to collect the bowl, looked at him with this touching and admiring gaze, Kaos felt as if he could taste a bit of the fictitious delicious sensation. 

Hiccup. The little tentacle rolled over in the shadows, keeping its gaze on the beautiful collection in front of it from beginning to end. It simply wanted to go up and lick the person from head to toe, but it was tugged at by its own thinking, feeling full just from watching the other. 

How cute, so full.

—————

Arnold was granted permission to read as he wished, including the magician’s notebook that had fallen into the pile of debris.

After dinner, he tidied up the messy shelves again and smoothly took out Selina’s notes. He patted the dust off of it, tucked it inside the magician’s robe, and held it against his chest. Soon afterwards, suppressing the excitement of learning immediately, he virtuously but ignorantly made the bed for Sir Knight.

He didn’t realize how ambiguous it was to make the bed for another in the distant Eastern world. He simply wanted to repay the other party and do what he could.

Kaos usually went out for the whole day and would not return until dark. In addition to cooking, Arnold often nestled in the rattan chair in the living room reading books and holding a plush blanket until he fell asleep. From devout canons filled with scriptures to flesh and blood alchemy filled with heretical and demagogical theories… Sir Knight’s books were comprehensive and all-encompassing, greatly enriching his worldview and levels of cognition.

If books were the nourishment for the soul, then this notebook by Selena was consuming that sustenance.

Because it was a magician’s book… It was really too difficult.

The construction of the most basic sorcery model was in it, although it explained things thoroughly, due to the author having already reached this level, things were not recorded in detail. This made Arnold expand a lot of effort, thinking about the reasons and consequences to supplement and understand the content.

Simply put, in the world of magicians, being able to understand the magician’s language meant that one had the ability to study hard. The construction of a model was equivalent to connecting to the ubiquitous “spirits” in the world of one’s mind. These spirits formed the lines on the model, and learners needed to quickly calculate the other data of the model through these lines and known formulas… These complex formulas had to be memorized and mental calculations needed to be completed within two seconds.

Because if it was too late, the speed of the spell may not match the swiftness of the enemy’s sword.

In the past few days, Arnold had been repeatedly studying the basic sorcerer’s model so much that he felt even his dreams were full of all the contents of the various formulas. Later one night, after falling asleep in the rattan chair, the knight kindly took him to a warm bed to sleep until dawn, and it was only then that Arnold realized that he might catch a cold outside the room.

For the kind Sir Kaos, if he fell ill, it might also trouble the other party.

So that night, instead of refusing the knight’s kind reminder, Arnold did not decline anymore and obediently carried his own blanket to the other party’s room to sleep— the Church did not instruct him on much else, but they did teach him politeness and respect, and to remember the kindness of others.

The fireplace was warm, and the candlestick light flickered in the dark. He sat on a small blanket, recalling the basic models he hadn’t learned in the past few days, while slowly reaching out and warming his hands by the fire.

Kaos’ personality was very easy to understand. He didn’t care about most things, and as long as he didn’t speak up, it could be considered a tacit agreement, or even a preference for it. Perhaps as the powerful warriors who were part of the Forbidden Knights, they were all such silent and introverted men.

Arnold speculated frivolously, unconsciously recalling the legend of the Forbidden Knights in his mind. The bloody armor that the other always wore was the seal of redemption for the knight in the first half of his life, and his guilt for the second half… He didn’t know what Mr. Kaos was guilty of. A man as responsible as him, if there really was a deity, he would be the one who could truly make that deity trust and care for him. 

His fair fingers were warmed by the stove, and on the back of his hand, a few fine snow-white scales slowly emerged. This was due to the gene of the monster in his body. However, Arnold was no longer as panicked and alert as he had been a few days ago, as he had confirmed that Sir Knight truly could not see anything.

Fine snake scales adorned his fair and delicate hand, glittering like scattered diamonds, more charming than the most beautiful oil painting in the world, with an astonishing sense of artistry and fragile aesthetics. Arnold lowered his eyes and looked down at his snake scales, without feeling an ounce of admiration most would have for his beauty. Instead, he gently tightened his fingers and buried his head into his knees.

He didn’t know that his beauty was an advantage.

All he knew was that his black hair was a gift from the devil, the snake scales were a joke of fate, and his wings were a prank of God’s Will… He was disliked because of his incompetence, not due to the others’ harshness.

He had no merits.

Arnold gently grabbed the black robe at the hem, his mind empty. He closed his eyes and habitually attempted to construct the basic model of sorcery— he had already planned to fail.

But this time, his calculations were unprecedentedly fast and accurate. In less than a second, the calm air in front of him suddenly exploded, and the semi imaginary lines suffused with blue light materialized in front of him. It connected them into a complex pyramid like model with countless holes left for embedding magic.

The entire sorcery model glowed a shimmering blue color, spinning slowly in front of him like a dream. Arnold stared blankly at the scene before him, watching the lines of the model extend, grow, and surpass his current computational capacity.

Immediately, the sorcery model without the calculations to support it collapsed like a crumbling floor, with shiny blue debris fell from top to bottom, and the ubiquitous “spirit” lost its grip and returned to its original form.

Blue shards fell between his robes and dissipated into the air.

Arnold was stunned for a long time before he came back to his senses. He looked down at the palm of his hand, and the snake scales slowly faded away, while the fire remained warm and dazzling.

…did he just… succeed for the first time?

Yes, it was a success. The young man confirmed in his mind as he sluggishly reacted. He couldn’t help but want to laugh, and felt that his eyes were sore, and wanted to cry uncontrollably. He was too vulnerable, how could he be so fragile? Arnold secretly scolded himself with a few words in his heart, covering his face against the hot eyes, and holding back every strand of his weakness.

He put on his hood, feeling much calmer. Satisfied, he wanted to lie down and sleep. As soon as he turned around, he saw the crimson armor sitting on the bed, shining eerily like the eyes of a fish in a furnace. 

He groaned in his mind, but then thought, Sir Knight was truly blind and couldn’t see what he was doing. Suddenly, he regained his confidence and carefully raised his eyes to observe the other person.

“Arn.” The familiar male voice suddenly sounded, “Come here.”

Arn was a nickname for the name Arnold. In Olan, almost all names could achieve intimacy through simplifying the syllables in this way. For example, the name Kaos could also be called “Kao”, but this simplified nickname was generally only used by family members, lovers, and very close friends.

Arnold was only called that by his mother, as he had no one else close to him. Kaos was the second person to call him that. This kind of address sounded too gentle, almost as light as a tone of greeting.

Arnold was flattered and slowly approached. He leaned over the edge of the bed and looked up, “Sir Kaos…”

“Call my name.” The other party tirelessly corrected him.

“…Kaos.” The little monster struggled to overcome his habits, but inexplicably felt a little happy in his heart, “What’s the matter?”

“Come up and sleep.” Even as he slept, the knight would not take off his armor, as if it were his (main) body. His eyes were covered with bandages, and his figure was larger than the slender young man across from him. His facial features were sharp, cool, and handsome, and he naturally spoke with an air of command. He raised his hand and patted the other side of the bed.

Arnold was stunned for a moment and glanced at the knight’s knuckles as he took off his thin armor and leather gloves. He struggled a little and said, “I’d be in your way.”

“You wouldn’t.” Kaos continued, “You can’t sleep.”

Arnold was taken aback again, almost suspecting that the other party could see the dark blue under his eyes— he really couldn’t sleep, and it was due to this damn body. As long as there was a little discomfort, he couldn’t fall asleep, and even the skin on his back was bruised purple, even more than the Pea Princess from fairy tales.

The experimental object was treated according to the standards of the Holy Son, and even the unpopular princes in the royal family could not achieve the levels of luxury and extravagance, let alone his body, which has been transformed and basically separated from the realm of human touch.

His sense of touch was sensitive enough that he could feel a subtle slight itch as his wounds healed.

“How did you know?” Arnold asked without confidence, “My eyes are closed.”

“I have good hearing.” Kaos lowered his head and approached him, “The sound of your breathing.”

“…” Arnold’s joy of making a bit of progress was about to be dispelled by the other party’s reliable and powerful abilities. When would he be able to help Sir Knight? When would he be able to protect the people he wanted to protect and repay them? It was too difficult to become stronger in this world.

He didn’t realize how diligent and talented he was when he could complete the basic model in just a few days. Though the Church was not good everywhere, their vision for selecting people was excellent. Whether it was the Holy Light or magic, Arnold was a well-deserved genius.

“Okay.” Arnold vented to the other and said, “But I will disturb your rest.”

“No.” Kaos said, “I…”

He paused for a moment.

Behind Arnold, a pitch black tentacle opened its gray eyes and two rows of snow-white teeth, and impatiently extended its blood-red tongue towards the back of the fair neck, saliva dripping into the young man’s collar.

Kaos’ calm face shifted away from the direction of his “gaze”, and the flowing tentacle immediately stiffened. It was caught by the main mind on the spot and turned into a sticky liquid that returned to his shadow.

Kaos turned towards the boy again and said, “Your chaotic breathing disturbs my rest more.”

Arnold lowered his head and his soft black hair followed him without much energy. He let out a soft breath, and as the knight couldn’t see him, he puffed his cheeks and said, “Okay… Kaos.”

He got out of bed and picked up his small blanket, then found a corner to nest in. The fabric on the bed was laid one layer after another, and Arnold deeply suspected that it was prepared for him— Kaos’ armor didn’t look like it could make anything soft work, and he couldn’t understand these upright and devout knights of atonement who were determined to act with such integrity and piety.

Next to Arnold, the shadow twisted and tangled into writhing forms, lying by the bed under the glow of the fire. The shadow drew closer and closer to the face of the beautiful little monster… until the knight raised his hand and knocked on the edge of the bed, the shadow quickly reverted back to its original state, and each strand of Kaos was temporarily constrained to become Kaos the Knight.

The “upright and devout” evil god gazed at his collection. He did not have human vision, but could stare at the other person eternally without any blind spots. He looked closely at the drooping eyelashes of the being, which cast a faint shadow on his eyelids like wings, the snake scales that occasionally appeared around the corner of the other person’s eyes, as well as the light factor and increasingly rich “spirit” surrounding him.

He closed thousands of eyes with satisfaction.

T/L Note: Apologizes for the lateness! Thank you for reading, and hope to see you in chapter 6!