She had stood by her brother even after his crimes were found. Her love for him had never decreased.
Her loyalty was to the point of defiance.
She could face the entire world for those she cared about.
And now, that same girl had feelings for him.
Isaac didn’t need to ask to know that if he did something wrong in the future, Celia would undoubtedly take his side even if she has to face everyone else.
If someone like her kept showing affection so openly, could any man honestly resist forever?
"Isaac?" she asked when his silence dragged.
He exhaled. "Alright."
Turning, he crouched down.
Celia’s eyes brightened.
Without hesitation, she climbed onto his back.
Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her chest pressed lightly against his back, and her legs hooked securely at his sides.
Isaac stood, adjusting his stance.
He felt warmth against his back, and something soft brushed his neck as she shifted.
"We should move now," she whispered close to his ear. Her breath tickled his skin.
Isaac’s body tensed.
Heat rose beneath his mask.
Their closeness was sharper than he expected, and her breathing brushing against his nape with every word didn’t help.
’I need to finish this trial within twenty-four hours,’ he thought grimly. ’If not... with how aggressively she is ’attacking’, I don’t if I can keep acting nonchalant.’
Isaac was a young and healthy.
For now, the emotion calming technique was helping him, but with how Celia kept pushing his buttons, it would become hard to control his dragon instincts sooner than later.
Out loud, he said, "I’ll start moving. Tell me if the position’s uncomfortable."
"It’s perfect."
Celia tightened her arms a little, smiling even though he couldn’t see it.
Isaac nodded, pushing his thoughts down. This was Hell difficulty. He couldn’t afford to lose focus.
Whatever Celia was trying, whatever storm she was brewing, he could deal with that later.
Right now, the trial came first.
He activated Sovereign of Land again.
His mana spread out, covering the ground beneath them in a vast wave.
The ripples traveled through soil, roots, and stone until he detected the faint disturbance of another creature moving several hundred meters away.
"Found one," Isaac muttered.
He adjusted Celia’s hold slightly and shot forward.
The wind bent around him, guided by his Extreme Wind Kissed title.
Each step covered massive ground.
Celia clung to him tightly. Her thighs were pressed around his waist, and her arms were wrapped around his neck.
He glanced at her. "Are you uncomfortable?"
"No," she answered, her voice close to his ear. Her breath tickled his skin. "Your Wind-Kissed title is protecting me from whiplash. I don’t feel any pressure at all."
Isaac kept his eyes forward.
Normally, people would pay absurd amounts just to shake Celia’s hand for a second.
She was a star idol, a person who had entire industries moving at her command.
And here she was, pressed against him like this, using her so-called "plans" to attack him in her own way.
He exhaled slowly, focusing on the chase.
"This is as near as I can get to the monster. If I try to speed up, it will do the same."
"Alright." Celia’s tone shifted, a little more serious than before.
She closed her eyes and raised one hand.
A faint ripple spread in the air, and then, near the monster, a dark blue cloud appeared out of nowhere.
At the same time, another one materialized a short distance from Isaac’s position.
The two clouds pulsed faintly with unstable energy.
Isaac immediately sensed the spatial element.
He tightened his grip on Celia, ready for anything.
Far away, the monster noticed the disturbance too.
It hesitated for a split second, but then, driven by desperation, it swerved.
Instead of running away, it barreled directly into the cloud near it.
A heartbeat later, the creature stumbled out of the second cloud that just a dozen meters away from Isaac.
The monster froze, shock flickering in its glowing eyes.
Isaac didn’t give it the chance to recover.
He pulled the Frostveil Sword from his spatial ring.
Ice danced around the blade.
He dashed forward.
The monster tried to leap aside, but Isaac slashed low, catching its leg.
Frost spread from the wound instantly, encasing muscle and bone, freezing the joint solid.
The creature staggered, and slowed.
Isaac’s eyes sharpened.
In one clean motion, he raised the blade again and brought it down. The sword flashed once, and the monster’s head was severed cleanly from its body.
The thud of the corpse hitting the ground was followed by silence.
"...You’re really good at fighting," Celia muttered softly. Her voice carried more awe than usual.
Isaac exhaled and lowered the blade. "Thanks. But what was that exactly? Why did the monster run into your cloud?"
Celia leaned forward slightly, peeking at his face as she answered.
"The monster could sense the cloud was made from space element. Normally it wouldn’t go in, but since it was desperate to get away from you, it thought the spatial rift would throw it far. Instead, it walked right into my trap."
"So you turned its instincts to run away against it." Isaac nodded slowly, impressed.
"Yes!" Celia’s smile returned, brighter than before. "I always thought about how I would hunt monsters if I could leave the city one day. So I prepared tricks like this, just in case. It’s simple, but sometimes simple works best."
"Good work."
Without thinking much, Isaac reached up and patted her head.
Her hair was soft beneath his hand.
Celia stiffened immediately.
She went quiet, then spoke. "....Can you pat me once more?"
"Alright."
He patted her head.
Her breathing became noticeably heavier. Her arms and legs tightened slightly around him, holding him even closer than before.
"Celia?"
"H-huh?" Her voice cracked faintly. She seemed to snap out of a daze and straightened quickly, embarrassed.
’What is happening to me!?’
’I decided to make sure I won’t have regrets but it isn’t like me to do that.’
Her only relief was that Isaac seemed to have not noticed her strange actions from moments ago.
Isaac frowned but didn’t press.
Whatever was going on in her head, she would either tell him later or she wouldn’t.
He crouched and reached for the glowing object next to the monster’s corpse.
[+1 Map Fragment]
[Map Fragment (2/7) acquired.]
He stored the fragment and then waved his hand, pulling the monster’s corpse into his spatial ring like the previous corpse.
"Two down. Five more to go," Isaac said under his breath.
Isaac was about to move when he heard a faint rustling from the bushes.
He looked at the source of noise warily.
’That mana signature doesn’t look like a monster’s.’
"Who is there? Come out."
There was silence for a moment.
Just when Isaac was about to make a move, a woman walked out of the bush.
The first thing Isaac noticed was the antlers on her head.
’It’s the same woman who was staring at me when the angel was explaining the trial.’
She had red hair, green eyes, and a curvaceous but trained figure.
"I asked you a question. Who are you?"
Isaac pointed his sword at her.
He kept his guard up.