Chapter 75: When a Straight Man Meets a Girl’s Heart
Abyss blew out the candles in the room, hung a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door, and returned to the bed, lying in the center. “Come on, Flora, Leona, lie down. We’re sleeping together tonight,” he said to the two girls who were still sitting on the edge of the bed.
While discussing the plan, Flora and Leona had been focused on how to deal with the soul-devouring Outer God, without any other thoughts. But now, with the lights out, the thick walls blocking all noise, the room silent except for the soothing aroma emanating from a small incense burner, the atmosphere became undeniably ambiguous.
Both Flora and Leona blushed, hesitant to lie down.
“What’s wrong? Do you need to use the restroom?” Abyss asked innocently, looking at them. “But I thought undead don’t need to use the restroom. Lower-level undead expel waste by spitting it out, and higher-level undead turn it into gas and exhale it…”
“Not the restroom!” Leona exclaimed, slapping Abyss on the nose. “Do you even know how to talk to girls?!”
“What can I do… I was raised by a grumpy old man. The only females I interacted with were corpses…”
“Idiot! Ugh, so frustrating!” Abyss’s cluelessness, however, seemed to steel Leona’s resolve. She threw herself onto the bed, grabbing Abyss’s hand. “Is this okay? Like this?”
Seeing Leona lie down, Flora followed suit, albeit more hesitantly.
“Good. Now, palm to palm. This will help us enter the same dream,” Abyss said, looking at the girls on either side of him, his voice barely a whisper. “Close your eyes. I’ll use the necromantic bond to calm your minds. Just relax completely, and leave the rest to me.”
He interlaced his fingers with theirs, their four hands clasped together.
He could feel both girls tense up for a moment. Flora quickly relaxed, placing her complete trust in him, but Leona remained stiff, her hand trembling slightly.
“Why are you going rigid again… Do you need me to feed you some medicine, Leona?”
“Shut up! I can handle it myself!” Leona said, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to calm down.
It wasn’t that she was unwilling to cooperate with Abyss’s plan, but her heart couldn’t settle.
This was her first time holding hands with a boy. Abyss’s hand wasn’t strong and broad like other boys his age, but slender and soft, his nails trimmed short and clean. It felt comfortable to hold, making Leona’s heart pound—although her heart no longer beat, the feeling was still there, undeniable.
Leona was a lonely princess. Although she was unattainable in the eyes of commoners, she held an awkward position within the noble circle.
She was powerful, but because of her overwhelming strength, no one treated her as a real person. In the minds of most high-ranking individuals in the Empire, she was more like a strategic weapon, a deterrent against other nations or a bargaining chip in negotiations. And because of her status as an illegitimate child, she was ostracized by other noble children her age. As for pursuing relationships with boys? Forget about the royal family allowing such behavior that would tarnish her reputation as a lady. Even she herself looked down upon most males on the continent.
Abyss was different. He had forcefully become her companion through his necromancy, with a certain unreasonable and domineering charm. He had entrusted his life and the success of his endeavors to her without a shred of doubt, indulging her arrogance and whims.
He had dragged her on adventures, to fight against an Outer God she had never heard of, pulling her out of her sheltered life and thrusting her into a wider world.
For the first time, Leona had a true friend in Flora, someone who understood her. And for the first time, she was this close to a young man.
She peeked through the small holes in the mask, looking at Abyss beside her. He had obediently closed his mouth and eyes after her scolding, a faint smile on his face, a mix of anticipation and excitement, lying peacefully beside her.
A faint scent of herbs emanated from the grey-haired boy. His eyelashes were long, his nose wasn’t particularly prominent, and his nostrils were small and delicate, almost feminine. He wasn’t conventionally handsome, his features different from the rugged Northern people who made up the majority of the Western Empire’s population. But looking at Abyss’s profile, Leona felt a sense of security, even though he wasn’t the typical muscular sixteen-year-old boy she often saw, even though he lacked strong arms.
What does he think of me? What’s my place in his heart?
Leona tried to push these thoughts away, but they kept popping up, making her feel restless.
…
Compared to Leona, Flora’s feelings were simpler.
Abyss was the first person she had encountered after the terrifying experience of being poisoned, and he had been with her ever since, leading her on adventures and showing her new ways of life.
With him, Flora discovered her own rebellious and willful nature. She realized that she wasn’t meant to be a tool for others, that she had her own life to live.
As long as she was with him, she would continue to discover new things.
As for the wish Abyss had promised to fulfill, she decided to keep it to herself for now. It was a significant wish, and if she revealed it, he might abandon his adventures for her sake—Flora didn’t want to stop, and she didn’t want Abyss to fulfill her wish too soon.
As long as I don’t tell him, he’ll owe me a wish.
Thinking this, a faint smile touched Flora’s lips. She focused on the feeling of their interlocked hands, the slight dampness of his palm from nervousness and excitement, and emptied her mind.
…
Abyss’s breathing gradually slowed down. Flora, whose hand he held in his left, had been soothed by his magic and had fallen into a deep sleep. Leona, after a period of inexplicable tension, also calmed down, her soft snores, like a kitten’s, audible beneath the mask.
It’s time.
Silently chanting a sleep-inducing spell, Abyss’s consciousness sank rapidly. Soon, a pitch-black space appeared before his eyes.
It resembled a night sky, but it was eerily silent and oppressive. Only a few faint stars were visible, their light flickering like candles in the wind, threatening to be extinguished at any moment.
And directly opposite Abyss, a dark cloud crackled with lightning, countless thin tendrils extending from it, swaying like seaweed.
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