* * *
While I was still hesitating, the creature had already closed the distance.
Saliva dripped from its open jaws, landing with a splatter by my feet.
I didn’t move.
If that dumb worm came charging in recklessly, I could tear it apart through its mouth.
I’d probably end up inside that giant maw at some point anyway, but going from the inside out would be more efficient than attacking from the outside.
Besides, if I moved wrong and it turned its attention to Klen, that would be a disaster.
In the end, I raised Levatein high and braced myself to face its gaping mouth.
‘—Kkrrk?!’
“…Huh?”
But before the shadows of the creature’s jaws could even fall over me, it let out a short, strangled cry—and suddenly collapsed sideways with a heavy thud.
Its severed head hit the ground right beside me.
The back half that had been underground toppled in the opposite direction, shaking the earth once more.
A sticky green fluid oozed out of the bisected corpse.
I hadn’t even attacked yet—and somehow, the massive worm had been split clean in two.
Standing before me, shaking blood off his sword, was a man.
“Are you alright? Seems like you’re surprisingly fond of reckless attacks.”
That amused voice, tinged with disbelief—I knew it well. Too well.
“Klen?! You’re awake?”
As he turned around slowly, his red hair swayed gently.
‘What the—so he wakes up without a kiss after all.’
That oddly disappointing thought flitted through my mind before I snapped out of it.
No—of course.
Maybe I’d gotten too caught up in the atmosphere of the forest.
Sure, this might be a fairytale-like world inside a book, but that didn’t make it a fairytale.
‘What the hell was I thinking?’
Waking him with a kiss?
Thinking back, it was such an absurd idea it made my face heat up.
And all for nothing.
“Why are you even here?”
Klen’s face, as he faced me, was a mixture of surprise and confusion.
And behind that, a hint of irritation furrowed his brow.
“I… came to find my—”
“Your?”
“…Do I need a reason to come find my partner?”
I barely swallowed the word that almost slipped out.
I’d been fine calling myself his wife, but calling him husband to his face…
That was too embarrassing. Right.
No need to phrase it that way.
Klen seemed oddly taken aback by that, staring at me in silence before slowly raising his hand.
“Do you have a fever? Are you pushing yourself?”
His cool palm touched my forehead, and the pleasant chill spread across my skin.
Then he gently stroked my still-warm cheeks.
“N-No. I’m fine. You know I’m healthy. More importantly, what were you doing here?! Sleeping in a place like this, so carelessly…”
Despite his cold yet gentle touch, it only seemed to make the heat in my face worse.
I subtly leaned away from his hand, trying not to make it obvious.
“I noticed something strange in the forest, and while I was checking it out, something grabbed my leg and dragged me here.”
Ebony’s testimony matched Klen’s experience exactly.
He probably hadn’t seen what dragged him here—but from the circumstances, it could only be a divine beast or spirit.
He chuckled, clearly still baffled.
“After bringing me here, it just threw me into the lake and never came back.”
“The lake?!”
I quickly looked him over.
For someone who’d fallen into a lake, he was too pristine—his clothes were spotless, and not a drop of water clung to his hair.
Then again, it had happened two days ago, so maybe that made sense.
Still, there’s no way he could’ve made a fire in a place like this.
“You didn’t catch a cold, did you?”
“No problem at all.”
His cool touch was oddly reassuring—if anything, it meant he didn’t have a fever.
His face certainly didn’t look like someone who was sick.
But when I pressed my hand to his forehead, Klen gave a soft smile.
He gently moved my hand aside and stepped closer.
“This way’s more accurate, don’t you think?”
With a tap, his forehead touched mine.
“Ah—”
His skin wasn’t hot.
If anything, the difference in temperature made mine feel warmer.
His amber eyes stared intently into mine, just inches away.
Everything froze.
No wind.
No birdsong. Just the two of us, standing still, eyes locked.
Only when he blinked did time start to flow again.
“Seems like you’re fine.”
I awkwardly pulled away, glancing around to avoid his gaze.
Come to think of it, he had said he was thrown into a lake—but there wasn’t even a pond nearby, let alone a lake.
“We’ve walked quite a bit since then. I doubt we could find our way back.”
In a forest like this, where every direction looked the same, even someone as capable as Klen wouldn’t be able to retrace his steps easily.
Not that there was any need, now that he was safe.
“I waited, hoping someone would show up and explain what happened. But no one came. Eventually, I just wandered around and fell asleep here.”
“You fell asleep here? Really?”
“The sunlight was warm.”
Sounded like he’d found a cozy spot under the sun and couldn’t be bothered to move.
This time, I couldn’t blame him.
He must’ve been mentally exhausted—he needed rest.
“If I’d known, I would’ve brought food. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you want medicine?”
I dug through my pouch and pulled out a stamina potion.
I pressed it into his hand, which had been staring quietly at the odd-colored liquid.
“It’ll help, just drink it.”
I insisted, ready to force it on him if I had to.
Klen tilted his head, surprised.
“Do I have to drink this?”
“Do you even realize how long you’ve been in the forest? It’s been two whole days.”
“What?”
So he didn’t know.
Apparently, even Klen couldn’t keep track of time in here.
“It only felt like… a few hours.”
Still, mistaking two days for a few hours?
Even in a forest where time was hard to judge, that seemed extreme—especially for someone like Klen.
‘Surely he didn’t sleep for two straight days…?’
Klen was lazy, sure, but not that kind of lazy.
When it mattered, he knew how to act.
And in situations like this, he would’ve known that getting out of the forest was the priority.
Then… how had he spent the nights?
“This forest doesn’t get dark.”
As I looked up at the sky visible between the tree branches, he added an explanation.
“You said you’ve only been here a few hours—how can you tell?”
“Because the position of the shadows hasn’t changed at all.”
“…!”
Now that I thought about it, quite a bit of time must have passed since I entered.
Yet the forest looked exactly the same as when I first arrived.
The brightness, the warmth in the air—unchanging. Not even the shadows had shifted.
“Then that light… you mean it’s created by magic?”
“That’s what I believe.”
A light bright enough to illuminate such a vast space.
It really is the forest where the divine beasts live.
If it’s them, beings of infinite potential, I suppose casting such a spell would be simple.
Still, I don’t remember the novel mentioning anything like this.
‘Did the protagonist get tricked too?’
He was too busy running around and then passing out to question anything.
Thanks to that, I missed out on some pretty important info.
“Let’s talk outside.”
Either way, if it’s this hard to tell the passage of time here, standing around and talking isn’t the safest idea.
I gave him a signal with my eyes, and Klen’s expression twisted with reluctance.
But since it was unavoidable, he seemed to want to get it over with quickly.
He downed the medicine in one go.
Then, he didn’t move for a while.
Apparently, drinking a healer’s potion wasn’t pleasant for him either.
Only after quite some time did he let out a deep breath.
“Phew… Alright, let’s go.”
I grabbed the yarn and carefully started retracing our path.
I tried to wind the thread back up, but just like the healer said, it slipped from my fingers and fell to the ground.
No matter how many times I tried, it was the same.
The fluffy thread, when touched, slipped through my fingers like it had been oiled.
In the end, I had no choice but to walk with the yarn trailing behind.
It wouldn’t get tangled, anyway.
It’d just follow me.
And once we found the entrance, I could cut it with the scissors and it’d all vanish.
But the longer we walked, the more I started to worry.
That yarn I’d laid out far behind us must be looping its way back here.
And yet, the ball of yarn in my pocket never felt tight or heavy.
That was strange too.
* * *
