In addition to that, the overall quality and quantity of all his abilities had changed.
Even abilities from entirely different domains, which he had never attempted, seemed like they could be executed with just one try.
He simply didn’t feel the need to try them because doing so would cause a loud, bothersome fuss from those around him, and he hated crowds.
Right now, what mattered was the fact that he could, without any effort, select and listen only to the sound of Ben’s heart beating—a steady, rapid thumping—all while in a non-sensitive state and excluding all other noise.
“Hmm… I will try.”
Ben clearly didn’t like the suggestion that he should forcibly wake Haimar up.
It was surely because he felt guilty about waking someone who was sleeping.
Though Ben nodded begrudgingly, it was obvious that in the same situation, he would hesitate, pretend to try waking him a couple of times, and then act exactly as he had today.
Too kind-hearted. Is this why he’s being charmed and devoured by me?
Haimar swallowed his laughter without making a sound.
Well, it didn’t matter. Haimar was not confident he could bear to lose Ben.
This was an arrogance born of reason, unlike that of other Espers.
Even if he felt anxiety, he simply wouldn’t lose him, and even if he lost him, he would simply find him again.
He possessed the power and ability to speak of such things with ease.
Because of his absolute confidence in being able to keep everything within himself and under his control, he could cover even the unknown realm of ‘anxiety’ with an assurance that forbade impossibility.
How arrogant this was.
The man, who was the exact opposite of a monster, was thoroughly humble and entrusted himself to Haimar, completely unaware of this truth.
“Did the deactivation registration go well?”
“Yes. I did it properly. They said they’d set the date for the next deactivation once this adaptation issue is resolved.”
“Is that so? And the deactivation phrase?”
“Th-that… I will keep that a secret until the deactivation.”
Ben subtly avoided eye contact and snuggled deeper into Haimar’s arms.
His heart started beating a little faster.
“A secret?”
“Yes. A secret.”
“Why?”
A secret created by Ben Plaskun.
Haimar had completely entrusted Ben with the deactivation phrase for the next control device, and now that Ben was hiding something, Haimar suddenly wanted to know it.
He detached Ben’s face from his embrace, cupped it with both hands, and made him look up.
A mischievous glint appeared in the deep blue-green of Ben’s eyes.
“Just so I can play some of the same tricks you’re good at.”
Then, he grinned confidently.
With Ben’s cheeks flushed to their normal temperature, his ears red, and the scent of winter retreating from his body, Haimar felt his own heart rate match Ben’s.
Furthermore, a thought crossed his mind: the man who was beautiful even when crying messily in his arms—and not just normally—was much more beautiful when he smiled.
“I’ll be nice; won’t you tell me?”
Haimar tilted his face and leaned in close enough for their noses to touch. He heard Ben sharply inhale.
He had noticed this before, but Ben was quite weak to Haimar’s face.
Since Haimar had learned the destructive power of his face through his life experience, this was a perfect aspect to exploit, and he relentlessly badgered Ben, utilizing his full beauty.
“Ev-even if you look at me like that, no. You’ll find out if you just wait! What if you can’t even wait for this?”
Ben’s green eyes, which trembled intensely as if gazing at something dazzling, desperately tried to avoid Haimar’s gaze.
But Haimar showed no mercy, holding both cheeks with one hand and ruthlessly fixing his line of sight.
“It seems our master really likes ‘waiting.’ Do I get a reward if I wait well?”
“Uh… I don’t think this has anything to do with rewards…”
In fact, the first time Ben asked him to wait was the message he sent during the chaos in the Neadegu, and this was only the second time.
Yet, Haimar continued to act according to his own wishes, finally bringing their noses together.
“You should know how much I overlook for you.”
He had no intention of frankly explaining to Ben that he was the only person Haimar would back down for after making up his mind.
It was much more fun to quietly observe, and while the old Ben would speak his mind assertively, he was also somewhat cautious and looked around a bit.
Now, he had the enjoyable habit of playing jokes and acting fresh.
A big reason this happened was that Haimar had been subtly letting Ben off the hook, even before he was consciously aware of his feelings.
The reasons varied: sometimes it was simple capriciousness, sometimes it was to see how Ben would react, and so on.
But the result was always the same.
Looking back, it almost seemed like it was meant to happen for their relationship to change this way.
“Then please overlook things for me a lot in the future…?”
At Ben’s appearance—his eyes wide open and staring blankly, responding with a confused expression—Haimar smiled cheerfully, his face completely devoid of displeasure.
He hadn’t entirely given up on wanting to know, but there were always ways for Haimar to get the information even if Ben didn’t tell him.
He always had far too many talkative entities who spoke without opening their mouths.
The incident with Hoaphilen last time was handled the same way.
For him, a secret was merely a box secured with a tattered lock that would easily break open if he put his mind to it.
However, this time it was not a serious matter but a cute prank.
Since it was a secret that wasn’t really a secret and he would find out after a short wait anyway, there was no reason not to participate in this little game.
If Ben wished, Haimar was willing to join in.
Haimar neatly conceded to Ben’s opinion but demanded something else in return.
“Open your mouth. I want to suck your tongue.”
“Excuse me?”
Without waiting for an answer, Haimar’s tongue burrowed into Ben’s slightly parted lips.
Ben was startled at first, but then he willingly let their tongues intertwine.
As declared, Haimar pulled Ben’s tongue into his territory, savoring it fully, then greedily invaded all the way to the root and sucked hard.
“Huu, ugh…”
The kiss, which had started out plain, grew in intensity.
When the excess saliva spilled out of their mouths and flowed down Ben’s chin, Haimar briefly pulled back and licked his chin.
He nibbled gently on Ben’s lower lip, then softly penetrated inside again, targeting and teasing Ben’s sensitive spots.
In the kiss that seemed to steal even the air Ben desperately drew in through his nose, Ben slightly pushed Haimar away as if asking for a break.
Haimar left a gap for Ben, keeping their noses touching and their lips just slightly apart.
He moved his hands: one hand slipped under Ben’s knit and shirt, and the other gripped his buttocks.
“Just a moment—”
“Why?”
He had already noticed the intensity of the kiss was rising, but this hand motion was a clear sexual advance.
Ben, startled, looked at Haimar, who had such a calm expression that it was almost absurd.
Of course, ever since they became lovers, they had coupled up whenever passion flared, just like any young, passionate couple.
But Ben tried to be mindful of the time, place, and occasion.
It wasn’t that the current situation—the time or the place—was inappropriate.
He just felt the flow of events was a bit abrupt.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but he was self-conscious about his body, which he hadn’t changed or washed yet.
Although they had seen everything there was to see of each other, it was perhaps a small matter of pride to want to show only his best side.
Moreover, he didn’t want to ignore the pizza he had acquired by fighting the cold weather.
“We need to eat dinner now! Pizza that gets cold and hard doesn’t taste good even if you reheat it.”
Instead of saying he was self-conscious about being dirty, Ben used the pizza as a shield.
In reality, he was primarily driven by the desire to eat the dinner he had gone through trouble to buy while it was at its most delicious.
It had already cooled down a bit from the winter wind, and the time would be even later when he finished preparing dinner, which would make their hunger worse.
So he tried to gently persuade Haimar, but Haimar suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled.
“This tastes best when it gets hard, though.”
Haimar pulled Ben’s hand, and Ben’s fingertips touched Haimar’s erection, which was hardening with heat.
Frankly, Ben was starting to get aroused by the kiss too, but he figured he could stop it somehow if he just slammed the brakes here.
He even considered going to the bathroom to sing the national anthem to calm himself down, but Ben was flabbergasted by Haimar’s actions, which seemed to suggest the exact opposite.
“You pervert! Is there anything you won’t say!”
“Are you going to say ‘wait’ for this too? I conceded one, so you have to concede the other, Ben.”
The silver-tongued man, who lacked nothing, argued with logic that was irrational yet seemed vaguely reasonable.
All the while, the hands wrapped around Ben’s body were slowly crawling up his waist, prompting Ben to urgently open his mouth to counter the argument.
“I only asked you to wait once—”
“Am I less delicious than pizza?”
What is this? What is this?!
The face that looked up at him while resting on his chest was lethal.
The delicate expression created by the faint blush and the glistening eyes beneath his eyelashes!
This was a new type of face attack, different from the one before.
Was he really this weak to a handsome face?
Put the handsomeness aside; he must have been utterly smitten, as Haimar looked both lovable and cute.
Objective opinions of Haimar’s face would simply end with, ‘He is very handsome.’
But when Ben’s personal feelings were added, the destructive power became immense, with no end in sight.
The Haimar that others knew would never imagine or witness such an expression, but with his glib talk now combined with emotional acting, Ben’s escape route was shrinking in real time.
