The woman in front of Elena was furious; the succubus knew her fate would not be peaceful. "Looks like you're having a bit of fun." She said to the woman with her arms crossed beneath her chest.
Elena looked away with a complicated expression. "Well... This..." She was at a loss for words; after all, she knew that saying Adriel had asked her to do it wasn't reliable.
"Move." She said, so firmly that even though she wasn't the succubus's owner, the latter felt she should obey the order.
"B-but that would leave poor Adriel alone... He looks very tired. Don't you think? I say someone should assist him like this." The succubus's voice came out lacking confidence; nevertheless, she felt some opportunity might come from that sentence.
Azucena stared at the woman for a while, then at the boy in her lap. After a few moments, she sighed. "Even so, move; I'll replace you."
"Eh!? That's not fair." The succubus got a bit agitated, moving the boy in her lap.
"There was never anything supposed to be fair. Remember you're his slave; he sees you as a mere animal. He doesn't agree and won't agree with what you're doing." Said the woman as she sat down next to Elena.
The succubus stood up abruptly, offended by what the woman had said, but before she realized it, she heard the boy's head hit the ground. Both fell silent, but Azucena fixed her eyes on Elena, judging her harshly.
After a deep silence, the young man's closed eyes moved a little, then opened wide. He sat up. "Good morning." He said as he stretched; his tone was monotonous; it didn't even seem like he had woken up yet.
"Good morning, Adri...el?" Azucena's expression filled with confusion as she looked at the boy's face; his formerly normal eyes now shone with a beautiful yellow color.
Unlike Azucena, Elena approached the young man; her own purple eyes fixed on the boy's. "Amazing. They shine so much! Do they look good when you're tired from all the fucking?"
"Eh? Nobody asked you to ask that question." Adriel placed his palm against the slave's face and pushed her aside.
The hunter turned to look at Azucena, who was also staring at him. "It's not surprising, I think." The boy looked away, embarrassed, then looked back at her. "You can take a closer look if you want." He said with a hint of hesitation.
The woman was silent for a while, not even moving; after a few seconds, she approached the boy and grabbed his face. "Let me examine them more deeply for a bit." She said. Her own face was inches from Adriel's, who was beginning to blush profusely.
Both of their breaths touched the skin of the other's lips, feeling how they were getting closer and closer, but Azucena suddenly cut it off. "Y-you look good with those eyes." She let him go and turned her head away.
Adriel, who was still somewhat bewildered, smiled a little. "I'm a bit hungry. Shall we go see what we can eat?"
"Yes." The woman expressed timidly.
The young man's gaze turned to the sky, where he saw the sun, but before he could properly see its position, he felt strange; his eyes wouldn't let him see, so he looked down, but shortly after, he looked away again.
His gaze began to dart back and forth, never quite understanding what he was seeing. "Are you okay?" He asked his companion.
"Yes, nothing's wrong." Said the young man, looking away again.
She stared at him for a few seconds, then looked forward again to continue walking.
The two stopped near a part of the incomplete wall on the southeast side. Near that place was Amara, whose gaze was fixed on the ritual book. "I'd like you to come with me, but I'd prefer it if you stayed and talked to Amara." Said Azucena, glancing at the girl.
He touched her back. "Let's go instead; I'll talk to her if you want, but it's dangerous to go alone."
The woman sighed a little and nodded slightly.
...
The wind gently brushed everyone's faces. Instead of hunting some beast and trying to consume it, Adriel and Azucena only went to collect fruits and vegetables; after all, the hunter was still unwell.
Everyone gathered around a campfire: Adriel, Amara, Azucena, Liora, Sahima, Kael, and Selene.
"Amazing. So you're already the second one with unnatural eyes. I hope I keep mine, though honestly, I'd like to have a cool color." Expressed Kael after hearing Adriel's false excuse.
'I just slept, and when I woke up, I was like this... Is it believable? I think I'm failing.' Thought the young man while Liora said something similar.
The hunter turned to look at Kael, then at his companion. "Who is she?" He said, then gave the protector a mischievous smile.
He signaled for him to cut it out. "She's just a client; she needs my protection."
"That reminds me. Everyone here is around the same age, aren't we?" Asked Sahima.
"More or less; the oldest is Selene, she turns in January, and the youngest is Liora, who turns in September." Cut in Amara as she grabbed a fruit shaped like a twisted purple banana and began to eat it.
"I imagine that's not counting those two." She pointed at Azucena and Elena.
"Huh? Why do you say that?" Asked Selene.
Sahima made some rather strange gestures, then pointed at the three girls, put her hand on her chest, and began moving her hand up and down, from her neck to her stomach. Then she pointed at the two women and mimed that when rubbing up or down, the bust prevented her from moving her hand.
The three girls looked down at their own busts. "But... They're... Somewhat... Big?" Said Liora with difficulty.
"I suppose, but not as big as these babies." Said Elena, then touched her bust. Her own hand was sinking into it.
Azucena watched it all out of the corner of her eye, trying to avoid the topic.
Adriel sighed. "Stop talking about that and eat. If you need Kael's protection, it's for a reason, right? Tell me what's going on. I'll handle it." He said as he brought food to his mouth.
"Doesn't the topic interest you?" Elena approached the young man.
"If I weren't in a different world, where death is and probably will be an everyday occurrence, I'd love to talk about it."
"Ah, you're very honest today?" Said Selene with annoyance at his comment.
Adriel ignored her. "So. What do you need?" He asked Sahima.
"I... I don't want to talk about it. Kael is the one helping me. Right now I don't have money to pay you."
"A friend of my friend is my friend. That's how it goes. I don't hold that philosophy very strongly, but even so, when I hunt, I get coins. I'll just keep all the loot."
Sahima got nervous at those words. "N-no, thank you. That might end up costing me too much if you do that."
The hunter nodded at her words and went back to eating, so everything fell silent.
Trivial conversations turned on and off as if by a switch; every moment was filled with awkwardness.
Adriel, who had remained silent for most of the conversations, stared fixedly at the campfire's flame.
That beautiful flame danced. A beautiful dance that constantly changed. Thanks to that, he was able to see it clearly.
Little by little, everyone left; the sunlight dimmed, and the campfire became one of the few sources of light.
The camp fell silent again. Everyone was doing their own things, but Adriel stayed there.
'Is this real?' He thought, his gaze capturing how small specks of ash flew.
'I thought it was; so many things happening... This is unreal. After consuming that flower... I think it's all a dream.'
The hunter summoned his katana. The hilt felt robust; the blade looked perfect, ready to tear apart whatever it touched.
Even so, he still felt that something was off.
Sight? No, he remembered having his eyes dilated by medicine. Smell? No, the fire still emitted that recognizable aroma. Touch? No, his hands still felt the leather on the hilt. Hearing? No, he could clearly hear the wood breaking as it burned. Taste? No, he clearly tasted those sweet, bitter, sour, and spicy fruits.
'What am I missing?' He thought, then looked up, seeing the connected stars in the beautiful sky that loomed above him.
His foot began to tap the hard earth beneath him. His breathing quickened, and his blood ran cold. His entire body had a very slight tremor, something practically imperceptible.
'Do I even exist? Did I die the moment I consumed that damned flower?'
He continued to become agitated, until his foot stopped. He remembered everything that had happened on Earth.
"Cogito ergo sum." He whispered to himself. 'I think, therefore I exist. Upon dying, the mind cannot process it, because the mind isn't there. That means this is real; I exist. I can go on.' After thinking this, he stood up.
His eyes adjusted; he could see well again—no, even better. Getting used to his new abilities was the key.
Finally noticing the moon hanging over the tome, he made a decision. 'Tonight I'll go out a bit to hunt.' He thought. His yellow eyes shone intensely as he saw the exit.