Chapter 59: Hopeless Romantics
[New Mission.]
[Sign-in inside Wastelands mountain after killing three dire wolves.]
Hinata waved his hands in the air to dispel his status panel before turning to Tamara.
The beautiful woman, whose gaze had been fixed on the wolf’s corpse, suddenly looked at him, her nose wrinkling slightly. "Can we start moving? The corpse is starting to have an odor."
Hinata gave a slight nod. Without any other exchange, they both entered the mountain range in synchrony.
Drip. Drip.
Having already heard a bit about the mountain, Hinata and Tamara were somewhat prepared for what was to come. Even so, the pungent smell of crude oil mixed with rotten corpses still made them gag and nearly throw up.
Using aether, Hinata was able to push back the smell, though it was a bit different for Tamara since mana wasn’t as potent as aether, and as a member of both the elf and dragon race, she had an extremely sensitive nose.
"Are you alright?" Hinata asked with growing unease.
Tamara stood in place just a few steps away from the entrance, both hands pressed over her nose and mouth. "Yeah, I’ll be fine."
Hinata sighed. With slight reluctance, he stretched his hand out toward her.
Tamara stood in place, staring at the hand stretched out before her. Then she looked up at Hinata, who was trying his best to hide his expression.
Honestly, she was starting to believe Hinata didn’t like her because she was an older woman, more than ten times his age. And although she was beautiful, irresistibly attractive even, she also knew she looked like a woman in her early thirties.
But it seemed she was wrong.
Hinata, seeing Tamara’s lack of response, hummed softly. "Hmm..."
Tamara couldn’t help but smile brightly. She raised her hand slowly and placed it over Hinata’s. "I’ll be in your care."
Hinata didn’t know what to say or how to respond. He waited a moment to pull himself together before rubbing the back of her palm with his fingers. "Yeah, just let the aether flow through you naturally."
Tamara nodded. "Okay, professor."
Hinata shut his eyes. It wasn’t that he couldn’t send aether into her body without closing his eyelids; however, as Tamara had never felt aether before, it could be potentially dangerous if she absorbed too much.
Gradually, he drew some energy from his core and slowly sipped it into his companion, who couldn’t help but shiver.
When Hinata opened his eyes, her cheeks were completely red, and a strange smile he couldn’t quite understand had settled on her face.
Tamara parted her lips to say something, only to close them and bite down gently.
Hinata let out a sigh. "I feel like we aren’t getting anything done today, so why don’t we find higher ground without any foul smell and set up camp?"
Tamara quickly nodded to his suggestion.
Hinata, seeing her confirmation, began moving forward.
The cave was dark, filled with jagged walls that could probably pierce through human flesh and uneven ground that made it hard to traverse.
Since both he and Tamara were awakened, moving through the cave was relatively easy. Slowly, the nauseating odor began to fade from around them. As for how he knew, it was quite simple: just as fire, water, and lightning had their colors, smells also had their own hue.
Sweet things carried a rosy shade of pink, well-cooked food burned a warm orange, badly cooked food or things that generally smelled foul took on a stinky green color, and the deeper the green, the more disgusting it was.
Because of this, Hinata was able to easily find a good place to stay.
It was a somewhat even stretch of ground, though a few uneven surfaces remained. Behind their camp sat a large boulder that completely cut off the light from the cave’s entrance, while a crack along the other side brought in just enough ventilation and light.
Once they finished scanning the small space, Hinata began assembling the tent they had bought from a passing city.
The job was nothing serious, and being an awakened made it even easier.
Once he was finished , he walked over to Tamara, who sat perched on a smooth black rock. The moment she saw him approaching, her eyes brightened. "Are you done?"
"Yeah," he responded, his hand rising to pat her hair. By the time he noticed what he was doing, Tamara was already blushing.
"Oh, sorry. Your head just looked pattable."
Tamara shook her head with a chuckle. "As long as it’s you, I like it."
The moment those words left her lips, the entire cave fell eerily silent.
’What should I say back...’
Hinata took a breath and answered, doing his best not to stumble on his words. "If it wasn’t you, I wouldn’t have done that."
Tamara’s eyes went wide before they softened. "I’m glad I’m the only one you like touching."
"Hey," he protested. "Don’t make it sound weird!"
Tamara’s hands flew to her lips as she giggled like a little child. "Sorry, sorry. It’s just that you’re really cute when you show your feelings."
Hinata scratched his head awkwardly before turning away. "I’m going to hunt some monsters."
"Okay~ I’ll be waiting right here for you!~" A moment later she added, "Do come back early! Don’t get hurt, okay?~"
Hinata lifted a hand in acknowledgment, not bothering to turn around. "Yeah, I heard you. I’ll be back early."
As he left, Tamara clutched her palpitating heart. "Hehehe..."
Hinata, on the other hand, saw none of this, and continued to move farther from their camp, hands in his pockets.
"What am I even doing, flirting in the middle of a serious journey?" He clicked his tongue, then kicked a pebble lightly. "But I guess this isn’t bad either."
There were many things Hinata had been at some point: a hypocrite, a psychopath, a school heartthrob, a soldier, an actor. One thing he knew he had never been, though, was a person who didn’t acknowledge his own feelings.
He came to a halt, then ran his fingers through his hair. "I like her, don’t I?"
Feeling a sudden burning sensation on his forehead through his palm, Hinata was able to further confirm his suspicion. He had truly fallen for someone.
"... Fuck."