Blind Box World - SSS-Rank Eye of Truth

Ethan woke because of a slight weight on his chest.

He opened his eyes, looked down, and was quiet for a few seconds.

Laira had claimed nearly half his body. She lay on her side to the right, her head on his chest, one arm wrapped around his waist, her right leg draped across his thigh. Her long red hair was spread across the pillow and Ethan’s chest, a few strands sticking to her lips with each breath.

Ruo Yan on the other side hadn’t kept last night’s position either. She lay pressed close to Ethan’s left, her forehead nearly touching his shoulder. One hand still held his right wrist, as though even in sleep she hadn’t forgotten the Void Flame episode from the night before.

Sunlight came through the window.

Voices could already be heard outside.

Ethan didn’t rush to sit up.

He looked at the two people lying against him, then reached over with his right hand and brushed the strands of red hair covering Laira’s face to one side. The moment his fingers grazed her soft hair, the corner of her mouth curved.

"Keep going."

Ethan looked down.

Laira’s eyes were still closed.

"I thought you were asleep."

"Just woke up." Laira tightened the arm around his waist, her voice still carrying a trace of laziness. "But what you’re doing feels nice, so I’ve decided to go back to sleep."

Ethan laughed quietly. His hand continued stroking her red hair from the crown of her head down to the nape of her neck.

Laira let out a very soft hum and nestled even closer. If a dragon tail had been swaying back and forth behind her, Ethan wouldn’t have found it strange at all.

Ruo Yan opened her eyes around the same time.

She looked at Ethan’s hand stroking Laira’s hair, then looked up at him.

Said nothing.

Just looked.

Ethan caught on very quickly.

"You want the same?"

"No."

Ruo Yan’s answer was perfectly calm, but the hand holding Ethan’s wrist had already pulled it up and placed it directly on top of her black hair.

She closed her eyes again.

"If you’re going to do it, at least be fair about it."

Laira cracked one eye open to look over, the corner of her mouth curving at once.

Ethan sighed but still ran his hand through Ruo Yan’s hair. It was smoother than he had expected, completely different from Laira’s warm heat, carrying a slight coolness as it slipped between his fingers.

"Is this enough?"

Ruo Yan kept her eyes closed. "Passable."

Laira immediately lifted her head. "Why are you stroking hers longer than mine?"

Ethan looked at her. "You’re counting?"

"Obviously."

Laira propped herself up, her red hair sliding off Ethan’s chest. The thin sleepwear had shifted slightly at the shoulder, but she made no effort to fix it. She leaned down, stopping her face right in front of his, and narrowed her eyes.

"I feel like I’m being treated unfairly."

"Then what do you want?"

"Compensation."

Before Ethan could ask what kind, Laira’s gaze had already dropped to his lips.

The meaning couldn’t have been clearer.

But this time Ethan didn’t let her take the lead.

He placed his hand behind Laira’s neck, pulled her down, and kissed her.

Her orange-red eyes widened slightly.

Only for an instant.

Then Laira smiled right into the kiss, wrapped both arms around Ethan’s neck, and pressed herself closer. The morning kiss wasn’t too long, but it wasn’t a token peck either. By the time Ethan let go, Laira was still lying on top of him, the tips of their noses nearly touching.

She looked at him for a few seconds, then smiled with thorough satisfaction.

"Compensation accepted."

Ruo Yan lay beside them, watching.

Ethan turned to her.

Ruo Yan immediately pulled the blanket up a bit. "Don’t look at me. I’m not asking for one."

Laira laughed. "That line doesn’t sound convincing at all."

"I can call the Necromancer in here."

"On such a lovely morning, please don’t mention that terrifying thing."

Hearing the two of them start to spar, Ethan finally sat up. "If we stay in bed any longer, we’ll miss breakfast entirely."

Laira let go of him at once.

"Let’s eat."

Ruo Yan watched the speed of her attitude change, the corner of her mouth twitching.

"Predictable."

Breakfast at Spring Village was simpler than the day before.

A bit of flatbread made from mashed root, boiled greens, and leftover meat from the night before.

Laira sat next to Ethan, eating while watching the meat on the serving plate dwindle. When the person in charge of portioning set down the last piece, her gaze locked onto it immediately.

Ethan noticed.

"Stop staring."

Laira turned to him. "I’m just observing."

"Your eyes are about to burn a hole through the plate."

Ruo Yan sat across from them holding a cup of water and said evenly, "If nobody stops her, she could eat through tonight’s reserves too."

Laira frowned. "I don’t eat that much."

The little girl with small horns sitting nearby immediately looked up.

"Yesterday you ate thirteen pieces before dinner even started."

Laira froze.

Ethan turned to look at her.

Ruo Yan also looked.

Laira was silent for two seconds, then said with complete seriousness, "Children miscounting is perfectly normal."

The girl answered at once. "I counted twice."

Ethan lowered his head to drink water and hide his smile.

Right then, Vesna walked over. She had caught the tail end of the exchange, and the corner of her mouth curved slightly, but she didn’t pile on. "Actually, the village’s meat supply will be lower than usual for the next few days. Two people from the northern hunting team were injured, and the herds in that area have recently migrated elsewhere."

Laira immediately set her flatbread down. "How much lower?"

Vesna looked at her.

"We may have to reduce the meat portions."

Laira’s expression turned completely serious.

She turned to Ethan.

"We have to help."

Ruo Yan set her cup down and looked at Laira with an utterly blank expression. "Only reacting this fast when you hear the words ’reduce meat.’ Truly a model of responsibility."

"I’m a Red Dragon. Eating a lot is normal." Laira was entirely unembarrassed, then looked at Ethan. "Besides, they’ve let us stay here. Helping out a bit is the right thing to do."

Ethan nodded.

The second reason sounded far more convincing.

"Let’s see what the village needs today."

Vesna was mildly surprised. "You’ve only just come back, and your injuries aren’t fully healed. There’s no need to rush."

Ethan looked at the left arm still sealed inside the Primordial Armor. The burning sensation inside was still there but lighter than the night before. "It’s just regular work. If I can’t even manage that, then lying around for another day won’t make a difference."

Laira stood up at once.

"Then let’s start."

Ruo Yan looked at the flatbread still left on Laira’s plate.

"Finish eating first."

Laira stopped mid-step.

Then obediently sat back down.

The work around the village was more than Ethan had expected.

A section of fencing on the east side had been knocked crooked by wind. Two roofs needed their timbers replaced. Several vegetable beds at the bottom of the valley needed extra irrigation channels, and the root cellar behind the village was nearly full.

Ruo Yan handled the heavy lifting fastest.

The Necromancer walked through the village with two large tree trunks balanced on its shoulders, each step making the ground tremble faintly. A few Partners kept their distance at first. After all, the towering frame, the bone armor, and the soul flames in the eye sockets weren’t exactly inviting.

Until the little girl with the small horns from that morning planted herself in front of it.

She craned her neck all the way back, studied the Necromancer for a while, then held up a basket full of roots.

"Carry this for me."

The Necromancer stood motionless.

The girl raised the basket higher.

"Carry."

It still didn’t move.

Ruo Yan, who had been inspecting some timbers nearby, finally had to turn around. "Take it."

The Necromancer immediately bent down and received the tiny basket with both massive hands, the proportions looking absurdly mismatched.

The girl ran off happily.

Less than ten minutes later, another child climbed up a stone step and placed an old straw hat on the Necromancer’s head. Another one stuffed a handful of wildflowers into the gap between the armor plates on its shoulder.

By the time Ethan walked past, a Legendary Gold-rank tier 7 Necromancer was standing in the middle of the yard wearing a straw hat, flowers bristling from its shoulders, and three baskets of vegetables cradled in its arms.

Ethan stopped.

He looked at it.

Then at Ruo Yan.

"Suits him."

Ruo Yan turned, her face going cold.

"Would you like it standing next to your bed tonight?"

Ethan immediately kept walking.

"I have things to do."

Laira, hauling a tree trunk nearby, laughed so hard she nearly dropped it.

Laira also quickly became the children’s target.

At first she had only planned to help move timber.

But after one child discovered she could easily lift an entire tree trunk with one hand, it latched onto her other arm.

"You’re so strong."

Laira smirked slightly. "Obviously."

"Can you lift me?"

"Way too light."

Ten minutes later, when Ethan returned from the fields, Laira was carrying one child on her shoulders, another clinging to her back, and still holding a full tree trunk in her left hand.

The moment she spotted Ethan, she explained with perfect seriousness, "They climbed up on their own."

A child sitting on her shoulders immediately said, "She told us whoever climbed fastest would get the highest seat."

Laira went quiet.

Ethan looked at her.

Laira turned her head away.

"Children misremember things."

Ethan couldn’t help it. He raised a hand and rubbed his forehead.

But watching Laira walk among the laughing children, his mouth still curved.

The first day they had come here, she had barely let any Partner besides Ethan get near her.

Now a child was grabbing her horns and Laira only frowned, with absolutely no intention of shaking it off.

Around midday, Ethan and Vesna inspected the fields at the bottom of the valley.

A section of the irrigation channel had been silted over with earth and rocks. Ethan crouched down, lifted a stone with his right hand, and studied the remaining water flow.

"No need to re-dig the whole thing. Just widen this section and the water will flow to the beds on the other side on its own."

Vesna looked where he pointed and seemed mildly surprised. "We always thought we’d have to dig an entirely new branch."

"The terrain over there is lower." Ethan used a stick to mark a line in the dirt. "Clear this part first. If there’s not enough water after that, then we dig more."

Vesna watched him work for a while, the thin wings at her temples trembling softly.

"The first time you came here, you could barely walk a few steps without nearly collapsing."

Ethan remembered the scene of himself lying on the hillside, almost completely drained, only able to sit up with Laira’s help.

He drove the stick into the ground.

"I remember."

"Now you’re standing here helping us fix an irrigation channel."

Ethan brushed the dirt from his hand. "Consider it rent."

Vesna laughed.

"You really don’t like owing people."

Ethan didn’t answer.

Because she was right.

Early afternoon, after the urgent work in the village was done, Ethan decided to take Ruo Yan and Laira out to forage.

Vesna pointed them toward a stretch of forest on the far side of the valley. The villagers usually gathered roots, wild fruit, and hunted small game there. Not particularly dangerous, but lately the number of people able to go out had dropped, so many areas still hadn’t been picked over.

Four Partners from the village came along to identify which plants were safe to eat.

The trip was completely unlike any of Ethan’s excursions into ruins.

No one had to watch for ambushes.

No monster roars echoed from the distance.

They simply walked along the dirt path, stopping now and then to dig up a cluster of roots or pick fruit.

Laira walked close to Ethan’s right, her dragon wing occasionally brushing against his back.

After the third time, Ethan turned.

"Are you doing that on purpose?"

"Big wings, narrow path."

The path was wide enough for four people to walk side by side.

Ethan looked at her.

Laira smiled as though she had no idea she had just lied.

Ruo Yan, on the left, heard it and immediately stepped closer to Ethan.

This time her shoulder pressed squarely against his.

Ethan glanced over.

"And you?"

"Narrow path."

Ethan looked at the road ahead.

’These two...’

He stopped commenting.

A Partner walking behind them lowered her voice to the person beside her. "Do Awakened and Partners always walk this close together?"

The other shook her head.

"Probably not."

"Then what are they doing?"

"No idea."

Ethan heard it.

He decided to pretend he hadn’t.

The forest yielded a good haul.

In just over an hour, they had dug up several baskets of roots, found two fruit trees in season, and located a patch of mushrooms the villagers confirmed were edible.

Ruo Yan used a few small puppets to help dig.

Laira was in charge of hunting.

At least that was the idea at first.

A small deer-like creature bolted through the underbrush, and Laira immediately raised her hand.

A streak of red fire shot out.

Boom!

The bushes ahead exploded.

A tree trunk was charred halfway through.

The animal had vanished without a trace.

Ethan looked at the scorch mark.

Then at Laira.

"I said catch it so we can eat."

Laira still held her hand in the air, her expression slightly stiff.

"I already toned it down."

Ruo Yan, digging roots nearby, didn’t look up. "Good thing you did."

Laira spun toward her.

"Want to see what happens when I don’t?"

"No. I’d like to bring some meat home."

Ethan raised his hand before the two could escalate.

"From now on, I’ll hunt with Laira."

Ruo Yan’s lips curved faintly.

Laira immediately grabbed Ethan’s arm and pulled him along.

"I think this plan is excellent."

Late in the afternoon, as everyone was preparing to head back, Ruo Yan spotted a cluster of roots growing right at the edge of a slope.

She crouched down to dig.

The soil there was softer than usual. When she pulled the root system free, a section of ground beneath her feet suddenly gave way.

Ruo Yan reacted fast, but an arm had already wrapped around her waist first.

Ethan pulled hard.

Ruo Yan’s body slammed into his chest.

One hand reflexively landed on Ethan’s shoulder. The distance between them was so close their breaths nearly mingled.

"You okay?"

Ruo Yan looked at him.

"Yeah."

Ethan was still holding her waist.

"Then stand up."

Ruo Yan didn’t move.

She slowly looped both arms around Ethan’s neck.

"Hold tighter."

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"You can stand now."

"I know."

Ruo Yan looked at him, the corner of her mouth curving.

"But I don’t feel like standing yet."

Ethan was still for a second.

Then he laughed, and the hand on her waist didn’t let go either.

Right at that moment, footsteps approached.

Laira emerged from the bushes, a freshly cleaned animal carcass in hand. The instant she saw the two of them embracing, she stopped.

Ruo Yan looked over.

Didn’t let go of Ethan.

Laira didn’t say anything either.

She set the animal down, walked over, and casually looped one arm through Ethan’s right, leaning against his shoulder.

"I’m tired."

Ethan looked at her.

"You’ve been hunting for less than half an hour."

"Still tired."

"We’re supposed to be gathering food."

Laira closed her eyes and leaned her full weight into him. "Break time."

Ruo Yan laughed.

Ethan, pinned between the two of them, could only lift his head and look at the sky slowly turning orange.

’Fine.’

He didn’t push either of them away.

When the group returned to Spring Village, the children came running out first.

The baskets of roots, fruit, and meat were quickly carried into storage.

The Necromancer appeared from inside the village to help with the hauling. The straw hat was still on its head, and the flowers on its shoulders hadn’t been removed either.

Ruo Yan looked at it.

Her eyebrow twitched.

Ethan, standing beside her, very wisely said nothing.

But Laira didn’t hold back.

She looked at the Necromancer, then doubled over laughing.

Ruo Yan turned.

"Laira."

"I didn’t say a word."

"You’re laughing."

"I’m happy."

"Sleep carefully tonight."

The smile on Laira’s face shrank just slightly.

Ethan looked at the two of them, then at the village bustling to sort the newly brought-in food.

A child ran past and, without stopping, pressed a small freshly washed fruit into his hand.

"For you."

Ethan looked at the fruit.

"Thank you."

The child grinned and ran off.

He stood still for a few seconds.

At some point, the people in the village had stopped looking at him like a stranger Awakened.