Chapter 667 Never Been Better
The walk back to Elaris Village was, unsurprisingly, quiet.
Perhaps too quiet.
Liam walked ahead at a relaxed pace, his hands resting casually at his sides while the forest around them gradually became darker. The moon had already risen above the trees, casting pale light through the branches and painting the path with scattered patches of silver. Irina followed beside him, but unlike earlier, she didn’t say a single word. She hadn’t said much since they had left the mountain, and Liam had noticed it almost immediately. Normally, Irina would have found something to complain about, especially when Liam was involved. She might have criticized his decisions, questioned his methods or simply thrown an irritated comment at him for no reason at all.
Tonight, nothing.
She was completely silent.
Liam glanced toward her several times.
There was something strange about her.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Irina’s expression wasn’t exactly frightened, nor did she appear injured. She simply seemed unusually quiet, and every now and then Liam noticed her wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. At first he assumed it was because of the long walk, but the more he watched her, the less convinced he became.
Eventually, the lights of Elaris Village appeared between the trees.
They had been gone for hours.
By the time they reached the house the villagers had given them, night had completely settled over the village. Most of the surrounding houses were already dark, with only a few faint lights visible through windows. The oppressive atmosphere hadn’t disappeared either. If anything, the darkness made Elaris feel even stranger. There was still that unnatural silence hanging over the streets, as though the entire village was afraid to make too much noise after sunset.
Liam opened the door and allowed Irina to enter first.
She stepped inside.
Liam followed and closed the door behind them, turning the lock before finally looking toward her.
That was when he noticed it properly.
There was sweat on her forehead.
Liam frowned.
"Do you have a fever?"
Irina immediately shook her head. "No. I’m just tired."
Liam didn’t answer.
He looked at her more carefully.
Something definitely wasn’t right.
Her breathing was slightly heavier than usual, and there was a noticeable sheen of sweat across her skin. Even her hair seemed a little damp around the edges. The strange part was that the night air outside was cold enough that Liam himself had felt it through his clothes. They had been walking for quite some time, but Irina shouldn’t have been sweating this much from a simple walk.
He looked at her clothing.
It was worse than he had initially realized.
Her clothes were becoming noticeably damp, clinging to her body in places where the fabric had absorbed the sweat. Irina’s figure was already striking enough under normal circumstances, but the soaked fabric made the outline of her physique more apparent, emphasizing the curves.
Liam narrowed his eyes.
"What exactly did you do out there?"
"Nothing."
"You’re sweating like you just ran across the continent."
Irina smiled faintly.
"I’m fine."
Liam continued staring at her for another moment.
He clearly wasn’t convinced.
But he also knew Irina well enough to understand that pressing her when she clearly didn’t want to talk would accomplish very little. If something was wrong, she would tell him when she was ready.
At least, that was what he hoped.
"Fine," he finally said. "You can take one of the rooms. I’m going to take a bath."
Irina nodded.
Neither of them said anything else.
She disappeared into one of the rooms while Liam headed toward the bathing area.
A short while later, Liam lowered himself into the tub.
The water was cold.
Very cold.
But he didn’t particularly care.
After flying across an enormous distance and spending hours investigating the forest, a bath was exactly what he needed. He leaned back against the edge of the tub and closed his eyes, allowing himself a few moments to relax.
Despite all the strange things he had encountered since arriving in this world, Liam still hadn’t forgotten one simple fact.
He was human.
At least, as far as he currently understood himself to be.
Whatever the Aetherial mystery surrounding his existence was, whatever the seer and that strange guardian knew about him, Liam still experienced many ordinary things. Cold affected him. Heat affected him. Fatigue could affect him. Hunger could affect him. His body might be absurdly powerful compared to ordinary humans, but it wasn’t some completely detached existence that ignored every natural sensation.
And Elaris was cold.
The weather had become noticeably chillier after sunset, making the warm interior of the house feel considerably more comfortable.
Liam remained in the tub for several minutes before eventually standing.
He grabbed a towel and wrapped it securely around his waist before stepping out. Water dripped from his hair, running down his neck and across his shoulders as he walked toward the small storage area to look for another towel.
He was still rubbing the back of his neck when he turned the corner.
And stopped.
Irina was standing there.
Just standing there.
Liam’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
"Ah!"
He instinctively took half a step backward.
Irina blinked.
Then she laughed.
"What is wrong with you?"
Liam stared at her.
"What is wrong with me? What are you doing standing there like that?"
"I wasn’t doing anything."
"You scared the hell out of me."
Irina covered her mouth for a moment, trying to suppress another laugh.
Liam narrowed his eyes.
"Then stop standing around like a crazy person."
She smiled.
For a brief moment, the strange tension between them disappeared.
Then Irina’s expression became more serious.
"There is something I wanted to tell you."
Liam looked at her.
She hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
"Back in the city... when I said ’eww’... I didn’t mean your appearance."
Liam’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
Irina continued quickly, almost as though she wanted to get the words out before she lost her courage. "I meant your behavior. I was thinking about what that carriage driver said about us having children, and I was imagining a child having your personality, so that’s what I reacted to. I wasn’t saying that your face disgusts me."
Liam remained silent for a second.
Then he nodded.
"Oh."
Irina waited.
"That’s what you meant."
"Yes."
Liam nodded again.
"Okay. I understand now."
Something inside him relaxed.
He hadn’t realized how much the misunderstanding had been bothering him until that moment. Liam had spent the entire day wondering whether Irina genuinely found his appearance irritating. It had been such a strange concept that his mind had kept returning to it despite his best efforts.
Now he finally had his answer.
She didn’t.
At least, that wasn’t what she’d meant.
Liam felt considerably better.
He didn’t know whether he should admit that he’d been thinking about it all day, though.
Absolutely not.
His ego had survived worse things than this.
He glanced at Irina again.
And immediately noticed something else.
She was still sweating.
In fact, it looked worse.
Liam’s brows furrowed.
Her clothes were now noticeably soaked in several places, the fabric clinging closely to her skin. She looked uncomfortable, although she was trying her best to hide it. A faint flush had appeared across her face as well, contrasting sharply with the usual coolness of her complexion.
Liam’s gaze lingered for half a second longer than he intended.
He quickly looked back toward her face.
Even then, he couldn’t completely ignore what he had seen.
Irina had an undeniably impressive body. there was also an unmistakable elegance to her figure. The damp clothing only made her appearance more striking, and Liam had to swallow before forcing his attention back to the actual problem.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He looked directly into her eyes.
"Irina... are you okay?"
For a moment she simply stared at him.
Then she smiled.
It was a strangely confident smile.
"Never been better."