Chapter 33

Tomorrow

Explain or not explain? What to do, what to do…!

In her confusion and panic, Nagu temporarily let go of Hamoyin’s arm, but she didn’t expect Hamoyin to grab her wrist in return. They exchanged a silent glance, and then both turned their eyes to Duogaluo, who was standing there with his mouth half-open, still trying to grasp the situation.

Duogaluo was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. He had clearly run a lot while searching for the escaped monster. He was the only one who found this place; the others were likely searching other areas.

“The monster is inside,” Hamoyin spoke first, pointing to the forest behind him. “I killed it. I rescued this girl.”

“Is that so…?” Duogaluo felt something was off. He had seen Nagu clinging affectionately to Hamoyin’s arm earlier. Confused, he looked at Nagu, “Are you hurt? Where are the others? Are you the only one who survived? And why are you here? Didn’t I tell you not to leave the village these days?”

“There’s someone unconscious in the forest. She’s not hurt, just scared,” Hamoyin answered some of Duogaluo’s questions for Nagu, diverting Duogaluo’s attention. “I’ll take her back to the village. You go check the casualties inside.”

Indeed, checking the casualties was more important than questioning a frightened girl at this moment. Duogaluo took another look at the trembling Nagu behind Hamoyin. “It’s good you’re not hurt. I’ll come to the village to see you later. For now, let Hamoyin take you back. I need to check on the escaped monster.”

“About the escaped monster,” Hamoyin called out to Duogaluo, who was about to enter the forest. “I was sitting on the stone pile behind the market this morning. From there, I could see the two cages where you kept the monsters.”

“What’s wrong?” At this moment, Duogaluo felt something was off, an instinctual feeling.

“I saw Gongduo distract the guards and approach the cage, and not long after, the monster broke out of the cage.”

Duogaluo looked at Hamoyin in disbelief, his voice sharpened by surprise: “What did you say?”

Nagu, standing beside them, was equally shocked. She recalled how Hamoyin had hesitated when talking about the monster’s escape earlier, probably thinking about Gongduo. But why would Gongduo do this? Wasn’t he supportive of Azuran capturing the monster alive? Why would he do something that would undermine Azuran’s authority now?

“I’m just telling you what I saw.” Hamoyin had nothing more to say to Duogaluo and didn’t want Nagu to stay near the monster’s corpse any longer. “If you think I’m lying, it doesn’t matter.”

With that, he pulled Nagu and turned towards the village, leaving Duogaluo standing there in a daze.

“Aren’t you going to explain to him what’s really going on?” Nagu glanced back at Duogaluo, who was clearly stunned. “Did Gongduo really release the monster?”

“I don’t know if he released it, but the monster came out after he approached the cage.” After they had walked some distance from Dogaro, Hamoyin slowed his pace to match Nagu’s. “That’s all I saw.”

“…Is that so.” Things seemed very complicated. If Gongduo really did this, then the nature of this ‘accident’ would completely change. Nagu felt very uneasy. What if Gongduo was planning a rebellion to seize power? Would she get caught up in the incident if she stayed in the village?

But she couldn’t leave the village either. She still had no clue how to turn Hamoyin into a human…

“What are you thinking about?”

“Huh?”

Nagu snapped out of her thoughts and looked up, meeting Hamoyin’s emotionless golden eyes. He seemed to be carefully observing her expression. “I-I wasn’t thinking about anything,” Nagu stammered.

“Oh.” Hamoyin looked away. “Remember what I said before; don’t come to the market to find me for a while.”

“Okay…” Talking about this made Nagu a bit sad. Although she knew Hamoyin was doing it for her own good, the thought of not seeing him made her feel very down, sometimes even scared. “I understand.”

“I’ll come to you.”

“Okay… huh? What???”

“I’ll come to you.” Thinking Nagu hadn’t heard him clearly, Hamoyin repeated, “To the village.”

Nagu’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected Hamoyin to say something like this. “Is that okay? Didn’t you think it was best for us not to meet?”

“If you don’t want to see me, I won’t go.” Hamoyin’s tone was still indifferent, making it hard for Nagu to understand his true feelings. But she was definitely happy, almost as if it were a festival: “I want to see you, I really do!”

His arm was hugged again. He had never paid attention to that soft feeling before, but after being hugged tightly by Nagu several times, Hamoyin felt slightly shaken. After being hugged, Nagu always spoke to him in a very dependent voice, calling his name. He didn’t dislike it; in fact, he was starting to get used to this natural contact.

At this moment, the girl was excitedly shaking his arm. Hamoyin also felt vaguely happy, though his face still showed no expression: “If Duogaluo asks about us, just say I saved you…”

“I know, I know. Just say you saved me, and I was very grateful and wanted to repay you. That’s the right way to say it, right?” Nagu was familiar with this kind of lie, and since Duogaluo trusted and cared for Hamoyin, he wouldn’t suspect anything. It was perfect.

Hamoyin nodded: “I’ll take you to the village entrance, and I’ll come again tomorrow.”

“You’re not coming into the village with me?” As soon as she said it, Nagu felt she was being too clingy, but she couldn’t help herself. Hamoyin was the only comforting presence in this dreadful place. “Can’t you stay with me a bit longer? And you’re covered in blood. It would be good to find a place to wash up before you leave. There’s a river near the village.”

“I’ll come tomorrow.”

“Just for a while, just for a while…”

“…”

“Hamoyin…”

“Alright.”

Chapter 34: Proposal

He shouldn’t have followed her here. As Hamoyin sat by the river and took off his blood-soaked clothes, he began to regret it.

“You’re only washing your arms. Come over here, sit in the water, and I’ll help you wash your back, too.”

“No, I’ll do it myself.”

“But the blood has dried in the gaps between the scales on your back. You can’t clean it properly by yourself.”

“I…”

“Come sit in the water, and I’ll help you wash!”

Nagu stood in the shallow water, pulling the hesitant Hamoyin. Her legs were also covered in monster blood, so she took the opportunity to soak in the water as well. The weather was scorching at this time of year, so it didn’t feel cold even when immersed in the river water. “Are you afraid of water? That can’t be.”

“I am not afraid of water.”

“Then come over here. I’ll help you scrub your back.” Nagu gently pulled the hesitant Hamoyin towards the deeper part of the water and sat him down. “It’ll be done soon.”

“Oh…” Hamoyin looked down at the water, seeing his reflection distorted by the ripples. He looked almost human, except for his eyes.

Was Nagu being so kind and relaxed around him because of his human-like appearance? But now she was facing the ugly scales on his back, using her soft hands to clean the dried blood between them.

“Does it hurt when I dig into the gaps between your scales?” Nagu, kneeling in the water, carefully lifted one of Hamoyin’s scales a little to clean the blood trapped underneath.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Really? How about this?” Nagu cautiously lifted the scale a bit higher, just enough to fit her pinky finger and wipe away the blood.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

As soon as he said it didn’t hurt, Hamoyin felt a strange sensation at the base of his scales, like being petted.

“!!”

“What’s wrong?!” Nagu was startled by Hamoyin’s intense reaction and quickly withdrew her hand. “Did I hurt you?”

At this moment, the scales on Hamoyin’s back stood up like some birds’ feathers as if stimulated. His eyes were wide open, a look Nagu had never seen before.

“It’s not… pain. I didn’t feel pain.”

“Then what is it?” Nagu asked anxiously, but by then, Hamoyin’s scales had settled back down. “Does it make you uncomfortable when I do that?”

Hamoyin felt a bit embarrassed. He couldn’t just tell Nagu that being touched at the base of his scales felt oddly pleasant…

“It’s nothing.” Hamoyin shook his head to reassure Nagu. “It’s not pain or discomfort.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Nagu sighed in relief and placed her hand back on Hamoyin’s back. “Can you spread your scales like before? It would make cleaning easier.”

“It’s an instinctive reaction.”

“Alright then…” Nagu could only lift his scales again with her hand. “I’ll continue doing this, okay? You’re sure it won’t hurt, right?”

“Mm.”

The cool river water slowly washed over their bodies as they soaked in it. Nagu was focused on cleaning Hamoyin’s scales, while Hamoyin, enjoying the care, half-closed his eyes. Every time the girl’s fingers brushed the base of his scales, he had to suppress a shiver.

Nagu naturally didn’t notice Hamoyin’s hidden discomfort. She just kept marveling at how well the scales on his back had recovered. The cleaned peacock-green scales shone like neatly arranged gems in the sunlight, dazzling Nagu’s eyes. “So beautiful…”

Hamoyin was still immersed in the comfort brought by the touch. He lazily responded with a hum, asking what Nagu found so beautiful.

“The scales, they’re sparkling like gems.”

“…”

Why does she find those things beautiful? Puzzled, Hamoyin even woke up from his drowsy state. “Nagu.”

“Mm? What’s wrong?” The girl, called by name, stopped wiping and turned to look at Hamoyin’s profile. “Is something the matter?”

“No, nothing.” The words that reached Hamoyin’s lips were swallowed back. To be honest, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to ask. He had just wanted to ask Nagu if she really couldn’t remember anything from when the monster imprisoned her, but what would that achieve? Stirring up her memories of the past?

But he was really curious.

“What the hell is going on? Are you going to ask me something?” Nagu looked at Hamoyin, who was about to speak. “Just ask, I’ll answer it.”

“I just want to say I’m a little sleepy…” Hamoyin changed the topic. “How much is left to wash on my back?”

“Just below the waist.” Saying this, Nagu lowered her head to look through the water at Hamoyin’s waist and hips. He was still wearing those tattered pants, and the scales on his back extended into his pants. It wasn’t that Nagu wanted to think about it, but seeing Hamoyin’s butt made her automatically think that there should have been a long tail there.

What a pity. Nagu sighed, and cutting off the tail must have been so painful. How did he endure it again and again?

“Why are you sighing?” Hamoyin turned his head to look at the girl behind him.

“Because of you.” This time, Nagu spoke very directly. Since she and Hamoyin had plenty of time now, she thought it was time to have a good talk with him. “When I was living at the witch’s house, I saw your tail.”

“…”

Nagu felt Hamoyin’s body stiffen. “Duogaluo also told me that you stay here because you want to become human.”

“Is it strange? Or do you think what I’m doing is ridiculous?” Hamoyin’s tone became a bit stiff. He didn’t expect Nagu to know about this.

“I don’t think that at all!” Nagu hurriedly moved in front of Hamoyin. “How could I find what you’re doing ridiculous? I was just thinking maybe I could help you with something, if there’s really a way to turn you into a human.”

Although Nagu thinks he’s pretty good as he is now.

“You don’t need to do this for me.” Hamoyin avoided Nagu’s eager gaze and once again tasted the feeling of embarrassment. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“How can it have nothing to do with me? Didn’t you come specifically to save me today? Should I have told you you didn’t need to save me?” Nagu grabbed Hamoyin’s hand at the bottom of the water, feeling its coldness. “Or do you hate me? Is that why you don’t want me to know about your matters…”

I hate you, should he say that so Nagu would stop caring about him?

Hamoyin felt a tightness in his chest, and it worsened when he met Nagu’s eyes. “I… don’t… hate you… it’s just…” At this point, Hamoyin noticed that Nagu’s eyes were shining like a lit brazier, and that gaze made the second half of his sentence, ‘I just don’t want you to meddle in my affairs,’ get stuck in his throat.

Then, Hamoyin finally realized he might not be able to refuse any of Nagu’s suggestions.