* * *

It was late at night, and it was quiet outside. The gentle waves occasionally lapped at the hull, but there were no signs of strenuous sailing to wake the sleeping crew.

At this time, one should be able to get out without getting caught.

“Lydon, wake up”

Cadel shook the sleeping Lydon, who was curled up next to his pillow in the form of a small fairy. He stirred as if the touch bothered him, then slowly rubbed his eyes and raised his upper body.

“Uh umm……. Why are you waking me, Cadel…….”

“Let’s get out of bed. Let’s go see the sea.”

“……Sea?”

Lydon’s half-closed eyes snapped open. In one swift motion, he flew into Cadel’s arms.

Even though the sea he was looking forward to was fishy, the sun had already set and he couldn’t see its true colors, the sea was still the sea. It was still a place he hadn’t seen before, so the anticipation was still there.

Cautiously, Cadel opened the cabin door and stepped out. There might be a helmsman at the stern, so he moved to the end of the ship.

After glancing around, again and again, to make sure no one was there, Cadel lifted his robes and whispered.

“You can come out.”

Quickly slipping through the robes, Lydon spreads his wings with all his might. He then gained altitude. His glowing red eyes hardened as his gaze took in the sea before him.

“Well, it’s a little cloudy. But the moon is shining just right……. What do you think? The night sea is quite popular among humans. It’s got its own charm.”

A shallow breath escaped Lydon’s slightly open mouth. His gaze shifted slightly as if he were engraving the seascape, and then he caught a glimpse of the calm waves lapping against the cool moonlight.

The constant repetition of the waves lapped at his ears like a musical instrument. The fishy odor that had been bothering him all this time had turned into a cool breeze that was refreshing on his skin.

“This is…….”

Anticipation became admiration, and admiration became excitement. The culmination of his euphoria left a lasting impression as if a firecracker had been set off in his head.

Lydon sucked in a breath, then plunged downward. There was no time to stop him. He plummeted downward, plunging into the water.

“This crazy punk……! Lydon!”

Panicked, Cadel quickly grasped the railing and peered down, but it was impossible to spot a single fairy in the murky waters. As he scanned the surface of the water in disbelief, a familiar head came into view.

Lydon, now in human form, waved to Cadel with a smile on his face.

“Ahaha! Cadel, the seawater is so salty! I only drank a little, but it made me feel sick!”

“You lunatic! Do you want to get run over by the boat? Get up here before someone sees you!”

“Wow, it’s cold. Where does it end? How far is the sea? It’s dark, I can’t see what’s down there, where are the fish?”

Lydon had always been a bit of a screw-up, but his excitement was uncontrollable. Words failed to get through to him, and he was too busy listing the emotions he felt and the questions that came to mind. Often, he was glad to be reminded that he hadn’t forgotten Cadel.

Cadel tried everything he could to pull Lydon out of the water, but eventually, he had no choice but to surrender.

‘I’m sure everyone’s sleeping…… They can’t see it well because it’s dark. There you go. Enjoy. Enjoy.’

Having been confined to the forest for all his life, he saw the ‘sea’ for the first time in his life. Cadel couldn’t even imagine how great the shock Lydon felt.

‘What was my reaction when I first saw the sea?’

He remembered being excited, but he didn’t remember what he had felt. But he did remember swimming through the water like Lydon right now.

“……That’s cute.”

Leaning his upper body over the railing, Cadel muttered involuntarily.

Cute. Cadel never thought he would feel this way about Lydon, even more when they were fighting to the death in the Forest of Enchantment.

But as Cadel watched Lydon periodically rise to the surface and breathe fresh air into his lungs, he realized that Lydon didn’t seem to be tired at all, and he thought it was kind of cute. He must have had a hard adventure.

“Cadel! I caught a fish!”

“……Good job. Don’t pick it up, let it go.”

Cadel smirked as he watched Lydon proudly wave the fish, which he could barely see in the dark.

‘It’s like raising a child.’

* * *

“I can feel the salt in my body. Isn’t it amazing? Cadel, do you want me to tell you what I saw under the sea?”

“You’ve already shown me what you can find.”

“Haha! That was amazing! I wish I could have held my breath longer.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Cadel, straddling the bed with a towel, gently dried Lydon’s hair as he sat on the floor. It would have been nice if Lydon did it himself, but Lydon, still aroused, didn’t even think to wipe off his wet body. At this rate, he was going to make someone else’s bed wet, so Cadel had to take matters into his own hand.

“What does the ocean look like in the morning? What color is it? I want to see it. Show me, Cadel! Okay?”

Lydon tilted his head and looked up at Cadel. His piercing eyes blinked adoringly as if asking for permission.

It was clear that this guy knew what he looked like better than anyone. So he tried to use his handsome face to his advantage.

Glaring at Lydon’s shamelessly innocent face, Cadel pulled the towel over his face.

“For another time. When your seal is broken and you can show yourself to the world. For now, this will do.”

“That’s cheap, Cadel.”

“You just found out?”

When he replied dryly, Lydon pulled back the towel that covered his face. Cadel thought he would have pouted, but there was a mischievous grin on his revealed face.

“That’s okay. I like the sea, but I like the sea with Cadel by my side. I must have a huge crush on Cadel!”

Drawing a quick conclusion, Lydon scrambled to his feet and threw himself on the bed. Cadel, falling backward alongside him in a daze, slapped him on the back as he sprawled beneath Lydon.

“Agh! Hey, you’re heavy……! Move!”

“Yup yup, I like you, Cadel!”

Ignoring the agonized Cadel, Lydon chanted ‘I like you’ over and over again, stamping his lips on Cadel’s head, forehead, cheeks, and the bridge of his nose. Cadel pushed Lydon away, but he wouldn’t budge, and Cadel couldn’t use magic, so he was helpless. Besides.

「Knight ‘Lydon’ ’s favorability increased by 5.」

「Current favorability: 60/100」

It also raised the level of favorability generously. It was still a good thing, but what would happen if it got higher than this? It was scary, but considering the loyalty that rose along with the favorability, it was nothing to blindly push away. That was right, Lydon was the guy who complained about him being a boring commander not too long ago. The loss of Lumen was bad enough, but Cadel couldn’t afford to lose Lydon.

Cadel, who hesitated for a moment, eventually raised the white flag. He didn’t think it would be a bad idea to put up with it.