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Chapter 65
Every hair ‌on my body stood on end.
The ‌‌‌‌last time I'd seen it, it was only the size of a finger, but then it had grown to the size of a fist—and now it seemed to have grown even larger than that.
"What is this, Margaret? ‌‌‌Doesn't it look like that thing? The one we saw at the Cliff?"
Kaiden furrowed his brow and crouched down to examine the egg.
"It... it really does seem to be growing."
"What?"
"And it keeps following me around."
"This...?"
Kaiden's expression turned skeptical as he alternated his gaze ‌‌‌between me and the egg.
"Though ‌‌‌‌it is strange that something we left in the ‌‌‌‌Forest was found in front of the Cliff."
"But what if this really is a Monster?" ‌‌‌
Upon hearing my words, Kaiden fell into contemplation, his eyes fixed on the silver egg.
"It's ominous. We should dispose of it."
As Kaiden reached out to touch the ‌‌egg, I hastily grabbed his wrist.
He looked ‌‌‌at ‌‌me with a puzzled expression. ‌‌
"I'll do it. What if you ‌‌get hurt?"
Kaiden withdrew his hand with a look of acceptance. Sure enough, I ‌‌‌saw black smoke beginning to seep from the egg before dissipating with a soft hiss.
Kaiden flinched and stared at the egg.
"Still, be careful, Margaret."
At his warning, I nodded and carefully picked up the egg.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. It's just... the egg is quite warm."
I examined the egg from every angle once more. Why did it keep growing? How much larger would ‌‌‌it become?
"It really does seem to be a Monster. For an egg that was once only finger-sized to grow this much... something feels wrong about it."
Kaiden nodded at my words.
"Let's dispose of it far away from here."
I nodded and followed him deep into the Forest, far from where we slept, and set ‌‌‌the egg down before returning.
Then we settled quietly beneath the Tree Roots and attempted to sleep.
I had moved toward the inner wall while Kaiden lay near the entrance, but the space was so cramped ‌‌‌‌that we had no choice but to press ourselves tightly together as we drifted off.
I was shifting uncomfortably in the confined space.
A thick arm wrapped around my waist. ‌‌‌‌Against my back, I felt the warmth and firmness of his embrace.
Startled, I stiffened ‌‌and ‌‌‌‌turned my head, only to find Kaiden's crimson eyes in my line of sight.
"You seemed uncomfortable. I thought this would be better. It's cramped, after all."
He spoke in a ‌‌flat, matter-of-fact tone, his expression betraying no ulterior motive.
I blinked blankly in his ‌‌embrace. Kaiden truly seemed to have no hidden intentions, and if I pushed him away now, it would create an ‌‌awkward situation.
Besides, in this narrow space beneath the Tree Roots, being held like this actually made it easier to fall asleep.
I ultimately offered no resistance and closed ‌my eyes, nestled in his arms.
Then, breaking the silence, Kaiden spoke again.
"Margaret. Don't you think it would be fine if we just stayed like this, the two of us?"
He whispered the question to me, his voice barely audible against my ear.
I rested my face against his chest and drew my neck back slightly before carefully lifting ‌‌my head.
My gaze met Kaiden's crimson eyes once more. He looked down at me with an uncharacteristic gentleness in his voice.
"Would you leave with just me?"
Enoch had made me the same proposal before. To leave together, just the two of us. Like in the beginning.
"...Even if we left together, it would be meaningless without ‌‌‌‌the key the Holy Maiden possesses."
Besides, ‌Kaiden's backpack in the Cabin contained a survival kit—medicines and spare explosives—which we absolutely needed to retrieve.
Rather than answering whether I wanted ‌‌‌to leave with him or not, I considered the practical reality of our situation.
His crimson eyes, fixed upon me, narrowed as if gauging my true thoughts.
"Your mind only ever thinks about survival, doesn't it?"
"What else am I supposed to think about in a situation like this?"
At my question, Kaiden's eyes widened for a moment before he burst into laughter. Nestled against his chest as I was, I felt every rise and fall of his body with the tremor of ‌‌‌his mirth.
After a long moment, his laughter subsided, and Kaiden gazed down at me with ‌‌‌‌a pleased smile. His face was dangerously close to mine.
"Well, that's fine. Just stay exactly as you are and never change."
He gently pulled me closer, holding me tight. Then he rested his chin against my head and spoke.
"After all, you'd give the same answer to anyone else anyway."
I said nothing, only nodding slightly at his words.
His body trembled softly. He was laughing quietly.
"That's enough for me."
Of course, I had ‌‌no idea what he meant, and could only blink while held in his embrace.
What on earth did he mean by that?
14. A Silver Egg Found by Chance
When I opened my eyes, I was still cradled in ‌‌‌Kaiden's arms.
With our bodies pressed together, our shared warmth kept us from waking in shivers.
I gazed quietly at Kaiden's childlike face as he slept peacefully, oblivious to the world.
His sleeping face was truly angelic.
If only the madness would leave his eyes.
I carefully raised myself and crept ‌‌‌out from the Tree Roots. Then I sat quietly at the entrance and stared blankly up at the sky.
Dawn was breaking.
Rustle.
And then, something moved nearby with a distinct sound.
I drew the short blade from Kaiden's waist and glanced around nervously. My shoulders stiffened with tension.
Though I thought no Monsters would appear with the sun rising, they had appeared at dusk before. One could never be too careful.
Then ‌‌I spotted a silvery, spherical object moving through the grass, and my shoulders sagged in defeat. ‌‌
"Sigh... It's you again? I'm getting tired of this."
It was a lustrous silver egg with a smooth, polished surface.
Now I was certain. This thing was definitely following me.
But how could a perfectly round egg with no eyes, nose, or mouth possibly chase after me like this?
Without knowing what kind of creature it was, I couldn't determine whether it was harmless or a threat to us.
I was crouching before the egg, resting my chin in my hand and observing it, when something happened.
Tap.
Tap.
Cracks began spreading across the silver egg. It was hatching.
"What the...?" ‌
I was so startled that I couldn't move, merely staring at the egg as it cracked, utterly mesmerized.
Tap-tap-tap.
The top of the egg cracked open with a sharp sound, and something writhed inside. ‌
Damn it, writhed? Squirmed?
When I saw ‌‌the sleek, glistening creature pushing its head through the broken shell, I let out a shriek and tumbled backward.
"Ahhh! A snake, a snake, a snake...!"
"What's wrong!"
Startled awake by my scream, Kaiden approached me with a drowsy expression and pulled me into an embrace.
"You scared me."
Kaiden rubbed his eyes ‌‌‌‌‌and buried his face against my shoulder.
"Let's refrain from unnecessary physical contact."
I pushed him away and issued the warning before turning my attention back to the hatchling snake emerging from the egg.
Luxurious silver scales gleamed between the shell fragments. After squirming for a while, it cautiously poked its head out.
"Eek!"
I nearly screamed and tumbled backward again in ‌‌‌shock, but Kaiden easily caught my shoulder once more.
Apparently startled by my shriek as well, the creature flinched and hastily ‌‌retreated its head back into the shell.
After hiding inside the shell for a while, ‌‌‌‌it carefully poked its head back out again after some time had passed.
The moment ‌‌our eyes met again, it startled and retreated back into the shell.
'This worm-like thing is even more timid than I ‌‌am.'
I watched the creature repeatedly poke its head out and hide, gradually calming my racing heart.
"It doesn't seem to be a Monster."
How could I be certain whether it was a Monster ‌‌‌or not?
I quietly retreated and hid behind Kaiden's ‌‌‌back, peeking out just enough ‌‌to observe the snake. The moment our eyes met, it flinched again.
The creature nervously glanced around before crawling behind the shell, hiding its body just as I had.
Kaiden folded his arms and alternated his gaze between me and the snake.
"What are you two doing?"
"Being shy."
"With a snake?" ‌
"Yes."
At my response, Kaiden turned to look at me with an amused laugh. His eyes seemed to be dripping with honey, as if he found me adorable.
It was nice to be ‌‌‌‌seen as cute, but I wished someone would do something about that snake too.
"It really does just seem like a regular snake, doesn't it?"
At my question, ‌‌‌Kaiden observed the creature intently once more.
"Yeah. It doesn't ‌look like a Monster."
Come to think of it, even when it was an egg, ‌‌‌‌‌hadn't it followed me around uncannily? Could anything ‌‌‌other than a Monster do something like that...?
As time passed and fear faded, the creature slowly pulled its body out from between the shell fragments.
I watched the creature and muttered quietly to myself. ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌
"If it were just a snake and not a Monster, I'd catch it for food."
"Huh? Why?"
Kaiden asked me with a genuinely puzzled expression.
"The protein content is incredible. I'm starving right now."
The moment my words left my lips, the creature startled and began thrashing about frantically behind its eggshell, making quite a commotion.
It truly seemed as ‌‌‌though it understood human ‌speech.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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