Chapter 326

“Oh. Good.”
Marja stretched as she awoke. The early morning light gently caressed her naked body, and Asel, who had fallen asleep in her arms, opened his eyes.
“Marja—, are you awake?”
“Yep. Good morning.”
Marja laughed. The sphere that had imprisoned the old man, the Four Heavenly Kings of Fukuma, was still floating on the lake.
Around him were countless huge pits. Asel had pulled up the earth and trees to make the sphere. Good thing he did it in a place like this. Giggling, Marja looked back at Asel.
“After all, people should exercise before bed, don’t you think?”
“Ooohhhh—”
Asel inclined his head in answer. Unlike Marja, whose face was still glowing, he was visibly emaciated. Her white body was covered in mosquito bites.
“Hmmm. At least you didn’t leave much yesterday.”
Marja smirked. It was always a conquering sight. Her brow narrowed at the sight of Asel’s confusion.
“But your answer doesn’t sound cool. Did you not like it?”
“Oh, no, that was great, but next time, be a little more—that—.”
Asel bit her lower lip. He couldn’t bring himself to ask her to be gentle with him. He’d been taken advantage of since the first time they’d made love, but he still had his manly pride. He glanced up at Marja and opened his mouth to speak.
“Hey, put your clothes on first, you’re going to catch a cold.”
“Oh. Sure.”
Marja nodded. She hummed and began to pull on her haphazardly thrown-on underwear. Asel blushed as he suddenly remembered last night. The grass where they’d lain was a messy tangle.
“Hey, is this right—.
I couldn’t be happier, but they were too frequent. The intervals were getting shorter and shorter. It was also a big problem that whenever and wherever there were not enough people, it was a big problem.
“When you asked me, ‘What if someone hears you,’ I said, ‘What if—what if someone hears you.
It was a beast. A serious conversation seemed necessary if they were to have a happy future. Gathering his courage, Asel was about to say something. Suddenly, the lake ripped open, revealing the head of a giant salamander.
“What, what?!”
“Danger!”
The same salamander that had been manipulated by the Bokmajeon. Marja’s shoulders jerked in surprise. Reflexively, Asel jumped in front of her, deploying a shield. A translucent force field enveloped them both.
“Asel.”
Marja sucked in a breath. Asel’s expression had turned ferociously serious after yesterday’s events. Five or six sharp ice spikes formed around him, as if ready to sting at a moment’s notice. The salamander shook its head.
“Nuo?”
“—Are you trying to attack me?”
Asel narrowed his eyes. Contrary to his expectations, the salamander was doing nothing but staring at the two of them. Its eyes, ridiculously small for its face, were blinking slowly.
“Joe, I think it’s kind of cute.”
“Shhh. You never know when they’ll attack.”
Asel was on high alert. The tense confrontation continued for a while. TET! The disgusted salamander spat something out.
“That’s—!”
Asel’s eyes widened. A shimmering sphere was flying toward him in a parabolic arc. Asel stretched out his arm in panic. An invisible hand grabbed the sphere from the salamander’s mouth.
The sphere, no larger than a man’s torso, was opaque as a pearl. Asel’s shoulders slumped as he studied the sphere. An enormous amount of mana was pulsating inside.
“This, this!”
Beside her, Marja’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. If her memory was not mistaken, this was the treasure called the inner circle.
A mass of chi held by a spirit, hardened by hundreds or thousands of years. It was one of the things Marja wanted to make sure she got her hands on in the New World.
“It must be Nathan, what luck—.”
“Why are you giving us this—.”
In a way, he had repaid her for saving him. Asel withdrew the ice spike. Marja waved her arms in the air in gratitude.
“Thank you and be well!”
The salamander smirked and dived back into the water. As its fat tail disappeared beneath the surface, a spray of water shot high into the air. Chaaaahhh–a rainbow formed in the sunlight as the lake water splashed down like a downpour.
“Wow.”
It was a beautiful sight. Birds frolicked on the lake, the turbidity of the festival gone. The morning breeze, still cool, ruffled their hair pleasantly.
They stared at the shore of the lake long after the water ran out. The rainbow was beginning to fade. Marja glanced at Asel and spoke up.
“There. Asel.”
“Yes.”
“Are we going to get married?”
“Sounds good——?”
Asel’s eyes widened. He must have misheard. Stunned, he stammered, “What?
“Uh–what?”
“Let’s get married. I’ll make you happy.”
“Tsk, tsk, marriage, all of a sudden?”
“Yes.”
Marja nodded. Asel stood there, mouth agape, unable to speak. Her eyes narrowed, and she shook her head.
“Why. No?”
“Oh, no, I don’t mind at all, but it’s just so abrupt that—.”
“You’ve been sleeping with me for over a year and all of a sudden, you’re just going to have fun and then leave? You have feelings for another woman or something?”
Marja’s voice suddenly dropped low. Asel gulped as she felt a shiver run down her spine. The rock she was resting her hand on was cracking open.
“What? Do you have feelings for another woman?”
“Oh, no, I wouldn’t do that, it’s only Marja and you!”
“It must be real.”
“I swear to the heavens! I could put my wizard’s honor on the line!”
Asel cried out desperately, his life slipping away. Releasing the rock, Marja smirked.
“I’ll believe you. Then marry me.”
“After all, that’s the way to—! Go, why did you suddenly think of that?”
“I just saw a rainbow and I knew we could make each other happy, and my instincts are never wrong.”
Marja swept a hand through her hair. The damp blonde glistened brilliantly as she cupped her chest and spoke.
“And it pains me to say this, but honestly, I’m pretty good looking and in good shape, and it’s not something you see everywhere, especially not like this.”
Asel’s face flushed. He averted his gaze and slowly stammered, “If she’s right, that hideous thing might be even rarer than the inner circle of the spirit.
“Well, that’s because—.”
“Yeah. It’s perfect. What’s wrong with you that you’re leaving it out?”
“I didn’t subtract, I didn’t subtract, so it’s actually—.”
Asel dragged his horse by the tail. He was too embarrassed to speak. Under Marja’s watchful eye, he whispered in a voice the size of an ant.
“Pfft, I wanted to propose—.”
Asel covered his face with both palms. His ears, which were sticking out, were red as hot iron. He had planned a wonderful proposal, but it had all gone to waste.
“—ha.”
Marja laughed in vain. She washed her face, flushed red again.
Adorable was criminal at this point. What the hell am I supposed to do with him? She looked around, then spoke up.
“Take it off.”
“—Huh?”
“Take it off. Or do you want me to take it off this time?”
Asel removed his palm from his face. Marja was already stripping off his clothes. He cried out, white as a sheet.
“Go, why all of a sudden!”
“Honestly, it’s your fault, it’s greed to say something like that and hope nothing happens, and you should put a stamp on it, I’m too insecure to do that.”
“Do, stamp?”
Marja nodded. Her eyes scanned him up and down, her gaze several times as sticky as usual. Asel raised an eyebrow, understanding what she meant.
“Oh, you want to have kids?!”
“Yeah. Should I be surprised? My mom had me around this time of year, too.”
“It’s not that, it’s not that, we’re not even married yet—and you’re a nobleman!”
Asel stammered. As he had said, Marja was no longer a common citizen, but a noblewoman-a countess who ruled Armalen, one of the most fertile provinces in the empire.
Surely in a few years he would be one of the most powerful men on the continent. And considering the implications of a royal or noble marriage, it was a ridiculous idea. Of course, Marja didn’t care.
“What’s wrong with being a nobleman. You can be a noble, too. Besides, Ronan and Adeshan were speeding, too.”
“Well, those two are a little unusual—!”
“Hah–I’m not sure you’re worthy of being the next Archmage, and you’re not in a position to worry about me, so stop it. Asel.”
Marja broke free of the collar and rushed toward him. Asel stumbled backward, but with the lake behind him, there was nowhere to run. She hummed, already planning her future.
“It would be perfect if you and I were half and half. Let’s have three or four kids first, because she’ll get bored if she’s alone. You have a big house and it’s nice and crowded.”
“Oh, no, Marja, now I really can’t—.”
This was a different matter from marriage. Her life was in danger. But despite Asel’s tearful pleas, Marja shook her head.
“Don’t worry. You can lie back and watch the clouds, you’ve been doing that a lot lately, haven’t you?”
“That’s so inhumane, I can barely walk properly afterwards—!”
Asel snickered at the thought of what was to come. It was an act of cruelty to say the least. Marja smirked as she kicked a boulder out of the way.
“I’ll pick you up, problem solved.”
“Shhhhhhhh!”
Asel’s scream rang out. Marja jumped on top of him as he fell with a thud of his hips. She was in the middle of unwrapping a package when she snapped her fingers.
“Oh, I forgot, we should probably go to the islands for a while, just the two of us, when we’re done with the Bokmajeon.”
“Go, what does that mean all of a sudden?”
“Schlieffen is challenging Jaifa-sama in a few days. Instructor Nabiroze has already beaten him in the preliminaries. Perhaps a new swordsman will be born.”
Marja said. The news was stunning, but Asel had no time to marvel at it; he was trying to say something to buy time. Marja’s lips covered his.