Hellbents
Chapter 186: Pillowtalk
"You-I mean, I, um, you're not sleeping?" River was still troubled in getting used to thinking that Rina, the girl he had been with for months on the way, was a royal princess.
Ava glanced to the side with her lips pressed thin, slightly grumbling. A glass of alcohol that he stuffed the lip of his bottle with a dry cloth he hid from behind his back. "My mind can't calm down." Although Ava was sure River did not suspect her, the girl still relaxed her back, staring in the warmly dancing bonfire in front of them, trying to look normal.
"Ah, um, you-"
"Be relaxed," the two did not have enough time to chat as they used to even though they were in the palace for a month after the zombie outbreak hit River, "your awkward attitude is more disturbing than your irreverence."
For a few seconds, only the crackling of the firewood that was engulfed by the red jago filled the night. River was stunned, it seemed like it was only this first time that Rina, he meant Eve, uttered a sharp sentence to him. "Oh, um, b-well then."
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
For a moment, a thick silence again surrounded them. Oh, my God, they're so awkward. Ava had to wonder, was this the effect of the social status gap that seemed to slap the man in front of her? That's why River so much more hesitant to chat with Ava? ... Or did River who had already moved his late sister's projection from Ava to Siwon now have no interest in establishing a relationship with him?
... Ugh. It was like a needle piercing the corner of his heart.
However, in contrast to the paranoid voice that infected Ava's anxious thoughts, River was only afraid of offending the girl who was cupped fragile with a lonely expression in the face that was illuminated by the campfire light. So, River carefully began, "Every time you can't sleep, don't you always listen to the artifacts that put out the music?"
Ava blinked, confused. Not so often he calmed himself from insomnia with jazz lofi to the extent that River could find out the habit, but the next sentence was even more confusing. "You're always on your back straight, wrapped around your stomach with both hands as if you were hugging yourself, and breathing long."
... Ava wasn't even aware of it. "If you have a problem you want to talk about, I'm always willing," River ended his statement with a gentle, thin smile.
"Your attention is more intense than I imagined."
River caught the hidden intent that was accidentally tucked away from the array he said. "No! Not like that! I mean--!" the man immediately panicked, explaining his innocence with red-hued cheeks that seemed to be burning.
"Ah, I don't mean that!" River's shy hue crept to the neck.
"Right, she's engaged."
The two jumped, immediately turning to the origin of the voice. Ellija.
Asta-May lowering her sense output by 1% is not the best idea Ava thought.
Since when did he listen?
...
...
"Um, you all haven't slept?" Keno may have woken up in the midst of a River panic that was louder than it should have been, cutting the silence between the three people who seemed to be involved in the affair scandal.
Ava said, "I made something."
The fire-thrending man gave a curious look, "I don't think there is any material that can be used to make artifacts."
"No, not a complex item like an artifact."
Ava finally took pride in placing a bottle of alcohol with her lips stuffed with cloth. "Simple artificial weapons that will help us fight the venus king tomorrow. Molotov."