The Cat
A short, intense moment passed.
After the kiss ended, Arwen looked at him with a bright smile. The sudden, unexpected advance left Woojin deeply flustered.
"…Hey. You can't do that."
"Why? Do you not like me?"
"I do like you."
But this wasn't something that could simply end at liking someone.
Just as he was about to say that, Arwen lowered her head again. The act that had just ended entered overtime. For some reason, it felt hard to refuse.
A sweet, cloying atmosphere filled the air.
…Did she use her charm ability?
That wasn't something he could ignore. Woojin pulled back first and spoke reproachfully.
"Arwen. Why did you use charm on me?"
"You never told me not to. And besides, charm doesn't work on you anyway, Jin."
Woojin had strong resistance to mental attacks. Even if Arwen used her pheromone-based charm ability, it normally had no effect on him.
At least, that used to be the case.
But now the charm ability had begun to work. Why had that changed?
"Charm pheromones become much stronger when used on someone who already has feelings for me. So that means you like me too, Jin."
Over the years, Woojin and Arwen had traveled together and grown close. Because of that bond, her charm pheromones had begun to have a meaningful effect.
Woojin sighed.
"…Claire's going to beat me to death."
Cheating while already having a lover would inevitably bring consequences. It might even destroy the relationship he valued most.
Arwen, however, answered with a smile.
"Jin, it's okay."
"What is?"
"Claire isn't completely innocent either. Do you remember what happened last time? When there was that accident during the research."
Claire had wanted to study the pixie fairy's abilities.
"Try using your charm ability."
Claire had requested it, and Arwen complied by releasing her charm pheromones—pink light particles drifting from her sleeves.
But at the time, Claire hadn't been greatly affected.
"Arwen, I think you're using the charm pheromones too weakly. Try stronger."
"Alright. How about now?"
"Hmm… I'm not sure."
Stronger.
Gradually, Arwen increased the concentration of the pheromones. At some point it almost turned into a matter of pride.
Finally, Arwen released the pheromones with full force.
"Now it's working, right?"
Claire stood silently.
Suddenly, the room fell quiet. The atmosphere became strange.
Arwen spoke cautiously.
"Um… are you okay?"
Claire slowly lifted her head.
A faint pink glow flickered in her eyes.
Arwen instinctively stepped back.
A chill ran down her spine.
"S-Stop right there."
But Claire didn't listen.
Blinded by the charm, the mage lunged forward.
In short…
"Claire ended up pouncing on me that time. So technically she cheated first."
"..."
In the past, Claire had pounced on Arwen. Today, Arwen had pounced on Woojin.
By that logic, it was mutual fault.
The reasoning made Woojin's head spin—and Arwen wasn't done yet.
"But… it wasn't bad."
"…What?"
"When Claire pounced on me. It didn't feel bad at all. Actually, it felt nice. And that's when I realized something."
Arwen spoke cheerfully.
"If I just take both of you for myself… wouldn't there be no problem at all?"
Let the three of them love each other together.
At that proposal, Woojin stared blankly.
…What was he supposed to say?
Arwen's triangular relationship theory was far beyond him—like a romantic concept centuries ahead of its time.
While Woojin sat there looking broken—
"It's late. Should we head back?"
"…Y-Yeah."
He would think about it later.
***
Normally, given enough time, one could organize their thoughts and reach a conclusion.
But this case was different.
I have no idea.
This wasn't a problem he could solve alone. In the end, Woojin gave up and went to sleep.
The next morning.
Feeling someone's gaze, Woojin opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Coco the squirrel's face. Coco had woken up first and was sitting by his head.
"Have you been doing well?"
"Squeak!"
Coco bounced excitedly in place, clearly happy to see him again.
Woojin looked around.
Arwen's still asleep.
Lying across from him, Arwen was still deep in dreamland. She had said she hadn't slept well recently—apparently the fatigue had built up.
Thanks to the good rest, Arwen's complexion had already improved noticeably. With a little more rest, she would likely return to normal.
She should eat something warm.
Maybe stew.
He fed more firewood into the dying campfire to strengthen the flames, then rummaged through the baggage and took out dried vegetables and meat.
While he was doing that—
Coco suddenly pushed its head toward him, as if it still hadn't satisfied its need for attention.
Woojin patted the little creature's head and pulled out a bunch of green grapes from the bag—a snack he had taken from the ruins.
"Here. Eat."
"Squeak!"
Coco happily accepted the grapes, grabbing one in its tiny paws.
Crunch, crunch—
The silver squirrel chewed the grape noisily. Hearing the sound, Manta slowly lifted its head.
Where's mine?
The manticore looked at him as if asking that question.
Woojin chuckled and rummaged through the bag again, soon pulling out a large pork hind leg.
"Here."
"Grrr!"
Manta eagerly began gnawing on the meat, its lion tail swishing happily from side to side.
Compared to Manta's massive size, the meat wasn't much.
I'll have to bring more later.
They hadn't been able to take much food when leaving the ruins in a hurry. It might be a good idea to ask the Magic Tower Master for more supplies.
Thinking that, Woojin continued cooking.
He cut the dried meat and vegetables into appropriate pieces, soaked them in water, and tossed them into a large pot to boil.
The pot soon bubbled pleasantly.
Woojin tasted it occasionally and added salt and spices.
As the delicious smell spread—
Perhaps drawn by the aroma, Arwen woke up and slowly sat up. Still tired, she rubbed her eyes and yawned.
"Go back to sleep. The stew will take a while to finish."
"I can't do that…"
Apparently unwilling to let Woojin do all the work alone, Arwen began wiping the bowls with a damp cloth.
After neatly arranging the dishes, she took a ladle and stirred the stew to keep the ingredients from burning at the bottom.
Before long, the meal was ready.
Woojin ate the stew from his bowl while chatting casually with Arwen.
"I'm going back to the ruins later."
"You must have something to do there. How were the ruins?"
"More useful than I expected. It's interesting to explore, and there are a lot of valuable relics."
Arwen nodded.
"I've heard that ruins from the forgotten age contain incredible things. The Dark Priests often investigated ruins under His command."
"Really?"
That was a concerning remark.
Just like the modern Church Alliance studied ruins, the Dark Priests had also been collecting the power, knowledge, and artifacts hidden within them.
"The 'Paradise' place you mentioned before—it sounds like the Dark Priests' main base. Do you remember how large their forces were?"
"I'm not sure. Female fairies mostly handled supportive duties."
The Dark Priests' armies and defensive facilities weren't things she had much contact with.
Unfortunately, Arwen didn't seem to know much.
But one thing was certain—
"Their forces aren't small. The Dark Priests' army is there, and troops from allied factions are stationed there too."
It wouldn't be easy to conquer.
Based on the memories she had recently regained, Arwen shared as much information as possible. Woojin listened carefully while eating his stew.
After finishing the meal, Woojin stood up and immediately began preparing to leave.
"Wait here for a bit. I'll be back before noon."
"Isn't that a bit rushed?"
The ruins were far away. It would take a fair amount of time just to go there and return.
At her concern, Woojin grinned.
"Come with me. I've got something I want to show off."
He led Arwen, Coco, and Manta outside the cave. When he infused mana into his wrist, the silver snakes that had been sleeping lifted their heads.
Seeing them, Arwen flinched.
"W-What is that? Is it alive?"
"It's a kind of construct."
"That's fascinating. What can it do?"
He had been planning to show her anyway. Woojin slowly drew up mana as if starting an engine.
Tick, tick!
The gaps between the snake scales opened. Crimson light particles leaked from between them, gathering together as he shaped them into a board.
A skyboard.
As Woojin stepped onto it, the board slowly began to rise into the air.
"Jin?! What is that?!"
"Squeak—?!"
Voices of alarm rose from below. Arwen and Coco were completely caught off guard.
Woojin waved with a grin.
"See you later!"
Fwoooosh—!
The air tore apart with a sharp sound as the board carrying Woojin shot forward.
The speed was tremendous. In the blink of an eye he had flown far away, his figure shrinking until it disappeared completely.
Arwen murmured to herself.
"Wow… he's gotten even more incredible in such a short time."
At this point, she wasn't even surprised anymore.
***
It didn't take long to reach the destination.
After stopping the board near the ruins, Woojin went straight to find Claire.
Claire looked puzzled.
"You're back early."
"Well… there's something I want to talk about."
"What is it?"
Where should he even begin explaining?
While Woojin hesitated, the perceptive Claire quickly guessed the reason.
"Did Arwen confess to you?"
"…How did you know?"
"You look like someone bracing for punishment. Just like the first time you came to talk to me."
Claire smiled and continued.
"Jin, do you like cats?"
A rather sudden question. Woojin thought for a moment before answering.
"I don't dislike them. They're cute."
"Then do you know that cats care a lot about their territory?"
"I've heard that."
Felines are extremely territorial. That's why stray cats often fight each other.
At that point Claire asked another question.
"If those cats had an owner, what do you think would happen? The owner has only one body, but several cats all want that owner's affection."
"Well…"
It was something he had never considered before.
After thinking for a moment, Woojin answered.
"Wouldn't the strongest cat try to monopolize the owner?"
"A good guess, but that's not the answer."
Fighting forever is exhausting.
When cats discover a territory they absolutely refuse to give up, they eventually reach an agreement.
"They divide the time. Early morning belongs to the brown cat, midday to the white cat, evening to the black cat… they take turns spending time with their owner."
Fair affection.
Only when that exists can peace come among the cats.
After explaining that, Claire added,
"Arwen and I are the same. We've already agreed and respected each other's time."
Because of that, depending on the situation, Arwen and Claire had quietly stepped aside to give Woojin time with the other.
Suddenly, past moments came to Woojin's mind.
"I'll take care of Manta, so you and Claire should go explore the city."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I've already been here once before."
Whenever they arrived in Arwen's homeland city, she would say that and step aside.
The reverse had happened as well.
"I'm going outside for a bit."
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah. I want to check on Arwen and Coco. Want to come?"
"I'd feel bad leaving my master alone. I'll stay here."
After the trial of the ruins ended, Claire had stepped aside so Woojin and Arwen could spend time together.
Back then he hadn't thought much about it… but the two of them had been yielding to each other like that all along.
"…I guess I've been pretty oblivious."
"It would've been strange if you noticed. We intentionally didn't make it obvious because we thought it might bother you."
In any case, the conclusion was—
"It's fine if Arwen becomes your lover too. Just like now, Arwen and I will continue taking turns."
As long as everyone respected each other's territory.
Claire accepted the reality without hesitation. In truth, it was something she had already expected.
"Do you have anything else you want to say?"
"I do… but it's a bit complicated."
"Then let's talk later. I'm very busy right now with research."
The mages were currently overwhelmed analyzing the ancient tome they had recently discovered.
"Guess I'll come back later."
After exchanging brief farewells, Woojin turned to leave—
"…Ah, I almost forgot something."
"Oh right!"
Claire approached him with a bright smile, apparently remembering something she had meant to say.
"One last thing you need to promise me."
"What is it?"
"Lower your head."
He did as she asked.
Suddenly—
Claire grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him firmly.
Then she whispered,
"I'm the first one. Never forget that."
She emphasized the words never forget.
Her eyes were fierce, almost like a tiger's.
"…Okay."
Woojin nodded instinctively.
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