Instead of answering, Morgana looked around.
‘I don’t see the purple eyes.’
It seemed the monsters had all withdrawn, so she could rest comfortably.
No matter how she looked at it, this didn’t seem threatening in the slightest. It was nothing more than something following Nimue.
Perhaps because she was his master, they even scampered away quickly whenever she approached.
Morgana awkwardly entered the tent and picked up a blanket.
‘I don’t think we even need a night watch…’
While she glanced at Kellive for a moment, she sensed a presence inside the tent.
The hand holding the blanket twitched slightly. With a suspicious look, she peered inside the tent and saw Excalibur, no, Nimue, lying down covered by a blanket.
“I’m ready to sleep, Master.”
“When did you get in here?!”
Wasn’t he just by the campfire a moment ago?
Swallowing her shock, she looked back and forth between the spot where Nimue had been sitting and him lying in the tent as she shouted.
He shamelessly propped his head up with one arm and patted the narrow space beside him.
“What are you doing? Lie down. There’s plenty of room for Master to sleep.”
“You’re really planning to sleep here?”
“We’ve slept in the same bed more than once or twice. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
Just as the flustered Morgana was about to protest…
A firm yet polite voice rang out from behind her.
“If you like the tent, I’ll prepare a separate spot for you elsewhere. So please yield this place to Morgana.”
When she turned her head, Kellive was standing there with his hand on the tent entrance.
Nimue responded indifferently, as if he couldn’t care less.
“Human, you’re so sensitive. Master and I originally sleep together.”
“As long as I’m here in Avalon, that is not allowed.”
“I don’t want to. A mere dark human ordering me around. Even after seeing the dignity of the great Excalibur, you still act so arrogantly?”
Kellive was clearly smiling, but the atmosphere was strangely chilling.
Deciding that further conversation with Nimue was pointless, he turned around, politely making way for Morgana to exit, and said,
“Sorry, Morgana. Can you wait outside for a moment while I set up a new tent?”
“Sorry.”
Morgana swallowed her embarrassment on behalf of Excalibur.
Kellive simply nodded with a kind smile.
“I’m doing it because it’s comfortable for me. You don’t need to feel sorry, Morgana.”
As if he had anticipated this, he took out a new blanket from a magic tool and draped it over her shoulders.
When he brought out a newly made magic tent, it mysteriously took shape on its own.
Since it was time for Mangeum to sleep as well, he entered the tent where Nimue was lying and curled up.
Not long after she stood by the campfire watching, a proper space for her had been prepared.
Only then did Kellive nod at Morgana.
“Sleep. We’ll move early tomorrow, so it’s good to get some rest. If you want, I can keep you company until you fall asleep.”
Even as he said that, Kellive leisurely picked up the firewood the monsters had gathered.
He settled down on a log piled near the campfire, carefully tending to it so the flames wouldn’t go out.
His figure reflected in the campfire light looked sharper than usual.
Faced with this unfamiliar side of him, Morgana paused for a moment and quietly observed him.
Because of his ever-present kindness, she rarely noticed it, but whenever she took a step back and looked at him from a distance, she was filled with a strange feeling.
Was it because of the sense of distance?
Or was it simply because his occasionally unfamiliar appearance felt new?
He, who had been staring expressionlessly at the campfire, noticed her gaze and smiled at her.
“What’s wrong? Is the unfamiliar place uncomfortable?”
Crack!
Seeing a piece of firewood engulfed in flames, Morgana moved slightly closer to his side.
“Excal completely ruined my sleep. Honestly…”
Morgana sighed and adjusted her blanket. She sat down a short distance from the log. Kellive patted the spot right next to him.
“It’s warmer over here.”
After hesitating, Morgana moved closer and sat right beside him.
As he said, it was much warmer, but strangely, even though the fire was so close, it didn’t feel hot.
Crackle!
While watching the burning flames, Morgana asked in a quiet voice.
“You must have mostly lived in the palace, Kellive. You seem quite skilled at camping.”
“I wasn’t exactly in a favored position in the palace when I was young. I’m not the type who grew up as gently as you might think, Morgana.”
He answered while looking at the campfire with a somewhat empty expression.
The numerous scars she had glimpsed on his hands came to mind.
Morgana glanced at him sideways and asked.
“Because of Tyrving? It looked like a dangerous sword when I saw it before. You even left the wounds untreated.”
“Were you worried about the scars?”
He smiled with his eyes as he asked.
Morgana cleared her throat, turned her head away, and tried to sound indifferent.
“No, it’s not exactly that…”
“What else are you curious about? If you want, I’ll ask Raves to prepare Avalon’s financial statements for you.”
“Anyone listening would think I’m really obsessed with money. I do like it, though.”
When she glared at him sulkily, he let out a small laugh.
“Ah, then what about physical specifications? Wouldn’t experiencing it directly be more accurate than numbers?”
“I’ve never been curious about that? I swear I’ve never even thought about it.”
“What a shame.”
When Morgana answered firmly with a stern look, he smiled with his eyes in a tone that didn’t sound disappointed at all.
Morgana lightly smacked his arm and said,
“Stop joking, seriously.”
Perhaps because it was warm, her voice sounded languid. Her eyelids grew heavy as she rubbed her eyes with one hand.
Letting out a light yawn, Morgana mumbled,
“I sometimes find you strange, Kellive. There have always been many people around me who only responded when I gave them something.”
Perhaps because of the drowsiness, her speech sounded a bit slurred and loose.
Kellive simply listened quietly.
Maybe it was because she had grown comfortable with him. Or perhaps she had wanted to confide in someone.
To Arthur and to Raon, Morgana had always given something in a fair exchange…….
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them, but a shallow anxiety remained buried deep in her heart.
“That’s why you feel strange to me, Kellive. The way you’re always so relaxed……”
Bob… Her head tilted.
Seeing her swaying as sleep overtook her, Kellive gently rested her head on his shoulder.
Morgana mumbled with her eyes closed.
“Always just joking around.”
Her increasingly faint voice soon disappeared. When her steady breathing could be heard, his reply came after a long pause, lower and more serious than before.
“It’s not a joke.”
Crackle!
His low voice blended with the sound of the campfire. His golden eyes, meeting the firelight, burned hotly.
“I’ve never once treated you as a joke, Morgana.”
The answer, devoid of any laughter, scattered into the air without reaching her.
Kellive gazed for a moment at Morgana’s profile resting on his shoulder, then lightly tapped her cheek with the back of his hand.
Watching her illuminated by the flickering campfire, he smiled again. His kind voice was no different from before.
“Holding back my patience to the very limit is quite difficult too.”
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