“…Yes?”

What is this supposed to mean?

Slightly surprised, Jiwoo looked at him curiously. Then Callan whispered the same words in her ear again.

[I want to have you.]

When Jiwoo blushed and looked up, Callan’s expression became somewhat intoxicated.

[You seem to like this resonance.]

Callan, who could understand even Jiwoo’s internal thoughts, was secretly saying such things when Jiwoo couldn’t understand him.

And Callan said it again.

[I love you.]

That had become the words he whispered every night. She knew it meant something tender and good, but she didn’t know the exact meaning. She thought it was just a reassuring word.

[Still, it’s better for you to sleep now. We’ll arrive in the village tomorrow morning. I’ll sing you a lullaby.]

Callan patted Jiwoo and started humming again. While his voice echoed in the moonlit night, the gentle breeze blew. His voice seemed to be calling upon the spirit of the wind.

Unable to fall asleep, Jiwoo pondered with wide-open eyes. She felt like she missed the timing to say something important.

“Callan, you sing well….”

The hand embracing her trembled greatly. Callan, clearly surprised, slightly released Jiwoo from his embrace.

“Ah, ah…. Is it back now?”

“Yes….”

“I heard it was supposed to take a month…. No, well, it’s not that I’m not glad.”

Callan tightly closed his eyes. His breathing became rough in a different sense.

“I, I was so worried.”

“I know. You were worried….”

“….”

“Callan. Hey, earlier….”

“It’s, it’s fortunate that it came back quickly. Just in case, I’ll fetch Helka. He should be, near, nearby…”

Callan, showing the most flustered reaction since they met, quickly started gibbering and decided to call for Helka, placing Jiwoo down.

Thud. Jiwoo’s body fell onto the grass. Normally, Callan would never put her down just anywhere. But he seemed to have been out of his mind to do so.

However, there was no need for Callan to rush and call for Helka. With the keen ears like the other children of Ellandos, Helka had confirmed Jiwoo waking up and was already on his way.

Callan abruptly turned his head and seemed to be heading somewhere. The tips of his ears, which shot up, were bright red.

He fled.

* * *

Helka checked Jiwoo’s body and, after trying a few simple spells in front of her, confirmed that the Akarna’s functions had returned to normal.

Because of his always solemn expression, Jiwoo was even more worried.

“Did it come back too quickly?”

“It was a bit earlier than planned.”

“Is it because of this little one? I was told it would help me.”

The bird perched on Jiwoo’s shoulder tapped its face against her cheek. This bird seemed more like an energy entity than a living creature. It made no sound as if it had no vocal cords.

Helka nodded without saying a word.

With the commotion all night, dawn was breaking.

When Jiwoo was looking around for the others, especially Callan, Helka corrected her disheveled clothes and spoke.

“Lanceil and Tevon have went ahead of us, announcing the news.”

“News?”

“While some are still waiting for Ellandos’ treatment, it’s better to inform them that we’ve decided to return for now.”

“They’ll be worried, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Callan said they had waited for decades, and a few more days wouldn’t make a significant difference, but still, they would have waited.

“But I thought I had learned to speak well here… Maybe not. Was I too frustrating?”

“You weren’t frustrating.”

Helka shook his head. Judging by his ears standing upright, it seemed like he wasn’t lying.

“You’ll get better gradually.”

His calm voice continued to explain.

“You’ll experience it a few more times in the future. Initially, you may feel more inadequate because of the disconnection caused by the loss of power.”

“Really? Well, that’s fortunate then.”

With her powers returning, the body, which would shrink at the slightest sound of animals or grasshoppers, relaxed again. El Ragneil once again looked like a warm and beautiful continent. Still, them being there is what made it less frightening during that time.

As the tension in her body and the mind finally eased, the fatigue that had been held back came rushing back.

When Jiwoo sighed deeply and slumped her shoulders, Helka smiled, approached, and embraced Jiwoo gently. Then, effortlessly, he lifted Jiwoo.

“Get some rest. When I confirm you’re asleep, I’ll increase the speed.”

Helka seemed to have sensed how tired Jiwoo was before she could say anything.

“Helka.”

With Jiwoo now used to being held, she comfortably adjusted her posture and called out to him. Although he didn’t turn this way, his long ear tilting towards Jiwoo showed his attention.

A warm emotion surged through her heart, making it race with excitement. Hearing that sound, she couldn’t help but focus more on the moving ear and felt an undeniable sense of love.

She wanted to try and touch it.

She wanted to touch it.

At first she didn’t know that touching the ears is seducing. Even when she thought she understood, she thought it was merely a sensitive organ.

But in reality, it wasn’t even that.

Touching their ears wasn’t an act of seduction towards them.

Instead, it was an act close to responding to their seduction.

“Helka, can you hear my heartbeat?”

“Yes.”

“Can you know what I’m thinking from that?”

“A little.”

“Then what am I thinking right now?”

Helka, who had been moving slowly, paused for a moment and adjusted Jiwoo in his arms. He then lowered his head.

Smack.

Seeing him drop a bird kiss on her lips, Jiwoo blushed.

It might have been the right answer, but he could have given her a heads-up.

Helka, being a quiet person, inadvertently made Jiwoo, who used to be equally quiet, talk even more.

“If I suddenly became mute, there wouldn’t be any problem at all, right?”

“Only if you’re not frustrated.”

Jiwoo dozed off in his arms and suddenly asked.

“Helka, can you speak in the language of El Ragneil, not Caranazion?”

[Alright.]

Again, a soft and comforting resonance. Jiwoo closed her eyes, listening to the low voice.

“I can learn the language easily here, right?”

Helka thought for a moment and then spoke.

[Speaking is not difficult. Writing might be a bit challenging.]

“Why?”

[As it is based on phonetic sounds, it can be challenging for humans.]

“I see…..”

Although Jiwoo had learned Chinese characters before, she thought it might be easy since it was somewhat similar. However, as they depended a lot on sound due to their bodily structure, it seemed challenging.

Quickly sensing Jiwoo’s disappointment, Helka spoke again.

[Instead, we don’t use writing much from the start. However, you should be able to learn the language in a few months. You would be faster.]

[Now, a little.]

[You’re doing well.]

Helka smiled modestly.

[Seo Jiwoo, there’s something I wanted to ask.]

[What is it?]

What could it be that he wanted to ask right after Jiwoo regained her strength?

[Huh, do you prefer El Ragneil’s female more?]

“What, what?”

What’s with this sudden pounding on the door while she was sleeping?

It was a word that woke her up immediately.

“I heard it, wrong, right? Why would I prefer a woman?”

[But you called her ‘El’ and behaved affectionately towards her.]

Come to think of it, when Jiwoo called her El, she didn’t say it was her name. But she didn’t say it wasn’t either. And while Jiwoo said that, she even blushed.

Then she allowed Jiwoo to call her that, even extending her palm…

The men beside them were looking at them strangely…

Maybe El wasn’t her name after all.

__