Holly quickly stretched her arm to cover Cahill’s eyes, worried that he, who already enjoyed outdoor activities, might discover a new hobby.

He caught her hand and stood quietly, blinking his eyes. Her palm tickled from his eyelashes, and she jerkily removed her hand from his eyes. Cahill rolled his eyes towards her withdrawn hand, looking at it with longing before interlocking his fingers with her, pulling her hand down entirely.

He looked at her with curled eyes.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of showing anyone else the way Holly comes.”

Holly was confused about whether to be reassured by his words and awkwardly returned a smile.

“Please try to keep quiet as well.”

Suddenly, Adam intruded into their conversation without any notice.

“I won’t let you hear it.”

Cahill glared at Adam fiercely and snapped back.

“Stop making embarrassing noises on the street.”

When Holly quietly scolded him, tugging at Cahill’s arm, he looked down at her intently.

Seeing her face was flushed with embarrassment, Cahill raised his hand to stroke her cheek, his Adam’s apple bobbing significantly, like quenching an appetite.

“What?”

Holly asked, looking at him with an uneasy face.

“You look delicious.”

Cahill licked his lips as his gaze on her was sticky and intense. Holly couldn’t blink, staring back at him, feeling every hair on her body stand on end. He seemed like a beast ready to pounce at any moment if she let her guard down.

“If you don’t want to go back to the room, let’s go quickly.”

Badin yawned long and tiredly, indicating there was no time for leisurely conversations.

“Let’s leave Centuria first.”

Fortunately, Cahill stepped back from his pestering, but Holly looked at him strangely.

“It’s obvious.”

She turned her gaze to Badin, who blurted out unexpectedly. Cahill also glared at him disapprovingly.

“You’re worried Holly might change her mind and return to Centuria.”

She widened her eyes at Cahill as if asking if that was true.

“I really hate quick-witted guys.”

Cahill spoke as if sulking, then turned his head away. Holly couldn’t help but laugh at his petulant, teenage-like demeanor.

“I promised I’d go with you.”

She stroked the back of Cahill’s hand, which was far more delicate than hers, a woman.

“Besides, have you forgotten why I’m in this state?”

His gaze scanning her wasn’t entirely pure. Still, Holly pretended not to notice and continued, “If Torimas and his gang find out I’m alive, I won’t die an easy death.”

She spoke with a shudder, tired of the thought. Cahill looked at her proudly and smiled.

“Good thing I kept those guys alive.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at his sincere words.

“Let’s get going.”

Adam, watching them from behind, muttered discontentedly and walked ahead.

* * *

Crossing the bridge to the port, Holly tilted her head at the landscape, which seemed different from her memory.

“Was the bridge always like this?”

The ‘Centuria Bridge,’ had a long history and was constructed layer by layer, with stones stacked upon those laid in the riverbed. The path made of stones was covered with worn wooden planks to allow carriages to pass.

However, in one shabby corner of the railing-less bridge stood unfamiliar statues of grim-looking men wielding clubs.

“What are these? They’re neither stone nor glass…”

She touched the strange statues, puzzled, but the cold sensation felt oddly familiar.

“Could it be…”

Holly, suspiciously eyeing the statues, suddenly withdrew her hand in shock. The opaque sculptures had too vivid expressions.

“Did you two do this?”

She swiftly turned to Adam and Badin.

“Yes.”

Adam responded nonchalantly as if it was no big deal.

“We had no choice, they were trying to kill us.”

Adam added defensively after noticing her expression. Recognizing the statues as thugs who used to extort tolls on Centuria’s only bridge, she nodded in approval.

“That’s true.”

The men transformed into statues were the gangsters who blocked the bridge and demanded tolls from passersby.

‘Cahill once tried to freeze someone, too.’

Remembering her first encounter with Cahill, Holly recalled their conversation after they had slept together, and she wanted to return home. However, the excited Cahill had torn her clothes and left her worried about facing people without proper clothes.

“Who cares if someone sees you? Want me to make sure they can’t?”

“I can just freeze them all.”

The ice sculptures have the faces of familiar townspeople. At that time, Holly had thought Cahill’s words about his powers were half-joking, but she became scared when he mentioned they couldn’t be reversed, and she suggested that he not do so.

‘I almost turned the whole village into statues.’

Holly shivered with relief.

“Is there a way to reverse this?”

Though Cahill said it was impossible, that was because he was clumsy with controlling his powers. If Adam, though less powerful, was more skilled in control, it might be possible.

“Of course.”

To Holly’s hope, Adam nodded. Seeing her face brighten, he smirked mischievously.

“However, if they stay in ice for too long, it becomes hard to revert them. They might suffer disabilities or even lose their lives.”

She glanced at the statues with a pale face. The men, now harder than stone, remained motionless even as they stood watching and chatting.

“…Well, they were bad people, so it can’t be helped if this is their fate.”

The men transformed into statues had been notorious for extorting money from travelers crossing the bridge for absurd reasons.

They also took lives if displeased and habitually harassed women. That was why the owner of the Hallidem Inn always insisted that Holly be accompanied by a male staff member when running errands.

‘I might have suffered a terrible fate if it weren’t for that.’

She looked towards the Hallidem Inn with gratitude and then turned back to her companions.

“Let’s leave this place quickly. We don’t want to get into unnecessary trouble.”

At her words, a smile lit up Cahill’s face. Holly looked at him, puzzled by his excessive happiness.

“What should we do about these guys?”

Adam asked, seeming concerned about the brief paleness on Holly’s face.

“Just leave them.”

Cahill intercepted the answer.

“Even if we thaw them, they’ll just go back to beating people and stealing money.”

Cahill immediately took her hand and led her towards the bridge. Holly followed, trying not to look at the eerie ice statues.

* * *

‘Leroy Port’ was the continent’s sole port, except for ‘Lauriue’, which could be accessed by a mountain path. To travel to other countries on the continent, one had to board a ship from this port.

“By the way, where exactly is Aisen?”

Holly had tried to locate the ‘Kingdom of Aisen’ on a map after meeting Cahill. However, she couldn’t find such a country anywhere. Even Lauriue, which had minimal interaction with humans, was marked on the map.

“Aisen is an island located to the north of the Mont Glasica continent.”

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