Suddenly, he opened his eyes. His sight rested on the wooden ceiling, the planks were staring back with their distorted lines and bizarre figures. A strange warmth oppressed his ribcage, but he didn’t dare to get some fresh air to cool his head. He was still covered under the blanket, still lying on his back. His body made no motion, but his mind was fully awake, and so were his five senses.

His nose picked a fragrant smell, an odour he was not accustomed with which prickled him. His slightly adjusting ears could pick small noises, his slow but nervous breathing, and another not so far. A taste he couldn’t really describe lingered on his tongue, it was both fruity and unknown, and that pleased him while at the same time it stressed him. Something weighted on his torso, it was soft, a little sticky but comfortably warm. He slowly lifted his head to notice it was an arm rolled around him. It was Trellia, refusing to let him go even when she was sleeping.

Should he laugh at her, or at himself? For once, Friture was at a loss. And this time, it wasn’t a mere equation he needed to solve, or a review he needed to survey if there was any error. This time, it wasn’t about him or work, but about someone else. How was he even supposed to look at her after what happened? What was he even supposed to think about all of it? This romance was beyond what Friture could handle.

“What romance? She just jumped on me…”

He didn’t know why he was suddenly playing the victim here. Was it due to the habit of being bullied, or maybe he unconsciously looked at it as his trump card to evade any blame targeted at him? That was… Stupid of him. He looked stupid, and it made him upset. Why was he so pathetic? Why couldn’t he be like everyone else? Someone with subjects to discuss with. Someone full of initiatives. Someone normal.

Soon, the hatred was replaced by a disheartening emotion. He wanted to blame someone for his own miserableness? Then he could only blame himself, for he was the one who stood on this path. It just… Became the norm for him, at some point in his life, to just choose not to face reality, and keep being stuck with less intimate issues. He cut his own wings and legs, just so he could enjoy the little pleasure in his life. And when he looked at others, he realised… That he couldn’t be like them anymore.

He didn’t enjoy to take a break to drink his coffee. If he had spare time, then he had bonus time to study on his subjects.

He didn’t enjoy chitchatting with his colleagues. All they would talk about was themselves, their family or their small complains.

At some point in his life, he just stopped enjoying the company of others, and preferred working on his own. It never bothered the Chief Researcher, and that was for the best.

However… He also didn’t enjoy how his daily routine unrolled. He wasn’t fine with it at all. But he didn’t know any better at this time, so he said nothing, and endured like you would endure the hardships of life.

And now… Now he did it. He did it with a goddess. He did it with Trellia nonetheless. Maybe because she sensed something was different, it was her turn to wake up. She lightly moaned and made small movements under the blanket, trying to find a more comfortable pose. Alerted, Friture moved his sight to his side, and crossed eyes with her. Her face was concealed behind her hair and her cushion. In parallel with the sweat skin revealed at shoulder level, it gave an alluring paint which was quite tempting to grab.

“Good morning, honey~. You’re good to go?”

Trellia said that line with a smile, he could tell it without checking. He didn’t felt angered by his past or her behaviour, nor did he feel sad for who he was. He didn’t feel calm neither, as a swirling of thoughts suppressed his habitual logical capacity to analyse. But he still had to answer, otherwise she wouldn’t let him go. If his head couldn’t fabricate an answer, then he’ll just go with whatever comes first.

“… No… I feel bad…”

“I feel even worse, now…”

He couldn’t stop comparing himself with a lowly scum who took advantage of the situation. She certainly initiated it, but he couldn’t control himself back then. He was… Seduced, blinded by her beauty, and he just chose to let her do as she pleases. He regretted not refusing her advances. He should have.

“Ow… Come here~”

Trellia tried to comfort him with a hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek to cheer him up.

“No… Trellia, please…”

He tried to push her away, but was rapidly refused this option.

“It’s okay, Friture. You don’t have to worry about anything right now.

It’s just you and me for now. So relax.”

“But… Trellia…”

“I don’t love you…”

How was he supposed to tell those words to this goddess in this situation? He didn’t hate her, nor did he dislike her company. He actually enjoyed it, he was truly grateful she saved him that day, even if he kind of forgot to thank her, but nevermind. But this… You were supposed to do this with the person you love, not just the first guy who fell from the sky next to your house.

But she seemed like she minded nothing in the world, as she was caressing Friture’s ear while whispering sweat words to him. Trellia feared she actually overdid it, however she didn’t regret it at all. On the contrary, she was quite happy having Friture as her partner. Then the question was… Did she love him? It was hard to tell, even for her. She didn’t hate Friture, nor did she dislike him. Actually, she enjoyed his presence. It brought its share of novelties, of laughter, of argument.

However, she was still frightened by the idea of Friture hating it. He was attracted to her forms, and he did enjoy their night together. But now, it was over. What was his thoughts about it? How would he look at her now? It would be good if he took a liking to her… Or would it? Whatever, she only had to push him a little bit more.

“It’s okay, Friture. I think I know how you feel about it… And it’s okay.

‘Love’ is an emotion, just like ‘Sadness’ and ‘Hatred’ is.

You’re not sad without any reason. You don’t hate someone just because you feel like it.

It’s the same when it comes to love someone. You do it for a reason, a good one.

Never forget this reason, and make sure to always remind your lover of it.

That’s why… Let’s make this night our first reason, okay?”

Now the ball was on his side. It was his turn to make a choice.

She put one last kiss on his cheek, desperately hoping he would never forget those words. Then she stood up, and prepared herself for a bath.

“Come on, Friture. We still have to pick up this Treasure Sword before the sun rise.”

Trellia disappeared behind the curtains of the bathroom, leaving a lost Friture on the couch who was still thinking about everything that happened. He remembered her touch, her smell, her voice. No no, all he was thinking about now was his sexual desires. They were still in the preparations for the project: New World, he couldn’t allow himself to get distracted this way.

And yet… He still needed to sort his feelings about it. A reason to love… Did that count as a reason? Should he view this as a stepping stone for a relationship between him and Trellia? But it was bound to end in a tragedy, wasn’t it? He was a mortal, and she was immortal. Death would eventually separate them in the future, and only he would be gone while she would remain on this land, widow and alone. Was this… Good enough reason, to reject her feelings?

He felt bad. He felt even worse than before now… But he still needed to get a hold of himself. Their night operation would soon begin.

***

One hour later, at the threshold of the rampart.

Trellia was doing some stretching, while Friture prepared his spirit. He was about to infiltrate the kingdom that banished him. Right now, he was a criminal that anyone could eliminate and receive a compensation for honourable action. Living with a bounty on his head was more tiring than he had anticipated.

They reviewed together the plan. With her remarkable agility, Trellia would have no problem climbing the wall and stepping inside the castle. As Friture was too inexperienced to walk stealthily, it was decided that he would cling on Trellia’s back until they arrived at the entrance of the Treasure Swords room.

Once it was confirmed it was the right path, Trellia would incapacitate the standing guards, making sure she would not alarm everyone with the noise. Then Friture would guide her in disarming any device in the door until she managed to unlock it. Once inside, they grabbed the weapon and would leave the place at once to avoid any complications.

“Okay. Ready?”

“Yes!”

Trellia offered Friture a piggyback, as it was easier to run with a weight on her back. He mounted the goddess, unsure if he wasn’t a hassle to deal with.

“Don’t get any weird thoughts, okay?”

“… Then don’t mention it, please.”

Then, the operation began.

Trellia sprinted in front of the wall, then… Simply ran on a vertical pace, ignoring the law of gravity until she arrived at the top. There was plenty of moonlight, she had to hurry and hide in a black spot before someone spotted her. She continued her run, until she sensed something in the air which put her on a halt.

There was a guard nearby… He was yawning, wore dark sockets and his left eye seemed to have difficulty staying open. His attention not really at his peak, Trellia bypassed him with no sound nor breeze. It was as if she wasn’t existing at this place. She was a shadow that lurked behind one’s back without anyone noticing a thing.

She left the rampart and arrived next to a park, probably a made-up trail to joint two structures of the palace. She hid near a tree before perking her ears. They waited like this for a moment, before Friture saw her nodding. She used her resonating sonar with the divine weapons. Now she knew where the Treasure Swords where. However, she mentioned one issue.

“One sword seems to be deep in the castle, probably in a royal’s chamber. If that’s the case, they’ll be wearing it as a ring, and that’s a no-go.”

“Why is that?”

“Because the Treasure Sword would see my action as a transgression.”

As a godkin, it seemed they weren’t allowed to take the weapon if a mortal was using it to fulfil the long forgotten promise. She didn’t know if this was true or just a way to discourage younger gods to claim them, but Trellia didn’t feel like trying her ancestor legacy. As it would be too long and complicated to explain, she simply told a single line to Friture about it.

“Then what about the other?”

“It’s buried deep in the underground. I suppose it has no owner, we should go with this one.”

“Roger that.”

Deep in the underground… It wasn’t the prison nor the dungeon. The ancient library maybe? Only a fool would go there anyway. Then as Friture expected, it was in a place he knew nothing of. It wasn’t really a surprise, but that meant he would be unhelpful in finding the path to lead Trellia there.

“Don’t worry about it, I can smell its aura.”

“You can what?”

Trellia responded with a smile before running in a direction. Friture did not know what to do, so he just waited, hanging on her back, reminiscing their meeting, the time they spent together, and even tonight. Somehow, he… He was scared of Trellia. Scared of how she would react if he told her the truth.

He didn’t love her. But she did say you could love someone because you had reasons to. And what was this reason? Their night spent together? It sounded like a dumb excuse in Friture’s mind. He didn’t… He didn’t want to stay together with her because of the simple idea he liked her appearance. He wanted…

“Stop it, Friture. This is getting ridiculous…”

He stopped this cruel delusion. It wasn’t about a romance between an immortal and a mortal. It wasn’t because Trellia was a stranger he met only a few days ago. He simply… Couldn’t feel like it. He couldn’t imagine himself being bound to someone else. The thought scared him. But why?

Loving and being loved were a beautiful feeling, an extraordinary gift you could give and receive as much as you desired. There was so much to tell about the feeling of ‘love’. And still he couldn’t bring himself to thread of this path.

Because if he did, he felt he would lose something. He felt he would fall in this unfathomable abyss of uncertainty. Mathematics were easy, but people’s hearts were complex and… Fragile.

Friture dismissed those thoughts, focusing on the path Trellia followed as she smelled the trail toward the Treasure Sword.

They travelled across many narrow rooms and corridors. The most impressive part was when she was actually running on the ceiling to avoid a patrol. “As expected of a goddess” thought Friture, anything was possible for them.

“We’re here.”

At last, they saw an encased door in the wall, with two guards standing in front. The gate seemed extremely complicated, as it proudly showed many gears which must be shown to demonstrate the complexity of the locking mechanic. At first sight, it looked more like a piece of art with its fantastic golden plates and the sophisticated geometry of some patterns. If someone told him it was meant to be seen as a painting, he wouldn’t even think a Treasure Sword would be stored behind this door.

Trellia dropped from the wall she was mysteriously clinging on, put Friture on the ground, and then waited for nothing to take care of the guards. In an instant, both of them fell unconscious in Trellia’s arms, before being put down. Target down, she signalled Friture with a thumb up.

“Are they fine?”

“They’re fine. They’re just going to sleep for a while. And now, for the hardest part of the plan…”

The duo faced the tall gate that stood between them and the Treasure Sword. It was quite the obstacle. But it wasn’t enough to discourage Friture.

No knob… No keyhole… There must be a lever somewhere which actuate the door’s mechanism…

But he saw none, and they were losing time as he was pondering on the solution.

Think… Think… Why would the gears be shown like that? Is it just for show, or maybe…

“Trellia, can you take a look at the gears up there, and see if you can turn one of them?”

“Okay.”

She jumped high enough to reach one of the gears in one go. She took a look at the impressive mechanism, however she noticed something was wrong.

“They’re not gears. They’re all melted together!”

“What?!”

Melted together? Then that meant they were indeed just to show off. But then, why would you… How did you open this door, if not with the gears?

“Do you see anything else?”

“Mmmh… Nah… Nothing peculiar… It feels like this door is made in one piece.”

Which meant the actual mechanism was hidden behind the stone walls. This was beyond Friture’s capacity, as he couldn’t see through the walls, and neither could Trellia. Were they stuck here? Did they have no choice but to travel in another kingdom for their Treasure Sword?

“It’s… Strange…”

“What? What is it?”

“I think… I can resonate with the door?”

Resonate with the door, the same way she did with the Treasure Sword to locate them. Wait. Why could she resonate with the door? It was certainly not a Treasure Sword, Trellia would have noticed it earlier. She could resonate with Treasure Swords because they were weapons which shared the same divine origin with her kin, because they were powerful divine energy-based entity.

Currently, the second Treasure Sword was held by a royal, while the second was hidden behind a heavy and unopenable door. Why did the kingdom held a pair? Why did each kingdom held a pair? Were they connected in some way? And if they were, what did that mean?

“Trellia! Try to resonate with the door! Send him the same wavelength as the other Treasure Sword!”

“Euhm… Okay?”

If each Treasure Sword worked by pair, then each one could respond to the other in a manner of speech. The royal held one, while the second was waiting here patiently. Then to get the second weapon…

“It… It works! The door’s opening by itself!”

… You needed to awaken it with the call of the first one.

Trellia and Friture stood next to each other, awed by the spectacle of the door splitting itself in half to open up the passage. It was truly a strange sight, as they could witness the two parts sliding through the wall, merging with it, instead of rotating on a pivot. Another curious mystery brought by divine energy.

Now that the passage was open, they could go in and take the Treasure Sword. With this powerful artefact, Trellia would certainly become capable to spread her protection to all the kingdoms. Well, most probably. At least that was what they hoped for.

With that in mind, they exchanged their smile, then walked together toward a victorious day.