This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Serena had become quite strange recently…

Ever since Kain had revealed Pangea to her, there had been a noticeable difference in how she treated him.

It was not quite like she'd become a completely different person—otherwise he may be inclined to have Bea check her mind for evidence of possession.

She was still Serena—composed, calculating, and possessing that same cool, aloof presence that made it difficult to tell what she was thinking. But there was a distinct softness in the way she interacted with him now that wasn't there before.

Her features that were originally like a perfectly sculpted ice goddess, would now soften like the snow melting away in spring when she looked at him.

And, frankly, it was starting to make Kain a little paranoid.

It started with small things. Subtle, barely noticeable gestures. She offered him the chance to rest in the portable outdoor bed that she had brought that was far more comfortable than what could be normally bought—hers must have been specially made.

Kain wasn't so picky about where he slept, getting accustomed to sleeping on the hard bark of trees, on stone, and on the grass when he first started exploring the wilderness while still in high school.

Therefore, since this small space could really only accommodate one mattress, he simply let her have only hers out. But now she was offering to have him lie on it.

On her bed.

That she sleeps in.

That is definitely something she never would have done before.

Another time she casually adjusted his coat when it slipped off his shoulder while he slept. She even wordlessly used a spiritual skill to recharge a device called a 'warmed stone' she had discreetly heated with her spiritual power when she noticed him shivering.

That was already strange enough.

But then, the incidents started piling up.

The most damning event happened when they had to maneuver around the cramped space. The cave was small, and moving around required careful, deliberate coordination, while excessive movements were forbidden, lest they accidentally disturb the fragile ice formations around them and trigger a collapse. At one point, while trying to retrieve something from her pack, Serena got up and leaned forward slightly—and in that moment, Kain turned to speak to her, only to find his face practically buried against her chest.

A long, tense silence followed.

Serena, to her credit, didn't react much. She simply stared down at him, waiting for him to move. But Kain, in his frozen state of awkwardness, did not—not immediately at least. His mind was absolutely frozen and unable to process what exactly the soft sensation brushing against him was…

"…I can't move unless you do," she finally pointed out, her voice betraying just a hint of exasperation.

Kain, realizing the situation, nearly snapped his neck trying to jerk away.

But after he calmed down, he couldn't help but re-examine the situation differently. Knowing Serena, she simply would have blasted him away in anger, leaving him half-crippled in the process. While it was an innocent, completely unintentional mistake (Kain feels the need to make that abundantly clear), her calm response was now making him second guess everything.

Was it intentional? At least on her part?

Then there was the time she fell asleep while sitting next to him in the middle of their conversation. Since the mattress was only pulled out for a few hours each day to free up space, when they wanted to nap for a few minutes, both would usually just rest against the cave's walls—often not far from one another. It wasn't ideal, but it worked—until Serena, in her sleep, shifted ever so slightly. Her head ended up resting lightly against his shoulder.

Kain, once again, froze.

It was such a minor thing. A barely-there touch. And yet, for some reason, it sent his thoughts into a downward spiral of confusion. Serena had never been physically affectionate before, nor did she seem like the type to seek comfort in others while unconscious.

'Now this…is this also… intentional?'

His thoughts were covered in a confused haze for the couple hours she was napping. When she got up and moved away from him, he tried to examine her face for any changes. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, perhaps embarrassment at waking up on his shoulder, but nothing. She was completely nonchalant about the prolonged physical contact.

And then—then—there was the incident with the makeshift bath.

A small section of the cave had been silently designated as the 'washroom' where Kain and Serena would both go to freshen up or take care of some more gruesome matters involving empty food cans…

That corner was chosen because there was a small indentation in the floor, resembling a shallow tub made of ice, that they could then melt away with their spiritual power to slightly expand while also making it filled with fresh water.

While not ideal, it at least allowed them to somewhat freshen up. However, given the nature of their predicament, privacy was nonexistent. Serena, being Serena, took advantage of her Prismarin's illusions to create a shroud while she bathed.

Kain, for his part, remained perfectly still in his corner, doing his absolute best to respect boundaries and pretend the situation was not happening, like usual.

But then something most definitely different from the usual happened—that shroud covering her faded.

It was brief—only a second or two—but Kain, in a horrible twist of luck, had looked up at just the wrong moment.

Serena, thankfully, was mostly submerged, but the sheer surprise of the moment caused him to immediately turn away so quickly he actually smacked his head against the ice.

"…Are you alright?" she asked, seemingly unbothered.

"Fine," he rasped, clutching his head.

The hits just kept coming. And the more they did, the more his brain spun ridiculous conclusions.

Was she being more accommodating because of gratitude? Was she trying to repay him for saving her life? Kain's thoughts spiralled even further as he reached a hard-to-believe conclusion.

'Was she considering repaying him with her body?'

The pieces started forming a picture in his mind, and it was a picture that made his heart race. Shaking his head frantically, he tried to dislodge the spicy image, but it would keep popping up at the most inopportune times—making many of their more recent interactions awkward on his part.

Finally, after days of this strange, unbearable tension, Kain couldn't take it anymore.

"Serena," he started carefully, watching her as she sifted through the remaining supplies. She looked up at him, one brow raised.

"Mm?"

He hesitated for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Look, I appreciate everything, really, but… you don't need to do this."

Serena tilted her head slightly. "Do what?"

He exhaled through his nose, choosing his words carefully. "I respect you greatly, and while you are extremelybeautiful, I truly never even thought about your repaying me with your body."

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Serena's expression didn't change at first, still trying to process what exactly he had just said. And then—

A sharp, unmistakable shift.

Her gaze, which had been softer these past few days, immediately turned cold. Not angry, necessarily. But whatever warmth had been there before vanished in an instant.

"…Repay you," she repeated flatly. "With my body?!"

Kain swallowed, realizing he had stepped into dangerous territory, he hurried to clarify. "I just meant—"

Serena's stare pinned him in place. He could practically feel the temperature drop several degrees.

The tension stretched between them like a blade poised over his neck.

Then, finally—

"I see," she said coolly. "You misunderstood."

Kain very much wanted to crawl into a hole and die.