“After we’re out of this dungeon, I’ll kick this bastard’s behind.”, Aira thought.

If only she knew the extent of his powers.

“Where did the fox go?”, she wondered, searching around.

She saw nothing but white stone and marble spreading ahead. The ground was swiped from time to time by mild waves of wind, leaving it spotless. Not that there was anything to taint it, except for, maybe, dust.

The palace they observed in the distance, waiting with its doors closed, looked even cleaner - so polished that mere mortals like us would go blind just by throwing a glance in its direction.

“Don’t mind that mutt.”, Elias replied. “Let’s go!”, he said while grabbing Aira’s hand. “Do not let go of my hand until I tell you to do otherwise.”

“Your wings! They dissipated.”, she said as she walked, curiously staring at his back from time to time.

There were times when she couldn’t believe she was in a world of magic. Simply seeing wings growing on a human’s back with her own eyes made her wonder whether she was rather in a dream.

“I hate when they touch the ground when I’m walking. They’re only convenient while I’m in the air. And they consume mana. It is best to preserve it.”, he replied.

She silently acknowledged.

Although the palace did not seem that far, after an hour or so, they did not seem to have walked half the distance.

“I can’t walk anymore.”, Aira wailed, pulling her hand then falling to her knees. “Let’s take a break!”

“Most dungeons have a set time before the gate that leads us outside disappears. If we stay too long, we might be trapped here forever.”

“Ugh! Fine!”, she pouted, looking at him, thinking that she would not mind being carried like a bag of potatoes again.

Her body was still weak. In the last month since she transmigrated, she was not able to improve her body condition and health as she wished to.

“This little lady is still a child, I guess.”, Elias smiled, bowing to see her face closely.

“I’m not a child, and I’m not a little lady. This height is normal for a seventeen years old. I’m almost an adult. How old are you?”

“I’m almost twenty.”, he replied.

“Then, there’s not much difference between us. Stop treating me like a child!”

“If my lady asks so, I shall obey.”, he replied, offering his hand to help her up.

As soon as their hands touched, the ground trembled. When they looked into the direction where they came from, the ground started to corrode, the space becoming smaller and smaller.

“Shit!”, Aira exclaimed, her eyes wide-open.

Elias quickly grabbed her hand, pulling her close to his chest, then spread his wings, launching himself upwards, then with high speed towards the palace.

The marble underneath fell into nothingness, in pieces small, leaving but the palace and its stairs intact. Yet, as much as he wanted to preserve his mana, Elias held on for a while, to ensure that the stairs would not collapse under their feet as soon as they landed.

Aira was glued to his chest, her heart pounding like a haunted drum, both because of the uncertainty of her fate and because she was held in the embrace of a dashing man.

“Are you ready?”, he asked.

“Huh?”, she replied, her thoughts tangled still.

“Are you ready to let your little feet touch the ground once again?”

“Um! Are you sure it’s safe?”

“We shall find out.”, he said, then released her from his arms.

“Aaaa! You bastard!”, Aira screamed while falling. She closed her eyes, waiting to become one with the ground. To her surprise, when she opened her eyes again, she was back into Elias’s embrace.

“The stairs seem sturdy and it’s not corroding like the rest of it. Should we head inside?”, he asked, as if he did not attempt to send her to the underworld earlier.

“Are you demented?”, Aira yelled, trying to remove herself from him.

But, he did not let go, leaving her to struggle in vain, her face turned red with fury. He seemed to enjoy her reactions a little too much.

“Put me down!”, she demanded.

“As you wish!”, he finally agreed.

As soon as her feet touched the shiny marble, she sprinted ahead, leaving her fateful companion behind, not sparing him a single glance.

Little did she did know that her spiteful silence made her appear like an angry little rabbit in his eyes, which amused him all the more.

Author notes:

QUIZ:

What would you do if a rich handsome man teased you?

A. Forgive him because he is handsome.

B. Steal his shoes and hide them away.

C. Make him your husband and become rich, too.

A little sketch I made of Elias.