Aveline closed her eyes while Ren tightened his embrace. Since the cliff was so high, it took them several seconds to reach the pool.
*Splash…
The sound of his back hitting the water reverberated in the entire area.
Several of his ribs were broken, and he instantly fell unconscious.
Aveline was still conscious because Ren used his body to protect her. When he was drowning in the pool, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the edge.
After gently laying him down on the ground, she began healing him. Her expression was filled with sorrow as she treated him.
Her usual mature and calm behavior was nowhere to be found because he was in a life-and-death situation.
'Open your eyes, Ren. Don't you dare die on me.'
Her sadness and fear grew bigger when he was still unconscious despite her treating him for more than three minutes.
Maybe it was because a spark of special feeling had blossomed in her heart, or perhaps because he had risked his life to protect her.
At that moment, she felt like her world was about to collapse.
She even felt like someone was slicing her heart repeatedly because the sight of him dying was breaking her apart.
'Ren, please… please wake up.'
A tear fell onto his stomach as she kept healing him.
Magically, Ren regained consciousness in the next second as if her tear was a powerful elixir from heaven.
He raised his hand and wiped away her tears. "Mrs Aveline, don't cry."
"Ren…" She stopped treating him and looked at him with teary eyes. "Thank God!"
She could not suppress the happiness within her, so she instinctively made him sit up and embraced him.
"Hii…" Ren gritted his teeth in pain. "Please don't hug me tightly. It hurts a lot!"
His ribs were still not healed, so he felt immense pain.
"So… sorry." She stopped hugging him.
"It's fine." He could understand her feelings, so he didn't mind it. "Let's get out of here and find a safe place."
"Alright." She helped him up and supported him as he walked.
Several minutes later, they spotted an abandoned house.
Aveline knocked on the door, and when no one answered her, she opened the door and stepped into the house.
The living room and bedroom were combined into a single space, with a small kitchen next to it.
After she put him on the bamboo bed, she swept her gaze around.
'There is only a bed and a fire pit.'
The bamboo bed was placed on the right side against the wall, while the fire pit was in the middle of the room.
'Well, at least we can use the fire pit to warm our bodies.'
She checked the house again.
Her face broke into a smile after she stepped into the kitchen because she saw cooking equipment hanging on the wooden wall.
She grabbed the machete and returned to the bedroom. "Ren, wait here. I will find some firewood and cook you some food."
"Alright." He nodded weakly.
Aveline only searched around the house because she was worried about his safety.
Once she had collected enough, she returned and cooked food for him. A few minutes later, the food was ready.
"Why are you not resting?" she sat on the edge of the bed next to him.
"It hurts a lot when I lie on my back." He had tried to rest before, but the pain made him suffer and unable to sleep.
"I will treat you again once I recover my mana." She only had a little mana left, so she could not treat him immediately. "Here, try it."
He was startled when she wanted to feed him. "Mrs Aveline, I can eat by myself."
"You are my patient, so you must listen to me." She would not take no for an answer. "Hurry up and open your mouth."
He opened his mouth and ate it.
'So, she has this side too, huh?'
She was a little different than usual, but he didn't hate it.
"How is it?" she asked with a soft smile.
"Delicious!" Maybe it was because he was being fed by a gorgeous lady, the simple food suddenly tasted amazing. "Mrs. Aveline, where is your meal?"
"There is only one bowl in this house, so I will eat after you." She replied. "It seems like the previous owner of this place was a lone wolf. Hehe."
"Then, how about we eat together?" he felt bad for eating alone, especially when everything was prepared by her.
"You don't mind sharing a meal with an old lady like me?" She was pleasantly surprised by his words.
"An old lady? Mrs. Aveline, if I hadn't met Elara before, I would have thought you were in your twenties." He knew the bodies of awakeners were different from those of ordinary people, but he believed she would still be beautiful even if she weren't one.
Her face blossomed into a smile at his answer. "I didn't know you were also good at seducing women."
"I'm not seducing you. I'm stating the fact." He believed any man would agree with his statement.
"Then, I will take your offer." Since he didn't mind, she agreed to share a meal with him because she was starving.
Ren's heart began to race as she fed him with the same spoon because each bite felt like an indirect kiss.
Of course, his expression remained calm because he needed to maintain his image.
Even though it was just a simple meal, in that moment, they felt like they were sharing something deeply special.
They even felt like the atmosphere was different from usual, as if the world itself had created a momentary paradise just for them to enjoy their time together.
After they were done, she put the bowl in the kitchen and returned to the bedroom. When the sun was setting, she lit the fire pit so that the room would not be dark.
The duo talked about many things as they sat before the fire pit.
At that time, their relationship became much closer to the point that they began to tease each other naturally.
"Mrs. Aveline, how did you know we could not defeat the coyote earlier?" he asked curiously.
"The coyote could speak human language. That means, it's at least a 3-star magical beast." She told him that magical creatures would gain intelligence once they broke through to the 3-star.
"I see." He finally understood why she urged them to run away instantly.
The duo continued talking.
At 09:00 pm, they decided to sleep.
Since there was only one bed, they had no choice but to rest next to each other.
Like before, immense pain spread throughout his body because his back hadn't fully recovered.
He changed position and lay on his stomach, but it was so uncomfortable that he could not fall asleep.
'This is torturing me.'
He sat up and let out a helpless sigh.
"Are you unable to sleep because lying on your back hurts?" she asked.
He didn't answer but nodded his head.
She tapped her chest gently and said, "Come here and sleep in my arms."
His eyes widened for a second.
'What?!'
He was startled by her words.
"You are injured, so your body needs to rest properly to recover." He was hurt because he protected her, so she didn't mind it.
"Are you teasing me right now?" he asked.
"No," she shook her head. "I'm serious. Come here and rest in my embrace."
"Then, I will take your offer." He moved closer to her before finally resting his head between her big, soft breasts.
'Maybe it's not so bad that my back hurts.'
Mystically, he felt relaxed and calm right away.
When she saw him closing his eyes, Aveline caressed his hair softly and looked at him gently.
'Good night, Ren. Have a nice dream.'
She slowly shut her eyes.
At the same time, Elara was looking for her mother and him in her house.
'Mother, Ren, where are you?'