Episode 10. A Drunkard’s Way of Thinking.
Ar often tugged on Leon’s arm, signaling him to crouch.
Leon always obliged, bending forward without hesitation.
Smooch!
A light kiss would land on the bridge of his nose. But that wasn’t all—Ar was fond of his ears, cheeks, eyes, and, of course, his lips.
During their days in the cabin, Leon received more kisses than he had in his entire life.
Constantly, without warning.
Whenever their eyes met, Ar seemed unable to resist pressing her lips to his.
At first, Leon froze every time, but he soon grew accustomed to her quick, playful kisses. And as a skilled hunter never misses a vulnerable prey, Ar took advantage of his relaxed state.
Grasping Leon’s face as he dutifully bent toward her as usual, she…
Lick.
Tasted his lips.
Leon’s face flushed deeply, and Ar grinned mischievously at his flustered expression.
She held his face firmly, planting several more light kisses on him before he recovered enough to push her away.
“Ar! This is—”
Smooch.
Of course, such feeble resistance meant little to an experienced hunter.
Ar kissed the hand that held her, taking advantage of his loosened grip to slip in and kiss his sharp jawline.
“This is dangerous…!”
Finally, Leon, blushing to his neck, restrained the squirming Ar in a tight hug.
He remained silent, struggling to compose himself.
Once calm, he decided to take the opportunity to address her avoidance of a certain task.
Placing a sheet of parchment in front of her, he said,
“Let’s review the letters I taught you. It’s hard to memorize them all, but a few should look familiar by now.”
Ar frowned at the sight of the tedious letters.
She liked being close to Leon and loved his focused attention, but studying was another matter.
She didn’t see the point—she had already learned what she needed from the village chief’s son.
Still, not wanting to dampen Leon’s efforts, she reluctantly frowned and stared at the parchment he held out.
The lines still looked like meaningless squiggles, but she found some solace in the way Leon softly read the letters aloud to her.
***
“…Ar.”
A low voice stirred her from sleep.
“Ar…!”
Startled, Ar woke to find herself dozing in Leon’s arms.
As she blinked groggily, he smoothed her messy hair and gently moved her to the bed.
“If you’re tired, sleep here. I’ll check the surroundings.”
He turned to leave, but Ar tugged at his sleeve, her wide-awake eyes staring at him.
“I’m coming with you.”
“Are you fully awake now?”
“Mm-hmm.”
She nodded, shaking off her drowsiness.
Seeing an opportunity, Leon sat her at the table and brought out a fresh sheet of parchment.
“Good. Let’s learn about numbers this time.”
“…!”
She regretted not staying in bed, but it was too late—Leon had already entered teacher mode.
She was stuck learning how to count and do basic calculations.
“Why do I need to know this?”
She grumbled, her head nearly spinning from her first real study session.
Patiently, Leon continued teaching, wanting to prepare her for life without him.
To make it engaging, he fetched a small pouch of gems from the cupboard.
“Do you know how much these are worth in silver coins?”
“…?”
She tilted her head, puzzled.
Leon began explaining the approximate value of the gems and how to convert gold coins to silver, then silver to copper. But it was far too complex for her.
Instead, Ar latched onto one idea:
“So, it’s good, right?”
“Well… yes. Many people value them, which is why they’re worth so much.”
“Got it.”
Leon couldn’t understand why she suddenly looked so confident.
Standing up with a satisfied smile, she declared she had something to show him and led him outside the cabin.
***
Ar brought Leon to the edge of a steep cliff.
Below, a roaring river flowed through a wide chasm, impossible to bridge even with the largest tree.
“Stay here.”
She told him, stopping a safe distance from the cliff’s edge.
After securing a rope to a nearby tree, she approached the edge.
“What are you doing?”
Leon asked, a bad feeling creeping over him.
Ar flashed a grin, warning him not to move closer, and stepped nearer to the cliff.
“Be careful—don’t go too close.”
“It’s fine.”
“Ar, stop—”
“Stay put!”
With a final smile, Ar turned and leaped off the edge.
“Ar!”
Panicked, Leon rushed to the cliff, grabbing the rope she had tied around herself.
“Hold on! I’ll pull you up!”
But when he looked over the edge, he froze.
Instead of dangling helplessly, Ar moved with ease, climbing the cliff like it was her backyard tree. She even scolded him for leaning too far over the edge.
“Stay back! Just wait a moment!”
Misinterpreting his concern as impatience, she quickened her pace, leaping and scaling the cliff as if she had wings.
Leon could only watch in awe, her agility and confidence reminding him of a legendary elf.
By the time she climbed back up, he was still reeling from shock, worry, and admiration.
“Look at this.”
Beaming with pride, Ar held out a dazzling ruby she had pried from the rocks.
Even in the sunlight, its brilliance was undiminished.
“You said this is valuable, right?”
Blushing slightly, she shyly offered it to him, her demeanor no different from when she’d handed him smooth pebbles by the river.
“It’s yours.”
Leon felt a wave of dizziness hit him. He finally understood why Ar hadn’t reacted with surprise the first time she saw a gemstone.
At that moment, he decided to add economics to the subjects he needed to teach her.
It wasn’t great news for Ar.
***
Bang!
“Leon!”
The door swung open abruptly as Ar burst in, her auburn hair tousled.
She wore a triumphant expression and thrust something into Leon’s hands.
“I caught a pheasant!”
Ar beamed with pride over her accomplishment. Among wild game, pheasants were considered top-tier.
Pheasants were prized for their beautiful feathers and delicious meat.
She felt immensely proud to present this prize to her partner, eager to show off her skill.
Placing the pheasant on the table, she looked up at Leon with expectant eyes.
“…”
Leon sighed, already guessing what she wanted just from her expression.
Resigned, he lowered his head slightly, and a thrilled Ar darted forward to plant a kiss on his cheek.
But it didn’t stop there.
Delighted with his golden hair today, Ar nuzzled her cheek into it, savoring its soft, silky feel.
Her open display of affection made Leon’s heart race. However, he forced himself to think calmly.
‘It’s like a puppy. A puppy rubbing against me,’ he repeated in his mind.
Without that mental mantra, his hands might’ve moved on their own. Yet Leon’s reality—the inevitability of leaving her someday—kept him from letting his guard down.
He restrained the urge to wrap his arms around her in return.
Sunlight streaming through the window made Ar’s golden-brown skin glow.
Leon loved her color, warm and inviting like freshly baked bread. If he were as uninhibited as she was, he might’ve kissed her a dozen times over by now.
Just as Leon was wrestling with his restraint, Ar suddenly stepped back, as though struck by a brilliant idea.
“There’s something that goes perfectly with this! I’ll go grab it.”
What she returned with was fruit wine.
Whenever Ar found wild grapes, she’d meticulously harvest them and ferment the juice in the way her grandfather had taught her.
All it required was mashing the fruit and storing it in a shaded area. A few months later, a decent fruit wine was ready to enjoy.
Ar picked what she considered the best bottle and brought it to the table.
Soon, the pheasant was expertly cleaned, stuffed with freshly picked herbs, and roasted to perfection.
It sat steaming on the table, accompanied by the fruit wine and a jug of water for dilution.
Ar placed two glasses down, poured water first, and looked to Leon.
“Do you like it strong or mild?”
Preferring to avoid intoxication, Leon asked for his wine diluted two-to-one with water.
Ar mixed his drink to his order, then poured herself a glass with twice the amount of wine and only a little water.
Once both glasses were filled, Leon proposed something.
“Let’s toast.”
“A toast?”
“It’s when you clink your glasses together like this.”
Leon explained, lightly tapping his glass against hers.
Ar tilted her head in curiosity.
“Why do we do that?”
“It’s a gesture of trust.”
Leon said, meeting her amber gaze.
“When the liquid from each glass mixes, it symbolizes that, whether it’s poison or wine, we’ll share it together.”
“I’m not giving you poison anymore.”
Ar grumbled, recalling past incidents.
Leon chuckled softly, reassuring her with a gentle clink of his glass against hers.
“I know. It’s just tradition.”
Still unconvinced, Ar stared at her glass for a moment before mimicking Leon’s gesture.
Then, without hesitation, she downed the entire contents in one go.
“…!”
Startled, Leon immediately handed her a cup of goat milk.
“If you drink that so fast, it’ll upset your stomach. Here, drink this first.”
Ar happily obeyed, sipping the milk with a grin as Leon looked on, his concern evident.
Together, they enjoyed the herbaceous pheasant and slowly sipped their wine.
As Ar stared at her empty glass, a thought crossed her mind.
The wine was well-made, but it lacked a certain sweetness. Perhaps she’d picked the grapes too early.
Searching for a way to improve it, she remembered the sugar Leon had brought before.
When he had sweetened her goat milk with sugar, the flavor had transformed completely.
Her heart raced with excitement as she reached for the sugar.
“…!”
The result was astonishing.
Sugar was like magic—it made everything taste better.
The bitterness of the alcohol melded beautifully with the added sweetness, creating an unexpectedly delightful harmony.
Overjoyed, Ar poured another glass for herself and drank it, humming with satisfaction.
The high concentration of wine combined with the sugar made her tipsy in no time.
‘Sweet things are the best.’
She thought hazily, savoring the euphoric mix of flavors.
Draining her glass, Ar had another idea.
“Here.”
She poured a sugary-sweetened wine into a glass and held it up to Leon’s lips.
“For me?”
Leon was touched. He knew how much Ar loved sugar, and offering him something she cherished so deeply made him feel warm inside.
Smiling, he accepted the glass and took a sip.
But just as he swallowed, Ar suddenly grabbed his shoulders.
“…?”
Before he could react, she closed the distance and pressed her lips to his.
“…Ar!”
Gently at first, she traced her tongue over his lips, savoring the lingering sweetness from the wine.
Then, finding a gap, she slipped her tongue inside, intertwining it with his.
Her movements were playful yet deliberate as if exploring every corner of his mouth.
Only after thoroughly tasting him did she finally pull away, leaving Leon staring at her in shock, his lips slightly parted.
His brilliant blue eyes still shimmered faintly with pleasure, betraying the chaos within.
He caught himself unconsciously reaching for her, then quickly pulled his hand back.
“Why… all of a sudden?”
Though he couldn’t deny the overwhelming sensation, Leon couldn’t hide his confusion.
Ar’s reasoning was simple.
“Sweet plus sweet…”
Adding sweetness to sweetness created something even sweeter!
Drunken logic, however, should never be trusted.
