When Kyle shut his mouth because he had no comeback, Noah, perhaps excited that she’d shut him up for the first time in a long time, grinned.

“So, stop disturbing me and come to the hot springs with me.”

“Then I’ll go bring a gown. With my clothes on…” muttered Kyle.

“I’ll dry you down when we get out anyway, so what’s the fuss about? I brought towels, too.”

For someone shameless, Noah wasn’t the type to ask for something that she’d never asked from him before. It was because she liked familiarity and didn't have much desire, and it was also because she was shy in unfamiliar places.

What she usually wanted was a long night’s sleep, sometimes a very light hug, and being carried from the living room to the 2nd-floor bedroom. Those trivial things accounted for 80% of her life.

Was that it? Kyle wanted to listen to whatever it was when she asked him to do something new or asked him to join her first in something.

“…then I’ll just check the water temperature.”

He eventually lifted her with a sigh. There was a low rock sticking out of the stone wall surrounding half of the lake. The water was high enough for them to submerge their feet if they sat and stretched out their legs.

After seating her on the bedrock, he lightly jumped into the lake. The water was not deep at all. The hot water splashed around his waist.magic

Like Noah had said, the hot springs were the optimal way to relieve fatigue. His muscles from the waist down loosened up in the water.

“It’s fine, right?” asked Noah.

“Yes. Finer than I expected.” Kyle replied. The water temperature wasn’t very hot despite the boiling steam, but soaking it all at once was definitely overkill. “Your feet.”

“Not my hands?”

Noah, who habitually tried to give him a hand, opened her eyes wide. Instead of replying, Kyle put his hands on her legs kicking under the bedrock. As he dug through Noah’s white, thin pajama skirt, his smooth fingertips wrapped around her smooth skin.

Noah flinched when he slid his hands down her slick, smooth calves. He said to her with slight patience, “You have to start with your feet. And take your shoes off.”

“Mmm.”Noah looked down at him with a little suspicion in her eyes. This was because she sort of guessed when and in what way small physical contacts that started casually would deepen.

“…well, since we’re outside.”

Noah tended to think she would be safe when she was outside or with Muell. Kyle didn't bother to enlighten her that it was a very self-righteous idea.

On top of that, when he attempted to break down her barrier by thoroughly managing his facial expressions, Noah was caught every time he allowed it.

That went for this time as well. She made a doubtful face but let him passively put his hands on her legs and feet.

When he took off the light sandals she was wearing, her tiny, pale feet were exposed. When his hand brushed across the sole of her foot, Noah giggled slightly from the tickly feeling.

Not touching her feet required much effort to loosen the muscles in his hands. Kyle mumbled low while exhaling, “Put them in slowly. It might be hot to you.”

The woman who barely listened to him carefully dipped her feet into the lake. The warm water surrounded her feet, and when Noah, shocked, retracted her feet, water splashed in the air.

“Ow. It’s hot,” she complained.

“You really don’t listen.”

“It’s not hot to you?”

“I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, but it's impossible to put you and me on the same line of comparison.”

As Kyle laughed he grabbed her legs again and splashed water on them little by little. It wasn’t until Noah realized that the water was hotter than she’d expected that she said worriedly, “Should I only put my feet in?”

“I’m wetting them for you. If we’re going to get wet, we have to get wet together.”

“I said I would dry you off.”

"You can't get away with it like that”

“What do you mean I can’t… Ah!”

Noah freaked out when Kyle grabbed her stubborn calf and pulled it. Her body was pulled in his direction, instantly inching closer. If Noah hadn’t grabbed his shoulders she would have slipped and fallen straight into the water.

Noah growled after almost plunging into the hot water.“Hey! Stop playing around! I almost fell in!”

“I caught you before you fell in.”

, Noah thought. Her expression was conveyed as is. However, for a moment, she avoided looking awkwardly, perhaps recognizing the distance between them was so close.

thought Kyle. He liked the strong emotions displayed on Noah’s face.

Normally, her peculiar languid, insensitive expression rarely broke. And on days when she got really angry or smiled brightly or cried sadly, he was either there by her side or came looking for her 10 out of 10 times. That’s why she liked him. Because those were expressions only he knew.

But if he had to choose one, it was best to see her smile because of him. Or cry… for a very different reason.

“Don’t do that. Really. When my mind is ready, I’ll get in myself,” Noah said.

“Will it be less hot if you have a bit of a fever?”

“Huh?”

Before she could even ask back, he rolled up the white hem of her skirt and then pressed his lips onto her bare knee.

Her leg trembled. Kyle twisted his head along her still unwet flesh. His lips went up, tapping her pale skin. His black hair rubbed gently against the thin lining of her skirt and made a rustling sound.

Noah let out a small cry of pain.

“Ow… Hold on.”

“Push me if you don’t like it. If you say only one word I can’t know if you’re telling me to stop.”

“…if you bite like that.”

She, who lifted her eyes, had that face that made him just lose his senses; the one that barely pushed down her surging sensation. Noah muttered, moistening her lips, “Now you know how I’m going to respond. Don’t ask what you already know.”

After tasting it a little bit, he changed his mind. As expected, it was clear that Noah had learned from somewhere how to cut off his reason.

When he released his lips from her thigh, Noah let out a breath of air that was either a sigh or a sign of pity.

“Hey, I think I’m going to fa.. Hold on. Let go of me.”

She scooted her body back to catch her balance again. Her butt had been barely hanging off the edge because of Kyle’s tugging earlier. But even that attempt fell through when Kyle pressed her back and clung close to her.