Chapter 325
His body, which had been bent forward in tense focus, straightened immediately.
He stood upright in a single swift motion, almost hurried.
Without pause, without even opening his eyes first, he turned his body, rotating a full one hundred and eighty degrees so that he once again faced away from Aldraya.
Only then, with slightly ragged breaths, did he open his eyelids.
The visual world returned, bathed in bright sunlight spilling into every corner of the alley, yet he chose to stare straight ahead, away from the figure behind him.
With a voice that tried to sound normal but still carried a trace of tremor, he spoke a simple line, a declaration that he was finished.
Behind him, the sound of gentle movement could be heard.
Aldraya, who had just undergone a series of intense sensations, was now inspecting the result of Theo's work.
Silence filled the alley for several minutes that felt unbearably long.
Theo stood stiffly, his back still turned toward Aldraya, silently praying that he would not be subjected to another trial like that, that the moment of vulnerability and temptation that had just passed would mark the end of this strange episode.
He hoped Aldraya was satisfied, so they could leave the alley immediately and return to the mission, or go home, or do anything that was not this.
At last, after a long inspection, Aldraya's voice was heard again.
This time, however, it was nothing like the moans and sighs from before.
Her voice had returned to being flat, plain, and free of any emotional weight.
Only three words, spoken clearly yet coldly.
'Thank you, Theo.'
There was no warmth in the tone, no smile behind the voice, no sign that she had just been through something so intimate and unsettling.
The words came like an automatic statement, a programmed response, creating a piercing contrast with the inner and physical turmoil that had just occurred.
'Even if her kiss felt warm, I must not drift—I must not forget our main objective here.'
After that flat expression of thanks, Aldraya did not immediately move to follow Theo.
Instead, she took initiative on her own.
With a few deliberate steps, she walked forward, approaching Theo's position as he still faced away.
The sound of her light footsteps forced Theo to finally turn around.
And when he did, what he saw was Aldraya already restored to neatness.
Her underwear and skirt had been put back on, covering the secrets and chaos that had just unfolded.
She looked whole and composed again, like a freshly completed statue, with no trace of the wet drama she had just experienced.
However, that calm lasted only briefly.
Aldraya, after making sure Theo was looking at her, stepped closer.
Her pale hand reached out, not to grasp, but to pull Theo's left arm with gentle firmness.
Before Theo could ask a question or pull away, Aldraya had already made her next move.
Her graceful body rose onto her toes, lifting herself to match his height.
And then, with a certainty that froze Theo in place, she leaned in.
A kiss landed on Theo's right cheek.
The touch of her cool, soft lips at first felt like a warmer form of gratitude.
But the kiss did not end.
Aldraya did not pull away.
Her lips remained pressed against Theo's cheek, a static contact that was nonetheless intensely charged.
Seconds passed, turning into minutes.
The span stretched beyond ten minutes, an unnatural duration for an ordinary kiss.
Throughout that frozen time, Theo could only stand still, his body rigid, his mind looping around a single, repeating question.
When will Aldraya be done?
When will she release her cold lips?
Every second felt eternal, every warm breath Aldraya exhaled against his skin felt like an accusation or a spell.
The length of that passive yet profoundly deep physical contact nearly made Theo forget everything else.
His primary mission—monitoring Erietta and Ilux as they continued to wander through the market—seemed to evaporate from his thoughts.
Fortunately, earlier he had instructed RWIA to continue operating autonomously.
Thus, in another layer of his consciousness, those four inner foundations remained faithfully at work, continuously observing every movement of the two teenagers without pause, collecting data while Theo's main awareness was completely held hostage by an endless kiss on his cheek, delivered by a white-haired girl who had just asked for help in the most bewildering way and was now rewarding him in an equally bewildering manner.
"RWIA, give me the latest position report on Erietta and Ilux."
"Targets are in front of a skewer stall selling consumable bird meat, east of Your current position."
"Understood. Aldraya, let's move there."
After the endless kiss finally ended, as Aldraya slowly drew her face back, a different kind of silence hung between them.
Without much conversation, with an understanding deepened by the extraordinary events in the narrow alley, the two of them began to move.
Their steps carried them out of the shadows and dampness of the alley, slipping back into the main pulse of the food market.
The sounds, lights, and aromas that had been held at bay rushed back to envelop them, this time feeling like a blanket concealing the secret they had just formed.
Theo, his awareness gradually returning to the mission, internally confirmed RWIA's report.
In his mind, a clear map formed, showing that Erietta and Ilux were no longer near the spicy challenge area or the drink stalls, but had moved on.
They were now standing in front of a specialized stall, which according to RWIA sold skewers of edible bird meat, a dish that might mark the beginning of the end of their culinary adventure that afternoon.
Theo accepted the information quickly, turning it into a new focal point for his surveillance strategy.
With a clear objective, Theo led the way, and Aldraya followed obediently as usual, though now there was a different closeness in the rhythm of their steps.
They were no longer seeking a deeply hidden spot.
Instead, they chose a strategic position.
A slightly secluded area near a stack of empty sacks, lit by neon light from a neighboring stall—bright enough to see, but not enough to draw attention.
The spot was inconspicuous, as many other visitors were also standing or sitting in similar places to rest.
Yet it was not suspicious either, as they looked like a couple or friends pausing briefly, just like dozens of others around them.
"The spiciness feels brutal, like it's exploding inside."
Amid the roar of the market and their own laughter still echoing, the atmosphere around Erietta and Ilux suddenly changed.
The jokes and laughter that had been the soundtrack of their afternoon adventure were abruptly cut off.
Erietta, who moments earlier had been laughing loudly at Ilux's antics or sharing her own jokes, suddenly bent forward.
Her hand reflexively pressed against her stomach, her fingers clutching the fabric just above her navel.
Her face, which had been glowing with laughter and heat, suddenly tightened, overtaken by an expression no longer born of humor, but of pain.
She hunched over, her shoulders curling inward, as if trying to shield the rebelling part of her body from the outside world.
Her posture, usually open and cheerful, collapsed into a tight ball, a universal signal of acute physical discomfort.
To be continued…