Zenesha blurted out a question. She also discovered that after they signed that dragon slave contract, she wasn't that cautious of him anymore. At the very least, she could speak much more casually than before.
And Prime also didn't care much, it seemed. Well, he was unbothered about a lot of things.
Prime didn't answer her question immediately but instead invited himself and poured himself a cup of tea. He then gracefully sipped on it; there wasn't any urgency in his face.
Zenesha's eyelids twitched; this was really one of those moments when she wanted to hit his head so badly. He was so fucking annoying that she even suspected that this dragon was doing it on purpose to irritate her.
As if confirming her thoughts, the corner of Prime's lips lifted and his brow raised in amusement.
"This tea is good." Prime smiled at Zenesha, then sipped once more.
Zenesha clenched her hand in her lap. Damn, I want to strangle his neck so much. How could he have that extremely hateful face?
She rolled her eyes and averted her eyes. If not, she might offend her 'master' and all of these opportunities in front of her would vanish like smoke. She decided to wait and endure like she always did.
At the corner of his eyes, Prime observed Zenesha, and with a flicker of his golden eyes, he smiled. Zenesha didn't notice this, as she was now looking at her lap and counting her fingers in boredom.
"Can you repeat your question?"
Finally, after a few minutes, as if he were done playing around, Prime's voice reached her ears. Zenesha raised her head immediately and looked at him. Prime's gold hair shone as his earrings also flickered in the light.
For a moment, she was so dazzled by Prime's handsome appearance that she almost forgot her annoyance with him. A second later, she snapped out of her daze and swallowed. Zenesha straightened in her seat. She then began to hypnotize herself, thinking that this dragon was up to no good and that his appearance was the only thing that was good about him.
Chanting this, she repeated her question, although she knew that Prime definitely heard her question the first time. What could she do but repeat it?
"What is an Awakened Character?"
In fact, after recovering from the shock of Prime's appearance, who always appears out of nowhere, Zenesha also pondered on her own. Although she didn't know what it actually meant, just these words alone gave her an idea of what it was.
Still, it didn't hurt to confirm it with the individual who knew it best.
This time, Prime didn't make it harder for her anymore. The tea was already finished, but he began pouring again into his cup. He then answered her question while doing so.
"Well, this should also be easy to understand even without me explaining it."
Prime smiled after he paused and saw Zenesha's dissatisfied reaction to what he said, but he still continued. It seemed he really loved to annoy Zenesha whenever he had the opportunity.
"An Awakened Character are those individuals that have their awareness awakened. They either have the clue that the world they are living in is only a strange world or they have already confirmed it themselves." Prime finally became serious. He set the teacup and then raised his head; his golden pupils met Zenesha's blue ones.
And so he continued upon seeing that Zenesha was only listening to him without making any comments. "More often than not, these Awakened Characters aren't able to exist for long. Those beings watching the book world will immediately take action and wipe out their awareness, and if it is severe, as long as they are not part of the plot itself, they can be discarded completely." Prime casually explained, and there wasn't any hint of sympathy in his tone.
Zenesha also didn't have many reactions, although she indeed felt bad. She still understood that it had something to do with some law of the world, as much as she hated to agree to those fuckers.
Still, like everyone else, she knew some cases might be rare, but they would still exist.
"Then, if the Awakened Character hid themselves deeply?" She raised this question.
If an Awakened Character could be easily discovered, then Louvnel had long been dealt with and his awareness wiped out. After all, they couldn't discard him as he was part of the plot. However, he was still hiding himself from those beings and cleverly doing his 'job' as a character in the scenarios.
Prime gazed at her deeply, and he chuckled.
"You're seriously such a treasure, Zenesha," he said rather ambiguously, yet for some reason there was a smug smirk on his lips.
Zenesha subconsciously closed her mouth firmly, and a sense of foreboding came within her. Fuck, this dragon is really dangerous! She complained inside.
Seeing her silence and the rare nervousness within her, Prime narrowed his eyes, his lips hooking up in amusement. As if wanting to test her, he leaned forward, so they were only inches away from each other.
At this distance, Zenesha could feel Prime's hot breath against her and even clearly see his golden pupils, which were unlike humans but had a slit for the predator. His scent seemed to rub off against hers, and Zenesha bit her lips.
Instinctively, she wanted to move away, and yet she also didn't want to appear defeated or let him know she was deeply affected by being in this close proximity. Zenesha was so torn inside that she was already frozen and couldn't move back anymore.
Prime stared at her deeply; it was such a hot, piercing gaze that ignited something within her. It was an unknown sensation that Zenesha couldn't describe in full without being insane.
"How could you be so smart, hmm?" Prime spoke. His pleasant breath hit her nostrils, and this tone made her drunk. He then leaned once more until his face was already beside Zenesha's ears; it was even enough to land his lips against her cheek.
And so he began to whisper, "Don't seduce me too much; I'm not that immune to temptation."
Zenesha flinched, her cheeks flushed, and for the first time since she became petrified in her seat because of Prime's actions, she finally moved and reacted.
"What do you mean, seducing you?" Zenesha reacted strongly, moving away and looking away, taking a deep breath to make her flustered appearance return to normal.
She took a glimpse at Prime; the hateful dragon didn't move an inch from his position and was still slightly close to her position. There was an amused smile on his lips, a kind that only emphasized his otherworldly appearance.
"I'm not seducing you. Huh, where is this coming from? Are you being delusional?" Zenesha was so distraught that she began to blabber, and as a result, not only didn't she deter Prime, but it seemed she continued to catch his interest.
Prime bit his lips and stared at her; they made eye contact again. For some reason, there was some kind of ambiguous air that seeped into the air between those gazes.
Truly... a precious gem. Prime muttered, a greed began to take root within him.