Chapter 123: The Silver-Tongued Man
She lifted her head, scrutinizing Kurtz.
His black eyes were full of "sincerity," at least showing no hint of falsehood, appearing very clear and open, as if what he said was only natural.
This confident attitude almost made Serie wonder if she was simply ignorant.
"...Is that so?" Serie's voice was tinged with deep suspicion, but in the end, she only sighed softly. "What a strange custom."
She did not try to withdraw her hand; instead, she allowed Kurtz to hold it as they continued forward.
Forget it, let him be.
Although this "custom" sounded very strange, completely unhelpful for combat or quick reactions to crises, as an excellent magic user with rich survival experience, she should not have allowed this man to act so recklessly.
However, his palm brought a strange, reassuring sense of stability. She did not dislike this feeling.
It had simply been too long since she was alone; Serie was not used to such direct contact, but since her close friend liked it, Serie would not object.
But deep down, there was always a lingering sense of confusion and a subtle feeling she couldn't quite place.
Serie couldn't explain it.
It seemed the longer she adventured with this man, the more emotions she didn't understand.
Was this a good thing? She didn't know either.
As the two continued forward, a sudden change occurred in a certain ruin.
"Look out! Monsters!"
Serie and Kurtz's low shouts rang out almost simultaneously.
From a collapsed ruin pillar ahead, a dozen ferocious monsters were startled. They flapped their wings, rushing towards the two.
"They're flying monsters, use Light Arrow to deal with them!"
Rarely encountering monsters, Serie's fighting spirit ignited once more.
However, just as she was about to cast a spell, she realised her hand was still firmly clasped in Kurtz's!
"Kurtz, let go of it!"
Serie was a little anxious. What time was it? Still holding hands!
"Don't worry! Just watch me." Kurtz not only didn't let go but tightened his grip.
He suddenly pulled Serie, leading her to slide sideways to dodge the monster's pounce.
"Follow me, Serie." Kurtz's voice carried a hint of battle excitement, but also something else.
He skillfully led Serie to move constantly, dodging the monsters' attacks.
When a monster in the air opened its mouth and spewed a black energy shockwave, Kurtz pulled Serie into a neat spin, allowing her to avoid the frontal impact perfectly. At the same time, Serie, who had gradually adapted to Kurtz's movements, also cast a spell during the spin.
Their movements were like a perfectly synchronised dance.
Dozens of Light Arrows needed no aiming, completely sealing off all the monsters' movements. The monsters, having just finished spewing their attack, had no time to react before they were shot through and fell to the ground.
"Well done!"
Kurtz praised, seizing the opportunity to draw his sword, splitting an incoming monster in half with one strike.
To be killed by his blade, this monster's death was not in vain.
At the same time, he exerted force in his wrist, leading Serie to duck, dodging another monster's sneak attack from behind.
Serie's magic was released in sequence, directly killing that monster in mid-air.
The battle proceeded in a peculiar "hand-holding" mode.
Their long-standing rapport made them seem to share a single combat consciousness at this moment; a slight change in the force of Kurtz's palm, and Serie could intuitively release her magic.
Of course, this also relied on the defensive magic and detection spells they had cast beforehand.
Both clearly saw the movements of all the monsters themselves. Otherwise, Serie would not have allowed Kurtz to be so reckless.
When the last monster was killed by Serie's Light Arrow and vanished into thin air, the battle completely ended.
Serie panted slightly, looking at the battle marks left on the ground, then lowered her gaze to their still tightly clasped hands.
'Not bad, ' it was an exciting way of fighting.
At this moment, she noticed that Kurtz's hand was cut by a small shard of flying rock, seeping beads of blood.
"You're injured," Serie reminded him.
"Small problem." Kurtz glanced indifferently, instead raising their clasped hands and shaking them, laughing. "See, we both are perfectly coordinated?"
Serie looked at his smug expression, then at the battlefield after their fight.
The doubts in her heart seemed to be greatly diluted by these undeniable practical results.
At least the outcome was good, and besides, these monsters couldn't possibly harm them anyway, so she let this man have his way.
She pursed her lips, not refuting, but simply healed his insignificant wound with healing magic.
Seeing that the Elf Miss did not refute him, Kurtz's smile deepened.
In the evening, they found a small stream and began to set up camp.
Kurtz naturally held Serie's hand again as they moved.
During this time, he hummed a little tune, unconsciously stroking Serie's hand with his thumb.
Serie felt the unconscious stroking of his finger and suddenly spoke. "Kurtz."
"Hmm?"
"That... in your homeland's customs," Serie paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully, "when close friends hold hands, do their thumbs also move around like this?"
Kurtz's humming stopped abruptly, and his steps halted.
He turned his head. Serie's expression was calm, as if she were just making an ordinary inquiry.
"Puhahaha!" Kurtz burst into laughter, unembarrassed. Instead, he took the opportunity to come before Serie, knelt on one knee, and brought her small hand to his lips.
"What are you doing?" The Elf Miss became even more confused.
"A hand kiss, a form of etiquette."
"It feels a bit ticklish." Serie wanted to withdraw her hand, but Kurtz held it tightly, unable to move.
"You're holding it too tight, cmon, let go of it already", Serie said helplessly.
"That won't do." Kurtz leaned close to Serie's ear. "Because a certain elf once said that even without mushroom skewers, destiny would bring us together. Since that's the case, why shouldn't I hold on a little tighter?"
Serie's ear twitched slightly. She glared at Kurtz, her gaze more of helpless indulgence than anger.
She wanted to pull her hand away, but Kurtz held it very tightly.
"Suit yourself," she mumbled softly, but in the end, she didn't continue to struggle, merely adjusting the angle of her fingers slightly, making their hands fit together more snugly.
Finally, she just sighed lightly. "Anyway, I can't shake off a troublesome guy like you."
Just as she had said before.
Destiny had brought the two together; only death could separate them.
[End of Chapter]
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