Chapter 292
He ordered his four inner guardians to return to duty, to redirect all of their most delicate sensors and observational instincts toward Ilux and Erietta.
Their targets remained the same, even though the physical bodies of Theo and Aldraya would be moving farther away.
He entrusted the core of this mission to extensions of himself—manifestations born directly from his own creativity.
The four entities, RWIA, did not argue or ask for explanations.
They were the pure embodiment of their functions.
In response, they performed only a single, synchronized motion.
A deep and meaningful collective nod.
It was not an agreement reached through deliberation, but an immediate acknowledgment of an order already aligned with the very purpose of their existence.
The light of the four of them suddenly flared brighter, then fused into a single platinum-colored beam that pierced the ceiling of the subconscious chamber, surged upward into the layers of Theo's awareness, and stood ready to be projected outward as an invisible observational radar.
"Sit down first, Aldraya. If the safety belt is troublesome, I'll take care of it."
Fhuuuuh!
'Not perfume—rather, a natural scent, meaning that from the very beginning of her existence, that aroma had already been a part of her.'
With his inner radar now active and watching, Theo felt a solid foundation spread within himself.
He shifted his full attention back to the physical realm, to Aldraya standing beside him amid the rumble of the ride as it began to stir.
With a hand gesture that was gentle yet deliberate, he invited Aldraya to sit first.
Aldraya glided smoothly into the seat on the right, like a feather carried by the wind, leaving the left seat empty as a space that had silently been destined for Theo.
The two seats, though separated by an iron support, felt like a small island they would inhabit together in the adventure about to begin.
Theo then bent down, reaching for the safety belt resting beside Aldraya's seat.
The metal felt cold at his fingertips as he carefully pulled it across, fastening and locking it with a firm, reassuring click.
This movement, procedural and meant for safety, inadvertently created a sudden spatial intimacy.
Theo's face moved closer into Aldraya's personal space, so close that he could count each eyelash shading her pale eyes, and see the reflections of the spinning ride lights deep within her pupils.
The air between them seemed to stop moving, trapped in a moment of silence despite the surrounding noise.
At this point of closeness, an entirely unexpected observation struck Theo.
A subtle scent, almost undetectable, slipped into his sense of smell.
It was not the fragrance of perfume, soap, or anything originating from the outside world.
The aroma was more like a pure impression, akin to fresh air at a mountain peak at dawn, or stone cooled by morning dew in a heavenly forest.
That scent clung closely to Aldraya, as if it were an inseparable part of her existence.
Theo paused for a brief moment, his fingers still resting on the buckle of the safety belt.
Deep within his heart, a soundless murmur stirred.
With faint wonder, he questioned how a girl—or more precisely, a fallen former angel—could carry such an unfamiliar and captivating natural fragrance, a sensory signature that defied all mortal logic.
"What are you looking at on my face?"
"Your fragrance, Aldraya, is something born naturally, not created.
A gift like that is something many women long for."
Aldraya felt his gaze, not as an ordinary look, but as something deeper, like a measurement or a search.
Her head, which had been facing the ride, slowly turned until her eyes met Theo's lingering stare.
Her clear, flat gaze carried a wordless question, an innocent yet sharp curiosity, as if asking what he was searching for so intently on her supposedly ordinary face.
For a brief moment, the air between them felt denser than the booming music surrounding them.
Theo snapped out of his absorption.
A thin, almost imperceptible smile flickered at the corner of his lips, like someone caught doing something foolish.
Without much ado, his hand moved with surprising agility.
His index finger and thumb gently touched—not her cheek or forehead, but precisely the tip of Aldraya's high nose—giving a light, familiar pinch.
That touch itself was already an answer, a body language far clearer than a thousand words.
Only then did his voice sound, low yet clear enough to cut through the rumble of the ride, delivered in a tone that was half teasing and half admiring.
He said that Aldraya smelled good.
Not the scent of perfume, oil, or any worldly fragrance sold at a kiosk.
Her scent was something natural, pure, and inherent, as though it came from within herself like light radiating from a pearl.
Theo added, in a tone resembling an honest confession from a human observer, that such a characteristic was a rare biological blessing.
Something its owner might not even realize, yet something deeply desired by many women out there, a subtle but undeniable natural magnetism.
After those words dissipated between them, Theo withdrew his arm and promptly took the empty seat to Aldraya's left.
With smooth, practiced movements, he grabbed the safety belt at his side and pulled it tight with a firm click.
His body then leaned back into the seat, and his sharp, purposeful gaze now faced straight ahead, cutting through rows of chairs as he prepared for the spinning view to come.
"If reality still feels vague to you, then touch it."
The decisive seconds before the massive machine fully came to life hung in the air, filled only by the final hiss of hydraulics and the swirling sigh of wind.
Theo, who had maintained a blank forward stare for the past few moments in an effort to focus, suddenly felt an undeniable pull on his attention from the side.
He turned, and there Aldraya was, looking at him.
Her face remained a calm lake, but there was something different in the depths of her eyes, an unspoken permission that was surprisingly clear.
From Aldraya's lips came a statement so direct and without hesitation that it almost felt like an illusion shaped by the roar of the ride.
She stated that Theo was permitted, if he ever wished, to touch.
Not merely a handshake or a touch on the shoulder, but access that went far wider and more intimate.
She mentioned several areas in a flat tone that contrasted sharply with the meaning of her words.
Her face, her pale hair, her porcelain cheeks, and even a far more private area, which she explicitly referred to as her groin.
Those words hung between them, untouched by the wind.
Aldraya then added, with an explanation that made the statement even more extraordinary, that the last area she mentioned was completely untouched by any man.
Not only in her current life, but as far back as her memories as a reincarnating being extended, a fortress never breached throughout the vast span of her existence.
'Slowly, that wall crumbles. Thus, caution becomes a necessity—'
"I understand, Aldraya. I will pay closer attention to your condition."
To be continued…