CHAPTER 234: CHAPTER 233 - SELENA’S DATE.

Raven’s boots burned crimson as they rocketed through the sky, the clouds parting like frightened birds.

He clutched Selena in a firm princess carry, her black hair fluttering wildly in the wind.

Her laughter echoed, whipped away by the speed they moved through.

The glacial peaks of the Elvarine Dukedom glimmered below them, untouched and unspoiled—an ocean of white silence stretching to the horizon.

It had taken them more than four hours to get here despite Raven’s high speed, as they had traveled from the south corner of the Velmoria Kingdom to the north corner.

Still, not a moment of this four-hour-long ride was bumpy or boring for Selena. She was enjoying every bit of it.

"Where are we even going?" She shouted over the roaring wind.

"You’ll see!" Raven grinned, shifting the angle of descent. "Brace for impact!"

Selena blinked. "Wait, what impact—"

BOOM!

With a series of smaller explosions trailing his heels, Raven rocketed downward, slowing their descent inch by inch... but "slowing" was relative.

They still slammed into the snow-covered ground with a thunderous crack, snow bursting upward in an explosion of white powder. A crater five meters wide formed instantly, steam rising from beneath Raven’s feet.

Selena blinked as she peeked over his shoulder. "...Let’s do it again."

Her breathing was rough, but her cheeks were flushed.

She liked it a lot.

Selena felt like she was about to crash into the ground, but with Raven, it felt dangerously thrilling, so she wanted to do it again.

Raven, however, laughed, gently setting her down. "I’m glad you enjoyed the landing. But I wouldn’t be missing the scenery if I were you."

Selena turned and froze.

This place was located between the snow-wreathed peaks of the Elvarine Dukedom in a hollow, untouched valley.

It was nestled between glacial cliffs and was guarded by swirling fog—the shimmering, massive lake of such crystalline clarity it reflected the sky perfectly.

A small island—on which Raven and Selena had landed—sat in its center, no larger than a village.

Green trees topped with soft snow, bright, crystal-like flowers, and smooth white stones circled a single warm water spring that bubbled gently, releasing steam that glittered, reflecting the sunlight.

Selena’s eyes widened. "Raven... this is... beautiful."

"I know," he murmured as he landed on the snow-dusted shore, setting her down gently. "No one’s ever found this place. Won’t be discovered for at least another year."

She looked around in awe as snowflakes twirled through the air like falling stars. "So it’s just us?"

"Just us."

Then—

Bawk!

A round, penguin-squirrel hybrid waddled by them and face-planted into a rock.

Raven blinked. "...Well. Us, and the local comedy squad."

Selena giggled, her breath misting. "I love it."

..............................

Their date began with exploring the island while holding hands.

Their stay here was merely a try to live a life in a world where there was no one other than them.

Selena always wanted Raven for herself, so for today, Raven would let her have all of him.

The princess was also happy hearing that, but first—

"We need to hunt something to eat," she hummed, making Raven nod.

The next second, he shot a flaming arrow at a rabbit-deer hybrid that squeaked in song before collapsing dramatically.

Selena fried a weird fish-bird that exploded into confetti when touched.

"It’s like this place was designed by a sugar-high child," Raven muttered, still unable to understand why this place was like this.

Best guess: It was the deed of some naughty dragon who came to the human realm in the past.

Selena laughed and poked his cheek. "Maybe it’s matching your heart."

Later, they cooked on flat, warm stones by the hot spring, making bird kebabs.

Raven pretended he was a master chef. "This, dear Selena, is the legendary snow-duck fluff roast, seared in phoenix spit and regrets."

She hummed with a sly smile. "Tastes like overcooked apologies."

Then, she got up, deciding to cook.

She roasted a normal-looking bird she found.

But that was the mistake.

Because as they sat down to eat it, a two-foot-tall chicken in a tiny fur coat waddled up to them, arms behind its back like an old sage.

It stared at the fire. Then, at the roasted bird.

Then at Raven.

Then—speaking in perfectly calm, deep Common Tongue—it said, "May I have a piece of that chicken?"

Raven blinked. "You’re... a chicken."

"Yes," the chicken said, its voice grave. "I want to devour my weaker kin. I find it empowering."

Selena’s jaw dropped. "Wait, you want to eat chicken?"

"I crave it," the chicken whispered. "Roasted. Salted. With a side of philosophical despair."

Raven cut a piece and handed it to the chicken with a straight face.

It ate.

Then it stared into the fire, mumbling, "The cycle of poultry is cruel. But delicious."

Later, Raven and Selena sat beside the lake, feet inside the warm spring edge.

The sky was fading into twilight, stars peeking through, and the pinks and blues of sunset painted their faces.

"Did we... just feed a cannibalistic chicken philosopher?" Selena asked.

"Let’s not think too much about it." Raven patted her head, hugging her waist.

..............................

Raven and Selena weren’t just eating and roaming on the island.

They went sliding down snowbanks on magically summoned trays.

They danced barefoot in the warm water spring while snow fell around them—Selena leading, Raven pretending he wasn’t following her steps.

They built a snow fortress shaped like a heart.

They made snow angels—then realized the outlines touched, and suddenly that was very romantic.

Selena straddled his chest in the snow, kissing his cold, reddened nose.

"You’re surprisingly kissable in sub-zero temperatures."

"I’m always kissable. It’s part of my skillset."

"Prove it."

Challenge accepted. He rolled them over and buried her in kisses until her giggles turned into soft sighs.

..............................

The evening came soon, as the time was passing way too fast for them.

Now, they sat in the warm water spring on the island.

Steam rose gently from the spring.

Raven sat waist-deep, leaning against the edge while Selena nestled beside him, shoulder to shoulder, hair up in a bun.

"...Hey," she murmured, "think we’ll get to do this again?"

He smiled. "If we don’t die tomorrow, yeah."

"Morbid."

"Realistic."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Then let’s pretend this is our last day."

He nodded. "Then we better do everything we can."

They spent the evening soaking in silence, watching the pink-and-purple sky shift above the mountain walls, then—

Selena turned and whispered, "Let’s race through the snow naked."

He blinked.

"...What?"

"No magic. No cheating. Just us. Like snow ghosts."

He grinned. "Romantically absurd?"

"Peak absurd."

And so they ran.

They were like two streaking blurs through the cold, laughing like children, yelling nonsense, chased by a confused long-necked ferret-goose creature who screamed like a trumpet.

The time, however, continued moving at a pace they didn’t like.

It was already night, so they returned to the snow fort they had built.

Wrapped in beast-fur blankets beside a fire, Raven cupped her cheek, staring at her enchanting face.

Her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted, and a small smile was on her face.

"You’re not asleep, are you?"

"No," she whispered. "Just... remembering today. Every second."

He leaned in, brushing her lips with his. "We’ll have more days like this."

She opened her eyes. "Swear on it?"

"I swear... on Nibbles’ peanut stash."

Selena gasped. "That’s sacred."

"So you know I mean it."

Then, under a sky so full of stars it looked like it might burst, Raven and Selena kissed again. Not because they needed to—but because they wanted to remember what warmth felt like.

They both wanted it to be a date they remembered, and they would, because it was so absurd that no one could forget it.

What they didn’t know was that a group consisting of more than ten people was walking toward them as they lay near the fire.

..............................

Snow crunched beneath their boots as the group of eleven trekked cautiously through the narrow valley pass, their breath fogging the frigid air.

"I still don’t get it," one of the boys muttered, pulling his scarf tighter. "This area’s restricted for a reason. Who’d be dumb enough to come flying into it?"

"Apparently, that dumb enough person exists," a girl with violet pigtails grumbled, flopping forward dramatically. "We’ve been walking forever, Aira. Are you even sure you saw someone?"

"I’m sure," came the calm voice of the girl leading them.

She was at the front of the group, moving with precise, measured steps—her pale blue braid swinging behind her like a ribbon of ice. Her eyes, the same frost-kissed hue, narrowed on the winding cliffs ahead.

Aira didn’t speak often, but when she did, people tended to listen.

Because she was always right.

"I saw crimson mana igniting the sky," she added. "It cut through the clouds. No animal could do that."

Behind her, two younger boys exchanged nervous looks.

"That kinda sounds like a demon..."

"Or worse," someone else muttered. "A lunatic rogue mage. Ugh, what if it’s a naked one?"

Aira ignored them.

Her gaze remained fixed forward, scanning the ridges and treelines.

Then, as the group rounded a bend—

"Smoke," she said without a change in her expression, raising her hand.

The group froze.

Sure enough, a twisting column of grey was rising slowly into the star-kissed sky, curling above the snowy cliffs like a beckoning finger.

"Someone’s made camp," one of the older teens whispered. "Here. In this place."

The realization settled like a heavy weight in their chests.

Aira’s eyes sharpened.

"I told you," she said softly, beginning to walk again, her steps more urgent now. "We’re not alone here."