"Do you really have to look at me like that?" Onean asked as she raised an eyebrow, clearly making fun of the entranced look on Erwin's face.

"You're going to be mine sooner or later anyway, so why can't I look at you?" Erwin replied with a confident smile.

"Oh? You make it sound like you already have me in the bag," Onean said with a smile. Unfortunately for her, there was no magic power left in her body. Otherwise, she would definitely be teaching Erwin a stern lesson.

Erwin placed his arm behind the bend of Onean's knees, then swept her off her feet. At this point, this was already a well-rehearsed sequence for him. For her part, Onean made no effort to resist, circling one of her arms around the back of Erwin's neck while squeezing his cheeks together vigorously with her other hand.

"Where are you taking me?" Onean asked as she looked around at the peaceful forest.

"Half of your face is still covered in dragon's blood, so we have to get you cleaned up," Erwin replied as he also began to inspect his surroundings, trying to track down a source of clean water.

"What? You already can't bear to look at me just because I have some blood on my face? Then what happens when I become old and lose my beauty? Is this how you treat your women?"

"Once you get old, I'll just switch to someone else."

"Do you want to say that again?" Onean squeezed Erwin's cheeks together with even greater force, to the point that he looked completely unrecognizable. "Who are you going to replace me for? That red-haired witch?"

"You two are about the same age, so by then, she'll most likely be old and gray as well," Erwin chuckled. "I have to find someone young and beautiful for myself."

"At least you're being honest and revealing everything you're thinking without any filter," Onean chuckled as she poked Erwin in the chest. "Hold on, that's not right. What you're actually doing is giving me advance warning, so that when you do replace me in the future, I won't be able to blame you because you already told me that this was going to happen!"

"Looks like I can't hide anything from you," Erwin said with a resigned expression.

"You didn't even try to hide your intentions," Onean said with a displeased pout.

"You sure are difficult to please."

"You don't seem to mind that very much," Onean said with a smile. 

"That's true," Erwin also replied with a smile.

"By the way, is that ice dragon dead?" Onean asked as she looked back the direction they had come, toward the spot where the severed dragon limb was lying.

"That's very difficult to say," Erwin said as he also turned around to glance at the giant dragon's heart. "That ice dragon is a very strange and mysterious creature. I would believe you if you told me that it could live even without its heart."

He then turned back to look at Onean before asking, "By the way, do you remember what happened after we were swallowed up by that cloud of black mist?"

"What black mist?" Onean asked with a puzzled expression. "I fell unconscious right after you dragged me out of the pillar of purple light. Are you saying that we were brought here by a cloud of black mist?"

Erwin nodded in response. "At the time, when my spell clashed with the giant ice dragon's magic, a massive cloud of black mist appeared, and both of us were sucked into it. By the time I woke up again, the only thing that remained of that ice dragon was that severed limb."

"I don't remember any of that," Onean said with a surprised expression. "What about you? Do you recall what happened after we were sucked into the black mist?"

Erwin thought about the question carefully for a moment, then replied, "To be honest, I don't remember anything, either. I felt like I instantly lost consciousness as well. However, I still vaguely recall that there were some stationary specks of light around me, but there were also some fast-flowing rays of light. Aside from that, I really can't remember anything."

"How do you think such a powerful magic beast had such a large chunk of its body torn off?" Onean asked as she turned to look at him.

"I'm also quite curious about that myself. That thing's body was even bigger than a mountain. I struggle to imagine what kind of force could've been able to tear off one of its limbs along with its heart."

"Do you really not know?" Onean asked with a suspicious expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Erwin asked with a smile. "Surely you don't think I was the one who did that. My time and space magic is more powerful than normal magic, but it's still not capable of pulling off such a feat."

"I still recall how those two new moons of yours killed all those twin-foot flying dragons on the Marrod Plains."

"That was different. At the time, my magic hadn't had a chance to completely sever time and space yet."

"Then could it be that you did that to the ice dragon while you were in an unconscious state in the black mist?"

"I don't think that's possible, either. I haven't practiced time and space magic to the point that it's second nature to me, so I don't see how I could've used it while I was unconscious."

"If it wasn't your magic, then it could only have been the black mist. By the way, that ice dragon was also using time and space magic, right?" Onean asked as she took a glance at Erwin.

"How did you manage to figure that out?" Erwin asked with a curious expression.

"That ice dragon's magic was able to restrict your time and space magic, and the black mist generated from the clash between your spells was able to create a phenomenon of spatial dislocation. No matter how I think about it, the magic it used had to be similar in nature to yours," Onean analyzed. "On top of that, while I was being tormented inside that pillar of light, I noticed that it was very similar to your light shield."

Erwin knew that there would be no way to fool Onean, given her exceptional sensitivity toward magic.

"To be honest, I was actually very surprised by that as well," Erwin said with tightly furrowed brows. "Judging from the few times we've battled these magic beasts, it's clear that they possess incredibly high levels of intelligence. Even back when we were hunting those Falcon Beak Lizards, we almost fell into their trap and got completely wiped out. Then there are twin-foot flying dragons, which Lazaar was able to tame, and the giant ice dragon from yesterday, which was capable of wielding time and space magic. I can't help but feel like these magic beasts are too intelligent to be normal. Do you think there's something strange going on in the Terarody Mountain Ranges that's boosting their intelligence?"

"Back when he was alive, Teacher tried to uncover the secrets of the Terarody Mountain Ranges on many occasions, but he told me that even with his powers, he was only able to traverse through the outskirts of the mountain ranges, and it was too dangerous for him to enter the core region," Onean replied.

"So even with Master Piro's powers, he was unable to enter the core region. Doesn't that mean that the power I displayed yesterday was above that of a grandmaster magician?" Erwin said as a proud grin appeared on his face.

"Oh, for sure. In fact, the power that you displayed on the Marrod Plains was also quite astonishing," Onean said in a sarcastic voice. "If Mistress Faye hadn't attacked you, you would've killed everyone on that battlefield."

The mental image of Professor Hawk's final moments resurfaced in Erwin's mind upon hearing this, and his expression fell ever so slightly.

Onean was able to detect the slight change in his expression, and she was feeling a little guilty for bringing up that tragic sequence of events. Thus, she changed the subject as she said, "By the way, you've been saying yesterday this entire time, but how do you know how long we've been unconscious for?"

"I don't know, I was just saying yesterday for the sake of convenience. I recall that it was quite late in the afternoon, close to nighttime, during our battle against that ice dragon, but take a look at the sky now. It looks like we're only just past noon, so I just assumed that we were unconscious for an entire night," Erwin replied. "Also, about what happened back on the Marrod Plain. At the time, I..."

Thinking back to what Onean had just said, he wanted to offer an explanation for the situation that transpired back then, but he didn't know how to explain it.

"It's alright, I know that you weren't intentionally trying to kill me back then. That's why I never mentioned what happened after the event," Onean said with a smile. "I know that you're not yourself whenever you use that particular spell. You already explained this to me on the first night you used that spell back in Xeto."

"What do you mean I'm not myself when I'm using that spell?" Erwin asked with an amused expression. "I'm always myself at any time."

"Perhaps," Onean said as she stroked his cheek with her hand. "But when you use that spell, only this body of yours remains the same."

"Isn't my body the thing that you want anyway?" Erwin asked as he rubbed his own cheek against her hand in a shameless manner.

"Ptui!" Onean squeezed his cheeks together again with an amused expression. "Back in Xeto, you told me that what got you into that state was the look of pity that I gave you. On the Marrod Plain, I'm assuming it's because that red-haired witch gave you the same look. What was the catalyst for you yesterday?"

"Why are you asking a question you already know the answer to?" Erwin countered with a question of his own.

"What do you mean? I won't know anything unless you tell me," Onean said as she turned her face to the side in a stubborn manner.

However, Erwin didn't say anything. He knew that she was aware of what the catalyst was, so it didn't matter whether he expressed it verbally or not.

"If we go by your theory, which is that the black mist did this to the ice dragon, then why is it that we're both completely unscathed?" Erwin suddenly asked. "Shouldn't we be missing limbs or even be dead by now?"

"You know far more about time and space magic than I do, so shouldn't you be asking yourself that?"

"Alright, pretend like I never said anything," Erwin said as he pursed his lips in a sheepish manner.

As the two of them were talking, they discovered a small creek in the forest. The water in the creek was flowing in a self-absorbed manner, completely uncaring of who had set foot into this forest.

Erwin finally set down Onean after stepping into the creek, and the water in the creek reached above both of their kneecaps.

He raised his head to look up at the blue sky and white clouds overhead, then swept his gaze over the tranquil and peaceful forest. Even though he didn't know where they were right now, it didn't really seem to matter. Never had he felt such a sense of appreciation for scenery before. Just as Onean had said, he needed to get out more.

The airship was naturally a fantastic vantage point to view scenery from, but it was different from personally experiencing the scenery, experiencing the comforting sensation of the water in the creek flowing over his fingertips, or experiencing the refreshing relaxation brought about by the gentle spring breeze. He could also smell the fragrance of all of the plants in the forest, and even though he was unable to discern which plant each aroma was coming from, it was enough for him to be able to inhale their fragrance. In fact, it was enough for him just to be able to draw breath at all as it told him that he was still alive.

However, he didn't get a chance to bask in the joy of being in nature for very long before Onean scooped up some water from the creek with her hands, then splashed it onto his face.

Erwin shuddered involuntarily from the sneak attack, then immediately began to retaliate.

Onean wasn't holding back, either, and she giggled with glee as she splashed Erwin once again, completely soaking his clothes through and through.

By the time the two of them grew tired of splashing each other, both of them were already completely drenched. Erwin wound his arms around Onean's waist from behind, allowing the water on his face and hair to flow down his chin before dripping onto her cheek.

She could feel Erwin's heartbeat through her back, and she thought back to when the two of them had been standing on the city wall of Xeto, where they had been in the same pose. She then recalled their escape back to Sarus, where they had ridden the same horse together. Under the pelting rain, they had also been snuggled up together on horseback like this. However, in contrast with those two occasions, she was living far more in the moment.

"Why are you still here? Do you want me to wash up or not?" Onean asked with a smile as she tapped the back of his hand with her fingers.

For some reason, Erwin was uncharacteristically obedient on this occasion, and he strode directly toward the bank of the creek.

However, he didn't go very far before he turned around with a sly expression to look back at Onean.

To his surprise, Onean was also looking at him with a hint of a smile on her face, and there was golden lightning crackling over her fingertips.

Looks like she's recovered some magic power, Erwin lamented internally, then picked up the pace as he continued to trudge toward the bank of the creek.