Onean's breath gently wafted onto Erwin's face, carrying with it the refreshing scent of lemons.

Her body didn't appear to be displaying any changes, and it seemed that the fruit was also quite delicious.

"It's very nice and sweet," Onean said as she looked at Erwin with a smile, allowing him to keep his arm around her waist.

The hulberry that Erwin had swallowed was green in color, and it tasted like a combination of honeydew melon and kiwifruit.

"My one tastes really good as well," Erwin said with a smile. "It looks like there's nothing special about these hulberries..."

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, he began to feel a strange sensation in his neck, following which a series of small green balls began to emerge around his neck. As a result, it didn't take long before Erwin was unable to lower his head anymore, and he finally understood why Onean had been looking at him with that expectant expression.

However, she didn't get to gloat at Erwin for very long. A strong sour sensation spread from her cheeks throughout her entire body, and she couldn't help but shudder uncontrollably at the sour sensation. A film of tears appeared over her golden eyes, which she was barely able to keep open, but she forced herself to open her eyes by the tiniest of margins so that she could look at Erwin's comical appearance with a pleased smile on her face.

Erwin wasn't about to back down, either. Even though the growths around his neck were forcing his chin upward, he was still looking at Onean out of the corners of his eyes, watching with glee as she trembled uncontrollably.

Onean had said that hulberries were edible, so he knew that these things definitely weren't poisonous. However, he failed to anticipate the comical effects that would arise from eating these fruits.

A short while later, the two of them returned to normal. These fruits were rather similar to the snacks sold in magic candy stores with the purpose of being used as tools for playing pranks on others. It was something that was quite childish and immature, but it brought the two of them a lot of joy.

After that, the two of them began to taste the hulberries of different colors that had fallen around the tree. Erwin was purely curious about these fruits. As for Onean, she had entered the Terarody Mountain Ranges with Master Piro on several occasions in the past, so she had a rough idea of what these hulberries tasted like. However, they were currently situated in the north, so the taste of these hulberries was slightly different from the ones in the south. Most importantly, she wanted to see Erwin's reactions after eating these fruits.

"This purple one has a very similar taste to grapes," Erwin said. The purple hulberry that he was holding was comparable in size to a watermelon, but he was completely unfazed and sank his teeth into it before taking a few large bites. It was clear that the flavor of this hulberry was also very much to his liking.

Soon, a bulge began to appear on his back, and as it continued to grow, he was made to appear as if he had developed a hunched back.

As the bulge grew larger and larger, it began to split his robe apart, and the contour lines of his back were replaced by slabs of curved carapaces. As a result, Erwin was made to look like a purple beetle. At the very least, that was the impression that one would have from looking at him from the back. Immediately thereafter, the carapace split up down the center before unfolding to either side, and in the blink of an eye, a pair of purple wings appeared.

Erwin turned his head to look at the wings that had sprouted on his back with an amazed expression. "Wow, this is incredible!"

Onean looked on from the side with a smile as Erwin played with his newly sprouted wings. However, she had no intention of trying the same fruit. If she were to tear her dress apart once again, it would truly be beyond repair.

After enjoying a satisfying meal of fruit, Erwin leaned back against the hulberry tree in a relaxed and carefree manner, and Onean was also quite relaxed as she laid in his arms.

The sun was setting toward the west, and the moon and the stars were about to appear. The breeze in the night was gentle and cool, and both Erwin and Onean were feeling very tranquil and peaceful. Lying here in this forest, they were able to cast aside their inhibitions and painful past memories as they basked in the refreshing vitality of the forest, appreciating the beauty of life.

"With this atmosphere and this setting, it would be a real shame if nothing happened between us tonight," Erwin said with a sly grin. After filling his belly, his mind was beginning to wander down some rather dirty avenues, perfectly demonstrating the notion that men only had two emotions: hungry and horny.

In response, Onean sat up to look at him with a smile while lightning began to flash over her fingertips.

"I was just kidding..." Erwin quickly wound his arms around Onean's waist again to pin her against his own chest.

Shortly thereafter, the sound of slow and even breathing rang out beside Onean's ears. As it turned out, Erwin had fallen asleep with his chin resting on Onean's shoulder.

It had been a very long time since Erwin had fallen asleep in such a relaxed fashion. On this night, he didn't have to be reminded of the memories from the Marrod Plain as soon as he closed his eyes. He didn't have to recollect that pretentious farewell with his so-called life-long friends back in Xeto. He didn't have to worry about the fact that he had no home, nor did he have to think about the long road ahead.

In this instant, he was completely at peace. There was nothing on his mind, and all of his confusion and resentment had been set aside.

A satisfied smile appeared on Onean's face. In this instant, her heart and soul had also been soothed by the tranquil environment and setting. Before she knew it, all of the heavy burdens and baggage on her shoulders had fallen away, and she felt like a completely new person.

...

The next day, the two of them were woken by the bright light of the sun.

"It's really nice to be able to see such bright sunshine first thing in the morning," Erwin said as he stood up before stretching lazily. It seemed that he had slept very well the previous night.

"Ever since we arrived in the north, everything has felt so much more open and spacious. It's a much better environment than in the south." Onean also sat up, and she circled her arms around her own knees with a smile as she asked, "Don't you think so?"

"I thought it was just my imagination, but it looks like you also have the same feeling," Erwin replied as a smile appeared on his face. "The only downside is that it feels a lot drier here. The insides of my nostrils are on fire right now."

Onean merely pretended to not have heard him as she said, "We have to get going now, don't we? We can't stay in this forest forever."

"Indeed, it's time for us to get moving," Erwin said as he swept his gaze over the peaceful forest around him. Even though he had only been here for an afternoon and a night, he found himself rather reluctant to part with this place. It was as if there were something abstract calling out to him, asking him to stay.

"What are we going to do with those two bottles of magic potion?" Erwin asked. "It's rather inconvenient to carry them around."

"You say that, but the truth is that you just can't stand the smell," Onean said with an amused smile.

"Then how about you carry them for a change?" Erwin suggested as he raised an eyebrow.

Onean couldn't help but shudder at the thought of the magic potion's nauseating odor, and she said, "I'll pass. Let's bury the bottles here and leave a sign so we can track them down later. We can come back for them if we need them in the future."

Thus, the two of them buried the two vials of dragon heart magic potion at the foot of a certain prominent hulberry tree, then prepared to set off toward the north. Erwin used magic to burn a mark onto the trunk of the tree, and the mark depicted a beautiful woman looking back over her shoulder while covering her own chest. The woman appeared to have just finished bathing, or had to stop in the middle of bathing because someone had barged in on her. Above her elegant back was her intricate chin, which was resting on her shoulder, and there was a look of both embarrassment and displeasure in her eyes. It was incredible to think that such a small image could hold so much vivid detail. It made one wonder if Erwin were the one who had barged in on the bathing woman.

"What's going on in their head of yours? You manage to come up with something new every day!" Onean chuckled. She naturally knew that the subject of Erwin's drawing was none other than herself, but this wasn't what she had looked like when she was bathing the day before, so it was clear that this was an artwork adapted from Erwin's imagination.

"The artwork from yesterday focused more on realism, but perhaps this one is what you truly wanted to convey," Erwin replied with an amused smile.

"Ptui! It's all coming from your own imagination!" Onean scoffed in a disapproving voice.

"Perhaps." Erwin knew that as a creator, one always had secrets that couldn't be told hiding in their hearts. It was impossible to explain those secrets, nor was it a good idea to try. The instant that the soul of something beautiful was captured was one that was filled with mystery and awe, and it would be far too boring and unsightly to express such a wondrous moment through words.

After that, the two of them continued northward, flying through the air using levitation spells.

To their surprise, the black mist that had arisen from their battle against the ice dragon had taken them somewhere that was already very close to the human settlements on the northern continent. It only took them half a day to fly out of the vast forest, and the dense forest was gradually left far behind them.

As the terrain began to flatten out, a small town appeared in their field of view. This was most likely the closest town to the forest that they had just departed from.

Erwin checked the street signs at the entrance of the town, and he was rather amused by what he saw. The street sign that was pointing toward the Terarody Mountain Ranges read "land of untold riches, but also extreme peril", while the street sign that pointed toward the town read "Belama, town of righteous and shady individuals alike".

"Let's go and check out this Belama, shall we?" Erwin suggested as he took a glance at Onean. He looked at her dress, which was barely covering any part of her body, then looked down at his own tattered robe, which wasn't doing a much better job of covering himself. It was no exaggeration to say that they looked like a pair of homeless wanderers.

"We have to get ourselves some new clothes. That dress looks really good on you, but it's exposing too much of your body. I don't mind it when we're alone together, but I don't want other men to see you like this," Erwin said.

"You don't mind it? That's a massive understatement! You've been constantly looking at me with those perverted eyes since yesterday! Do you enjoy seeing me like this?" Onean grumbled as she pinched Erwin on the waist before giving it a vicious twist.

As soon as they made their way into the small town, they discovered that it was more lively and bustling than they had imagined.

The livestock and horse-drawn carriages on the street didn't exactly form an endless and continuous line, but the town had a thriving atmosphere. Just as the street sign suggested, the town was filled with all types of people from all walks of life. There were slave traders with lines of werecats behind them, and there were groups of missionaries who were spreading their faith to the passersby on the streets. The missionaries were in groups because judging from their attire, they all came from different churches. In addition to the slave traders and missionaries, there were also some merchants supervising their servants, who were loading crates of merchandise onto horse-drawn carriages.

As Erwin and Onean were observing everyone in the town, the people of the town were also observing them. Thus, they inevitably became the center of attention for all of the people on the streets.

They were an extremely good-looking pair who were dressed in very revealing clothes, so it was no surprise that they attracted so much attention.

As they walked along the street, some peasant women who were bringing water back from the well were staring blatantly at Erwin's exposed shoulders. The nuns were trying to maintain their composure and feign disinterest, but they were also sneaking glances at Erwin from behind the books that they were holding. A noblewoman who was bartering with a merchant on the side of the street suddenly stopped what she was doing at the sight of Erwin, then directed a suggestive gaze toward him.

As for Onean, she gave everyone the impression that a goddess had descended into the mortal world. Everyone in the entire town of Belama, primarily the men, was gawking at her with slack-jawed expressions, stunned by her into silence. Never had they seen her flowing silver locks and her dignified golden eyes. For them, if they could just receive a single glance from those breathtaking golden eyes, they'd be able to die happy without any regrets.

"There are more people in this town than I thought there would be," Erwin said with a resigned expression. "Do they really have to look at us like that? I know we're a little underdressed, but they're staring at us like we're a pair of magic beasts that just strutted into town."

"Cut the chit-chat and find a tailor!" Onean said as she glared at Erwin with a displeased expression. As the princess of the Effer Kingdom, she had never appeared before the public eye in such an unsightly dress. Thankfully, here in the north, no one knew who she was, and that was the only consolation she could draw from this situation.

With some guidance from an overly enthusiastic peasant woman, Erwin and Onean were finally able to track down a tailor. Erwin felt like he was no longer clean and pure given how many times the peasant woman's gaze had raked over his exposed skin.

After the two of them entered the tailor shop, everyone on the street began to gossip about them, speculating about their origins and where they had come from.