The rain poured for half the day, and Elysia slept comfortably for half the day.
When the young girl awoke, she found that all the small animals in the cave were staring at her, and the black bear she was leaning against had also turned its head to look at her.
"Why is everyone looking at me? It makes me feel embarrassed~"
Elysia stuck out her tongue shyly, then patted the black bear's soft belly.
"Thank you, Mr. Big Black Bear!"
Elysia stood up from the bear, then smiled and thanked all the other animals in the cave one by one.
"Thank you, big tiger. Thank you, little squirrel. Thank you, little unknown animal..."
"Roar—"
The big black bear let out a roar, interrupting Elysia's thanks. It then thrashed its limbs on the ground for a while to relieve the numbness from staying still for so long.
It stood up, placed a paw on Elysia's small head, and pointed towards the cave entrance, gesturing for Elysia to look.
The other animals cleared a path, allowing Elysia to see clearly what was outside.
Only then did Elysia realize that the heavy rain outside hadn't stopped. But at the entrance of the cave, there was a human and a sika deer that had been dragged in by a tiger.
The sika deer, like the human, was lying half-dead at the cave entrance...
The animals could coexist peacefully during the rain for two reasons: one, their strengths were comparable, so fighting would be pointless, and two, they weren't each other's food source, so they had no interest...
As for this passing sika deer... it had clearly taken a wrong turn and was immediately devoured by the tigers and black bears. And that human was a new catch they had dragged back after smelling blood. Originally, it was meant to be food like the sika deer, but unfortunately, they couldn't bite through the two-legged beast.
So they woke Elysia up to see if it was her companion.
Elysia walked over to the human, splashed rainwater on his face to wash away the mud, revealing his features.
Long, reddish-purple hair draped behind him, with a long, blue-purple ahoge in front. His long eyelashes and incredibly beautiful face made him instantly likable.
But his body was a gruesome sight...
He had burns of varying degrees all over his body, and only a few tattered pieces of clothing remained, covering the parts that shouldn't be seen.
Elysia's gaze shifted back and forth between his face and his sturdy, muscular body, a hint of regret in her expression.
But soon, she smiled joyfully again.
Although the Matron said that as a girl, she shouldn't sleep with boys. But he was so good-looking, she was determined to make friends with him!
The petite Elysia grabbed Ryn's hand and pulled with all her might, trying to drag him into the cave.
Although Elysia's strength far surpassed that of her peers, it was still a great effort to pull the Ryn.
After pulling for a long time, she had only managed to move him a tiny distance. Finally, Elysia threw up her hands, exhausted. She placed her hands on her hips and turned to look at the big black bear, the leader of the cave.
Don't look at me...
The big black bear hesitated, feeling troubled by Elysia's pleading eyes.
The more powerful a person is, the sharper their sixth sense. The other animals in the cave couldn't feel it and had dragged Ryn back. But as the strongest elder of his kind, the big black bear instinctively felt a sense of fear from Ryn.
"Big Black Bear, help me..."
Elysia walked over to the big black bear, tugging at the fur on its leg, her eyes welling with tears as she looked up at it.
"Roar—"
No one could refuse the adorable Elysia, especially when she was being cute and pleading!
As if injected with adrenaline, the big black bear swiped its paw across Ryn's face and dragged him into the cave.
Seeing her plea succeed, Elysia clapped her hands happily. She then ran to the big black bear, hugged its leg, and joyfully buried her head in its fur, shaking it back and forth.
"Yay, I knew it! Big Black Bear is the best!"
The big black bear was also very happy at that moment, proudly placing its paws on its hips, looking extremely smug.
The rain hadn't stopped, and Elysia and the animals in the cave were unaware of the 「God's Advent」 that had just occurred. All they knew was that they were full and it was time to rest.
In the end, everyone chose to continue resting to the sound of the rain.
Elysia, however, climbed onto Ryn's chest and curiously examined him.
For some reason, Elysia felt a strong sense of closeness to the man in front of her, a warmth even closer than the familial affection she felt from Maheśvara.
Elysia thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. In the end, she simply lay down on Ryn's body and fell asleep.
The big black bear rested its face on one paw, its two small, dark eyes staring worriedly at the unconscious Ryn.
Damn two-legged beast, stealing the cute little angel away from me.
After an unknown amount of time, the unconscious Ryn finally awoke.
The first thought that came to the conscious Ryn's mind was damn that great will of the Sea of Quanta, kicking him so hard he passed out.
While unconscious, he couldn't actively deal with the various dangers of space-time travel, relying purely on his unconscious body to endure it all.
He wondered how Seele was doing... The Sea was so-so with him, but it should be gentle with Seele, right? He just didn't know where she was now...
Just as he thought of Seele, the voice of the great will of the Sea of Quanta echoed in Ryn's mind.
But this time, Ryn strangely detected a hint of guilt in the Sea's tone?
「Uh... I was having such a nice chat with Seele that I got carried away and lost track of time. Because you two didn't enter the space-time channel at the same time, the time you appear from the channel will also be different... Seele might arrive a little later.」
"..."
Ryn was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say? 'As expected of you'...?
"How much later... did you take safety precautions?"
「It'll definitely be in time. And of course, the safety measures are maxed out. She could travel through it with her eyes closed.」
"Then what about me?! Why didn't I get any!"
「Yours was given to Seele~」
Ryn's vision went dark. He was too tired to even complain. How could there be such an irresponsible space-time travel...
Forget it, forget it. He was tough and thick-skinned, it was nothing. Giving it to Seele was the right thing to do.
But, what was this thing on his chest? It was a bit heavy...
Ryn shook his body, trying to shake off whatever was on him. The movement also woke up Elysia.
The two of them opened their eyes at the same time and looked into each other's.
Long pink hair, exquisite features, a face as cute as an angel's. A tender body, still with some baby fat.
"Mmm... you're awake!"
Elysia rubbed her sleepy eyes and happily propped herself up on Ryn's chest with her hands, looking at his face.
"You're so pretty! My name is Elysia, let's be friends!"