After hearing Fu Yuan's words, Scáthach lowered her head slightly.
"..."
Scáthach fell silent. No one had ever torn apart the clothes she materialized with magical energy. If Fu Yuan had not reminded her, she would not even have noticed, consumed as she was by her desire for battle, that she had exposed snow-white beauty no one had seen in thousands of years.
After realizing her embarrassing state, Scáthach dismissed the Scarlet Spear from her jade-like hand and cast primordial Rune Magic over her chest.
The Rune Magic Scáthach wielded was not the low-level magecraft used by modern magi.
The Rune Magic she possessed carried the power of the Age of Gods. It had been discovered by the great Norse god Odin after he hung upside down from the World Tree for nine days and nine nights.
Thus, the eighteen primordial runes Scáthach wielded possessed all manner of functions, including healing.
As the Rune Magic shone, the injury on Scáthach's chest was healed.
Then Scáthach stirred the magical energy within her body. Purplish-red magical energy began to cover her slender form, repairing her torn clothing.
The beautiful sight no one had ever seen was hidden away.
Oh, no... the beautiful sight Scáthach had hidden was no longer something no one had seen. The person who had witnessed everything stood right in front of her.
After repairing her clothes, Scáthach looked at Fu Yuan, who had turned his head away. This young man was now acting as though propriety forbade him from looking.
Seeing Fu Yuan's handsome face, slightly flushed, Scáthach's lips involuntarily curved upward. A faint smile appeared on her breathtakingly beautiful face.
How should she put it? Scáthach felt that this man, who was capable of killing her, was kind of adorable.
He clearly possessed such immense strength, yet he was like a little boy who had never been near a girl before. After seeing the "scenery" she had exposed earlier, his breathing had quickened and his face had turned red.
Of course!
Wasn't that only natural?
After all, Fu Yuan was a perfectly healthy nineteen-year-old boy. For someone who had never been involved with an adult woman, what was wrong with blushing after seeing a girl's breasts?
There was nothing wrong with that, was there?
That subtle contrast in Fu Yuan made even Scáthach smile faintly.
Now that Fu Yuan did not intend to continue fighting, Scáthach had no way to force him into it. A twisted melon might quench thirst, but it would not be sweet.
What Scáthach wanted was a battle where Fu Yuan gave his all. What she needed was not a fight devoid of fighting spirit.
Coupled with the earlier accident involving her chest, the desire for battle Fu Yuan had stirred within Scáthach had also faded considerably.
Then let this be the end.
Parting her cherry lips slightly, Scáthach said to the turned-away Fu Yuan, "I'm fine now. You don't need to keep your head turned."
Fine?
Thanks, big sister. I'm fine too!
Hearing Scáthach's words, Fu Yuan first sneaked a glance in her direction. After discovering that the clothing torn over her chest had been restored, he let out a sigh of relief.
But after sighing in relief, a feeling of loss suddenly welled up in Fu Yuan's heart, like the reluctance and sadness of losing something good.
Tch, that was the pitiful little boy for you.
Scáthach: You Think You Can Run After You're Done?
The Queen of the Land of Shadows had exceptionally sharp senses. Especially now, when all her attention was focused on Fu Yuan, she noticed his sense of loss.
The man who had been fierce and razor-sharp in battle had, in the blink of an eye, turned into a shy little boy because he had seen something. It made Scáthach wear an amused smile.
How should she put it? Scáthach felt that perhaps the scenery no one had ever seen before had been worth revealing, since it had actually made this man show such an expression.
From a woman's perspective, she ought to be proud of herself now, shouldn't she?
Scáthach's amused gaze made Fu Yuan feel uncomfortable. He coughed lightly to conceal his embarrassment, then said, "Our sparring match is over, so... goodbye!"
Watching Fu Yuan prepare to flee just like that, Scáthach said casually, "You brought me here alone, did some intense things to me, and now you plan to leave me behind like this. Don't you think that's inappropriate?"
Scáthach had no intention of letting this man leave so easily.
After all, you wanted to run after doing all that!
"You..." Fu Yuan, at a loss for words, looked at Scáthach and said helplessly, "Could you be a little clearer when you speak?"
"We came here to spar. What do you mean, 'did some intense things'? Saying it like that will make people get the wrong idea."
"There's no one here besides us," Scáthach said with a shrug.
There really was no one else...
But Fu Yuan himself had just heard it!
He himself would get the wrong idea!
Fu Yuan suppressed his wild thoughts and pointed at the gate to the Land of Shadows Scáthach had summoned. "Your Skeleton Soldiers can come out through there, so I assume you can return to the Land of Shadows through that gate too?"
"...Mm, no," Scáthach answered.
Hey, hey, hey! What was with that awkward pause just now, Scáthach?!
You were lying just now, weren't you?!
You paused before answering Fu Yuan because you were lying!
Scáthach really could return to the Land of Shadows through its gate.
But... why would Scáthach want to return to the Land of Shadows?
She had encountered a man who might be able to kill her.
So, having encountered someone who could fulfill her "wish," Scáthach did not want to return to the Land of Shadows through its gate.
If Scáthach chose to return to the Land of Shadows, she would be as she had been before—alone in the Land of Shadows, gazing toward the end that would arrive someday.
Afterward, Scáthach would pass away meaninglessly along with the coming end.
That kind of death was what Scáthach, as a warrior, hated most.
So Scáthach did not want to return to the silent, empty Land of Shadows.
Before you continue