"Are we there yet?" Furina's said with a groan.
"Almost there... Lady Furina." Isaac said before softly sighing. He then looked at the white-haired God next to him. "Seriously... This could've been easier if we cooperated with Spina Di Rosula, y'know?"
"No!" Furina quickly rejected the idea once more.
"..." Isaac could only shake his head helplessly at his Archon's stubbornness.
Currently, both of them were at Elynas— the home of the Melusines. They were following the coordinates in the map given in the letter.
They had been walking up a mountain for twenty minutes now.
"Ugh, it's nothing but walking! Boooring!" Furina crossed her arms as she pouted. She then eyed Isaac, "Just how much longer?"
"Let me see..." Isaac sighed before taking out the paper in his pocket. "...we have to walk another half an hour hike from our location."
"What?!" Hearing that it was a long hike, Furina showed a stunned expression. Her face then quickly changed, "Maybe this was a bad plan, after all..."
'She changed her mind so fast...' Isaac felt amused as he witnessed the quick change in the mood of Furina. Placing the paper inside his pocket once more, Isaac smirked. "There's no going back now. We've already made it this far."
"This is, after all, YOUR decision." Isaac smiled mischievously as he said this.
Hearing this, Furina instantly understood what he meant. "Alright, alright... Point taken. Ugh."
"But seriously, I can't keep this up anymore. My legs are already sore!" Furina complained as she walked behind Isaac.
'...We've only been walking for less than an hour...' Isaac muttered to himself with a blank expression. 'Yeah... This kind of work doesn't suit you. You're better off in Opera Epiclese.'
'Hold on...' Just then, while walking, Isaac suddenly had a thought. He then grasped his chin as he pondered before nodding.
He then stopped walking and began crouching.
Seeing him crouch, Furina wore a confused expression. "What are you doing?"
"If you're already tired..." Isaac said as he turned his head. "Then let me carry you on my back."
"What?!" Hearing this, Furina's face quickly became flustered. She then quickly retorted, "Are you... Are you serious?"
"I may not look like it, but I have a lot of stamina," Isaac muttered with a flat tone. "I can easily carry you while hiking."
Isaac was serious.
To improve his physique, he had been increasing his stamina while in the café. Sometimes, when there were no customers, he would do some moderate exercises to increase not only his strength but also his stamina.
'I can't always rely on my brain, after all. I also need brawns.' Isaac thought. 'I need them GAINS.'
Seeing the seriousness in Isaac's tone, Furina hesitated at first as she looked around.
In the end, she clutched her hands to a fist before walking near Isaac's back. "Y-You better not say anything regarding this to anyone..."
'Another blackmail material obtained.' Isaac thought solemnly before curling up a soft smile. "I won't."
Furina looked at Isaac's back for a moment before getting near and pressing her body against his.
'What am I doing...' Furina thought with a flushed expression as she hesitantly pressed more of her body. 'On a second thought—'
"Up we go." Before she could finish her words, Isaac suddenly grabbed both of her thighs and lifted her in quick succession.
"Kyaa?!" Surprised by Isaac's actions, Furina lost balance and both of them almost fell over.
Bloom—*
Suddenly, something stopped them from falling over completely.
"Whoa— that was a close one." Isaac drew in some air as he looked behind him.
On his waist, he saw his Dendro vision glowing, and from it, thick vines extended down to the ground, preventing him from falling over.
'Man, I rarely use it but it sure does help a lot in these kinds of situations...' Isaac felt like his vision needed more love and attention.
He then looked at Furina above him. "Please refrain from doing abrupt actions, Lady Furina."
"Understood?" His deep amber eyes looked at her directly.
"I... Well..." Furina saw his eyes and stuttered before ultimately nodding lightly. "Alright..."
Seeing her reaction, a warm gentle smile appeared on Isaac's face. "Good. Well then..."
Holding Furina's thighs tighter with his soft yet firm hands, Isaac began walking once more. "Let's go."
---
Isaac and Furina traveled down a dirt path for half an hour. Unsurprisingly, this wore Isaac down.
Coupled with the fact that Isaac walked under the blazing sun, it just made the situation worse.
Seeing a nice open clearing, Isaac decided to take a break. "Let's catch a breather here."
He then slowly crouched down and let Furina stand on the ground.
After climbing down Isaac, Furina hesitated before asking a question. "I... I wasn't heavy, was I?"
"No, you were quite light," Isaac said bluntly as he stretched his body. "I'm actually worried that you might not be eating well enough."
"Ha, me? Not eating enough? The audacity to say such a thing." Furina sneered. "I'll let you know that I have a full-course meal three times a day, and whenever I want them."
"They're not just sweets... Right?" Isaac said in a joking manner.
"..." Furina became silent.
Seeing her silence, Isaac's face changed. He then had an idea of why she was silent. "Wait... Don't tell me..."
"A-Anyway... Isn't this view nice?" Furina didn't let Isaac continue speaking as she pointed at the scenery behind him.
"..." Isaac saw her desperate attempt to change the subject. In the end, he gave in. He then looked at where she was pointing. "Yeah..."
A vast scenery was laid out in front of them. Because they climbed a mountain, they had a vintage point of view.
A flowing waterfall beneath them was present, and in the distance, the vast blue ocean was seen.
As it was already four in the afternoon, the golden blanket of the sun setting in the distance laid over the lands.
A soft and warm tinge swept over Isaac and Furina as they both got entranced in the view.
Coupled with the susurrus winds blowing from afar, the scene soon turned serene.
It was an inexplicable scene beyond words. Like a beautiful painting that came to life and graced the two's vision.
It combined beauty, tranquility, and the warmth of the sunset into an amalgamation of beauty.
Isaac's eyes then moved to Furina's figure. Her body was outlined with the golden rays of the sunlight as she too looked at the scene with her hands behind her.
She then turned around and looked at Isaac, her innocent and bright smile present— unlike that of the false bravado she always puts on.
Her hair then swayed in the wind, as if dancing to the current.
"It's breathtaking, isn't it?" She said with a serene voice. "This is the magnificence of Fontaine."
Isaac looked at her and saw her boastful face and soon, a gentle smile appeared on his face. "Yeah... It's..."
His deep amber eyes then reflected her figure. "Gorgeous."
"Hehe, isn't it?" Furina heard Isaac's words and couldn't help but agree with a bright smile.
'This is dangerous.' Isaac thought as he saw her smile. His heart soon thumped hard. 'Very... Very dangerous...'
Tak—*
Just then, the sound of a twig breaking was caught by Isaac's sharp ears. Alerted, he quickly looked at the source of the sound. "Who's th—"
Before he could finish his words, his eyes suddenly met with the source of the sound.
'...what the f...' Isaac looked at what was behind them and almost cursed out loud. 'What the heck are these?!'
Currently, more than thirty Clockwork Mechas suddenly appeared— no, it was more accurate to say that they had been waiting.
'Were these things supposed to be the ones to off Navia?' A sweat soon dropped from Isaac's temple.
"Huh? What are those doing here?" Furina saw where Isaac was looking and asked in curiosity. "Shouldn't they be—"
"Lady Furina, stay back." Isaac blocked her with his hand as he pulled out his revolver and pointed it at the mechas. "Those aren't Gardemeks."
He then looked around their surrounding and found a large boulder within a safe distance. He then told Furina, "When I ask you to go, run to the boulder to the right and hide."
"Wha— what are you thinking of doing?" Seeing the hostility in Isaac's eyes towards the Mechas, Furina became a little frightened. "You aren't thinking of fighting those things alone, right?"
"Just do it, Lady Furina." Isaac's voice drifted to her. He then saw the Mechas each pull out their gun. "Sh*t... Now!"
Without waiting for her reply, Isaac pushed her away and used his vision to generate a wall of Dendro to cover Furina.
Woom—*
Soon, thick vines emerged from the ground and made a temporary wall.
"Run! Now!" Isaac said as he peered over the vine wall and aimed his revolver.
Furina looked at him hesitantly for a few seconds before nodding and running to the boulder.
Bang!*
Isaac's gun hit a target in precision. It was a headshot.
However, as a side effect, Isaac suffered a slight dizziness for a few seconds. 'Gah, I hate this side effect...'
Rotating his cylinder, Isaac shot three consecutive shots as he retreated to the boulder Furina ran to.
After hiding behind the boulder, confusion and dizziness swept over him. 'Agh...'
'How did it come to this...' Isaac thought as the dizziness slowly dissipated. He then reloaded his revolver and shot back at one of the Mechas.
He then turned over to Furina beside him. Afterward, he cast his gaze at the cliff next to her.
A dangerous thought soon sprouted in his mind.
"Lady Furina... I have a way for both of us to escape this predicament." He said as he reloaded his revolver. "...And it requires your power."
"Me?" Furina pointed at herself. "What do I need to do?"
"We're gonna jump down the cliff next to us and into the lake below the waterfall," Isaac said as he tried his best to hide his agitation. "Before we hit the lake, you control the water to catch us. Got it?"
"That's..." Hearing his plan, Furina was momentarily stunned. She then blurted out, "That's lunacy!"
"I know," Isaac said as he adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses. He then grabbed Furina's arm. "Well then, shall we?"
He then peered out of the boulder and shot one of the mechas. Afterward, he held Furina and dragged her with her arm.
"W-Wait! I don't want to die yeeet!" Furina tried to stop Isaac, but it was futile.
Woosh—*
Their figures then leaped off the cliff.
Isaac's calm and slightly manic face, coupled with Furina's terrified and shocked face made the scene a bit humorous.
Furina was squealing in terror while Isaac was merely smiling with a smile laced with lunacy.
As their figures fell, so did the lake's surface was nearing. Seeing this, Isaac looked at Furina at midnight. "Lady Furina, do it now!"
"Y-Yes!" Furina was stunned for a second before manipulating the Hydro Elements present in the lake to form water tendrils.
Those water tendrils soon extended and merged with Isaac and Furina's bodies, stopping the momentum of their fall.
However, that's all they did. Isaac and Furina's bodies still went through the water before falling into the lake, this time, with less momentum.
Splash!*
Isaac and Furina's figure fell into the lake, and soon, both of them floated to the top.
Afterward, the two of them swam to the shore.
"You madman!" Furina, who got to the shore and sat down, looked at Isaac. "What were you thinking dragging me to a free fall like that?! That could count as an attempted assassination!"
"Alright, sorry..." Contrary to her enraged expression, Isaac— who was lying down on the shore— smiled amusingly. "But it was fun, wasn't it?"
Hearing this question, Furina, who was sitting beside Isaac, became silent. "W-Well... It was indeed... Exhilarating."
"See? Even Gods aren't an exception to thrills." Isaac laughed lightly. "I guess, with this..."
Isaac then slowly stood up. This time the sunset's warm tinge of light blanketed over his drenched figure.
With his alluring deep amber eyes and his soft warm smile, he spoke with a light laugh. "This date had been quite worthwhile, no?"
Hearing what he said, a small tinge of red appeared on Furina's face. However, when she saw his drenched figure, the redness in her face extended more.
With a stuttering voice, she once more retaliated. However, this time, instead of a flustered enraged tone, it was more of a shy soft tone.
"Th-This isn't a date..."
* * *
A/N:
I cooked. Hope I delivered.