During our journey, we took a break when my magical powers drastically decreased, and before we knew it, nightfall had arrived. We searched for a safe and comfortable place to set up camp for the night.
After constructing a simple shelter and washing ourselves, we prepared a bonfire and roasted some meat for our meal.
Once our empty stomachs were filled, all the conversations I had wanted to have with Arin during our flight came pouring out. Like my previous journeys, I took out the guitar from my dimensional storage and attempted to serenade the night before sleep. Arin was somewhat surprised and didn't expect me to play a musical instrument. She even tried to persuade me to sing a song for her before sleeping, in front of the campfire, which silently observed the two of us without arousing any suspicion.
"Why are you only bringing out the guitar now? I thought you were just a strong guy, turns out you have an artistic soul too," she teased, chuckling softly in front of me.
"Hey hey, even in this situation, my artistic soul is stronger than my swordsmanship, magic, and physical abilities. That's what I'm prouder of than anything else hahaha," I laughed while trying to play the guitar and prepare to sing the first song.
"Ooooo cool cool, so I can expect more from you now if you can boast about this, then it better be good," she clapped her hands while looking at me with enthusiasm.
"Hopefully," I focused on my guitar.
Because she said that, I spontaneously created new skills related to music to look cool and not embarrass myself in front of her. Is this childish?
I created the skill 'idol aura', with this skill, anyone who sees me playing music or singing will be mesmerized by the aura emanating from the user of the skill and will feel like I'm their idol.
Then 'perfect melody', with this skill, all the songs I sing will always sound perfect to the ears of the listener and will always leave an impression in their minds. Even if their relationship is very close, this skill can make the listener always think about it for several days.
Finally, the 'charisma in music' skill, with this skill, I will appear very charismatic and seem like a different person when engaging with music. Those who see me will be swept away in my musical performance as if their minds are being hit by a big wave and swallowed into the ocean named music with me as the theme.
With the guitar in hand, I immediately activated the 'music maestro' skill and all the newly created skills simultaneously to produce extraordinary effects for the listener, Arin.
I sang two songs without pause, watched by Arin, themed around 'homecoming' and 'beauty' as I usually did. The tones and rhythms began to merge in the air and resonate with each other, humming in the ears of those around with feelings of happiness and warmth, awakening memories and reminding feelings that had been forgotten by the listener before. Feelings they longed for. Feelings of home and family. The beauty of coming home.
She stared at me, staring deeply with those beautiful eyes of hers. As if diving into me, thinking about me, absorbing every word that came out of my mouth. Touching my body with her increasingly melancholic eyes. Eyes longing for happiness and wanting to forget all their sadness. Eyes trapped in loneliness.
She understood the meaning of every word I had just sung without uttering a word. She smiled faintly then approached me, who was sitting across from her, playing the guitar and singing.
She stared at me for a moment and rested her head on my shoulder to lean on, closing her eyes until she fell asleep on my shoulder without a word coming out of her mouth. From her face, I could see the reflection of the bright campfire light shining again because of her very captivating skin.
I glanced at her beautiful face while occasionally adjusting her head position to prevent it from falling. I continued my serenade while looking at the stars in the sky, which were still as beautiful as usual.
The cold night passed quickly because I felt it was going to rain. I immediately stored my guitar in the dimensional storage and carried Arin to the bed inside our simple house that I created using my skill. I laid her soft body on the bed and slept beside her, holding her. With a little light in the midst of the dim light of the bedside lamp at that time.
Just as the rain arrived and the wind swept our temporary resting place with its rhythm. The night passed without words between the two of us.
Early in the morning, she woke up, finding herself being hugged by the man who had become her travel companion. She felt something different with her feelings. A strange feeling she had never felt before. She began to feel that the man hugging her was more than just a travel companion to her. But she doubted whether her feelings would be reciprocated beautifully or fall apart on the way with her journey. Certainly, she felt hesitant and held back all her desires to try to have that man.
She just tried to hug him, feel the warmth of his embrace, and look at him while occasionally playing with the man's hair in front of her. She thought further, but her mind kept holding her back until finally, the man woke up and found himself being warmly stared at by the woman in front of him.
"I still want to sleep for a while," half awake, I spoke to her.
"Mmm, sure, go ahead," she replied, stroking the back of my head and hugging me tightly.
Her body smelled good, I could always smell her body's fragrance when sleeping, which made me feel comfortable and wanting to always be in her arms.
Time passed quickly, and we woke up in the morning and continued our journey towards our destination.
"Ready to fly again?"
"Yes," she nodded while tying her long hair.
"Okay, let's go," I carried her in front and flew using my skill.
Time began to pass every second as we both stood silent, not because we didn't like each other. It's just that we didn't know what to discuss. Moreover, occasionally my foolish actions didn't lighten the mood, was my joke too outdated to the point that she didn't even laugh? Ah, I don't know.
Days passed by, and we arrived at the dark northeastern forest. A forest known for its many darkness-type monsters, and it is said that anyone who enters never has a chance to return to their original place. Home.