Shane crouched down, his gaze falling on Sern. Her short, silver-gray hair lay in a messy sprawl across the ground, and her cat ears drooped, but her breathing was steady, indicating she was fast asleep.
Elon watched him with a subtle, complicated expression. “Are you really going to search her?”
“What else would I do? Didn't you say she has plenty of Living Soil Pouches on her?”
Without looking up, Shane kept his eyes fixed on Sern's body, looking for a place to start. “That's exactly what the oasis is lacking right now. Since neither of you wants to be the bad guy, I'll do it.”
“Well, that's true, but...”
Elon glanced at Alicia. The latter stood with her arms crossed, a faint, knowing smile playing on her lips, showing no intention of stopping Shane.
Shane then reached out. First, he unbuckled the leather clasp on Sern's shoulder, gently pushing aside the strap of her light armor to reveal the white linen undergarment beneath. It was clean and well-washed. Ignoring her soft curves, he scanned for any potential hiding spots.
Standing to the side, Alicia offered a soft reminder, though her tone was clearly amused. “Be gentle. Don't wake her up.”
Ignoring her, Shane slid his fingers into the gap along the side of Sern's leather armor.
The gap was very narrow, as the leather armor hugged the curves of her body tightly. As Shane squeezed his fingertips inside, he could feel the warmth radiating from beneath the thin fabric.
Soon, he detected a bulging pocket inside. It wasn't large, but it felt as though something was stuffed inside.
As he felt around, he heard Elon suck in a sharp breath behind him. “Where exactly are you touching her?”
“Inside the breastplate,” Shane replied, looking back at him without a change in expression. “Where else would I search?”
As he spoke, Shane first pulled out a small cloth pouch. He pinched the fabric between his thumb and index finger, noting it felt like hemp, and set it on the ground by his feet. He then retrieved two more, making a total of three pouches.
“Living Soil Pouches?”
Alicia had now walked to the other side of the tent, leaning against one of the supports with her arms crossed.
Shane nodded. He could feel the damp aura and the faint scent of dried grass emanating from them, very similar to the one Elon had.
He then continued searching downward, reaching Sern's lower back.
There was a hidden compartment sewn between her light armor and her undergarment. It was so well-concealed that if he hadn't felt that the fabric there was slightly thicker than the surrounding area, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.
So, he slipped his hand inside. His fingertips first brushed against a patch of warm, soft skin.
Going a bit deeper, he felt that the temperature here was slightly warmer than the surroundings. The skin pressed against the linen fabric was incredibly smooth, feeling like fine satin.
Shane's movements paused, and he swallowed hard. He shifted his hand slightly up and down, only to freeze instantly.
His fingertips had brushed against something fluffy and soft.
Shane froze completely. He instantly guessed what it was. His finger trembled slightly as he gave it a gentle press, and he immediately felt the skin beneath his fingertip twitch.
Following that, Sern let out a soft hum, her tail flicking gently.
“You...”
Shane turned his head to look at Elon. The old man's expression was absolutely priceless. His eyebrows were arched sky-high, his lips were pressed into a tight line, and his cheeks were twitching, clearly trying to hold something back.
After a long silence, he managed to squeeze out a sentence through his teeth: “Did you just touch her tail?”
“I accidentally brushed against it.”
Shane's face remained completely impassive, but his heart was pounding.
“Then why don't you pull your hand back?”
“I'm looking for pockets.”
“Well, did you find any?”
Shane fell silent for half a second before pulling his hand out. His thumb and index finger rubbed together slightly, feeling the lingering warmth on them.
“Ahem.”
From a distance, Alicia cleared her throat, offering a well-meaning warning. “I suggest you speed it up. It looks like she's about to wake up.”
Shane nodded. Gathering his focus, he began to search other parts of Sern's upper body.
On the inside of her shoulder guard, there was a long, narrow metal plate about two fingers wide, secured to her forearm with a leather cord. Shane untied the cord, and the metal plate slipped off instantly, revealing a patch of snow-white skin that had been tightly covered up.
The skin, which had been shielded by her gear year-round, was much fairer than her cheeks or the back of her hands, emitting a soft, pale glow in the dim light of the tent.
Elon couldn't bear to watch any longer. Frowning, he said, “Why are you searching there? How could she hide anything in that spot?”
Shane glanced up at him, a rare hint of impatience creeping into his voice. “Then why don't you tell me where to search?”
Elon immediately reached out and pointed toward Sern's neck and belt. “The back of her neck guard, her belt buckle. This girl doesn't like her legs being restricted, so you don't need to check her legs.”
Shane cast a strange look at Sern's neck and waist, and finally looked back at Elon. The look in his eyes was clear: Are you sure?
Elon's old face flushed red instantly. As if trying to cover it up, he raised his voice. “Believe it or not! Either way, I don't have your weird quirks!”
“What weird quirks do I have?”
“You were touching her tail so enthusiastically just now, and you're asking me what quirks you have?”
“That was an accident...”
“Alright, that's enough!”
Alicia spoke up again, her voice laced with helplessness. She pointed at Sern. “You two, can you finish the job before you start arguing? She really is about to wake up.”
Shane shut his mouth immediately, directed his gaze toward Sern's neck, and reached out.
Inside a semi-circular piece of neck armor, he found some dried rations and a palm-sized amulet.
“It resists mind control. Warriors usually keep it close to their heads so it triggers the moment they suffer a mental shock.”
Elon helpfully explained. Shane set the items aside and turned his attention to her belt.
The belt was a wide, dark brown leather strap. The metal buckle had no extra decorations, but the gap between the buckle and the leather was indeed wider than normal.
Shane took a deep breath and placed his fingers on the belt buckle.
As he unbuckled it, his fingertips inevitably brushed against the fabric on the inside of the belt. In that instant, he touched Sern's bare skin again. The satin-smooth texture, combined with the warmth, made Shane's fingertips feel slightly numb.
Likely tickled by the touch, Sern let out a low hum in her sleep. Her brow furrowed, her cat ears twitched twice, and her tail began to sway.
This series of movements made Shane hold his breath and freeze. Seeing that Sern had not woken up, he quickened his pace.
Running his fingers along the inside of the belt, he quickly felt several bulging pouches in the hidden compartment behind the buckle and pulled them out one by one.
There were seven in total.
Shane stood up and took two steps back. Looking at the seven Living Soil Pouches, the few dried rations, and the mental resistance amulet in his hands, he decided that was enough.
As for her gold coins, the thin chain on her wrist, and the dagger on her person, he left them untouched.
“That's quite a lot.”
Elon leaned in, his eyes lighting up as he saw the Living Soil Pouches in Shane's hand. “Seven! This girl is even more diligent than I thought.”
Shane nodded. Just as he was about to put away the Living Soil Pouches, Sern stirred on the ground.
Her body trembled first, then her eyelids fluttered. In the next second, her heterochromatic eyes snapped open. She sat up from the ground and stared intently at Shane and Elon.
Sern's pupils contracted as she looked at the Living Soil Pouches in Shane's hand. She lowered her head to look at her unbuckled shoulder guard, the leather straps that had slipped down to her waist, and her slightly loose belt.
In an instant, she understood everything.
Yet, she did not immediately lash out. Instead, the cat ears on her head flattened backward, and the tip of her tail bristled slightly.
Shane looked at her. Seeing Sern in her current state—her short, silver-gray hair slightly disheveled, the collar of her undergarment askew from his previous movements to reveal the curve of her collarbone, and her usually tense face relaxed with confusion—she actually looked much more pleasant to the eye.
And so, possessed by some strange impulse, Shane suddenly blurted out, “You actually look quite cute like this.”
To the side, Elon's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Shane, instantly taking a massive step back.
The smile on Alicia's face froze as she stood with her arms crossed, her cheek twitching slightly.
On the ground, Sern blinked slowly. Then, her heterochromatic pupils suddenly constricted as her chest heaved violently. “What did you just say?”
“My apologies. Just take it as a slip of the tongue.”
“I'm going to kill you!”
Sern sprang up from the ground, completely ignoring her still-weak limbs. Clenching her hands into claws, she lunged straight at Shane.
In an instant, sparks of lightning crackled inside the tent.
Rate on N.U.
