Chapter 37
The seawater was unbelievably warm.
Iago, being from the island, was an excellent swimmer, and Elena, accustomed to indoor pools, clung to Iago’s arm as they enjoyed the sea together.
Beautiful coral reefs and a myriad of colorful fish swirled around them.
There was even a yellow sea snake with spots that looked like a banana, and a fish so transparent that its spine was visible.
Every time Elena saw a strangely shaped or colored sea creature, she shook Iago’s arm excitedly.
Each time, Iago’s lips curved into a gentle smile, and bubbles rose playfully around them underwater.
Lost in the underwater scenery, unaware of time, Iago suddenly led Elena to the surface.
“It’s better to take a break.”
“Already? …I don’t want to leave yet.”
Elena’s lips were slightly blue as she said this.
Iago gently but firmly persuaded her.
“You can’t swim for too long. Let’s rest, have a snack, and then go back in.”
As soon as they walked onto the beach, Elena realized she was more exhausted than she thought.
Iago laid out a mat under the shade of the palm trees and carefully covered her with a towel, gave her a sip of juice, and handed her some snacks.
Elena nibbled on a banana, staring blankly at the endless emerald sea.
“This is relaxing.”
The words slipped out naturally.
A hermit crab crawled across the sand, leaving tiny tracks beside the mat.
Feeling the breeze coming from the sea, Elena watched the slow movement for a long time.
It was strange.
In this moment of doing nothing, she felt something building inside her.
“Maybe living on this island like this wouldn’t be so bad…”
She didn’t know how she ended up in the world of the novel, but this life didn’t seem unpleasant.
As the sun began to set, and the chill set in, exhausted beyond staying in the water any longer, Elena finally emerged from the sea.
Immediately, hunger hit her, something she hadn’t noticed while swimming.
After swimming all day, she had never been this hungry.
She realized it was probably the first time since her depression that she had felt true appetite.
In the dining room with a view of the sea, a perfect dinner was laid out. They ate immediately, without heating anything, as if devouring it.
Afterward, sleepiness hit her like a wave.
“I… want to lie down…”
Half-asleep, Elena muttered while shoving turkey into her mouth.
“Well…”
Iago, who had been wandering around the villa with all the doors open, approached her with a troubled expression.
“Those tricky old men! Looks like they’ve removed all the beds in the villa.”
Iago gulped as he looked at the large bed decorated with rose petals and two towel pigeons.
“…Except for that one bed.”
“Haah…”
Unlike Iago, whose expression was bleak as if facing a great trial, Elena yawned leisurely, completely at ease.
After swimming in the sea with her exhausted body and eating a hearty meal, she could hardly resist the drowsiness.
“Really? Just… one bed… Then, let’s just sleep together.”
Half-dazed, Elena rubbed her eyes and said.
“…!”
Iago was too shocked to even make a sound, his eyes wide open.
As soon as Elena said “sleep together,” his heart pounded wildly.
“Why… why is this happening? Calm down. Elena is sleepy and isn’t thinking about anything. And she only sees me as a friend.”
Thinking of the word friend, his heart prickled as if stabbed by a sharp needle.
“Aren’t you sleepy? …Then I’ll go first…”
Elena collapsed onto the bed.
Almost immediately, he heard her quiet breathing.
Iago froze, standing at the door, unable to move.
Gulping in air like someone parched from the sea, every inhale made him feel a deep thirst.
“…Focus, Iago Rihyu.”
He wasn’t just a fool in love; he was smart enough to recognize that what he felt was instinct, not friendship.
But Elena had just suggested they remain friends! Only half a day ago, they had promised to be each other’s only friend.
Being left alone in this situation and feeling these emotions toward a friend—
“As the Black King, my instincts are… filthy and ugly.”
Iago’s tender heart throbbed with guilt.
He had been lonely for a long time. Pretending to be a ruthless Black King, he hadn’t let anyone get close, except Uther.
Even Uther, being in a lord-subject relationship, couldn’t truly be called a “friend.”
Meeting a friend of the opposite sex for the first time in his life, and in this situation created by those cursed old men… it was natural for him to be shaken as a man.
“Because Elena is incredibly cool, beautiful, and lovable!”
No one could resist loving her. It was one of the few undeniable truths of the universe for him.
But he shouldn’t let himself feel this way now. To harbor such thoughts toward a friend, asleep, was wrong.
“Bad me! Naughty me!”
Iago whispered, blaming himself softly so as not to wake Elena, and left the room with the bed.
He threw off his robe onto a chair.
Under the bright moonlight, his muscles, from shoulders to abs, were greedily revealed.
“Need to cool my head.”
He swept his dark hair back and dove into the black sea.
He had a feeling he would be swimming all night.
He dreamed.
Walking along the happy beach.
Walking hand in hand with someone, when a blue light shone from the distant sea.
It felt strangely familiar.
He had seen this light somewhere before.
[Yes. That day, I personally… carved it with my own hands…]
“Elena?”
“Mm…”
A gentle voice woke her, and Elena opened her eyes.
As she awoke, the dream vanished beyond her memory.
“What time… is it? Where am I?”
Half-asleep, she murmured. She had no memory of sleeping so deeply for so long.
“We’re at the villa. Remember?”
Iago gently helped her up.
“Uh….”
Enveloped in the pleasant drowsiness of morning, Elena muttered blankly.
“You’ve slept almost twelve hours. Here. Drink some water first.”
Iago handed her a glass of water, watching her closely.
“Ah… what’s going on?”
Elena drank the water in big gulps and asked sharply.
“Hehe. You noticed right away?”
Iago’s expression was kind as usual, but there was a subtle tension.
Elena immediately tensed and looked at him sharply, her sleepiness gone.
“Elena, did you have a nightmare last night? Did you wake up at night while sleeping?”
“No. I slept like I had fainted, without dreaming.”
“Hmm.”
Iago’s expression grew serious. Elena, sensing this was not a trivial matter, asked again.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“Urgent communication came from the palace. Sorry, but I think we have to go immediately.”
“To the palace?”
“No.”
Iago answered calmly.
“To the Kaumana Desert in the northern part of the capital… It rained there.”
Elena’s eyes widened in shock at the unexpected news. Iago’s expression was unreadable and firm.
“It’s the first rain in ten years.”
No one muttered the obvious lie that the magic circle had broken.
From the villa to the palace, then again from the palace after preparing the scroll, they reached the Kaumana Desert.
“Your Majesty!”
“Priestess!!”
Elders and officials who had arrived early welcomed Elena and Iago with excited faces.
Beyond the safety barriers, people had gathered to witness this mysterious event.
Uther was there with the elders too.
He had a subtle, hard-to-explain expression.
It wasn’t just Uther.
Everyone gathered there had faces filled with indescribable wonder and joy.
“It rained.”
“Yes! Your Majesty!”
Iago spoke calmly, and an elder, struggling to hold back tears, reported:
“The Kaumana Desert is the first area in Rihyu to undergo desertification. But last night, it rained for a full twelve hours, and as a result…”
The white-haired elder finally couldn’t hold back his tears, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
“It’s such a beautiful sight. This old man will probably remember this scene at the moment of death.”
Elena could fully understand that feeling.
Even if she couldn’t grasp the desperation of waiting ten years for rain, the sight before her was stunningly beautiful.
The once barren desert was now covered in pink flowers.
Tiny, delicate flowers filled the land to the horizon, sending shivers through her body.
“If I ever gain the power to bring rain, will I make every desert bloom like this?”
As Elena stood speechless, admiring the view, she suddenly heard sobbing voices.
“P-Priestess…”
“Sniff… Our priestess…”
‘Why am I suddenly your priestess?’
She turned to see people staring at her with tearful eyes.
Their hands were clasped together in front of their chests as if in prayer.
