Extra's Path: The Eternal Frost Monarch

"Haa..."

Noah lay sprawled across a huge rock, staring blankly at the sky above.

He looked absolutely miserable.

His clothes were torn and tattered, with scratches, cuts, and small wounds scattered across his body. Dried mud covered parts of his face, while dust clung to his hair and clothes.

He hadn’t taken a proper bath in the last four days.

"...I’m done with this nonsense survival training."

He muttered lifelessly while continuing to stare at the sky.

The last sixteen days had been far more dangerous than the first five.

And for seven straight days, Noah had either been fighting or running for his life.

Sometimes, he genuinely felt that fighting monsters was the easier option compared to dealing with those strange plants.

Those things had tortured him in ways he didn’t even want to remember.

One had sprayed something that made his entire body itch for hours.

Another had nearly swallowed him whole.

Noah shuddered.

’Let’s not remember those.’

Akari had originally told him that the survival training would last for one week.

Seven days.Yet she hadn’t appeared after the seventh day. It had now been three entire weeks.

"Oh my~ So you survived."

A sweet yet strangely chilling voice suddenly reached his ears.

Noah froze. Standing a short distance away was Akari.

She wore a dark-violet kimono that wrapped elegantly around her tall figure. Her raven-black hair was neatly arranged in its usual bun.

Noah’s exhausted eyes immediately lit up.

"Akari..."

His lips trembled. "Oh, my Akari! You finally came!!"

He hurriedly pushed himself upright on the rock.

"Hey!"

He pointed accusingly at her.

"You were supposed to come after seven days! Seven! This was supposed to be seven days of survival training! Why did you suddenly increase it without even telling me?!"

His expression looked genuinely betrayed.

Akari calmly stared at him.

"Well, you were doing surprisingly well."

"..."

"So I thought it would be beneficial if you continued for another week."

Noah stared at her. Then his shoulders suddenly trembled. He lowered his head.

"Sniff..."

Akari blinked.

"Y-You..."

His voice became shaky.

"You-you should’ve at least told me that you were extending the training by another two weeks..."

His voice sounded as though he were barely holding himself together.

Akari’s expression shifted.

"Noah?"

"I-I thought..."

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I thought you suddenly decided to abandon me in some unknown forest because you got irritated with me..."

"What?"

Akari’s eyes widened.

Noah’s shoulders trembled harder.

"I-I know I’m annoying sometimes... and I tease you a lot..."

He sniffled again.

"So I thought maybe you finally got tired of me and decided not to come back..."

He wiped his eyes again before any imaginary tears could fall.

"I’m sorry if I really did something that upset you..."

Akari’s entire expression changed.

"N-Noah?!"

She genuinely panicked.

Whoosh!

Her figure disappeared.

Before Noah could even react, Akari appeared beside him and immediately wrapped both arms around his body.

She pulled him firmly against herself.

Noah’s face pressed against her shoulder.

"Noah, that’s not it!"

Her usual calmness completely disappeared.

"I would never abandon you! I simply thought extending your training would help you improve. I didn’t think you’d become this worried!"

Her arms tightened around him.

"I’m sorry, okay? I should’ve told you somehow."

She gently stroked his back.

"I didn’t mean to make you feel abandoned."

Noah slowly wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her warmth against him.

Her genuine concern. Her arms holding him protectively.

And inwardly.

’Heh~’

Noah almost grinned.

’I’m pretty good at acting, aren’t I?’

He comfortably rubbed his cheek against Akari’s shoulder.

This was working far better than expecte.

’Wait.’

His eyes widened.

’My face. It was covered in dried mud. Even my whole body is dirty. I didn’t take any bath for three days. How did I forget?!’

Noah immediately pulled away, gently pushing Akari back.

"Oh, damn! I forgot I’m filthy!"

He quickly looked at the shoulder of her beautiful violet kimono.

"Sorry, Akari. I got your clothes dirty."

"Noah, it’s alright."

Akari was still worried about him.

"This is nothing compared to how frightened you must have been when you thought I had abandoned—"

She stopped.

"..."

Her eyes slowly moved toward Noah’s face.

She blinked.

Noah blinked back.

"..."

There wasn’t a single tear on his face. His eyes were perfectly clear. There was no water in his eyes.

Even his cheeks showed absolutely no sign that he had been crying.

Noah suddenly realized his mistake.

’...I got caught.’

A bead of imaginary sweat seemed to roll down his forehead.

’Shit!’

The warm, concerned expression on Akari’s face slowly disappeared. Her sapphire-blue eyes became cold.

Noah gulped.

"H-Haha..."

He scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Akari~"

"..."

"How was my acting?"

Her eyebrow twitched.

"I was just joking with yo—OUCH!!"

Akari’s fingers suddenly caught his ear and twisted.

"OW! OW! OW!"

Noah immediately bent sideways.

"Akari! That hurts!"

"Hmph!"

She twisted harder.

"I’m sorry! I’m sorry!"

Noah frantically waved his hands.

"I won’t do it again!"

Akari refused to release him.

"Do you have any idea how worried I became?!"

"Ow! Yes! Yes! I understand!"

"I genuinely thought I’d hurt you!"

"I’m sorry!"

"I thought you felt betrayed because of me!"

"Akari, my ear is going to come off!"

"Maybe it should!"

"Master, have mercy!"

She finally released him after nearly a minute.

Noah immediately covered his aching ear.

"Ow..."

Akari crossed her arms.

"Hmph!"

She turned her face slightly away.

"I became genuinely worried because I thought I’d hurt you, yet you were acting the entire time."

Her eyes returned to him.

Despite her glare, Noah could still see traces of concern within them.

"Do you understand how terrible I felt when I thought you had spent an entire week believing I’d abandoned you?"

Noah rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Well..."

His smile became apologetic.

"Sorry."

Akari stared at him for several seconds.

Eventually, she released a long sigh.

"Sigh... Fine."

Her shoulders relaxed.

"I’ll forgive you."

Noah’s expression brightened.

"Really?"

"Yes. Just don’t do something like that again."

"Of course I won’t."

Akari narrowed her eyes.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good."

Her expression finally softened.

Then she looked him over from head to toe.

"And despite your ridiculous behavior..."

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"You really did well during these two weeks."

Noah blinked.

Akari continued.

"You survived entirely on your own. You fought monsters, found food, secured places to sleep, and adapted to unexpected dangers without anyone helping you."

There was unmistakable approval in her eyes.

"If you were ever stranded somewhere alone in the future, I’m confident you’d be capable of surviving."

Noah smiled.

"Well..."

He proudly placed a hand against his chest.

"I had an amazing master."

Akari’s lips curved slightly.

"Flattery won’t make me forget what you just did."

"Damn."

She shook her head helplessly.

Then Akari raised her right hand.

Noah watched curiously as she brought the long sleeve of her violet kimono toward his face.

She gently wiped his cheek.

Noah went still.

Akari carefully brushed away the dried mud and dust clinging to his skin. Her movements were slow and gentle.

"Look at you..."

She murmured.

"Your entire face is covered with dirt."

Noah remained unusually quiet.

He simply allowed her to clean him.

Her expression was focused as she wiped the dirt from his cheek, then moved toward his forehead.

Noah watched her silently.

’She really cares about me...’

A small smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.

Something warm fluttered strangely within his stomach. It wasn’t because of her beauty. Nor because she was standing so close to him.

It was simply the tenderness behind such a small action.

For some reason having Akari quietly clean the dirt from his face made his heart feel strangely warm.

"Well... I’m also sorry."

Akari’s expression softened as she looked at Noah.

"I know you’re smart enough to understand that extending your training was something I did deliberately. I was watching you the entire time... Well, not exactly the entire time, but I checked on you every day and observed you until nightfall."

"Hehe~ It’s alright."

Noah smiled at her.

"I know you pretty well after spending so much time with you. No matter what happens, you wouldn’t abandon me. And if I were ever truly in life-threatening danger, you would’ve come to save me immediately."

A gentle smile appeared on Akari’s face.

"You really are smart, aren’t you?"

"Of course I am."

Noah puffed out his chest proudly before chuckling.

"And honestly, I didn’t mind doing the survival training for another week. Practical experience like this is much more useful than simply practicing techniques all day."

Akari’s smile widened.

She raised her hand and gently stroked his snow-white hair.

"You’re suddenly saying so many sensible things that you’re making me happy."

"Haha."

Noah didn’t know why bit in front of Akari he loves to act liked a spoiled child. It was kind of a fun.

Noah allowed her to stroke his head for a moment before suddenly remembering something.

"Well, Akari... if you were watching me, then you probably saw me when I found that strange circular platform."

Akari’s hand paused.

"Yes."

She slowly pulled her hand away.

Noah looked at her curiously.

"So... what exactly is that place?"

---

[A/N: Hello, guys!! I’ve uploaded Akari’s image to the character profile on the novel’s page. You can go check it out and give her some popularity in the rankings! Also, the image shows her without the scales on her neck and cheek.]

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