Watching Evelyn take small bites of the ice cream, the cream sticking to the corners of her lips, Ryan couldn't help feeling a little tempted himself.

  He exchanged for one for himself as well. Carefully feeding Evelyn, he also took bites of his own ice cream, the icy chill melting in his mouth and cutting through the night's stifling heat.

  "The cone can be eaten too, it'll keep you from feeling hungry for a while." Once Evelyn finished the cream on top, Ryan pointed to the remaining crispy cone in her hand.

  After she finished, he quickly finished his own ice cream in a few bites, his mouth full, making his words slightly muffled.

  "Want more?" Ryan swallowed and patted his hands together.

  "No, thanks."

  Ryan stood up and added some dry branches to the fire. The flames crackled and cast brighter light around them.

  He picked a clean leaf from beside a tree, wiped his own mouth, and then handed another leaf to Evelyn."Here, wipe your mouth. Otherwise the corners are sticky and uncomfortable."

  Evelyn instinctively turned her head to avoid it, but unable to move, she let Ryan gently wipe her lips with the soft leaf.

  The leaf carried a faint scent of grass and wood, and its cool touch on her skin eased some of the tension in her body.

  "Go to sleep. I'll keep watch." Ryan stirred the fire with a stick to make the flames burn brighter and spoke to Evelyn.

  He could feel that her mana was still weak, clearly not recovered from the overexertion.

  This was the cost of forcibly activating an epic-level artifact far beyond her own level. Any other mage might have died from it.

  Evelyn didn't respond. Just as she closed her eyes, she felt something wrap around her legs, thin and slightly icy.

  Was it a side effect from overusing her mana? She wanted to look down, but couldn't move. She couldn't exactly ask Ryan to lift her skirt to check either; that would be far too improper.

  She stole a glance at Ryan, who was adding wood to the fire. The boy wore a clean mage robe, far more refined than the rough clothes he wore in Shrouded Village. The firelight danced across his face, making him look even sharper than before.

  Though usually mischievous and occasionally careless, he shouldn't do anything too outrageous, right? Evelyn thought quietly, her tense emotions slowly easing.

  The crackling of the fire and the rustling of leaves in the night wind lulled her. Surrounded by the warm glow, she soon fell into a deep sleep.

  Ryan sat by the fire, watching Evelyn's sleeping face. The flames highlighted the gentle contours of her features. Her usual aloofness was gone, leaving only fragile beauty.

  He poked at the fire gently, a mix of emotions stirring inside him. This was already the ninth life.

  In every life, he had met her precisely, as if pulled by invisible threads. No matter how he tried to escape, he always ended up entangled with her.

  What could be the reason their fates were bound so tightly together? Ryan couldn't figure it out.

  He knew that if he died in this life, he would disappear completely, with no next life to return to. But after eight cycles, his fear of death had greatly diminished.

  Looking at Evelyn's peaceful sleeping face, he couldn't help but smile softly and shake his head, pushing the complicated thoughts away.

  Now wasn't the time for that. First, let her recover her mana and leave the Black Forest.

  As the night deepened, the fire continued to dance. Ryan leaned against a tree, his gaze alertly scanning the surrounding forest.

  The next morning, the fog in the Black Forest had yet to lift. Ryan carried the still-weak Evelyn on his back, a long sword slung diagonally in front of him, serving as a makeshift walking stick.

  He kicked out the remnants of the fire with his boot, sending sparks scattering across the damp ground, which quickly fizzled out.

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  He secured the bundle tightly against his chest, gripping the hilt of the sword so that the blade lightly tapped the forest floor.

  "Evelyn, how long do you think it will take for your mana to recover?" Ryan asked as he pushed aside obstructing vines.

  He needed a precise estimate to plan the journey ahead and quietly prepare for any emergency escape.

  Evelyn lay against Ryan's back, her cheek pressed against his mage robe. She could clearly feel the boy's body warmth and steady heartbeat. She had lived for centuries but had never been this close to any man.

  Her thoughts suddenly drifted to that male Grand Magus, and her eyes instantly turned cold.

  If she ever got the chance, she would never let the Grand Magus' killer off easily. Killing would not be enough; she would make him experience the pain of an ice-based execution, letting him dissipate in endless torment.

  But for now, she had no choice but to rely on the boy on whose back she rested. She could hardly count on the corpse of the Grand Magus in the magic spatial ring, long drained of mana.

  Evelyn instinctively sensed the corpse inside the magic spatial ring and suddenly froze.

  The outline of the corpse's body was almost identical to Ryan's, except the facial features were ordinary, far less refined than Ryan's delicate appearance.

  If she could take the corpse out and scrape away the mask covering it, perhaps she would find a face exactly like Ryan's.

  "Yesterday was just to help you replenish your mana. Everything else I said was a joke in the moment," Ryan scratched his head, deliberately acting na?ve.

  He did not dare mention the joke about feeding her ice cream mouth-to-mouth, fearing that this woman, who clearly held grudges, would hold him accountable once she recovered.

  "Short term, seven days. Long term, maybe a month," Evelyn's voice softened slightly."During this time, I'm afraid I'll be troubling you."

  She had not expected the cost of forcibly activating the Frozen Crown Staff to be so severe. She couldn't even perform basic mana control.

  "Then you'd better tell me in advance when you're close to recovering, so I can be mentally prepared," Ryan said, breathing a sigh of relief. Having a concrete timeframe put him at ease.

  Evelyn responded softly, resting her head on Ryan's shoulder and closing her eyes.

  The wind through the fog carried the scent of grass and wood, and the steady rhythm of his steps slowly eased her tense nerves.

  Carrying a woman on his back slowed Ryan down considerably.

  They walked through the Black Forest all day. Aside from occasionally encountering a few low-level magic wolves, they didn't see a single outpost, let alone a town.

  "Looks like we'll have to spend another night outdoors," Ryan said as evening fell. He stopped at a clear stream and set Evelyn down, letting her lean against a tree.

  He crouched by the water, testing the temperature. It should be safe to drink directly.

  "Can't you take out your ultimate ice sword for protection?" Ryan asked, concerned. The local magical beasts weren't strong, but if they ran into bandits, they would have little chance without a weapon as a deterrent.

  "No. After forcibly activating the Frozen Crown Staff, I can't even open my magic spatial ring," Evelyn shook her head.

  She knew the danger better than Ryan, but in her current state, she couldn't cast even the most basic spells.

  Ryan looked at Evelyn leaning against the tree. Such a weak yet breathtakingly beautiful woman—who wouldn't feel their heart stir?

  Moreover, she was the one he had long wanted to get closer to. His previous attempts to approach her had ended in failure.

  Since he couldn't fight her or overpower her, it made more sense to try a different approach: pursue her slowly.

  He recalled a story of a powerful female mage who was ambushed by a villain because no one was guarding her.

  Ryan would never let something like that happen to Evelyn. He carried her to the nearest tree shade by the river, carefully letting her lean against the trunk.

  Then he dipped a leaf into the river water and gently brought it to her lips.

  "Wait here for me. If anything happens, shout. I'll catch a few fish from the river for dinner."

  Evelyn gave a soft response and watched Ryan's back, nodding silently. This boy was a bit reckless at times, but his sense of caution was surprisingly sharp. He wasn't as hopelessly foolish as she had assumed.

  But the next second, she withdrew that thought. Right before her eyes, Ryan, without hesitation, took off his mage robe.

  Evelyn quickly turned her head, her cheeks instantly flushing red. Who casually stripped in front of a woman? And here, of all places—it was incredibly rude!

  Ryan didn't notice her embarrassment. Wearing only a pair of shorts, he gripped his long sword and jumped into the river.

  The water was cool and murky. He immediately activated his mana, forming a subtle sensing barrier around him, allowing him to detect living creatures through fluctuations in magic.

  He floated quietly in the water, ignoring the small fish swimming past, focusing on larger prey.

  Suddenly, he sensed a strong surge of mana from his left. A green-scaled fish at least one meter long was approaching!

  Now! Ryan's eyes sharpened. The hand holding the sword exploded with force, channeling mana along the blade to counter the water's resistance.

  In a swift, precise motion, he stabbed the sword into the fish's belly. The blade pierced through, securing it firmly.

  Ryan raised the sword with the green-scaled fish impaled, surfacing, and waved excitedly at Evelyn on the shore."Evelyn! I caught a fish! We're having a feast tonight!"

  He swam toward the riverbank, but just as he was about to step ashore, he saw Evelyn turn her head away again, her ears flushed.

  Ryan froze for a moment, then realized what she was thinking and laughed, pointing at his shorts."I'm wearing pants."

  Evelyn's voice carried a faint stiffness."Put your mage robe back on quickly."

  "Got it!" Ryan didn't waste time, grabbed the robe from the riverbank, and put it back on.

  Once he was dressed, Evelyn slowly turned her head, her gaze landing on the green-scaled fish in his hands. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes—the fish was much larger than she had imagined.

  Ryan found two dry sticks. Using the tip of his sword, he carved a notch into one and began friction fire-starting. Soon, a campfire roared to life.

  "If only the sled hound were here," Ryan muttered, watching the dancing flames. That dog could have helped keep watch.