Free Web NovelChapter 387: Do You Know Space?
"Uh, I would like to know all of their names, so please do hold back a little."
Benjamin raised one hand in mild surrender, his expression caught somewhere between amusement and alarm, as I laughed at his easy and predictable reactions to my enthusiasm.
I forgot I was supposed to be cleaning my room and got engaged into more discussions with my love. freewebnovёl.ƈom
I had completely abandoned my chores as he laid his head in-between my spread legs on the large hammock, and I found myself cleaning his ears with a soft weed I had picked from the windowsill—a thin, flexible strand of plant that was sturdy enough to scrape away wax but gentle enough not to hurt the delicate skin inside the ear canal.
Though... his head pressing on my crotch through my thin dress was arousing me insanely, sending waves of heat and need through my entire body, especially since my dress was so sheer and I had nothing underneath at all.
Every small movement he made, every time he shifted his head or turned his face, sent pressure against my most sensitive areas.
But we had bone-shattering, mind-numbing, utterly exhausting sex just yesterday, so perhaps I should not over impose on his patience or my own body today. A little restraint would be good for both of us.
Besides, having the one I love so close to me, feeling the warmth of his body against mine, breathing in the scent of his skin, watching his peaceful expression as I cleaned his ears—that was doing a lot of work for my happiness level right now.
I did not need more than this.
"Hey, Sara..." Benjamin looked up to my face, his blue eyes meeting mine, as we were both settled comfortably on my large hammock together, his head resting on my thighs. "Have you ever seen past the Whispering Wilds? I mean, have you traveled to other places besides Verdant Spire and the surrounding areas? Other continents or countries?"
Oh, he is asking if I am reclusive, if I stay in my village like a hermit and never venture out into the wider world. That is a fair question.
"Generally, we Amazons do not interact with the rest of the world very much. We prefer our isolation and our independence," I explained, shifting some strands of his light brown hair to the side of his face so I could see his eyes more clearly. "But it is unrealistic to not do some type of interaction with the outside world... or some amount of espionage to keep track of what our... friends are planning. So I do leave this continent many times for... diplomatic purposes and intelligence gathering. Why do you ask?"
"Let me ignore the espionage part of that answer for now, because I am not sure I want to know the details," Benjamin giggled awkwardly, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "But if you have traveled so much, then you must know about space by now, right? You must have seen it or heard about it from someone?"
Space?
As in the spatial ability that allows teleportation or warping of distance?
That is a strange question to ask me.
"No, no, not that kind of space!" Benjamin reacted quickly to my confused expression, waving one hand dismissively. "I meant outside the world itself. The void beyond the sky. The stars and the planets and the darkness between them. Not the ability to bend reality."
"...Uh... Benjamin, are you—"
"I am not reading your mind, though," he immediately went defensive, dropping his head back down on my crotch with a soft thump, his voice slightly muffled. "I just knew you were going to think about the spatial ability instead of outer space because that is the more common use of the word in this world. By the way, where is your proof that I can read minds, huh? Show me the evidence."
It is proof enough that I never even accused you of reading my mind in the first place, you silly god-touched.
You defended yourself against an accusation I had not made, which is basically the same as admitting guilt.
He then looked up at me again with pleading eyes, his expression soft and vulnerable. "Just... do me a small favor and try to think more quietly, please?"
"How does one... think more quietly?" I raised a brow, now interlocking my fingers with his because I love him so much and I cannot resist touching him when he is this close to me.
"Huh? You know, like, you think more... internally. More deeply. There are different layers to thought," Benjamin began explaining, his brow furrowing as he searched for the right words. "There is the surface layer, the normal thinking faculty that occurs in your brain, the voice that narrates your day and comments on everything you see and hear. But there is another layer, a deeper one, that is inside your soul. It is quieter and more subtle. Harder to hear."
[Uhhh... Over here? Like this? Am I doing it correctly?] I tried to push my thoughts down into that deeper place, that soul-layer he was describing, and it felt strange—like speaking into a dark room and waiting for an echo that never came.
"Yes, yes, that one! You found it!" Benjamin chirped happily like a bird expecting food from its mother, his face lighting up with excitement. "I can hear you only faintly now, like a whisper from very far away. If you go even deeper, I will not hear you at all unless I really wanted to listen and focused all my attention on finding your thoughts."
[So you really were reading my mind before? You basically admitted it just now?]
"Eh? Ah, no, I mean—" Benjamin stuttered, his cheeks flushing pink, realizing that he had walked directly into a trap of his own making.
I had tried it, the method he described, and it worked.
Basically thinking with my soul, pushing my consciousness down into that deeper layer of my being.
It is a strange way of thinking, that basically feels like "planning" to think at a very casual level, like deciding what to say before you say it, but never actually speaking the words aloud.
I believe I understand it more easily than most people would because I now have a closer connection to the soul generally, thanks to whatever upgrade I received.
The spiritual senses I developed make this kind of deep thinking feel natural rather than forced.
But Benjamin must be the strange one, the unusual one, to casually just hear my surface thoughts without any effort at all.
Most beings cannot do that. Some gods cannot do that. freewebnσvel.cøm
Ah, he did not react to my thoughts anymore.
I suppose I am already getting the hang of this quiet thinking technique, then.
[So... Why did you bring up the matter about space earlier? What were you going to ask me?] I sent the thought from my deepest soul, from that quiet layer where he said he could not hear me unless he tried.
"..."
Benjamin did not react at all to my soul-thought.
He only kept playing with the strands of my auburn hair that flowed across his chest, twisting them around his fingers and letting them go, his expression calm and peaceful.
"What about space, Benjamin?" I asked him again, this time with my physical voice, speaking aloud so he could hear me clearly.
"Oh? Yeah, I forgot what I was going to say," he now reacted, turning his face toward me, his eyes focusing on mine.
But he made a puzzled expression when he saw that I was giggling, my shoulders shaking with quiet laughter.
"What is so funny? Did I miss something?" He asked, confused by my amusement.
"No, it is just... I was speaking to you from my soul cognition just now, the deep layer you told me about, but you were not reacting at all. You did not hear a single thing I thought," I explained, still smiling at his confusion.
"Eh?! Y-You were? You actually figured out how to do it that quickly?" He was being far too stunned by this news, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open. "I did not hear a single thing from you. Not a whisper. And that was when the thought was directed specifically at me too. Wait, Sara, are you secretly a genius?"
Geez, buttering me up again with compliments, are you?
It is a transparent tactic, but it still makes me feel good like a silly girl with her first love.
"Ah, I heard that one. The one about feeling like a silly girl," Benjamin noted, his lips twitching with suppressed laughter. "And yes, about the space thing I wanted to ask you..."
I steeled myself for whatever news was coming next.
Was it truly an ability he wanted to discuss, something about spatial magic or reality bending?
But no, he mentioned it being a location earlier, a place. Outside this world, he said.
Outside the sky itself. Can a mortal being even reach such heights? Can anyone travel beyond the bounds of Elyndor and... survive?
Benjamin looked up at me with those beautiful blue eyes, his expression soft and hopeful, and he asked the question that had been building in his mind:
"Sara... do you want to go to space with me?"
