A Changing World

Cael grunted as he struggled to push the heavily laden wheelbarrow across the field toward the storehouse. It was piled high with freshly harvested vegetables, fruits, and grains—everything gathered from the fields and greenhouse that day.

When he finally reached the small building, he opened its creaky doors and stepped inside.

The storehouse was packed with provisions: jars of preserved foods, barrels of fermented drinks, and sacks of rice and potato flour. There was enough here to last months, maybe even a full year. The sheer quantity was overwhelming.

He unloaded his haul into their respective containers before setting the empty cart outside.

He shouldn't have been too surprised by its contents, but it was still impressive, nonetheless. It was more food than any one person could possibly need, yet considering Val's circumstance, it made perfect sense. At one point, this farm had supported three people that had to prepare for the worst.

Cael's attention suddenly caught on an inscription carved into the storehouse; it was a name: Alaric.

Right, that was Val's father. He had learned a lot more about the man as he and Val had worked through the harvest. Her stories were bittersweet. She spoke fondly of how he used to tell her bedtime stories and how he always tried to cheer her.

If he remembered right, Alaric had also been the primary caretaker of the farm and its animals. Val’s mother, Isolde, had managed the housework, the front garden, and household maintenance, while Val had spent most of her time studying magic and various subjects.

A frigid breeze swept through the open field, sending a shiver through Cael.

It was hard to believe that it had already been two months since he had arrived in this world, and now winter was approaching. The fields were cleared of crops, leaving the land fallow, and only a few year-round plants remained in the greenhouse.

As the days grew colder and the sun set earlier, he found himself spending less time outdoors. Instead, he helped Val with chores inside the cottage, practiced magic, and continued to work on improving his language skills. Val herself had taken to practicing her magic even more as well

It had become a comfortable routine for them, and he enjoyed the peaceful, slow days in a way he never had before. Back home, he would have been cramming for exams or grinding away at some dead-end part-time job.

Instead, he was here, with Val, a kind and beautiful woman that—

"Ugh." Cael groaned and smacked his forehead. There she was again. No matter what he did, Val kept invading his thoughts. Her smile, her voice, the way her eyes shimmered in the firelight… the warm, fuzzy feeling it all gave threatened to overcome him and leave him a useless mess. It was dangerous, especially as every aspect of her slowly chipped away at his self-control. Even her ridiculous, clingy tendencies.

The worst thing was that he knew exactly why he felt this way. He just didn't have it in him to admit it to himself yet. Once he did, it was game over.

"Keep repressing those thoughts, Cael," he muttered to himself as he turned his gaze skywards. Dark clouds loomed above, signaling an incoming rainstorm.

It would likely be one of the last they'd have in a while. From what Val had told him about winter, it could get cold. Most of the snow would be further up the mountain in the east, but the farm would still get heavy snowfall and the occasional flurry.

That would mean being cooped up in the house with Val for an entire season with no escape.

The thought made his pulse hammer. At least when they had farm work outside, he could escape inside his head and focus on that. But what would happen in winter? How was he supposed to keep his mind from wandering to her?

"Maybe I can just stay out here and freeze to death," he mused to himself. "That would solve a lot of problems."

A particularly strong gust of wind cut through his clothes, making him shudder violently.

Okay, maybe not that plan.

With a sigh, he turned and headed back inside.

Val was waiting for him in the kitchen when he returned. She had prepared a hot drink for him and motioned for him to take a seat as she finished up the dishes.

Compared to the biting chill of the outdoors, the cottage was inviting. The smell of woodsmoke and dried herbs filled the air, and the familiar atmosphere instantly soothed him.

"Welcome back," Val greeted cheerfully. Her smile was bright enough to make the room feel even warmer. Cael quickly looked away, hoping she wouldn't notice the way he was blushing.

"I'm almost finished with everything here. Afterwards, we can get started with more language and magic practice. Is that acceptable?"

"Sure," he responded tersely, keeping his tone as neutral as possible.

There was another problem he'd have to deal with too. Gone were the days when Val could only speak to him in simple sentences; he had gotten proficient enough in her language where she could mostly talk to him freely now—granted, there were still occasions when he didn't quite understand a word or two.

"Hm?" she paused one of her chores to stare intently at him. "Cael, is something the matter?"

"Nope, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You're acting strangely. Are you tired perhaps?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem?" she pressed on. "Are you not feeling well? Do you need to lie down?"

Before Cael could even register what was happening, she was already pressing her hand against his forehead to check his temperature.

"Your face is a little red and you're hot, but you don't seem to have a fever."

Cael's breath hitched and his entire body stiffened up at the unexpected contact.

Her hands were so soft.

He tried his best to distract himself, but it was futile; he could feel more heat rising to his face and the telltale signs of his blood rushing where he didn't want it to go.

He had to get away from her.

"I-I'm fine!" he stammered, pulling away from her touch. He couldn't bear the thought of being discovered. "I'm just… tired. I think I'll go take a shower before we start studying. That should help."

She pouted but nodded. "Understood. I'll wait for you to get back."

"Thanks," he muttered as he practically fled toward the washroom.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Cael let out a long, drawn-out sigh. He could barely breathe with all of the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

It wasn't fair, dammit! He hated how helpless he was, how powerless he felt whenever she got close to him now.

No, that wasn't right. He didn't hate it; he loved it, and that was the problem!

He loved the way his heart fluttered at every glance or brush of their skin, and it was killing him! It was a sweet torture, one that he willingly subjected himself to. It made it hard to concentrate, hard to speak properly, and hard to do anything!

This was so stupid! He had gotten so much better at speaking her language on a technical level. But whenever she got close like that, he turned into a stammering mess. It wasn't fair!

Cael took a steadying breath and stripped off his clothing before motioning toward the tub's water crystal.

This was his only sanctuary now, the last remaining place where he could be completely alone and not worry about embarrassing himself—the bath.

A stream of water started to pour down from the stone, and he stepped into it, expecting a soothing stream of heated water.

Instead, a freezing deluge came pouring out, shocking his breath away.

"C-crap!" he shrieked as he fell into the basin. His fingers desperately tried to grasp onto the side as he got completely drenched and hosed into the porcelain by the water pressure.

It took him nearly half a minute until he was able to clammer out of the tub. But just as he thought he was fine, he slipped on the floor and slammed against the wall with a loud *thud*.

"Cael?! What's wrong?" Val's concerned voice echoed from the living area through the walls, and he tensed up.

"Uh, n-nothing! E-everything's fine!" He tried to sound casual as he called back, but he failed miserably.

"Are you sure?!" She was getting closer. "I'm coming in!"

"W-wait—"

The door swung open.

Val rushed inside. Her eyes scanned the room in alarm before landing on him. She froze.

"CAEL?!"

She rushed to his side and knelt beside him, and her hands hovered uncertainly over his trembling form. He was sprawled out on the floor, soaked, shivering, and completely unclothed.

"Are you hurt?!" Val's face was bright red, but instead of recoiling in embarrassment, she was thoroughly focused on assessing him for injuries.

"I-I’m fine," he stammered. "The w-water—t-turned it on and i-it was s-so cold!"

Her gaze flickered to the still-running stream, and her face dropped further than Cael had ever seen it go. "No… Fyttsaffoic?!"

He glanced at the crystal too, noticing its usual bright blue color had darkened significantly. Was that normal? He didn't understand the word she had just said, but it didn't sound promising.

She hurriedly turned it off before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around Cael's now pale body. Then she pressed another towel against his wet hair as she started rubbing vigorously to dry him off.

"We need to warm you up," she said in a soft but firm voice. "Follow me, the fire’s lit in the living room. I’ll grab a heating crystal too."

Cael could only nod. He felt like an ice cube now, and it took everything in his power to will his shuddering body forward.

He was so damn cold now, but that wasn't even the worst thing going through his head.

He might've just lost his last sanctuary.