In this world, adventurers come in pairs.

There's the seeker: the battle unit. He is in charge of offense, defense, hunting, scouting, and virtually any outdoor acivity you think of.

On the other hand is the keeper: the care unit. She is in charge of making sure the seeker is alive and well. Heals, buffs, crafting, enchantments, and virtually any indoor activity you think of.

But as I said, they come in pairs. The seeker's growth is only unlocked once he finds a keeper, and the keeper's abilities are only unlocked once she finds a seeker. Of course, they have to undergo this thing called the Marriage ceremony to actually unlock those.

And yes, the emphasis on pronouns mean that seekers are male, and keepers are female. 

Ayo, sounds sexist-- shut the fuck up.

Because while I did say what I said earlier, we have a special case.

A young woman with black hair could be seen in a clear area in the forest. Her hair was short, and was uneven. It was obvious she cut it herself.

She wasn't that muscular, but the muscles under the skin of her arms shifted as she skilfully skinned the hare she hunted. Her hazelnut eyes glared at the poor creature, her rough hands mercilessly clutching at its dead body.

Yes, yes, this young lady right here is a female seeker. And there are a whole lot of problems that arose just because she was a female seeker.

One problem was that most keepers did not want a female seeker. Seekers were meant to be strong-- brutal. Men were just born stronger and tougher by default.

And even for the few that were willing to pair with her, the marriage ceremony always failed. The result? Well, she was a solo seeker.

And being a solo seeker meant, she didn't have any access to most of the things she would have been able to do. No level-ups, no skills, no heals, no home-- all things which require a keeper.

But who cares? She's gotten used to it. She's escaped death dozens of times already, with her raw knife skills and superior nimbleness.

And if she dies, then that's it. No more having to suffer alone, with nothing but enemies around you.

With a heavy heart, Clest finished removing the innards and skin of the hare she caught. All that was left was a bloody, decapitated body of what was once a hare.

Clest looked around, looking for a water tree. No, it's not a tree made of water. It's a tree that bears waterfruit. It was a fairly common tree around her area, so water was never a problem.

Upon noticing one, she placed her still raw dinner down at some rock, and hastily climbed the thick, green trunk of the watertree. Hanging upon one of its branches was an egg-like fruit, the size of a coconut. Or an ostrich egg.

It really was egg-like, with a hard shell coating. 

Clest carefully picked off the egg-shaped waterfruit, and then went back down. Retrieving her bloody knife, she made a small opening at the top of the water fruit, before using the clear water within to clean her knife and the hare meat she just treated. 

Of course, she was very careful, not wanting to climb a tree again to get another waterfruit.

With the meat clean, all that was left was to start a fire. This was one of the more troublesome tasks. When she first started out, it took her around an hour before she could get an ember going. Sometimes, the ember would even die before she got to feed it any fuel.

Recently though, it took her around 10 minutes to make an ember, which is still a pretty long time, as she had to rub dry sticks together for the entire duration.

She had also learned various tricks to help herself. 

First, she would prepare all the things she needed. Thin twigs, thicker twigs, and of course, tinder. Around her waist was a string, with several clumps of tinder were tied around it. She retrieved one of the tinder clumps and began the process of starting a fire.

In roughly ten minutes, smoke could be seen, rising from her position. The fire she started was now going.

Not wanting to waste time and fuel, she quickly stabbed a washed stick through the meat, before beginning to roast it above the open flame.

Since the meat was lumpy, she had to take the cooking process slowly. It might more than an hour of waiting before it was done.

Still, all she had to do now was wait, keep the flame going, and occassionally turn the meat so it doesn't burn.

And so, Clest did that. Although she was a bit depressed, as a keeper could do all this with not even half the effort. But what could she do? These were the cards dealt to her.

As the surroundings started to get basked in the orange sunset light, the forest grew dimmer. Clest sat there, her eyes reflecting the flickering flames in front of her.

...

...

...

But then suddenly, a faint rustling came from the nearby bushes.

Clest was thrown out of her trance, realizing that quite some time had passed, and the forest was starting to get even darker.

Brandishing her knife, and taking a burning branch from the firepit, she turned towards the sound. 

"Who's there?"

Immediately, a male voice rang. "Woah, woah, woah, wait, wait!"

The bushes then rustled some more, before a young man revealed himself. He had dark hair and dark eyes. And as expected of a male, he had prominent muscles and a wide stature.

The first thing Clest noticed was the shortsword hanging from his waist, which made her frown.

Running into seekers like him never resulted in a good outcome. Sometimes, no conflict would happen, but most of the time, she would have to deal with something troublesome.

You see, when a free seeker sees a free keeper, they would always try to get familiar with her, in hopes to get her approval for Marriage. He would show off his raw power, his raw hunting skills-- it was a mating ritual.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

The problem is-- she wasn't a keeper. She couldn't enter Marriage with a seeker even if she wanted to! 

She once entertained a seeker that was courting her. When they were at the point where the seeker knelt and offered his heartlight to her...

If a keeper touched that heartlight, the contract would be established, and Marriage would follow soon after. But as for her--

She couldn't take it. Literally. She was unable to. When she touched it, her own heartlight flowed into the tip of her fingers and clashed head on with the heartlight of her suitor.

Eventually, the guy discovered that she was, in fact, a seeker too. 

Upset about the fact that he wasted many days courting her, he left, leaving some harsh and nasty words for Clest, which is better left unsaid.

She could feel herself getting a headache just thinking about this guy in front of her. 

With a scowl, Clest asked him. "What do you want?"

"Yeesh, so hostile," the guy was confused and slightly peeved. "I just wanted to know if you'd let me start my own fire with yours."

"O-Oh." Clest was surprised. Lowering her knife and torchwood, she continued, "Well, sure. You can get some burning firewood from my fire..."

"Sweet. Thank you." The guy went towards her fire and bent down to get a burning twig. "Now if you'll excuse me," he said, walking away a few meters before setting up a fire of his own.

Clest was still cautious of the guy, so she watched him intently. And after their brief conversation, it seemed that to him, she didn't even exist. He was ignoring her completely.

'...Is he taken?' Clest thought to herself, but she inwardly shook her head. 'Nah, it doesn't seem like he is. He's too carefree to be in a fight with his keeper, if he had one. I guess he just isn't interested in me then.'

Clest actually breathed a sigh of relief. The guy's demeanor and lack of desire to interact with her, made Clest relax.

For a good half hour, they both sat there, a few meters apart, in complete silence. The only sounds that could be heard was the crackling of the fire, the chirps of cicadas, and the occasional hoot of an owl.

Okay, here's the thing. Clest was lonely. Surviving alone had taken its toll and her, and having someone to talk to without having to worry about courtship and the like-- it was extremely relieving for Clest. As such, she couldn't help but initiate conversation.

"Hey," Clest called out to the guy.

The guy perked up and looked back at Clest, his eyes devoid of any desire to bond with her. It wasn't a bad thing, however. He looked at Clest like you would look at a person asking for directions-- with a kind disposition but no real intent.

"Yes?" he replied.

"You're not with anyone?" 

The guy paused, turned his head a few times to look around him, as if looking for someone, before slowly saying, "...I don't think so?"

Clest awkwardly smiled. "No, I mean--"

"Nah, I'm messing with you," the guy suddenly cut her off, not letting her explain. "Yes, yes, I don't have a keeper."

Clest just made a subtle nod, and silence followed. Moments later, the guy broke that silence.

A sly expression on his face, he teased her. "Why, you wanna be my keeper?"

Clest's hairs stood on end. Not in terror or horror or anything.

"Ew, no."

The guy's sly expression hardened as his heart shattered into a million pieces.

And they said the worst she could say is no...

Depressed, the guy stopped interacting with Clest and just poked a twig into his fire, waiting for his meal to roast.

Clest felt awkward. She only reflexively said that because of the nasty face he was making earlier. Also, she was surprised this guy could take rejection so peacefully. 'This is a first...' she thought.

"I'm sorry, uh, I didn't mean to be rude," said Clest. "It's just, it's not like we can enter Marriage anyway."

The guy looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"

Clest was about to open her mouth and say something, but she suddenly stopped herself. She had noticed a presence behind her, not too far away from their location.

The same went for the guy. They were now both wary, looking at the same direction, while clutching the handles of their weapons.

Among the crackling sounds of fire and the chirping of cicadas, you could hear a faint gargling sound, along with the occasional rustle and crackle of the leaves on the forest floor.

The guy signaled for Clest to stay completely quiet, before gesturing for her to start retreating to his direction. They had to make some distance from the fires they made, so that they could clearly see the creature first before it could see them. 

This was one of the risks of starting a fire in the wild. Adventurers risk attracting predators and monsters by setting up a fire. After all, it was a light source, and the aroma of meat could be enticing.

The two watched their surroundings intently, hiding behind bushes a few meters away from the fire. On the other side of the fire, the bushes were rustling. The creature was about to show itself.

Then from above the bush, one tendril, two tendrils, three tendrils popped out. Looking and sniffing around as if the tips had eyes and a nose. 

Then stepped forward a stout flower creature that had several legs, a huge digestive mouth above it, and an unsettling amount of tendrils coming from that hole.

"...What is that thing?" the guy whispered, horrified.

"A Mutated Rafflesia," Clest whispered back. "You've never seen one?"

The guy shook his head, going on to watch the creature.

It walked towards their fires and their dinner, its tendrils curious. In its curiosity, however, it accidentally put one of its tendrils directly into the fire. Making a loud gargly noise, it quickly took back its tendril.

However, the other tendrils were still going. It hovered over Clest's dinner, which made her twitch visibly. 

The tendrils then started wrapping around the roasting lump of meat. And when the tendrils lifted the meat off away from the fire, Clest finally couldn't hold it in.

"This creature..! That's my dinner!" 

And with that, Clest charged at the Mutated Rafflessia with her knife. 

"Oh, no." The guy frowned, but he brandished his shortsword and followed suit.

Clest used her free hand to grab the roasted hare, while using her knife to cut off the tendrils holding onto it.  With some of its tendrils cut, the creature made disgruntled bubbling sounds from its mouth, which Clest was very familiar.

It was about to release its toxic spores into the air.

Not missing a beat, she jumped back in retreat. However, the guy was right behind her, so they crashed into each other, throwing both of them into the ground, their weapons knocked down beside them.

Clest also looked at the soil-caked dinner in her left hand, and was fuming mad. She was about to berate the guy in fury, but then the Mutated Rafflesia released a plume of thick, purple smoke into the air. The smoke immediately started to spread outwards.

Clicking her tongue, Clest firmly said, "Don't breathe. Let's go."

She then held her breath right away, grabbing hold of both her knife and dinner. As for the guy, he quickly did as told and followed.

-----

"What the fuck was that?!" Clest was angry. "Rafflesia poison isn't deadly on its own, but it's enough to incapacitate a person! And it's not like I can heal us if we got poisoned!"

The guy was slightly remorseful, but he still felt like he wasn't in the wrong here.

"Look, I didn't even know they released poison like that. Plus, I couldn't let you fight it on its own--"

"I wasn't gonna fight it, you idiot. I was just gonna get this thing--" Clest raised the soiled roast hare beside her head, "--but now it's seasoned with earth."

"Well then, I'm sorry. At least you still have dinner." The guy spat out, turning away to leave.

Clest watched the guy walking away, noticing his muscles and the shortsword hanging from his waist.

"Tch, some seeker you are." She mumbled, also turning away, dusting off some dirt on her dinner.

Unfortunately, the guy heard what she said.

"What did you just say?" He stopped and turned around to look at her.

Clest felt a bit of fear. Perhaps she shouldn't have said that. She knew about the advantage of male seekers over her, with them having better strength and toughness.

"What? I didn't say anything." She wore a ferocious expression, not showing a hint of being scared at all.

The two just stood there in the dark, looking at each other in anger. After a while, Clest was the first one this time to turn away. And as she did, the guy then said something.

"I bet that's the reason you're alone. No Seeker wants you."

Oh, it's on. Now Clest is actually mad. She faced him again and said;

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want an incompetent Seeker like you. What were you planning there, charge right into me, huh?"

"It was dark!" 

"I jumped backwards! Why the hell were you trailing right behind me?"

"Why the fuck did you even charge ahead? You're supposed to sit back, not put yourself in danger like that."

"Oh?" Clest laughed at the audacity. "Are we Married now? Are you my Seeker now? As far as I'm concerned, you're just some Seeker that was too lazy to make his own fire anyway."

"..." The guy was left speechless, his face contorted into a hateful expression.

Seeing his silence, Clest used this opportunity to finish him off with words. "I bet it's you that no keeper wants."

And with that, Clest actually turned and started walking away.

Just after taking a few steps, she could hear the guy sniffling. 

'He's crying?' Clest stopped without turning around, and focused on her hearing. She started to feel bad, not even able to believe that she made this guy cry.

Through her heightened hearing, she then thought she heard something.

"...'m not even... seeker."

Then followed the guy's footsteps as he started to walk away.

As for Clest, her heart had skipped a beat. Her mind was madly trying to interpret the words she was able to barely make out earlier. 

'There's no way, right?' she thought.

Her heart was racing at this point, and the guy was starting to gain distance, the crunch of his footsteps fading.

Clest swore in her heart, swallowing her pride and turning around once again.

"Hey!" she called out to the guy.

The sound of his footsteps halted immediately, and Clest could still barely see that the guy stopped walking.

Seeing that he at least stopped for her, Clest was able to swallow her pride completely, briskly walking towards him.

The guy was just looking over his shoulder as Clest caught up to him. He made a subtle sniffle, before asking, "...What?"

"Um..." Clest didn't know what words to say at first, but she eventually managed to ask, "You are a seeker... right?"

The guy sniffled again, looking down at the ground in shame. "I... No, I'm a keeper."

What came next was just silence, which was very awkward for the guy. With nothing else to say, he started to walk again, but Clest stopped him.

"Wait."

"What?"

Now, the guy was starting to get annoyed too.

'She's driven her point home, what does she want now?!' he thought.

"Um, can you please forget everything I said earlier..? Please?"

And now, the guy was just confused. He turned around again to face her, unsure about why she was suddenly acting like this. 

Clest looked at the guy's confused face and sighed. She put her left hand on her chest, and her right hand in front of her, as if asking for him to hold her hand.

"I-- I'm a seeker," she then said, a yellow light manifesting from her chest and flowing through her arm, into the tip of the fingers of her outstretched hand.

Her heartlight illuminated the immediate surroundings, turning the dark forest into an almost enchanting sight.

And she could see his face clearly, his glistening eyelashes, and the sheer disbelief in his eyes.

"And will you please marry me?"

...

It's crazy how Clest would give her heartlight to someone without even knowing his name. And its crazier how any keeper would even dare take that heartlight, to finally establish the contract.

But that's exactly what the guy did.

Entranced completely by the warm glow of Clest's fingers, he hovered his right hand in front of hers, hesitating if he really should take her heartlight.

Then he looked at her eyes, the ones whom he was staring daggers at just a minute ago. They were hopeful; they were meaningfully looking back at him.

And that's all the guy needed. While he may be the keeper of the two of them, he wanted to be headstrong and resolute as a man. Dispelling any doubt within him, he touched the heartlight on the tips of her fingers.

The light then started pulsating, growing brighter, and even becoming blinding for a split second. And like a shooting star, that light split and flowed through his arm, vanishing into his chest.

-----∆-----

Proposal Complete!

Please find a Lotus to initiate the Marriage Ceremony.

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