Omega Manual chapter 52

Very Sweet

Shelley initially wanted to argue against this suggestion, but he was in no condition to speak more, let alone debate with the resolute Irey.

His head was heavy, his temples throbbed with pain, his joints were achy and weak, and his consciousness kept drifting.

This is why he hated being sick.

Being sick would get him a cold stare from his father, he would lose control of his body and mind, and tasks that normally took a day would drag on for several. He couldn’t help but feel various emotions.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t a particularly strong person. The high-intensity, round-the-clock work at Manta Technology had taken a toll on his physical condition over the years.

Five years ago, he was still a “man,” but now he was just an “Omega.”

Even catching a bit of wind in the snow, which used to be remedied by a hot bath, now led to a high fever.

He couldn’t even control his own body.

It was utterly useless.

Then he felt the arms around him tighten, and the voice above his head was steady and clear. “If you’re really uncomfortable, sleep for a while. I’ll hold you, so you won’t fall. There’s a village ahead, and we’ll find a place to rest tonight.”

Shelley pursed his lips, feeling even more uncomfortable at Irey’s words.

“No need, don’t worry about me,” he said. “It’s not worth delaying the trip for this.”

“Why?” Irey retorted. “Is there some attraction on Mount Yinbu that we have to see this month?”

“…No.”

“Do you have anything urgent to do after returning from Mount Yinbu?”

“No,” Shelley admitted.

“Then what’s the rush?” Irey shrugged. “You have the rest of your life to spend on the road.”

Shelley opened his mouth but found he couldn’t argue against Irey’s logic.

“You’ve just been in that affluent area of Nantes too long, boss,” Irey said, tugging the reins to slow the horse and wrapping Shelley’s two layers of jackets more snugly. “Always afraid of missing something, always feeling short on time, always worrying about others. You’ll live your whole life without ever living for yourself. I’m your hired bodyguard; you’re my boss. Spending another day with you means I earn another day’s pay. What’s the harm?”

Shelley closed his eyes and finally relaxed, resting his head against Irey’s chest. “I think you’re just greedy for my money.”

Irey laughed. “What’s wrong with that? If people aren’t greedy, what’s the point of living?”

Shelley thought it was nonsense.

But that one sentence strangely eased his tension.

“Judging by the time, lunch will be a bit late today.” With that, Irey switched the reins to his other hand and fished around in his pocket with his free hand before extending it to Shelley. “Want some?”

Shelley looked down to see four or five brightly wrapped candies in Irey’s outstretched palm.

“I bought them at a candy shop while pretending to be a teddy bear,” Irey said, shaking his hand a bit. “Some kids took a few, and these are what’s left.”

Shelley looked at him amused. “I meant to ask, why a teddy bear?”

Irey clicked his tongue. “You were so mad back then, if you saw it was me, you would have turned around and left. I had to find a way to disguise myself.”

“Am I that childish?” Shelley said, speechless.

“Standing in the square for over two hours in the wind isn’t childish?” Irey scoffed. “If I hadn’t gone to find you, who knows how long you would’ve stayed there. Not much different from the kids asking for candy outside the store.”

With that, Irey pushed the candies closer to Shelley. “Here, baby Shelley.”

Shelley reached out, picked a yellow one, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth.

It had a fruity flavor, with a hint of minty coolness. Very sweet.

Shelley suddenly felt that being sick wasn’t so unbearable after all.

By the afternoon, he could no longer hold on and lost consciousness on horseback.

When he woke up again, he found himself lying on a small but clean bed. Irey was sitting next to him, reading a book by the dim light of an oil lamp, with a steaming cup of concoction beside him.

“You finally woke up. If you didn’t wake up soon, I would have had to call someone.” Irey closed the book with a snap and picked up the cup. “Drink this first.”

Shelley tried to scoot back and sit up, but his limbs were so weak they felt like jelly. He tried several times but couldn’t manage to take the cup from Irey’s hand.

“Forget it. Open your mouth,” Irey said, giving up on his original plan and holding the cup himself.

Shelley, whose pride was strong, wavered. “No, I can—”

“Listen.” Irey emphasized.

That word seemed to have a magical effect on Shelley. He pressed his lips together and, after a brief internal struggle, rested his head against the bed’s headboard and obediently opened his mouth.

Irey took a mouthful of the concoction and leaned down, transferring the medicine to Shelley’s mouth, mouth to mouth. He repeated the process.

The slightly bitter liquid mixed with the warmth of their lips and tongues flowed into Shelley’s mouth. He instinctively swallowed and involuntarily flicked his tongue when Irey moved away.

The entire cup of medicine was fed to Shelley in this way, leaving him no time to complain about the taste.

“All done, good boy.” Irey gave him a reward-like kiss on the corner of his mouth after the last sip.

“Are you getting addicted to this?” Shelley complained, giving Irey a light shove.

Irey chuckled, put the empty cup back on the bedside table, and leaned down to brush Shelley’s bangs away, pressing his forehead against Shelley’s. “Hmm, your fever has gone down a lot since you got here. Sleeping helped.”

Shelley looked out the window. The sun had completely set, and the night had fallen. Outside, the dim lights illuminated a small patch of snow, where a few boys were playing and throwing snowballs, while a girl was diligently building a snowman.

“What is this place?” he asked.

“Kachagist Village,” Irey replied. “The train station is two kilometers to the west. You can get there on horseback.”

“Kachag…” Shelley tried to repeat.

“It’s Kachagist Village,” Irey corrected.

“Kachachag, Kachagist…” Shelley almost bit his tongue, complaining, “What a strange name.”

Irey laughed, about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

An elderly woman, around sixty years old, entered with a basin of water and a towel. Seeing Shelley awake, she looked delighted.

“You’re awake, that’s great. How are you feeling, any better?”

Shelley was a bit overwhelmed by the attention. Along his journey, even in less extreme cities than Duhaat, people never showed much kindness to Omegas. The looks he received were either disdainful or lecherous, making this genuine warmth a rare experience.

“Thank you, I’m fine. It was just a minor cold…”

“Minor cold? You had a fever of 39 degrees.” The elderly woman exaggeratedly complained as she placed the basin and towel by the bed. “Luckily, your boyfriend stayed by your side, taking care of you without rest. Otherwise, it could have been really dangerous!”

Boyfriend??

Shelley choked on his own saliva, coughing for a while.

Irey couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

The elderly woman scratched her head awkwardly. “Oh dear, at my age, I don’t know what to call relationships like yours nowadays. Husband, spouse… lover?”

Irey laughed even harder, while Shelley’s face turned visibly red with embarrassment.

“It doesn’t matter what you call us,” Irey waved his hand, changing the subject. “He just caught a cold from too much exposure to the wind. Now that he’s warm and has taken his medicine, his fever should go down soon.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” The elderly woman nodded, pointing to the basin. “The towel is ready. Stay with him for a while longer. If you need anything, just call me. I’ll be in the kitchen on the west side.”

“Alright, thank you.”

“No trouble at all. Getting better is the most important thing.” She smiled kindly, closed the door, and left the room.

Listening to the elderly woman’s footsteps fade away, Shelley couldn’t help but complain, “You couldn’t just tell her I’m your Omega?”

“The old lady is quite aged. Surviving the meteor shower itself is a miracle.” Irey said, “She can’t keep up with all the new terms the government uses for second genders, let alone the definitions of various relationships.”

Irey nodded towards the window. Shelley followed his gaze to see the lively children now playing a game of tag around the snowman.

“Those children were prematurely differentiated into Omegas due to radiation exposure at birth. People in Duhaat see such children as bad omens, so they were abandoned by their parents. This old lady took them in. Moreover, she helps many persecuted Omegas who flee from Duhaat,” Irey said. “She doesn’t understand what Alpha or Omega is. To her, everyone is a survivor, a human being.”