by Geli Cake
I was wondering why these strangers were so insistent on feeding me, but they weren't strangers after all…
The beautiful young lady the guys were talking about was Yur. The red shoes, the red ribbon, the neatly painted nails, it all pointed to her, yet I hadn't recognized her.
'Of course, I didn't recognize her. Her face was different.'
Anyway, last night, I couldn't bring myself to jump back across the alley to my room, so I waited until morning. When I heard people moving around outside, I woke up, grabbed Haylan, and left his room.
"Waaaah!"
"G-Guest!"
The servants screamed as if they had seen a ghost when I suddenly appeared inside the house. Some even fell back on their bottoms, and I felt a little sorry, even though it wasn't my fault.
"When did you get in? And why is the Young Master with you?!"
"...."
Haylan seemed to find the situation too bothersome to explain, so he just hid behind me and turned his head away silently. I lifted him up and explained briefly instead.
"I woke up in the middle of the night."
"And?"
"I felt like someone was watching me."
"Oh my."
"So I came over."
"...?"
Came over? Where?
"Not through the… window, right?"
Where else could he have come from? At my silence, they all looked up at the ceiling, seemingly gauging the height of the room.
"I tried to stop him."
Haylan added fuel to the fire, and everyone's faces turned pale.
They repeatedly checked to make sure I was alright before scolding me with terrifying expressions.
"Don't ever do something so dangerous again!"
Haylan nodded silently in agreement.
Whose fault was this anyway? Instead of taking my side… It felt like I hadn't had a single day without being scolded since returning here.
After having breakfast at the mansion for the first time in a while, I handed Mr. Joe the note Odin gave me. He sighed in relief at the news of a new blood source.
"So you'll be staying here for a while then? We're neighbors now."
"It's good to see you again. Oh, we got new artifacts, so we can freely go outside now."
That was truly something to celebrate. Life could get incredibly boring if you were stuck in one place without being able to go outside.
It was fascinating how familiar faces transformed into completely different people when they put on the rings.
"So Haylan can go out whenever he wants now too?"
"If the Young Master wishes, I suppose it would be alright. But he would need a guardian."
"I can take him out, right?"
"Of course. We can trust you, guest."
They weren't being as overly cautious as before. Well, since he wasn't in his six-year-old form anymore, that made sense.
I wondered where I could take Haylan. Recalling how Haylan had enjoyed the festival in his own way, I tried to imagine where I could take him that he would enjoy. I quickly came up with a few places. Asileth was my territory.
"I'm glad you two reconciled."
I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that the numerous gifts they had showered me with were their way of bribing me.
"We never fought in the first place."
Haylan grumbled with a sullen expression. Even though I knew his true form, I couldn't help but find him adorable in his child form. I ruffled his fluffy hair playfully.
Perhaps because it was a holiday, the streets were crowded with people. Some people I knew were curious about the unfamiliar child I was walking with.
"He's a kid I know."
"You're babysitting? He's a very handsome child. He'll break a lot of hearts when he grows up."
I nodded enthusiastically, feeling like the compliments directed at Haylan were directed at me. See? Anyone could tell Haylan was a promising child.
"I'm not interested in breaking hearts. I like you, and I'm not interested in anyone else."
"...."
I felt a strange sensation whenever he suddenly said things like that. I knew he liked me, but it felt a little out of place for him to say such things in this form.
"So how about you speak like a child your age, at least when there are other people around?"
"You're saying… I should act like a child?"
I'm not a child. Haylan looked a little displeased but readily agreed.
"Alright."
"See? You're so cute when you listen. Right?"
"…Stop it."
"Okay."
I stopped teasing Haylan when he gave me a serious look.
"Well, well, well! If it isn't our prospective priest."
"...."
"So have you given it any more thought? The temple is always open to everyone. We would never kick out a valuable prospective priest like you."
"I'm not interested."
I had momentarily forgotten that there was a temple on this street. I was the only one in this city with black hair. Perhaps that's why the temple priests always found me so quickly.
Just as I was about to turn back, I suddenly had an idea. About one of the things you could do at the temple.
"Since we're here, do you want to get your mana measured?"
I whispered into Haylan's ear. I remembered seeing children being led by their parents, leaving the temple with dreams of becoming mages.
"I don't have any talent."
He responded indifferently, asking why I would bother, but you never know until you try.
After getting permission from the priests, they measured Haylan's mana, and he was deemed to have the potential to be a mage.
"If our little friend becomes interested in divine magic when he grows up, he's always welcome to visit."
No, I'm not interested, I said!
Anyway, even if it wasn't an extraordinary talent, it was significant progress for Haylan. When he was in his six-year-old body, his mana had been practically nonexistent.
"Since we're here, how about learning a few self-defense spells?"
"Will you teach me?"
"…Huh?"
I knew Haylan's level of knowledge. He might not have practical experience, but theoretically, he was superior to me, practically at the pinnacle of magical knowledge. Why was he asking me to teach him?
"I've forgotten everything. You teach me."
Perhaps it was because of the way he stared at me with such pleading eyes. I nodded without a second thought.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
The very next day, I announced that I would be studying with the people across the street. Not every day, but whenever I was free from work.
"Studying what? Magic?"
"I won't let it interfere with work."
The Captain scoffed at my solemn declaration.
"We won't fall apart without you."
"So can I go?"
"Study hard. And don't get kicked out again."
Anyway, the Captain readily gave me permission. It was winter, so the monsters were either hibernating or weakened, rarely emerging from the forest. Since there weren't any major subjugations at this time of year, he let me go.
While I was away, the documents had been shuffled into a disorganized mess without any classification. After helping the Captain organize the documents, I had some free time before dinner and went to visit the building across the street.
The Captain gave me some cookies as a gift. He said it was a token of his gratitude.
"Oh my, aren't these from that shop near the station with the long line? I heard you have to wait in line for two hours even if you go in the morning, so I didn't even bother…"
"The owner sometimes visits us because I helped her out once. She's friends with our Captain."
"Now I finally feel like the guest is one of us! The Young Master is upstairs."
They had set up a study room in a modestly sized room right across from Haylan's room. It was a small room that felt full even with just a desk with a bookshelf and two chairs.
[Main Quest: Disciple
Haylan wants to learn self-defense magic from you. Help him activate magic on his own.
Reward: 1 Quest Point]
"What does it say this time?"
Haylan asked casually. He was quick to notice, even though I only glanced at it briefly. I shook my head and smiled.
"It's nothing."
"We don't have many books yet, so I asked them to get some helpful scrolls from the magic shop nearby this morning."
Haylan said, pulling out a box from under his feet. I took it from him and placed it on the desk.
"…Thanks."
"No problem. Did you get this from Mei's Magic Shop across the street?"
"Probably. Why?"
Wow, she must have closed shop early today…?
'Why did he buy so much?'
I gaped at the stacks of scrolls inside the box. Magic items were expensive. Most people would hesitate to buy even a single scroll.
'Crazy, it's gold.'
There were several high-grade scrolls in the box.
How much did all this cost? I could imagine how excited Mei must have been, with a single customer bringing in months' worth of sales in one morning.
"I asked them to buy all the similar scrolls for self-defense. Let me know if there's anything I can use among these."
"...."
From what I could see, it looked like he had bought everything… My hands trembled at the thought of the fortune before me. I gulped and started unrolling the scrolls one by one.