by Geli Cake
I didn't mind touching and kissing Haylan in his daytime form, but stroking his hair in this form felt strangely awkward. Unfamiliar, perhaps…
"What are you doing?"
Haylan nudged his head against my still hand. The soft silver hair brushed against my palm. Using my hand to pet himself, Haylan said,
"Give me a reward since I did well."
I didn't even have time to ask, What kind of reward? His face drew so close that I could feel his breath, and before I could comment, our lips met. Something soft and warm pushed between my parted lips. I couldn't say anything, my mouth effectively gagged. That's all it was. Just that.
He stared directly at me, and I, equally unable to close my eyes, couldn't protest either.
In Haylan's eyes, I saw a field of lavender in full bloom. As I blinked, a wind blew. The flowers swayed, their petals brushing against each other. His purple eyes flickered. Even though it was impossible, I thought I could smell the faint scent of flowers.
Our lips parted, then met again. He touched his nose to mine and whispered,
"It's strange. Your heart is beating really fast."
"Human hearts beat."
"Not this fast."
It's because I'm surprised, that's all. I tried to feign composure. I felt like I would lose if I showed Haylan how flustered I was.
Haylan was the one who liked me; I only liked him a little. If we had to define who had the upper hand, it was me right now.
So… that's all it was.
"I've read a lot in books, but I don't really know."
"Stop reading books."
"There's nowhere to practice this. You're my first."
I couldn't tell him that it was the same for me. My throat suddenly felt dry, and I swallowed.
"So… I would like it if you told me if you liked it."
"…Well…"
I trailed off, but Haylan seemed to understand.
"It's enough that you didn't dislike it."
Haylan rested his head on my shoulder. The weight felt unfamiliar, and I couldn't move.
'Is it really winter? I feel hot.'
I fidgeted with the front of my shirt.
Not disliking it means you like it. You'll fall for me soon enough.
Haylan's voice seemed to whisper in my ear like an auditory hallucination.
10. Oracle
"Watch closely. This is…"
Whoosh.
I activated the completed magic circle and teleported back to my room. I could see Haylan freeze as I suddenly vanished from the room across the street.
I opened my window and waved at him. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.
"…A teleportation magic circle?"
"That's right. I connected them. It's convenient when we're this close, isn't it?"
I had drawn magic circles connecting my closet and Haylan's closet.
I hadn't mastered long-distance teleportation magic yet, but I thought I could manage teleporting between magic circles at close range by setting coordinates.
With this, I no longer had to sneak out at night, unless one of the magic circles was completely destroyed!
"You designed this too?"
"Not entirely. It's based on the teleportation scroll you gave me."
I couldn't create something from nothing. I needed a base to build upon, to add the conditions I wanted and design the magic circle.
"…So how can you apply it like that? Whatever, forget it."
He muttered something incomprehensible, then looked up at me.
"Can I go to your room whenever I want too?"
Judging by the sparkle in his eyes, he seemed quite excited.
'Hmm…'
I hesitated, wondering how to tell him that his mana wasn't even half of what was needed to activate this magic circle.
"You'll be able to once your mana increases."
"When I grow bigger?"
"Well, yes."
"...."
Haylan lightly touched the lines of the magic circle I had drawn, then pulled his hand away.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
For some reason, Haylan became even more dedicated after that day. It seemed to be an area of interest for him. Even when he thought he had no talent for magic, he had a perfect grasp of the theory.
Less than a week later, Haylan successfully activated the static shock spell.
[Main Quest, Disciple, completed.]
'That was easy…'
I hadn't done anything, yet Haylan had completed the main quest on his own.
Past midnight, we went up to the roof and spent time practicing the remaining self-defense spells. Haylan, who had conjured a ball of fire, floating it in the dark night sky, then looked at me silently. His eyes were seeking praise.
'Is this a "some" thing?'
I didn't dislike this uncertain, affection-based relationship. This wasn't the real world, after all. Perhaps that's why the fact that he was male wasn't even a factor.
So, you want a reward?
I stared at Haylan, who was just looking at me, then sighed briefly and placed a hand on his shoulder. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek, and his expression finally softened.
"Hey, since when did we start dating?"
"...."
"People kiss when they're in love. You just kissed me."
I glanced at Haylan, who was seeking a clear answer, and replied,
"That wasn't a kiss, it was a peck. Friends do that."
"I don't want to kiss anyone but you."
"Um… okay."
"That's probably why I don't have any friends."
Haylan either didn't know how to be subtle, or he was doing it on purpose, and it sometimes caught me off guard.
I had told Haylan to be honest about his feelings before. But I didn't even understand my own feelings.
It was true that I was starting to like him more and more, but was it right to start a relationship with an expiration date? My thoughts were a jumbled mess.
"Ah, wait…"
Just as I was lost in thought, Haylan pulled me close and silenced me. A wet, soft mass pushed between my surprised, parted lips.
He had asked me to tell him if I liked it. But I had nothing to compare it to. It seemed Haylan was in the same boat, as he tried a different kind of kiss every day, based on descriptions from books.
At first, it was just a light press of our lips. Then Haylan started sucking on my lip, and after that, his tongue slipped into my mouth.
I was the type of person who would relentlessly press the "skip 30 seconds" button whenever a kissing scene came up in dramas or movies. Why would they show such an ambiguous scene for over a minute when it wasn't even explicitly sexual? I didn't understand why people liked it, even if it was a display of affection.
"Mmm…"
But even the slightest brush of his tongue against the sensitive skin inside my mouth sent shivers down my spine. A subtle pleasure, different from when I masturbated, spread through my body. The frantic kisses, as if he craved only me, overwhelmed me.
Haylan usually started gently, but he became a bit aggressive once he invaded my mouth. He would devour me, changing angles as if to steal all my breath and saliva, then become gentle again when he sensed my breathing grow ragged.
"Isn't it strange that we're not anything when we do things like this?"
"...."
His hand cupped my face, his palm pressing firmly against my cheek. He made me look like a mess while looking unfairly beautiful himself.
"So when are you going to say yes?"
He grumbled, his voice laced with irritation. Wasn't it fine even if we weren't anything? I was happy with the way things were. The only person I was kissing was Haylan, and for him…
"You said it yourself. You only do these dirty things with people you're dating."
"…Oh. Did I?"
Did I say that? I was taken aback, questioning something I didn't even remember saying. He frowned.
I quickly nodded, realizing my mistake. Even if I had just casually said, "Did I?" he would have pushed me down in this cold place and already done everything before asking, "Is it okay to do these dirty things now?"
Then I noticed Haylan's hand. More precisely, the light purple ribbon tied around his wrist. It was definitely the one I had given him as a gift.
'It really suited him. He looked cute…'
Thinking about that, a brilliant idea to escape this situation popped into my head, and I blurted out,
"L-Let's date when you're all grown up."
"What?"
"Even if I threw away all my conscience, it would be a bit strange to do dirty things with someone who shrinks to half my size during the day."
"…But kissing me is okay? Your standards are strange."
"That wasn't a kiss."
I was about to say "it was a peck", but then I remembered that our previous kiss had definitely been a kiss, and I closed my mouth.
Just… let's not talk about it.
Anyway, Haylan seemed to accept my words, grumbling with a dissatisfied expression.
"So you're saying it's a long way off."
"...."
I feigned nonchalance, trying not to let him see that my words were just a flimsy excuse to escape the situation.
"How much do I have to grow before you'll date me?"
"I'm not really comfortable with minors."
"So I just have to be over eighteen?"
Wait. But Haylan's physical age was just a rough estimate based on his height, no one actually knew how old he was, right?