Chapter 68
“Did you watch all 68 episodes?” Hamad asked as he looked at Morgan, who had become quiet.
“Morgan? What’s wrong?”
“Hamad, I’m sorry. I need to step out for a moment. Something urgent came up.”
“Really? Take your time.”
Morgan being busy wasn’t a new thing. Hamad naturally bid farewell as Morgan stood up, accepting his weapon.
Morgan followed the powder trail on the ground.
The restaurant entrance, hallway, lobby, outside…
Eventually, the trail of breadcrumbs stopped at a point around the corner of a building.
‘What’s this?’
Even though there was no one around, something felt off about the scenery.
Sharpening his senses and focusing on the point where the trail ended, Morgan noticed a silhouette.
“…Triarice?”
A long, silver-haired figure.
The silhouette flinched as if surprised, then became clear. They were holding a sack, from which breadcrumbs seemed to have fallen.
Riche looked back and smiled awkwardly.
“Oh, hello, Morgan. How did you know?”
“Intuition? Is that magic?”
Not knowing about Python’s cognitive manipulation abilities, Morgan assumed what Riche was using was magic.
“Uh, yes. It’s magic.”
“I see.”
Seeing Riche two days in a row.
Morgan smiled happily but felt curious.
So, was it Riche who had been watching him since dawn?
“Triarice, did you follow me this morning?”
“Gasp.”
Riche was startled, taking a slight step back, then nodded with a faint blush on her face.
“I’m sorry.”
Riche had come looking for Morgan early in the morning because she needed his help.
She used her cognitive manipulation abilities in case there were others around.
She had planned to talk to him in the training ground, but a student from the same academy was with him.
[Are you going to keep following him?]
“Yes.”
Riche followed Morgan around, looking for a chance to catch him alone.
But Morgan was always with someone, and somehow she ended up following him all the way to his dorm.
‘Eek!’
[Oh, those muscles are quite something.]
Morgan, who had carelessly taken off his top. Luckily, Riche left immediately, so she didn’t see anything more.
But she had seen something she shouldn’t have.
‘He was covered in scars.’
Morgan’s bare upper body was marked with numerous scars, both large and small.
Even considering that he was in the swordsmanship department, it wasn’t normal for a student to have so many.
Riche’s mind was filled with images of Morgan’s scarred upper body as she took refuge in the dining hall.
[The contractor is here.]
Then, Morgan entered the dining hall.
Riche felt a pang of guilt as she watched Morgan talking with Hamad.
She had seen those scars without his permission. She had stayed close by, waiting for a chance to speak, but it was like she was secretly spying on his private life.
‘Let’s go back.’
[Huh? Without talking to Morgan Dayle?]
Python asked, saying it was a good chance since it was just the two of them, but Riche walked out of the building.
As she stood around the corner, thinking of another plan to talk to Deon, Morgan approached her.
[What’s with that one? Reminds me of Derkadeon from when I was a child.]
Python muttered, irritated that two humans had already seen through his cognitive abilities.
“I’m sorry, Morgan. It was me who followed you since dawn. And when you took off your clothes… I’m sorry….”
“When I took off my clothes? …No way, Triarice.”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I saw everything….”
She was apologizing for seeing his upper body, but something about the conversation felt off.
As Riche repeatedly apologized, she tilted her head and looked up.
Morgan’s face was entirely red.
‘No way, Triarice. Did she see my whole naked body?’ Morgan’s thoughts were written all over his expression.
“N-no! I only saw your upper body! Just your upper body!”
Riche quickly shook her head and denied it.
“I see. I thought…”
Morgan pressed his cheek, trying to cool down the heat rising from embarrassment, then spoke in a calm voice.
“You’re apologizing for seeing my upper body? That’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it.”
He guessed what Riche had seen.
She must have seen the scars he got during the six years he lived as Haniban’s dog.
Though it was something he had never shown anyone.
It was better to pretend it didn’t bother him than to let Riche continue feeling guilty.
“I’m still sorry….”
“It’s really okay. What’s with the breadcrumbs?”
Morgan pointed at the sack Riche was holding, trying to change the subject. Breadcrumbs were slowly leaking out from a small hole.
“Breadcrumbs…? Oh!”
Riche finally looked at the breadcrumbs falling like sand and was surprised. Why are they falling like this?
As Riche tried to plug the hole, Morgan took the sack from her and asked,
“Did you come to ask me for something? I doubt you’d follow me around without a reason.”
Riche looked at Morgan holding the sack. His eyes urged her to speak.
Feeling a bit shameless, Riche cautiously asked,
“Um, Morgan, could you please help me?”
* * *
‘What are they doing?’
Clock Tower Square.
Casely, transformed into a cat, sat on the top floor of the tower, looking down through a clock hole.
The dorm of Udik Academy was a bit far away, but even from a distance, the silver and gold hair stood out.
‘They’re standing there with a sack, not a bouquet.’
Yesterday, the day Casely cuffed the two together.
Rumors spread throughout the city of Creselfon that Triarice Lodwick and Morgan Dayle were dating.
Apparently, they were so happy that they walked around with their hands in each other’s pockets. Just watching them made you feel happy.
Casely scoffed at the rumor, knowing the truth.
‘But seeing them together since morning, maybe it’s not entirely baseless?’
Casely lightly swished his tail.
Watching the two wasn’t bad, but it bothered him that Triarice seemed to have forgotten about the preliminary task.
“There you are.”
A man spoke to Casely, who was sitting on the top floor of the clock tower.
It was Rix, Casely’s assistant instructor, and a fellow member of the tower.
Here comes the nagger.
“Meow.”
“Stop pretending to be a cat.”
Rix approached Kaesley and took something out of his pocket.
Kaesley, seeing the object that made a clinking sound, subtly turned his head to ignore it.
“Why is a pair of handcuffs, which were under confidential research at the Mage Tower, lying around in the street?”
“I don’t know.”
“Be careful. Even if the participants are students, they are children of high-ranking nobles from various countries. The exam instructors too.”
“I understand.”
Kaesley gave a response without any enthusiasm.
Rix expected him to only listen with one ear. Rix placed the handcuffs back into his pocket, satisfied with just giving advice.
He then shifted the topic to recent news.
“Have you heard? The leader of the trading group operating in the Western Continent mentioned a new force emerging.”
“What kind of force?”
“A religious one. They worship an ancient god who governs time.”
“Are they strong?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then I’m not interested.”
Kaesley turned his gaze back, as it wasn’t worth her attention if it wasn’t a force that could threaten the Mage Tower.
Moreover, her interest was completely focused elsewhere.
“I should have set the task to duel like Lordwick. I want to fight with Tiarice. …Should I ask if I can change the task even now?”
“Don’t. Is there any need to blow up the city?”
While blowing up the city might be a concern for a sword fight, magic had a different scope of effect. If Kaesley were to use area-of-effect magic, and if Tiarice Lordwick could also use such magic.
The history of Kselphon, maintained under the guise of tradition, would end this year.
“Stop it. Absolutely.”
The Mage Tower master’s instruction to Rix until the day they left for the city of Kselphon was to prevent Kaesley from doing anything reckless.
“Stop it. What Kaesley is planning.”
This was also the reason why the Mage Tower master personally assigned Rix as Kaesley’s assistant instructor.
“Nox, I’ve decided.”
“…What?”
“I want to raise Tiarice.”
Why would you raise her…?
Of course, it meant to raise her as an apprentice.
If Blake Lordwick heard this, it would have been a matter of great concern.
His beloved daughter, falling into the hands of the Mage Tower’s genius troublemaker, Kaesley.
About a month and a half ago.
When Deon expressed his willingness to take the position of exam instructor at Kselphon.
“It is an honor. The successor of the Lordwick family is coming as the exam instructor.”
The president of Kselphon expressed his pleasure at hearing Deon’s voice over the communication device.
He had sent the letter expecting rejection. But Derkedian Lordwick’s acceptance was unexpected.
[However, there is a condition.]
A calm and composed voice. Even through the communication device, Derkedian’s personality was evident.
If he said he couldn’t meet the condition, Deon would likely withdraw his intention to take the position of exam instructor immediately.
The president quickly responded.
“Please, go ahead.”
Upon hearing Derkedian’s condition, the president asked Deon with a perplexed tone.
“You are asking to intervene in the competition of the participants?”
[Is that possible?]
Tiarice Lordwick.
Although the application had not yet been received, the president knew that she was likely applying to Kselphon.
Derkedian’s condition was to intervene in moments when Tiarice Lordwick’s life was in danger during the competition.
Given the high skills of the participants, Kselphon had casualties every year.
But the competition belonged solely to the participants. Deon’s demand was unreasonable.
“I understand your concern for your sister, but that is not something we can accommodate on our end.”
The communication device was silent. As the silence dragged on, the president became anxious.
It is always more regrettable to lose a big opportunity once it’s within reach. Would they lose Derkedian like this?
“However, under the exam instructor’s judgment, it is possible to suspend the competition when a participant’s life is in danger.”
However, if the competition is suspended, the participant would be disqualified. Later, if it was concluded that the intervention was inappropriate, the exam instructor would have to resign from the position.
“Is that acceptable?”
[It is acceptable.]
The prompt reply from Derkedian was reassuring, but the president was still uncertain if it was the right choice.
He recalled the peculiar note in Derkedian Lordwick’s information when selecting the exam instructor. It mentioned that ‘He is extremely protective of his younger sister.’ In his anxious state, the president emphasized one more rule to Deon.
“Additionally, you must strictly adhere to the competition regulations. For example, participants and exam instructors are not allowed to have private meetings or conversations. This rule applies even to family members.”
Without explicitly stating, it meant not to meet with his sister privately during the competition.
The president stressed to Deon.
“And if you break the regulations, you will have to immediately resign from the position of exam instructor.”
And now.
Deon was watching Riche, who was covered in breadcrumbs and looking at him with tearful eyes, with a confused expression.
“Brother.”
Riche subtly avoided Deon’s reaching hand.
Then, she said to Deon.
“Don’t touch me.”
Thud.
At Riche’s cold words, Deon’s heart sank to the bottom.
