~Chapter 23~
When I started getting more and more anxious because I couldn’t find Shiz, something peeked out from under the desk.
“Shiz!”
I quickly ran to where Shiz was hiding under the desk as I closed the door. She must have hidden under there when she heard me.
“Sorry, I’m so late, huh?”
“Hmph.”
As I approached, Shiz crawled back under the desk and curled up. It seemed like she was upset because I was late.
“Wow, look at you. You waited so quietly, didn’t you? You’re amazing, Shiz! The best! The best!”
“…”
“Ah, well, I guess I should buy three bags of candy for such a well-behaved child who kept her promise!”
“…Three bags?”
“Actually, that sounds a bit too little. Four bags!”
Finally, Shiz smiled brightly and came out from under the desk. I felt relieved, but also strangely uneasy.
She’s so simple, completely falling for candy like that, just like the old me…
“Let’s go buy candy and head home. Quickly!”
“Okay, okay.”
I hurriedly hid Shiz in my bag and looked around the lab. It didn’t seem like anything had changed since I left; nothing was disturbed.
Then, my gaze landed on the window.
“Huh? Was that always open?”
A slight breeze was coming through the slightly open window, making the curtains sway.
I must have forgotten to close it. I quickly closed the window and turned off the lights in the lab.
I thought I could smell grass faintly from somewhere, but I didn’t think too much of it.
I was so touched that Shiz had quietly waited for me that, on the way back, I bought five bags of candy for her.
Shiz, smiling with a handful of candy, suddenly asked me, as if remembering something.
“The demon and the lion… that was a lie, right?”
“Uh, did I say that?”
Then, while she was in my arms, Shiz pinched my cheek hard.
“Aaah, that hurts!”
“Hmph, that’s for lying.”
“But if I hadn’t said that, you’d definitely have gone out and caused some trouble.”
“…”
“By the way, I’m asking just in case, but nothing happened while I was gone, right? Like, did someone come to the lab? Did you sneak out?”
I asked without thinking, but Shiz suddenly became quiet.
“…Shiz?”
“This candy tastes good. Oh, try some.”
“Hey, Shiz? Did anything happen while I was gone? Mmmph.”
While I was speaking, Shiz shoved a handful of candy, still wrapped, into my mouth.
“Ugh, why are you giving me so much?”
“What? It’s good, isn’t it?”
“Ugh, how can you give me this much!”
While we were bickering, we arrived at the mansion, and I noticed a familiar figure in the distance. Even from far away, his silver hair stood out. It was Aska Willovis.
Why is he here again?
“Ash?”
Before I could react, Shiz called him first. Aska, seeing us, immediately walked toward us.
“Did the results meeting go well?”
Aska, joining us as naturally as if he had always been part of the group, gently patted Shiz’s head. It was absurd.
“What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I made a promise with Shiz last time.”
“A promise? What kind of promise?”
He casually replied, as if it was no big deal.
“I promised to teach her magic.”
“…What?”
That wasn’t just a small thing.
This is unbelievable.
“Good, you’re doing well. Keep feeling the flow of mana like that.”
“Mm, like this?”
“That’s right.”
This is impossible.
I shook my head as I watched Aska and Shiz having a magic lesson in the dinning room as if everything was normal.
Aska, my lifelong enemy, was teaching magic to the past me!
“What kind of crazy dream is this?”
“Seems like you’re really tired today. You’re saying nonsense.”
Aska, who had been looking at Shiz, teasingly added.
“By the way, I see a new fox around here.”
“It’s not a fox, it’s a kitty! Isn’t it cute?”
“Not really.”
“Ehh, that’s too much! The kitty can hear you!”
I hadn’t realized it, but apparently, the day I went to the association regarding the crack report, Aska and Shiz had made a promise.
“Aska promised to teach me magic.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?!”
When I confronted Shiz, she said she had already mentioned it.
“I told you, but you didn’t listen.”
Between the cracks, the report, the meeting with the association president, and finding the magical fragments in the journal, it was all so chaotic that I must have missed it.
I did think about teaching Shiz magic myself.
But that was always my plan, just mine alone. I never imagined that Aska Willovis would step in.
I tried to reject it late, but it was already done, and Shiz was so happy about it that I missed my chance.
‘Only I would have thought she’d go crazy over magic…’
I couldn’t help but watch Shiz, grinning as she mimicked Aska.
To be fair, she’s a kid, so she’s easily swayed by candy.
‘But what about that guy? Why is he stepping in as Shiz’s magic teacher?’
Suspicion grew within me. What exactly happened while I wasn’t around? When I asked Shiz about it…
‘Nothing happened! Really, really nothing!’
“Did you throw a tantrum to get him to teach you? Crying and making a big fuss?”
“I’m not that petty of a kid!”
That was the only response I got. So, hiding in a bag and sneaking into the palace was perfectly fair play?
If Shiz wasn’t complaining, that means that jerk just acted on his own. What’s going on? We were keeping our distance before, and now he’s suddenly trying to get close to Shiz. Why?
Could it be… am I doubting Shiz’s existence?
My heart dropped, and I felt it race.
Why is he asking about being a ‘dad’ now?
That incident with the crack was also bothering me. I’d retrieved everything from my journal, but what if there was a page I missed? What if Aska found it?
My chest tightened.
Should I really be keeping the past me and the Tower of Dawn’s leader in the same place?
Absolutely not! I know that… but…
It’s too awkward to forcefully separate them now. Aska would only grow more suspicious.
Lost in my thoughts, I pulled at my hair helplessly, sitting next to the two of them, watching their lesson.
Ugh, is there a good psychologist around?
“…From here, try doing it on your own for a bit.”
At that moment, Aska turned away from Shiz and leaned toward me on the couch, lowering his voice to ask in a tone quiet enough not to be heard by Shiz.
“What happened at the report?”
“Huh?”
“You must have met the crown prince.”
“Ah…”
It was well-known that the Crown Prince, Reyester, didn’t think highly of me, the Chief Mage. It’s been a while since he openly made things difficult for me.
But I didn’t know Aska was aware of it.
“You look surprised that I know.”
“Why would you know about something like that?”
“I’m not interested, but I know because it’s about you.”
“….”
That sounded a bit strange.
Aska was the type of person who clearly drew the line between what he cared about and what he didn’t. And what he didn’t care about, he barely gave a second thought to.
Maybe that’s why he seemed uninterested in anything other than tormenting me.
Regardless, his words sounded like genuine concern, so I awkwardly looked away.
“…The Crown Prince’s been a pain for a while now. Nothing new there.”
“So, is this my fault?”
Aska nodded toward my feet, and I looked down to find a pile of hair I had pulled out while deep in thought. I was shocked.
“Ah!”
“You always do this when you’re thinking too much.”
“I-I’m fine!”
I quickly swept the hair into a pile with my foot and hid it.
“Am I bothering you?”
“No, not at all!”
“Hmm, really?”
Aska narrowed his eyes slightly.
“You should be more considerate. You’re being so good to Shiz.”
“Where is this coming from?”
“You said Shiz is important to you.”
He looked at me with an unreadable expression.
“So, I’m trying to care about her too.”
His words hung in the air, and I stared at him blankly. Just then, Shiz’s voice broke through.
“Wow!”
Aska and I both turned toward her. Shiz was grinning widely, holding her hands out excitedly.
“Look! Look at this!”
In her little hands was a sparkling golden mana. Aska and I both stared in shock at the sight.
