While I was cautiously watching Arkhangelo, the villagers were busy preparing for the banquet.
The smell of a large piece of meat roasting in the kitchen wafted through the air, and a beer was swiftly placed in front of each of us.
My attention shifted from Arkhangelo to the beer.
“Oh, a cool beer is perfect.”
“I heard this beer is produced in this region.”
With that, Raffaelo gulped down his beer heartily, and people clapped for him. He confidently placed his empty mug on the table with a thud.
“Wow…”
I couldn’t help but be impressed by his refreshing performance of wiping his mouth as a final act.
It was perfect for a hero who had eradicated bandits.
Although it couldn’t compare to the lavish balls of the aristocracy, I quite liked this small banquet.
Next to me, Simone was savoring his beer with an elegant demeanor, as if it were wine.
“Lady Seraphina, you don’t have to feel pressured. If you don’t like alcohol, you don’t have to drink.”
“Oh, no. It’s not that I don’t like drinking alcohol.”
In my original world, I could hold my liquor pretty well. I wasn’t sure how it would be here, though.
Even the picky Arkhangelo and the silent Ghieuspe were drinking beer, so I decided to muster up the courage to drink some too.
Since it wasn’t my original body, I didn’t know my limits, but drink a little of this beer should be fine I guess…
“This is… incredible.”
As soon as I took a sip, I couldn’t help but pour the beer down my throat.
It was that amazing. It had been a long time since I last tasted beer, and it was fantastic!
Since coming to this world, I hadn’t even touched alcohol, and even before coming to this world, I didn’t have time to drink because I was busy creating questions for high school seniors every night…
“Wow, it’s January 1st! Let’s go drinking!”
My students used to shout this after their college entrance exams.
“Wow, it’s January 1st! Let’s start January’s concept lectures!”
That was my life… It’s been a while since I last drank.
As I was drinking beer like a champion, Raffaelo looked at me with a stunned expression.
“Hey, now I really understand why you’re friends with Aurora… You drink beer exactly like her.”
“That’s an insult. Are you comparing me to that weirdo Aurora?”
“Phew, you’re really a mysterious one the more I see you…”
Ghieuspe nodded briefly in agreement.
“I was especially surprised to hear you took on the bandit’s leader earlier. I knew you were a spatial mage, but I didn’t expect you to handle such a sudden situation so well.”
“I told you, I can protect myself.”
“Well, I guess I had some preconceptions. But all of my preconception to you are gone now.”
I looked at Raffaelo with a sulky face while holding beer in my mouth.
Given my appearance, it was understandable to have such biases. But in a world like this, sticking to such rigid preconception was a quick way to end up into trouble.
“Raffaelo, you must be careful. In the world of magic, it’s always wise to watch out for the elderly, women, and children.”
“I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m saying age and gender don’t matter. It’s like the world of college entrance exams. People say it’s the most equalizing battlefield. Though I don’t quite agree with that.”¹
There might be a significant difference between students who could take my classes and those who couldn’t, but I couldn’t admit that myself.
In reality, by teaching in Daechi-dong, I had contributed to the inequality of opportunities in my country, haha.
“I really don’t get it…”
Now the male lead’s group was looking at me with the same eyes as when they talked about Aurora. No matter how you look at it, comparing me to Aurora was too much.
Meanwhile, even while I was drinking beer like a general, I couldn’t take my eyes off Arkhangelo.
He had been sipping beer like it was wine, looking clearly dissatisfied.
“Arkhangelo, you really don’t like this kind of drink, do you?”
“Hmph, but I’ll drink for you guys. I also know how to enjoy a party.”
“Wow, is Arkhangelo trying to being considerate now?”
Raffaelo sarcastically remarked in surprise, and I exaggeratedly chimed in.
“Wow! Amazing! He showed his ‘consideration’!”
“Please stop being so silly.”
Arkhangelo’s face remained gloomy.
Damn, I tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but it didn’t work at all.
So, when Arkhangelo went outside the inn to get some fresh air, I followed him.
Standing in front of the inn, he looked quite bitter, so unlike his usual arrogant self. Seeing him like that sobered me up.
“Um, Arkhangelo…”
To be honest, I initially thought about ignoring him. There was nothing to gain from getting involved in someone else’s feelings, and I didn’t want to get too close to him.
Damn it, but ignoring someone’s worries isn’t easy for me.
He looked like a high school senior struggling because of their grades wouldn’t improve no matter how hard they tried…
“Are you troubled by something?”
“Did you ask me about my problems?”
“Yes, your problems.”
“Hmph, I don’t have any.”
“But it seems you do.”
At those words, Arkhangelo fell silent and looked at me with a subtle expression.
“I never thought I’d be someone you worry about.”
“I’m also human, so I do worry.”
“I have a terrible personality and am useless in finding the aurora, so why do you worry about me?”
Wow, he’s really twisted.
Okay, let’s recall how I dealt with troublesome students. If there was a student who didn’t do their homework and slept in class…
“Assistant, please schedule a consultation with the director for this student’s attitude problem.”
Aha, I passed it off to someone else! Because my role was not character education but solely improving grades, haha!
… I guess it’s better not to recall memories from my previous life.
“You knew your personality was terrible? I thought Arkhangelo was such a narcissist that you wouldn’t even know that…”
“Hey!”
“No, I’m joking. Anyway…”
I looked into Arkhangelo’s red eyes and spoke softly.
“I think Arkhangelo is a good person and I like you as a human being.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing those words, Arkhangelo’s face definitely relaxed compared to before.
He quietly lifted his head.
In the sky, a yellow crescent moon was shining.
The moon in this world looked especially large and close.
The moonlight illuminated the world, creating a poetic and beautiful atmosphere.
Even the mechanical devices that seemed rigid somehow looked romantic in the beautiful moonlight.
Even though this sudden possession was unexpected, I didn’t dislike this beautiful sight.
After gazing at the moon for a while, Arkhangelo suddenly spoke.
“You know what kind of family the Phyro count’s house is, right?”
“The Phyro count’s house?”
There were almost no mentions of the Phyro count’s house in the original story… I made a puzzled expression, and he spoke as if frustrated.
“Does the young lady of House of Viviana not know that? The House of Phyro is also a family of mage, just like Viviana.”
“Oh, right, that’s true.”
I pretended to have forgotten, but it was new information to me. Among the male leads, I knew that Raffaelo from Marquess Nesta family was a family of mages, but I didn’t realize that the Count Phyro family was as well.
Then why did Arkhangelo become a singer?
“I can’t use magic.”
With Arkhangelo’s gloomy voice following, I immediately understood the situation.
“Since I was young, I had no magical talent at all. My family even gave up on teaching me magic because I was so untalented.”
“Ah…”
So, Arkhangelo was like Seraphina.
“Besides, I hated studying. No matter how much I tried to grasp magical theories, I couldn’t understand them. It was inevitable that I couldn’t use magic.”
“I see…”
“My family never pressured me about it. I am the third of three siblings, and there were two sisters above me who could use magic.”
“Still, do you want to use magic?”
“I have no desire to use magic. I may have had such thoughts when I was young, but I have completely given up on magic now. However…”
He hung his head low, his brilliant blond hair shining in the moonlight.
“Sometimes I feel worthless. I wonder if I ran away from the path of magic to the completely unrelated field of singing.”
“Hmm…”
“No matter how successful I am in singing, in the end, it feels like I ran away from the path given to me. Besides, ordinary people think of singing as something lowly done by commoners. It’s not as difficult as magic.”
As Arkhangelo said, most nobles did not become singers themselves. They enjoyed singing, but did not pursue it as a career.
This also influenced Aurora’s close relationship with Arkhangelo. Aurora was also one of the rare noble ladies who dreamed of to becoming a singer.
Therefore, Arkhangelo was concerned that he had avoided the ‘noble and difficult’ path of magic and chosen the ‘lowly and easy’ path of singing.
But his words made me tilt my head. Hmm, this is…
“Did you think that way even after watching others fight today?”
“Yes. After all, I am a worthless person who ran away from magic.”
“Were you envious of them fighting?”
“I’m not envious. I have long given up on such things. I just dislike feeling insignificant.”
Arkhangelo’s past, which was not mentioned at all in the original work.
Listening quietly to his ongoing story, I thought. What Arkhangelo is saying may not be entirely true.
“Arkhangelo.”
“Yes.”
“Do you really think of singing as a way to escape from magic?”
“What?”
🍓 :
¹ Seraphina talks about equality and not being too quick to prejudge someone regardless of their age or gender.
