Chapter 281: 3rd Circle Magic (5)

A little early evening time.

Somehow, holding the hand of Hwayoung Sunbae, who had succeeded in tempting me, I walked together to the restaurant.

Seeing her trying to match my pace with a strangely fluttering expression, it seemed like she was excited at the thought of eating something other than pork belly, but…

…Even when we first met, it felt like I was the one using all sorts of excuses and means to tempt Sunbae.

Now the situation has reversed, and Hwayoung Sunbae’s behavior, trying somehow to buy time to be with me, felt cute in many ways.

The awkward movements, appearing not to know what to do or how, despite her intention to tempt me being the only thing driving her, couldn’t be helped, though.

“S-Sungchul Hubae, you originally majored in swordsmanship, right?”

“That’s right. Swordsmanship is still my main focus. I’m in the swordsman position even during party hunts.”

“And yet you’re learning magic diligently too… W-Well, that’s truly admirable…!”

“Earlier, when hunting monsters, you said it shouldn’t take more than two hours, so why did it take so long?”

“D-Did I say something like that? W-Well, I don’t remember clearly…”

Her eagerness leading the way, she tried to offer forced praise with insincere words, only for her recent actions to come back as a contradiction.

Since I knew the situation, those awkward moments actually became even more enjoyable points of observation whenever they appeared.

While having such strangely halting conversations, as we walked down the street, the sizzling smell of pork belly began to pierce my nose from some point on.

By that point, the hunger I had forgotten surfaced, and my body also reacted to the appetite.

…Come to think of it, I hadn’t even eaten lunch and had just spammed magic in the dungeon for three hours.

It was about time for some nutritional replenishment, so it was natural for my body to react on its own.

As soon as we entered the restaurant, we ordered two servings of pork belly and a bottle of soju, and while waiting for the food, we sat facing each other at the table and continued talking about the 3rd Circle magic I showcased in the dungeon earlier.

“…As I mentioned earlier, it’s fortunate that you seem to grasp the concept of creating magic itself well. And your skill in utilizing the Frost Burst you created in actual combat was excellent, too.”

“Huh? Frost Burst?”

“Huh? Did you perhaps have a name set aside for it? Since it’s exploding an ice chunk with fire magic, I thought a name like that would be fine…”

“Ice Fragment Pellet……”

“Huh?”

“…It’s nothing.”

…What is this feeling, this sense of becoming infinitely insignificant the moment I heard the name Frost Burst?

Clearly, when I first thought of it, I considered it a plausible name, so why does the name Ice Fragment Pellet feel childish and tacky now?

Before the melancholy feelings I had towards ‘Ice Fragment Pellet’ could even finish in my mind, Hwayoung Sunbae’s indiscriminate magic naming continued without pause.

“Oh, and the other two spells weren’t too bad either. Though considering their power, some improvements seem necessary. If we add some concepts and develop them into 4th or 5th Circle magic, they might be usable? Roughly, the names could be Fire Whip… and maybe Explosive Fist?”

“Fire Punch….”

“Huh?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Because I could instinctively realize that even if I forced and preached the magic names I had thought of, I wouldn’t receive much of a response.

I decided to quietly accept the magic names my Teacher had given me.

Goodbye, Ice Fragment Pellet, Fire Punch….

After that, as we downed a glass or two of alcohol along with the meal, the atmosphere gradually mellowed with various conversations.

The sight of an elf wrapping pork belly lettuce wraps and stuffing a mouthful into their mouth was fascinating in many ways, but since Sunbae was a half-elf, it seemed eating meat didn’t cause any particular problems.

Indeed, we ate pizza together last time. And that one was loaded with pepperoni sausage for Sunbae.

And if you want to be precise, pork belly lettuce wraps had a higher ratio of plants than meat, so about half of it was vegetarian. The Vegan Association probably wouldn’t recognize it, though.

Thinking that maybe things like this were okay sometimes, I picked up a lettuce leaf from the table, placed meat, shredded green onion, garlic, and ssamjang appropriately on top, made a wrap, and handed it to Sunbae across from me.

“Sunbae, say ‘Ah~’.”

“Ah, ah…”

I thought she would refuse, saying it was embarrassing, but unexpectedly, Hwayoung Sunbae obediently accepted my lettuce wrap into her mouth without any particular objection.

…Her will is truly firm. Seeing her even doing things she wouldn’t normally do, determined to somehow take me to bed today.

“H-Hubae! You eat this too! I wrapped it myself!”

“Thank you, Sunbae.”

Moreover, she didn’t stop at just eating the wrap from me; she even hastily wrapped one herself and brought it to my mouth, giving rise to new feelings in many ways that I couldn’t experience from the Sunbae I knew until now.

It seems she lived quite well without a man for over 100 years, so I wondered if there was a reason for her to be this anxious and flustered.

While watching her come closer to feed the lettuce wrap she’d made into my mouth, I suddenly felt a strange incongruity about her, different from usual.

“…Hmm?”

“Wh-What’s wrong? Does it not taste good?”

“No, the wrap is delicious.”

I hadn’t been able to grasp it well because it was a special situation inside the dungeon until now, but…

Certainly, today, that strange smell I usually detected from her wasn’t present.

The characteristic pungent and dry smell of tar cigarettes.

Just in case my guess was right, I casually asked Hwayoung Sunbae about those tar cigarettes.

“Sunbae.”

“Ah, yeah?”

“Did you perhaps quit smoking?”

“…Not completely, but I haven’t smoked for about a week.”

I had just thrown the question out there, not really expecting it, but to think she had actually quit.

One might think it was just masked by the smell of meat, but in the first place, tar cigarettes made from black slime couldn’t mask their scent that way.

In fact, it wasn’t just now; I hadn’t smelled Sunbae’s unique cigarette scent all day today either.

“What whim struck you to do that all of a sudden?”

“…Well.”

“I don’t smoke, so I don’t know well, but isn’t quitting usually very difficult? Especially since tar cigarettes are likely much more addictive than others.”

As I asked seriously with a look of genuine confusion, she rather blurted out as if incredified.

“…You told me to quit, and now you’re changing your tune…”

“What?”

“…You said you didn’t like the smell of cigarettes when kissing. That’s why I just held back starting a week before meeting you.”

To summarize, it meant, ‘I quit because you told me to.’

I clearly remembered saying it as a passing remark without much expectation, but Hwayoung Sunbae was paying attention to that part.

…Especially paying attention to the cigarette smell emanating during kisses.

In other words, it meant she had been anticipating a situation where she could kiss me today, starting more than a week ago.

Or perhaps she had been hoping for something more right from the beginning.

Although it was an inadvertent display of her true feelings being indirectly blurted out to me, perhaps due to the alcohol, she didn’t seem to notice that part.

…In the first place, a clean kiss seemed to have sailed away long ago due to the smell of meat and garlic anyway.

After finishing the meal, emptying the remaining meat from the grill and the drinking glasses, it had soon become evening time, with the sun almost set.

Thanks to the days getting shorter, the scenery evoked the illusion of it being late at night, even though it wasn’t actually that late.

“I ate well, Sunbae.”

“Y-Yeah… I’m glad you ate well…”

“Maybe because it’s early winter, but it’s already getting dark even though it’s still evening.”

“Y-Yeah, indeed… …Sigh.”

As soon as we stepped out of the restaurant, Hwayoung Sunbae, showing an obviously anxious demeanor, let out a quiet sigh.

The fact that it got dark meant that the time to return soon was approaching.

It meant that if a decision wasn’t made soon, we’d have to part ways for the day.

It also meant that if her sexual desire was pent up, it would lead to the inconvenience of having to make other plans and set a new day to meet.

Of course, I didn’t want that either, so I was thinking of bringing it up myself if necessary, but…

Still, before that, I decided to observe just how decisive Hwayoung Sunbae would be.

They say the courageous win the beautiful woman.

I’m not exactly beautiful, and even without courage, I’d willingly let myself be won over, but…

“U-Uh, S-Sungchul-ah…!”

“Yes, Sunbae.”

“D-Do you perhaps… uh, still have time…?”

“Yes, I have time. But why are you asking?”

“N-No, um… Just curious…”

Really, she’s so lacking in courage.

If she just closed her eyes tightly and said, ‘Let’s go to a hotel,’ I would have gladly accepted, but seeing Hwayoung Sunbae fidgeting, unable to utter those words, was cute in many ways.

“I-It’s late at night, so… where shall we rest for a while…?”

“It is getting dark, but it’s still early evening, Sunbae.”

“B-But still… isn’t it dangerous for a man to walk alone on a dark night road like this…?”

“Did you forget I’m an Awakened one?”

“Ah, ah, right… Sungchul, you were an Awakened one…”

When would she stop beating around the bush and speak honestly?

Her trying various ways to make excuses and create a suitable pretext was a pitiable sight in many ways, and…

In the end, finding it too difficult to just watch, I outright expressed a clear signal, so that Sunbae could muster the courage to clearly express her true feelings to me.

Smack.

“Hah?!”

Hwayoung Sunbae jumped up as if surprised by my light kiss that suddenly touched her lips.

“Wh-What is it?”

“What do you mean ‘what is it’? Does one need a reason to kiss?”

“…Huh?”

“You said you didn’t even smoke for a week thinking of kissing me. Wouldn’t it be too regrettable if we parted like this?”

“Ah, yeah… That’s right…”

Actually, due to the smell of meat and alcohol, even without the cigarette smell, it couldn’t really be called romantic, but…

That part could be sufficiently offset by a bit of drunkenness and Sunbae’s lovely expression.

“Sunbae, won’t it really be regrettable?”

“…Regrettable about what?”

“I’m asking if you wouldn’t find it regrettable even if we just kissed and then parted.”

“…Uh, uh?”

“Are you really going to send me away like this? Or are you going to insist on making me, a man, say it directly?”

“…Ah, ahh, th-th-that…!”

Hwayoung Sunbae’s eyes widened greatly, having properly understood my words.

If I’ve said this much, she must have understood by now. That our thoughts had already been aligned for quite some time.

Only after receiving the very last hint did she finally take hold of my hand with a confident look.

“S-Sungchul-ah!”

“Yes.”

“T-Tonight… w-will you stay with me…?”

Seeing Hwayoung Sunbae, who could finally speak properly now, I nodded my head with a smile.

Still, considering it’s this much, you’ve grown a lot in a short period.

It was the moment I came to understand, even just a little, the feelings of a teacher looking at their disciple.