Chapter 108: Can I Come Too?

Re‌a&d; ​on̈ K̃аt‍Rｅ​аｄｉn&g;​Ϲ​ａ​ｆe

“Sugar… um… are you feeling okay?”

“Ian. I’m fine, really. I’m completely healed.”

Sugar responded brightly to Ian’s question. Although the pregnancy misunderstanding was cleared up the day they went to the infirmary, Ian couldn’t help but worry and kept asking every day.

Actually, the right wrist that had been bitten had been tingling again lately. But since there was barely any visible trace, Sugar just left it alone.

Next to the two girls talking were Riley and Leon.

“Riley. It’s been a while.”

“What?”

“You’re keeping your distance quite well.”

“Huh.”

Leon teased unexpectedly, and Riley let out a stifled laugh, as if he found it ridiculous. It felt particularly awkward coming from him.

“Hey. You still not using the staff?”

“The Saint’s staff? No. I’m not using it. Like I said before, I have no use for it.”

“…Right.”

Riley answered indifferently and quietly moved to stand next to Sugar.

What’s going on? He’s never brought up the staff before. Leon tilted his head in confusion.

.

.

.

Steele has various educational programs, one of which is called “Element Exploration Time.”

Each mage has an element they can handle more skillfully, referred to as their “Elemental Affinity.”

Some are born with an affinity for a particular element, while others train their bodies to prefer a certain element. Regardless of how it happens, this time is dedicated to honing those skills.

The program is conducted with seniors guiding freshmen in each attribute, and later, competitions are held. The rivalries between elements, especially fire and ice, are legendary.

Today is the first session.

After lunch, the second-years are attempting to gather the first-years, holding signs with the names of each attribute: fire, ice, water, wind, earth, and so on.

“I’ll go with wind.”

“Ice.”

“Huh? That’s unexpected, you two.”

As Sugar and Riley each stated their choices, Ian tilted her head in confusion.

“I thought you’d both go for the same attribute.”

“Even for us, our affinities are different.”

“Well, you can go wherever you want to learn, right? I thought you’d stick together no matter what.”

“What kind of people do you think we are in your head, Ian…?”

The two looked at Ian with slightly exasperated expressions. Ian’s eyes narrowed, as if questioning why they would even ask that.

Then Sugar put her hands on her hips and spoke with a bit of swagger.

“Anyway… it’s better if our specialties are different so we can complement each other, right? What about you two?”

Somehow, Ian and Leon were about five steps apart. What choices had they made?

“I’m going with water.”

“I’m also planning to go with water.”

“Huh? Leon, you?”

In the original story, Leon’s main attribute was fire. He learned other elemental magics, but fire was his most prominent.

“Is there a problem?”

“No… I just thought you’d go with fire.”

“Fire doesn’t make money.”

“Ah…”

While fire magic is powerful in terms of destructive force, it’s not very practical in daily life. Compared to water magic, which is used in potion-making, or earth magic, which is great for large-scale farming and alchemy, fire magic falls short.

“They said you don’t have to choose the attribute you’re best at. It’s fine to learn it as a secondary skill. I’m interested in herbs and medicine, so water is perfect for me.”

“Well… I’ll cheer you on.”

Come to think of it, this friend of mine has always been interested in herbs and medicine. Sometimes he even reads books while eating, and when I checked, they were about herbs.

‘I’m wind, Riley is ice, and those two are water…’

You might think that water freezing would make it ice, but in this world, they’re considered separate attributes. Ice is more offensive and lethal, while water is more supportive and healing. Originally, they were lumped together as “water,” but the people within that attribute were so divided in their approaches that they eventually split it into two.

Still, it feels a bit lopsided.

“Let’s split up for now and meet up later.”

At Sugar’s words, they waved and went their separate ways. Sugar headed straight for the wind sign.

“Hi.”

“Uh… hello?”

As she approached, a male senior holding the sign—or rather, lying down—waved at her. He was floating in the air, lying on his back.

“You look really comfortable.”

“Right?”

“You’re really showing off what it means to be a wind attribute mage.”

“I’m a free spirit.”

As a first-year at Steele, this is the time when the blood of a prestigious school runs hot. Not many think practically like Leon when choosing their attribute. Who wouldn’t want to join the fiery rivalry between fire and ice? Naturally, those attributes have the most people.

In contrast, the other attributes are relatively niche. Sugar, standing in a quieter area, looked at the senior.

“It’s getting tiring to hold this. You take it for a bit. I’m going to sleep.”

“Wow…”

There’s no role model behavior here. The senior let out a big yawn and closed his eyes. Even while sleeping, he remained floating in the air, which was impressive in its own way.

Sugar stood holding the sign, which was much larger than her body. Since she could control mana, it wasn’t heavy at all.

Sugar had always been like this. In any group, she wanted to be the one holding the sign or the flag. Not necessarily leading, but standing in a position of responsibility.

Feeling satisfied, Sugar stood tall, her eyes sparkling.

“Huh? Aren’t you a first-year? Why are you holding that?”

“The senior told me to.”

“Ah, he’s crazy!”

“He just dumped his work on a first-year and went to sleep.”

A female senior and another male senior muttered in disbelief.

“Sorry. I’ll apologize for him.”

“Give it here.”

“No! It’s fine. I can do it. Just tell me what to do.”

Sugar answered with shining eyes. The seniors looked down at her small frame and broke into a cold sweat, saying, “Uh, sure.”

“What are you doing?”

Then a familiar voice called out, and Sugar turned her head to see Riley taking the sign from her.

“Hey! I can hold it.”

Riley waved his staff and cast a floating spell on the sign. Sugar quickly ran under it and grabbed the handle. Now she could pretend to hold the sign without any effort.

“Yay!”

“Ugh… whatever.”

He had cast the spell to make it easier for her, but she insisted on holding it anyway.

“But Riley, why are you here? Weren’t you going to ice?”

“…I thought it would be better to try a different attribute instead of sticking to what I’m already good at.”

From a distance, they could hear someone shouting, “Where’s that handsome first-year? We need him for promotion! Where’s the cold-hearted pretty boy?!”

Sugar pretended not to hear and nodded at Riley’s answer. She was just happy to be with him.

Lately, Riley had seemed deep in thought, which made Sugar worry. To others, he seemed the same as always, but to Sugar, he seemed different.

‘The angle of his frown is about 5 degrees steeper than usual…’

‘Is something wrong? The holidays are coming up soon. Maybe I should suggest we go somewhere together?’

There’s a long holiday in May. As Sugar thought about where they could go, she looked at Riley’s face and their eyes met.

Sugar immediately smiled. Ever since Riley told her in the infirmary that he liked her smile, she made sure to smile whenever she thought of him. It wasn’t hard, since she naturally smiled around Riley.

“What are you smiling about?”

“You said you like it when I smile.”

“You smile at everything. Weirdo.”

“I don’t smile like this in front of just anyone…”

If she had said, “I only smile like this for you,” Riley would have just stared at her silently. His gaze drifted to Sugar’s arm.

“Your arm. Is it healed?”

“My arm? Oh, that? It’s fine now. I even took off the bandage. Want to see?”

He couldn’t be talking about her wrist, right?

The arm that had been mauled by the beast. New flesh had completely grown back. It still tingled a bit and the color was slightly off, but they said that would fade with time.

As Sugar struggled to unbutton her sleeve, Riley waved his hand.

“Never mind. You don’t have to show me.”

Sugar buttoned her sleeve back up. Watching her, Riley added, “Don’t get hurt again. Don’t cause trouble. And don’t get involved in anything dangerous.”

“That’s… not something I can control…”

“Just be careful, okay? If something happens, make sure to tell me first—”

Sugar suddenly hugged Riley.

A surefire way to stop his nagging.

“Hey. Are you listening?”

“I know, I know. Hey, Riley, where should we go during the holidays?”

“…Sigh.”

Riley turned Sugar around and hugged her from behind. His hands naturally rested on her soft belly, and he began to gently massage her. It was his way of punishing her.

Sugar’s body stiffened from the tension. But stiffening up only made it more painful. Riley whispered in her ear, “Relax,” and blew a gentle breeze.

Soon, Sugar’s body relaxed, and she leaned back against Riley. She was in the perfect state to be touched.

Since they were in public, Riley kept the intensity light and continued for a while.

“…Huu.”

Sugar glared at Riley with half-lidded eyes. Riley, pretending not to notice, looked straight ahead and continued to tease her. If you’re not going to listen to me, then I’ll just keep going. That was his attitude.

Amid the bustling crowd, Riley enjoyed Sugar’s flustered reactions as he continued to poke and prod.

Since the infirmary incident, that area had become even more sensitive. After being touched so much back then, Sugar had started feeling strange and honestly didn’t like it. But since it was just her belly being touched, she couldn’t outright refuse.

It’s not like she couldn’t let him touch her there. What kind of relationship do we have? As long as it’s not something only couples would do, as long as they stayed within bounds, it was fine. If this guy wanted to play with her belly, what could she do?

“Ah…”

As she endured those thoughts, she soon found it hard to stand. Her legs gave out, and she leaned completely against Riley. Only then did Riley stop.

The sudden stop left her feeling a bit unsatisfied—not really. Finally, it’s over. Phew. It was uncomfortable, but she endured it for Riley.

Sugar looked up at Riley and smiled slyly. A smug smile with the corners of her lips raised. It was a smile that said, “I only let you because you wanted it. As long as you enjoyed it, that’s all that matters.”

Riley smiled back. It was a rare smile. At first glance, it might seem like a smirk, but it wasn’t.

It was the kind of smile you’d have when you see a silly animal that’s crawled into a hole and gotten stuck. It’s dumb, but cute, and a little pitiful, yet so ridiculous that it makes you laugh.

That was the kind of smile he had.

***************

‘What are those two doing over there…’

From the area where the water attribute hopefuls had gathered, Ian glanced over at the next section. Under the sign, she saw the white-haired and yellow-haired duo hugging, standing close together. The white-haired one’s face looked particularly red.

Her pervert radar activated, and she stared intently. Then she pulled out a notebook from her pocket and quickly scribbled something down.

‘A man and woman in a crowd. The man is hugging the woman from behind. The woman’s face is red. The naturalness is the key point. Action: ?, What a man can do from behind.’

“Ian? What are you doing?”

“Ah! Uh, nothing!”

She hurriedly stuffed the notebook labeled “Material Collection” back into her pocket. It was part of her hobby.

Ian, an avid reader of romance novels, had read almost everything on the market. Now what? She’d have to write her own. And she had some good material right next to her.

‘I’m definitely not writing anything inappropriate…! It’s strictly for all ages…!’

“You can relax. I didn’t see anything.”

“No… it’s fine. I’m done.”

Feeling guilty, she pressed her lips together.

After that brief exchange, silence fell. Amid the noisy surroundings, this area was oddly quiet.

It was partly because of the strikingly noticeable person with purple eyes and platinum blonde hair. And partly because that person had been acting tense around her roommate lately.

Ever since the physical exam, things had been like this. She couldn’t help but be conscious of him, keeping her distance. This wasn’t good. Lately, he seemed to be opening up more, but…

In contrast, Ian’s heart wouldn’t calm down. The moment she strongly realized that Leon was a man, sharing a room became difficult. Every sound of clothes rustling or water running in the room made her nervous. Her heart kept racing.

Until now, she had managed by telling herself, “I’m a man too,” but in the end, she wasn’t. Who could call this body, with its bandages removed, a man’s body?

But there was no way out. She had to steel her heart, strengthen her resolve, and move forward.

‘I’m a man…’

Iané could stay hidden forever. For Ian’s freedom. For the sake of the saint’s bloodline that trusted her and let her out into the world.

Under Sky Island, in Steele. Here, Ian, wearing the school cloak, breathed in the mana-infused air, attended classes with her friends, searched for novel material, laughed, and chatted. All of this was possible because “the saint’s younger sibling is a man.”

“…Leon. Do you have time during the holidays?”

Among the countless students, Ian, realizing something anew, asked while letting go of some of her burden.

We’re friends, after all. We should hang out and have fun. I can’t waste time being nervous and self-conscious. The precious May holiday of our first year should be cherished.

“Ah, I’ll probably be going back to my hometown then.”

“For the entire holiday?”

“Most likely.”

“Oh…”

That’s disappointing. But it’s not the only opportunity. We can find time later.

What about Sugar and Riley? Ah. It’s honestly hard to be the third wheel with that couple.

“…Hey.”

Just as she was thinking about those two.

The words slipped out.

Without any thought, they just popped out.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Can I come too…?”