Ch.415Chapter 415 – Toward the Snowy Field (2)

As I came out of the room with Chris, I briefly glanced at the window through which Beatrice had escaped.

‘I wonder if she’s alright.’

She had slipped out through the window just like she always does, but she had only woken up a short while ago. I was a bit worried that she might have made a small mistake due to drowsiness.

While I was looking at the window, Chris, who had come to wake me up early this morning, carefully asked me a question.

“Master Kay, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

“I’m fine.”

This was Chris’s usual question whenever nothing special happened during the night. Since she always worried about me and came to my room when I woke up, I smiled as I answered her familiar question.

Then Chris quietly asked.

“But why did you sleep in a little today?”

“I thought I got up at the usual time?”

I answered with slight tension.

“You were about 10 minutes later than usual.”

“…Can’t I sleep 10 more minutes?”

“I felt a slight sensation of magical power moving during those 10 minutes.”

Chris said with a worried expression.

“I was concerned that something might be wrong with your heart.”

“I see.”

During those 10 minutes, Beatrice must have been using magic to clean up. It made sense that she would use magic to tidy up since there was more work than expected, but it seemed those 10 minutes had been detected by Chris.

Fortunately, she had only sensed the magical power and didn’t seem to know that Beatrice was responsible, but…

‘What should I do?’

I felt awkward about honestly telling Chris that I had slept with Beatrice last night. In a situation where I had already slept with several people, one more person shouldn’t be a big deal, but it wasn’t easy to just casually mention it as if it were nothing.

If it were Eve or Sera, they might get slightly angry and then end it with a light request to pay more attention to them next time, but with Chris, she would probably smile and say it was okay in front of me, but quietly sob behind my back.

By nature, Chris wasn’t good at saying harsh things to me. I didn’t want to make her sad unnecessarily.

‘Should I hide it then?’

Since she hadn’t noticed yet, I could just let it slide. But if I hid it, that might make Chris worry even more. Right now, she was already wondering if the magical power movement from earlier wasn’t Beatrice’s doing but rather my heart causing a slight problem. If I just stayed quiet, she would probably worry more.

If I spoke honestly, I could at least let her know that there was no problem with my heart, but if last night’s events were revealed and I tried to hide it, that could cause her even greater concern.

It was a bit of a dilemma.

As I was slightly pondering how to answer Chris, the door in front of me opened.

“Good morning!”

“Sera?”

Unlike me and Chris who almost always wake up at set times, Sera, who usually sleeps in a little, appeared with a smile. Of course, she sometimes wakes up early on days when she sleeps well, but she generally lacks sleep because she often stays up late researching.

So it was quite rare to see her at this hour. Since it was such an unusual sight, Chris took her eyes off me for a moment and tilted her head.

“Sera, you’re up early?”

“Yes. We’re leaving for the snow fields today.”

Sera smiled as she spoke to Chris.

“The tools I made yesterday were well-received, and I think I woke up early because I want to finish the work quickly.”

“Ah, those bombs…”

I quietly covered Chris’s mouth. Neither of them looked particularly serious, but the word “bombs” caught my attention.

“What exactly did you make?”

“Let’s just call it ‘fun in the snow fields.'”

“It’s super spectacular!”

Chris said with a smile. This made me feel left out. I wanted them to show me what they had seen.

“Can I at least ask about the power?”

“It’s quite good. But I’ve taken proper safety measures, so they won’t suddenly explode.”

After saying that, Sera smiled brightly and added.

“But to use them properly, we need Chris.”

“…”

Something felt dangerous about this. Still, thanks to that, Chris’s attention was now focused on Sera. It seemed like I might be able to get away with it.

“Oh, Chris. It looks like you were asking Kay something.”

“Ah, yes. Actually…”

These two seemed to read my mind as they immediately tried to return to the previous topic. Now with Sera added to the situation, I was carefully considering how to respond.

And then an unexpected figure appeared as a relief pitcher.

“Oh?”

Chris stopped talking and looked ahead. Sera, who had been looking at Chris, turned around to look at the figure who had suddenly appeared.

“You’re Miss Jusha, right?”

“Um, hello?”

A young bear beastkin was looking up at us from the kitchen. Sera and Chris immediately approached the suddenly appeared cute bear beastkin and asked questions.

“What brings you here so early in the morning?”

“Since today is the day you all leave, I thought I’d come to say goodbye and prepare breakfast for you…”

“This early in the morning?”

When I asked with slight surprise, Jusha smiled and said.

“Wouldn’t that make it even more devoted service?”

That’s true, but it’s a bit burdensome.

“Um, if it’s about breakfast, I can take care of it, so you don’t need to trouble yourself, Miss Jusha…”

“Please just call me Jusha. But it’s fine. I also came to express my gratitude.”

“Gratitude?”

When I quietly asked about the unexpected words from Jusha’s mouth, she looked around and then spoke.

“I wanted to thank Lady Beatrice.”

“Lady Beatrice?”

Chris tilted her head. Jusha nodded and quietly continued.

“She gave me a lot of good advice yesterday. About the benefits of going to the magic tower, the support they could provide, things like that.”

Jusha smiled shyly and held out her hand. Soon, I could feel magical power gathering above her hand. The next moment, a small clump of earth appeared on her palm.

“You created earth?”

“I made it with magic. I was interested in it when I was young, so I tried hard. Thanks to that, I know a little bit about handling magical power.”

Jusha smiled as she spoke to Chris.

“So, although it’s a bit embarrassing, I once dreamed of entering the academy and becoming a mage of the magic tower.”

“I see.”

Now I could understand why she had asked Beatrice all those questions. The reason she had asked even about whether it was too late to start at her age was probably because she was slightly worried that she might be too late.

“Lady Beatrice kindly answered my consultation… Then after seeing me use magic, she offered to write me a letter of recommendation.”

“Beatrice may not look it, but she seems to hold quite a high position in the magic tower.”

She was quite close to two Masters and was considered a top asset in the Green Tower. A recommendation letter from someone like her would be quite effective.

“So you came to get that recommendation letter?”

“No, I came to… decline it.”

I couldn’t help but frown at Jusha’s words. Sera also asked with some surprise.

“Decline?”

“Yes. Yesterday, I was just happy to have a conversation with a mage from the magic tower… but I thought I might be dreaming a dream that doesn’t suit me because I was too excited.”

Jusha said with a slightly weak voice.

“And even if I tried, I’m worried about what if I can’t do it… and it’s far from here in the first place.”

“So you’re declining.”

“…Yes.”

Jusha nodded with a gloomy face. Seeing that face filled with regret, I found myself speaking.

“Are you satisfied with that, miss?”

“…I have to live for the people of my tribe anyway. It wouldn’t be good to be away for too long.”

After saying that, Jusha made a face as if she just realized something and forced a smile.

“Oh, I’ve been saying unnecessary things! You’re about to leave and I’m just…”

“No. I’m actually glad I could hear this now.”

I said quietly, looking at Jusha.

“Miss, did you truly want to become a mage?”

At my words, Jusha’s eyes wavered slightly. After checking my expression for a moment, she quietly asked.

“Why… do you think so?”

“Because you listed several reasons why it wouldn’t work, why you couldn’t do it.”

I spoke quietly, looking at Jusha.

“I thought maybe you wanted to do it but couldn’t easily give up, so you found several reasons why it wouldn’t work to somehow force yourself to give up.”

“That’s…”

“This might just be my own story, but…”

I spoke while slightly recalling memories from before coming to this world.

“When you can’t freely do what you really want to do, you tend to look for reasons why you can’t do it.”

“Is that so…?”

“Usually, that’s how I was. Sometimes I thought I did well by hesitating.”

I spoke while tracing the now fragmented old memories.

“And sometimes I regretted it, thinking I should have followed my heart. But looking back, I think I regretted the opportunities I missed the most.”

“I see.”

“All I can advise is that I hope you make a choice without regrets. But remember this.”

I spoke quietly, looking at Jusha.

“Your future is determined by you.”

Jusha looked at me. I continued speaking.

“You have plenty of time. You don’t need to make a decision right now. Rather than immediately deciding it’s not possible by only looking for reasons why it won’t work, I think it’s good to gradually look for reasons why you should do it. And if you still can’t decide quickly, it might be good to receive it from Beatrice, thinking of it as keeping a path open for the future.”

“If I receive it and then don’t pursue it, wouldn’t that be disrespectful to her?”

“If she went to the trouble and you declined, it could be, but…”

I smiled lightly at Jusha as I spoke.

“No one has the right to force your choice. This applies to everyone. In the end, the decision is yours. Beatrice would understand that very well.”

Beatrice was the type of person who would just let it go even if someone didn’t follow what she had prepared for them.

“You don’t have to choose right now. I think it’s not a bad idea to receive it now, even if it’s to create a path for yourself later.”

“…Hmm.”

Jusha’s face became thoughtful. I smiled slightly at her and said.

“If all else fails, you could just ask the person herself, right?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Jusha turned around in surprise. Beatrice, who had gone outside through the window, was coming in with a smile.

“I heard most of the conversation.”

Beatrice looked at Jusha with a faint smile.

“What will you do, Miss Jusha?”

“Well, I…”

Jusha looked around as if searching for an escape route. It might be a bit rude, but I grabbed Jusha’s shoulder and said.

“Just ask her.”

“But…”

“It’s okay. She won’t eat you.”

Though she might pet you a bit. Beatrice does like fluffy fur.

Perhaps gaining a bit of courage from my words, Jusha took a deep breath. After exhaling softly and composing herself, she nodded at me and I could see her walking with small steps toward Beatrice.

Perhaps because someone had listened to her concerns, Jusha’s face looked slightly more at ease.

“A child’s face does look better when it’s bright.”

“Indeed.”

Sera and Chris smiled slightly at me. I nodded lightly to them and quietly watched Jusha discussing with Beatrice.

“What choice do you think she’ll make, Kay?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Because the choice is Jusha’s. All I could do was offer advice. But…

“At least I think she’ll make a choice without regrets.”

I said quietly, watching Jusha who was talking with Beatrice with a face brighter than before.