Ch.61Return (3)

I felt tired, my whole body damp and heavy as if soaked in rain.

On top of that, I was worried about how my master was doing, which only added to my discomfort.

Creeeeak.

I pulled myself together and pushed open the back door of the workshop.

She’s my master after all, so she must be doing fine.

That’s what I thought.

“Hic…”

Until I saw her completely drunk.

The smell of alcohol permeated the air, and there were at least ten empty bottles scattered across the floor.

She couldn’t have drunk all this in one day, so it must have been over several days.

‘Why on earth?’

I couldn’t think of any good reason.

The evaluation period had taken longer than expected, but…

“Just in case, I sent letters to the Academy and Riano’s Workshop where you’re staying, so please don’t worry.”

That’s what Elin’s mother had said.

So I naturally thought she wouldn’t be worried even if I was a bit late.

That assumption shattered in an instant.

My master blinked her half-closed eyes, staring at me for a few seconds.

“Must be a hallucination…”

She turned her head away.

She immediately reached for another bottle, but I snatched it away, causing her hand to swipe through empty air.

Unable to keep her balance, she collapsed onto the table with a thud.

Seeing this, I let out a deep sigh.

“Master, please stop drinking. What’s wrong? Did something bad happen?”

“Something bad… Yes, there was… I heard my disciple got hurt again. How does he manage to get injured every time he goes somewhere?”

“Well, about that…”

Honestly, I had nothing to say about that.

It happened last time, and it happened this time too. Other professors complete their evaluations and return unharmed.

Either I’m unlucky, or I’m the only one who keeps getting caught up in strange situations.

Even if it was beyond my control…

There’s no way my master wouldn’t be heartbroken seeing her disciple return injured.

Anyway, it seems I’m the reason she ended up like this.

“Please go to your room and rest. Don’t stay here like this. Would you like me to bring you some water if you’re struggling?”

I needed to take care of her properly.

“Huh? My disciple… When did you get here…?”

This must be what they mean by “dead drunk.”

Thinking that, I decided to play along.

There was no point in arguing—it would only tire me out.

“I just arrived. You must be very tired. Let’s get you to your room.”

I slipped my hands under her armpits and forcibly lifted her up. Then I carried her straight to her room.

Her subtle scent tickled my nose even through the smell of alcohol.

“Here, I’ll lay you on the bed. Watch your head.”

I carefully laid my master on the bed, picked up the blanket from the floor, shook it out, and covered her with it.

With the blanket pulled up to her neck, she stretched her arms forward.

“Disciple, come here.”

It felt like she was asking me to embrace her, so I gently placed my upper body between her arms.

Squeeze…

My master hugged me with all her strength, and from within that embrace came warmth and the sound of sobbing.

“Hic… don’t get hurt… Please, don’t get hurt when I’m not around…”

“I’m sorry. I’m fine now. Really.”

“I know, I know…”

Her pleading voice made my heart ache.

I felt sorry for making her worry and didn’t want to see her crying.

Yet strangely, I found myself smiling.

Was it because I was happy she worried about me to the point of self-destruction?

Or was it amusing to see this new side of my master?

I wasn’t sure of the exact reason.

But I knew for certain that I didn’t dislike this moment.

“Master, I’m not going to the Academy tomorrow. So we can be together all day.”

I could feel my master nodding against my neck.

“So please get some rest now.”

As I said this and tried to pull away.

“Sleep with me.”

My master lifted one side of the blanket and patted the space beside her.

No matter how drunk she was, sleeping in the same bed seemed a bit inappropriate.

Of course, nothing would happen just by sleeping together, but…

While I was hesitating, my master pressed for an answer.

“I said sleep with me. It’s not like I’m going to eat you.”

“No, well, that’s not what I meant…”

When she puts it that way, I have nothing to say.

It could simply be that in her innocent state, she’s afraid I might leave her side.

Looking at my master’s current condition, that seemed quite possible.

So I decided to accept it as my karma.

“Let’s sleep together then. I was feeling tired anyway.”

“Yes, yes. Hurry and get in.”

Still feeling awkward, I lay down on the bed with stiff movements, and my master covered me with the blanket.

The emotions I felt as a child began to erase my discomfort, and gradually the situation and atmosphere became more comfortable.

Leaning on those memories, I fully accepted the situation.

“Disciple.”

“Yes, Master.”

“How long has it been since we last lay down together like this?”

I tried to recall those distant memories, but it was impossible.

“I don’t know. It was definitely a long time ago.”

“I see…”

Inside the blanket where our body heat mingled, my master began to fiddle with my hand.

That sensation felt quite different from when I was young.

Soft and small.

It was hard to believe these would eventually become wrinkled hands.

“How strange. When did you get so big? You were definitely small when you were young.”

“That was when I was a child. And I’m a man, so that’s natural.”

“…a man…”

There was a strange emotion in those words that softly escaped my master’s lips.

My master and I looked into each other’s eyes from a distance of less than a hand’s width.

Those eyes seemed to no longer see me as just a disciple.

In the past, I certainly wouldn’t have noticed.

But after meeting Lael, Derin, and Elin, and experiencing the emotion called love…

Now that I had begun to feel those emotions to some extent, I could clearly recognize what my master was showing me.

‘Love.’

My master loved me as a man.

Of course, it could be a misconception.

When it comes to love, I’m like a newborn who hasn’t even entered the Academy.

But my master erased even that small uncertainty.

“Disciple, no, Crow. I like you. Not as a disciple, but as a man.”

Even though my master was drunk, I wondered if I should take her words at face value.

They say people reveal what’s truly in their hearts when drunk.

So this confession was likely genuine.

But…

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can give you an answer.”

If choosing one person means losing the rest, I can’t choose anyone.

This applies not just to my master, but to the others as well.

My master chuckled and raised one hand to caress my cheek.

There was a strange charm in that mature smile, like an adult looking at a cute child.

Smooch—

My master’s lips briefly touched mine and then pulled away.

“It’s okay. There’s no need to think about it too hastily.”

My master said this, but the sound only hit my eardrums without the meaning reaching my brain.

I was already confused by her confession of love, and now after receiving a kiss, my brain seemed paralyzed.

The sensation was still so vivid that my gaze refused to leave my master’s lips.

And then…

Smooch—

I pressed my lips against my master’s.

I don’t know why I did it.

I just wanted to try it, to feel that sensation once more.

Surprised by the sudden kiss, my master’s eyes widened, and I immediately got up from the bed.

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll go now.”

I fled from the room and went straight to my own.

‘I’ve gone crazy.’

That was my first thought as I threw myself onto the bed.

Saying I couldn’t give an answer but then kissing her—it was truly something only a crazy person would do.

Of course, how my master would take it was uncertain…

Fortunately, from what I could tell, she didn’t seem to dislike it.

And…

The feeling of the kiss was incredible.

The moist, soft, and tender sensation of lips touching mine and then pulling away made my whole body and brain feel happy.

I could somewhat understand why lovers kiss all the time.

Yet I was aware that it’s something you shouldn’t do unless you’re lovers, so my feelings were quite complicated.

I tried to suppress those emotions by pulling the blanket up to my neck and quietly closing my eyes. But the scene kept replaying in my mind, making it difficult to fall asleep.

After a long while, thanks to my physical exhaustion, sleep began to overtake me, and I drifted off with a happy smile.

Of course, in my dream…

Smooch, smooch, smooch, smooch.

I ended up dreaming of kissing all four of them.