episode_0028

The time had come. The one-day date with Ryu Seeun, inadvertently promised last week at a dinner.

Honestly, whether we went on a date or not, I didn’t think my heart would be swayed…

But a promise is a promise, isn’t it? She claimed to be confident, and it felt awkward to flatly tell her, ‘It’s not going to work anyway, so just give up.’

“……”

Of course, it would be a lie to say there were no ulterior motives at all.

I think it’s fine to just overlook such minor issues.

‘No, but wouldn’t it be natural?’

Ryu Seeun, a female student with delicate features on a small face, and her distinctive hair and eye colors that exuded a peculiar charm.

It was a situation where such a girl was asking me to spend just one day with her.

I wasn’t creative enough to smoothly brush off such a request.

If you add a spoonful of honesty to that reason?

Hmm.

Beautiful appearance is always right, I believe.

An immutable truth, the law of the world, something like that.

Someone from the Cheon family once called me a womanizer…

It seemed I had come too far to refute that as slander now.

Now, it even felt like the faint guilt and pangs of conscience towards Cheon Soyul could be sublimated into a subtle sense of depravity.

Ah, perhaps this is the feeling men have when they commit infidelity.

It felt like I had awakened to a dangerous new emotion.

‘Only bad premonitions are constantly flowing in…’

I wonder if a few years from now, I’ll really end up floating on a tiny boat, adrift in the vast ocean, with a knife stabbed in my stomach.

I wanted to believe that wouldn’t happen.

They say people sometimes have extreme delusions when they consume too much fiction, and I wonder if that’s exactly my situation right now?

I felt an inexplicable chill. I hugged my shoulders and shivered slightly.

It was then that I sensed the presence of someone, a presence I was slowly getting used to, on my perception field.

When I turned my head, Ryu Seeun, who was slowly walking towards me, waved slightly.

“Nice to see you, Senior. Good morning.”

And then she immediately crossed her arms again.

Nothing else, she just seemed sensitive to the cold.

Winter was slowly ending, but the chilly weather was still quite persistent.

The tips of Ryu Seeun’s ears were slightly red.

Feeling a pang of pity, I almost cast a cold resistance spell, but then I hesitated and briefly lowered my gaze.

And I saw Ryu Seeun’s trembling legs, exposed beneath the hem of her skirt.

‘She’s wearing a skirt.’

I quickly retracted the resistance spell.

Because I thought it was her own doing.

“…You must have known it would be cold. If you’re going to shiver like that, why didn’t you dress warmly?”

When I snapped at Ryu Seeun with a disdainful look, she awkwardly mumbled with her lips.

“Well, this is actually a winter mini-skirt, even if it doesn’t look like it…”

“Hmm.”

“…Is it, is it bad? I worked up a lot of courage for this.”

Are there winter skirts? I wouldn’t know, never having worn one, but why should I care?

Still, it was a relief that she seemed to have worn a warm-looking coat on her upper body.

I shook my head from side to side and lightly snapped my fingers.

Snap!

An invisible, pale blue energy spread out and quickly settled into Ryu Seeun’s body without resistance.

While it couldn’t provide warmth, it could block the biting cold from penetrating her body.

This was the advantage of an ice mage. For barbaric fire mages, who could actually make their bodies warm, the ironic part was that they were utterly useless in the summer.

Because fire resistance doesn’t work against the sweltering heat of summer. We’re not in a volcanic zone, after all.

“Ah, thank you…?”

Just as I was habitually disparaging fire mages inwardly, Ryu Seeun gave me a somewhat ambiguous thank you with a bewildered expression.

What is this? Why is her reaction like this?

After I went out of my way to be kind…

I’m starting to lose my sense of satisfaction.

“…Ah, no. Hmm-hmm. You were surprisingly kind. I didn’t expect such an attitude.”

Had she somehow managed to read my expression again? Ryu Seeun, flustered, waved her hand dismissively and offered a weak excuse.

No need. The bus has already left. Know that I won’t cast it again once the duration ends.

I waved my hand dismissively and started walking first, and Ryu Seeun scurried after me with exaggerated steps, as if afraid to lose me.

Her eyes darting around for a moment, she continued with an awkward smile.

“Well, I definitely thought you’d be annoyed. Honestly, I was surprised you showed up on time and waited today. Senior, you have good manners.”

“A promise is a promise.”

“Oh, and loyalty too.”

Loyalty, my foot. Her intention to praise me was too obvious. It was so contrived that I didn’t even feel annoyed.

At least I definitely understood that she had no talent for acting.

I let out a faint chuckle inwardly, then deliberately hardened my expression and turned to Ryu Seeun.

“Even so, the promise was only that I would show up here.”

“…Hmm, that’s true, isn’t it?”

Ryu Seeun’s eyes darted as if asking, ‘But why?’, and I decided to verbalize the ominous feeling she was probably experiencing. I let out a chilling laugh and nodded.

“I’ll show you what a strictly business-like date is.”

“…Ugh.”

Ryu Seeun let out an indecipherable, displeased sound.

She looked up at me with a fed-up expression.

“So you intended this from the start, Senior. I did wonder why you accepted the date invitation so suspiciously readily…”

I shrugged.

“You need to understand how pointless your attempts to drag me to Cheorwon are, don’t you? Consider it a kindness, telling you to give up early instead of wasting your time all semester.”

“…No, Cheorwon is actually pretty good to live in, you know? It snows often, it’s artistic, and, um. Th-there’s even a movie theater.”

Ah, I see. How truly charming.

I nodded, feigning understanding.

‘I should definitely never go there.’

The story ended the moment merely the existence of a movie theater could be presented as a merit. I would never go to Cheorwon.

I gave Ryu Seeun a thumbs up with a look of pity for the poor soul.

“You truly came to the Academy at the right time. Now you can enjoy cultural life to your heart’s content.”

At that, Ryu Seeun’s eye twitched briefly.

And she muttered discontentedly.

“Your tone is somewhat irritating.”

“Hmm.”

I didn’t offer any particular retort, but merely put on a serious expression.

Because it was indeed a tone meant to be annoying.

You’re getting more perceptive, thankfully. Your senior is a little relieved.

“…Hmph, well, whatever. Anyway, I’m leading today’s date. Senior, you just have to follow me closely.”

“Where are we going?”

“Hmph.”

Ryu Seeun changed the subject, and I asked back. At that, she placed a hand on her chest as if gloating. Her attitude was quite confident.

Because of that, I, too, wondered if there was something to it. Was she truly confident in leading skillfully?

The moment I harbored a slight interest and anticipation.

“Let’s see, just a moment.”

Ryu Seeun spun around and suddenly pulled out her smartphone.

“?”

And I frowned.

I don’t know if she thought I wouldn’t see it, but wasn’t she being too clumsy at hiding it?

Half-visible over her shoulder, the smartphone screen showed a notepad.

…Roughly skimming it, it looked like a date plan.

‘Oh dear.’

It was a sight that naturally elicited a sigh. The source of her confidence wasn’t extensive experience, but simply prior preparation.

I wiped away tears that weren’t even flowing and nodded firmly.

Right, she put in this much effort. Wouldn’t it be okay to go along with it a little?

Considering Ryu Seeun’s efforts, who might have diligently planned all night, I decided to invest this one day in her.

“…?”

Then I paused.

I turned my head.

My gaze went not to Ryu Seeun, but to the opposite side. Towards the academy entrance, where she and I had come out to travel to the city.

What was that?

I felt a gaze on me.

…Was it just my imagination?

*****

I had thought it from the first time I saw her, but Ryu Seeun’s hair really did somehow resemble seaweed.

The color, the feeling. Perhaps even the texture was similar.

I want to touch it once, would she let me if I asked…?

“What are you staring at?”

“Hmm.”

Was I staring too intently? Ryu Seeun, who was comfortably lying on the mat reading a comic book, raised her head slightly and glared at me.

I needlessly cleared my throat and, feigning indifference, picked up a cheese ball to eat.

It was currently 8 PM. Having spent the entire day trailing Ryu Seeun and enjoying a full trendy date course, I was now led by her hand to a comic book cafe.

We had found a spot in a small, cave-like cubicle, closing the curtain.

After reading about three books, I didn’t feel much interest, so I was enjoying simple snack items that could be ordered from the counter instead.

The taste was ordinary, but there was also an atmosphere unique to such places, wasn’t there?

The rather mysterious interior of the shop and its private spaces made me feel as if I had entered a secret library.

Ryu Seeun was lying there, twitching her legs and flipping through a comic book.

I subtly observed Ryu Seeun, who had briefly glared at me before refocusing on her comic, and then, as if for the first time, reflected on today.

I considered it carefully.

For instance, where I had visited today, what I had done, and what natural skinship had occurred with Ryu Seeun in the process.

Of course, there were also her touches throughout, which seemed to carry quite a few impure intentions…

I was now frowning, thinking of something unrelated to that.

I realized it quite late.

It suddenly dawned on me.

So, the question arose whether I had truly maintained a strictly business-like attitude today, as I had told Ryu Seeun this morning.

And the answer to that was ‘no’.

Wow. I’m genuinely flustered.

‘What is this…? Was my willpower truly this weak?’

I quickly despaired and pressed my hand onto the soft mat. I felt Seeun blinking and looking at me with curiosity.

This shouldn’t be happening. I needed to completely crush Ryu Seeun’s enthusiasm so she would never again think of dragging me to the front lines.

…However, to execute that with an iron-clad demeanor, today’s date schedule was quite smooth, and thus, the burden wasn’t that great.

I slowly began to recall the memories from just a few hours ago.

‘What did we do first?’

Ah, right. First, I remember us buying waffles for lunch and walking to a building in the middle of the city.

It felt like a multi-cultural complex with twelve floors, and it seemed to have everything imaginable.

Even inside, Ryu Seeun dragged me around like a dog on a walk… It felt like I had inadvertently wandered to all sorts of places.

First, she said there was a famous new franchise cafe on the second floor, so I followed her there, and we started with a strange-looking drink.

Our first destination was the fourth floor, where several clothing stores were gathered.

While window shopping, Ryu Seeun seemed to notice I was slightly bored, flinched, and pulled out her smartphone again.

Thus, an on-the-spot plan change occurred.

Ryu Seeun, who had been flustered with her smartphone for a moment, immediately led me to the eighth floor.

Fortunately, there were a few things there that mildly piqued my interest.

For example, a fortune-teller’s shop that divines awakening talents?

Inside, there was a mysterious-looking woman wearing a witch’s hat who set the mood, then uttered the outrageous remark that I had the physiognomy to wield a greatsword.

Of course, I didn’t actually believe she would be perfectly accurate, but I had at least hoped for talk about mages. It was a shame.

‘Hmm.’

Anyway, after that, we looked at street stalls and visited a karaoke room. When we started to get hungry, we had dinner together, and only then did we enter the comic book cafe.

Incidentally, Ryu Seeun told me I had a “unique vocal tone”…

No matter how I thought about it, it was an insult disguised as a compliment. Nasty girl.

“……”

I paused for a moment and looked at Ryu Seeun again.

She was still absorbed in her reading. A comic book, that is.

…Now that I think about it, I wonder if Ryu Seeun’s deviousness had also played a part in setting up that initial window-shopping course.

A slight regret even bloomed, wishing I had indulged her a little more.

‘Ha.’

At that moment, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. This was because the very thought that had suddenly popped into my head felt quite unfamiliar.

Until this morning, my only resolve was to make her give up somehow, but how did I end up feeling such a variety of emotions?

In other words, it would also be a change indicating that my attitude towards Ryu Seeun, the girl, had improved in some way.

Was it perhaps the effect of her focusing less on directly seducing me today and more on just preventing the atmosphere from becoming awkward?

Until recently, her impression was just that of an “annoying junior.”

Congratulations, Ryu Seeun. As of today, you’ve been promoted to “a junior who, despite everything, works hard.”

Her clumsy efforts, swinging wildly by herself trying not to upset my mood, were truly amusing.

I chuckled to myself and finally broke free from my solitary thoughts.

And only then did I turn my head to look.

“?”

Ryu Seeun wasn’t in her seat.

Where did she go?

I blinked blankly in place, then, half a beat later, came to my senses and awkwardly tried to get up.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

Ryu Seeun, who had swept the black curtain aside, returned.

Holding a beer can in each hand.

I froze for a moment, then slowly frowned and asked.

“What’s with the beer?”

“I brought it to drink, obviously?”

“…Now?”

“Yes. Don’t you want it?”

Since I didn’t particularly object, I shook my head from side to side in displeasure.

But I wasn’t sure if drinking was allowed inside a comic book cafe.

Anyway, Ryu Seeun grinned and handed me a can.

“Then let’s have a drink. You can at least humor me and have a drink, can’t you? Out of pity? My hard-won one-day date opportunity seems like it’s about to fly away.”

“……”

She seemed to be aware that turning my heart around with just one day’s date would be a long shot. Was that a relief?

Feeling a bit bitter, I took a sip from the beer can.

Black Heaven Ryu Jinseong, that old man, an Archmage no less, why did he make his daughter do something so ridiculous?

I couldn’t understand it at all, and it felt like my head was going to explode.

…

…

…

“…Uh…”

No, correction. I’ll correct myself. It wasn’t just a ‘feeling like my head would explode,’ it was actually getting hot.

The cause was, of course, not some petty Archmage who wasn’t even in front of me.

Beyond my spinning vision, I forcibly drew up mana and glared at the canned beer I had just taken a sip from, as if piercing it with my gaze.

“…You, you…”

I glared at Ryu Seeun, who was sticking her tongue out slightly from a short distance away.

Logically, I couldn’t have gotten this drunk from just one sip of beer.

Yes. Logically, that is.

“…This is, nature-based, ingredient amplification magic, alcohol…”

Ah.

I was really had.

My head is spinning.

I can’t even speak properly.

It was then that I instinctively knew I was in deep trouble.

Suddenly, sleep began to overcome me.

Ryu Seeun came to my side and knelt slightly.

She chuckled awkwardly and scratched her cheek.

“Hehe… I’m really sorry, Senior.”

“…You insane woman…”

“When you wake up after a good sleep, it’ll all be over…?”

And behind her, a bundle of teal tentacles, intertwined like tree branches, was reaching out its evil grasp towards me…

I closed my eyes, powerless and listless, and muttered inwardly.

I shouldn’t have trusted this girl.

And what I saw when I woke up was…

First, a ceiling that was definitely not that of the comic book cafe, and…

“What are you doing, you…?”

“…Ah, you’re awake? Just a moment. Why is this like this? How, how do I…?”

Ryu Seeun, completely naked, straddling me and clumsily adjusting her position.

Ryu Seeun, who had been struggling like that for a while, soon pouted and looked down at me.

“How do I put this in…?”

“……”

I muttered to myself once more.

Idiot.