Choice
Choice
The next morning.
"Master—!"
From far away at the end of the hallway, a lively voice shattered the silence and mercilessly pierced my eardrums.
"......?"
I stopped walking without realizing it.
In the distance, I saw a red-haired girl running like the wind, the hem of her apprentice robe fluttering.
It was Licia Lowell.
Gone was the fragile figure who had been shedding tears and fidgeting yesterday; her face was now full of her characteristic bold and affable smile.
Dadadat—!
Licia, who had been kicking off the floor without hesitation, stopped dead in her tracks at a distance that felt measured by a ruler right in front of me.
The moment she stopped, the heat of the Fire Mana wafting from beyond her robe gently tickled my face.
"Good morning, Master!"
Licia smiled brightly, placing her hands on her waist.
Despite being pushed away so roughly yesterday and having my shameful secrets exposed, there wasn't a single shred of awkwardness or distance in her attitude.
Rather, a strange sense of intimacy, as if we had become even closer, was rippling within her golden eyes.
I furrowed my brow slightly and took a step back.
"Licia. Running around and shouting in the Magic Tower's corridor is behavior unbecoming of one's dignity. Besides, clinging to me like this is, in the eyes of others......."
"Chee...... but, I couldn't help it because I wanted to see you since the morning, Master."
As if she hadn't even heard my reprimand, Licia stepped even closer to me instead.
"More importantly, Master, have you eaten breakfast?"
Licia asked, tilting her head slightly. Her golden eyes were sparkling brightly.
"......Not yet."
"Ah, I knew it! I thought so. It was recorded that you used to starve for days and nights when writing your papers, and you're still the same. That won't do! Mages must maintain their physical nutritional state perfectly as much as they consume mana. This is also a passage from Chapter 3 of the paper I wrote!"
She raised her index finger and waved it in front of my eyes.
I was momentarily speechless at the sight of my disciple insisting on her point by quoting a passage from her own paper.
"So, let's go eat breakfast with me. Okay?"
"I usually just have simple rye bread and tea in my office. I don't have time to go down to the cafeteria."
"The Magic Tower cafeteria's breakfast menu today features the Empire Eastern-style Potato Soup that you like. I even woke up at the crack of dawn to check the menu, you know?"
In that action, there wasn't a trace of the hesitation or fear from yesterday to be found.
"Let's go quickly, Master! If we're late, the soup will run out."
The emotion contained within those eyes was so transparent that I couldn't find any impure intentions.
In this absurd situation where a disciple was leading her master to the cafeteria, I sighed but couldn't refuse her touch.
Had my weak confession from yesterday acted as some sort of indulgence or permission for this child?
The Magic Tower's central cafeteria was quite crowded with apprentices and intermediate mages from early in the morning.
As I, the only disciple of the Magic Tower Master, and Licia, the top apprentice, walked into that bustling space side by side, everyone's gazes turned to us at once.
Whispers brushed past my ears, but Licia walked with her chest puffed out confidently, as if she didn't care at all.
"Sit here, Master! I'll go get the food, so you must wait right there, okay?"
Licia sat me down in a corner seat by the window and headed to the serving counter with a light, flying step.
"You waited a long time, right! Here, it's Licia's special breakfast menu!"
With a 'tang' sound, a bowl of steaming soft potato soup, golden-brown toasted rye bread, and fresh salad were placed in front of me.
After putting down the tray, Licia, as if it were natural, pulled up the chair right next to me instead of sitting directly opposite, and sat down.
Seu-euk.
With the sound of the chair scraping, her thigh and my thigh brushed against each other slightly, with only the robe fabric in between.
"......Licia. The seat opposite is empty."
"It's been my wish to sit next to you, Master, and eat while chatting happily. Heehit."
She smiled slyly and placed a spoon in my hand.
Our fingertips touched for a moment before pulling away.
"How is it? It's delicious, right? I specially asked the chef to put in extra bacon because it's for you, Master."
Licia smiled brightly, observing me eating more intently than she was eating herself.
"......It's quite good."
By the time the warmth of the potato soup had almost filled my stomach, I felt as if the ring on my left ring finger was trembling ever so slightly, but it was soon forgotten, buried by the voice of Licia, who was chattering incessantly beside me.
After breakfast, the class in the First Research Lab was filled entirely with my theory and Licia's concentration.
Licia's Fire Mana was indeed off the charts.
In front of me, as she deployed mana following the flow of the formula, a massive haze of magical power, enough to shake the entire lab, rose from her fingertips.
"Haa...... haa...... Master, how was it? Did I do well?"
Beads of sweat were forming on the girl's forehead.
Her red hair, wet with sweat and clinging to her nape, looked particularly striking.
"......Excellent. Your learning speed exceeds my expectations."
"Hehehe, I got praised by Master!"
Licia jumped up from her seat in joy, then immediately grabbed and hugged my arm.
I understood why the Lowell family couldn't handle her talent.
Her mana circuits were like a massive, blazing furnace, and standardized formulas couldn't contain that heat.
Only the Backflow Control Formula, which acknowledges the limits of the circuits and bypasses the flow, was the only lock that could prevent her runaway state.
How much time had passed? When I came to my senses, the sun outside the window was already hanging in the middle of the sky.
"......Let's end the morning lecture here. Until you fully understand the causal relationship of this formula, you are forbidden from casting magic directly."
"Wow, is it already lunchtime? Ugh!"
Licia stood up, stretching.
As her robe was pulled up, her slender waistline was briefly revealed before settling back down.
"Master, let's have lunch at the outdoor terrace on the 2nd floor of the Magic Tower! The sandwiches there are truly excellent."
"I have to go pay my respects to the Tower Master at noon. I'll skip lunch or......."
"No way! It hasn't been long since breakfast, why are you thinking of skipping it already? I'll be waiting at the terrace after you finish your greetings, so you absolutely must come!"
Licia had already hugged her bag to her chest and smiled brightly, giving me no room to refuse.
"If you don't come, I won't eat lunch and will starve. Really!"
It was a bold declaration that gave me no time to refuse.
As soon as she finished saying what she had to say, Licia slipped out of the lab door, her robe fluttering cheerfully.
The sensation of her forcing her way into my daily life was quite awkward. And terribly unfamiliar.
Why is she going as far as threatening to starve herself just to make an appointment with me?
That thought continued until I passed the private magic elevator heading to the top floor of the Magic Tower and walked through the long corridor leading to the Tower Master's office.
Knock, knock.
"Master. It's Rion. I've come to pay my noon respects."
After a moment of silence, the sound of the lock unlocking, accompanied by a soft wave of magical power, came from inside the door.
Click.
"......Rion. Put away the formalities. Here, it's just the two of us, isn't it?"
Seu-euk.
With the sound of a chair being pushed back, Amelia slowly stood up from her seat.
She walked over to me gently.
Amelia, who had come right up in front of me, quietly looked up at my face.
"Your complexion...... is much better than yesterday."
Her voice calling me was as benevolent and soft as always.
However, I felt as if the end of her voice was trembling ever so slightly for some reason.
"I'm relieved. Ever since you returned, my heart has been anxious the whole time."
"......Thank you, I am finding stability little by little thanks to Master's consideration. I am only sorry for causing you worry."
"Sorry, that's absurd. Just the fact that you returned safely to my side, I......."
She, who had met my gaze, didn't finish her sentence and was staring alternately at my eyes and fingertips.
Her starlit eyes couldn't find a focus, and her voluptuous chest was heaving heavily due to rough breathing.
Like a girl caught doing something she shouldn't be doing.
"......Master?"
When I called her in a puzzled voice, Amelia-nim was startled and covered her lips with both hands.
"......Ah."
She quickly turned her head to the side and avoided my gaze.
The tips of her ears and her nape, revealed between her fingers, were already dyed bright red.
"Master, is something wrong with your health......."
"Ah, no......! It's nothing, Rion."
Amelia-nim tried to steady her voice and slowly lowered her hands.
She cleared her throat lightly and walked toward the desk in the office.
"So...... yes. How was the first class with the new apprentice you took in? Licia Lowell, was it?"
"It was off-the-charts talent. Her Innate Flame Mana is so massive that it's difficult to control with general methods. When I pointed out the details from the side, she quickly found stability. Her learning speed is fast, and...... she was quite a bold child."
Was my voice a little softer without me realizing it the moment I spoke Licia's name?
Tak.
Amelia's steps stopped momentarily.
I could see her white fingertips tightening as she was organizing the magic books on the desk.
"......Bold, you say."
Amelia muttered in a low voice.
"Rion. It is commendable that you showed mercy and took that child as your disciple, but...... you must never let your guard down."
Amelia approached me and gently gripped both of my shoulders.
"Children of noble families tend to pretend to be innocent on the outside while calculating other things on the inside. If that child ever ignores you or tries to use you for her own benefit...... do not endure it for even a single moment and tell me. Do you understand?"
"Do not worry, Master. Licia is just a child who purely admires my paper. I can protect myself."
Her brow twitched ever so slightly at my answer, which was close to defending her.
"......Is that so? If you say so, I will watch. But remember, Rion."
Amelia gently wrapped her hands around mine once again.
"To me, you are...... the most precious existence that cannot be replaced by anything. Throughout this entire Magic Tower, no, throughout this entire Empire, only you are my one and only......."
She swallowed the word once again.
Like someone strangely hesitant to utter the words 'one and only disciple', Amelia just trembled her lips and gently stroked the back of my hand.
De-eng. De-eng. De-eng.
The Magic Tower's massive bell rang out softly. It was the bell signaling that noon had passed.
"I am always grateful for Master's consideration. Then, I will take my leave now."
It was the very moment I was about to turn back to leave.
"......W-wait a moment, Rion."
Amelia-nim's low voice caught my footsteps.
She was fidgeting with her white, slender fingers in front of her chest anxiously, repeatedly avoiding my gaze and then meeting it again.
"That...... if, if you aren't busy......."
Her voice mumbled and grew smaller, like a mosquito's sound.
"......Would you like to have lunch with me here today? It's been a while, and I want to eat...... while chatting happily with you."