Arranging
Arranging
-T-Time out! Your nose is... mmph?!
-Just die.
-Idni. You brought this on yourself.
-Heeere~!
A splash erupted behind Claire, who stood frozen, accompanied by a clamorous noise. I paused in the middle of smoothing my disheveled hair, watched her rigid form for a moment, then quietly turned away.
·
·
·
Once inside the study, I drank instant coffee I had brewed myself and watched the children through the window.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I knew who it was without checking, so instead of answering, I used mana to open the door and turned around.
"Ah... ."
The study door swung wide open, revealing Claire in a swimsuit, water shaken from her body.
'Strange time for this.'
She must have shown herself in a swimsuit several times already, yet now she's suddenly shy. I watched her lips flutter for a moment, then sat down.
"Go inside and change."
"...Yes."
She answered in the quietest voice I had heard from her in eight years, then quietly entered the bedroom.
'It must be the swimsuit.'
More precisely, it was a new swimsuit the likes of which I had never seen before.
Previously, she had worn something close to shorts and a shirt in pure white that complemented her skin tone. Today, she wore a black swimsuit I had never seen, one that exposed far more skin.
Considering she usually avoids even mildly revealing attire, it wasn't hard to guess who had given her that swimsuit. After all, Lee Ye-sol was the only person who ever gifted her casual clothing.
'So that was what she meant by sending it with the children.'
The previous pool had been quite large, but the one now set up in the yard was nearly three times its size. Both its length and width made it more of a large above-ground pool than a proper one.
"Well, I don't care what you install as long as it doesn't cause trouble."
I watched the kids splashing about under a sky still bright even past six o'clock, then turned my chair back around.
Click—
I was writing in my log while drinking the last of my coffee when Claire emerged from the bedroom.
"Claire."
"Y-Yes... ?"
She flinched and turned her head—she had been about to leave the study without a word.
"Come here."
"...?"
I tapped a finger against the armrest of the chair. She blinked a few times, then slowly moved her feet and approached my side.
"A little closer."
"Th-This is fine... ."
Even while stammering, when I looked at her in silence, she finally bent at the waist and lowered herself closer.
"At least dry your hair properly."
"...Thank you."
Just as I had done for the children, I used mana to shake the moisture from Claire's wet hair and tidied it neatly.
"Ask me for a cup of coffee when you're done."
"Yes... ."
A faint flush colored the skin below her neck as she took the empty cup and turned away.
"Claire."
"Yes... ?"
One foot already through the half-open door, she turned her head carefully to look at me.
"Regarding the answer I postponed."
"Postponed... Ah."
As if recalling something important, Claire's blue eyes grew a size larger.
"I will give my answer after the festival ends."
"...?"
She tilted her head briefly, her eyes wide.
"...Ah."
A short syllable escaped her as she straightened up.
And then.
"...Understood."
She answered with a stiff expression.
"If you have nothing further to say, I shall take my leave... ."
When I nodded, she gave a soft bow and left the study. I stared at the closed study door for some time, then resumed writing my log.
**
After the festival... .
After the festival... .
After the festival... .
Hiiiisss―!!
"...?"
A faint acrid smell brushed her nose along with the unpleasant noise, and focus returned to Claire's dazed eyes.
"Ah... ."
She glanced at the pot lid jostling from the contents boiling over inside, let out a short sigh, and turned off the heat.
Whoosh—
When she lifted the lid, a cloud of hot steam rose along with swollen bubbles that slowly began to subside. Once the bubbles completely vanished, the pot revealed a stew reduced by half and chunks of meat scorched onto the bottom.
"Sniff sniff, sis?"
-Gimme food!!
Just then, Baek Ha-na and the Fairy, fresh from their shower, came into the kitchen, with Maria and Idni following.
-Peel eet!!
"Why do you only talk down to me?"
"Ufufu."
The Fairy, seated at the table, held out a chocolate to Idni, and Idni, though grumbling, sat down beside the Fairy and unwrapped it for her.
"Sis? What's wrong?"
"...Miss Ha-na."
Claire, who had been staring at the contents of the pot, spoke apologetically to Baek Ha-na as she approached.
"It seems tonight's dinner must be replaced with instant food."
"Instant stuff tastes good too, so that's fine... but this is rare. You, sis, burning a stew."
"Mmm... ."
Under Baek Ha-na's worried questioning, Claire felt a small sting of embarrassment and couldn't give a proper answer.
"Did something happen?"
"W-Well, um... l-later... ."
"...Okay. I get it."
A faint redness tinted Claire's earlobe.
Standing right beside her, Baek Ha-na didn't miss that small change and realized the reason Claire had ruined the stew was Baek Woo-jin.
"Hoo."
A complex emotion flickered through Baek Ha-na's eyes for a moment. She let out a short sigh, then smiled with a hint of mischief and stuck close to Claire as she tidied up the pot.
"We'll handle the cleanup. Sis, go call Woo-jin."
"No, that, but... ."
"Hurry."
"...Yes."
Claire set down the pot she was holding and left the kitchen.
-Tonight's dinner is frozen stuff.
-Cream udon!!
-But do we even have any frozen stuff?
-Uh, well... ?
The children's voices from the kitchen made Claire's steps hesitate. Although she had mentioned instant food, the truth was that the only instant item in the mansion was the coffee Baek Woo-jin drank.
'Cereal... .'
The cereal bought for the children to have a quick meal whenever Baek Woo-jin was away from the mansion. Right now, that was all they could eat.
"As I thought... ."
She was thinking she should turn back and quickly make something simple when the sound of a door opening came from the hallway leading to the study. Not long after, Baek Woo-jin appeared.
"Professor... ."
As Baek Woo-jin approached with soundless steps, Claire's gaze dropped naturally toward the floor.
"Claire."
"Yes... ."
Her heart pounded fiercely, to a strange degree.
It hadn't even beat this hard the first time she had to face another person.
While she worried the sound of her heart might be escaping, Baek Woo-jin's low voice brushed past her ear.
"The coffee is taking a while."
"...!!"
That was it.
She remembered saying she would finish preparing dinner and then bring fresh coffee.
"Ah, um, uhh... ."
She wanted to apologize, but the man standing before her didn't allow it. So she was flustered, unsure what to say, when—
Sliiide.
A hand that wasn't her own entered her lowered field of vision, then tilted her chin upward from below.
"At this rate, I can't even joke."
"...?"
A joke?
While Claire was thrown into confusion by the unexpected word, Baek Woo-jin, who had lifted her chin slightly, withdrew his hand and walked past her.
"I'll substitute dinner with coffee."
"...Ah!!"
Regaining her senses at the voice that made her heart tremble, Claire quickly turned and followed behind Baek Woo-jin.
"Ah, Woo-jin."
Baek Ha-na, who had just been scooping Claire's cereal into a bowl, spotted Baek Woo-jin entering the kitchen and smiled brightly.
But at that smile, which was slightly different from usual, Baek Woo-jin silently watched Baek Ha-na for a moment before quietly taking a seat.
Soon after, Claire poured instant coffee into the cup Baek Woo-jin used and set it before him. Baek Woo-jin took a sip of coffee, then opened his mouth.
"I don't mind you installing the pool, but it interferes with training. When morning comes, clean it up properly."
"Ehhhk... ."
Baek Ha-na, who had been pouring milk into cereal, furrowed her brow.
Baek Woo-jin added a remark.
"I won't stop you from setting it up again and using it after training ends."
"...Can't we rest for just a few days?"
"No."
Baek Woo-jin's attitude was absolutely firm.
Just then, Baek Ha-na's gaze shifted from Baek Woo-jin to Claire.
In case something like this happened, everyone except Baek Woo-jin had already agreed on a united front. But.
Shift.
"...?"
"... ."
Claire, standing beside Baek Woo-jin, avoided Baek Ha-na's gaze and quietly turned her head away.
At Claire's betrayal—she had cooperated every summer before this—Baek Ha-na was utterly speechless.
"Baek Ha-na."
"...What."
Her lips had already formed a pout, and she answered with the unique manner of speaking she used when sulking.
In response to that attitude, Baek Woo-jin set down the cup he had been holding.
"...What is it."
Knowing Baek Woo-jin better than anyone, Baek Ha-na quickly corrected her words before Baek Woo-jin could open his mouth.
Baek Woo-jin looked at Baek Ha-na steadily for a moment, then let out a short sigh and spoke.
"Hold out only until the festival ends. Then, for the remaining period, I'll let you stay not in the dormitory but in the mansion. No training, and you can play as much as you want."
"...Really?"
"Yes. The same goes for the rest of you. I will speak to Lee Ye-sol and have her lift the restrictions she placed on you."
"Wow... !!"
"Oh my... ."
Not just Baek Ha-na, but Idni and Maria also looked at Baek Woo-jin with wide eyes. That was only natural, since even after the festival ended, a full month remained until the next school term began.
"Now that you understand, don't harbor complaints and work hard."
"Okay~!! I love you!!"
Baek Ha-na launched herself at Baek Woo-jin.
Normally, he would have used mana to flick her forehead, but today he accepted Baek Ha-na's embrace as it was.
"Huh... ?"
"What."
"N-No, nothing."
Not only did he accept her hug, but when his hand gently stroked her head the way he used to long ago, Baek Ha-na's face instantly flushed, and she sprang away from his arms, startled by her own thumping heart.
-So red!!
"Ufufu, indeed~"
"...!!"
When the Fairy, nibbling chocolate, pointed at Baek Ha-na and said that, Maria, seated beside her, smirked and unwrapped another chocolate for the Fairy.
**
After the children had returned to the dormitory.
-Good nigh' sho sleep well!!
The Fairy, her small belly adorably puffed out, bowed her head toward Baek Woo-jin and entered the bedroom with Claire.
-Peep peep~
"Sleep well."
-Uunng~ Sleep well~
Under Claire's gentle hand stroking her head, the Fairy smiled softly and curled up inside her basket.
-Peeeep, peeeep~
Soon, steady breathing could be heard, and Claire carefully draped the red wrapping cloth over the Fairy's chest.
'The parting is far off, is it.'
A presence so faint it wouldn't be strange if she vanished before one's very eyes.
Yet the One she held in her heart had said: the farewell with this child before her eyes is farther away than one might think.
Her former self would never have believed it.
She trusted only what she saw and felt directly.
But she found herself believing that One's words without knowing why.
And so, the anxiety she had felt every time she looked at this little child had vanished from that day onward.
Even she herself could not understand the change.
She had only heard a single word... .
Whooosh―!!
A sudden bloom of heat rose across Claire's face.
The touch from that moment, which she had tried so hard to forget, naturally surfaced in her mind.
"Kheum... ."
Claire coughed a small, unnecessary cough and pulled out the tablet she kept beneath her pillow. She had officially suspended her activities, but that didn't mean the work disappeared. So every night like this, she handled matters by reviewing and approving the documents Lee Ye-sol sent.
Ding―!!
"...?"
While deep in processing work, a single email notification appeared.
It was an email from Maria, who had returned to the temple a few hours ago.
This was the first time since the incident involving Baek Ha-na and the apprentice priest of the God of Luck that Maria—not Lee Ye-sol—had contacted her directly like this.
"An incident... it probably isn't... ."
Claire opened the email from the child she cherished.
[ Maria : (picture) ]
The email contained nothing special—only a single attached picture.
When Claire enlarged that picture, her eyes widened.
【Which professor would you most like to spend time together with?!】
Go to the corresponding event page on the homepage right now and cast your vote!!
Along with that very brief text, pictures of several professors from each grade were attached below. And right in the center.
'...?'
Baek Woo-jin's picture was pasted the largest of them all.