Summer Festival (4)
Summer Festival (4)
......Plip, plop.
Raindrops slid down the windowpane.
The drizzle had begun falling silently before dawn. Now, well into the morning, tiny droplets still fell without a sound.
Bzzzt─!!
A small vibration hummed against my coat.
Kim Seong-won's name glowed on the faintly buzzing smartphone screen.
- Professor. This is Kim Seong-won.
Deferential without a trace of groveling. The guy's knack for handling people was as sharp as ever.
"What is it?"
- Nothing serious. It's about today's final rotation. Some of us were discussing whether to push it to tomorrow. I wanted to check with you.
"Because of the weather."
- Yes. It looks like it might clear up any minute, but the professors with divination specializations say it'll keep raining until this evening. That said, it's only a light drizzle—pushing ahead shouldn't cause any real problems.
"The rain will stop this evening."
- ......Pardon?
"So proceed as scheduled. No delays."
- Ah, understood. We'll carry on without a hitch.
I slipped the phone back into my coat and looked outside.
The clouds were too pale to call overcast—a wash of gray that filled the sky and wept a soundless drizzle, as if the heavens were shedding tears for someone.
'Today, you're a bigger handful than Baek Ha-na.'
I turned around and opened the bedroom door.
"Professor......."
Claire, seated on the edge of the bed, called to me and then looked toward the little basket. I walked over and followed her gaze down.
- Peep...... peeeep....
Curled up in its nest as always, the little troublemaker lay fast asleep. But today, its breathing was shallower than usual and just a little quicker.
"The children will be here soon. Go get ready."
......Yes.
Claire reached out to stroke the fairy's head once, stopped, clenched her hand tight, and left the bedroom. I took her place, reaching over to rouse the sleeping fairy.
- Pweeooong......?
With an expression anyone would recognize as pure drowsiness, it rubbed its eyes and turned its head toward me.
"Get up. I'll play with you."
- ...Play?
"Yes."
- ...Puhihi. Together, play!!
The little thing had looked ready to conk out again, but it broke into a beaming grin, answered with a peppy voice, and scrambled to its feet. I pulled the last Essence of the Slime Queen from my pocket and held it out.
- Gimme!
"Cheeky brat. This is the last one."
- Peepang!! Thank youuu~
Still seated, it bobbed a bow, then took the black jelly and nibbled at it with its tiny mouth. The jelly disappeared into its stomach in an instant, and it let out a small burp, just like always, before spreading its wings.
- Play!!
Not content with perching on someone's shoulder uninvited, it drummed against my cheek, giggling as if it were the most delightful thing in the world. Part of me wanted to stuff it straight into my pocket, but I'd given my word. I let it ride on my shoulder and stepped out of the bedroom.
"Peepy!!"
- Peepang!!
Baek Ha-na had slipped into the manor in that brief moment and now came running toward us. She dove into my arms with practiced ease, poking just her head out toward the fairy perched on my shoulder.
"Hey~ you usually don't go anywhere near Woo-jin!"
- Peep?!
Baek Ha-na blew a puff of air at the fairy's feet. It jolted in surprise before dissolving into giggles as if tickled. Watching the fairy laugh, Baek Ha-na laughed along and asked me,
"Are we staying together all day?"
"We'll see."
"Tch~"
- Pee~
The fairy, already recovered, copied Baek Ha-na's pout and drummed on my cheek again. Ha-na alone was a handful; with the two of them ganging up on me, a sigh rose up on its own.
"Ah, good morning, sir!!"
"How long are you going to salute like that?"
Maria shook her head and poked Idni, who was standing at attention and saluting stiffly, in the side.
"Good morning, Professor."
"G-good morni——?!"
"Na-young?!"
Lee Na-young, who had been bowing alongside Nam Seo-hee, bit her tongue. Baek Ha-na and the other children, who had been clinging to me, rushed over to her in alarm. Fortunately, a skilled cleric was right there beside her, so Lee Na-young's tongue came through unscathed.
Once the small commotion died down.
"Shall we be off, then~?"
Lee Ye-sol, a camera hanging from her neck, nudged Claire toward me with a smile.
**
- Whoa, nobody's looking at us at all?
- What can't the professor do, honestly?
- Tell a joke?
- Ah. Yeah, I guess he can't do that.
Walking ahead under a medley of colorful umbrellas, the children chattered away.
I did my best to ignore Lee Ye-sol, who was circling around taking photos, and turned my gaze sideways.
- Cold~
"So it is."
Claire, sheltered under the umbrella I held, gave the fairy on my shoulder a faint smile. The two of them looking at each other and smiling. It wasn't a bad sight.
- Cold!!
It had been batting at the droplets falling past the edge of the umbrella with its palm when it crept over and planted itself on my shoulder again. Then it smacked my cheek with a damp little hand.
"......Right."
- Puhihi~!!
I spoke to the creature as it kept giggling mindlessly.
"Anywhere you want to go?"
- Mmm~ nope!!
It furrowed its brow as if deep in thought—I wondered where it had learned that—then broke into a bright grin and answered.
- Just, together... together!! Play...!!
It was beginning to pant a little, but it talked on with a spirited smile.
I nodded once and looked away.
"Baek Ha-na."
"Huh?"
The snow-white umbrella pivoted, and I could see Baek Ha-na blinking at me.
"We're going to the Old Alchemy Workshop."
"All of a sudden?"
I didn't bother to answer. I took Claire's hand and started walking that way. The children who'd been ahead of us fell in behind me as a matter of course.
- Identity confirmed.
The door slid open slowly, and we stepped inside the workshop.
"Is something going on?"
"Yes."
In the three days since the festival began, I'd prepared this space in case of any unforeseen variables. I climbed the stairs, walked down the corridor, and opened the storage room door.
"D-Don't tell me... we're training again?"
The moment Baek Ha-na and the others saw the wavering blue light, they swallowed hard and tensed up. I gave no answer and stepped inside.
Shaaaah─
After the sensation of drifting—I still hadn't gotten used to it—the first thing that appeared was a night sea beneath a wide sprawl of the Milky Way.
- Peepaa.......
The little one on my shoulder stared up blankly at the night sky thick with stars.
"Whoa......?!"
"Insane...."
"I can't do anything but stare......."
The children came in behind me one after another and burst into noisy exclamations, each in their own way.
"Oh my......."
Lee Ye-sol was the last to enter and no less stunned. She let out a soft murmur of wonder and hurriedly worked the camera around her neck.
- Sparkly sparkly.......
"You like it?"
- Yeah. Heehee.
It had been staring at the sky in a daze. Now it turned to me with that beaming smile and brought its tiny hands to my cheek.......
- Thank you~!
...and wrapped them around me instead of smacking me again.
"You made this place, Woo-jin?!"
"P-Professor!! This is incredible!!"
"This is... truly incredible."
While I was exchanging looks with the fairy for a moment, the children scattered nearby came chattering and rushing back to my side.
"Kyaaa?!"
"Gwaaahk!!"
Not before I snagged them with mana, of course, and gave them a proper roll across the sand.
- Pyahaha!!
The fairy shrieked with laughter at the sight of Baek Ha-na and Idni caked in sand.
"......Why didn't you roll Maria? She came with us too."
"R-Right!! She was with us too!!"
The two of them spat out the sand in their mouths and threw Maria—who had quietly retreated behind them—squarely under the bus. Instead of answering, I gave a silent command to Crystal, hidden beneath the surface.
Sshhhk.
An hourglass and a small ball the size of a thumbnail settled onto my palm.
I placed the upturned hourglass on Claire's hand. She was doing her best to keep her face composed.
"Tell me when it runs out."
......Yes.
A perfectly ordinary hourglass that measured one hour.
But by the time the sand finished falling, the festival outside would be nearing its close. Time flowed differently here. This space wasn't built simply to make good memories.
"Catch."
- Pee?
A little ball that fit neatly into its two tiny hands.
The fairy kneaded the squishy ball, and its eyes sparkled.
I turned around and pointed at Maria, who had fallen back behind the others.
"Throw it."
- Frow?
"Like this."
When the fairy tilted its head, I scooped up a handful of sand and showed it the motion.
- Frow!!
"Good."
It seemed to grasp the basics. It hurled the ball at Maria.
The ball left its hand with no force at all.
I fed mana into it.
Thwack─!!
The ball, now saturated with my mana, smacked Maria squarely on the forehead.
"M-Maria?!"
"Eek......."
Maria collapsed without a sound. Baek Ha-na and Idni flinched at the sight of her knocked out cold.
I drew the fallen ball back with mana and placed it into the fairy's hands again.
"Throw."
- Peepaa!!
Innocence truly was the most terrifying thing.
It seemed to take all of this as nothing more than a game. It saw Maria lying unconscious and, without a hint of hesitation, chucked the ball at the next target.
"Ack!!"
Baek Ha-na threw herself to the sand and barely dodged the ball. I retrieved it again and placed it back in the fairy's hands.
"W-Wait a second, Peepy?!"
"Hey! Do you know how many yummy things I've bought you?!"
The fairy giggled and shook the ball at them, prompting Baek Ha-na and Idni to cry out in a hurry. But pure evil doesn't care about any of that.
- Frow~!
"Wahk?!"
Idni flung herself across the sand.
I handed the ball back to the little one and shifted my stance slightly. Then I let my gaze fall on Nam Seo-hee and Lee Na-young, who had been hiding their presence like mice.
"We have some over there as well."
"Eek?!"
"P-Professor......?"
Lee Na-young and Nam Seo-hee reeled backward, step by step.
- Pye~!
Thwack─!!
With a heavy sound, Lee Na-young's body went over backward.
"You have energy to spare, I see."
"Y-You devil!!"
"Aaaaah!!"
Baek Ha-na and Idni scrambled through the sand to get away from me as quickly as possible. Nam Seo-hee bolted in the opposite direction.
- Over there!!
Before I could ask, the fairy pointed with the hand holding the ball.
"Right."
I started walking in the direction Baek Ha-na and Idni had fled.
**
[ Grand Auditorium ]
"Haaaaah......."
Having failed to secure extra compensation, Kang Han-na scowled and paced restlessly behind the prepared stage.
'We're about to start, so why isn't he here......!!'
In a few minutes, the Fate Auction—one of the summer festival's main closing events—would begin. Yet the professor who was supposed to be the star of the show had still not shown himself.
"Is something the matter?"
"Hhk?! M-Mr. Chairman...!!"
At the sudden appearance of such a big shot, Kang Han-na swallowed hard and hurried over.
"No need to be so tense. We do have a script, after all. Ha ha."
"Uh...... well, the thing is...."
Kang Han-na deliberated.
Should she trust the Chairman, who showed his face only once in a blue moon, or should she prioritize staying in the good graces of Baek Woo-jin, who was stationed at the academy all the time?
Her indecision didn't last.
If the Chairman hadn't shown up, that would be one thing, but now he was standing right in front of her. She judged that hiding the problem wouldn't be wise.
"Mr. Chairman......."
"Ho ho, go on."
"...The truth is, Professor Baek Woo-jin hasn't arrived yet."
"Hmm?"
The Chairman's eyes widened. But only for a moment.
"That's why you were pacing around so nervously a moment ago?"
"Sir? Ah, yes......."
"Ho ho ho. In that case, there's no need to worry."
Chairman An Hyeon-do gave Kang Han-na a light pat on the shoulder and turned to leave.
"He'll arrive before it's too late. Pay it no mind, and start things off when the time comes!!"
The Chairman departed with a leisurely wave of his hand.
Kang Han-na watched her superior recede into the distance for a moment, then let out a short sigh.
'Right... he did tell us to just go ahead with the fireworks as well. There's no way he won't show up......?'
Some time later, Kang Han-na stepped onto the stage.
Baek Woo-jin still hadn't appeared.