Personal Meeting (2)
Personal Meeting (2)
I promised to grant Verotha's unexpected request, and with that, I left the prayer room.
"Ah......"
Wearing different attire than before and leaning against the opposite wall was Lee Ye-sol. The moment the door opened and our eyes met, she quickly pushed herself off the wall and straightened her posture.
"Y-you are finished."
Perhaps she thought I had seen her in a disheveled state.
Unlike before, she stammered. A flush of red crept up from her neck and gradually spread across her whole face.
Compared to Idni and Na Yeon-ju, who nearly ran wild every other day and whom I was only just getting used to, Lee Ye-sol's behavior so far had been beyond reproach. A perfectly satisfactory child.
"Next time, don't worry about appearances. Feel free to rest."
"Y-yes......"
I hadn't the slightest intention of scolding her, but the child in front of me seemed to take it that way, her shoulders shrinking even more as she answered.
"Lee Ye-sol."
"Yes, Professor...?"
I placed a hand on her unguarded crown and stroked her hair. Her voice trailed off as she looked up at me.
"It looks like I'll have to postpone our interview until next Tuesday."
"Pardon? Ah, yes, y-yes...... That's alright......"
"Good."
Her face bloomed red as she nodded absently at that. I withdrew my hand from her head and continued.
"It is an interview in the truest sense, so if you have something you wish to ask me, feel free. You don't need to see me off. I'll see you at the next lecture."
She was staring up at me with wide eyes. I turned away from her and rounded the corner. The moment my foot touched the stairs.
-T-take care...!!
Until now, her voice had been full of decorum and restraint, but this cry was raw, carrying her true personality undiluted.
'If I paired her with Idni, they might get along surprisingly well.'
Once I descended, I left the temple while the still-nervous priest saw me off, erasing my presence the instant I stepped outside.
Even though only a few minutes had passed, the lunch crowd had filled the Street of Light with a considerable throng. I slipped between them and walked into the open doors of the Temple of the God of Amusement.
'A first.'
Lee Ye-sol, who would ordinarily be greeting the faithful in front of the chapel, was nowhere to be seen.
I hadn't come specifically on business with her, but if I came face to face with that damnable bastard right now, the rage I'd barely kept suppressed would erupt and I'd absolutely destroy his statue.
Destroying his statue would be a pleasure, but I didn't want to waste time on that creature for the sake of Claire, who was waiting for me back at the mansion.
For that reason, I climbed the stairs to the third floor and stopped at the room at the very end of the corridor.
"Lee Ye-sol."
-Oh my.
Lee Ye-sol's voice slipped through the gap in the thick door, and soon the closed door opened. Lee Ye-sol, dressed more lightly than usual, showed her face.
"My apologies. I was taking a brief rest."
"Don't worry about it."
"Fufu, please come in."
The room was plain and unadorned, furnished with only the barest necessities.
It was perhaps a little larger than Baek Ha-na's room.
"Is that for her?"
"Ah, yes. She is my sole delight these days."
At my question, Lee Ye-sol smiled a modest, gentle smile and lifted a half-finished black dress, slightly smaller than her palm, from the bed.
"But what brings you here...?"
Only after finishing her explanation of the half-completed dress with a genuinely pleased expression did Lee Ye-sol seem to recover her composure and ask.
I gave her a condensed version of my conversation with Verotha.
"Then, on the day the General Assembly convenes, I shall ensure all temples are closed."
Having heard the whole story, Lee Ye-sol accepted my proposal without even mentioning Vuar.
"What is your schedule after this?"
"I intend to go downstairs as usual and serve as the public face."
Lee Ye-sol smiled with her eyes, her hand habitually covering her mouth.
"Then come with me to the mansion for a moment."
"The mansion, you say?"
Lee Ye-sol tilted her head, and I nodded.
"Claire's uniform needs to be refitted."
At that, Lee Ye-sol's face stiffened.
"......Did some quarrel occur in a place I am not aware of, by any chance?"
This was a woman who was always looking for an opening to tease her superior, and yet thought of and cared for that superior more than anyone.
"No. Even if there had been, Claire isn't so weak that she'd go around getting beaten."
"...That is true. Then?"
"Perhaps she's finally hit a late growth spurt. Her clothes were a little too small."
"Pardon?"
Her eyes widened and she looked up at me with a dubious gaze.
"So...... you're saying the Executor's current uniform no longer... fits her body......?"
"Yes."
"Oh my goodness."
Lee Ye-sol's characteristic sly smile returned as she rose to her feet.
"Clothes she wore for ten years suddenly becoming too small—perhaps she's put on a little weight? Ufufu~"
Then she opened a drawer, gathered a few tools, and draped a pure white robe over herself before turning to me.
"Let us go."
Lee Ye-sol's eyes were brimming with mischief.
·
·
·
"Welcome ba......."
Claire had come out from the bedroom to greet me, but the moment she spotted Lee Ye-sol behind me, her slightly relaxed face hardened.
"...ack."
"Yeah."
"Excuse us."
Lee Ye-sol followed my lead, naturally changing into slippers as she stepped inside.
Slide.
After glaring at Lee Ye-sol for a brief moment, Claire came to my side and took my coat, draping it over her arm as always.
"What of the meal......."
"Something light will do."
"Yes. I shall prepare it."
Claire hung the coat on a hanger and then quietly moved to the kitchen.
The meal that followed.
"The little one seems to be taking a nap."
"......She is."
She was trying her best not to let it show outwardly, but unfortunately, Claire's narrowed eyes and the set of her lips betrayed her displeasure all too clearly.
"Fufu, that was delicious."
Having emptied her bowl, Lee Ye-sol rose and helped Claire clear the empty dishes. And once the table was tidied.
"Professor. Now, might I borrow the Executor for a moment?"
"...Borrow?"
Claire, who had been removing her apron, stared at me with wide eyes, blinking rapidly.
"She needs a new uniform fitted, does she not."
"......!!"
My answer must have been unexpected. Claire flinched, her shoulders trembling, and she failed to hide her fluster.
"Th-that can be done alone......."
"I've brought all the tools, so let us hurry to the bedroom."
"No, I-I...... um, uh...... do not p-push...."
"The Professor personally came to bring me here, you know......?"
"Uuh."
Claire resisted briefly and sent me a pleading look for help, but ultimately, she crumbled before Lee Ye-sol's rhetoric. She was led out of the kitchen by her far weaker subordinate.
**
Late evening.
Updating Claire's measurements took longer than I'd expected. The two only emerged from the bedroom around the time the children finished their lectures and returned to the mansion.
Then came the children's sparring session with Claire, as usual.
Afterward, the children finished their final routine for the day, showered, and gathered in the kitchen as they always did, eating the dinner I had cooked.
I rose from my seat and addressed the children, who were contentedly rubbing their full bellies.
"There's a little time left. Come into the study one at a time."
Baek Ha-na, who had been lounging at the table playing with the Fairy, turned to look at me. The other children, who had been equally sprawled out, also regarded me with slightly startled eyes.
Only Claire and Lee Ye-sol seemed a bit puzzled by the children's sudden reactions.
I left the children behind, entered the study, and had only been seated for a short while.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A polite knock sounded, and the study door opened. In walked Maria, her beige hair—a truly rare sight—neatly combed.
"Have a seat and make yourself comfortable."
"Yes."
Maria sat down on the small chair placed before the desk, leaning forward with perfect posture.
"This is just a formality, so there's no need to be overly tense."
She gave a small nod, but her face was still visibly filled with tension.
"Do you have any questions you wish to ask me, or anything you'd like to say personally?"
"N-no."
"You can take a little more time to think about it."
"Hmm......"
Only then did she close her eyes gently and start to ponder. A few seconds later, her eyelids rose again.
"No, I don't have anything."
I accepted her gaze as she looked at me squarely and nodded.
"Maria."
"Yes, Professor."
She seemed to have shaken off her tension in that brief interval. Her face was much calmer as she waited for me to speak.
"Later on, even if it's something trivial, if you ever feel you need my help, feel free to speak to me anytime."
"Yes. I'll...... I'm sorry?"
There shouldn't have been anything surprising in that.
"Ah, y-yes, yes...... I-I shall do so."
"Please continue to look after Ha-na."
"......She's my friend. Don't worry."
"Good. You may leave now."
"Yes."
She left behind a slight bow of her head as a farewell and quietly departed the study. And next.
-I-it's Idni......!!
"Come in."
By now, she should have been getting used to this.
A girl with light pink hair—a color nearly as rare as Maria's beige—shuffled hesitantly into the study, her hair unbound.
"Sit."
"Y-yes!!"
Her personality was the polar opposite of Maria's, but the way she sat down in the chair immediately was so identical in posture to Maria that they could have been twins.
"Considering we've known each other for six years, you still get very nervous."
"Ah, I-I'm s-sorry......"
"I'm not scolding you, so don't apologize."
"Y-yes......?"
Again, there shouldn't have been anything surprising in that.
"If you have something you want to say or a question, speak up."
"Uh, um, n-no......!!"
"Quietly, inside the mansion."
"Ah, y-yes......"
"Good."
Looking at Idni, sitting stiff as a soldier with a confused expression, I found myself naturally comparing her to Na Yeon-ju, who had approached me quite comfortably after only a few meetings.
"Come this way."
"Y-yes......"
Idni stood up and walked towards me, apparently unaware that she had made an absurd mistake, stepping forward with her left foot and left hand at the same time.
"Idni."
"Y-yes, Professor."
"Turn around for me."
"Ah, y-yes!!"
When she turned around with force, her unbound hair swayed lightly.
I reached out both hands and slowly swept back her loose, light pink hair, gathering it neatly.
"P-Professor......?"
"I'm always grateful to you and Maria."
"P-pardon?"
I took out a spare hair tie I kept in the drawer for Baek Ha-na, who occasionally came to me to be spoiled, and neatly bound Idni's hair.
"Please continue to stay by Ha-na's side, just as you do now."
"Ah...... Y-you don't have to say that. Ha-na is my friend, so even without you saying it, I'd stay with her just the same."
The girl who had been stammering from nerves was nowhere to be seen. Idni's voice grew firm as she conveyed her sincerity to me.
"Alright. I understand."
Lastly, I stood up and stroked Idni's head once.
"There's a little time left, but it would likely end at an awkward point, so it's best we stop here for today."
"......Y-yes."
I left the study with Idni, whose body temperature had risen sharply.
"W-what about the interview?"
"Since the timing is odd, we'll continue the rest tomorrow. You can go back for today."
"Ehh......"
Baek Ha-na made a strange noise and pouted her lips forward.
"Fufu, then I shall take my leave as well."
Lee Ye-sol, who had been sitting at the table stroking the Fairy's belly, rose to her feet.
-Pyeep.
Perhaps realizing it was time for everyone to go home, the tiny calamity burped once more and laboriously lifted its body, fluttering its wings.
"See you tomorrow~"
"See you tomorrow."
"S-see you tomorrow......"
The children said their farewells first and left through the front door.
"I shall have the uniform prepared swiftly. And."
Lee Ye-sol stepped forward briefly and smiled softly at the Fairy perched on Claire's shoulder.
"You remember your promise, yes?"
-Y-yes, pwomise......!!
"Fufu, then."
Bowing her head to me and Claire, Lee Ye-sol, the last remaining guest, also departed the mansion.
"Bring me a cup of coffee, please."
"Yes, Woo-jin."
I walked back through the quiet corridor to the study, returned the chair in front of the desk to its original spot, and leaned into my seat. It wasn't long before Claire came in carrying a teacup.
She set the cup before me and cautiously took the seat beside me.
-Woo-jin.
I was just lifting the teacup to take a sip of coffee when the one perched on Claire's shoulder flew over briskly and landed on my shoulder. Then it cupped both hands around its mouth and whispered, ever so quietly.
-Claire is an F-cup.
"Cough, hack...?!"
Claire couldn't stop coughing for quite some time.