A Little Special
A Little Special
Claire tied her flowing golden hair back with a hair tie and studied her reflection in the mirror.
"Hm."
Satisfied that she looked immaculate, she slipped on a beige coat and left her room.
The pale blue light of early dawn filtering through the window softly seeped into her neatly tied, lustrous golden hair.
"Good morning, Executor."
"Mm."
Lee Ye-sol, the head of the Temple of the God of Amusement's academy branch, approached Claire with a peculiar smile.
She meticulously scanned the esteemed Executor's attire from head to toe, then nodded and spoke.
"To think the Executor, who always wore uniform and priestly robes, would grace us with such a variety of outfits. I offer my heartfelt thanks to Him."
"......Don't talk nonsense."
Even as Claire slightly furrowed her brow, Lee Ye-sol's signature subtle smile never wavered.
Her superior, who used to obsess over stark white priestly robes that looked like they could drive you insane and drab, gloomy black suits, was now wearing a form-fitting white turtleneck. Who would have ever imagined this day would come?
Lee Ye-sol felt genuine gratitude toward Baek Woo-jin.
Claire was breathtakingly beautiful, even to the eyes of another woman.
Lee Ye-sol did not wish for her to live out her life as a spinster.
She herself cracked tasteless jokes and spewed sexually harassing remarks at every opportunity, but to think Claire had given up a part of her life to serve a god she respected. Wasn't that just too tragic?
With that stunning face and a body that defied physics, she had zero dating experience.
"......Isn't it a bit too clingy?"
"The attire was designed with that very intent."
"With that intent...?"
At Claire's question, Lee Ye-sol only smiled.
She couldn't afford to lose the amusement that had brightened her tedious daily life.
Already considering which outfit to try next, Lee Ye-sol shifted the topic.
"By the way, Executor."
"......What is it."
Claire, who had been fidgeting with the turtleneck that clung to her chest as if deliberately accentuating it, looked up. Lee Ye-sol gazed steadily into her superior's blue eyes and spoke.
"All of the pending items and documents can be sent to you by email. So, if I may suggest, since it must be inconvenient for you to depart at such an early hour every morning, why not simply relocate your quarters to that place?"
"......?"
Claire furrowed her brow again and tilted her head.
At that reaction, Lee Ye-sol chuckled and used a more definite term.
"To Professor Baek's residence."
"Wha, what......!!"
Claire, who never lost her composure under any circumstances, opened her eyes wide, flustered.
Watching her superior's reaction, Lee Ye-sol felt so satisfied she could skip breakfast again today.
"It makes sense. Wouldn't it be far more efficient?"
Travel time would be reduced, and she could provide assistance at any moment.
And that wasn't even all of it.
"Most importantly, the rumors have already spread like wildfire."
"Rumors......?"
"That you and Professor Baek are lov—"
"Cough!!"
Claire coughed violently, glaring daggers.
Under her superior's intense scowl, Lee Ye-sol continued.
"They are not baseless rumors. In fact, they are all too plausible."
Long ago, Claire had caused a stir within the academy by conquering the Infinite Labyrinth.
But then, on the very first day Baek Woo-jin finished his experiential lecture, far too many people witnessed him entering the Infinite Labyrinth with her.
That incident alone was more than enough fuel for all sorts of gossip. But then people witnessed Claire entering the Infinite Labyrinth every morning and exiting it together with Baek Woo-jin, which caused the rumors to spread across the academy community not as speculation but as fact. It remained one of the hottest topics to this day.
It was just that Claire's position and the weight of what she had built over the years were so heavy that no one dared voice it aloud.
The vast majority of students and faculty had already concluded that Claire and Baek Woo-jin were lovers.
"It's a misunderstanding...... I am not in that kind of relationship with the Professor."
"Then wouldn't it be best to relocate your quarters so you can enter such a relationship?"
"......Stop spouting nonsense and finish preparing the prayers."
Claire snapped curtly and turned around.
Lee Ye-sol bowed politely, bidding farewell to her superior, who threw open the door with a hint of anger and strode out.
She then looked at the closing door and murmured softly.
"Fufu. She didn't tell me to correct the rumors."
With a refreshing smile, Lee Ye-sol resumed her prayer preparations.
**
"Haa."
After leaving the temple and entering the labyrinth, Claire swept her hands down her face.
'Lovers.......'
She had never imagined such rumors were circulating within the academy.
It was a situation she had not considered in the slightest.
Accompanying the professor as Deputy Professor to assist him was only natural.
Moreover, the fact that this duty would breed a few annoying problems was something both she and that being had anticipated.
However, that anticipation had not included the rumor she heard today.
The labyrinth was still an unknown territory.
Yet another person had conquered it. And moreover, an unknown professor.
Claire had been certain that this part would draw irksome approaches from those around her.
But as of yesterday—two full days after the fact—not a single person had approached her.
'They have all clearly lost their minds.'
She sincerely thought so.
How many suspicious aspects were there to the relationship between Baek Woo-jin and herself?
She suddenly appeared as a deputy professor at the academy after completely ceasing external activities for years.
Wasn't that alone enough to generate juicy gossip that something must have happened between Arena Academy and the God of Amusement?
So why, out of all the countless possibilities, had it become 'lovers'?
"This is troubling......"
Before she knew it, she had arrived at the door of the mansion.
Wondering if Baek Woo-jin was also aware of the rumor, Claire opened the door and stepped into the mansion.
She took off her shoes and slipped into the furry slippers as usual. Then she hung her coat on the rack.
Clatter.
Following the sounds and fragrant aroma wafting from the kitchen, Claire slowly made her way inside.
The kitchen was the source of both the sounds and the smell.
There, Baek Woo-jin was placing a coffee cup down beside a plate of sandwiches prepared for Claire.
"Good, good morning. Professor."
Unable to shake the useless thoughts in her head, Claire managed a strained greeting.
Baek Woo-jin, having set down the coffee cup, turned to face her.
"......Professor?"
"Sit."
Baek Woo-jin, who had been staring at her for a moment, moved to the seat across from her and spoke.
Claire watched his back for a short while, then sat down at the place set with a light breakfast. She quietly took a bite of the sandwich.
'......It's delicious.'
There were no special ingredients in it.
Yet no matter what he made, it always tasted wonderful to her.
When she had lightly emptied the plate and held a sip of coffee in her mouth, Baek Woo-jin asked her a question.
"As I've said before, if you have worries or requests, do not hesitate to speak. Claire. If it is your request, I will help you to the best of my ability."
"......."
Claire put down her coffee cup upon hearing Baek Woo-jin's words.
It seemed her concerns had unconsciously shown on her face.
"The truth is......"
Claire, who had barely moved her lips, fell silent again.
Wasn't it strange to voice something like this as a concern?
It wasn't true. But since it wasn't a real problem, making a public clarification over such a trivial matter would be laughable.
'Oh, great one.......'
Claire bitterly resented Vuar, who was unusually quiet today.
That day Baek Ha-na came to have her ability appraised.
She did not know exactly what questions were exchanged between the two that day. But one thing she was certain of was that the conversation had involved talk about her.
"If it is difficult to speak of, you don't have to."
"Well......"
The troubled woman finally lifted her head.
**
Claire, who had been looking down, lifted her gaze to meet mine directly and spoke again.
"There is a rumor going around the community that you and I...... are lovers. Did you...... happen to know?"
Her blue eyes stared right at me without evasion.
I gave her a single nod.
The rumor that Claire and I were lovers started on the very first day I began the experiential lectures.
"Didn't you know as well?"
"......I learned of it on my way out today."
"I see."
That was unexpected.
Given that Vuar was the God of Amusement, the clergy who serve him are extremely sensitive to information. They have to be, since they must grasp trends quickly.
"Are you displeased?"
"Tha......!! Ugh, absolutely...... not......"
The blue eyes that had been looking straight at me slowly dropped downwards.
Then she asked.
"Are you...... not displeased, Professor......?"
"Not at all."
I was not displeased in the slightest.
I'd rather be the one asking the question. What part of it did she think would displease me?
"......Then."
Her eyes, which had fallen, looked back at me as if mustering courage.
"Profe—"
"Claire."
When I called her name, she flinched and closed her parted lips.
The question she was about to ask.
It would have been terribly difficult for me to answer right now.
So I cut her off.
And I intended to give her the best answer I could offer at this moment.
"I did not place you at my side simply because you are convenient and useful. I... trust you."
"...You trust... me?"
Meeting her eyes, which revealed a mix of complex emotions, I nodded.
"Trust...... In other words, is it acceptable for me to take this to mean that you regard me... as a little special?"
A little special.
I nodded once more.
Only then did the tangled emotions in her eyes begin to melt away one by one.
"......Special."
The corners of her lips, which rarely ever lifted, even drew a soft curve.
"I will tidy up and head to the study."
Again, I answered with a nod, then rose from my seat and walked to the study.
Thick stacks of paper were piled on the desk.
I left them behind and stood before the window, looking up at the slowly brightening sky.
From the moment I heard from Vuar about the feelings Claire harbored, I had been mindful and cautious, but ultimately, it came to this.
Baek Ha-na and Claire.
I certainly trust them both.
But if the feelings they carry were to grow even larger as time goes on.
I am half-convinced that they will become the greatest variables obstructing my plans.
'Still...... for now, at least.'
Click—
Claire entered the study after finishing the dishes.
"Is this everything?"
"Yes."
She stowed the stacks of paper into a pouch-type artifact owned by the temple.
After placing all of the documents into it, she cinched the pouch's opening and quietly came to stand beside me.
"Um, Professor......"
"Speak."
Was there something left to say?
Watching my reflection in the window, she gauged my mood carefully before speaking.
"...Perhaps you could increase the garden size a little...."
The garden.
She must be referring to the class enrollment numbers. And for Baek Ha-na's sake, no doubt.
'I'll have to increase it.'
Originally, I had no intention of expanding the class size.
It would only be more of a nuisance if there were more students.
However, while I had foreseen that Baek Ha-na would try to register for my class, I never imagined she would fail to get in.
Nor did I expect my class to fill up completely before Claire's involvement was even revealed.
Originally, I planned to release the roster and make the students fight for their spots in a Cession Battle, but I had to change my mind when I discovered Nam Seo-hee on the list.
When I checked Baek Ha-na's condition with my ring, she looked half-consumed by madness, so I made the judgment call to avoid potentially damaging her relationship with Nam Seo-hee.
'I'll just tell Kim Seong-won to handle it.'
In case Baek Ha-na fails her registration attempt again, I plan to instruct him to leave exactly one seat open this time.
"I shall do so."
"Thank you."
A faint smile bloomed once more at the corner of Claire's lips reflected in the glass window.