Fairy (1)
Fairy (1)
7:19 a.m.
Early morning.
The still-chilly March air brushed past her cheek, but the heat in Claire's face refused to subside.
Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!
She was walking down the path, yet the only sound she could hear was the loud pounding of her heart, not her footsteps.
Walking quietly in step with the person beside her, Claire cautiously turned her head to the side.
A black coat fluttered slightly in the wind, coming into view.
She let her gaze rise a little higher, then shook her head inwardly and quickly looked away.
'......It must be a god's trick.'
For someone who communicates with the gods more closely than anyone else, it was a truly impious thought, yet Claire sincerely wanted to believe that was the case.
Otherwise, there was no way she'd be walking across the campus grounds with this man on a day with no lectures.
And with their arms linked, no less...
Claire let the cold wind strike her face as she recalled how it had come to this.
Two days ago, Saturday.
It was when Baek Ha-na had left the mansion for the Cession Battle and she had followed him into his study. That must have been when the god started toying with her.
-Just once... I'd like you to hold me.
She had spoken words her usual self would never have uttered, driven by nothing more than anxiety and jealousy.
Baek Woo-jin seemed to regard Baek Ha-na's clinginess as the behavior of family, of a daughter. But contrary to what he thought, Baek Ha-na's feelings toward him were never the pure affection of a family member.
All of Baek Ha-na's actions toward him seemed nothing more than a way of expressing that she wanted to become something closer than family.
But Claire lacked the courage to voice those thoughts to Baek Woo-jin, and in her inexplicable frustration, she had ended up making that request.
-...That's not a difficult thing to do.
There had been a hint of hesitation in his deep voice.
But ultimately, he rose from his seat and gently—
"Pfft!!"
"......?"
Seeing Claire suddenly burst out coughing, Baek Woo-jin stopped walking and looked at her.
"Are you alright?"
"Cough, cough... y-yes... I-I'm... f-fine...."
Not wanting him to see her face, which felt like it was burning, Claire kept her head down and gave a small nod.
"We're nearby anyway. Rest here for a moment."
Baek Woo-jin watched Claire, still unable to lift her head, for a moment before entering the Magic Studies Building.
Once alone, Claire straightened her back and used holy power to finally calm her wildly pounding heart.
"Haa......."
She let out a quiet sigh, releasing the heat that had simmered in her face and body.
Only then did Claire manage to regain her usual composure.
But the calm she'd recovered didn't last long.
Just remembering that day made her heart begin to race violently again.
The hand that had gently pulled her waist.
The warm body heat and a scent that seemed almost addictive.
She had wished to be held by him, but after being held, she had fled the mansion, practically running.
Afterward, she had returned to her room in the temple and lain in bed like someone intoxicated, replaying the scene over and over.
Then on Sunday evening, she received an email from Baek Woo-jin.
It was a summons to come to the mansion the next day, and she naturally assumed it was for some external business. So she put on a suit she hadn't worn lately, went to the mansion, ate the breakfast Baek Woo-jin had prepared, and left the mansion with him.
And around the time they were exiting the maze, he extended one arm and said,
-Hold on to my arm.
She was taken aback at first. But he wasn't the type to say something like that without reason, so she carefully took his arm, and they ended up walking across the academy grounds together.
"You don't look well."
"Ah......."
He had finished whatever he'd been doing and was now standing beside her, looking down at her.
"If you're not feeling well, you may go back."
"No......."
She had always been healthy, never even suffering a minor cold before awakening. With holy power coursing through her body, how could she be unwell?
"I see."
Baek Woo-jin extended his arm toward Claire once more.
She stole a quick glance at his face, framed by large glasses, then cautiously reached out and gently took his arm again. The two resumed walking.
"Um, Professor......."
"What is it?"
"Does... this have some special meaning...?"
Claire, who had forced herself to speak, asked cautiously.
Unlike Claire, who had needed tremendous courage, Baek Woo-jin answered with perfect indifference.
"To make us look like lovers."
"......."
At the word 'lovers,' Claire quietly drew in a sharp breath and clenched her fists.
Claire barely managed to steady her heart and spoke again.
"Is it because of the rumors going around about you and me, Professor?"
"......."
Baek Woo-jin suddenly stopped walking and turned his head to look down at her.
"I'm certain I explained everything in the email yesterday."
"......Email...?"
Claire unclenched her fist and operated her smart watch. She went to her inbox and opened the message from Baek Woo-jin.
[ Professor : If your schedule is open tomorrow, please come to the house. ]
An email that contained nothing more than a request to come.
Swish.
A deep shadow fell over her, and his scent grew a little stronger.
Baek Woo-jin stared at her wrist, then said quietly,
"Vuar."
[ (´∀｀ゞ Yes~? ) ]
The email scrolled on its own, and familiar playful sentences began to appear.
Baek Woo-jin glared at it and said with a hint of menace,
"If you interfere one more time, I won't let you off."
[ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ Hehe~!! (flee) ]
The light that had been on the screen went out.
The playful messages that had appeared on her smart watch.
And Baek Woo-jin's sharp warning.
Only then did Claire realize that she had truly fallen victim to the god's mischief.
Baek Woo-jin let out a short sigh and said,
"......The reason for making us look like lovers is to find a fairy."
"A fairy...?"
Baek Woo-jin nodded once.
"Fairy......."
Fairy King Oberon, who was subjugated ten years ago.
Rifts become more diverse the higher their stage, and from Stage 10 onward, sometimes an entire piece of a specific world is transported over.
Fairy King Oberon was one such case.
A king who commanded fairies.
He was an entity capable of communication, and he even taught Awakened simple magic and maintained exchanges with them.
But humans, beings of greed, began kidnapping and selling fairies. Enraged, Oberon cut all ties and began attacking all humans.
The friction intensified, and mages and alchemists who had long coveted Oberon's heart manipulated public opinion, leading to his subjugation.
But then something no one expected happened: the moment Oberon died, all the kidnapped fairies that had been released into the human world fell ill and died one by one.
Neither holy power nor rare potions could prevent the fairies' deaths.
And just like that, fairies went extinct on Earth.
But to think a fairy that had vanished would be here at the academy.
Claire did not doubt Baek Woo-jin's words.
That was why she got a little excited.
She had also met Oberon before, and she still remembered the adorable fairies flitting about on tiny, translucent, shimmering wings.
"......They're quite fond of playing pranks."
Fairies are pure innocence itself.
Because of that, they are full of curiosity and love to play tricks.
Claire's gaze turned to Baek Woo-jin.
'......I doubt it will be of much use.'
He carried an oddly unapproachable aura.
She figured they'd be lucky if the fairy didn't run away, let alone come to play.
However, she didn't voice that thought.
Instead, she held his arm a little more tightly and said,
"...Let's keep looking."
"Let's."
Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!
His arm pressed against her chest.
Claire walked in step with him silently, hoping desperately that he wouldn't feel the pounding of her heart.
**
10:46 a.m.
A fair amount of time passed, and in the meantime, Claire had the opportunity to follow Baek Woo-jin and slowly look around the academy's outskirts.
She realized that the academy had far more buildings with unclear purposes and unused structures than she had expected.
[Identity confirmed.]
The door they had just passed through after identity verification was one such example.
They entered the old alchemy workshop on the northern outskirts.
Long abandoned and untouched, the place was covered in a thick layer of dust on the floor and under the window frames.
Claire climbed the stairs with Baek Woo-jin, carefully examining the ceiling and the shadowy corners.
If they were just looking for something, they could have used Energy Sense, but they were carefully searching this way to avoid startling a fairy, which could easily sense things humans couldn't and was surprisingly timid.
Creak-
The door swung open with an unpleasant screech, its oil long since dried up.
It was a materials storeroom on the top floor.
Baek Woo-jin walked inside and stared at the small attic hatch in the center of the ceiling before reaching out.
Normally you'd need a ladder, but Baek Woo-jin simply reached up and opened it with ease. Then, grabbing the attic's ledge, he pushed his head inside.
After a quick look around, he quietly came back down and leaned his face close to Claire's.
Gulp.
Even though she knew it wasn't that kind of situation, Claire swallowed dryly and tensed up.
"Look to the left."
"......Yes, wha...?!"
Claire suddenly felt Baek Woo-jin's hands grab her waist from behind and lift her up, making her bite her tongue in surprise.
But Baek Woo-jin, completely unaware, hoisted her up into the attic. Swallowing the stinging pain, Claire turned her head to the left as he had said.
A small window set in the corner.
A small basket placed beneath it.
-Peep... peep... peeeep.......
A tiny fairy was sleeping there.