Joint Training (5)
Joint Training (5)
......Crunch.
The Rift's divided interior reverted to its original state.
The only difference was that I had relocated the Crystal that served as its core, ensuring no human besides myself could locate it.
"Efficiency isn't half bad."
The slow drain on my mana was a touch presumptuous, but I appreciated how clearly it recognized the power gap and obeyed.
More importantly, because the communication conveyed intent rather than words, it grasped my desired outcome without a single flaw.
Thanks to that, I erased the traces quite simply without resorting to Authority.
Correction: I didn't erase them. I scattered them.
I crushed the site of the incident and the man named Kim Jeong-hyeon, then dispersed him throughout the reorganized Rift interior.
Nor did I forget to manipulate the entire internal mana flow to counter any psychometry-based abilities.
'I do hope they move quickly.'
If those underworld bastards visit this place searching for Kim Jeong-hyeon and the Demon God Bullet, they will follow the trail I left and become new guides to entertain me.
Wooong.
As I stepped through the exit, the scenery transformed with a faint floating sensation.
The gloomy blue ceiling gave way to a slightly warm evening sky.
My gaze shifted naturally past the frozen civil servant standing guard at the Rift.
Lee Ye-sol stood there in ordinary street clothes rather than her pristine clerical vestments.
I released the mana wrapped around me, letting my presence show slightly.
Lee Ye-sol, who had been staring blankly, turned her head toward me.
She inclined her head in greeting once she recognized me.
"You have returned."
"The Holy Water was useful."
"The Executor made it herself. She would be delighted if you told her so later."
"I will."
I walked past the thoroughly frozen civil servant toward the checkpoint, and Lee Ye-sol quietly fell in behind me.
"Everyone has returned to the Academy without further incident, and the injured students have been healed completely."
I nodded at Lee Ye-sol for taking care of matters beyond her role, then asked.
"If you have business with me, speak. Considering you went to the trouble of changing clothes, you have something separate to discuss."
She didn't match Claire's level, but Lee Ye-sol had been nearly as helpful.
Well, it was less that she helped and more that I unilaterally demanded things from her.
In any case, our relationship was such that I could grant a light request.
"It is nothing grand. After returning to the Academy, I saw the Executor packing her belongings. When I inquired why, she told me she would be staying at your residence for a while, Professor."
"Circumstances required it, so I asked her to stay for a few days."
"You personally asked, Professor?"
"Yes."
"Hmm-hmm."
I couldn't see her face because she stood behind me, but the slight lift in her voice alone made it clear Lee Ye-sol was extremely pleased.
-Confirmed.
I completed the formal procedures just as I had when entering and exited the Restricted Zone.
"If Claire has tasks to handle, tell me. I'll send her back as quickly as possible."
"That won't be necessary. For years the Executor's entire job has been reviewing and approving paperwork, and that will remain the case. Please make use of her as you see fit."
"You're saying something that would wound her deeply if she heard it."
"I wonder. I suspect her reaction would be somewhat different from wounded. Hoho."
Lee Ye-sol laughed slyly and then slowly stepped ahead of me.
"This way."
She led me to the parking area, where I climbed into a car she had driven personally.
She fastened her seatbelt and started the engine.
I looked at Lee Ye-sol reflected in the window and asked.
"So. Why did you come back?"
"If it is acceptable, could you spare a little time today?"
"If it must be today... around four hours should be fine."
"That is more than sufficient."
Lee Ye-sol covered her mouth as she laughed, and the still scenery began to move slowly.
**
-Whoa, is that an Awakened? So huge.
-Obviously an Awakened. Why else would they wear those weird glasses?
-Probably some kind of Artifact, right?
Amidst the murmuring crowd, Lee Ye-sol, wearing perception-inhibiting glasses, glanced at my expression and asked.
"Did I bring us somewhere too crowded?"
"It's fine."
This wasn't my first or second experience with it, and whatever complete strangers babbled about was none of my concern.
I was more curious about why Lee Ye-sol had brought me to a department store.
We slipped away from the eyes of the milling crowd and stepped onto the escalator.
As it glided smoothly upward, I asked Lee Ye-sol beside me.
"Is there an item with a special purchase condition?"
"Pardon...?"
"Something only sold to men, or a couples' product, that sort of thing."
"Ah......."
She raised her head, blinking two or three times.
Then a faint smile crossed her lips and she spoke.
"If it were that sort of thing, I would have asked the other children without troubling you, Professor. Wouldn't I?"
"Then what."
"The reason I asked you to accompany me is simply that I wanted to send along a few items for our Executor to use while she stays at your residence."
"If it's things to use, she'd have them at the temple."
"That is true. Ah, this way."
The floor where I followed Lee Ye-sol off the escalator was lined with women's clothing stores.
"The Executor is far too austere. She has not an ounce of interest in adorning herself. As a result, she owns very few spare casual outfits."
"......That's true. Her wardrobe is extremely narrow."
"Indeed it is. Truly, with her face and figure, to not make any use of them."
"Does a woman of Claire's skill and standing have cause to make use of her face and figure?"
"Hmm-hmm, of course she does."
She covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.
Then we stopped in front of one of the shops.
The saleswomen merely offered a polite greeting.
They did not approach us.
"From your perspective, Professor, what do you think would suit the Executor best?"
I looked at the garments with identical designs and different colors.
Examining the white and the blue, I thought for a moment before speaking.
"The blue—"
"Sky blue?"
Sky blue.
A ridiculous name.
"...I think white would be better."
"You think so?"
"Any color would suit her, but that one seems to match Claire's atmosphere a bit more. Clean and pure."
"Oh my my...."
Lee Ye-sol's eyes widened before she nodded.
Then she quietly called an employee and had the top I'd chosen wrapped.
"Then how about this?"
"What do you think of this one?"
"Now that I think of it, Professor, you don't wear a smart watch. Is there a particular reason?"
She guided me around the store, purchasing seasonal clothing for Claire as well as a couple of modest accessories—earrings and a necklace.
"My apologies. I have only two hands."
Lee Ye-sol grinned slyly at the shopping bags I kept floating behind me with mana.
"I only need to purchase for Ha-na now and we'll be done, so please wait here for a moment, Professor."
"...Very well."
She brought me to a rest area and then walked off briskly by herself.
"Haa."
I wasn't physically tired.
But the mental fatigue was immense.
Measured purely by time, it had barely been an hour.
All I had done was follow Lee Ye-sol and pick clothes in colors that suited Claire, so I couldn't comprehend why it was this exhausting.
-Haa.......
-Whew, I'd rather just work.
-How far did they go to the bathroom...?
'.......'
Men who, much like me, had set down their bundles nearby and couldn't hide their exhausted expressions.
Seeing them, I suddenly felt a bit apologetic toward Claire.
'...I should at least get a license.'
I had frequently dragged Claire around as my means of transportation whenever I went outside.
Especially when Baek Ha-na was still young, we'd visited supermarkets and department stores together for supplies.
But today, after being the one dragged around by Lee Ye-sol, I understood that the experience was far more draining than I'd realized.
"Professor."
Lee Ye-sol made good on her word from before she left.
She returned after only a few minutes, carrying a black box with an antique design in one hand.
She tucked the box, slightly larger than my palm, into one of the floating bags and spoke.
"Shall we go?"
"...Yes."
The last to arrive at the rest area, I was the first to leave, receiving envious looks from the exhausted men.
**
-I shall speak with the Executor myself.
After we arrived at the Academy, Lee Ye-sol informed me she would speak with the Executor herself before returning to the Street of Light—and I ended up saddled with a mountain of bags.
'Exhausting....'
All I had done was tag along with Lee Ye-sol's shopping for a short while, yet the mental fatigue was comparable to when I had manipulated the Crystal.
-Just hold out until tomorrow and it's the weekend...!!
-I heard there's a movie theater at the center, want to watch something?
-But the kids who went on the practical today came back like complete wrecks.
As the evening hours began in earnest, the streets filled with students at loose ends.
None of them noticed me as they passed by.
That was because my mental fatigue was significant enough that I'd suppressed my presence.
Click.
I crossed the maze without anyone interrupting me, opened the front door, and entered the house.
The brightly lit hallway and a subtle smell were the first things to greet me.
I had just taken off my shoes, switched to slippers, and was hanging my coat beside Claire's pristine white one.
Peep!!
A small but clear chick-like cry came from the far end of the hallway.
-Peep!!
The little rascal came flying at me with a face full of fury.
It zipped onto my shoulder with a rapid flutter of tiny wings and chattered noisily.
-Peep! Peeep!!
I could tell from the emotion in its voice that it was roughly in a state of anger.
The question was what had angered the creature that normally followed Claire so closely.
'...I want to kick it out.'
Stomping its two feet on someone else's shoulder.
I moved toward the kitchen where I sensed Claire's presence, looking for her to deal with this impertinent thing.
And there I understood the reason for its anger.
-Peep!!
A badly scorched pot and a frying pan still emitting black smoke.
A few ingredients scattered across the table.
-Peep! Peep! Peeep!!
The Fairy looked at the empty honey jar and sugar bag, then tapped my cheek with its tiny hand.
Ignoring the noisy creature, I called the name of the woman standing frozen before the sink like a statue.
"Claire."
"......."
No answer came. Instead, I saw her shoulders, more slumped than they had been in the morning, twitch faintly.
'I knew you couldn't cook, but this is a disaster.'
I didn't know what she had tried to make, but considering she'd used honey and sugar, it seemed she had intended to prepare something not for herself but for the pest rampaging on my shoulder.
Though it appeared she had failed every attempt.
I moved the mana drifting through the disordered kitchen.
Responding to my will, the mana wrapped around the chaotic cookware and ingredients and began tidying them up.
-Peep?
Even the rampaging creature quieted down, stopping its stomping, as if fascinated by the objects suddenly floating around.
Once the rough cleanup was nearly done, I called her again.
"Claire."
"......Yes."
"No one can do everything well from the start. I'll teach you later. For now, go sort the luggage you brought."
"...Luggage, you said......??"
When Claire turned around with visible reluctance, her eyes widened at the sight of the bags floating behind me.
"This is......?"
"Your luggage. Lee Ye-sol said she'd explain, so take it and put it away first."
"Ah... y-yes. I shall do so...."
Claire hurried over to me and gathered the floating bags one by one into her arms.
"Then... excuse me for a moment."
Then she fled the kitchen as if escaping.
Tap tap.
-Peep.
The presumptuous brat tapped my cheek again, apparently wanting something from me.
I didn't need to see it to guess what it wanted, so I opened the cupboard Baek Ha-na used and took out a few children's chocolates, peeling off their wrappers.
"Be quiet at least until you finish eating."
-Peep?
I offered it a chocolate.
Nom.
-Pyang?!
It let out a loud cry, then snatched the chocolate from my hand, settled itself on the table, and began nibbling bit by bit.
Just in case, I unwrapped a few more and set them beside it, then moved to prepare dinner for Claire.
Crash—!!
-Peep?
"......?"
At the loud noise from the hallway, the little menace and I turned our heads simultaneously.
A moment later, Claire returned, her face flushed a deep shade of red.
Hiding her body behind the wall, she spoke.
"P-Professor...?"
"What is it."
"I-it's just, that is... Lee Ye-sol said that you personally chose everything you brought......."
"If there's anything you dislike, tell Lee Ye-sol."
"N-no... that's not... um, I, truly... did you choose 'all of it' yourself...?"
"Yes."
"Augh......."
Psssshh—!!
A plume of pure white steam rose from the top of Claire's head.
A curious phenomenon no ordinary human could produce.