28
Chapter 28
"......Come in."
Enoch opened the door.
Morse was standing there, her silver hair flowing down her back.
"Where's Sancta?"
"She's asleep."
Morse entered the room, and Enoch closed the door.
With both of them inside, the room felt even smaller.
Enoch asked as he sat in the chair.
"What's going on?"
Morse sat on the bed and looked at Enoch. She seemed a bit anxious.
"Sancta started learning how to heal today."
"She did."
"My sister has started learning something... but I'm the only one doing nothing."
Her voice grew quiet.
"You said you'd train me, Mr. Enoch. But I haven't learned anything all day..."
She felt impatient, feeling as if she were standing still while her sister moved forward.
Enoch scratched his head.
"No, I was planning to teach you tomorrow..."
"Can't you teach me now?"
"Now? At this hour?"
Enoch looked up at the night sky. The night breeze was cool.
The light from the mana stone streetlamps appeared sporadically.
"It's nighttime."
"I don't mind if it's night."
"Can't we do it tomorrow morning?"
"If I learn tonight, I can practice tomorrow morning."
'...She's surprisingly logical.'
Her golden eyes gazed straight at Enoch.
"Mr. Enoch, please."
Enoch let out a long sigh.
"Fine."
Morse's face lit up.
"Thank you!"
"In exchange, go straight to sleep once we're done."
"Yes!"
She answered energetically.
#
Enoch pulled his chair closer.
"First, I need to get a clear look at your tattoo."
"My tattoo?"
"The tattoos of Curse Type Awakened contain specific spells. Interpreting and using those spells is called Rune Reading."
Morse nodded.
"To do that, I'll need to see the tattoo again."
Enoch paused and took a moment to consider the situation.
The dead of night.
An inn room.
Just the two of them.
'The situation is a bit awkward, but it should be fine... it's for academic purposes. Purely academic!'
"Could you show me your tattoo?"
Morse flinched slightly, her cheeks flushing.
The light from the lamp on the table illuminated Morse.
Her hair shimmered with a yellowish glow under the light.
Morse sat modestly on the bed.
"...Take a look."
She didn't lift her clothes like she had last time.
'Is she telling me to look for myself...?'
Enoch steeled himself and grabbed the edge of her skirt.
He slowly lifted it.
The tattoo on the inside of her thigh was revealed.
Dense and intricate lines, characteristic of the Curse Type, were visible.
He had seen them before, but they looked more complex in the bright light.
Enoch leaned forward to examine the tattoo.
'This line here is the starting point of the spell... and this part leads to the target designation.'
Enoch's gaze moved along the lines of the tattoo, busy deciphering the structure of the spell.
Morse sat with her skirt lifted, feeling Enoch's gaze upon her.
'Enoch's face is so close to my thigh...'
Enoch's breath tickled Morse's thigh.
Morse felt as if her heart would burst; the tips of her ears turned bright red.
Enoch's expression was utterly serious.
That actually made her more embarrassed.
'It makes me even more nervous when you look at me so intently...!'
Morse gripped the bed with her hands.
Fearing he might notice her shaking.
Enoch looked up.
"I've figured it out."
Morse quickly closed her legs.
"If I interpret your tattoo through Rune Reading, it's Vision Block."
"Vision Block?"
"It temporarily strips the target of their sight. Simply put, the target goes blind for a set period of time."
Morse's eyes widened.
"Is that my ability?"
"Yes. You mentioned that the opponent had trouble with their eyes when you used mana before, right? That was an incomplete manifestation of this spell."
Morse looked down at her thigh.
'This is my ability... Vision Block.'
"How do I use it?"
Enoch explained.
"Just channel your mana and chant the spell at the target. The spell is Obscuro. The targeting is simple and the effect is quite decent."
"Obscuro..."
Morse rolled the word over in her mouth.
"Do you want to try using it?"
"Now? On whom?"
Enoch pointed to himself.
"On me."
"On you, Mr. Enoch?! Is that okay?"
"It's just not being able to see for a little while. No need to be so surprised."
'We're in an inn, so there's no danger.'
Morse hesitated.
The thought of making Enoch blind, even for a moment, weighed on her.
"Don't worry. We need to verify the effect so you can practice later."
Morse nodded at Enoch's words.
Morse looked directly at Enoch, her golden eyes meeting his silvery-gray ones.
She gathered her mana.
"Obscuro."
A flash of black light passed through Morse's eyes.
The tattoo on her thigh glowed faintly.
Enoch's vision went dark in an instant.
Even with his eyes open, he could see nothing.
"......I can't see a thing."
Enoch waved his hand in front of his eyes, but nothing was visible.
"Can you really not see?"
Morse's voice sounded from nearby.
"Yeah. I can't see. It's pitch black."
"Really?"
"Really."
Enoch answered calmly.
'The effect is definite. To achieve this on the first try is impressive.'
To think the first manifestation of Rune Reading was already this powerful. Morse's potential was extraordinary.
Just as Enoch was about to check the spell's duration.
He felt something.
A soft pressure pressed down on Enoch's thigh.
Something curved pressed firmly against his chest.
The scent of silver hair enveloped his nose.
"......Morse?"
No answer.
The touch grew stronger.
Arms wrapped tightly around Enoch's waist.
"What are you doing, Morse?"
Still no answer.
Instead, a face leaning against Enoch's chest rubbed slightly against him.
"Hey."
"......You can't see anyway."
Morse's voice was quiet.
Her breathing became slightly ragged.
"Since you can't see... can we stay like this for just a moment?"
'Did she ask to learn Rune Reading now just for this? No, that's impossible. She didn't even know the spell's effect. But what if even this was within her calculations? Just how long has she been planning this?!!'
Enoch's thoughts were in disarray. Bewilderment overtook his reason.
Since he was blind, he couldn't read her expression.
All he could feel was the physical contact.
He could hear the beat of their hearts pressing against each other.
Their scents mingled together.
"Morse."
"Yes."
"Let go."
"I don't want to."
Morse refused firmly.
"Mr. Enoch."
Her voice drifted up to his ear. A warm breath brushed against him.
"I was so anxious because I didn't learn anything all day. I felt like I was falling behind my sister."
Her voice wrapped around him sweetly.
"But because you taught me... I'm so happy right now."
She tightened her hold slightly.
"So just for a little while... like this......."
'Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! As a teacher, I can't lay a hand on my assistant!!!!!!!!'
Enoch's heart pounded abnormally.
No vision.
A soft touch.
Morse's breath upon his ear.
The continuous sound of her heartbeat.
Then, his vision began to return.
At first, it was blurry.
Outlines gradually formed as if light were bleeding in.
The light of the lamp appeared first.
Then, the table came into view.
When he turned his head ——
He saw Morse's face.
She was right in front of him.
Golden eyes were looking up at Enoch.
Her cheeks were flushed red.
Her lips were slightly parted.
Her eyes were moist and glistening.
It was an utterly provocative expression.
As his vision returned, the full scale of the situation became clear.
Morse was sitting with her lap resting on Enoch's thigh.
She was leaning softly against him.
The two were close enough for their breath to touch.
Morse noticed that the focus had returned to Enoch's eyes.
"Uh... your sight is back—"
Enoch grabbed Morse's shoulders and pushed her away.
"That's enough!!!"
His voice cracked. There was no trace of the Archmage's dignity.
Enoch jumped up from the bed and retreated toward the wall.
His heart pounded wildly. He could feel his ears burning.
Morse remained on the bed and looked at Enoch.
She wore a mischievous smile.
"Your ears turn red too, Mr. Enoch."
"Just go back!!! Class is over!!!"
Morse looked genuinely disappointed.
"Since things already turned out this way, just a little more..."
"No!!!"
Enoch opened the door and pointed toward the hallway.
Morse slowly got off the bed.
She turned back at the door and looked at Enoch.
"Thank you for today, Mr. Enoch."
Morse smiled softly. It was a smile that could have been pure gratitude or satisfaction.
"I learned Rune Reading... and I got to see you flustered. It's been a truly wonderful night."
"......Just go to sleep."
Morse giggled and stepped out into the hallway.
Her footsteps faded. He heard the sound of the room door opening and closing.
Enoch closed the door.
He leaned his back against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor.
"......Sigh."
His heart still wouldn't settle. The heat in his ears wouldn't fade.
'Just how long was she clinging to me while I couldn't see?'
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't tell Morse's intention.
Whether it was sincerity, a prank, or a calculation.
'No. It was probably all of them. Sincerity, prank, and calculation all at once. That's exactly like Morse.'
Enoch covered his forehead with his hand.
He lay on the bed and closed his eyes.
The events from a moment ago came back to him.
The soft touch felt across his whole body.
That expression, as if she were longing for him.
The breath tickling his ear.
That provocative scent.
He opened his eyes.
'There's no way I can sleep.'
Enoch stared at the cracked ceiling.
#
The next morning.
The dining hall on the first floor of the inn.
The group gathered for breakfast.
Benny took a bite of bread and then looked at Enoch's face.
"Teacher, why do you look like that? Did you not sleep?"
Dark circles hung under Enoch's eyes.
He was often lost in thought, but today he was more on the vacant side.
Enoch started to speak but locked eyes with Morse.
Morse smiled as she usually did.
As if nothing had happened.
But her smile held a slightly different meaning.
Enoch shut his mouth.
"......It's nothing."
He picked up a piece of bread and took a bite.
He couldn't taste a thing.