I Get Lonely Easily (3)
I Get Lonely Easily (3)
All his stubborn insistence that sleep was a waste of time and training came first turned out to be embarrassingly meaningless.
The moment Lee Ha-yul was held, he was already rushing off to dreamland.
To be precise, once his sense of smell was briefly unsealed, he buried his nose straight into her chest and fell so deeply asleep he wouldn't have noticed if someone carried him off.
"......"
She'd known the effect would be dramatic, but actually experiencing it left her somewhere between dumbfounded and finding it endearing.
Ariel wore an odd expression as she gently patted Lee Ha-yul's back, then flicked a finger.
The backrest supporting her slowly reclined.
She eased it down carefully so Lee Ha-yul could settle more comfortably against her, careful not to wake him.
As the backrest reclined, Lee Ha-yul went from leaning fully against Ariel to practically climbing on top of her.
[Mmn...?]
The squirming at the changed position lasted only a moment.
If anything, the new comfortable sensation made Lee Ha-yul burrow even more snugly into her embrace, mouth pursing.
Then he nuzzled his head against her and breathed in.
- Sniff sniff...
"Nn..."
Ariel, whose expression was already odd, flinched as the breath brushing against her chest made her shoulders twitch.
It was an unfamiliar and rather scandalous sensation in many ways.
Whether Ariel trembled at the alien feeling or not, Lee Ha-yul kept pressing his face firmly into her, acting spoiled.
He threw both arms around Ariel in a tight hug, and whenever her hand paused, he'd gently squirm to prod her into continuing.
His greatest display of clinginess, though, was burying his nose in her and breathing in her scent.
As if he found the warmth of another person's skin so utterly wonderful, he pressed his face into her with an intensity that almost made her worry whether he could breathe.
Whenever he occasionally tried to lift his head, as if fearing he might actually suffocate, he'd shake his head wildly and fuss.
In the end, Ariel had no choice but to let him cling to her to his heart's content.
[Smells nice...]
"Cough, ehm..."
[Milk...]
'...I am not a cow, nor do I produce milk...'
The necklace clicked faintly as it vocalized part of her inner thoughts.
Ariel let out a small, awkward cough and carefully stroked his head, gently patting his back and waist.
Their first embrace.
For a first embrace, the level of closeness and clinginess was excessive.
But Ariel didn't find it strange.
It was around then that Ariel suddenly checked the Status Window that had appeared in the corner of her vision.
A small, bright blue holographic window was floating at the edge of her sight.
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Ariel Segnis Ternovsia
●●●●●●●○○○(51▷70/100)
｢Tower Master of Knowledge｣ ｢Head of the Magic Council｣ ｢Mi?k｣ ｢Complicated｣ ｢Confusion｣ ｢Question｣ ｢Suspicion｣ ｢Gratitude｣
An Affection score that had jumped 20 points in an instant, soaring to 70.
It had skyrocketed over nothing more than an embrace and the comfort of being held.
...And the disgraceful label 'nutcase' and the suspicious mental impression of 'normal person?' had also vanished.
'Hoo...'
The fact that his Affection had risen so sharply and so easily left Ariel with many complicated thoughts.
She had already grasped that Lee Ha-yul lived and died by affection, but experiencing it firsthand felt different.
She'd given him her embrace, let him breathe in her scent — a somewhat underhanded trick, admittedly — and his Affection had risen this much...
'......'
...Which meant he was craving affection to that degree.
An innate nature and extreme affection deprivation accumulated over a lifetime.
For someone steeped in a desolate world of sensory restriction from his curses and the fear of a potential future annihilation, affection would be an especially sweet emotion.
'Hah...'
And she, along with the other Tower Masters, was urging that very child, who longed for affection, into battle.
At the thought that suddenly surfaced, Ariel's expression darkened.
There were plenty of excuses.
Even if they hadn't summoned him here, Lee Ha-yul would have had to fight someday regardless.
The invading Tower Masters had already destroyed countless worlds, and that would continue into the future.
If this world were to be destroyed, the likely next target would be Lee Ha-yul's relatively nearby original dimension.
If Lee Ha-yul only began fighting then.
He would have been just a disembodied soul, with no time or resources to grow as he has now, no one to support him from behind, bearing the full brunt of their curses, with no Authorities. Fighting with the forces of a world without mana or Unique Abilities.
He would have had to fight in far more adverse conditions.
...Even with such excuses, the guilt did not easily fade.
No matter how many excuses there were, in the end, Ariel was pushing this child into battle because of her own powerlessness.
The image of Lee Ha-yul when they first met, radiating intense wariness yet seeming to earnestly wish for her to be a good person.
Right now, as he acted spoiled in her arms, as if he were happier than anyone else in the world, the guilt kept pricking at her chest.
"Hoo..."
A Tower Master is a ruler who receives duties from a Tower and is granted the rights to carry them out.
Politicians must sometimes see people not as beings but as gains and figures.
But for her, that was not easy.
She was not a person suited to be a ruler.
Ariel let out an uncountable sigh and held Lee Ha-yul tightly.
In the end, what it all boiled down to was that all Ariel could do for him was teach him magic, hand him useful artifacts,
and, as now, offer her embrace so he could rest comfortably.
.
.
.
Lee Ha-yul's sleeping habits weren't the particularly troublesome kind.
At most, they consisted of burrowing snugly into an embrace in his sleep, burying his nose, and breathing in someone's scent.
Thus, all Ariel had to do was flinch occasionally while soothing and placating a clingy Lee Ha-yul.
For all his grumbling that he didn't need sleep, Lee Ha-yul had fallen asleep surprisingly easily and slept soundly for nearly eight hours before regaining consciousness.
[Waaaaah...]
The voice emitted by the necklace reached her ears.
At that signal of waking, Ariel opened her eyes.
And she readjusted the drowsy, fussing Lee Ha-yul in her arms and patted his back.
[Nice]
[Nice?]
[Pet... more...]
He had regained consciousness, but groggy with sleep, Lee Ha-yul was still very much a spoilt child.
He squirmed gently at the soothing touch, burying his face in Ariel's embrace and nuzzling.
Lee Ha-yul is weak to sleep, and weak to mornings.
Especially when he falls deeply asleep while fully savoring a person's warmth and scent, he's exceptionally vulnerable that day.
Because of this trait, those who share a bed with Lee Ha-yul deliberately wake up earlier than him to savor the sight of him drowsily fussing.
[...Lady Ariel?]
It was past ten minutes of this clinginess before Lee Ha-yul properly came to his senses.
Lee Ha-yul, who had been blankly held while having his back patted, slowly lifted his head and opened his eyes.
His clearly revealed gray eyes blinked.
His antinomic pupils, which seemed to hold both ominousness and sacredness, remained unfocused.
- Sniff sniff...
After blinking for a moment, Lee Ha-yul lowered his head and buried his face in Ariel's chest.
He nestled his nose in and sniffed a few times as if checking something, then tilted his head.
[...There's no scent]
A puzzled look crossed Lee Ha-yul's face.
Ariel finally realized that the trick she'd used on Lee Ha-yul had worn off.
[Did we, not, kiss...?]
At Lee Ha-yul's innocent question, head still tilted, Ariel's shoulders flinched.
From Lee Ha-yul's perspective, since his sense of smell had suddenly opened, it wouldn't have been strange to think Ariel had stolen a kiss without permission.
Ariel hastily shook her head.
"...No, no. It was merely the temporary, limited lifting of the curse using my ability."
[Ah-ha...]
At her swift explanation, Lee Ha-yul nodded without further suspicion.
Then he pursed his lips a little regretfully and wrapped his arms tightly around Ariel's waist.
[I want... to smell more...]
"Nn..."
Ariel's shoulders twitched.
His eyes were closed again, but she could feel the desire directed at her.
Although it is generally difficult to even conditionally break a curse,
it would be reasonably easy inside the Tower of Knowledge.
So, offering Lee Ha-yul her embrace is not difficult.
"...Next time, when you're sleeping again, I'll lift it for you."
But if she offered her chest again now, he'd just claim he was recharged and skip sleep.
Ariel formed a plan to use her scent as bait to induce sleep.
Of course, if Lee Ha-yul were to toss all that aside and demand it right now, she'd have no choice but to give in...
[Yes...]
Fortunately, though regretful, Lee Ha-yul obediently nodded.
The Golden Child Tucking-In Mission was a success.
.
.
.
As if proving the rapidly soaring Affection, the distance Lee Ha-yul kept toward Ariel decreased significantly.
[Lady Ariel]
[Can't you... pet my head?]
...No, it decreased so much he was practically glued to her.
The magic instruction session that began once Lee Ha-yul's drowsiness had fully dissipated.
Originally, Lee Ha-yul would have sat across the table from Ariel.
Now, he was seated on Ariel's lap.
A position granted at Lee Ha-yul's request, because he didn't want to leave her embrace.
'......'
Though internally awkward about the distance, outwardly Ariel conducted the lesson with a composed demeanor, as if it mattered not at all.
She flinched at the ticklish sensation whenever Lee Ha-yul fidgeted, but the instruction proceeded without issue.
After the lesson ended.
Ariel leaned back in her chair to begin managing the Tower.
Teaching magic to Lee Ha-yul was a recent development, but this was a long-standing habit of hers.
Ariel closed her eyes, feeling a small sense of peace in the act.
A little later, she quietly opened one eye.
She saw pure white hair.
That was not unusual.
Ariel's own hair was white as well.
But the sensation against her chest was unfamiliar.
Lee Ha-yul was still nestled in her embrace.
He was resting against Ariel's chest while examining a book.
Yesterday, he would have zipped off to devour books, but
now he seemed to like her embrace so much he was sticking close without a moment's separation.
He disliked leaving it so intensely that he was even fetching books with telekinesis instead of getting them himself.
Time passed.
Ariel finished managing the Tower, Lee Ha-yul finished reviewing and previewing, and sleep time arrived.
Lee Ha-yul buried his face in Ariel's chest, breathed in her scent, and drifted off to sleep.
There was not a trace to be found of the resolute head-shaking that sleep was a luxury.
'......'
Considering he'd spent all day in her arms, Lee Ha-yul seemed thoroughly fond of Ariel's embrace.
There was certainly strangeness in it, but Ariel was someone who fundamentally cared for him.
And in a closed space devoid of anyone but Lee Ha-yul and Ariel,
this was an effect that arose because Ariel was the only person he could desire affection from and rely on.
Unable to decide if she should be happy about this, Ariel quietly closed her eyes.
.
.
.
Currently, Lee Ha-yul's magic level was clearly rising.
There was the vast accumulated knowledge of mages within the Tower of Knowledge,
and Ariel herself, beside him... no, now holding him in her arms, was teaching him with all her heart.
It was only natural for Lee Ha-yul's growth to be explosive.
"This time, we will start from this spell formula. I will give you some time, so please perform the inverse calculation."
[Yes]
Having decided to simply be happy because Lee Ha-yul liked her embrace, Ariel gave him a problem to solve and then fell into thought.
'If only I could pass on my Unique Magic Path... would there be time?'
Unique Magic Path.
Just as martial arts can sublimate into a Technique Category Unique Ability and form an Expansion Ability,
magic can also become a Unique Ability.
Ariel had achieved several Unique Magic Paths, but the magic she most wished to pass on to Lee Ha-yul was the first one she had ever created.
That Unique Magic Path suited Lee Ha-yul perfectly in terms of compatibility.
His output with pure mana would be vastly superior, and with Lee Ha-yul's level of thought division ability, he would certainly be able to handle it.
Also, of his own volition, Lee Ha-yul would continue to throw himself into countless battles and battlefields going forward.
Especially at the point of facing large enemy forces, Ariel's Unique Magic Path would be of great help.
But the problem was time.
Since the spell formula was deeply entangled with Inherent Essence, mere memorization alone couldn't even manifest it.
From the spell's construction to the completion of manifestation,
it only became possible to manifest once one had understood the entirety of the Unique Magic Path.
Because of that, she needed to raise Lee Ha-yul's level to the minimum required to comprehend her Unique Magic Path.
And even after matching that level, Ariel would need to be beside him... holding him in her arms, adding detailed explanations of the Unique Magic Path.
Would that be possible in just around a month?
'...The chances it won't work are high. If so, after passing on the formula, I'll have to hope that Lord Lee Ha-yul masters it himself...'
[I've solved it all]
"...Pardon?"
Ariel blinked.
Having lifted his head to show his face to Ariel, Lee Ha-yul rocked back and forth.
Ariel, acknowledging him with a pat on his stomach, checked the problem he'd solved.
The problem she'd given Lee Ha-yul wasn't easy.
Both in depth and volume, it was at a level that would easily consume dozens of sheets of paper.
She hadn't thought Lee Ha-yul wouldn't be able to solve it, but it had only been a few minutes since she posed the problem...?
Puzzled, Ariel checked the solution.
"...You solved it well. No errors, and the process is correct."
And silently marveling, she nodded.
He'd solved it all. Perfectly, without a single mistake.
Certainly there were some clumsy parts, but considering Lee Ha-yul's level, the solution was more aptly called impressive.
'What is this...?'
Ariel's eyes clouded with bafflement, and soon she noticed something gently waving in the corner of her vision.
Sway, sway— a blue sash swaying left and right. It was the winged garment Lee Ha-yul wore.
...It was wagging like the tail of a dog hoping for a reward.
[Expectation]
[Pet]
[Yearning]
Soon, at the stream of candid, innocent desires spilling out from the necklace, Ariel obediently reached out and stroked Lee Ha-yul's hair.
"...Excellent work."
[Hehe...]
Rubbing his head against the hand stroking him, Lee Ha-yul smiled a brilliant, happy smile that seemed to brighten his entire surroundings.
A few days later.
Lee Ha-yul accomplished the astonishing feat of blasting through a month's worth of material in just three days.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Ariel Segnis Ternovsia
●●●●●●●○○○(70▷72/100)
｢Tower Master of Knowledge｣ ｢Head of the Magic Council｣ ｢Mi?k｣ ｢Complicated｣ ｢Confusion｣ ｢Question｣ ｢Suspicion｣ ｢Gratitude｣
...
[Player Correction System: Measurement]
▷Mental State
｢Happiness｣
｢Warmth｣
｢Satisfaction｣
｢Desire for Praise｣
｢Sense of Achievement｣