Descended from the Sky (3)
Descended from the Sky (3)
The joy of reuniting with Ellia was short-lived.
I quietly moved us as the gazes around us began to gather.
Classes had just ended, and the timing worked out, so no issues arose.
The place we moved to was a bench in a nearby park.
It was empty, probably because most lectures were still in session.
Thanks to that, there wasn't anything to worry about.
I let myself go limp as Ellia, who had perched on the bench first, pulled me into an embrace.
Moments later, my body was lifted and settled onto her lap.
"Ha-yul... you don't know how much I've wanted to see you."
[I wanted to see you too]
A gentle hand guided my head until my face was buried in soft flesh.
I smiled contentedly at the big, soft, warm sensation, stretching out my arms.
I hugged Ellia tightly and nuzzled my face deeper into her embrace.
[Hehe]
I couldn't even begin to say how much I'd missed this cozy warmth in the Tower of Knowledge.
I'd managed to hold on thanks to Lady Ariel's care, but before that, my head had been a complicated mess every time I thought of it.
Feeling it now, it truly hit me that I was back.
"What's this outfit? Wow, doesn't it suit you perfectly? It's just right for you, Ha-yul."
We shifted around for a while like that.
As I rubbed my cheek against the crown of her head, Ellia suddenly stroked my sleeve and murmured.
I pulled my face away from her chest, rested my chin on it, and answered.
[Lady Ariel... the Tower Master of Knowledge gave it to me]
"Wow, the Tower Master of Knowledge! You met them in person?"
[Yes, I met them in person and received direct instruction along with magic]
"Ohoho... personal lessons too? So the Tower Master of Knowledge is a mage, I take it?"
[Yes]
I had told Ellia and the others about my destination.
So they didn't seem too shocked when I mentioned meeting a Tower Master in person.
"That's amazing. I thought all the Tower Masters were hermits, but I guess they're people you can actually meet?"
She seemed amazed, but not exactly stunned.
At the same time, Ellia tilted her head as if she found it curious.
'...A person you could meet... Well, I suppose the general perception of Tower Masters is just at that level.'
There were four Towers commonly known to the public.
Growth, Space, Harmonization, and Observation.
None of the Tower Masters of these four Towers ever reveal themselves.
At most, they all work through proxies.
The Vice Headmaster at Siyoram, the Association Council, various decision-making bodies in the Observation Tower.
The Tower Masters had been hidden for decades at least.
Even history books only recorded their deeds and exploits.
No matter how much I looked into the archives, I couldn't find their likenesses, as if they had been deliberately erased.
Weren't there many in this generation who hadn't even glimpsed a Tower Master's shadow?
'...Or maybe they used a fake identity, like Lady Ariel did.'
Before falling from the Floating Island.
I had sat on its edge, swinging my legs, and looked up information on my smartwatch for a bit.
Ariel Segnis Ternovsia.
There was no historical information about such a person.
But I did find information on her other identity... the founder of the Magic Council.
'Only the Tower Master of Growth and the Tower Master of Space have a decent record of their deeds before becoming Tower Masters. Even those only cover major events, with no minor stories.'
The Tower Master of Growth, Neriel Claidia, was a mage previously known by the alias 'Silent Mage.'
When I looked up why she was called that, it turned out she excelled at chantless magic.
- My specialty is magic. Growing up as a half-baked mage who was silenced despite having Word Command as a specialty...
'.......'
Anyway, the Tower Master of Space had also been a renowned hero back in the day.
Though categories like hero or superhuman weren't clearly defined then, by today's standards, he was probably a mercenary of similar status to a hunter.
Occasionally, he'd take requests to subjugate monsters and sell items obtained from clearing dungeons.
"I see... so the Floating Island was up there..."
While we were talking, Ellia didn't stop stroking me, so I kept explaining my recent news.
Truthfully, there wasn't much major news to share.
Simply that the Floating Island was above Siyoram, and the Tower of Knowledge was there.
I went in, met the Tower Master, studied and trained in magic and other things, and came out... that was about it.
Running into Ellia first was a coincidence.
After I had some moderate fun with a Golem to show off the magical skill I'd gained from the Floating Island's vertical climb.
I was thinking of heading to the mansion, and by pure coincidence, Ellia was directly below me.
And since she seemed to be self-studying without a professor conducting a lecture, I immediately dropped down to her.
"But Ha-yul."
[Yes?]
Then it happened.
While I was rambling on, Ellia, who had been adding responses to my story, suddenly spoke up.
"Is this Tower Master of Knowledge... Ariel, a woman?"
[Yep]
Wondering what she was asking, I nodded immediately.
I had mentioned the name Ariel instead of Tower Master of Knowledge at first, and she must have guessed the gender from that.
"Aha."
Ellia nodded as if she finally understood, letting out a hum.
I tilted my head at her odd reaction, and my body suddenly floated up.
She had lifted me right up.
[Ellia?]
"Sniff sniff..."
Then she immediately buried her nose in the nape of my neck and sniffed.
My body trembled as her breath brushed my neck and collarbone.
After sniffing for a while, Ellia pulled her nose away and nodded.
"I see, so that's why this unfamiliar body scent is so noticeable."
[Huh?]
"And it's incredibly strong too... as if you'd been rubbing your bodies together for days on end."
[Gasp]
[Flustered]
My body stiffened at the sudden—and quite accurate—deduction.
"You said the Tower Master was kind to you... I suppose she had a big chest too? So you spent a whole month being thoroughly spoiled by her?"
At my reaction, Ellia pouted slightly and gave me a look.
I flinched under her gaze and rolled my closed eyes around.
It wasn't completely full of negative feelings.
Her gaze and voice just had a hint of teasing...
[Ah]
A thought I'd forgotten suddenly clicked into place.
It felt like a light bulb going off in my head.
I closed my agape mouth firmly, opened a subspace, and shoved my hand in.
"Hm? That's..."
Ellia, who had been watching me while pretending to pout, widened her eyes as she saw what I was pulling out.
Clink- As I loosened my grip slightly, the contents of my hand spilled out like a waterfall.
"A pendant?"
Ellia murmured blankly.
The pendant's silver chain cascaded down like a waterfall, shimmering in the sunlight.
[Just a moment]
After running a final Precise Observation on its condition, I nodded, finding no issues.
The material and the spell formulas were all functioning normally.
- Click
I undid the chain and stretched my arms as if to wrap them around Ellia's neck.
...My arms were a bit short.
Frowning, I leaned closer to her.
Thump, thump—her chest was so large that my body bounced off a little, but she supported my bottom with her hand, so I somehow managed to get my arms behind her neck.
Then I carefully swept aside the voluminous hair covering her neck.
A white, slender neck without a single blemish was fully revealed.
I gently fastened the pendant around the thin nape, as if any slight pressure would snap it.
- Click
A clear, crisp sound echoed in my ears as it locked into place.
I pulled myself back from where I'd been pressed against her and tugged the pendant lightly.
Clink... The yellow gem of the pendant quickly came to rest atop Ellia's large chest, displaying its bright luster as it caught the sunlight.
"This is..."
Ellia, blinking blankly, raised a hand.
She tried to touch the pendant, but perhaps finding it too precious to touch, her fingertips flinched as she turned her gaze toward me.
[It's a gift]
[I made it myself, from before]
"Yourself...?"
At her questioning look, I puffed out my chest proudly and tapped the Confession Necklace, which was speaking in my stead even now.
[I received this one too, remember]
[So I wanted to repay you]
How happy had I been when I received the Confession Necklace?
A gift given to me when I trudged back, having accomplished nothing but suffering and losing an arm.
Rather than thinking that god gives disease and then the cure.
The joy had simply been far greater.
"No, that was... in return for saving my little brother. I'm actually the one who received more..."
Ellia gave me a rare look of bewilderment.
Complex emotions swirled in her eyes—dumbfounded, happy, troubled.
She fiddled with the pendant chain, at a loss.
[Nnnn... I don't know about all that]
At her reaction, I rolled my eyes for a moment, then shook my head and buried my face in her chest.
[I don't know about that. I'm just giving it to you because I like you, Ellia]
[It's a bother to work out a reason for every single thing]
There's usually a reason for giving and receiving gifts, but aren't there cases without one?
Sometimes you just give because you want to.
You just want to give, and you have the means to handle it.
It's not even a hardship.
It's just a matter of hammering the frame without rest for three or four days and engraving the spell formula precisely enough to cause a little nosebleed.
"Ha-yul..."
Ellia, who had been staring blankly at the pendant, turned her gaze to me.
Her yellow eyes sparkled, glistening with light.
"Really... are you doing this on purpose?"
- Mmmph...
Then she tightened her arms, pulling me into a tight embrace that buried me completely in soft warmth.
My face was completely smothered in soft flesh.
A faint, warm stream of air entered my nose, heated by her body temperature.
To my slight disappointment, I couldn't smell her body scent.
I suppose Ellia probably wouldn't smell like milk.
- Thump...! Thump...!
The sound of her heart inside the soft flesh was very clear.
[Joy]
Feeling the joyful emotions transmitted through our touching skin, I relaxed and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tight.
[I'm glad too that you like it, Ellia]
"Hoo... you're making it hard to hold back, really. Ha-yul, are you going to throw me away later?"
[?]
What was she talking about all of a sudden?
At the sudden words, I immediately lifted my buried face from her chest.
[What do you mean by that?]
Throw away? Throw away who? I'd throw someone away?
My arms unconsciously tensed up.
And as I posed the question with sharpened eyes, Ellia's eyes curved gently.
"Hmm... I'm relieved."
[Huh?]
"The baby's full of possessiveness. That's a good thing, but..."
Ellia let out a smile as she looked down at her own body.
I frowned slightly at that, but only for a moment.
I suddenly realized the Sky Wing Feather that had been floating behind me was gone.
[Oh?]
Before I knew it, the extended Sky Wing Feather was wrapped all around her, coiling here and there over her waist and limbs like it was packaging her.
It was pulled so tight that it must have been uncomfortable, but Ellia seemed to enjoy it, giggling softly as she gently stroked the Sky Wing Feather.
"Hoo... fine, I'll hold back just a little longer."
Ellia, murmuring something incomprehensible, stroked my lips.
.
.
.
It was now just past lunchtime.
So everyone was out.
The cadets had gone to lectures, and Teacher and Professor Liana were out too.
The others, I wanted to see right away, but it seemed they had their own business to attend to, so I held myself back.
I'd be meeting them in the evening anyway, so I just had to wait a little longer.
Seo-yul had also been visiting various playroom-like facilities lately under Lady Eriel's guidance.
It was because I thought that, with her body gradually getting larger, it was important for her to have a bit of conversation with kids her age.
I hoped Seo-yul wouldn't have the same communication issues as me...
Of course, she was hiding her identity, including her wings.
She had a perception-obstruction magic tool and other means with her.
Now that my own magic skills had improved, I could probably cast a perception-obstruction spell on her directly.
"A-rin is in her room right now."
But there was one person.
Baek A-rin remained at the mansion.
"She said her condition had been getting worse for a few days. And as of yesterday, she's been resting from lectures."
As we entered the mansion, Ellia looked up at the ceiling with a worried face and murmured.
I nodded in agreement.
[I'll go check on her condition]
[I also have Calamity Flame and various other abilities, so I might be able to help]
"Ah, Yeon-hwa also did something similar with Calamity Flame, but she might be asleep right now."
[Okay]
[Thanks for letting me know]
After telling Ellia to wait for a moment, I climbed the stairs and headed to Baek A-rin's room.
I opened the door.
Passing through the door that slid open without even a squeak, I entered the room.
A chill was palpable.
"Haah... Haah..."
On the bed.
Baek A-rin, covered up to her neck with a blanket, was breathing heavily.
The blanket was rising and falling, but the movement felt oddly sluggish and static.
I approached her bedside.
Even though I hadn't bothered to hide my presence, Baek A-rin remained asleep, silent as the dead.
As I drew closer, the cold energy, hard to detect easily even with Observation, grew stronger, and I could feel it with my Qi Sense.
'...Is it the Azure Sea's trial? No, it doesn't seem like that...'
A bearer of the Azure Sea possesses both cold energy and water energy internally.
Depending on their aptitude, they may lean to one side, but they usually possess both.
Right now, nearly all of Baek A-rin's water energy was being converted into cold energy.
Because of this, her breath was visibly misting with chill vapor, and just standing near her made my skin prickle with goosebumps.
'Hmm... they said Yeon-hwa already used Calamity Flame, I think...'
I stroked my chin, mulling it over repeatedly.
...
The answer came quickly.
I steeled myself and reached out.
- Pop pop...
I pulled back the blanket covering Baek A-rin and began to unbutton the pajamas covering her body.
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Ellia Srade
●●●●●●●●○○(83▷84/100)
｢Affection｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Dairy Cow?｣ ｢Chick｣ ｢Kindness｣