Old Ties (1)
Old Ties (1)
Lee Ha-yul's overt jealousy disappeared within a single day.
He no longer puffed out his cheeks when Atra gave Daera careful instruction, nor did he cling to Atra and whine.
"Master, wasn't that technique I showed just now fairly decent?"
"That magic has a truly peculiar manifestation process. Manifesting it blended into your movements makes it difficult to read. It's a good technique."
"Hehe."
That was because he'd thoroughly worked off yesterday's jealousy over the course of the night.
A silly grin played at the corners of Lee Ha-yul's lips.
The corners of his mouth were lifted far more openly than usual. Positive emotions radiated from him, bright enough to make everything around him seem to sparkle.
"...Though. Isn't that the technique that cost you an arm back then?"
"Hurk... That's... I've fixed it now. Really. It's safe now..."
[Truth]
[No Falsehood Detected]
"Hmm..."
Atra was wearing a smile of her own.
Her skin looked radiant and smooth, a stark contrast to yesterday.
The golden eyes regarding Lee Ha-yul glinted with sharp intelligence, and her affection seemed tangible, practically overflowing.
"...It seems you weren't lying. But you were practicing that technique behind my back after all, weren't you? Hm?"
"Blehhh..."
Atra, feigning a stern expression, pinched Lee Ha-yul's cheek while he let that silly smile slip even with his cheek caught between her fingers.
A master-disciple relationship that looked exceptionally close.
Barely a day had passed, yet the atmosphere between them was noticeably warmer and brighter than before.
To the point that anyone who encountered Atra on business was visibly startled, asking in unison whether some happy occasion had befallen her.
"......"
Daera, having finished her own share of sparring, watched the scene from the corner of her eye with a queasy expression.
It wasn't jealousy bubbling up inside her the way it had with a certain Lee Ha-yul.
Atra and Lee Ha-yul. Both were precious people to Daera.
Atra was her guardian who had taught both her and her master, and Lee Ha-yul was the benefactor who had rescued her from that hell and her adored junior disciple.
How could she possibly feel the least complaint about the two of them growing closer?
'Argh! Isn't there some kind of memory-incinerating magic or something?'
The problem was that she knew exactly why the two of them had changed.
Daera grimaced and rubbed the corners of her eyes. Her field of vision had abruptly split, forcing her to see things she never should have been able to see.
The sudden division of her sight, as well as the scene reflected in it, had been so shocking that she'd been too slow to sever it.
She had witnessed something she absolutely should not have glimpsed. Just remembering that stimulating memory sent a flush of heat racing up the back of her neck.
- Daera, you seem off today. Is something wrong?
- Ah, it's nothing...
She had even drawn a worried look from Atra.
It wasn't exactly a legitimate reason, but since her condition was indeed off, the training intensity had been lowered.
[Senior Daera]
"Hyeok!"
[?]
Her body jolted at the voice that suddenly sounded behind her. Lee Ha-yul, who had approached and addressed her without her noticing, tilted his head.
[Senior? What's wrong?]
"Ah, haha... I was just, you know? Lost in thought and you startled me, that's all."
[Ah, I'm sorry for calling you while you were concentrating]
"What? Hey! Why are you even apologizing for something like that? I was joking. So, what's up, Junior Disciple?"
Daera replied, doing her best to hide her flustered reaction.
Sensing the awkwardness, Lee Ha-yul tilted his head to the other side, but he didn't press her on such a trivial matter.
[I said I'd give you a gift before, remember? To make it, I think I'll need some of your blood, Senior. Would it be all right if I took just a little?]
"Make it? Blood?"
Daera, who had been forcing an awkward laugh, blinked. She had taken it at face value when he'd said he'd give her a gift, but she was only now learning that he intended to make it himself.
And on top of that, the gift needed her own blood?
'I suppose that sort of thing does happen with magic...'
The comfortable, sturdy clothing and useful tools she'd received in the Reverse Side—all of them, she'd been told, were made by Lee Ha-yul himself. Her junior disciple was skilled in craftsmanship and fabrication.
And since he was also proficient in magic, it made sense that a gift he was making might require blood.
"Now?"
[Yes]
"Alright. Here."
Daera extended her arm without much fuss. She felt no wariness.
Ordinarily, you should never hand over blood so easily. In an age of advanced supernatural abilities, that was doubly true. Blood given carelessly could be exploited.
But the one asking for her blood was Lee Ha-yul. Trusting that he would never misuse it, she offered her arm without hesitation.
[Hehe, look forward to it! I'll make you something that'll really amaze you]
Feeling that trust, Lee Ha-yul's smile grew even brighter. Daera discreetly averted her eyes from that lovely smile, bright as a sunflower in bloom.
- Ssshhh...
The Sky Wing Feather gently coiled around Daera's arm.
Immediately after, a faint ticklish sensation tingled at her wrist, and a bright red spot bloomed on the winged garment wrapped around it.
"Huh?"
Daera's eyes went round. Examining her freed arm, she found not a single scratch on her wrist.
Meanwhile, the winged garment still bore a vivid red stain.
"What is that thing? Did you just draw blood?"
[Yes, I can extract it like a syringe with this]
"Is hygiene not a concern? Doesn't it have to be stored properly?"
[It's fine thanks to the artifact's built-in cleaning function. I'm also continuously maintaining Purification Magic on it separately]
"Wow, that thing is seriously useful, huh?"
The more she looked at that winged garment, the more varied its applications seemed.
Offense and defense, using it like a blanket, spreading it wide like a tent. And now it also functioned as a syringe with a cleaning feature built in.
[Hehe, it might take a little while, so look forward to it]
As he recalled the blueprint still taking shape in his head, the image of Daera's reaction when she received the gift suddenly came to mind.
Covering the corners of his lips—which kept curving upward on their own—with the winged garment, Lee Ha-yul let out a soft laugh. His gently curved, fox-like eyes were plainly visible.
Watching that expression head-on, Daera carefully opened her mouth.
"...Junior Disciple, are you doing that on purpose?"
[?]
* * *
After collecting Senior Daera's blood.
I asked my master for permission and ended the afternoon training early.
There was a promise I'd made a few days ago.
After washing up lightly, I made my way to the meeting spot.
The destination was a modestly sized cafe, a private booth where we wouldn't draw others' attention.
"Ha-yul, you're here?"
There was already someone in the private booth when I arrived.
Vivid yellow-green hair and eyes. Lee Ha-sol, who had been idly tracing the rim of her water glass, greeted me with a smile.
[...Hello, Lee Ha-sol]
Lee Ha-sol and I had arranged to meet because there were things we needed to talk about.
We'd chatted occasionally by text, but still, talking face-to-face was better.
I surveyed the surroundings with Observation, then took a seat across from Lee Ha-sol.
"Yeah, this is the first time we've met since that day. Have you been doing well?"
[Yes, yes... I've been doing well]
"Here. It's spring, so it's still brisk out, but walking around outside still left me thirsty."
[Thank you. I'll enjoy it]
Maintaining her smile even at my awkward greeting, Lee Ha-sol handed me some water.
Her eyes calmly observed me as I gulped it down.
'This is awkward...'
I felt self-conscious under the complexity and familiarity I sensed in that gaze.
Racking my brain, I brought up a topic that happened to come to mind.
[It's the Free Semester period right now. Aren't you very busy?]
Right now, with the first semester having just begun, it was the Free Semester.
A period for sampling various lectures regardless of year.
Because of that, many cadets could be seen bustling across campus once afternoon arrived.
None of that applied to me, since I spent my major hours training under my master.
'I'd heard schedules were packed during the Free Semester. Especially for first-years who just enrolled, even more so.'
Lee Ha-sol, sitting across from me, was a first-year who had just entered. She was in the position of being the busiest during the Free Semester period.
"You're right. I've been running around everywhere since lunch, completely frazzled."
[Even when they're clustered in the learning zones, going around to each one is still a hassle. You must have had a hard time]
"Still, the map is pretty precise, so it wasn't troublesome enough to be a real problem."
Fortunately, it seemed I'd picked an appropriate topic, and Lee Ha-sol engaged actively in the conversation.
In fact, saying she 'engaged' wasn't quite right—'led' was a better fit.
Given my lack of social skills to begin with and the self-consciousness from the awkwardness, she took the initiative and kept the conversation going.
"......"
[......]
But conversation can't carry on forever.
When the exchange inevitably paused, an awkward silence settled in once more.
"By any chance..."
Amid that awkwardness, Lee Ha-sol, her hands resting neatly atop her lap, asked carefully.
"Have any memories come back to you in the meantime?"
Complex emotions filled her yellow-green eyes. Anticipating the answer, yet with a faint hope still perceptible in them, her gaze made me fidget with my hands.
[...No, not yet...]
"I see..."
That faint hope quietly faded. My shoulders reflexively hunched.
A way to recover my memories. It seemed possible, but it wasn't certain enough to attempt right now, and the situation was a bit complicated.
"...Hoo! Right. There's no way lost memories would come back easily."
Lee Ha-sol, who had been briefly downcast, exhaled deeply and straightened her shoulders. Then, tapping at her smartwatch, she brought up a hologram.
[...This is?]
What appeared in the hologram was a photograph.
"A photo from when we were little. Back then, it wasn't a smartwatch but an entry-level smartphone. The photos still remained, though."
The photo showed a young Lee Ha-sol. Naturally, her body was much smaller than now, with black hair and black eyes.
"The change in coloring wasn't long ago. It changed after I awakened my attribute ability... A year, maybe two at most?"
Even though I hadn't exactly opened my eyes or anything, Lee Ha-sol saw through the question that had formed in my mind and answered.
[...I'm in it too]
"That's exactly why I looked for this photo."
I was in the photo as well.
Black hair and black eyes. A face stiff like a machine. Held in Lee Ha-sol's arms as she hugged me from behind, my unfocused eyes directed toward the camera.
A face similar to now but different. The impression it gave felt like a completely different person.
'...So this is her way of trying to make me recall past memories.'
I understood Lee Ha-sol's intent.
A method of stimulating past memories to bring them back. A common approach, and an effective one at that.
"So you've forgotten everything you said back then too..."
As I was calmly studying the photo, Lee Ha-sol, who had been gazing at the photo with similarly distant eyes, spoke.
A murmur steeped in melancholy. I pressed my lips together at that gloomy feeling, but ignoring it felt wrong, so I sipped my water and asked.
[Um... What did I say back then?]
Lee Ha-sol shrugged lightly.
"You said you'd marry me when you grew up."
- Pfft
[Ack]
The water I'd been holding in my mouth spurted out.
"...Actually, that's a joke."
Observing my reaction, Lee Ha-sol giggled and plucked out some tissues, handing them over.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Daera Celeste
●●●●●●○○○○(67▶68/100)
｢Senior Disciple｣ ｢Heavenly Thunder?｣ ｢Kinship｣ ｢Compassion｣