Is This What You Call a Gift?
The tip of Duchess Valenti's fan froze mid-motion. "The Magic Tower Master himself?"
Her eyes narrowed with elegant suspicion. "Someone as utterly indifferent to others as you, going out of your way for such a bothersome task? …Wait a moment."
Something clicked rapidly inside her head. A direct home visit.
"No way."
The Duchess's gaze sharpened like a blade. "I assume student Ian Ashy is among those targets?"
The Magic Tower Master offered no reply. Just silence. But that silence might as well have been a resounding yes.
Duchess Valenti let out a soft, amused laugh. "To think the great Magic Tower Master would resort to such petty schemes."
"...It is not a petty scheme."
"Oh my, oh my. Look at you getting all embarrassed."
The Duchess, who had been smiling with that deceptively gentle curve of her eyes, snapped her fan shut with a sharp click. "You're using the apology as an excuse to claim that child's talent for yourself first. By visiting his residence in person, no less."
Yet the Magic Tower Master didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow. Whether it was sheer audacity, absolute confidence, or a combination of both was unclear. Either way, he was a difficult opponent.
The Duchess broke into a radiant smile. "How perfect."
"…What is?"
"I was planning to pay that child a visit myself."
The Magic Tower Master's eyes sank into a chilling frost. "Why would you go there?"
"Who knows?" The Duchess smiled until her eyes curved into crescents. "I heard our Beatrice received tremendous help from student Ian Ashy. Something close to a life debt."
She took one graceful step closer. "As his mother, wouldn't it be proper etiquette to visit in person and convey my gratitude?"
Their gazes collided in the air between them—cold, taut, and crackling. The blatant power struggle over who would claim the variable called Ian Ashy first became crystal clear.
Ding-dong. The elevator had arrived.
Both Duchess Valenti and the Magic Tower Master whipped around at the same time. It was a clear case of PTSD from their last elevator encounter, when he had suddenly appeared behind them with those narrowed eyes.
"He's not here."
"Indeed, he's not."
They both exhaled in relief and turned back toward the elevator doors.
—The doors slid open with a smooth hiss.
And out stepped Professor Hammington, arms loaded with a massive stack of documents. His shoulders were hunched, but a kindly, narrow-eyed smile graced his lips.
"Oh dear, pardon me."
He glanced between the two of them and chuckled. "My, what peculiar expressions you're both wearing. Were you discussing something particularly entertaining?"
The Magic Tower Master and Duchess Valenti shouted in perfect unison.
"How do you keep showing up like this?!"
The day after the magic practice session, the academy was naturally thrown into chaos once again. Though the scale was smaller than Lena's incident, even the social event of the season—the debutante ball—had been postponed under the pretext of safety inspections.
Honestly, at this point it felt like the academy had been flipped upside down by Lena's rampage, then flipped 180 degrees right back to normal. But whatever.
"Ehehe."
Truthfully, none of that was my business. Something far more important, far heavier, and far more real was currently in my grasp.
Ten million krone.
I ran my fingers over the thick envelope containing the check. Wow. Just the texture was reassuring. This was what money felt like. Was there anything else capable of bringing such peace to a person's heart?
Gold coins had their own pleasant jingle, but paper money somehow felt more secure. …Of course, it wasn't all pure happiness.
I heard you received a scholarship.
— Chloe
A terrifying letter from the family was clutched in my other hand.
"…Sigh."
Well, I couldn't complain. My oldest sister was already boiling onion porridge so watery it was basically just water. Estel was performing unpaid labor. Chloe was pulling all-nighters trying to save our crumbling house. How could I possibly pocket this ten million krone for myself?
Besides, above all else, Chloe's abilities were tempting. The talent to keep a ruined barony like House Ashy afloat. She might just be the most gifted administrator in the entire empire.
In other words, if I could just get the family back on some semblance of a stable track, I could let Chloe handle everything on autopilot—the family affairs, the erotic manga world domination plan, all of it.
This is an investment. This is an investment.
Repeating the mantra to myself, I swallowed my tears and skimmed off only twenty percent for my pocket. The rest would go to the family.
Since I suddenly had some free time, I was about to head home when—
"Oh, right. Estel."
The maid's face suddenly flashed through my mind. Last time I'd gone home, she'd radiated icy displeasure at how long I'd been gone. With news of Lena's rampage and the golem incident both reaching her ears by now…
"…Won't the whole house freeze solid the second I walk through the door?"
Frozen human Ian Ashy. Sleeping here—no, frozen here.
…I couldn't face an ending like that.
"Let's buy a gift."
The shopping district near the academy was buzzing. With the debutante approaching, the whole area had an excited, upbeat atmosphere. Couples were everywhere, and I caught plenty of looks that basically said, What is a broke art department beggar like Ian Ashy doing here?
Damn it. Why am I so famous?
…Let's buy the gift quickly and head home.
The problem was I had zero idea what to get. What did girls my age even like? The only things that came to mind through my erotic manga artist brain were boobs, butts, or XX. Buying anything along those lines would probably get me turned into an ice sculpture rather than simply buried somewhere.
Since I was heading home anyway, I called someone who could help me choose. The problem was that this person was currently running late.
Right then—
"Ian!"
Someone came sprinting up from behind and smacked me on the back.
"Jesus, you scared me."
"What kind of attitude is that toward your debutante partner? Can't even escort properly?"
It was Lena Youngstern. The usual practical clothes were nowhere to be seen. Instead she wore a frilly dress that showed real effort, complete with heels that actually had some height to them.
"You've been dressing like an actual person lately. Can you even walk in those?"
"Want me to step on you with them?"
Hmm. That didn't seem like a wise choice.
She'd been unable to make eye contact and walking on eggshells for a while, but after the golem incident she seemed to have recovered her old form.
Well, after turning the entire academy upside down, it's no wonder she was depressed.
It was good to see the original Lena back. I didn't understand why she was suddenly paying so much attention to her clothes these days, but whatever. How was I supposed to understand a girl's heart? I just hoped she'd help me pick out a decent gift for Estel.
"Let's go."
I started walking toward the shops, but my feet weren't moving forward. When I looked back, Lena was gripping the back of my collar with an exasperated expression.
"Escort me."
"…Huh?"
"Do it."
"Yes."
Terrifying. Lena Youngstern was terrifying.
Swish. Swish.
With every step I could feel the texture of her dress against my arm. Occasionally a soft, warm sensation would brush against me.
"Lena."
"What?"
"This distance feels a little too close."
"Shut up and walk."
"Yes."
I walked through the shopping district arm-in-arm with my childhood friend, whose clinginess seemed to have increased dramatically. It felt slightly awkward at first, but looking around, it wasn't unusual at all.
Guess escorting is just part of the culture here.
Every woman walking the street had her arm linked with a man's. Noble culture was complicated.
"Wow, look at this! It's a new perfume."
"Yeah."
"This hairpin is so pretty!"
"I see."
"This necklace might look good on Estel."
"Then let's get that."
"No. A gift for a girl needs to be chosen with more care."
…I was losing my mind.
Lena seemed absolutely thrilled to be at the shops for the first time in a while. Rather than picking a gift, she looked ready to browse every single store like she was preparing her own bridal trousseau. So she really was a girl after all.
Well, after falling into water, rolling in mud, witnessing tentacles, and suffering through every hardship imaginable, it made sense that pretty things like this would be healing for her. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears were flushed pink with delight.
…She isn't being very helpful, though.
Still, it wasn't bad. I let Lena enjoy her browsing and focused on finding something ordinary and practical that would suit Estel. Practicality was, in my opinion, the highest virtue a gift could possess. The moment you started trying to add meaning, it just became exhausting.
After wandering around for quite a while and as our shopping trip was winding down, Lena suddenly stopped in front of an outdoor jewelry stall. Her gaze locked onto one item.
A thin black fabric designed to wrap around the neck. A blue gem embedded in the center. A choker-style necklace sparkled under the sunlight.
Lena stared at it for a long time. Without thinking much of it, I tapped her shoulder and said, "What? Planning to buy that to use as a strangulation assassination weapon? It does look pretty sturdy."
And immediately paid the price.
Thud! Lena's fist dug hard into my side. My breath caught in my throat. It had been a while since I'd taken one of Lena's punches. Verbal abuse was probably coming next—something about me being a tactless idiot.
But instead—
"Hmph. You really have no tact at all."
Lena muttered softly, then strode ahead with quick, determined steps. In the noisy street, she suddenly spun around with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Stop acting pathetic and hurry up. If you don't come, I'll leave you behind."
Under the gently setting sunset, Lena's smile shone brilliantly.
"……"
Not bad. Moments like this weren't bad at all.
"Young master."
A perfectly proper voice reached my ears. So proper it seemed capable of slicing through the very air. No—the frozen air really did seem to crack and fall to the floor in pieces.
"…Did you really buy something like this as a gift?"
Damn it. I really should have chosen more carefully.