An Unwanted Cohabitation
Aria frowned. Her expression automatically twisted into something severe.
It was absurd.
She had decided to look around the house only to try and guess, even a little, why Yohan had ended up in such a state.
⋯⋯In truth, she hadn't expected to find anything.
But.
She never imagined this.
With a cold face, Aria lightly moved her staff and prodded the corpse.
It was definitely dead.
Her tone carried absolute certainty. Aria stepped closer to the corpse.
A pure white body caught her eye. It was not something a human could possess. Nor did it belong to any of the other races she remembered.
And it wasn't an orc or anything of that sort either.
She narrowed her eyes.
She truly hadn't. If she had seen it even once, its appearance would have been memorable.
⋯⋯After all, such a pure white color wasn't something you encountered every day.
"⋯⋯Tsk."
Aria clicked her tongue.
She poked at the hole in its neck with her staff.
There were almost no other wounds on its body. There were some scrapes and traces of dirt, but those had nothing to do with the cause of death.
It would be more accurate to assume Yohan had dragged this corpse around to hide it.
He had hidden the corpse, and his body was covered in injuries.
The moment she guessed the reason for his condition.
Neither at the Magic Tower nor at the academy had she heard anything related to this. Delmar probably didn't know about it either.
She needed to confirm it.
⋯⋯Hmm.
Even if Yohan couldn't see, there was still a chance he might discover it. It was best to leave it alone for now.
She would speak with Yohan after his condition improved. It would be troublesome if he refused treatment.
If she told Claire, the woman would surely dig up some kind of clue. There had to be some record related to this somewhere.
She moved her staff. A small magic circle drew itself in the air.
It was a small circle meant for conversation, not teleportation.
And then.
The scenery inside the magic circle changed.
Aria's adjutant, Claire, appeared.
Claire was startled for only a moment by Aria's sudden appearance before her expression hardened at the Tower Master's cold face, and she answered immediately.
⋯⋯Something serious must have happened.
Did she fail to persuade Student Yohan?
But.
The answer that came from Aria was something else entirely.
"Can you see this?"
Aria shifted her body slightly to reveal the giant's corpse.
Even in front of Aria, Claire's expression twisted.
It was the first time she had seen anything like it.
Something like that could exist⋯⋯.
Aria cut off Claire's words and briefly relayed the distinctive features of the giant's corpse.
Claire bowed her head. It was an action that showed she understood the need for a swift investigation.
Aria withdrew her staff. The magic circle vanished, and in the now-silent space, only she and the giant's corpse remained.
She prodded the giant's corpse once more with her staff.
Her senses, which had lain dormant for a long time, stirred sharply.
Zeno knew most things about Yohan.
This had been an unchanging truth from the moment he began accompanying Yohan.
He saw what Yohan saw, and saw in his place what Yohan could not.
He heard what Yohan heard, and heard in his place what Yohan could not.
It had continued for a very long time.
But.
The opposite was not true.
Yohan did not know most things about Zeno.
Part of it was because, unlike Zeno, Yohan could not exert any power over him. But the bigger reason was that Yohan never asked Zeno anything except what was absolutely necessary.
After all, Zeno was a god.
Yohan respected him.
Whatever their relationship was, it was a decision Yohan had made in that moment when they were expected to spend a long time together.
And so Zeno remained by Yohan's side.
[Are you looking around outside?]
It was a night when Yohan had fallen asleep and Aria had briefly disappeared. Zeno looked around the cabin and spoke.
The fact that Zeno had not informed Yohan of the Magic Tower Master's presence was intentional.
[It would be nice if she found the giant's corpse as well.]
He didn't know much about the current Magic Tower Master's personality.
Whenever Yohan had moved to stop the giants, the Magic Tower Master had always been someone else.
Given the timing, it was reasonable to assume that Aria had taken over the position from another person.
Whoosh.
[It seems she saw it.]
A very faint movement of mana could be felt.
Her mana control was impressive. No one else would have noticed. He had almost missed it himself.
[I don't know what actions she'll take, but I hope they prove helpful.]
⋯⋯The situation needed to change.
For that to happen, he could only hope she would be of assistance.
And that was why he had done this.
Zeno quietly opened his mouth.
[It was intentional that I hid it.]
⋯⋯Yohan did not know that Aria was with him.
Zeno had not told Yohan that fact.
[Even if you learn of this, I know you won't say much.]
Yohan would not ask why Zeno had hidden it.
He had always been that way.
Zeno knew that fact all too well.
[It was necessary. You will understand that as well.]
Zeno murmured softly toward Yohan.
It had been necessary.
He knew Yohan would understand.
[But this time, I wish you would get angry.]
⋯⋯It was a small wish.
⋯⋯One that would probably not come true.
Whish.
A small breeze blew.
The Magic Tower Master had returned.
Before long, the sun began to rise.
Yohan opened his eyes.
His eyes opened naturally. He blinked once, then let out a hollow smile.
'Ah, I still can't see.'
⋯⋯What a foolish thing to do.
Yohan slowly sat up.
[You're awake. How is your body?]
Yohan slowly rolled his shoulders. He could feel that his body had improved significantly.
'It's better than yesterday. It seems the medicine is working well.'
⋯⋯Just what kind of medicine was it?
His body was recovering at an astonishing speed.
It looked like recovery would be faster than expected.
[That's good. Then how about eating breakfast and taking your medicine?]
At Zeno's suggestion, he nodded.
'I will.'
Yohan got up from the bed and slowly stretched.
His movements were cautious, as if afraid of bumping into something.
[The staff is right in front of your feet.]
Tap. Yohan lightly moved his foot to gauge the staff's position, then reached out.
He grabbed the staff without fumbling.
'Oh, I got it right away.'
Yohan smiled, then lifted the staff and reached out with his free hand.
[What are you looking for?]
'I'm looking for the cup. I think I left it around here yesterday.'
[Stop your hand for a moment.]
Yohan followed Zeno's words. A moment later, Zeno spoke.
[If you move your hand a little to the right, the back of your hand will touch it.]
Yohan gently moved his hand and felt the cup against the back of it.
He grasped the cup and slowly made his way to the table.
With Zeno's help, Yohan selected a few foods and began to fill his stomach right away.
[⋯⋯.]
'Hm? Lord Zeno, is something wrong?'
[It's nothing. Eat.]
'Yes, understood.'
Yohan focused on filling his stomach.
"Whoa, that startled me."
Aria let out a sigh of relief.
"I thought the cup was going to tip over."
When Yohan had reached out, if things had gone wrong, the cup would have fallen and shattered.
Aria, who had used magic to prevent it, watched Yohan continue his meal.
"Sigh, since I'm watching anyway, I suppose I should help with things like this too."
If anyone knew, they would be shocked.
Aria was not the type to do such things.
Still.
If it was to help Yohan, it wasn't something she couldn't do.
"It's not like I'm completely without responsibility."
Aria murmured quietly.
It was reasonable to say that Yohan's injuries had occurred because he had left the academy grounds.
There were many things she wanted to ask, including the identity of that corpse, but first, Yohan's body needed to finish recovering.
"I also need to resolve the mana issue. There's a lot to do, but nothing I can't handle."
She didn't know how he would feel about the process of resolving the mana problem, but mana could not become an obstacle to his decision to return to the academy.
Aria was fully prepared to go through that process.
"Now that I think about it, doesn't this basically count as living together?"
What was that called again?
⋯⋯Claire had told her about it a long time ago.
Hmm.
Aria tilted her head.
If Claire saw this, she would undoubtedly go insane.
And.
Zeno, who was watching this, thought:
[I have no idea what that woman is saying.]
Of course, this was not conveyed to Yohan.