A Protected Daily Life
An unfamiliar ceiling.
Not the ceiling of my own home, which I'd grown accustomed to, but an unfamiliar one.
I gently placed the sleeping Luna, who was nestled in my arms, onto the bed, got up, washed my face, and stepped outside.
"You're up early."
"Yes, I'm not one to sleep in much, Head Butler."
My duties here weren't that extensive. I'd say there were basically three: assisting with simple cooking, sparring, and driving. The fact that I could even help with cooking was, come to think of it, probably because I had been a young master of a wealthy family before coming here, so I had a refined palate.
"Then let's prepare the meal. The young lady tends to wake up early."
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, you can cook too?" A voice pierced my left ear.
"Young lady, you're awake?"
The Head Butler bowed politely.
"Hiii."
"Ah... y, you..."
"Ahem! Your voice is too quiet! Speak up!"
"Young lady... your feet."
Estelle let out a mischievous laugh at my reaction.
"What, it's just an assistant role. I'm here to learn too."
With that, the Head Butler and I headed to the kitchen.
Or rather, the three of us.
"Why are you following us?"
Why was Estelle coming along when she didn't have to?
"You use formal address for me, so why are you speaking informally?"
"You never said I couldn't use banmal. Got a problem with it?"
"Well, that's so you."
When Estelle didn't seem to mind, the Head Butler didn't point out my attitude either. I guess that's just how things work in Estelle's mansion.
"Don't just assist. Try making something yourself for once. I'm curious."
"The chef makes it better."
I'd seen the chef's skills yesterday. They were quite impressive.
"Probably. It's his job, after all."
Since I knew my way around a kitchen and the ingredients were top-notch, I could manage simple dishes without too much trouble.
"Mmm~ As expected, the chef's is tastier."
"Told you."
She took a bite of each dish and gave her review.
It made sense, since he was a chef working for a prestigious family. It felt like I was eating meals from that old mansion again.
"Still, yours is edible."
"That's because the ingredients are good."
Just as she was about to take another spoonful, I stopped her.
"Uh-uh. Don't try to sneak a meal."
"Tch."
I blocked Estelle's natural attempt to skip the main breakfast table.
"Come on, young lady. Go get ready to eat in the dining room."
"Hmph."
I kicked Estelle out of the kitchen. The reactions around me were a bit shocked, but what were they gonna do about it?
I loaded the dishes the chef had prepared onto a cart.
"Ah, should I call the others?"
"No, it's fine. I've already called another servant."
"Then I'll take this."
"Yes, please do."
Seeing that everything fit onto the cart I was pulling, their family seemed to eat quite modestly. Back in that mansion, we needed three servants just for this. Even hauling all that food, most of it was left over. There were even dishes that didn't get touched.
When I pushed the cart of breakfast into the dining room, I saw Estelle, Helia, and...
"Ahem. Sorry."
...Luna, who was puffing out her cheeks in clear displeasure.
Since I was working, I explained the dishes as I set them down on the table, just as the chef had instructed me.
"Sit."
Luna said, patting the chair next to her.
I glanced at the others, but they didn't seem to care.
"Yes, ma'am."
I pulled out the chair next to Luna and sat down. Luna immediately scooted her chair right up against mine.
Helia was talking to Estelle. Estelle was answering Helia. Luna was talking to me. I was answering Luna. We were in the same space, but the atmosphere felt divided. Unable to stand it, I spoke first.
"Estelle, how long until midterms?"
"About one or two weeks?"
"Ah, I should've just held out for another week or two. Should I just cram?"
Helia cut into our conversation, looking completely dumbfounded.
"What? You're attending the Academy and you don't even keep track of that?"
"Ah, well, Seoha is..."
"Ah, do you not know? Is that it?"
I cut Estelle off and answered.
"That's... not the time to know yet."
"What the hell does that..."
Helia turned her gaze from me to Estelle, but Estelle couldn't answer right away. It was definitely stuff that was hard to explain without bringing up some major secrets.
"Some stuff came up."
So the only answer I could give was a vague one.
"Curious? Do you want to know?"
"Weren't you a polite person until yesterday?"
"Ah, come on. That's just a mask for business and first impressions. This is closer to my real personality."
At my sudden reversal in attitude, she looked like she didn't know which beat to dance to.
"So, aren't you curious?"
"A little bit...?"
"I won't give you the answer you want."
At my reply, Helia was momentarily dumbfounded, a question mark floating above her head, before she realized I was messing with her.
"Ahh, this is fun."
"Sis, this ajusshi is messing with me."
She deliberately called me ajusshi, trying to get a rise out of me with age. But hey, I *am* a dad, so being called uncle isn't that weird.
"Wait, now that I think about it, I'm older than Estelle."
I realized I'd been speaking casually and using her first name so naturally for months without even noticing.
"So what? What are you gonna do about it?"
She said, fiddling with the sword made of Seonghwi.
"No, no reason. Just saying."
Older people were the hyungs and noonas here anyway, right?
"Come to think of it, Luna calls you 'unni,' but why does she call me by my name?"
"Oh, you noticed that?"
"No, it's obvious she's younger than me!"
"But you're about the same height. A difference of two fists?"
"How is that the same height! So why is it like that?"
"Don't you know? Or is it that you don't know?"
"You, you're annoying."
"Is it annoying? Or is it that it's annoying? I'll tell you just this once."
"What the hell, you say that, but you're not gonna give me the answer I want."
"Clever child. I'll tell you. Luna calls people by their name if she deems them weak."
"What?"
Estelle reacted to that.
"Well, looks like Luna and I are both done. Everyone, eat well. I'm going to get ready for the Academy. Estelle, come when you're ready."
I scooped Luna up under my armpit and quickly left the room.
What was waiting for us at the Academy...
"Seoha... you're late... At this rate, I might just turn into an old woman waiting for you..."
"Sorry."
I was met by Kihote.
"You go radio silent for days! Where's your business ethics?"
"I'm really sorry! It's not like I wanted to disappear!"
"Then explain yourself."
I was met by Aria too.
"I heard from Kihote that you were missing. On the day you disappeared, all the buildings around your house were collapsed, the mountain was collapsed, you weren't answering calls, and even after things settled down a bit, you still weren't calling. You worried us to death for days, and now you just show up to school like nothing happened. You must have a reason, right? Isn't that right, Minerva?"
Minerva's here too.
"Y-yeah! Th-that's right!"
Judging by her reaction, it seemed Professor Kim Hyera had explained things to her to some extent.
"I fought a desperate battle to protect something precious to me."
"Did you protect it?"
"Yeah."
"Then that's all that matters."
Kihote said, turning his gaze away.
"What do you mean that's all that matters! That doesn't explain anything! Isn't that right, Minerva?"
"Huh? Yeah! Th-that's right! That didn't explain anything at all!"
At Minerva's clumsy acting, Aria narrowed her eyes at her.
"But Minerva, why are you acting so awkward?"
"Yeah, I wonder?"
"Well then, for the disappointed Aria, allow me to present the cute Luna."
I hooked my hands under Luna's armpits and lifted her up like an offering.
"What is this! You're trying to brush me off!"
"Cut me some slack."
"Th-then, at least send a message or something next time."
"Yeah, I did cause everyone to worry this time. It probably won't happen again. Probably?"
I had returned to a routine I thought I might never see again.
My daily life was preserved, as if the battles of the past few days had been a lie. Right when I was thinking I'd like to spend a peaceful routine like this from now on...
"But midterms are coming up soon. Are you prepared?"
"Ah, help me out."
I guess I'll have to postpone the peace and quiet for a bit.
Slap- Slap- Clang-
Aria, Minerva, and Kihote each hit their own foreheads in succession.
"We crammed a few days' worth of material. What do we do?"
"In that case, I think it'd be best to aim for high scores in practical skills."
"But isn't Seoha a total scrub?"
"Aria, I don't think you're the one to talk."
I spoke up, targeting Aria, the only person here I could confidently say I could beat.
Minerva had Levantine, who was way too strong, and Kihote's fighting style just wasn't a good matchup for me. With his unique defense and the mobility of the spirit horse Rosinante he got from somewhere, if I couldn't pour out massive firepower instantly, he'd close the distance and start a melee. A melee between a cavalryman and an archer was horribly stacked in the cavalryman's favor, which was why students from the Marksman and Magic departments were very reluctant to face Kihote.
"Ah, let me show you what I got this time."
I held out my hand, and a bow made of glass materialized above it.
"Ta-da!"
"Oh, it's pretty!"
Minerva was the first to comment. Aria, maybe it was her Alchemy Department traits kicking in, started analyzing.
"Glass? Is it glass?"
"It's glass."
"Then how do you draw it? Normal glass would just shatter. Even bendable glass couldn't generate enough tension to shoot an arrow."
"Aria, you have no sense of wonder."
"Huh? Wonder?"
She paused, looked at Luna who was still pouting in my arms, and then back at me.
"Ah, ah! So it's a magical glass bow, huh! Yeah, it's not ordinary glass, it's magical glass! Did a fairy give it to you? A goddess?"
I laughed at her reaction. She probably didn't really understand what I was talking about.
"Ah, I heard a rumor that the Principal might open the doors to his treasure vault based on three criteria after reviewing the midterms carefully: the student with the highest overall score, the student who showed the most remarkable growth, and special cases."
So the Principal's personal storage was already being called the 'treasure vault' by the students.
I wasn't sure about the top scorer or special cases...
"But a student who showed remarkable growth? That sounds doable."
The look in my eyes changed.
Ah, as Yi Seoha, the monopolizer of fortuitous encounters, there's no way I can let this event slip by.