Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Heretic of the Magic Tower (12)
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Karin felt like her brain was melting. She wasn't strong with alcohol to begin with, and just like back in Astraea, she had a hard time refusing drinks offered by others, so she'd ended up downing all the booze the elves kept pouring without end.
And it wasn't the clean, distilled stuff sold near the Academy or in Astraea, but harsh, murky liquor, making the hangover feel several times worse than usual.
Pale-faced, she crawled out of the tent and spotted the rest of the group and Kiss, who all looked relatively fine aside from her.
Did getting stronger in martial prowess make you stronger against alcohol too? How were they all so unscathed?
Plus, for some reason she couldn't fathom, Ermina and Kiss seemed to have gotten quite chummy. Ermina, who had been so cautious around people due to her low self-esteem, now looked surprisingly at ease, which sparked some questions.
Wondering how she must look crawling out with her face turned practically brown, Karin watched as Ermina, who had been chatting and laughing with Kiss, rushed over, patted her back, and cast a spell.
Light-attribute magic even cures hangovers. Impressive. I want to use it too.
"Feeling a bit better?"
"Y-Yeah. Thank you."
Ermina, who had always seemed shadowed no matter how you looked at her, felt like she'd shaken off a bit of that gloom for some reason. Had she been this warm back before the Cafe Manager left? Karin had secretly thought that for someone called the Sun Saintess, she had a rather decadent vibe, but apparently not.
"Um, Senior. Did something good happen while I was asleep?"
"...Not exactly good, but I'm trying to take it a little easier on myself."
"I-Isn't that a good thing?"
Karin lost herself for a moment in Ermina's relaxed smile. She could kind of see why Prince Christoph, whom she'd never met face-to-face, had fallen for her. Just seeing that smile made Karin's own cheeks itch.
While Karin was briefly entranced by another woman, Kiss approached and smacked Ermina on the back with a laugh.
"What are you two girls up to? If the booze haze is gone, let's get to work. I need to see how well you purify."
"Yes."
She definitely seemed better off, but Ermina, who had looked so downcast even while drinking last night, now appeared too bright, and it was hard to adjust.
On the other hand, Justina—who had finished her morning training with a clear head despite the alcohol, and was now drying her hair with a cloth—still had a sour expression, while Namei looked unsettled about something.
Karin probably wore a similar face to Namei's.
Since anything that would brighten Ermina's mood had to be related to Julius, Karin couldn't shake the suspicion that information had leaked from some unexpected source.
She couldn't afford to cause more trouble.
From afar, she watched Ermina use her blessing, the light slowly pushing back the contamination, then quietly headed toward Namei.
"Did something happen?"
"No idea. Woke up and there she was. It's improved from that near-death look, so it feels weird to say this, but it bugs me."
"Me too."
"No, ugh. I know I shouldn't feel this way, but bad thoughts keep creeping in."
Ermina's blessing emitted an intensity far beyond what she'd shown during occasional healings—was magic's potency influenced by one's mental state?—and it only made Karin increasingly anxious.
"Honestly, if that elf Kiss knew Julius, I wouldn't have told him the location at all."
"R-Really...?"
"He looks like the type to live and die by loyalty. If we solved his people's problems and saved his life, he'd keep his mouth shut even with a sword to his throat. Elves value promises and bonds highly anyway."
"When you put it that way, yeah, it makes sense."
"That's why it's even more baffling. What happened overnight?"
Namei bit her lower lip slightly, looking more anxious than Karin had ever seen. Namei usually stayed composed, even taking a long view on Julius's news, so her unusual discomfort made Karin choose her words carefully.
"Um, what was the relationship like between Senior Ermina and Senior Julius?"
"...Hah. Julius is basically kind to everyone equally. Same with her. Tch. Can't say he didn't pay her extra attention. With the Sun Saintess title, it's only natural, though."
Not just her expression, but her tone grated irritably, like she was chewing on something bitter, so Karin shut her mouth. Of course, Namei's mouth, now in motion, didn't stop there.
"Butting in without a clue. Still clinging after he's gone. Just looking at her sourpuss face annoys me."
"S-Senior. That."
"...Ah. Sorry. Some pent-up stuff came out. Everyone's in a bad mood, and seeing her act like the world's wronged her only rubs me the wrong way."
It felt like more than that. Ermina hadn't shown much when down and distant, but now brightening up, Namei was nitpicking her—like she harbored some inferiority complex.
No. No. Guessing at someone's inner thoughts like that is wrong.
The way Namei would mutter about being "different," insisting all she had to do was wait, flashed through Karin's mind unbidden.
Karin tried to dismiss it as delusion, praying her thoughts wouldn't show, and casually gazed at the sky.
Natalie. Sophia. I miss you.
I'm scared.
**
"Finally back, huh."
"...What."
"No. From this old man's perspective, it felt like reading one of those romance novels trending among the ladies."
"Shut it, you old coot."
Finally, seeing all four of them—Cosetica included—settled in a row.
Maybe because it'd been a non-stop festival of the extraordinary lately. With Mina unnie busy and absent, or Leimi unnie fleeing in embarrassment, it felt like ages since I'd seen this.
The sense of stability brought back my own relaxed mindset.
As they rested with their favorite coffees in front of them, I wiped down my most cherished cup.
How long has it been, really?
"The Cafe Manager's got that enlightened look."
"Feels like you only realize how precious normalcy is once it's gone. Always 'enlightened' one minute, forgetting the next."
"True that."
Mina unnie flopped face-down on the table, rolling her head around. It'd been forever since I'd seen that sight too.
In the end, unable to sell out her conscience completely, Cosetica unnie—who'd helped Mina unnie through the night—chuckled dryly at the display.
Being coworkers who split duties while also friends is tricky. Gets you torn between work-life balance and friendship.
Watching the scene, I spotted a strand of Cosetica unnie's hair stuck to her cheek and instinctively reached to brush it off.
"Oh."
"Ah."
"Hmm~."
Sensing my hand instinctively, Cosetica unnie naturally leaned her head into it.
It was the same pose as that massage from not long ago.
Mina unnie's head, rolling on the table, suddenly stopped and glared at my hand.
"No. Wait. Mina. Unnie. Just, from the massage before, it was natural."
"Massage?"
"Not that kind of massage!"
Afraid it'd turn into something weird, I pulled my hand back and pretended to wipe a cup.
Cosetica unnie's pained expression—her wrist gripped pale as Mina grilled her on where all she'd gotten massaged—was heartbreaking, but there was nothing I could do.
In the end, after confessing even her tail joints had been done, Cosetica unnie got her tail seized by Mina unnie and swung around.
"But really, nothing much happened. That just now was a bit unexpected."
"Eugghh. Yeah. Like a beastkin instinct thing."
"Hmm. Hmm."
"See? Just like a genre novel."
"...Was it like that for me too?"
"Yep."
"Ugh."
Dras chuckled quietly over his coffee, while Leimi unnie pried Mina unnie's hand off the tail, telling her not to do weird stuff out of embarrassment.
Seeing the tail—bent at an odd angle from the tight grip, drooping pathetically as it wagged—brought an inexplicable laugh.
Catching me snickering, Mina unnie sat up and jabbed my cheek with her index finger.
"Why're you laughing."
"Just. Makes my heart feel at ease for no reason."
"...Acting all nice to everyone."
"I do draw lines, you know? Carefully measuring distances and all."
"Still, you treat everyone well."
"Would you prefer I act like a jerk?"
"No."
"Right?"
As awkward as it was to say it myself, people who liked me would say they appreciated how I was nice to everyone, but after a while, they'd ask why I was nice to others too.
I thought I acted consistently by my own standards, but did it look different to others?
Or was I unconsciously discriminating a bit?
"The Cafe Manager can be a bit loose."
"...For real?"
Glancing at Dras at Leimi unnie's words, he just grinned.
No way, seriously?