Chapter 7. Field Trip on a Clear Day (3)

“Peter was crying and looking for you—what did you do to him?”

“It wasn’t me, it was you guys!”

I hid behind Dia, who shouted in frustration, and peeked at Kyle. Ugh, I must look really pathetic right now. It’s only been a day since I resolved to get along with Kyle as friends, and yet here I am, unable to even talk to him, just hiding.

“Uh…”

“Ah…”

Kyle, who had gotten closer to Dia, locked eyes with me. The moment our eyes met, his face lit up. He raised his hand halfway as if to wave, then flinched and stopped mid-motion. It left him in an awkward pose, and I slightly parted my lips. Ugh, I should say something—but my lips wouldn’t move. Move, lips!

“Hmm.”

Dia looked back and forth between me and Kyle with amusement, then curved her lips into a mischievous smile.

“Radel, is Kailon making you uncomfortable?”

“Huh?”

I widened my eyes and stared at Dia. Wait a second, what are you even saying, Miss Dia! She glanced at me and smiled nonchalantly.

“Dia, what are you—”

“Oh, our poor Radel… You were so shocked when Kailon suddenly kissed you, weren’t you?”

“No, it’s not really like—”

“It’s okay, I totally get it. For him to do something like that out of nowhere—Kailon is such an inconsiderate guy.”

Sure, I was surprised when Kyle kissed me, but… it wasn’t like I hated it—actually, I kind of… liked it. Ahem. Anyway, since I didn’t dislike it, I just stared blankly at Dia treating Kyle like some brute. What on earth is going through this girl’s head?

“Oh dear, our sweet Radel!”

“Kh—Dia, I can’t breathe!”

Dia suddenly pulled me into a tight hug. Before I could even comment on how it felt to be in her arms, I had to protest about being suffocated. Seriously, is this woman trying to kill me?!

I barely managed to escape from Dia’s arms and snuck a glance at Kyle. He was looking at Dia in disbelief, seemingly frozen in place. It seemed he was still taking to heart what I’d told him—not to come any closer.

He looked over at me with slumped shoulders, like a restless puppy. A wave of guilt suddenly washed over me. Ugh, why do I feel like I’m the bad one here?

“I’m… gonna go now!”

In the end, I chose to run away again, just to avoid Kyle’s gaze. Ugh, I really can’t bring myself to make eye contact with him! I dashed off as fast as I could. When I looked back, no one was following. Whew, thank goodness. I should stop ditching and just go listen to the rest of the tower tour.

“Kyaa!”

While walking down the hallway, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist and yanked me into a room. I let out a startled scream as I was dragged in. Ugh, now what?

“Radel, please calm down.”

“Aren?”

In the dark room, Aren’s golden eyes shimmered. As I stared blankly at him, now with one arm wrapped around my waist, he snapped his fingers and the lights turned on.

“Sorry if I startled you.”

“No, it’s fine.”

I pretended to be okay, but truthfully I’d been really startled. I took a deep breath and straightened myself up, then slowly looked around the room.

“Whose room is this? It’s like, twice the size of the one I was assigned.”

I looked around the luxurious and stylish room and spoke to Aren.

“Wow, this room’s amazing too. Just like the others… The Tower really is on another level. It’s incredible.”

“…Are you fascinated by the Magic Tower, Radel?”

“Of course I am! It’s not like you can come here every day! Aren, aren’t you amazed?”

I asked with a big smile, and Aren responded with a soft, eye-smiling expression.

“For me, it’s basically like coming home, so I just feel comfortable.”

“Ah.”

Right, Aren lives in the Tower. I totally forgot. But still—imagine calling the Magic Tower home… That’s kind of enviable. I stared at him, wondering what it must feel like.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. But, whose room is this? Is it yours, Aren?”

Feeling a little flustered after locking eyes with him, I tried to gloss over it with a vague question. Aren blinked at me, then casually shook his head.

“No. This is the old man’s… uh, I mean, the Tower Master’s room.”

“Oh, got it… wait, what?”

Gasp. Did we seriously just stroll into the Tower Master’s room? He said it so casually I almost missed it. Okay. Deep breaths. Just breathe. It’s fine. It’s just the Tower Master’s room. No need to be shocked… It’ll belong to Aren someday anyway!

“Radel, do you want to check out my room?”

“What room?”

I asked as I slowly inhaled. Aren gave a gentle smile, curving his lips ever so slightly, and kindly took my hand. Oh my, this boy is way too smooth with physical contact.

“My room.”

I looked down at our joined hands, startled, then quickly lifted my head. I’d secretly been curious about what kind of room Aren stayed in, so I eagerly replied.

“Gasp, yes! I want to see it!”

When I answered brightly and confidently, Aren let out a low chuckle. Then, as if it was second nature to him, he lightly snapped his fingers.

***

By now, this was the third teleportation today, and I was no longer just used to it—I was practically enjoying it. As soon as Aren snapped his fingers, I shouted “Yap!” and voilà, the scenery changed, filling me with satisfaction. Since I had very little magic, this was the only way I could get a taste of what it felt like to be a mage.

Aren quietly watched me for a moment, then let out a faint, deflated chuckle.

“You looked so down this morning, but now you seem okay.”

“What? You were watching me?”

I thought he’d been busy casting spells with the other professors, but apparently, Aren had been watching me the whole time. When I asked him how long he’d been watching, he replied that he had been watching all along.

“Oh my, all along…?”

A little embarrassed and surprised, I tried to recall if I’d done anything weird. Hmm… other than freezing up like a statue in front of Kyle, I don’t think I did anything strange. Thank goodness.

“What do you think of my room, though?”

“It’s nice.”

Aren grabbed my face with both hands and turned it sideways. My cheeks were squished by his palms, making some alien language pop out of my mouth. Translation: “It’s nice.”

“Ahhhm guh-guh-beuhl.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Aren, somehow understanding my muffled words, beamed and released my face. Then he gripped my hand tightly, leaned in until our faces were nearly touching, and whispered a secretive offer.

“My bed is super soft. Want to try lying on it?”

“Oh, yes!”

As expected of Aren. How did he know I loved flopping into beds… Unable to resist, I slipped out of his grasp and darted over to the bed. I flopped onto the plush mattress in a glorious slide and immediately felt like I had everything in the world. A bright, happy smile spread across my face.

Between the ducal mansion and the tower, why are all the beds so amazing? I was genuinely curious if they were custom-made or something, so I lifted my head and looked at Aren.

“Do you like the bed?”

“Yeah, I like it. Did you maybe do a joint purchase with the Raven Duchy?”

Ah, that’s not what I meant to ask. The texture of the bed felt exactly like the one at the ducal mansion, and I ended up blurting it out without thinking. I swung my legs back and forth on the bed, and Aren approached me with a cheerful smile.

“Why? Does the bed feel the same as the one at the ducal mansion?”

“Uh, well… not really.”

His tone was gentle, but it sounded kind of annoyed, so I quickly mumbled an answer. Aren sat right next to where I was lying down and began playing with my hair.

“Enough about the bed. Answer my question.”

Huh? I didn’t think we talked that much about the bed… But if Aren says to drop it, I will. I hugged the pillow tightly and nodded. How does a guy’s pillow smell like flowers? Aren must really be some kind of fairy.

“You like my room, right?”

“Yeah, it’s nice!”

“And the tower? Do you like it?”

“Um… yeah, I guess I do!”

I still didn’t really know much about the tower or whether I truly liked it or not. But since it’s where Aren lives, I figured I might as well say I liked it. I mean, he’s basically the landlord—well, future owner of the tower—so I couldn’t just say it was whatever. I did my best to frame it positively.

“I like it because… there are a lot of rooms, a lot of mages, and a lot of money…”

“Radel.”

As I was folding my fingers and thinking hard about all the good things about the Magic Tower, Aren, who had been playing with my hair, suddenly called my name in a serious tone. Gasp—was it because he didn’t like the things I said were good? I scrambled to think of more, but my brain, which only works properly during exam time, refused to cooperate. Ugh.

Aren, whether he knew about my inner panic or not, smiled gently and opened his mouth. From his red, beautiful lips came a voice so pleasant to the ear.

“This is the last question.”

“I’m ready to answer anything!”

Like a contestant on a quiz show receiving the final question, I swallowed nervously and put on a determined expression. What kind of question was he going to ask with so much buildup? Surely he wouldn’t suddenly ask about some random math formula, I thought—but then what came out of his mouth was even more unexpected.

“If you like the tower, would you live here?”

“Huh?”

Caught completely off guard, I dumbly repeated his words back at him. Live? Where? Here? I pieced together the floating words in my head and finally arrived at the conclusion: Aren was asking if I wanted to live in the Magic Tower with him. Haha, what kind of nonsense—

“That’s quite the joke.”

“A joke?”

Aren leaned down, shifting his position so that he now had me caged beneath him as I lay on my stomach. Like a small animal caught in a trap, I tensed up and darted my eyes toward him. His gaze had sunk low and heavy.

“I feel like a poor girl captured by an evil witch… no, a wizard. Not that I feel the least bit pitiful!

“I’m serious… I really wish you’d live at the Magic Tower, Radel.”

“Hmm, I’ll consider it if there’s no rent.”

Moving into the tower didn’t sound bad, but if I were to live there, I’d probably have to pay rent. Since I only received a limited allowance, living in the tower without rent seemed like a decent deal. Hmm… Though saying I’d pay nothing at all feels a bit shameless. Maybe I could ask for a discount? Not like I was seriously going to live there, but somehow I found myself seriously considering it.