Chapter 4.5

After arriving at the salon, she put on her mask and greeted the members. During this time, she took off her bracelet for a moment.

“It’s been a while, everyone.”

“President, you’re here? Did you see the new item list? Felix seems to surpass limits every time.”

The salon was crowded with people, regardless of gender. The thought that all these people were fans of Felix made her proud.

Thanks to the cloak’s effect, no one asked her who the teacher was. It was convenient for her.

As the president, she stepped onto the stage in front of the salon. The noisy surroundings quickly quieted down.

“Thank you all for brightening the event with your presence today. Now, let’s proceed to select the best item of the month. Please take out the items you brought. I have brought a magical eraser.”

It was a choice made after much deliberation because all of Felix’s items were excellent.

The reason for bringing the magical eraser was that it perfectly erased an embarrassing drawing she had accidentally made.

People started placing the items they brought on the table one by one. With so many people, there was a variety of items, and they began introducing which item they thought was the best. It was a heartwarming sight.

While she was tallying which item was brought the most, she glanced at the teacher sitting next to her. He had a peculiar expression on his face.

“So many people…”

The teacher seemed shocked that all these people were fans of Felix.

“I didn’t expect this level of admiration…”

It seemed that the teacher finally realized the extent of Felix’s popularity.

The item chosen by the people that day was the proposal flower basket. It wasn’t because it succeeded in a proposal. The flower basket was useful in various ways.

“If you write the name of the flower you want on a piece of paper, it fills up with that flower. The flowers disappear after a certain time, so it was nice to use them freely and have them cleanly vanish.”

“It’s an artificial flower, but it looks real, so it was great for spontaneous decoration for a day.”

“You could use it as a regular basket too. It was great to carry around during walks and create a mood by generating flowers.”

Erica had also used it well for flower fortune-telling.

After selecting the flower basket as the item of the month, they celebrated by scattering flowers in the salon.

The sight of various flowers fluttering down from the air was truly magnificent. She caught a petal in her hand. Even though it was a fake flower, the petal’s detail was exquisite.

The petals turned into glowing dust a few minutes later, swirling around her before scattering into the air.

“It’s really beautiful, isn’t it?”

Seeing something so pretty felt healing. The teacher nodded in agreement and gathered a bunch of flowers.

“I’m glad you like it, Miss.”

The teacher continued as he made a bouquet.

“I once heard the reason this magic was created.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, a child said they wanted to be confessed to while surrounded by flowers when they grew up. It was made to fulfill that wish.”

“Wow, Felix is truly thoughtful.”

“Is that so?”

Petals slipped from the teacher’s hands and scattered everywhere.

“Do you think that child still wants to receive such a confession? What do you think, Miss?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure, but I think I’d like it. Felix made it himself, after all.”

And honestly, if it was given by someone she loved, she wouldn’t dislike anything.

She had liked flowers when she was young. More precisely, she liked the wildflowers blooming in the wide field behind the villa. Being surrounded by those flowers made her feel like a fairy. She even played fairy games as a child.

But was I alone back then?

‘Your eyes look just like a fairy’s.’

As a scene seemed to pass by, her head suddenly throbbed.

“Miss?”

“Oh, I felt dizzy for a moment.”

She placed her hand on her forehead. She felt like she had experienced this before.

As she frowned, the teacher asked if she was hurt, worried. She shook her head, saying she was fine. It was a good day with the teacher and the fan club meeting, and she didn’t want to ruin the mood over nothing.

Thus, the meeting concluded smoothly this month as well.

April had large temperature differences, making the evenings chilly. Still, the days were longer, with the sun staying up for more extended periods. Since it was the first time going out with the teacher, she felt a bit regretful, so they visited a magic shop and bought some art supplies.

It felt good to check and choose items herself rather than through Selly.

It was when she was walking down the street with the teacher under the increasingly red sunset.

The teacher suddenly looked somewhere with a serious expression. At the end of his gaze was just a shop, making her wonder what was happening.

“Miss, excuse me for a moment.”

“Huh?”

The teacher suddenly grabbed her hand and led her into a secluded alley.

“Forgive my rudeness.”

“Wh-what’s going on?”

“There are people we shouldn’t meet.”

The teacher’s expression was tense. It was the first time she saw such a face on the teacher, who always wore a gentle expression. He stood as if shielding her, scanning the alley’s entrance.

She glanced at the teacher’s eyes and flinched for a moment. There was a hint of menace.

‘Who on earth could it be?’

The teacher soon turned his gaze back to her. As if she had seen it wrong earlier, the teacher’s eyes were as gentle as usual.

“I’m sorry, but could we stay like this for a moment?”

“Oh, yes.”

Seeing the teacher’s uneasy expression, she nodded. As she got closer to the teacher, a scent wafted over. Was it because they were showered with flower petals at the salon? He smelled like spring flowers.

She held her breath, trying not to inhale the scent. She was tense because she had never been this close to someone before.

The hand holding hers was warm. It was the same hand she had interlocked fingers with before. She hadn’t paid attention then because she wasn’t in her right mind. Feeling self-conscious about the calluses on her hand, she wiggled her fingers.

The teacher quickly let go of her hand, perhaps thinking she was uncomfortable.

“Sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s okay!”

The teacher looked so apologetic that she shook her head vigorously, insisting it was fine. She was really okay with touching the teacher. She had touched his body so diligently during lessons. If she were to freak out over holding hands, she would have done so long ago.

They were finally able to leave the narrow alley after a while. The people the teacher said they shouldn’t meet must have lingered on the street for a long time.

Even after leaving the alley, the teacher looked around cautiously, not letting his guard down. Then he pointed at her wrist.

“By the way, where is your bracelet?”

“Oh! Right. No wonder I felt like I was too close to people on the street. I must have taken it off at the salon and forgotten about it. Thank you for reminding me.”

She took the bracelet from her pocket and put it on her wrist. The teacher had a keen eye to notice something like that.

The teacher escorted her to the front of the mansion and left immediately, seemingly having urgent business.

Today’s outing with the teacher was so enjoyable that parting felt regretful.

So much so that she almost stopped him to invite him to dinner.

* * *

Felix left the Prime mansion and headed straight for the magic shop.

When he entered and approached the counter, speaking the password, an employee led him to an inner wall. As Felix touched the wall and murmured, a hidden space was revealed.

The Oditolium Magic Shop.

People knew it as a fantastic shop full of magical items, but in reality, that was just a facade.

The magic shop was a cover to hide the existence of the guild from the elders of the Mage Tower.

The Anti-Mage Tower Magic Guild. That was the true nature of the magic shop.

The elders merely thought Felix was blinded by money, working under the Empire’s Emperor to produce and sell magical items. To the elders of the Mage Tower, Felix was just a well-behaved mana reservoir and a ‘cursed one.’

Felix maintained the same image in front of the Mage Tower elders. He always used the excuse of being too afraid to face them directly, sending Henry to deal with the elders instead, while secretly waiting for an opportunity to strike them from behind.

The elders of the Mage Tower were smart enough to use complex formulas and master a large number of magic books, but they lacked awareness. They always looked down on others, so it was inevitable.

Felix entered the guild. The mages receiving training greeted him. After briefly acknowledging them, Felix went straight into the leader’s office.

“Leader!”

Henry looked surprised to see him. Felix had returned early from his date with Erica.

“The elders were wandering around the square using invisibility magic.”

“Oh dear… that was close.”

Henry rubbed his arms. Felix nervously ran his hand through his hair.

The fact that the elders were hiding their presence meant they were looking for a sacrifice.

It was fortunate that he could see through the elders’ magic and that Erica was wearing her gloves properly. They almost got caught.

‘I got careless.’

The elders remembered Erica’s childhood appearance. Even if her soul’s traits were hidden by gloves, they might recognize her as the sacrifice from her brown hair and light green eyes.

‘Oh, is this the child you brought? You found a special soul in advance! Well done.’

‘No, it’s not! Please, please let the child go!’

Felix felt nauseated at the sight of the Mage Tower’s black cloak. He bit his lip tightly. Even if he regretted the past, it couldn’t be undone. Whenever he recalled that time, he despised himself.

Felix rubbed his heavy eyes, feeling a sudden wave of fatigue.

He didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of his childhood. At thirteen, he had been severely drained of mana and couldn’t protect Erica. But not anymore.

He had thoroughly prepared to prevent such things from happening again, and he had the power.

“I’ll be staying with the lady for a while. Make sure the guild members don’t cause trouble.”

“Yes, understood.”