Track 03. A Ruined Matchmaking Meeting (Part 1)

After a nearly sleepless night, the next day, Vivian and Kanin were able to safely return to their group. Ain ran over with tears in her eyes and hugged Vivian tightly.  

“I’m so glad, Vivi!”  

“Thank you, Ain.”  

Vivian awkwardly patted Ain’s shoulder. Having lived a life with no friends besides Kanin, she couldn’t help but think,  

‘Were we this close?’  

Though they had been talking quite a bit recently, she didn’t think they were close enough for such a tearful reunion.  

‘Maybe she already thinks of us as family.’  

Either way, it wasn’t a bad feeling. Just unfamiliar.  

“Ain, are you okay?”  

“Of course. Thanks to your Fire Blast.”  

“Haha, it was thanks to everyone’s efforts.”  

“Anyway, nothing happened, right? I was so worried when you and Kanin got separated.”  

“We were lucky. No more monsters showed up.”  

“We’ve requested reinforcements from the Southern Command. More troops will arrive soon, so nothing like yesterday will happen again.”  

“That’s a relief.”  

The collaboration between the wyvern and the Great Slime must have seemed unusual to the Commander as well.  

‘Moreover, monsters like the Great Slime are more advantageous to knights than to mages.’  

To monsters that absorb magic, mages are merely prey. But the situation is different for knights wielding sword energy.  

‘Now we just have to wait for the additional troops to arrive.’  

Thinking this, Vivian sighed in relief. Having stayed up all night with Kanin, her eyes felt gritty. As she rubbed her eyes, the Commander approached and spoke to them.  

“You two should return early. You’ve worked hard.”  

At those words, Vivian’s eyes widened.  

“No, we can continue to carry out orders.”  

In a densely populated place like the capital, her uncontrolled magic was a poison, but in the Siskiya Mountains, she could help, as she did yesterday.  

‘All my comrades are here, and the mission isn’t over. I don’t want to return just because we were separated for a day.’  

She bit her lip and looked at the Commander with a determined gaze. But the response she received shattered her expression.  

“This is your last mission, Vivian.”  

The Commander spoke as if wondering if he himself had to say such a thing.  

“But if you get hurt on this last mission, how could I face Duke Gerhartz?”  

“…….”  

In the end, the conversation circled back to her grandfather. She just bit her lip.  

‘The Commander is right.’  

Her grandfather had told her to quit being a mage out of concern, and she had decided to follow his wishes.  

But if she got hurt by being stubborn, wouldn’t that ultimately go against her grandfather’s wishes?  

‘It’s my last task.’  

Yet, because it was the last, she felt this way.  

‘Shouldn’t I give it my all until the end?’  

Was it because even if she gave her all, she couldn’t achieve good results?  

‘Is that the kind of life I’m meant to live?’  

Who could possibly force her to live such a life? Her mind was tangled with conflicting emotions. The desire to find comfort by following her grandfather’s wishes and the desire to give her all until the end clashed noisily.  

“Vivi.”  

And as if to cut through her thoughts, a refreshing voice called her.  

“Kanin.”  

Kanin had always been a guiding post in her heart. Even when she was endlessly shaken or in endless pain, she gained strength from Kanin.  

‘Won’t it be the same this time?’  

In a voice thick with emotion, she asked Kanin,  

“……What will you do?”  

Hidden within that question was the cowardice of hoping Kanin would clearly decide her path for her. Kanin quietly looked at her and lightly shook his head.  

“Vivi.”  

A cool hand touched her forehead. A gaze tinged with concern swept over her face.  

“You don’t look well.”  

“There’s nothing I can do about that. I used all my magic power. And I haven’t rested.”  

She had cast large-scale magic and then infused Kanin with magic. She hadn’t rested since.  

“But I…….”  

I can still do it.

I want to stay until the end.

Those words couldn’t make it past her throat. After hesitating for a moment, she bit her lip again.  

“I…….”  

“Vivian.”  

Just as she was about to express her determination to stay until the end, the Commander called her name. Clear green eyes gazed at her. Even without words, it felt like he was speaking.  

• Think of your family and your grandfather.  

Her family, who had placed high expectations on her, and her grandfather, who had been betrayed by those expectations.

In front of that, Vivi could only shrink back. Lowering her head, she answered in a small voice.

“……I’ll just go back.”  

Kanin quietly looked at the top of her head and sighed softly.  

“Then I’ll go with you.”  

“Huh?”  

She had thought Kanin would naturally choose to stay, so she looked up. Kanin showed a faint smile, lifting the corners of his mouth slightly.  

“How could I let you go alone?”  

Thump.  

Her heart started pounding as if it were racing at Kanin’s smile. She lowered her head to avoid Kanin’s gaze.  

‘Kanin is so kind. That’s the problem.’  

Perhaps because she had been so close to Kanin yesterday, she was even more conscious of him. She slapped her increasingly red face with her palm.  

‘Don’t get the wrong idea, Vivian Gerhartz. Kanin is just being generous as a childhood friend.’  

She didn’t want to harbor any false hopes. Thinking this far, she frowned slightly.  

‘False hope? What hope?’  

What hope could she possibly harbor between her and Kanin? Not understanding her own feelings, she frowned again, and the Commander neatly wrapped up their conversation.  

“Then you two should head back to the capital.”  

It was practically an order to leave.  

* * *

‘I should have insisted a bit more.’  

As they rode towards the capital, Vivian sighed deeply. She was left with lingering regrets.  

‘It was my last mission.’  

It felt like she had wasted her last chance to shine as a mage. Even though she knew she’d hesitate and turn back like now if faced with the same situation again, she kept looking back. Kanin, noticing this, asked,  

“What’s wrong?”  

“Nothing…….”  

It was ridiculous. Knowing it was futile, she kept repeating the foolish act of leaving regrets behind. She let out a bitter laugh.

“I just keep thinking about the unit. I’m worried about them.”

“Of course.”

Kanin nodded at her words. Then he added in a stern tone,  

“But you need to rest, Vivi. You pushed yourself too hard yesterday.”

“What do you mean?”

Of course, she had cast several large-scale spells. Later, she had even infused Kanin with magic.  

‘Oh, right!’  

Come to think of it, she had been so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she forgot!  

‘Kanin was completely frozen and then thawed yesterday!’  

The one who needed rest wasn’t her—it was Kanin. Startled, she stammered as she asked Kanin,

“Th-that, more importantly, Kanin, are you okay? Your body, I mean. You went through something much worse than me. You almost died.”

“Hmm?”  

Kanin tilted his head slightly at her question. Without his glasses, his face looked sharper and freer than usual.  

“I’m fine. Thanks to you.”  

At his light response, she let out a long sigh of relief.  

“It wasn’t because of me. It’s a miracle you’re okay after being hit by Ice Breath.”

It was nothing short of a miracle. Even goldfish die when frozen and thawed, let alone a person. How could someone be fine after being frozen and thawed?

At her words, Kanin’s usually stoic face showed a slight lift of his eyebrows. He spoke in a calm tone.

“That’s why I said it’s thanks to you. If the mage with me hadn’t been you, my heart would’ve frozen solid, and I would’ve died instantly.”

His words were correct. Vivian nodded.  

‘I’m lucky I’m a fire mage.’

What she had often cursed felt like a blessing, at least for now. Because she was a fire mage, and because she had more magic power than others, she had been able to thaw Kanin.

‘I must have been out of my mind at that time.’  

Recalling the moment she infused magic, her face flushed red.  

‘How could I have been so bold?’  

Taking off his shirt, pressing their bare skin together, and locking lips.

‘Ah, come to think of it, was that my first kiss?’  

In the chaos, she hadn’t realized it, but now she saw that it was her first kiss!  

‘Unbelievable.’

She hadn’t had any romantic notions about her first kiss, but she hadn’t expected it to pass like artificial respiration!  

‘Since it was to save Kanin, maybe it’s okay.’  

She bit her lip. Recalling the contact from yesterday, her heart thumped. A low voice brushed past her ear as she shrank her shoulders and blushed.  

“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have let them touch me in the first place.”

“Huh?”  

“Nothing.”  

It seemed like something important, but she couldn’t catch it.  

She squinted and looked at Kanin. By coincidence, Kanin also raised his head, and their eyes met in midair.  

“More importantly, Vivi.”  

Kanin asked with a slightly subdued face.  

“What did the Commander mean by your last mission earlier?”

“…….”  

At those words, Vivian froze.