Chapter 21: Birthday Gift (1)  

After returning to the Mage Tower and locking herself in her lab, Chloe stared dejectedly at the stagnant results of her work. Her focus had significantly dropped compared to before, and neither her studies nor her research were progressing properly.  

‘This is all because of Tess.’  

What on earth did he mean? Why did he say he wanted me? What does he want to do for his birthday? …Did he receive Duke Fernand’s invitation? What’s happening with the diplomacy with the Kingdom of Jeren? …Is he busy with end-of-year matters? It’s about time for a letter to arrive.  

Her thoughts wandered off again, and she let out a deep sigh. Ever since he said he wanted her, right before they reached the warp gate and parted ways as if running away, she had been stuck in this state.  

「Friend, thinking about your lover again!」  

Chirp, chirp! Chirp-chirp-chirp!  

She ignored the chatter of the legendary creatures flying around her. Denying it had its limits, and by now, it was easier to just let them think whatever they wanted.  

After all, it wasn’t entirely wrong, so any excuses felt weak. She didn’t know what kind of nitpicking Elle, who was growing smarter by the day, might come up with.  

‘Come to think of it….’  

Chloe glanced at the Fairy flitting about, scattering light dust. She recalled Helena’s words about how Elle could use life magic.  

Until now, Elle had only dealt with plants, and her magic mostly manifested unconsciously, so Chloe had assumed healing living creatures would be difficult. But now that she thought about it, she had never formally tested it.  

On a whim, she stood up and walked to the corner of the room. She plucked a flower she had been growing for continuous material collection.  

「Elle, come here. Can you heal this?」  

「Huh? Huh!」  

When Chloe held out the flowerpot, Elle flew around it in circles. The light dust from her wings traced mysterious patterns as it seeped into the plant’s stem.  

The broken part glowed faintly for a moment, then straightened up as if it had never been bent. It was a clean recovery, leaving no trace of the damage.  

Healing plants was a success. That much was expected, but the problem lay beyond this.  

「Can you regenerate this too?」  

「This is dead! It has no life at all!」  

When Chloe scratched a fresh troll finger and held it out, Elle shook her head vigorously. After a moment of thought, Chloe glanced at Ray.  

Chirp, chirp!  

When their eyes met, the Phoenix scurried under the desk, leaving Chloe with an incredulous expression. She wasn’t a cruel master who would use her familiars for experiments, but seeing such a reaction made her wonder if she had been too neglectful of them.  

「I’ll go outside and find something alive. Wait here for a bit.」  

***

It took half a day to confirm Elle’s abilities. As expected, she couldn’t fully heal animals. However, it seemed to enhance their natural healing abilities, making their wounds heal slightly faster than usual.  

The detoxification of poisons was also mediocre. There were slight signs of neutralization, but the changes weren’t significant.  

In fact, things sometimes went awry, leading to side effects. In such cases, antidote potions were far more effective.  

‘Is it because she’s still immature?’  

It seemed like practice could help, but perhaps growth should come first.  

Chloe carefully stored the parchment where she had recorded the experimental results. She planned to compare Elle’s progress monthly while also documenting her magical growth.  

「Friend, promise! You didn’t keep your promise!」  

「I’m going now. Come on, Elle.」  

「Yay!」  

Throughout the ability tests, Elle had been distracted and kept playing around, so Chloe had promised to meet Riel. There was no better bait to calm the childlike Fairy.  

‘I do feel a little bad for Riel, though….’  

Chloe brought the Phoenix and the Fairy to Riel’s lab. After a light knock, the disheveled magician opened the door.  

Before either of them could say anything, Elle clung to Riel’s head. At least Ray stayed perched on Chloe’s shoulder.  

「Mom! Mom!」  

Chirp, chirp!  

“…Hello, Riel. Are you busy right now?”  

Chloe greeted her with an awkward smile.  

Riel stared at Chloe for a moment before letting out a small sigh. She didn’t even bother fixing her already messy hair. Leaving Elle alone, she stepped aside.  

“Come in, Chloe.”  

“Thanks! I brought a little gift, too.”  

Chloe handed over a pouch to her friend, who had once again generously overlooked her antics. It was her way of compensating for taking up the magician’s time.  

“What’s this?”  

“Materials with traces of Elle’s magic. I wouldn’t say they’re particularly unique, but I thought you might find them more useful than I would.”  

A Fairy’s hybrid magic, no less. Understanding the significance, Riel nodded.  

“I’ll make good use of it. So, what’s the matter?”  

“Well….”  

Chloe’s gaze shifted to Riel’s head. The Fairy had already nestled comfortably into her silver hair.  

Understanding the look, Riel shook her head and sat on the sofa in the corner of the lab.  

“Anyway, it’s good you came. I had something to ask you.”  

“Something to ask?”  

“Your relationship contract.”  

Chloe froze. Halfway through sitting down next to Riel, she stopped and studied her friend. It made her uneasy that Riel, who disliked Tehis, had brought up the topic first.  

“What about it?”  

“When does it end?”  

The blunt question about the contract’s end date left Chloe flustered. She couldn’t read what was going through Riel’s mind as she stared at her. Still, she couldn’t ignore the question, so she hid her discomfort and answered.  

“We can renegotiate the timeline, but the default end date is April.”  

“Next year?”  

“Yeah, next year.”  

Chloe confirmed, suddenly calculating how much time was left. There were already only four months remaining until the fake relationship ended.  

‘Come to think of it, what happens when the contract ends?’  

When they made the agreement, Tehis had promised to handle the aftermath with the Princess and the complicated politics. Proving that his ideal type wasn’t a lie and refusing the Princess’s proposal would suffice.  

But….  

‘What about me?’  

That’s what Chloe was curious about. 

What would happen between me and Tehis?  

Since our relationship was based on a contract, would we stop seeing each other once it ended? Would it be strange to keep visiting him after breaking up publicly?  

‘So we’d just part ways like that?’  

Her thoughts ground to a halt. The idea of completely severing ties with Tehis felt unbearably awkward.  

“Not much time left.”  

“Mm.”  

“That’s a relief.”  

“What is?”  

Chloe furrowed her brow slightly. Rarely showing discomfort, she looked at Riel, who pointed out an objective fact.  

“He’s holding back your growth as a mage.”  

“That’s….”  

Chloe couldn’t deny it. Looking back over the past few days, Riel’s words were undeniably true.  

The signs had been there for a while. Ever since returning from the Winter Forest, Chloe had been visiting Tehis more often for reasons other than meals. She had frequently invited him to her lab.  

Last month, she had even regularly visited the Grand Ducal Mansion under the pretext of learning to dance.  

“I went looking for you a few times, but you weren’t there.”  

“….”

Chloe didn’t bother making excuses. At the beginning of the year, didn’t she burn with determination to become a member of the Mage Tower’s council and read all the restricted books? No one knew better than her how different things were now compared to back then.

In truth, there was no longer any need to continue the contract. No, even though Tehis had permitted her to terminate it, she was the one who stopped it from ending.

“Why are you maintaining the contract? You’re free to gather materials now.”

Thus, Chloe had to face the truth she had buried in response to Riel’s question. She had no choice but to confront the emotions she had ignored and avoided countless times.

There were many reasons why she kept meeting Tehis.

Because he was cute. Because he was her type. Because he caught her attention. Because she wanted to see him.

Because she liked the sound of his voice when he called her name. Because she appreciated his careful consideration. Because she was grateful for his kindness directed solely at her.

Because meeting him made her happy. Because being close to him made her feel at ease. Because he had become a part of her daily life.

Because her thoughts always ended with him.

“…I do.”

“Hm?”

Chloe’s mumbled words scattered faintly. Riel, who hadn’t heard her properly, looked puzzled, and Chloe instinctively lowered her head. Her flushed face avoided her friend’s gaze.

She still didn’t understand love. When she kissed Tehis, the world didn’t turn upside down, nor did everything suddenly appear pink. Instead of a thrilling spark running through her body whenever they touched, she felt a warm sense of peace.

The kind of love described in books, where one always lusted after the other, was far removed from her experience.

But one thing was clear.

“I like him. I like Tehis Escalante.”

She had given him more of her heart than she should have.

Enough that she couldn’t easily cut him off. Enough that it would feel regretful to part ways cleanly, as per the contract.

Chloe finally admitted it to herself.

***

Riel didn’t say much after that. She played with the legendary creatures for a while before sending them off with Chloe.

Left alone in her lab, the half-blood magician stared blankly into space before muttering.

“What are you going to do?”

As if to prove she was alone, no response came back. Left talking to herself, Riel grumbled and called out the Mage Tower Master’s name.

“Rion.”

{Oh dear, oh dear. Did you catch me?}

“It was obvious.”

{You could have pretended not to notice, Riel. I do have my pride.}

“Just answer.”

{Haha, you’re unusually prickly today. Well, I suppose I understand. You must be anxious, so I’ll be generous and let it slide.}

How annoying.

Riel flopped onto the sofa with a sullen expression and pulled a blanket over herself. She had lost the will to continue the conversation and decided to go to sleep.

As she did so, the sound of laughter reverberated faintly through the space. There was likely no one else who could achieve such an effect with long-distance telepathy.

{Don’t worry. Chloe won’t leave the Mage Tower.}

“Did you see it?”

{Haha.}

When asked if he had seen the future, Isrion only laughed. It was the epitome of infuriating behavior.

Too tired to get angry, Riel pulled the blanket over her head. It was easier on her mind not to engage in long conversations with that centuries-old madman.

{How cruel, Riel. Calling me and then going to sleep.}

“….”

She didn’t respond. Watching the blanket rise and fall evenly as if she were genuinely asleep, Isrion shrugged from beyond the space.

{Well, fine. I’ll tell you. In the future I saw….}