Chapter 138
“Mansandro? The tavern you used to go to often?”
“Yes. You remember?”
“Of course.”
Cassius fiddled with his quill, then asked Eki.
“Eki, do you like your friend that much?”
“Milla? Yes. She’s my closest friend.”
“…I see.”
A silence followed. Eki subtly studied her master’s face.
Long, flowing pure white hair. A neat forehead and neatly lowered lashes, a smooth nose bridge, and softly closed straight lips. He was, as always, undeniably beautiful and handsome. How could a person be so perfect? Ah, right. Not a person. A dragon, anyway.
‘Today’s Master, one thousand points out of a hundred.’
But setting that aside, his tightly closed lips somehow looked sulky. Eki realized where this subtle silence was coming from.
“Master, you’re not jealous, are you?”
“Don’t say strange things. Jealousy?”
“When I talked about Milla before, your expression got bad too.”
“When did I ever.”
“You did.”
“Stop talking nonsense and study instead. Did you go through the paper I gave you yesterday?”
“No. You gave it to me in the evening. You should at least give me two days.”
“If you’ve become my adjutant, you should be able to grasp that much quickly. You’ve gotten lazy since coming to the capital.”
“Lazy? I’m wearing myself out managing your schedule and studying magic like a proper direct disciple of the acting head!”
What was not quite an argument dragged on. Cassius snorted, but still gave Eki a sidelong glance.
“Tired? Do you want to rest?”
“Um… no. It’s not that bad.”
But it was true that she had been working nonstop lately. Eki hesitated, then asked Cassius.
“Master. We still have some time before the meeting. If it’s okay, do you want to go for a walk?”
Cassius looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. Soon after, as if he decided it was fine, he nodded.
But now, a tension that hadn’t been there before settled on Cassius’s face.
“Where are we going?”
“Just nearby. This area is well maintained, so there’s a lot to see and plenty of places to walk.”
“…Fine. Let’s go.”
She knew why he was making that expression. Still, Eki let out a small giggle and pretended not to notice.
It had been four months since her master left the Thousand Tower. Cassius found human culture, which had undergone changes over the past several hundred years, unfamiliar. In other words, he was uneasy about civilization.
“Eki, you’re thinking I’m like a caveman right now, aren’t you?”
“What? Not that much. I did think you seemed a bit like a grandpa, though…”
“A-A grandpa? Really?”
“No, no. I know you know I’m joking.”
Still, Cassius couldn’t fully relax. As time passed, he was feeling the generation gap between himself and Eki more and more. In a way, his discomfort stemmed from that.
❖ ❖ ❖
When he first went out into the streets, Cassius had clearly been nothing but delighted by the freshness of the world.
‘Eki, what’s that?’
‘It’s a decorative object that turns into a mirror when you press it.’
‘And that?’
‘A carriage-calling device.’
‘This?’
‘That just looks like a stick.’
He knew that four hundred years was an eternity-long span for humans. And he also knew how drastically they could change in such a short time. Stepping into a city of such humans, the countless inventions he had never seen when he was young felt truly fascinating.
‘Hehe. Master, is it that fascinating? You’re kind of cute.’
Until Eki said that.
‘…What’s cute.’
‘I didn’t think you’d be interested in things like this.’
‘I’m curious because it’s related to magic.’
‘Still. If you want, I can pick a day later and explain them one by one?’
Only then did he think that, in Eki’s eyes, he probably looked like an old man who couldn’t adapt to modern conveniences.
‘Forget it. I’m not curious anymore.’
‘What’s that. I meant it in a good way.’
‘Who calls their master cute.’
‘Me, me.’
Of course, after that, a barrage of kisses had soothed his mood. Still, Cassius resolved that he should not do anything that would make him look foolish in front of his disciple going forward.
He had already lost all his authority as a master due to one incident after another. Even if the two of them were lovers now, they were still, first and foremost, master and disciple. He couldn’t let his dignity crumble any further.
Cassius and Eki came out to a park. A light festival was set to be held over the next three days, so they had come to look around in advance.
It was a weekday, and the sun hadn’t set yet, so there weren’t many people around. Even so, a faint human presence could be felt. Cassius and Eki walked around the park with an invisibility spell cast.
Since it was near the association, there were surely many mages stationed nearby. They were enjoying a short date in a spare moment, and they didn’t want to be disturbed.
Then Eki asked.
“Master, are you in a bad mood?”
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