37 – Fairy (1)

07:19 am.

Early moning.

The still-cold March air brushed his cheeks, but the heat that rose in Claire’s face did not abate in the slightest.

pounding-! pounding-! pounding-!

I’m sure I’m walking down the street, but why do I hear only the sound of my heart beating in my chest, not the sound of footsteps?

Claire, who had been quietly following the footsteps of the person standing next to her, cautiously turned her head to the side.

A black coat swaying slightly in the wind caught my eye.

From there, she raised her gaze a little more, shook her head inwardly, and quickly turned her head away.

‘… … God’s trick is clear.’

It was a truly disrespectful heart to say that she communicated with God closer than anyone else, but Claire sincerely wanted to believe the current situation like that.

If it weren’t for that, there would be no way he would be walking around the premises side by side with this person even on a day without lectures.

Even with arms crossed… … .

With the cold wind blowing on her face, Claire recalled the process of what had happened.

Two days ago, Saturday.

It was when Baek Ha-na left the mansion due to a skirmish and went into his study with Baek Woo-jin. It will definitely be from then. What God did.

-only once… I want you to hug me.

He uttered words on the spot that he would never have uttered had he been his usual self. And also by midday anxiety and jealousy.

Baek Woo-jin seemed to be accepting Baek Ha-na’s childlike behavior as just a family, a daughter’s behavior. However, contrary to Baek Woo-jin’s idea, Baek Ha-na’s feelings for him were never pure affection for his family.

Baek Ha-na’s behavior toward Baek Woo-jin was only seen as an expression of wanting to be a family with a different meaning.

However, he did not have the courage to tell Baek Woo-jin about his thoughts, and he made such a request to Baek Woo-jin because he felt an unknown frustration in the situation.

-… It’s not difficult.

There was a slight hesitation in his voice.

However, at the end, you get up and gently—

“Puff!!”

“… … ?”

Seeing Claire suddenly coughing, Baek Woo-jin stopped and looked at her.

“Are you okay?”

“Cough, Cough… yes, yes… It’s okay, it’s okay… there… … .”

Claire lowered her head and nodded slightly, not wanting to show him the flushed face she could feel.

“It’s just around here, so let’s take a break.”

Baek Woo-jin watched Claire, who still couldn’t raise her head, for a while before entering the magic annex.

Alone, Claire straightened her back and managed to calm her excessively beating heart using her divine power.

“Sigh… … .”

In a small sigh, he released the heat that had been boiling over his face and body.

It was only then that Claire was able to regain her normal self.

However, the equilibrium he had barely regained was short-lived.

Just thinking about that day makes my heart beat wildly again.

A hand gently pulling her back.

A warm body temperature and an intoxicating smell.

She wanted to be hugged by him herself, but after being hugged by him, she left the mansion as if she were running away.

After that, I returned to the temple room and lay on the bed like a drugged person, repeating the scene over and over again.

Then, on Sunday evening, I received an email from Baek Woo-jin.

It was a call to come to the mansion tomorrow, and of course I thought it was for outside work. So, I put on a suit that I hadn’t worn in a while and headed to the mansion, had breakfast made by Baek Woo-jin, and left the mansion together.

And when he came out of the maze, he held out one arm and said.

– Let me hug you.

I was puzzled at first. However, since I wasn’t one to say things like this without reason, I carefully embraced his arm and walked the academy grounds with him.

“You don’t look good.”

“ah… … .”

As if he had finished his business, he was standing next to him and looking down.

“It’s okay to go back if you’re not feeling well.”

“no… … .”

He was so healthy that he had never suffered from a small illness before awakening. But now that I am wearing divine power, I am not feeling well.

“is it.”

Baek Woo-jin held out one arm toward Claire again.

She glanced at Baek Woo-jin’s face wearing large glasses for a moment, then carefully reached out and gently embraced his arm, and the two started walking again.

“I, Professor… … .”

“what.”

“What does this mean? ?”

Claire, who struggled to open her mouth, carefully asked Baek Woo-jin.

Unlike Claire, who needed great courage, Baek Woo-jin answered very calmly.

“To look like a lover.”

“… … .”

At the word ‘lover’, Claire sighed quietly and clenched her fists.

Claire managed to calm herself down and opened her mouth again.

“Perhaps, is it because of the rumors going around between me and the professor?”

“… … .”

Baek Woo-jin suddenly stopped walking and turned his head slightly to look down at Claire.

“You must have explained everything in the email yesterday.”

“… … mail… ?”

Claire opened her fist and operated the smart watch she was wearing on her wrist. Then, I went into the mailbox and opened the message from Baek Woo-jin.

[Professor: If tomorrow’s schedule is okay, I would like you to come home. ]

An email with only a request to come.

Swoop.

A thick shadow was cast and the smell of the person’s body felt a little stronger.

Baek Woo-jin glared at Claire’s wrist and said quietly.

“Vuir.”

[ (´∀｀ゞ Yes~? )

E-mails go down on their own, and familiar, playful sentences come to mind.

Baek Woo-jin glared at it and said with a little ferocity.

“If you intervene one more time, I won’t let you go.”

[ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ hehehehe!! (escape) ]

The light on the screen went out.

A playful sentence that came to mind on a smart watch.

And Baek Woo-jin’s warning.

Only then did Claire realize that she was really tricked by God.

Baek Woo-jin sighed briefly and said.

“… … To look like a lover is to find a fairy.”

“A fairy, are you… ?”

Baek Woo-jin nodded once.

“fairy… … .”

Oberon, the fairy king who was subdued 10 years ago.

The higher the level, the more diverse the types of rifts, but from level 10 or higher, there are cases where a whole part of a certain world is transferred.

The fairy king Oberon was one of them.

A king who leads the fairies.

He was an entity capable of communication, and he continued to communicate with Awakened people by passing on simple magic.

However, humans, who are a mass of greed, began to kidnap and sell fairies, and Oberon, enraged by them, left his friendship and began to attack all humans.

The friction intensified, and the magicians and alchemists who had been coveting Oberon’s heart from before stimulated public opinion, and finally Oberon was subjugated.

However, something unexpected happens here, and at the same time as Oberon’s death, the fairies who were kidnapped and released to the human world suffered and died.

Divine power and rare potions could not prevent the deaths of the fairies.

So the fairies became extinct on Earth.

But to think that a fairy who disappeared is in the academy.

Claire did not doubt Baek Woo-jin’s words.

So I got a little excited.

It was because she, too, had met Oberon and still remembered the cute fairies who flew around with shiny, transparent wings.

“… … It’s a good target for a joke.”

A fairy is pure itself.

That’s why he was very curious and loved to play pranks.

Claire’s gaze turned to Baek Woo-jin.

‘… … It doesn’t seem to mean much.’

He was wearing an atmosphere that was strangely difficult to approach.

Claire thought it would be a relief if she didn’t run away, let alone joke.

However, I didn’t bring it out of my mouth.

Instead, he hugged Baek Woo-jin’s arm a little deeper and said.

“… Let’s keep looking.”

“I will.”

pounding-! pounding-! pounding-!

His arm touching one side of his chest.

Claire walked quietly in step, hoping that her heartbeat would not reach him.

**

10:46 am.

Read at noblemtl.com

Quite a bit of time passed, and during that time, Claire was able to take time to slowly look around the outskirts of the academy following Baek Woo-jin.

The academy found that there were many more buildings whose intentions were unknown or not in use than she thought.

[Confirmed.]

The same was true of the door to the building that had just been opened after identification.

I entered the old alchemy workshop located on the northern outskirts.

For a long time, it was not visited by people and was not managed, so the floor and window frame were covered with thick dust.

Claire stepped on the stairs with Baek Woo-jin and looked closely at the ceiling and the shadowed nooks and crannies.

If you were looking for something, it was enough to show your senses, but in order to easily feel things that humans can’t feel and not to frighten the surprisingly timid fairy, he was going through the process of finding them one by one.

Ki-Ik-

The grease is all peeled off, and the door opens with an unpleasant sound.

Material warehouse located on the top floor.

Baek Woo-jin, who came inside, looked at the small trap door in the center of the ceiling and reached out.

Normally, you had to use a ladder, but Baek Woo-jin easily opened the door by simply reaching out. Then, hold on to the chin of the attic and push your head inside.

Baek Woo-jin, who had been looking around for a while, came down quietly and pushed his face closer to Claire.

gulp.

Despite knowing that it wasn’t like that, Claire gulped and became nervous.

“Look to your left.”

“… … Yes, eh… ?!”

Claire was startled by Baek Woo-jin’s actions as she suddenly turned around and grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up, so she bit her tongue.

But Baek Woo-jin, completely unaware of such a situation, lifted Claire up to the attic, and she swallowed the sharp pain and turned her head to the left as Baek Woo-jin said.

A small window in an angular corner.

A small basket placed under it.

-Beep… beep… beep… … .

A tiny fairy was sleeping there.