After the happy mealtime ended, Luke, whose stomach was full to bursting, took a sip of water and breathed heavily.
“I ended up eating way more than I thought… I usually manage my portion sizes appropriately…”
For Luke, who had only eaten meals lacking the flavors and aromas of 5000 years ago, modern spices felt like cheating.
Having suppressed all desires except for curiosity and exploration for a hundred years, he couldn’t resist the temptation this time.
During the time he was an active mage, it was an era lacking in food due to the Great War, and the recognition of cooking was not significant due to the war’s influence.
For someone like Luke, who lived in such an era, modern spices were overwhelmingly intense.
The act of gourmet dining, which originally occupied a significant part of human life, had now fully established itself as a culture in modern times.
“Ugh…”
Thus, Luke had no choice but to overeat.
Dayton, worriedly recalling the sight of Luke stuffing skewers into his mouth, asked, “I told you to stop eating…”
“Hmm…”
Despite Dayton’s dissuasion, Luke was the one who had been shoving food into his mouth.
Feeling suddenly embarrassed, Luke avoided Dayton’s sympathetic gaze.
Dayton said to Luke, “If it’s that painful, why don’t you just throw up? Want me to pat your back?”
“I can’t do that; you worked hard to make this food, didn’t you? And it’s not desirable to waste food.”
Luke, who couldn’t account for his small stomach due to how delicious everything was, felt truly embarrassed, but the idea of throwing up the food he had already eaten felt like a waste of resources.
Having ingrained in him the experience of living with limited resources, Luke hated such waste.
Of course, a mage’s cold rationality also made it so that he could not take a liking to such waste.
Besides, at his age, overeating? Luke thought bitterly if he had become senile after so many years.
Seeing the years reflected in Luke’s answer and bitter smile, Dayton couldn’t help but wonder how starved Luke must have been in the past and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Well… as long as you enjoyed it…”
“Yeah, it was really delicious.”
Rubbing his swollen belly gently, Luke pondered if he could repay Dayton in some way and suddenly spoke up.
“By the way, how’s that love letter coming along?”
Hearing Luke’s question, Dayton let out a long sigh.
“Ha… No. I really don’t seem to have a talent for writing. I have no idea what to write.”
“Hmm, fine. Since I’ve been treated to a meal, I’ll help you. Follow me to your room!”
Dayton wondered if there would be anything worth referencing from a love letter written by a child, but hearing Luke’s confident voice made him consider trying it out and replied, “Alright. I’ll go get some paper and a pen.”
Though he didn’t expect much.
—
Despite Luke saying he would help, he had no intention of writing the love letter in place of Dayton.
So what would he help with?
“Alright, I’ll teach you the writing techniques for a love letter. Pay attention.”
“Yes, Lord Luke. Please grant this humble being your teachings.”
Charmed by Dayton’s exaggerated tone, Luke placed paper on the desk and took up a pen.
Once Dayton stood beside him appropriately, Luke, thinking he was ready to listen, began to explain as he moved the pen on the paper.
“Well then, a love letter is ultimately about conveying your feelings.”
Luke wrote the word “feelings,” drawing a big circle around it.
“Therefore, the most important thing is to express your feelings well.”
“I see.”
At first, Dayton responded appropriately.
Since it was a lecture from a child, it wasn’t particularly new information.
However, as Luke continued his lecture, Dayton found himself momentarily captivated.
“But, suddenly confessing your love all at once isn’t a good idea.
After all, a love letter is a type of writing and has a structure. Writing that doesn’t follow the correct order will be messy and troublesome when read. No woman would fall in love after reading such writing.”
‘Oh, this is more serious than I thought.’
Can a ten-year-old really say such things?
Dayton was slightly taken aback but nodded.
“Right.”
Seeing Dayton’s change in attitude, Luke felt a bit more motivated and began to explain in more detail.
“You should first describe when and how you started liking them. Your recipient is completely unaware that they will receive this letter. So, the most important piece of information they will be curious about is ‘When did it start?’ Do you agree?”
“Um, yes. I agree.”
“So that’s what you should write first. If that is established, your recipient can faintly gauge the depth of your feelings. You mentioned a year, right? That’s quite a long time for a human, but your recipient is an elf. An elf whose lifespan is over twice that of yours. For her, a year isn’t a long time, so it would be good to spend a bit more words on the feelings you’ve had over this one year.”
“Uh, okay.”
“Next, you should write about what you like. You need to describe what aspects of Yerna you found appealing and what feelings those evoke in you. But be careful not to use overly metaphorical or figurative expressions. The letter you are writing isn’t literature. It’s better to write a little more straightforwardly in a love letter.”
“Straightforwardly…?”
“In other words, don’t write that your love’s eyes shine like jewels… Just say her eyes are beautiful.”
Luke pointed at the wrinkled sentence written on the crumpled paper.
At Luke’s remark, Dayton scratched his head and replied.
“I didn’t really like it either.”
“Which is why it was crumpled. I know.”
Nodding, Luke smiled and continued his lecture.
“Good, now that you’ve written what you like about Yerna, you should write how you will proceed from here. Don’t get too ahead of yourself, just at an appropriate level. So, what’s the first thing you’d want to do if you get accepted by Yerna?”
Dayton twisted his body shyly, seeming embarrassed.
“Uh, um… like, going on a date or something… you know?”
Seeing that, Luke felt a mixed sense of youthful freshness and the awkwardness of a boy who couldn’t match up to his size.
‘He’s as big as Kail Propston, yet…’
After briefly closing his eyes, Luke wrote down the word “date” on the paper.
Luke understood what a date was.
He had read a story earlier that mentioned such a thing, so he could grasp it.
“Yeah. Well… that’s fine. Just don’t be too direct about it.”
“I know that.”
“And make sure to add that you love her at the end. That’s all you need to do.”
“Whoa…”
Though it was surprising, Dayton was thoroughly bewildered by Luke’s words.
It was a lecture that didn’t sound like something coming from a child who was too small for his chair, having to stack books to sit and talk.
Since Luke was accustomed to teaching, having been a former academy head, along with having experiences as a village chief counseling the youth about love, it was understandable. But for Dayton, who had only expected the level of child’s play, the reality was far from what he had anticipated and left him flustered.
‘What’s up with him?’
What kind of experience does this kid have?
Is it really possible to know these things just from studying hard?
“You, where did you learn about this?”
“All experience. I’m not as young as you see me.”
Looking down at Luke, who wore a confident expression, Dayton raised an eyebrow.
“What kind of nonsense is coming from a brat?”
“So, I’m saying you should respect me a bit!”
The term “brat” clearly had a negative connotation for Luke.
——
As Dayton went back to rewrite his love letter according to Luke’s advice, Luke was reading through a language book titled “Let’s Finish Language Study for Kids in One Book!”
He was thinking of writing an example love letter to show Dayton.
Even though he could read without any issues now, writing was still awkward for him.
Luke had written in ancient script for 5000 years and even with his brilliant brain as a great mage, mastering the modern script perfectly in just a few weeks was impossible.
There is a significant difference between reading and writing.
He could read modern text without problems, but combining modern expressions in his mind and weaving them into sentences containing modern feelings was a challenge of a different dimension.
He couldn’t overlook the transformations of the characters, and he needed to filter out expressions that were no longer used.
“Hmm, there really are too many changes in expressions.”
In fact, Luke had considered writing a letter as an example for Dayton.
However, since Yerna didn’t read the letter he left for her, it seemed that perhaps modern letters had some changes.
Because of this, when Luke couldn’t write long letters, he began comparing the expressions and examples from the language book to write.
“Hmm…”
However, when he actually tried to write, it wasn’t easy.
A love letter without a target felt empty, and he couldn’t present an empty love letter void of emotions as an example.
‘I need to think of someone…’
In deep thought, Luke finally recalled someone.
“I’m sorry for thinking of you again, Renie. It’s because I still can’t feel the reality of your death. Please forgive me.”
Among all the connections from his past life, the person closest to the feeling of love was her.
She had been the person with whom he had the deepest and most joyful relationship.
Even though they could never be lovers, the memories he shared with her were the only things that made the cold heart of a mage beat.
She was that much of a radiant person.
Thus, Luke began to write a love letter thinking of Renie Arinseia.
With all his heart.
Scratch, scratch.
But perhaps he was too focused?
While deeply immersed in writing, oblivious to Yerna entering, Luke jolted at the presence felt right beside him.
“Wha, what?!”
“Lu, what are you doing right now?”
“Y, Yerna. When did you arrive? You startled me!”
As Luke exhaled in relief, he asked in a murmur, and Yerna placed her index finger against her chin.
“I just arrived. Lu, what are you writing?”
When Yerna expressed curiosity about the love letter she wrote, Luke hastily crumpled it and hid it behind him.
It wasn’t something he wanted to show a third party nor did he need to.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t mind it.”
“Hmm, what is it then?”
Yerna felt puzzled by Luke’s unusual response, but finding it quite cute made her feel like teasing him a bit.
Not too harshly, just lightly.
“Hehe, I wonder what our Lu is trying to hide~. Did you write a love letter or something?”
But that joke was deadly for Luke.
Because it was true.
“Did you, perhaps, see it…?”
‘Getting caught writing a love letter, is it as embarrassing as I thought…?’
Though he had explained it confidently to Dayton, it was his first time writing down his feelings fully, making him feel extremely embarrassed.
Moreover, at a hundred years old, being caught writing a love letter was excruciatingly shameful for Luke, causing him momentary speechlessness.
At that moment, the weight of embarrassment outweighed the ability to discern whether Yerna’s words were a joke or true.
“Uh, really?”
In response to such a reaction, Yerna gasped, covering her mouth with surprise.
‘Earlier, I saw something about a red-haired person… but if the only guy Luke has met is Dayton… does that mean…?’
It was an absurd misunderstanding.
However, it was already being accepted as fact in Yerna’s mind.
This was all Dayton’s fault.
Yerna could only think that way.
‘What is the age gap, and what on earth did Dayton do?’
“Um… Yerna, is something wrong?”
Watching her expression suddenly harden, Luke got off his chair and approached her with concern, prompting her to snap back to her senses as she dropped a stack of documents on the desk, flinging open the entrance door of the lodging as she replied.
“I’m just going out for a bit; I’ll be back soon.”
“What is it that requires you to do that…? You don’t seem too well…”
“It won’t take long. Don’t worry.”
“Alright then…”
Thinking about why she might be feeling down, Luke merely nodded.
Then shortly after, screams began to ring out from Dayton’s lodging.
“I swear! Yerna!! I didn’t do anything to Luke! I just grilled some skewers! Nothing else!”
“Don’t lie! You flirted with him using skewers! You pervert, lolicon!”
“Ahhh!!”
Meanwhile, Luke ended the day by throwing the love letter draft he had written as an example into the fireplace to burn it, feeling it too embarrassing to show to Dayton.
