Finally arriving at the airport in Beriton.
Luke hurried through immigration as quickly as possible, letting out a sigh while waiting for Shirud, with his luggage in tow.
‘The travel time was incredibly short compared to the past… but why do I feel so stifled?’
Luke tried to shake off the uncomfortable sensation by stretching, turning his silent shoulders and neck while gazing out the airport window.
“It’s dark.”
Compared to the weeks or even months it used to take by cart or ship, a single day felt ridiculously short, yet Luke couldn’t deny the feeling of congestion that accompanied it.
If only he could catch a glimpse of the verdant World Tree, perhaps he could shake off this stifling sensation. Unfortunately, the sky over Beriton showcased a slender crescent moon shining brightly instead of the sun.
Due to some initial delays and the aircraft’s limited magical output, it arrived a bit slower than usual passenger planes.
Thus, he found himself arriving on such a pitch-dark night.
Luke briefly focused on his eyesight, but he gave up lightly when he saw nothing in the landscape.
While he could see well in the darkness, viewing the scenery at night was beyond his capabilities. Furthermore, looking at the pitch-black exterior from the artificially lit interior of the airport created an even more difficult scenario.
Standing there with his arms crossed, the night sky beyond the glass seemed to be draped in a blanket of darkness, as if announcing it was time for bed.
However, inside the airport, the sounds of people who had yet to board their flights or were trying to leave, along with someone on a phone call, indicated that the world had yet to fall asleep.
It seemed that in this age, people were not familiar with the night.
Luke cast a glance at the people around but quickly shifted his gaze back to the night sky.
For Luke, being a mage, it was far more entertaining to connect with the stars in the night sky than to observe people unnecessarily.
Connecting the stars, listening to their songs, melting the moon’s laughter. This was the ancient magic, the way of the Circle.
Though it had long since faded, that antique method was something Luke could not abandon.
He did not want to.
For Luke, the Circle was not merely a simple authority; it was a bond that connected him to true comrades.
A different way of remembering them.
For Luke Ilushi, from 5000 years ago, it was the only way to reminisce.
So, he connected the stars, reminiscing about them, storing that scenery in the Circle.
Meanwhile, Shirud spotted Luke, lost in thought while counting the stars, and remarked at the somewhat distant expression on his face.
“Luke, are you still sleepy?”
The distant look appeared to Shirud as no different than a dazed expression from sleepiness.
Shirud thought to himself: He could sleep throughout the bus and the plane ride and still feel sleepy…
In the initial minutes on the flight, they had exchanged quite a few lively conversations, discussing games and travel experiences.
But as the conversation dwindled, the two quickly fell silent, with Luke becoming tired from excessive use of his magic sight to inspect the insides of the plane and dozing off.
On the other hand, Shirud couldn’t afford to sleep like Luke.
‘No matter how hard I try, I can’t sleep for long…’
Luke seemed capable of sleeping anytime he wanted. It seemed true what they said about cats being able to sleep all day.
Thinking back to the library, it reminded him of the time he had dozed off while feeling the Circle’s magic, holding hands.
Remembering that moment made him feel a bit embarrassed about how much Mary teased him for it…
“Ah, Shirud. You finally came. Why are you so late? I was worried I might have to find you myself.”
Luke turned around excitedly upon hearing Shirud’s voice behind him.
His concern was genuine; no matter how much knowledge he had about airports, Shirud was still just an 11-year-old child.
The possibility of him getting lost couldn’t be dismissed.
Then, Shirud lifted a bag in his hand and said, “Sorry, I bought this.”
The bag that Shirud lifted exuded the aroma of quite fragrant food.
Seeing Luke’s curious expression, Shirud took out his portion from the bag and handed over the rest to Luke.
“Here, eat. Aren’t you hungry?”
One would be enough for him, but considering Luke’s usual appetite, he bought around four to be generous.
So giving the whole bag to Luke was the efficient thing to do.
“What exactly is this?”
“Tacos. I found them on the way, so I bought them.”
“Why go through the trouble of buying something like this? How much did all this cost? I’ll pay you back later.”
“There’s no need for that. You’ve taught me magic and often made melon bread for me. Shouldn’t I have something to give in return?”
If it was giving, Luke already thought he had received enough on the plane, but if Shirud insisted it wasn’t enough, Luke couldn’t refuse.
Denying someone’s goodwill when they had already imposed a favor upon him would be unfair.
In truth, repaying favors was a form of revenge.
Luke had no right to refuse that revenge.
Deciding the form of revenge was also a legitimate right of the one exacting it…
With that in mind, Luke looked at the food Shirud was holding before taking something from the bag.
It appeared to be food piled high with vegetables on white bread.
Luke reached into the bag to take out his portion.
His bread seemed to have a considerable amount of meat mixed with the filling.
Bringing it up to his nose, the distinct smell of meat wafted before him.
Honestly, he was hungry, and now that the smell of meat had reached his nose, he could no longer hold back.
Taking a bite, the bread was rather plain, but the crunchy texture of the vegetables and the burst of juicy filling and sauce inside made it hit hard in terms of texture.
Moreover, the combination of the tangy sauce and sweet seasoning on the meat was simply fantastic.
What he thought was a hamburger or sandwich turned out to be something entirely different once he tasted it.
But was it perhaps a problem since he was eating something for the first time?
It was rather tricky to eat it without spilling the filling.
Yet, he managed to eat the second bite with hardly any spilling.
Before long, Luke polished off the second piece.
Shirud thought he would go for a third, yet Luke simply closed the bag.
“Aren’t you going to eat more?”
“Yeah. I’m somewhat full now.”
“…Really?”
Shirud found Luke’s response rather perplexing.
Usually, he would have eaten all that in one sitting…
Could it be that Luke was on a diet?
———-
After a long journey, Luke successfully arrived at the hotel designated by Tigr Academy. Upon opening the door, he was instantly enveloped by Mary Ideil, who came running in her pajamas.
“You’re finally here, Luke! Come in! I was really worried!”
This girl was truly fearless. What if she got poked by a horn?
“Mary, you really need to refrain from such dangerous actions.”
“But I was so happy to see you…”
Mary, clutching Luke, muttered shyly.
“Yeah, I’m sorry for making you worry. Could you let go now? I need to unpack my luggage.”
“Oh! Sorry!”
At Luke’s gentle reprimand, Mary immediately released her embrace.
Only then did Luke step into the hotel room and set his luggage down, glancing around.
First, the light source was a warm orange hue.
A large bed was snug against the wall, with a picture framed on the wall and a similarly shaped TV.
In one corner of the room was a mirror and a vanity.
The comparison to an inn from 5000 years ago was quite ridiculous, to the extent that the hotel would have grounds to complain about how they were treated.
With its neat design and quality furniture, it looked impressive right off the bat.
Well, compared to 5000 years ago, what wouldn’t be impressive? But thinking of Yerna’s house or Dayton’s home, one could say this era’s standards were quite high.
Especially the bed looked very comfortable.
When he touched it lightly, it was so plush that he thought he might fall into a deep sleep if he threw himself onto it.
“It’s really soft. You could bounce a lot if you jumped on it, right?”
“Is that so?”
Mary seemed to have jumped on it several times already.
Having wrapped up his simple exploration, Luke spoke up.
“Is this a double room? The size is similar to your dorm, Mary.”
Mary answered with a cheerful laugh.
“Exactly, it’s a double room. If you hadn’t come, I would have had it to myself.”
“Haha. Don’t you usually live alone in the dorm?”
“Well, that’s different! It’s lonely to sleep alone in a place like this!”
Such a lonely little lamb.
———
After finally unpacking, the first thing Luke did at the hotel was, without a doubt, taking a bath.
Thanks to it, the feeling of being trapped in a cramped prison began to dissolve.
And after changing into his pajamas, it truly felt like the day was coming to an end, prompting a strange sense of emptiness.
To soothe his slightly anxious heart, Luke was combing his tail in a narrow space.
A suitcase just large enough for a child to fit inside, now serving as his box.
Mary found it amusing to see Luke like that.
She knew cats loved to fit into boxes, but she never imagined Luke would do the same.
By the way, Luke combs his tail as part of his routine.
Earlier, she noticed he spent a long time brushing his hair too.
He seemed genuinely dedicated to his grooming.
‘Hmm, I wonder who he’s trying to look pretty for…’
Anyway, she always felt the urge to touch that fluffy tail whenever she saw it…
Sensing Mary’s gaze upon him, Luke paused combing his tail and asked her.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Luke, can I touch your tail too?”
“No. I have to apply potion to it later.”
“Wow, you really take care of it…”
Mary thought that if she had a tail, she wouldn’t be able to maintain it like that.
She had heard that cat Hyun liked to keep themselves clean…
As she sat next to Luke, observing him managing his tail, she suddenly remembered something.
“Ah, Luke. While I was waiting for you, what did you all do?”
“Not much, we just had a meal at the hotel and went for a short walk in the nearby area.”
“I see.”
Fair enough, even if he had arrived a bit earlier, it would have been a tricky time to do anything.
Certainly, the first day was planned to feel that way.
Real sightseeing would start tomorrow.
“By the way, Luke, was it hard to come all the way here by yourself?”
“Shirud looked out for me quite a bit, so it was alright. The private plane was very comfortable as well. Plus, they had prepared transportation for us in advance.”
“Is that so?”
In that instant, Mary was overwhelmed by a thought and jolted, turning red as she leaned closer to Luke while he was brushing his tail.
“Wait, Luke! So you were alone with Shirud this whole time?”
“Um, I guess so.”
Strictly speaking, there were a pilot and a driver, but one doesn’t usually count servants.
It was indeed true that they were alone in the passenger area of the plane.
Suddenly, upon hearing Luke’s words, Mary exclaimed, “Then, did you sleep together?”
Well, about sleep, she had already fallen asleep before him and didn’t know, but it was likely they had slept at some point.
Kids probably slept a lot, and Shirud was no different.
“Yeah, something like that. But why do you look so pale?”
At that, Mary suddenly grabbed Luke’s hand and looked at him with a face filled with worry and concern.
“This is serious! Luke, you might have a baby! What are we going to do!? We’re still too young… what if your belly gets bigger?!”
“…?”
Luke momentarily lost track of what she was saying.
What on earth was this kid suddenly going on about?
He sighed, pressing his forehead.
“Mary, could you please explain what you mean by that?”
“My mom and dad said that when a man and woman who love each other kiss and sleep together, a baby is made in the woman’s belly! So they told me to never kiss boys or be alone with them…”
“….”
Well, while that wasn’t completely false, it wasn’t entirely accurate either.
Perhaps the metaphor and omission were too intense.
“Mary, let me clarify that I have no intention of dishonoring your parents, but that is definitely not how babies are made. And besides, Shirud isn’t really ‘in love’— we’re just a bit close. Not to mention, we haven’t even kissed…”
As Luke sighed and explained, Mary’s face turned pale, and she broke out in a cold sweat.
“…Is that so? I didn’t know… is that true?”
“Why would I lie about that?”
“Then what were you doing on the bus together? You made some strange sounds.”
“Strange sounds? I’m not sure what you mean, but I only played a game for a bit on the handheld device Shirud had.”
With Luke’s casual response, Mary started muttering in a somewhat deflated tone.
“Then what about when you confessed to Shirud last time?”
“What I confessed was that I had borrowed a game account and, due to a mistake, it was suspended. I was merely apologizing for that.”
“Then, what about the time when you two were holding hands?”
“That was just a gesture of sharing our heart’s magic and knowledge as fellow Circle users.”
“Ah… I see…”
After that, it didn’t take long for them to clear up a series of small misunderstandings.
Such as why he had given Shirud that special bread, the fact they always hung around together and talked, or when he visited him in the hospital…
Indeed, anything after those instances could be explained as simply being ‘friends.’
Mary stared blankly into space.
“…”
Then what was all her effort to try to push them together during this time?
Luke was undoubtedly thought to have feelings for Shirud…
To learn that it was all a misunderstanding was far too shocking.
Luke chuckled heartily.
“I’m glad we cleared up this misunderstanding. Do you have any more questions?”
With a deflated heart, Mary looked at Luke while readying her final inquiry.
“If the baby isn’t made that way, then how is it made?”
“Well, that is…”
Luke instinctively began to respond but then paused.
…Would Mary understand the metaphor that parallels mythology?
Probably not… The innocent Mary was already believing the metaphor literally.
If he were to express it in a new metaphor, she’d likely believe that too, making the situation worse.
If he had to bluntly state it…
“The reproductive organs of both each other…”
“…”
He swallowed hard.
Mary seemed unable to suppress her racing heart.
Something about Luke made her feel he could extinguish her curiosity.
It was akin to the excitement of a scholar standing on the brink of discovering the truth of the universe.
“…so…”
But once again, a too vivid expression that he had seen in a book during their stay at Yerna’s lodging felt too uncomfortable to voice.
Especially since discussing it in front of a young girl made it awkward.
After all, at 11 years old, she was still considered quite young in previous times.
Was it truly acceptable to bring it up?
Did he have the right to do so?
And without being her parent?
Luke felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down his cheek.
Why did he even attempt to speak of such matters?
“Hah, I’m feeling a bit sleepy right now, so it’s tough to explain. Perhaps you should ask your parents about it later. I need to get some sleep.”
With that, Luke threw himself onto the bed.
“What are you doing!? What comes after ‘reproductive organs’!? Tell me before you sleep!”
“Stop shaking me; I’m going to sleep now.”
He was curious if he could fall asleep again after such a long nap, but to avoid lying, he desperately pretended to be asleep, and soon sleep overtook him.
