167 – Enter
After talking with Estelle about future plans. I headed to the second basement floor of the main building where the Messiah club room was located.
The conversation took longer than expected. I even skipped dinner because Amber joined in on the plan, which was only a rough sketch, and put on weight.
I thought everyone had gone back to the dormitory because it was late, but there were still two people in the club room.
There was Aria, who was scratching her stomach in bed while snoring, and Luna, who was sitting at her desk and studying something hard. I didn’t know if I was concentrating or that I was here, and I was fixating my eyes on the book.
I cautiously approached the bed thinking I should send Arya to her dormitory. Aria, who grew chubby and became cute during her vacation, is back to her old self. No, the dark under her eyes seems to be having a hard time these days.
“Arya, it’s late. Now she should go back to the dormitory.”
When I woke up her Aria with those words, Aria, who slightly opened her eyes with her tired expression, stretched out her hand to me in the air.
“Please move me to the dormitory as it is. Papak with space magic… !”
“Do you want to get hit? Get up quickly.”
When I pretended to hit her honey chestnut, Arya then grumbled and got up, let out a long yawn and turned her head to me.
“… Ross seems busy these days.”
“Because it’s a triathlon. I’m busy because I have a lot more to do than I thought.”
For some reason, when I solve one problem, it comes back with two. If it hadn’t been for my karma, I would have run away long ago.
Arya frowned as she touched her tousled brown hair.
“I don’t even go to triathlons… ! Why is it so hard… !!!”
From the day of her opening ceremony, Aria started training separately from Professor Leora. That was the reason she came back to the club room after training and lay on her bed like her corpse.
“Still, the diet effect is certain.”
“… I don’t know if there will be only bones left.”
Aria, who had been whining, gave me a sneak peek of hers. Understanding the meaning of that gaze, I laughed and took out a box of chocolates from the storage room.
She warned Arya, who held out her hands politely with her eyes shining in anticipation.
“Eat moderately and brush your teeth before going to bed. Don’t pass it up as annoying.”
For some reason, it seemed like Aria might have fallen asleep while eating. I haven’t seen it, but somehow I can be sure.
“Ross… Are you Dad?”
Seeing Aria pouting her lips, I brought the box of chocolates that I was about to place on her hand back to me.
“Don’t hate it.”
“Okay! I’ll listen carefully!”
When she handed over her chocolates to Aria, who became polite again, she quickly left the club room without saying thank you. Her appearance was like a cat running away after receiving a treat from her owner.
She looked at Luna with a sigh. Aria made a lot of noise, but maybe her concentration was strong. Luna looked intently calculating something in her notebook, with her eyes fixed on her book. The word ‘goal’ is appropriate.
She has often been seen reading or studying, but this was the first time she was so focused. I quietly headed to the sofa where I could see Luna’s face.
I see a face every day, but I find a different charm each time. It’s time to get used to it, but this feeling is a feeling that I can’t get used to without getting used to it.
Just watching her concentrating as she purses her lips and moves her eyes hard makes me smile for no reason.
I push away all the negative emotions inside me and soft emotions take their place. It cannot be denied that it is unfamiliar yet pleasantly addictive.
Just by being in the same space, the pale emotions become stronger with the addition of Luna’s color. The country, which was lacking somewhere, feels like a part of its existence is being filled.
I feel that today is the happiest day with Luna, but I also feel that tomorrow will be even happier.
A person who makes me look forward to tomorrow.
That was the meaning of Luna to me.
After watching her with her chin resting on her chin for a long time, Luna finally put down her fountain pen and stretched her to see if she had finished her calculations.
“Hmmm—.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on my face that was proud of having solved the problem. Hearing that sound, Luna must have been surprised and shrugged her shoulders. It’s like she’s a frightened puppy and it’s a cuteness that wants to be petted.
“Lo, Ross?! Eh, since when have you been here?”
“Not too long ago. I was spying on you because you seemed to be concentrating.”
Luna covered her face with her hands, her face flushed, assuming she looked ashamed. Does Luna still not know what I like?
I got up from the sofa and approached Luna. And without a word, he gently hugged her Luna from behind her. I am relieved by the scent of her luna that tickles and tickles under her nose.
Every time I try to hug Luna, I feel a little uneasy. A shallow anxiety that I might hate or reject my hug.
That must be a common insecurity between me and Ross.
But always, that little insecurity melts into Luna’s warmth, and turns into her satisfaction and happiness.
“Because I just watched. I think I fell for you again.”
As I whispered that in my ear, Luna felt her body flinch. As I burst out laughing at her, Luna suddenly lowered her hand from her face and kissed her on the cheek.
When I looked at her in bewilderment, Luna met her gaze and spoke shyly.
“… I fell for Ross first.”
Her face shows vivid emotion without any decoration. She is a person to whom the word lovable fits. Because of that, I sometimes feel mischievous.
“I didn’t mean to fight.”
Saying that and smiling at her, Luna pursed her lips and, contrary to my expectations, she pressed her body closer to me.
From a distance where her breaths were mixed, Luna looked straight at me. Her blue eyes shone like beautiful jewels.
“I just confessed. So Ross can know my mind.”
My heart is pounding and beating wildly. As if the heartbeat in the meantime had been a lie. I was an addict with no way out of this feeling that penetrated deeply and intensely without any permission.
“… Kiss, I don’t think I can stand it any longer.”
Luna responded with a kiss to my mischievous words that hid her shyness. At the end of her day, I felt warm from her leaning on me.
***
I don’t know where the rumor started, but there was a rumor that quickly spread among the nobles within a few days.
A rumor of a monster that joins hands with the devil or kills those involved in the cult.
It is rumored that he killed Tarantra, the green mage lord who had joined hands with the devil, and even brutally killed the sixth prince, a bloodline of the imperial family, for human sacrifice.
Because of the fact that the green mage lord has not been seen recently and that his whereabouts are unclear after heading to the north, the rumors are further inflated based on trust.
Everyone was talking about speculation about who the monster was and why he was committing such killings.
With the advent of a new hero who will punish the wicked.
Someone interpreted it as the appearance of a new giant evil that only eats small evil.
When it was revealed that the Green Mage Tower had unofficially requested the imperial family to search for the owner of the Mage Tower, there was no one in the capital who didn’t know about the rumors.
With everyone’s attention focused, letters arrived from those with names in Modist. The monster of the rumor will participate in this Modist gathering under the name of ‘Lily’.
Even originally, no one missed the meeting. Modist’s information power was already impossible to compare with other information guilds.
Even the secrets that only he thought he knew were stories that barely flowed out at gatherings. It is a gathering where it would be a loss for those whose names were given by Modest not to attend.
The appearance of the person involved in the rumor who had not been seen anywhere in such a place made the participants feel a kind of pride in the gathering.
A place where those who believe that information is the most powerful weapon have gathered. And in fact, most of them have the power to rule countless people by using that information as a weapon.
It was an opportunity to see the new trend with my own eyes before anyone else.
The Crown Princess and Roel’s lover. There was no way Bella would miss it.
The basement of Modist’s secret building. The space-like space, which had been enlarged by space-extension magic, was full of people who, as always, wore masks and robes to minimize exposure, along with all sorts of fancy decorations.
Maids dressed in maid uniforms are busily preparing food at one long table. All sorts of cooks have come together in cooperation with money and intimidation to serve a picky guest.
Like a festival, food that satisfies the taste buds of gourmets is constantly served, and the musicians’ music never stops. There is no superfluity in the actions of the maids and servers.
This gathering perfectly wraps luxury. All the participants were nobles who knew etiquette, and only those who acted that way.
The guild leader of Modist, wearing a black cat mask, was sitting at the head of a long table, wearing a beautiful gothic black dress and playing with spoons.
There was the only empty seat next to the guild leader. The participants guessed that the seat might be the seat of the ‘lily’.
The position of the seat in a meeting is of great significance. The greater the influence of information, the closer the person to the guild leader sits.
So, what kind of person is Lily who sits next to the guild leader in her first participation? A strange question settled in the hearts of the participants.
Suddenly, the bell of the luxurious clock hanging on the wall rang. As always, it was the sound that signaled the start of the meeting, but the seat for the lily was still empty.
I wonder if he won’t participate. Someone turned their head and looked at the door in anticipation that it would open, but the heavy steel door that was closed seemed unwilling to open.
Participants glanced sideways to check the atmosphere, but no one stepped forward. Even the guild leader, who should start talking by knocking on a glass with a spoon, is silent.
The moment a deep silence fell on the table.
Without any warning, everyone in the place felt a huge presence. As if tearing through space, an abyss large enough to swallow everything in this space appeared with a flash of red light from the air.
Feel that the flow of air has changed. Even the survival instinct senses danger and wets the palms with sweat.
When everyone was staring blankly at it in a sudden situation, I suddenly felt a strong energy breaking through the deep silence.
From the abyss that seemed to absorb all light, a man in a white robe with a grotesque mask came out. Black and white. It was only natural that everyone at the table focused on that clear contrast.
This is the rumored ‘Lily’.
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No one explained it, but everyone could clearly see it from its strong presence.
The abyss at the back of the lily boasts a tremendous density.
The iron gate remained closed. A lily that appeared on this spot without any warning, like magic.
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Not everyone here was unaware that it was essentially different from teleportation.
Is the lily dealing with [Space]?
When that thought flashes through the minds of the participants. Lily moved to her seat. The abyss, which boasted of enormous density, disappears without a trace, and only the sound of footsteps echoes in the space where even the sound of breathing is killed.
When a lily approaches with a tremendous presence just by walking silently, people sitting nearby will lower their eyes without realizing it.
We didn’t talk about what kind of person Lily was, but everyone was forced to realize.
A lump of madness united by one belief.
Even those who have never actually encountered madness felt an ominous feeling that constantly stimulated their survival instincts, imprinted in their blood.
Lily, who sat down in her seat, looked at everyone at the table with an all-seeing gaze. The number of people who caught that gaze could be counted on one hand.
A monster that boasts a strong presence just by being in the same space. Naturally, people think of Lily as a sword master.
“Welcome, Lily. Is this your first meeting?”
Lily reached out without saying a word and snatched the golden wine glass from the guild leader’s hand.
Participants caught their breath at the arrogant action, but the rude person calmly put his mouth to the cup.
It was as if he was telling everyone that he was fine.
Lily, after emptying her cup, finally opened her mouth.
“Let’s start.”
It was a voice that gave the illusion of many voices overlapping.
It’s an empty voice that doesn’t even contain any emotions.
At the same time, the presence that weighed down the table disappeared in an instant.
I heard someone gulping.