Chapter 1038 – (Side Story)16. A Witch’s First Love (13)
Eunhyeon and Iliana had no choice but to spend the entire day in a small hut.
Since I was waiting for all my soaked clothes to dry, I quenched my hunger with the beef jerky that I had sealed in my wet backpack.
Cracking, crackling
Only the sound of burning firewood fills the hut.
“Can I ask you one question?”
While chewing the beef jerky, Illyana was the first to break the silence in the hut and open her mouth.
“Hmm?”
“Why?”
Eunhyeon was embarrassed by Iliana’s sudden attitude.
Did she decide to let go of her and her horse?
Even if that were the case, there’s no way you wouldn’t remember it.
“Why are you suddenly stopping talking?”
“Then, when we are seeing each other naked and touching each other, what is there to be bothered about?”
“…”
What is it?
Eunhyeon couldn’t keep up with Illyana’s sudden change in attitude.
Just a few hours of hugging each other.
It may have been short, but it was a very long time for the two people who were naked and hugging each other.
What kind of change of heart did this incident bring about in her?
It is a trend that Eun-hyeon, who is not a woman, cannot possibly think about.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
On the contrary, I was thankful that it wasn’t awkward and that I was able to shake off embarrassing and bad memories.
Eunhyeon nodded her head slightly.
“I see. Okay.”
“…”
Illyana looked at Eunhyeon’s face as she lightly nodded.
“Why?”
“No. “I really want to see a man like you for the first time in my life.”
What does that mean?
It didn’t really sound like criticism or ridicule.
But it’s not a compliment either.
If I had to express it, I would say it’s a tone that is a mixture of the sentiment ‘It’s amazing’ and the sentiment ‘How can I deal with this?’
In any case, Eunhyeon felt strange after hearing that sentiment.
“… “It’s a compliment, right?”
I bothered to ask her for confirmation, but Illyana snorted and turned her head.
“Hmph, you can interpret that yourself.”
It seemed like he was being grumpy for some reason.
Eunhyeon stopped trying to understand the psychology of women that she couldn’t understand.
She told her story again and answered Illyana’s question.
“What do you want to ask?”
“Do you like me by any chance?”
“What?”
“Don’t ask questions that made you feel annoyed earlier. “I hate that kind of thing.”
“No. I have a little question… It’s so unexpected.”
Illyana continued to bewilder me.
Doesn’t she suddenly stop talking? Doesn’t she suddenly ask if I have special feelings for him?
She can’t follow her intentions and the flow of the conversation.
“That’s right. Because she keeps giving me unknown favors.”
If you think about it, she was like that from the beginning.
From the time she beat up pickpockets in the alleys of Magic Tower City and returned the money they had stolen without paying anything.
Even in the eyes of Illyana, who knows nothing about the adventurer ecosystem and the world, Eunhyeon is not an ordinary person.
She has tremendous combat abilities and experience that are beyond those of an ordinary guide, and she also takes on requests for a fee that is close to free.
She was leading the adventurers and practically leading this expedition on behalf of her employer.
Illyana felt that Eunhyeon’s actions were all an unpaid favor to her.
Always smiling and helping out in troubles and hardships without expecting anything in return was a physiology that was completely opposite to the way of thinking of Magic Tower, which lived everything rationally and based on profit and loss.
And what was decisive.
“And when she risked her life to carry me and evade her avalanche, it was kind of… Well, it was cool.”
For some reason, when he continues his last words, his voice becomes quiet, like an ant crawling into a burrow.
“Haha.”
Eunhyun burst out laughing at Iliana’s words.
Although her body was that of a fully mature 20-year-old woman, her speech was like that of a teenage girl who had not yet shed her youthful appearance.
“… What’s funny? “Do you think what I’m saying is funny?”
Illyana felt as if Eunhyun’s laughter was laughing at her.
“No. It’s not funny. “Just because it’s cute.”
“What? My… Wow, it’s cute… Go… ?”
Illyana’s expression becomes blank as if she had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.
She has an outstanding appearance and a genius magical talent that captivates the opposite sex, but she is an unlucky woman who is inversely proportional to that.
Cute.
She didn’t think such a word suited her, and in fact, it was something she had never heard before while living in the Magic Tower.
Illyana knew very well what her image was like within her magic tower.
But Eunhyeon bursts out laughing and says yes again.
“Uh. “It’s cute.”
Once again, Illyana’s heart beats vigorously.
It seems as if her heart is beating violently, as if she is hitting it again and again with a hammer.
“Don’t make fun of me!”
“It’s true.”
Even Illyana could tell by looking at that face, without any selfish intentions, that the words were pure sincerity, not mixed with lies.
However, that honest way of praising was actually poisonous to the current Illyana.
‘Poetry, it’s not good for the heart…’ .’
I’m really annoyed.
A torrent of emotions that she would never have felt under normal circumstances.
Why can’t she control her emotions when she’s with this man?
I am annoyed by the pathetic inability to control myself.
But regardless of whether Illyana said it or not, Eunhyeon answered her question.
“That’s why I help you. Hmm.”
She moved her hand and stroked her hair as if she was having fun.
“I hope everything goes well for you.”
“… ?”
Illyana tilted her head.
As she couldn’t understand the intention of what he said and showed a look in her eyes asking for a detailed explanation, Eunhyeon continued her speech.
“I told you. You will become the best wizard in the future. “I have the talent and conditions to do that.”
Illyana felt something in her heart rise in her chest.
Pure favor that believes in and supports oneself.
This is my first time feeling it from someone other than my teacher, Aden.
But she tries not to show it, so she turns her head and hides her face.
She was too embarrassed to show her funny expressions now.
He tries hard to hide his agitation and puts on a grumbling tone.
“… “How can you be sure of that if you’re not a wizard?”
“Because I can tell. “What a talent you have.”
Innately excellent magical power.
Unique understanding and composition of techniques that are different from peers.
And a member of the Magic Tower equipped with the facilities to continue growing as a wizard.
In fact, her talent is too dazzling to say that she cannot grow even though she is equipped like this.
“And…”
“And?”
Because you are that person’s bloodline.
Eunhyeon couldn’t put those words into her mouth.
She changed her words with a small, wry smile.
“I also learned magic in the past. “There was someone who taught me magic.”
“Magic? But why don’t you use it?”
Eunhyeon smiled bitterly.
“My magic is a little… It’s a bit special, unlike the regular magic you use. And… It costs a lot of money. So I don’t use it unless it’s really urgent.”
“Is there such magic?”
It was an unfamiliar story to Illyana, the first time she had heard it.
To the extent that he was confident that he didn’t know anything about magic, it was a type of magic that he didn’t know, even though he was a study bug.
For some reason, I feel interested.
“Show me.”
“I heard it costs a lot of money.”
“If it’s money, I’ll pay.”
Of course, I can only give it to you later when I return to the Magic Tower.
“If I get a chance later.”
Eunhyeon put off the opportunity with a bitter smile.
And then he asked a question.
“I have a question too, can I ask you one?”
“What is it?”
“Why are you so obsessed with grades and external evaluations?”
“…”
“In fact, wizards can increase their ranks as much as they want even after graduating from student status.”
That is correct.
‘Number of digits’ is just a concept like an indicator that indicates the wizard’s ability and level.
If Illyana puts her mind to it, she can reach as many levels as she wants, even without being a student at the Magic Tower.
The external evaluation and grades she is desperately working on now only determine her starting point, but if she is talented, it won’t be that difficult to raise her rank.
In reality, there are magicians who have reached the top ranks through their own efforts without belonging to the Magic Tower.
Nevertheless, why are we putting so much effort into external evaluations?
Illyana answered Eunhyeon’s question.
“… “I want to prove it.”
“What do you want to prove?”
“From the idiots who belong to the Magic Tower, everything you and others have learned and studied is fake.”
The current Magic Tower is rotting.
There are very few people who seriously devote themselves to the study of magic, including her teacher Arden.
Other than him, no one continues to seriously explore magic.
“They just need fame to increase their value.”
It’s not that I like magic.
She just learned magic herself.
She wants to show off to the world that she has genius talent and that she is a great person, to the point where she is in the top ranks.
It may be for the social standing and reputation they can gain in their country, or it may be for the desire for a lot of wealth.
“Do you know why they hate me? Because I am on top of their heads.”
If she was born into a good family and inherited the talent of a wizard through her parents’ lineage.
If you received overwhelming financial support due to the extraordinary wealth of a noble family.
Far from being envious and jealous of Illyana, she would not let out her dissatisfaction and ridicule, even if she was angry inside.
It’s simply because her Illyana comes from a lowly background as an orphan who doesn’t even know her origins.
It was because she was showing off her talent and achieving high grades above her own head that it was tarnishing their reputation.
Use her spirit and belittle her Illyana.
“That’s true just from this external evaluation. All you have to do is hire famous adventurers with a lot of money and be included in the party, and as long as you produce a lot of results with them, you can get good scores.”
How much of a wizard’s individual capabilities and talents can be included in that?
Isn’t it obvious the intentions of the upper echelons of the Magic Tower who present something like this as a test?
This kind of blatant external evaluation is itself a foolish action by the higher-ranking figures of the Magic Tower, who disparage the value of wizards.
“I can never see things inferior to me standing over me.”
It’s not just because of her own pride.
Her talent or environment doesn’t matter.
Even though she doesn’t like magic any more than herself.
She doesn’t even try harder than she does.
They are idiots who only know how to wield wealth and power because they want to have the title of ‘great wizard.’
I can never stand by and call myself a great wizard.
“That is an insult to me, no, to the wizard.”
That’s why they attack with such force.
I never wanted to be evaluated lower than them, even for the first ‘digit’ that was given to me after graduating as a student.
Because that will lower your value.
“I understand.”
The position given upon graduation is a reward for Illyana’s efforts at the Magic Tower for over 10 years.
For example, it is similar to the story of someone using a dog, a cow, a proxy, or money to get to the gold tier, but the value of that tier becomes meaningless, and they become an object of ridicule.
Illyana cannot stand it when others ridicule and deny her own efforts.
Her goal is younger, bolder, and even unique than expected.
“Then I guess I have to get Perennial Snow Ginseng and get perfect performance points?”
“Of course.”
Eunhyeon burst out laughing at Iliana’s confident answer.
“You will make it. “I’m sure he will become such a great wizard that no one will be able to catch up with him.”
When she heard Illyana’s bold ambition, she became proud and stroked her head.
After hearing Eunhyeon’s words of support and encouragement, she felt strange.
It feels like a parent watching her child grow with warm eyes.
“… “Am I a kid?”
“Well, he looks like a kid to me.”
“The age difference is not that much…”
The evaluation of appearance was like that.
However, despite what she said, Eunhyun was a bit different from other men in their early 20s who were similar to Illiana.
She had leisure, and at some point she began to rely on that leisure without even realizing it.
His appearance remains the same, but his insides are very mature, as if he were 400 years old.
As she continued to look at Eun-hyeon with her eyes closed, Eun-hyeon tried to withdraw her hand from stroking Illyana’s head.
“Ah, that’s enough. Continue.”
“What?”
“Keep stroking my head. “I’ll skip it just this time.”
Although he said it as if he was being generous, the way he put his back against Eunhyun’s chest and pushed her head into it felt like he was begging her to pet him.
‘… What is it?’
Actions and words do not match.
Eunhyeon complied with her request, brushing down Illyana’s hair and organizing it neatly.
‘It’s better than I thought.’
It was the first time someone touched his hair.
It was my first time touching bare skin naked without even a single layer of clothing on.
It was also the first time she revealed her true feelings, something she had never told even her teacher.
These awkward, heart-pounding, itching feelings are all new to me.
But after I got used to it at first, I wanted it again and again.
I want this warmth and kindness from this man.
‘I have to have it.’
This feeling, which I could never define, gradually begins to materialize into something that can be explained.
