Chapter 116 – Venture’s Lightning Mage (2)
Late at night, Orca buried her back in the chair. He stretched out her arms and stretched her out.
Brief moment of sadness. After that, the frown came back.
Orca’s gaze moved to the top of her desk.
Documents that need to be processed by tomorrow morning are piled up.
‘I have to interpret ancient texts…’
Orca juxtaposed her adventures with work and personal study. It wasn’t terribly difficult, and she stayed up almost every night.
Thanks to her, dark circles sat down on her sharp eyes. Her hair, which had been compared to the Milky Way, became frizzy.
Fortunately, she was a wizard and was good at using mana. If she hadn’t taken out the impurities from her body with mana, she would have fallen long before she fell.
Orca rubbed her eyelids to wake her from sleepiness. However, once she had been driven, she did not back down that much. All she could do was stand up from her seat.
‘Coffee…’
A drink that smells good but doesn’t taste good.
It is an indispensable item for Orca. She doesn’t have to worry too much about anything bitter because she just needs to add sugar.
She left her office and walked down the aisle. It was late at night, so no one was there. The hallway illuminated by the lights looks a little spooky.
She walked up to her steps feeling somehow bitter. However, I felt a familiar scent on the stairs.
The scent intensified the closer we got to the first floor.
‘This smells like coffee… Who’s there?’
She wondered and continued down.
There was one person in the hall, as she thought. He was a man with black hair. He sat at the table, sipping coffee and reading.
Again – again –
His gaze fell from the book at the sound of Orca’s footsteps.
“Oh, how are you, Orca-sama?”
He bowed her head.
Orca scanned the man’s exterior. He is a man of no memory. That she didn’t remember her meant she didn’t have to care.
She ignored his greeting and went back into the hall, into the kitchen. Because she’s allowed to use it when the chef isn’t around.
While making coffee using the coffee machine, a man outside suddenly came to mind.
‘Did that man get permission too?’
There’s no way a picky chef would easily allow it. She tilted her head and erased her thoughts when the coffee was finished.
It’s a little break time. There was no time to worry about useless things.
* * *
Orca sipped her coffee and glanced over where the man was sitting. He has been sitting in the same seat every day since that day.
I care.
Eyes keep going
The coffee that man is holding…!
‘How the hell am I supposed to get that incense?’
The scent of the man’s coffee was different from hers. If the scent of ordinary coffee is like an old-fashioned nobility, the men’s coffee has a sweet scent reminiscent of vulgar prostitutes.
Just by analogy, her coffee looks more elegant. However, her brain, which ran day and night, wanted her sugar, and that stimulating scent was too much of a temptation for her.
It must be much sweeter than her coffee.
‘What are you mixing it with? What ratio did you mix the sugar with?’
I used a bag of sugar in the kitchen the other day to try that scent. I experimented by adjusting the granules, but it was only sweet and did not smell like that.
That means that it has been mixed with something other than sugar.
Orca was very curious about what that something was. The wizard’s soul boiled.
So the next evening, I hid in the kitchen.
No, the feeling of hiding is a bit like that. Doesn’t that sound like shoplifting? She casts an illusion spell and just sticks to the wall.
‘…Reminds me of the past.’
There was a time like this when I was stealing my master’s secret salary in the Mage Tower.
Even though she had to risk her life then.
She smiled lightly as she recalled old memories, and saw a man enter alone. He sat down at the table and opened a book.
‘I don’t drink coffee right away.’
Well, I was always drinking her coffee by the time she came down. There was little time left before that time came.
She had enough patience, so she waited patiently.
But as time passed, she felt strange.
The man doesn’t want to drink coffee even though the time he normally drinks coffee has passed.
No way…
It was around the time that various assumptions came to mind in Orca’s head. The man finally got up and entered the kitchen.
He puts coffee powder in a coffee filter and pours hot water.
Yeah, she’s the same as her until here.
Next. The following is important. Orca opened her eyes and glared at her coffee.
‘…? What.’
Nothing goes into coffee. The man’s hand does not even move. A puzzled orca lifted her head. Her man’s gaze was on her.
Startled, Orca almost moved.
She caught her breath as she recalled the illusion magic was unfolding.
‘Why are you looking here?’
It would just look like an ordinary wall to that man. It means, don’t do anything petty and quickly come up with the secret of the coffee.
Looking at her intently, the man smiled awkwardly.
“Would you like a… Drink?”
Uh?
* * *
A sweet scent fills the hall. Orca sat with her chin resting on her table and she watched the man make coffee.
‘Feels good…’
Even though it was a low-level illusion magic, could you detect it with something like that?
It’s not a beast, but how good it is to have human intuition.
‘…I guess I could feel the presence.’
Calmly thinking about it, it wasn’t that absurd.
That man knew that Orca was a wizard, and she was not used to using her body. She could have been pretending to be hers without even realizing it.
After the analysis, I came to my senses.
I nodded, and the man brought the finished coffee. As soon as the man put it on the table, he took it in his hand as if taking it away. He would cool off with a blow and take a sip.
Sweet.
‘As expected, it was different.’
It’s the same sweetness, but it feels different from simply melting sugar.
That’s why I was even more curious about the manufacturing method.
‘Illusion magic is unreasonable. The highest grade I’ve ever been able to write was what I wrote today. If I knew it would be like this, I would have studied illusion magic. Should I just hide? No, I can recognize the illusion magic by pretending to be there, but I can’t just not notice that it’s hidden. Then what should I do… Huh?’
An unfamiliar cake caught the eye of Orca, who was worried.
“This?”
“Oh, it’s called tiramisu cake. I thought it would be okay to eat while drinking coffee, so I made one.”
“Tiramisu? Is it different from chocolate? It looks exactly the same.”
“Let’s try it once.”
“Hmm…”
Didn’t you put something weird in it? Orca pondered for a moment before cutting the cake with her fork.
Anyway, she’s an orca.
She is the 5th rank wizard of the Red Heart Adventure Corps, and the daughter of the adventure captain Siegfried. A man like that can’t play tough tricks.
Even if Gan got out of the ship and made a trick, the same level could be suppressed in 5 seconds.
With that thought in mind, she put a piece of her cake into her mouth. The cake melted and crumbled without chewing with teeth.
After tasting the cake with a munching, she cut the cake again and put it in her mouth without a word.
“Does it suit your taste?”
The man asked with a smile.
Her frantic eating orca only then noticed her own ugliness. She put the fork down and she cleared her throat.
“Hmmmm, not bad. Enough for me to eat.”
“That is an honor.”
“Are you kidding me?”
The way he speaks is somewhat thick.
As she frowned at her, the man waved her hand urgently.
“No, how could I make fun of Orca-sama? I’m just really glad that Orca said it was delicious. Isn’t Orca the best wizard in Kalita?”
“It’s a mouth-watering thing.”
Orca snorted at her with her sullen face. Her inner feelings were good.
“But your name is…”
“This is Han Yuseong. She joined Orca-sama’s party. I think I told you the other day… Have you forgotten?”
“How do I remember all of that?”
She said, turning words that were not worth remembering. Normally, she wouldn’t even talk back, but now she was in a good mood.
She continued as she cut her cake.
“Yes, Yuseong Han. Why are you here until dawn every day?”
“Ah. That’s it. I’m studying magic books these days. As Orca-sama knows, isn’t it better to study in a quiet space? But the library is closed at night, so we are here.”
“Huh? Then, will you show me the magic book?”
“Yes, here…”
Orca looked at the book Yuseong Han had handed him.
‘Basic barrier technique? Long time no see.’
When she was 10 she had a hard time interpreting this book. The corners of her lips rose slightly. She opened the book and skimmed through it a few times. It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen it, but there’s nothing I forgot or didn’t know.
She closed the book and returned it to Yuseong Han. She raised her coffee cup.
“I also thought you did it on purpose because of me.”
“Yes? What is that…”
Han Yoo-seong opened her eyes wide at the indifferent voice and was taken aback.
But when she saw Orca’s eyes, she smiled bitterly.
“You’re right. She was waiting here on purpose because she wanted to meet Orca-sama. After all, it was a little awkward before, wasn’t it?”
“Huh. Just looking at it, I could see it was waiting for me. It was strange to leave the house and read a book here in the first place.”
Orca took a sip of coffee. She savored the taste and passed it down her throat.
“I thought you were trying to poison me.”
“…Yes?”
Her Han Yuseong looked at her with her ridiculous expression on her face.
Orca smiled and pointed her fork at the cake.
She said, “I didn’t ask, but she brought the cake. Isn’t it natural to be suspicious?”
“It was Orca-sama who kept glancing at the coffee I usually drink. It was Orca-sama who was hiding in the kitchen just now.”
“Shut up.”
Orca made her shut up when something against her came out.
It was an unfair and unreasonable situation for Yoosung.
In that situation, Yoosung,
“Yes.”
Shut her mouth
Power sometimes suppresses a person’s irrationality.
The two stayed silent for a while and enjoyed coffee and cake. When the cake was running out, she called again.
“So? If not poisoned, why did you come to me?”
“I just want to get to know you.”
“…What?”
As she pondered whether or not to eat the last piece, her fork stopped.
When she raised her gaze, Han Yuseong was looking at her with her smirk.
“You are my boss. There’s nothing wrong with being close to me. Are you in a bad mood?”
How are you, are you offended by the topic you openly said you wanted to use?
The filthy frankness made her more foolish than angry.
‘…Well, breaking news is better than lying.’
Because I was tired of hearing that.
Instead of answering, she picked up her last piece of cake with her fork. It’s not hers, it’s Han Yuseong’s cake.
“Uh, that’s mine, but…”
She ignored it and put her cake in her mouth. She pursed her lips and tasted the filth. She feels good with sweetness.
“Well, I’ll look at it like this.”
I think it’s because of the cake and coffee.
Orca chuckled and poured her leftover coffee into her mouth.
* * *
A week has passed since I had morning tea time with Orca. I went to the adventure party at dawn every day and prepared coffee and cake until Orca arrived.
Yes.
I had been promoted from an unknown subordinate to a dedicated dessert shuttle.
I don’t know if this is a real promotion or not, but at least it was meaningful that the distance with Orca got closer.
Although my body was a little tired due to the change in my lifestyle.
‘It’s fortunate that the caramel syrup and cake aren’t expensive.’
Of course, the caramel macchiato and cake were not made by me. I’ve never worked part-time at a cafe, so how could I make something like that?
It’s just a ready-made product bought through the status window.
I know that Orca was made by myself.
‘What else do we have to talk about today?’
At teatime, Orca doesn’t talk about herself very well. Therefore, I had to take the lead in continuing the conversation.
‘The story I told you the other day didn’t get a good response. I wonder if there is a more interesting story.’
It was when I was about to leave the guild feeling the pain of being a salesperson.
“Hey, Yuseong Han. See me.”
Marid, with a frown on her face, grabbed me.
