Chapter 045
The magician, who had been fiddling with the pouch, suddenly cleared his throat and looked at me.
“Right. But first, I have a condition for you, customer.”
“What condition?”
“I’d prefer to work discreetly, if possible.”
The magician, who had been grinning while looking at the advance payment, added that it wouldn’t work if I couldn’t ensure that.
Living in the middle of a deserted mountain was one thing, but seeing how he was particularly wary of his own story getting out made it clear that he had some unspoken circumstances.
‘Well, that doesn’t matter. As long as he does his job well, it’s fine.’
I nodded and replied to him.
“Okay. Then I’ll tell people that you’re employed as my personal assistant. That should suffice, right?”
Continuing our conversation about the job, it was a perfectly suitable excuse for him to enter the castle.
The magician seemed to ponder my suggestion for a moment before nodding in agreement.
“By the way, I haven’t heard your name yet. What is it?”
As we were wrapping up our discussion, I suddenly realized that I still didn’t know his name.
“I don’t know. Names don’t matter. Just call me whatever you think is appropriate.”
“……You don’t know your name?”
“Yep.”
His tone was as calm as if he were sharing what he had for breakfast that morning.
“But you can’t just call someone by any name.”
When I hesitated to respond, the magician, who had been staring at me, shrugged his shoulders and said,
“Then just call me Joy. After all, once the job is done, we won’t be seeing each other again.”
“Joy….”
I blinked in surprise at the name “Joy” that came from his lips, and I heard a question from him asking why I was reacting that way.
I replied with a slight smile and a casual tone.
“It’s nothing special. I used to have a teddy bear I played with a lot, and its name was Joy too.”
“That really is nothing special.”
The magician, now wanting to be called Joy, said in a somewhat feminine manner.
I nodded in agreement, and since we had now exchanged introductions, I offered him my hand.
“Well then, I look forward to working with you.”
“Of course. Since I’ve been generously paid, I can’t just do a half-hearted job.”
Joy responded confidently, grasping my outstretched hand.
It was then that it happened.
“Ugh?”
Joy yanked his hand back as if it had been burned, making a strange sound.
“What’s wrong?”
I was startled too, looking at him with wide eyes.
“Ah, no….”
Joy slightly parted his lips, alternating between looking at his hand and my face.
Since I could only see his mouth, I had no way of knowing what expression he was making, which was frustrating.
“What’s going on? Is there something on your hand?”
“No! It’s nothing!”
He shook his head vigorously in response to my repeated question.
Though I felt something was off, I decided to drop it since he insisted it was nothing.
I looked at Joy, who seemed a bit dazed, and said, “Shall we go now?”
“Uh? Where to?”
“To where you’ll be working from now on.”
On the way to the border of the duchy with Joy, I casually asked him a question.
“By the way, about that potion from yesterday… the effect doesn’t linger, right?”
If it was, I was ready to turn back to the castle immediately. I absolutely didn’t want to show the same behavior in front of the knights.
“Joy?”
I could hear footsteps behind me, but after waiting for a while with no response, I turned around.
Joy, with his dandelion-like hair swaying, was walking with his head down, seemingly lost in thought.
“Joy.”
“Hmm? What’s up? Are we almost there?”
As I called his name again, Joy suddenly looked up, glancing around before speaking.
“What on earth are you thinking so hard about?”
“Well…”
Joy trailed off, hesitating before finally speaking up.
“Customer, um….”
I looked at him, encouraging him to continue, but after a few moments of lip movements, he shook his head again.
“Um, never mind. It’s nothing.”
He had started to say something several times but kept stopping himself. Raising an eyebrow in annoyance, Joy opened his hands in a gesture of apology.
“I really won’t do it again. I promise.”
“Alright. Just this once.”
If he did it again, I was determined to find out what he had been trying to say.
As I chatted aimlessly with him, I found myself at the border area before I knew it.
Climbing up onto the tall castle walls, I looked down to see a vast meadow spread out beneath me.
“Oh, Madam! What brings you all the way out here?”
At that moment, I spotted Roman in the distance, talking with a few knights, and he came running toward me with wide eyes.
“I have something to discuss with Evan. Do you happen to know where he is?”
I asked Roman about Evan’s whereabouts while trying to maintain a natural expression. I was worried I might inadvertently show an awkward face after he caught me with Evan yesterday.
“Well, if it’s the Duke, he’s standing right behind you…”
“What? I didn’t see him just now…”
Surprised by Roman’s unexpected answer, I immediately turned around.
And there, right in front of me, I locked eyes with Evan, who was looking down at me.
Caught off guard without any mental preparation, I felt my throat dry up instinctively.
One relief was that, whether the potion’s effects had worn off yesterday, I didn’t feel the same impulses with him standing in front of me.
Even after preparing myself mentally, when I was actually face-to-face with him, I found it hard to speak.
As I stood there, staring blankly at his face, Evan broke the silence first.
“How’s your head?”
“Huh?”
“I thought you’d be suffering from a hangover, but you seem fine, so that’s a relief.”
“Ah, yes.”
Understanding what he meant, I nodded awkwardly.
It was better than being caught for all the things I did to him yesterday, which were all driven by my desires.
A moment of awkward silence settled between us.
When I glanced up, I saw Evan’s gaze awkwardly wandering somewhere in the air.
Seeing that, I felt some desire beginning to well up again from within, which had been quiet just moments before.
For instance, that awkward expression on his face could easily become as disheveled as it did yesterday.
‘What am I even thinking?!’
Realizing where my thoughts were going, I shook my head vigorously from side to side, trying to regain my composure.
I thought the effects of the potion had worn off, but it seemed that was a complete lie.
“Are you alright?”
Evan, observing my state, spoke softly, concerned.
“Yes! Of course!”
I smiled, insisting there was no problem, but it seemed that only had the opposite effect, as I noticed Evan raise an eyebrow.
“By the way, who is that person standing behind you?”
Before the atmosphere could become even more tense, Evan fortunately changed the subject.
“Oh, right. Joy.”
Hearing Evan’s words, I suddenly remembered Joy, whom I had momentarily forgotten, and quickly turned my head.
“I’ll introduce you. This is… Joy?”
As I tried to introduce Joy to Evan, I couldn’t finish my sentence.
Joy, who had been standing next to me just moments ago, was now watching us from a surprisingly far distance, making me wonder how he got there so quickly.
“When did you get over there? Come here!”
I gestured for Joy to come closer, standing still in place.
However, Joy remained motionless, keeping his distance and staring at us.
‘Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?’
He looked like a wary stray cat, ready to flee at any moment, fixating on me and Evan.
It didn’t seem like he had acted this way when we first met.
“What is he doing?”
At that moment, Evan, who had been watching the scene beside me, asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
midori
thanks! after re-reading again, i realised the significance of “Joy” being her teddy bear. Joy the mage is her elder brother, huh?! probably?! it’s a hint fron the author!