Chapter 21
“…Come to think of it, I vaguely heard before that the Magic Department has exam question banks.”
“Exam question banks?”
Emily looked up at Eden again with wide eyes, surprised by his words. As her bright green eyes, previously hidden by the wide brim of her hat, were revealed, Eden nodded gladly.
“Yes, I heard that seniors generally sell common question banks at low prices. However, some teachers don’t submit the same questions from the previous year, so it’s often a waste of money.”
“Ah… I see!”
Emily tilted her hat back slightly to clear her view. Seeing Emily looking up at him, fully focused on his words, Eden was trying hard to recall the rumors he had previously dismissed.
‘What did William say? He grumbled that the Swordsmanship Department should have question banks too, saying it was unfair…’
“Ah, I remember now. They say there’s a legendary question bank. It’s said to contain only two questions, but those questions appear on the exam every year. Moreover, I heard they’re worth quite a lot of points.”
“…A legendary question bank?”
“Yes, I heard you’re guaranteed at least 10 points per question.”
“…10 points!”
Emily marveled at the enticing story, but the name “legendary question bank” was suspicious from the start. However, she was also reluctant to waste her tight allowance on buying regular question banks, so she fell into contemplation.
“Thank you for telling me, Lord Eden. It’s an interesting story.”
“It’s nothing. I only heard it vaguely… If I learn more details, I’ll let you know.”
As Emily smiled brightly and thanked him, Eden’s gaze lingered on her smile for a moment. Before they knew it, while talking, they had arrived at the teleportation magic site. They gave their reserved names and received teleportation stones.
As the two moved together to the white magic sphere floating in the center and recited the activation words, they felt a light floating sensation, and the next moment, the bustling noise of the town poured into their ears.
Emily blinked a few times to adjust to the suddenly changed view and then looked up. Her eyes met again with Lord Eden, who was still looking down at her. Feeling strangely shy, Emily casually turned her gaze forward again.
“There are a lot of people in town even on a weekday?”
“Yes, this is a tourist district where magic is active. It’s always crowded.”
“I see. I didn’t know that.”
“This way, Miss Emily.”
Following Lord Eden’s guidance, they walked along the stone-paved road, and soon a large fountain in the center of town came into view. Due to the hot weather, many people were gathered around the fountain, resting. As Emily and Eden passed the bustling fountain and entered an alley lined with luxurious restaurants and teahouses, it became much quieter.
“I didn’t know there was a place like this. It’s really pretty.”
Emily exclaimed, admiring the flowerpots decorating the street. The alley, decorated with lighting on the neat stone path and flowerpots lined up alongside, harmonized well with the sophisticated exterior of the restaurants. The buildings with arched entrances were made of similar dark red bricks.
The combination of cute flowers and calm-colored buildings created a clean and bright atmosphere. Emily, who hadn’t dared to approach this area last time due to the seemingly expensive prices, decided to take this opportunity to look around freely. As she was walking, admiring the prettily written signs, the flowerpots on the street, and the sophisticated design of the lights, Eden suddenly stopped in front of a building.
“Miss Emily, if it’s alright with you, how about having lunch before tea? I’d like to treat you…”
“What? Well…”
“This is a place I often visit. The food is quite good.”
As Eden gestured with his hand in front of a red brick building with an arched entrance, Emily opened her eyes wide in surprise. She had naturally assumed they were going to a cafe. At that moment, Emily realized that neither of them had eaten lunch, having come straight after classes.
“Is there any food you can’t eat?”
“Ah, no. There’s nothing like that.”
Eden opened the door of the upscale restaurant for Emily, who was standing there with a startled expression. It seemed silly to make an excuse about having already eaten lunch, and it was also difficult to offer to pay for lunch at a place that seemed so expensive, so Emily hesitated.
“Welcome, Lord Valenti. It’s been a while.”
At that moment, an employee who stood at the door holding it open instead of Eden greeted them politely and guided them inside, and Emily was swept along with the flow.
The interior of the building was bright yet calm. As she took off her white wide-brimmed hat and entered, she noticed the ceiling was higher than expected, with arched windows throughout, creating an overall well-ventilated and bright atmosphere.
“This way, please.”
The employee naturally guided them to a balcony seat on the second floor, then excused himself, saying he would return shortly to take their order.
“It’s really a beautiful place.”
“Yes, it seems they’ve put a lot of effort into the exterior, befitting a restaurant in the tourist district.”
Eden nodded at Emily’s words, picked up one of the menus on the table and handed it to her, then opened the other one.
As Emily opened the menu following Eden, surprisingly, there were no prices listed. This caused Emily to look around the restaurant interior again. Only then did she notice the luxurious decorations displayed here and there.
This place was clearly much more expensive than she had thought. Slightly flustered, Emily asked Eden, who was looking intently at the menu, in a small voice.
“Lord Eden, don’t places like this require advance reservations?”
“Yes. Generally, that’s the case, but I found it troublesome to make a reservation every time I came, so I had a table set aside for use without reservations while I’m attending the academy.”
“…I, I see that’s possible too?”
“It was possible when I asked. Please feel free to come and use it anytime, Miss Emily. Just mention my name. All costs are billed directly to the Valenti family, so don’t worry.”
“No, thank you for the offer, but that’s not necessary.”
Emily immediately declined, surprised by Eden’s words. Despite seeing Eden slightly lower his gaze, seemingly disappointed by her firm refusal, she didn’t waver this time. The fact that he was the son of a high-ranking viscount family suddenly became very real to her.
Her gaze then returned to his attire, which she had only glanced at until now despite knowing his status. Even the small cuffs on his sleeves sparkled unusually. Looking again, the small jewels on his coat stood out with their elegant and luxurious craftsmanship. She hadn’t noticed these details before, overshadowed by Lord Eden’s handsome appearance.
Emily blinked.
The tangible reality of the situation enveloped Emily in a strange feeling. However, she tried hard to maintain a nonchalant expression.
“Miss Emily, did the food suit your taste?”
“Yes, it was really delicious. Thank you, Lord Eden.”
“I’m glad it suited your taste. That makes me happy.”
Throughout the meal, Eden became a bit anxious as Emily’s expression seemed strangely subdued. He worried that she might not like this kind of food, but that didn’t seem to be the case. He wondered if he had said something wrong and tried to recall their conversation, then realized that with the small dessert and tea served as the last course of the meal, it had become awkward to go to the cafe they had originally planned to visit.
“Oh, I’m sorry. We were planning to go to a cafe. I should have asked them to remove the dessert and tea from the course meal, but I didn’t think of it.”
“What? No, no, it was really delicious. We can have tea another time.”
As Eden apologized, realizing his mistake, Emily waved her hands in surprise. It didn’t make sense for him to apologize after treating her to such a delicious meal.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes? Ah, yes. Of course.”
At Emily’s words, Eden raised his head and asked her again. Emily nodded several times, caught off guard by Eden’s expression that somehow seemed expectant. Then, the next moment, Lord Eden slightly curved his light gray eyes and gave her a small smile.
“…I’m glad to think that I can spend time with Miss Emily once more.”
“Cough…Ah, yes? Ah… hahaha.”
The smile of a beautiful person who usually shows little expression tends to be impactful, and Emily, who had been off guard, suddenly inhaled sharply and choked. Feeling heat rush to her ears all at once, Emily laughed awkwardly. It wasn’t just his appearance.
She had felt it before, but she couldn’t get used to his direct way of speaking. Emily often found herself at a loss for words at his straightforward expressions of interest, coming from someone with such a proper demeanor.
“Well then, Miss Emily. Since we’re out, how about a short walk if you’ve finished your meal?”
“Ah, yes. That sounds nice.”
As she was holding her palm to her increasingly warm cheeks, Lord Eden suggested a walk. She nodded, thinking she needed to cool down a bit in the outside air.
As the two left the building, the cool air of the air-conditioning magic that had filled the restaurant disappeared, and the humid summer air immediately enveloped their bodies.
“If we walk down this back road, there’s a temple. It’s a tourist attraction in this area.”
“There’s a temple?”
The two conversed as they walked down an alley shaded by buildings on both sides. Emily, who hadn’t noticed the temple when she came before, reacted with surprise to his words.
“Yes, it’s an old temple dedicated to a goddess. There’s a large bell hung above the building entrance, and its sound is said to ring out morning and evening. There are stairs from outside the building up to where the bell is, and during bright daylight, even outsiders can enter.”
“There are stairs leading inside?”
As they walked while listening to Lord Eden’s explanation, it wasn’t long before Emily spotted the upper part of the temple standing tall beyond a not-so-high building. The outer walls of the temple, which had clearly been white once, had faded with the passage of time, but its solemnity remained intact.
As they approached, there were indeed stone stairs on both sides of the large arched entrance, and they were quite high. Tilting her head back to look up, she could see a huge bell, several times the size of a person, hanging in the middle of the temple at the very top of the stone stairs.
“It’s amazing…”
“Would you like to go up?”
As Emily uttered words of admiration, Eden turned to her and made the suggestion. Looking up at the temple shining brightly under the strong sunlight, Emily nodded.
