Chapter 16
Chapter 16. The Next Day
However, if a massive mutated wolf were suddenly glaring at him in a room where people lived, anyone would be terrified.
But Ariane, who didn’t care for his deep reasoning, cheerfully declared that she would protect him and took on the role of his steadfast ally.
“Not long ago, a pack of mutated wolves was wandering near the Magic Tower. There was no one to handle them, so I went and chased them off. I even caught a few. There’s a wizard around here who enjoys taxidermy, and that’s how I got this one as a gift. All the dirty work falls to the lowly ones like me,” Ariane said, exhaling a sigh as she reminisced.
Hearing this, Nox looked at her again.
‘She captured them without injury?’
Of course, capturing them alive is much more difficult than killing them. With her appearance, he imagined she’d be the type to scream for help at the sight of a flying bug, so she must indeed be a mage.
“That thing is big, but a few fireballs should finish it. Oh, wait… you can’t use magic, can you? You’ll be able to move once some time passes, though. Then… you could burn stinging nettles to make smoke and drive it off. Or, you could stuff a peach pit into the raw meat and feed it to them. It’ll die in a few days.”
Ariane’s magic circle was a multi-dimensional space shared by several other mages. It was typically used to store things that couldn’t fit in a room, although sometimes mages would forget dangerous things they put in there.
Despite the other mages’ spaces being far apart from hers, it was always better to be cautious.
“I’d love to make a dedicated magic space for you, Nox, but I don’t have the power for it. Sorry about that.”
‘It’s fine. But peach pits with stinging nettles…’
Nox didn’t even know when peaches were in season, since he didn’t make a habit of searching for fruit.
“Right. It’s still early spring, so peaches aren’t available yet. We’ll have to wait.”
Ariane hopped off the bed and skipped toward the wall. Nox thought she might be getting the peaches from a shelf, but she walked straight toward a spot on the wall that seemed empty.
‘What’s she doing, standing there?’
Nox felt a bit bored until, suddenly, a large, dark hole appeared on the wall, stretching out like a tear. The hole looked mystical, like the Milky Way in the night sky, but Nox felt a strong sense of unease.
“Hello, peaches. It’s me, Ariane!”
Ariane boldly stuck her head into the enormous hole, calling out like she was greeting an old friend. It was an action so brave that anyone watching would have been deeply startled.
Nox could hardly believe his eyes.
Could she really be calling a tree?
As if to confirm his thoughts, Ariane pulled her head back, and a massive peach tree appeared from the hole, its branches heavy with ripe peaches.
‘Whoa!’
The sight was already eerie enough, but the tree seemed to move as if it had its own will, shaking its branches and trunk in the air.
With a soft thud, several peaches fell to the ground. After Ariane had taken what she wanted, the tree retreated back into the hole.
Nox, still stunned, realized that after today, he might never be shocked again.
Ariane, using magic to catch the peaches as they fell, had a proud expression on her face as she filled a large sack.
“Do you think this is enough?”
Seeing Ariane’s expression, Nox was more surprised by how she retrieved the peaches than by the peaches themselves.
Ariane carefully tied the sack, then fastened it tightly to Nox’s waist, worried he might leave it behind.
“By the way, where did you get those pajamas? The fabric looks quite nice. It seems there’s everything in the magic circle. I’d like to take a look inside, but I guess that’s not possible, huh? You can’t get out on your own. Oh, you didn’t steal someone else’s clothes, did you? No, I trust you, Nox.”
Nox clicked his tongue in frustration.
‘Steal? What would I steal? These are mine.’
By now, Ariane had no doubt in her mind that she had successfully created him using her magic, despite the fact that, logically, she might have just abducted a normal person.
But Ariane was completely convinced, and this mistaken belief allowed them to meet once again today, which Nox didn’t mind at all.
“Alright, done. Ahh, I’m so sleepy. I haven’t slept well because I’ve been in pain lately. Let’s sleep like this tonight. Next time, I’ll definitely… h-huh…”
Yawning, Ariane didn’t manage to finish her sentence before falling fast asleep. Her body naturally draped over Nox’s chest and waist, her limbs resting comfortably.
Her even, rhythmic breathing sounded like a lullaby, drifting from near his chest.
Though it would have been nice to close his eyes and fall asleep too, Nox couldn’t do that. Ariane’s warm limbs against him made him restless, and sleep was nowhere to be found.
It seemed like another long night ahead.
***
“Duke, where are you going today?”
The butler, No, asked the Duke Drischke, who was dressed in formal attire and surrounded by attendants and maids. The butler was curious, as he knew the Duke’s schedule inside out. There were no events or meetings the Duke was supposed to attend today.
The Emperor’s birthday celebration, which was mandatory, was still half a year away.
Even though the Duke had once grumbled about it, he still had to attend. So where was he going now?
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“What?”
“Bring me the blue one instead.”
“……”
The maid, who had been standing two steps away from the duke’s direction, stepped forward and handed him a box.
Inside the rather large box were dozens of different shaped gemstone pins. Each was a piece of art made by a famous craftsman, but Nox looked at them with an indifferent expression.
“Hmm… They all seem the same…”
The butler, who had been watching the duke’s back from a distance, made a truly puzzled expression. The duke had even instructed on the color of the cravat pin and was inspecting each one individually. This was not the usual meticulous behavior of the duke.
