Chapter 100

“Uhhp!”

Evan quickly covered my mouth and nose and then pushed me outside. Even though he immediately followed and closed the door behind his back, somehow, his pupils seemed unstable.

“Laria, are you okay? You already have a bad lung, so you can’t breathe in strange smoke.”

“I’m okay.”

I covered his cheek and spoke anxiously.

“But, I think you inhaled a little… Are you sick or not?”

Evan looked me in the eye.

Silence passed for a while.

If it were the original Evan, he would avoid my touch with embarrassment. In addition, it was normal to say bluntly, ‘I’m okay,’ and then ‘Let’s go now.’ Eventually, it was when I got a little embarrassed and tried to get my hand off his cheek.

He slowly took my hand. Then, he gently grabbed it and brought it back to his cheek.

“…Evan?”

His eyes were out of focus.

“Why take your hand off…”

It was a slow, tight voice as if something was suppressed. It was also a sullen and decadent tone that I had never heard before.

“…Please worry more.”

…He had never spoken to me in this tone before.

My hand that was caught by him was burning. When I was young, I didn’t even think much of it, despite him holding it often. I was embarrassed by the sudden change in his tone and touch that I couldn’t answer anything, but he continued.

“Stroke more, hug more, touch more.”

He had a blurry pupil, a completely different voice, and a gesture that seemed somehow dangerous.

“I like your body temperature and your skin so much…”

Something almost astonishing happened again after that. Evan moved away from me in an instant and slapped him on the cheek.

“Evan…!”

“This crazy punk!”

“What?”

“Don’t mind it. It’s a curse on me, Laria.”

He didn’t look me in the eyes and took a rough breath.

“Let’s stay away for a moment. No, the magic tower is dangerous, so I have to stay with you.”

“Evan, maybe…”

“Obviously, it works for thirty minutes, right? I have to hang in there for thirty minutes.”

I stood blankly for a moment with my mouth open. No, was it such a strong enough drug to become like that just by inhaling the smoke…?

‘I don’t think this is going to be commercialized?’

Where was the use of drugs that have random effects, random opponents, and random intake methods? Still, that wasn’t important. If Evan’s sincerity, when he had been distant for a while, was ‘Worry more,’ then this was no different than when he was just thirteen years old.

“Evan.”

To be embarrassed is to be embarrassed, to be surprised is to be surprised.

I approached Evan, who stood far away from me, and was scratching his cheek before opening my mouth shyly, “You don’t have to pretend to be all that grown up. If you want me to worry and hug you, just tell me…”

“That’s okay, Laria.”

Evan stepped back slowly from me and shook his head.

“It was nonsense. I’m not a child, so why do I like that? Let’s just get out of here.”

Then, he rubbed his forehead and sighed.

“I’ll get out and leave you with the escort, and I’ll be alone for half an hour.”

It was a big trouble.

‘I haven’t accomplished my purpose of coming here yet.’

However…

‘This is it. For things to work out, this is how things will be.’

In the room right next to where Evan took a step back to say he would stay away from me, there was a simple sign saying [ Scroll Book ].

“Evan, then…”

I said, grabbing Evan’s hand, who was about to move away again, and continued, “Would you like to wait here? I really want to see the scroll book.”

“Laria.”

He gazed at me with worried eyes.

“The scroll book quickly digs into the weakest side of human beings and reveals the corresponding fantasy. You don’t have to look at your weaknesses.”

“Well, maybe I could think differently.”

I replied with a slight smile.

“There are many dangers in the world, and I can’t just avoid them. A simulation might make my mind healthy.”

To be honest, I was thinking that the fantasy of bankruptcy would come out. However, even if such a fantasy appeared, I thought I could overcome it because it was better than dying because I didn’t run away in time.

“I haven’t experienced anything really painful yet, wouldn’t it be of great help to my life if I practiced in advance?”

Anyway, he couldn’t really refute as if my words were compelling.

“No one died or got hurt by challenging the scroll book. Now, I don’t know when I’ll come to the magic tower again, so if I don’t go inside, I think I’ll regret it.”

Evan was just staring at my face.

“I will go in. Okay? So stop looking at me. Take your eyes off me.”

His stare looking at me was burdensome, so when I said something, he hesitated for a while before answering.

“…I don’t know.”

Again, it sounded like a screw was missing somewhere in his head.

“What do you not know…?”

“How can I take my eyes off you?”

“…What?”

“Moving my gaze away from you… To stop looking at your face… I don’t know how to do that…”

I was absurd and responded bluntly.

“No, you usually just avoid my eyes.”

“Actually, I can’t see your eyes very well.”

He approached me slowly, step by step, still continuing, “…I keep losing my reason, and my mind goes blank.”

The next moment, he paused close enough to my eyes that our breath could touch.

“Therefore…”

I felt a strange tickling all over my body, so I asked a bit awkwardly.

“You’re not looking at me?”

“It’s not that I’m not looking at you.”

Evan’s gaze, barely avoiding my eyes, was clinging to my lips.

“…I kept looking at you, looking one more time, constantly looking… looking one more time because I can’t stand it.”

“Wh, where?”

“Your side view, your back view, the tips of your hair, your round ears, your cute elbows, the peach bones of your ankles, at the curve of the back of your neck…”

It was around the time when things were becoming more and more like anatomical terms. I didn’t even have time to react. Evan turned around and started banging his head against the wall. The—bang, bang—was so loud that my mouth was about to open.

“…What a nutcase… Oh, I mean, me.”

No, I was relieved.

“….”

I wouldn’t know how to interpret this situation. Meanwhile, Evan spoke coldly again, banging his head against the wall.

“…It’s nonsense. So, don’t worry about it.”

What kind of temperature difference was that, like a teleport between cold and hot?

He sighed and continued.

“If you want to go, let’s go. Instead, let’s go together.”

“Yes…? You said you know what fantasy will come out. What are you going to do? The entrance fee is very expensive.”

“It is unimaginable for me to send you alone. Knowing what would happen.”

“There’s going to be a bet with the scroll book.”

“Anyway, no. I don’t feel at ease.”

“Evan, I’m not a child, and this is overprotective…”

“If you cough, I should hand you a handkerchief, and if you have a sprained ankle, I should pick you up.”

There was nothing to say when it came to physical weaknesses rather than mental ones.

“Let’s go. If you’re aware that it’s a fantasy, you’ll be fine. Instead, hold my hand.”

Evan sighed and held out his hand.

“…Won’t you hold my hand?”

He wanted me to hold his hand whenever I confidently said that if I ever got hurt, I would take care of it? I didn’t know who was playing the role of the guardian here.

“I think I need to keep reminding myself that you are by my side.”

So, I went into the scroll book’s room with Evan, whose eyes were turned for a moment and uttered strange words. The entrance fee was exorbitant because just entering it meant making a bet with a scroll book.

A scroll book was a magical item with an ego, and in my opinion, it was a very ‘mischievous book.’ If you win a bet with the scroll book, you would be given the scroll you want though the general consensus was that it was almost impossible to win that bet.

Of course, I was going to win anyway. After all, if what the scroll book would give me was nothing more than a psychological blow, it couldn’t be worse than my dog’s death.

―Well, two humans came in.

As soon as I entered the room, the scroll book, which was cheekily leaning against the golden chair, even spoke.

―Do you know why you gave this money here? You’re betting with me. Of course, it is non-refundable.

There was no time to answer.

―Then, I’ll give you a fantasy and a task that suits you.

In an instant, the scroll book in front of me disappeared, and Evan, who was holding my hand, also disappeared.