Chapter 39

Yurina stood still in the hallway and glanced over her shoulder at Aiden looking at them.

‘I wanted to talk to you more.’

As her steps slowed down a little, Raynald, who was ahead of her, slowed his as well.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Huh? Nothing.”

Yurina smiled at Raynald and shook her head. She couldn’t even say hello, but she decided to leave the question as to why she suddenly brought him out of the blue because she couldn’t leave her friend alone like that.

Somehow she couldn’t say that to Raynald, who looked as excited as a child.

So Yurina just followed his lead. Instead, she looked back at Aiden’s face once more and engraved his face and the name, Aiden Tessie, in her mind.

“That’s the building with magic and classes. It’s the oldest building in the academy, so it’s very old, right? Students have been protesting for a new building for a long time, but they won’t fix it. I can’t do that because history and tradition are living buildings.”

“Isn’t it going to collapse when it’s all cracked up?”

“There’s a preservation spell on it so it won’t collapse.”

“That’s a relief.”

Raynald, who introduced Yurina to his academy, was somewhat excited.  It was Yurina’s subjective thoughts, but his reddish ears that peered through his golden hair proved her idea objectively.

He looked calm, but he was definitely excited. Maybe more than when he first went downtown on his birthday.

The two, who had been walking around the academy for a long time shared a lunch box packed by Betsy on the lawn in a spot that Raynald had chosen.

Raynald was thrilled with the taste of the food he ate at the Carthia mansion after a long time. Yurina had to close her mouth to hold back the burst of laughter.

‘You’ve never eaten the food Betsy made.’

Betsy had never worked in the kitchen. There was no way that the sandwich that she made, that put only the ingredients in, could have tasted of memories.

Nevertheless, Raynald scarfed down the sandwich. Yurina didn’t tell him the truth.

Because it was lunchtime, there were many students around that ate simple snacks. They all glanced at Yurina and Raynald with their faces full of interest.

One half looked at Yurina and the other half at Raynald. However, the two ate their lunch without worrying about their gaze.

“Then, Ray. Is it okay if we don’t have a separate birthday party?”

“What about a birthday party? I am not a kid.”

Yurina took a closer look at Raynald’s expression as he put the trash from her lunch in the picnic basket. Unlike his grumpy tone, his face did not show any signs of reluctance.

“If you want, Betsy will prepare even a small one. Shall we call Mr.Tessie and have a small party?”

“That’s enough–It’s just a hassle.”

After he finished organizing the basket, he flicked his finger once, and the basket on the mat disappeared without a trace. He said he used magic to move it to his dorm room.

“The party is over and I have a gift I want to receive.”

“Really? Do you need anything?”

“Can I receive a birthday present that I haven’t received before?”

“A birthday present you haven’t received before?”

Yurina pondered over her memories of the past few years when she woke up holding Raynald’s hand that he had reached out to her. But she couldn’t figure out what Raynald was talking about.

On every birthday, she sent him to the academy, carrying a bunch of things that would suit him, such as his writings and books, as well as his clothes and accessories. However, Raynald had never specifically told her about a specific birthday gift that he wanted to receive from her.

So there was no way there was a birthday present that he hadn’t received before.

Raynald tapped Yurina’s nose, which was frowning.

“Don’t you remember the gift I wanted to have five years ago? It wasn’t exactly a gift, it was a wish.”

“Oh…”

Only then did he give a small exclamation so that Yurina remembered.

“The one when you asked me to hang out with you? But you went out to play, didn’t you?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

Raynald glanced at the knights watching the two from a distance. The knights sent by the Marquis of Carthia to escort Yurina, followed her even inside the academy, where there was nothing dangerous.

Raynald looked at them with an unpleasant face for a moment, then bowed down to Yurina and whispered quietly.

“I said, let’s go out to play ‘only the two of us’.”

Raynald grabbed Yurina’s arm and flicked his finger aloud once. At that moment, the mana around him quickly swirled.

Sensing some strangeness, the knights tried to jump towards Yurina, but the two disappeared before they even approached her. In the place where the two were, only the handkerchief that Raynald had unfolded for Yurina remained.

“Ray, where the hell are we?”

She was surprised by the sudden change of scenery, but Yurina tried to ask calmly. Instead of the lawn where the students ate lunch and flirted with each other, she saw a downtown area where people actively walked around.

She had already seen Raynald’s magic a few times, but whenever she saw it, she was amazed at his skill.

Raynald couldn’t keep his balance in the sudden movement magic and firmly held Yurina.

“Ness Street. It is also the busiest place in the capital of the Kingdom of Crohn. Let’s go. I know where the cake is delicious.”

“You might be scolded by Sir Aaron when you go back.”

Raynald shrugged casually.

“It doesn’t matter. Unlike before, I can protect you now.”

* * *

“Eat a lot.”

As soon as the staff set the plate of cake down on the table, Raynald pushed the plate straight towards Yurina. The table where the two people sat face to face was quite wide, but there were a bunch of dishes only in front of Yurina.

Yurina looked at the delicious desserts with a happy face and pushed them back in front of him. Raynald liked sweet desserts as much as she did.

“Don’t just watch and eat. It’s a birthday cake.”

“The birthday cake reminded me of the birthday party. The whipped cream cake I had at that time was really good.”

As if immersed in memories, Raynald couldn’t take his eyes off the cake full of fruits.

Looking at it, Yurina suddenly wondered how he had spent his birthday in an unfamiliar place. She’s never heard talk of his birthday from him.

I wanted to tell him congratulations on his birthday, so I sent gifts and congratulatory letters every year.

It would be nice if he wrote what he did on his birthday and what he was pleased with, but the letter always just said thank you for the birthday present, and the details were omitted as usual.

She wanted to ask what he did on his birthday, but she couldn’t ask because the letter was long, so when she sent the letter again, his birthday was already a month ago. Because I felt like I was behind.

She was once so curious that when she sent him a happy birthday later she asked him about his birthday so she could decide what to do about her own birthday. Maybe it was when Raynald was fifteen.

If she sent it like that, she thought he would write a little bit about his birthday and send it, but the content that came back was absurdly plain.

[On this birthday, after a long time, I went to a famous restaurant in the capital and had dinner.]

What Yurina wanted was for him to explain how and with whom he ate that dinner.

He said, ‘I wasn’t able to adapt because I didn’t talk too much about private things, and I was bullied.’

Fortunately, Dave met Raynald two or three times a year, and only after Dave told her that he was doing well without having to worry, she was able to clear her worries.

‘However, It would be great if you write it in detail in the letter.’

It was only now that she met him face to face that she could ask him what she wanted to ask him.

“What have you been doing on your birthday?”

“Well, on my first birthday, Aiden gave me a surprise party with the other kids. I came out for breakfast, and suddenly Aiden popped out, covered my eyes, and took me somewhere, so I wondered what he was playing. But…”

“Did you cry because you were touched?”

Yurina laughed loudly without knowing it. Five years ago, he was moved to tears by the surprise birthday party prepared by the employees at the mansion.

“You were cute back then.”

Raynald’s ears burned red as he poked the cake. From childhood, when he was embarrassed, his ears blushed before his face.

Looking at this, Yurina felt strange as he seemed to have changed but was still the same.

“I didn’t cry.”

“Really? Somehow, your eyes turned red like a rabbit, so I think that you cried with a sniffling nose. Like in the mansion. Later, Betsy told me, and she said you were so cute at that time.”

Instead of answering, Raynald scooped a lot of cake and put it in his mouth. It was an exercise to remain silent.

‘You cried.’

Although he intended to avoid unfavorable topics, Yurina decided to pretend she hadn’t seen it. She followed Raynald with a bite of a cake in her mouth, and the fluffy cake sheets and sweet cream melted on her tongue.

Raynald, who was avoiding her gaze, laughed at her as Yurina made an exclamation.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes, it’s delicious. I think he is more skilled than the chef in the mansion.”

“Right? I told you. This is the most famous place in the kingdom.”

He puffed up with a happy face as if he had been complimented. Yurina nodded and poked the strawberry on top of the cake with a fork.

“And it tastes good, but the fruit is more amazing than that. How can you put a bunch of strawberries and green grapes on a cake during this season? It’s been a while since I have  seen strawberries.”

“It’s the Crohn’s Kingdom. You can also put preservation magic on fruits and so that they can be eaten after the season. It’s a little expensive but much cheaper than the Empire.”

“Oh, this is a fruit with a preservation spell? I’ve heard that the palace puts preservation magic on fruits, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it in person.”

Yurina put the strawberries in her mouth while observing the strawberries she had put on her fork. She thought it would be different from fresh strawberries even if it had preservation magic, but there was no difference in texture or taste.

She was excited about the strawberry she hadn’t eaten in a long time and immediately put another strawberry in her mouth, Raynald put his share of strawberry in front of Yurina’s plate. When Yurina tried to hand it back, he shook his head quickly.

“I told you, it’s easier to eat fruits here than the Empire. I’ve been eating a lot, so you can eat it. You like fruits.”

“You still remember that?”

“Of course.”

With a shrug of his shoulder, he ordered an additional tart full of strawberries despite Yurina’s dissuasion.

“Why did you order so much? I can’t eat it all.”

“If you don’t think you can finish it, just eat the fruit.”

He graciously picked up the cup of black tea in front of her as he answered Yurina. In the past, he used to drink only milk with honey, saying that he didn’t like bitter things, but now he was drinking black tea without changing his expression.

When asked by Yurina if he should use it, he replied that he was no longer a child.

Yurina also followed him sipping tea and looked around her. She heard that Crohn’s kingdom was more active in relationships than the Empire, but many men and women seemed to be lovers inside the beautifully decorated kingdom.

It felt strange to sit alone with Raynald in the middle. She felt different a few days ago being alone in a field.

“What are you thinking?”

“Huh?”

When she came to her senses, Raynald bowed his upper body and looked up close. Instead of speaking frankly, Yurina put down her teacup and pointed sideways at the next table.

“You must be very popular, Ray.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“They’ve been glancing at you for a while.”

He looked at where she pointed. As she said, three girls the same age as Yurina, who had been watching him since he entered the cafe, blushed at his gaze.

Raynald looked at them without expression and laughed at Yurina.

“It must be because of my eyes. There’s been a lot of research on Beatus since you found it.”

Hmm, I don’t think that’s right. Yurina took a sip of black tea while looking at the faces of the blushing ladies.

Maybe it was after eating sweets, but the tea felt sweeter than usual. Suddenly, the idea of eating cake disappeared, so she put down her fork.

“You’re going to stop eating? Let’s eat a little more.”

“Eat slowly. You came right after lunch.”

“Well, you’ve been eating less since you were a kid.”

Fortunately, Raynald no longer looked at the table next to him, whether he was fully aware of Yurina’s mood or not, and even took her fruits from the whipped cream cake.

Unlike him, Yurina couldn’t stop looking around.

‘He must be very popular.’

A boy like Raynald couldn’t have been unpopular. He never mentioned it in his letter, but of course, many female students of his age had confessed to him.

Yurina, who realized something she had never thought about before, frowned slightly.

“Why? What’s wrong with you?”

She shook her head as if nothing was wrong with her as she quickly captured the minute change.