CH 7

D1.

“Dante, when an immortal falls in love with a mortal, disaster will occur.”

Those were the words of Dante’s first and last teacher when he was growing up listening to the sound of ‘genius’.

But every time Dante heard those words, he thought. There would be no day when disaster would come upon him.

***

Dante had an extraordinary talent for magic.

His memory started with feeling the presence of magic, and the amount of his innate mana also surpassed that of any magician. He was such a dazzling talent that there was no need for verification.

There was a person who recognized Dante like that at a glance and brought him to the Magic Tower. Her name was Julian, who had ruled the tower for hundreds of years, and she was to be Dante’s teacher.

Julian was so wise she could guess early on that the child she had brought would become a transcendent and attain immortality. Maybe he will be able to become a magician that surpasses herself.

The first thing that such a teacher taught Dante wasn’t the basics of studies or the secrets of the world.

She taught him how to endure the vast, long years ahead. To her little disciple, who seems to have the potential to live an infinite time.

Don’t dwell on the end of life, but don’t take death lightly. It doesn’t matter if you have someone dear to you. But don’t focus on the emotions that your loved ones elicit. Don’t deny your feelings, but so that you can quickly forget them.

Immortals mustn’t love mortals. Immortals will be left alone, and the mere fact that they are left alone will be forever painful. To love someone who will one day disappear is the same as regretting immortality.

Dante, who believed in his wise teacher, accepted her teachings without hesitation. Because he was clever, he instinctively knew that this teaching would be necessary for him.

However, he only felt the necessity, and never fully felt her teachings.

As he always lived a life lacking in earnestness and enthusiasm.

There were no major trials in Dante’s life. He rarely longed for anything, and he never liked or loved anyone first.

Growing up hearing the sound of ‘genius’ from birth, he was accustomed to favor and interest. Everywhere he went, there was at least one person who looked at him with longing eyes, and Dante was accustomed to accepting that fact.

It was rather awkward for him not to receive attention. The reason he grew up right, when he could have been arrogant, was because his teacher was wise, and because he was born with a clever brain.

The wisdom of the teacher who can correct the disciple’s mind whenever it goes wrong, and the brain that realizes that this is a foolish feeling.

And it was thanks to his luck that he was born with it all.

Yeah, in a word, he was lucky.

It was often the case that when he found a favorable person, that person already had a greater favor towards him. However, there were too many such people around for him to be grateful for the other person’s feelings.

So it was always Dante who had the upper hand in the relationship. He was neither desperate nor dear to the relationships that had been formed. It didn’t happen that he loved something first, even if it wasn’t necessarily love between lovers.

Of course, not everyone in the world liked him, but there was no reason for Dante to like them either.

He once asked his fellow magician about his unrequited love, and asked, as if he didn’t understand.

“Why do you like someone who doesn’t like you? Isn’t this a problem that can be solved just by meeting someone who likes you?”

“Senior.”

Hearing Dante’s stupid answer, the junior smiled lightly and asked.

“Have you ever liked someone first?”

“…No, I don’t think so.”

“I thought so. Senior looks like you grew up surrounded by people who like you.”

And it was as it was said. Dante didn’t understand the psychology itself of being worried because of other people. It was as he had seen people do that to him, yet he had never done it to himself.

Would he have fully realized his teacher’s teaching that he shouldn’t love mortals?

It was a miracle that he continued to repeat her teachings even though he had never experienced it. Because fools sometimes simply forget things they haven’t experienced.

But Dante, far from foolishness, only thought so. He was glad.

If disaster is what comes from immortals falling in love with mortals, then there will be no disaster for himself.

He couldn’t even guess what the disaster was or how painful it was, but it was even more fortunate. If possible, I didn’t want to know that forever.

One way or another, Dante was lucky, and his life went as smoothly as expected. Without meeting anyone who would cause him a disaster.

***

All the masters of the Magic Tower were obliged to interpret ancient magic.

By the time Dante obtained immortality, his teacher left him, giving him the seat of the Master of the Magic Tower. Due to the closed nature of the tower, there was no significant change even if the Master of the Magic Tower changed after a few hundred years.

Dante, who was becoming increasingly annoyed by people’s attention, cut off all relationships with the excuse that he had to interpret ancient magic. It didn’t matter anyway, as most of the people were one-sidedly clinging to him anyway.

And as the years of his life approached 100 years, the only people he could call ‘acquaintances’ were his secretary and a few powerful people who helped with the work of the Magic Tower. Only those whom he wanted to cut off but couldn’t were left with him.

Although the number of people around him decreased, the tiredness Dante felt was still there. Because the hordes who overestimated the power of ancient magic bothered him.

They said that Dante, who could wield ancient magic and did nothing, was foolish. They said that if only they had that power, they could rule the world, and in the past, they were even greedy for the position of the Master of the Magic Tower.

The attention they gave wasn’t of the kind of admiration and sympathy that Dante had often received. To put it bluntly, it was a mixture of all sorts of stinky emotions, including hostility, obsession, and jealousy. It wasn’t something he could shake off.

And on the day that greed reached its peak, Dante was seriously injured while dealing with the pouring attack as if he was determined. The only place he could escape to before the book containing the ancient magic was stolen was a deserted forest.

It was difficult to ask for help with his exhausted body, but fortunately there was someone nearby. The one who rescued him said something to Dante and healed his wounds.

In that moment, all Dante remembered was that their voice was so indifferent, and the power touching his wounds was weak.

But, whatever. It only mattered that the person helped him and that he survived.

Until then, there was nothing really important other than that fact.

***

Even after Dante regained consciousness, he couldn’t immediately leave the house of the person who took care of him.

The reason was simple. He hadn’t yet fully recovered, and with this unrecovered body, on which he couldn’t deal with anyone, also there was nowhere else to go.

That was the whole reason for staying here, Dante thought so.

The person who made him stay and looked after him was infinitely indifferent. Shortly after they began to get along, Dante noticed that she had no interest in him.

She didn’t even care when he was so nervous that he spoke coldly. Although she threatened him to speak politely, she wasn’t offended by what he said, all because of her indifference.

At first he was just unfamiliar with her appearance, but as time passed, he gradually got used to the indifference. It was strange that he had no eyes that followed him, but it wasn’t a bad feeling.

Rather, it was more on the pleasant side.

Watching her take no interest in everything in the world seemed to free him from the gazes he had been receiving all his life. How strange it is for him to feel comfortable with someone he meets unexpectedly.

He was so used to that indifference that he was embarrassed whenever he got her attention. Seeing him panic, she treated him as a shy person, but for Dante it was very unfair. There is no other person who is as familiar with people’s eyes as he is.

Yet he couldn’t refute it because it’s true that he’s been particularly embarrassed these days.

***

His curiosity grew naturally when he realized he felt comfortable with the type of person he had never met before.

There’s nothing left to do, as he has to focus on recovery anyway, and Dante often spends time observing the person he lives with. As he said before, he was unfamiliar with her every move, so it was fun to watch her.

It was an interest close to the discoverer of a rare animal, and he, who was often bored after gaining immortality, was pleased with that.

Clearly, until then, she was the one who comforted Dante’s boredom, nothing more, nothing less.

However, watching someone is equal to getting to know them. Not only their everyday appearance, but also the parts of them you didn’t expect to find out.

Dante noticed that before she went to buy something, she asked if he needed anything. He knew that if he wanted to fall asleep, she would cover him with a blanket, and he wouldn’t mind a single grain of it, and at some point, he started worrying about it.

It was really a kindness he didn’t expect, and that’s why… It felt precious.

He must have been glad that he had found a hidden side. Or is it because the interest in the other person has only grown rather than decreased?

On a particularly sunny day, Dante noticed that her eyes glow amber in sunlight.

Perhaps her eyes were light brown, so when light was absorbed, it would have taken on a paler amber color. It would have been better if his knowledge of it had simply ended with the dry sentence, “I knew that.”

He realized that it was possible because he had only looked at her from night to day until the day came.

During the entire day, he had only seen one person in his eyes. He didn’t even notice the passing of time, and he didn’t even realize it himself.

From that little realization, Dante learned a lot about her.

For example, things like the facial expressions she makes when she’s dumbfounded. He learned that she was weak and made a painful noise every time she lifted a heavy object, that she had a habit of clicking her fingers when she put her chin on her hand, that she always woke up early because she had no morning sleep, and that her eyes were folded in a half-moon shape when she smiled.

Also that her hair fluttered a little above her shoulders, that her auburn hair looked a light brown on a fine day, until that when she made a satisfied expression, the corners of her lips went up first. He noticed facts that even herself wouldn’t know well.

Things that are trivial and useless to anyone who sees them, things that he wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t looked closely.

Still, he wasn’t satisfied and wanted to know more. He sometimes wondered what expression she would make when she turned around, also why she looked at the sky for no reason while making a blank expression.

He wondered why her name was only one letter of the alphabet, whether that was originally her name, and if there was another name, what it would be.