Chapter 42

“Oh my, what’s going on? Why is there a man here…?”

“And an outsider at that! How did he get in here?”

“He looks unfamiliar, but he’s quite handsome, isn’t he?”

The female prospects were whispering here and there.

The looks they gave us were mixed with various emotions.

More than half were wary, while the other half was curious.

The rest…

“But isn’t that Riana next to him?”

“Did she really bring a man here? Just waltzing into this male-restricted area?”

“As expected of the troublemaker…”

They glanced at Riana.

Even though they kept their distance and whispered, the Magic Tower was quiet enough for their voices to carry clearly.

“Huh? Kairon oppa, why?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Unlike my worries, Riana seemed excessively calm.

Even though she must have heard the other female prospects badmouthing her as a troublemaker, she just smiled as if nothing had happened.

But for some reason…

That relaxed smile didn’t feel like the innocent, carefree smile of a child who knew nothing and didn’t care about their surroundings.

It was more like the mature expression of someone who knew everything.

Either “composure” or “resignation.”

The weight she carried at such a young age, evident in her facial expressions and demeanor.

It seemed Riana wasn’t just being noticed in the Magic Tower for her magical abilities alone.

Perhaps in her past life, Riana became so cold because…

“Ugh, this.”

As soon as I took a few steps inside, I couldn’t help but frown.

“Kairon oppa? Are you okay?”

“What’s wrong, Kairon?”

“…It’s nothing.”

I said it was nothing, but it really wasn’t.

The demonic energy I felt in my body had become unbearably strong, even though I had only gone a little further.

Even if I closed my eyes to block my vision, I could still accurately sense the direction of the thick demonic energy.

Abelin seemed to notice my inner thoughts as soon as she saw my expression and quietly nodded, but…

“Ugh…?”

“It’s not nothing!”

Riana reached out with both hands and grabbed my cheeks, looking up at me with worried eyes.

“You’re making such an uncomfortable face! Don’t tell me, oppa, are you…?”

As if she had reached some conclusion, Riana’s expression turned serious.

“Are you…?”

“Oppa, are you not used to being around women?”

“…”

It was a question I had never thought about.

Whether I was used to it or not.

I had never really considered that issue.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t that I wasn’t used to it.

Of course, I had never been in a romantic relationship, but I had met many women in my life.

There were quite a few female members in the Vanguard I was part of, and there were also many women who helped the Vanguard.

“That’s not it. Riana, does my face look red to you?”

“Not really. You just look uncomfortable.”

“There’s no way I’m not used to it. You don’t know what kind of life I led before joining the Vanguard, do you, Riana? I was pretty popular, you know.”

“Hmm… I can see that.”

Riana nodded obediently at my boastful joke.

“Oppa is handsome, after all. And well-built.”

“You don’t have to flatter me. I’ve never thought of myself as handsome. And what do you mean by ‘well-built’?”

“People who think they’re handsome are usually weird. But you don’t need to think that way, you heard it yourself, right?”

Riana pointed at the other female prospects who had been whispering.

“They said it themselves. That you’re handsome.”

“Ugh…!”

The prospects who had been pointed at were startled and quickly left.

After badmouthing Riana, they must have realized that their conversation had been overheard and were now feeling embarrassed.

They were the ones who had been talking loudly in the first place, so what were they thinking?

“It’s true that Kairon is good-looking.”

While I was glaring at the backs of the female prospects who had hurriedly left, Abelin agreed nonchalantly.

“But what does being good-looking matter? He’s not very considerate and has no sense of awareness.”

“Abelin. What are you saying right now?”

“I’m just giving you a normal compliment. For being so dedicated to your duties as a member of the Vanguard without getting distracted.”

“That doesn’t sound like a compliment… Huh?”

Wait a minute, come to think of it, Abelin knows about my past, right?

After winning the Swordsmanship Competition, I wasn’t just flooded with offers to become someone’s bodyguard.

There were also offers to join high-ranking positions in mercenary and adventurer guilds, and even the military offered me prestigious roles.

And among those offers, there were just as many…

Matchmaking proposals.

There were various methods.

Some would bring their daughters, relatives, or acquaintances to dinner and subtly seat them next to me.

Others would send matchmakers who demanded exorbitant fees just to invite me to their homes, showing me portraits of potential matches and asking me to choose one.

Of course, I refused them all.

Because I remembered what my sword instructor had told me.

-“The idea that you become stronger when you have something to protect is wrong. In fact, personal attachments make you weaker. Your body, mind, and spirit. Especially when it comes to romantic feelings. So don’t make the same mistake I did.”-

My instructor had said it so grandly, but not forming romantic attachments wasn’t as difficult as he made it sound.

I wasn’t particularly drawn to forced relationships anyway.

Thanks to that, in my past life…

Until the very end of my life, if it hadn’t been for that one thing…

If it hadn’t been…

I naturally glared at Abelin.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Kairon?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“You’re angry, aren’t you? Angry!”

Abelin’s kiss.

For some reason, thinking about it made my face heat up.

But as I tried to ignore the heat and kept walking…

“Ah! A man! There’s a man here!”

“Look at that shameless gaze! He’s so lecherous!”

I could feel the misunderstandings piling up.

I had just followed the demonic energy I felt in the female prospects’ accommodation area, but even though I wasn’t looking, there were more women feeling embarrassed and ashamed than I expected.

Just as my instructor had taught me not to form unnecessary attachments, it was common for Magic Towers around the world to control the affections and friendships of their prospects so they could focus solely on magic and academics.

And when you don’t get close to someone, curiosity grows, but so does wariness and rejection.

Right now, my presence was causing quite a bit of discomfort and wariness among the female prospects of the Rostia Magic Tower.

In other words, I was unintentionally causing trouble.

“Kairon oppa, are we really going to keep going like this?”

“Yeah. We need to go deeper. But it seems like I’m causing a lot of discomfort to people like this… Riana, Abelin. Do you happen to have any cloth or something?”

“Cloth?”

“Why do you need cloth, oppa?”

“Well…”

Abelin pulled a handkerchief from her pocket.

It was clearly made of a very high-quality and expensive material.

The reason I needed cloth was…

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to do.”

Abelin tied the handkerchief around my face, covering my eyes, and grumbled.

Riana also asked in a worried voice.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay? You can’t see in front of you.”

“But this is the way for the sake of the women in the Magic Tower. Since they find my gaze uncomfortable, it’s only right to cover it.”

“You said I wasn’t considerate, but now you’re being considerate in a weird way.”

By the way, what’s this?

Sniff sniff-

For some reason, a strange yet sweet, familiar scent tickled my nose…

Tight-

“Ah…!”

“What are you doing? Don’t sniff it!”

Abelin’s handkerchief tightened around my eyes.

“Are you okay, oppa? Should I hold your hand?”

“I’m fine. Despite how I look…”

I took a deep breath.

One sense, vision, was sealed.

That meant I could redirect the nerves focused on vision to other senses.

I tried to feel the flow of wind and mana through touch.

“Alright, shall we go?”

I started walking confidently.

It wasn’t precise, but I could roughly sense where I needed to go.

Moreover, the most reliable landmark was the source of the demonic energy, which grew stronger the closer I got.

“Huh? Uh? Oppa, are we going the right way?”

“Yeah. Why, is there a problem?”

“You do know where you’re going, right? If we keep going this way…”

For some reason, Riana hesitated and trailed off.

“Oh my, move!”

“What? He’s walking so confidently with his eyes covered…!”

And because I wasn’t worried about my gaze, my steps became more confident and faster.

Partly because others naturally moved out of the way as I walked purely by instinct.

Thanks to that, I arrived at the source of the demonic energy much more easily and quickly than I had expected.

“Abelin.”

“Yes?”

“It’s right here.”

“Here… Take off the handkerchief, Kairon.”

As I removed the handkerchief upon reaching the destination, what appeared before my eyes was clearly a special accommodation.

While other accommodations were shared rooms for multiple people, the one in front of me was unmistakably a single room.

And it was lavishly decorated, clearly meant for someone special.

“Riana, is there any way we can go inside?”

“Huh? Really? You’re really asking that without knowing, right?”

“Why? It looks like a special accommodation. Can’t you get in with your authority as a high magician candidate?”

“Of course I can. Because this is…”

Riana smiled brightly and added.

“My accommodation?”