“Phew…”
After reading about the basics of dark magic in the Necronomicon, I closed my eyes and materialized what I had learned.
I smirked faintly.
‘This should work…’
The reason I chose dark magic was simple.
I thought I might be able to use it.
Since I couldn’t wield regular magic, I needed another way to grow stronger.
And as expected, dark magic was exactly the kind of power I sought.
The fundamentals of dark magic were similar to regular magic.
It uses mana to create miracles.
But why is it called “dark” magic?
Because the mana required is fundamentally different from ordinary mana.
The mana used in dark magic—let’s call it “dark mana”—can’t be gathered from the air like regular mana.
In a way, it’s simpler than that.
It’s all about making a deal.
You pay a price, and in return, you receive dark mana.
A power rooted in thorough calculation.
Still, it wasn’t called “dark” magic for no reason.
In most cases, the price demanded by dark magic is directly or indirectly linked to life.
It could be a part of your body, or even your lifespan.
Thus, the dark magic described in the Necronomicon was a double-edged sword.
To cut down your opponent, you had to cut yourself as well—a high-risk, high-return power.
Since nobody wants to expend their own life force, most dark magic users resort to sacrifices.
Instead of sacrificing themselves, they offer others to gain power.
Some of the notorious dark magicians from the past have claimed hundreds, even thousands of lives.
But when I saw this dark magic, I couldn’t help but smile.
That’s because I had something to offer.
More than enough, in fact.
Yes.
Not even a week ago,
I saw the light emanating from my chest.
That was the overflow of vitality.
In terms of the costs dealt with in dark magic—excluding the soul—it was none other than this vitality that was considered the most precious.
‘I don’t need much. Just enough to cast a curse on him.’
Dark mana, unlike normal mana, carries a malevolent aura, making it specialized in curses rather than magic.
Perhaps Lily’s curse used dark magic?
The way both Lily and dark magic utilized vitality seemed quite similar.
After refreshing my knowledge, I once again buried my head in the book and continued reading.
The goal was one month.
I had to grow strong enough to cast a curse within one month.
Regardless of the purpose, anger is more than enough to drive human actions.
After two hours of reading the Necronomicon, when it was time to go, I slipped the book back into my pocket and stood up.
After returning the cover book to its place, I was about to leave the library when,
“Studying here is quite a rarity lately, isn’t it?”
The librarian’s words stopped me in my tracks.
“Hmm… has it been that long?”
“Indeed it has. I was surprised when such a diligent studier suddenly changed.”
“Ahahaha…”
—Playing around with Lily instead of studying is something I couldn’t say, even on pain of death—
“Still, as they say, love changes a person.”
“…What?”
“Mother, did you really think I wouldn’t know?”
The librarian pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.
Upon closer inspection, it was a newspaper.
As expected, the newspaper had a picture of me and Lily attached to it.
“Busy dying trying to hang out with your pretty girlfriend, huh?”
“Ahahaha…”
If the librarian knows…
Could all the professors know as well?
“Still, looks like Arthur finally got permission, huh? Coming back to study on your own.”
“It’s exam period, so I barely managed to get permission.”
“To think you were such a persistent type—Arthur, you’re quite domestic.”
“Domestic? Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
Of course, if Lily had refused until the end, I would have stayed with her regardless of revenge or anything else…
‘Hmm, that’s not entirely wrong…’
“Still, it’s fortunate. You look much better now than before.”
“Huh… really?”
“Yeah, both your complexion and attitude. You seem to have gained some weight too—does your girlfriend cook well?”
“Uh… how did you know?”
“Obvious, what else?”
I scratched my cheek, feeling a little awkward.
Now that I think about it, I’ve visited the library much less frequently than before, being busy with Lily.
It seems like all my thoughts now revolve around Lily, leaving little room to care about anything else.
If I had to pick the most important connection in my life, it would obviously be Lily. Still, the librarian and Reeti have been crucial connections that supported me until now.
“From now on, I’ll try to visit more often.”
“No, it’s fine. At your age, love is the most important thing.”
“But…”
“It’s okay, if you like. And if you encounter this year’s freshmen you like, maybe it’s like seeing your first-year self.”
“My first-year self…”
Ah, a bookworm.
“Hehe, is there someone like me?”
“I was surprised too. She reads books here every break. She’s probably here now… Ah, there she is.”
Following the librarian’s pointed direction, I saw a female student.
Her dark night-colored wavy hair went down to her back, and her prominent glasses gave her an intellectual look.
She was holding a thick book in her hand, and there were more books of similar thickness stacked beside her.
“Wow, she really likes reading, huh?”
“Isn’t that what you’d say?”
That’s true, but…
“At this speed, she might read as much as you have in no time.”
“Remarkable.”
I genuinely marveled.
Then, the girl’s eyes met mine.
Her deep night-colored eyes were just like her hair.
‘Oh no, was I staring too much?’
I tried to quickly look away but—
She suddenly turned her gaze back to the book. It felt quite awkward.
‘…What was that?’
She acted as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have.
‘I might have hurt her feelings.’
Nevertheless, it was a fortunate incident.
If students like her are here, the librarian wouldn’t be lonely.
“Ah, I must not have been holding you up too long—your girlfriend must be waiting.”
“No, I appreciated the conversation.”
“Go on. Charm her well.”
“Yes, I will.”
Giving a polite bow to the librarian, I exited the library.
When I closed the library door, I thought I saw her dark night eyes through the glass,
‘…Probably my imagination.’
Surely, it couldn’t be that she was looking at me.
Not being too self-conscious or anything…
Shaking my head to gather my wits, I headed towards the dormitory.
A while later, as I reached in front of my room, I hesitated for a moment.
‘…Let’s try.’
Passing by my room, I approached the adjacent one.
After taking a deep breath,
Ding dong~
I pressed the bell attached to the door.
After a short wait, a voice came from behind the door.
“What is it?”
“Oh, I’m Arthur from the next room. By any chance, did you see a suspicious person lingering in front of my room yesterday?”
“Suspicious person?”
“Yeah. Somewhere between lunchtime and the end of class.”
“Uh… sorry. I had lunch at the cafeteria, so I wasn’t around here at that time.”
“Ah…”
Upon reflection, that was right.
Generally, you wouldn’t come to the dormitory during that time.
At most, a few students might come to eat lunch, but afterward, they would all attend class.
‘Looks like I can’t gather information.’
In the first place, without a witness, an investigation becomes useless.
“Alright. Thanks for answering my question.”
“Sure.”
The voice cut off abruptly.
I sighed deeply in front of that door.
‘Huh… too few clues.’
With this, even if I learn dark magic, it seems I won’t be able to find the person to cast the curse on.
I need to think of a new method.
But I’ll leave that for tomorrow.
It’s time to head back for now.
As I grabbed the door handle, the magic recognized me and opened the door.
“I’m back.”
“Arthur~!”
The sound of rapid footsteps came, and in an instant, Lily surged towards me.
“Uwaak!”
“Welcome back, Arthur. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine. So, could you stop feeling me up?”
Your hand is grazing inappropriate places, making me slightly uncomfortable.
“Weren’t you tired from studying after such a long break?”
“I’m fine. Two hours is no problem.”
At my most focused time, I used to sit at the desk all day.
Two hours is like eating porridge.
“Did you leave anything behind?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Did anyone bother you?”
“No, they didn’t.”
“Then did you do anything inappropriate?”
“Impossible.”
Lily bombarded me with questions while tightly hugging me.
Answering one by one, she suddenly brought her nose to the collar of my neck.
“Kk…kk…”
Ah, this happened last time too…
“Lily.”
Lily’s voice turned icy instantly.
Her eyes, which she lifted from my neck, were glowing with bloodlust.
It felt like staring into the eyes of a starving lion, making my legs tremble.
“Did you talk to a woman?”
What?! How did she know?
“At, a librarian… just a short conversation…”
“…Really?”
“Would I lie to Lily…?”
Unfortunately, I hesitated for a moment, having too many guilty points.
Lily narrowed her eyes.
“Could it be that your taste leans towards… human types like librarians?”
“There’s no way!!”
At my shout, Lily said,
“Fuhehe, of course it is.”
Ah, this was teasing.
My fault for not noticing.
“Well, well. Our Arthur is so deeply infatuated with me that he wouldn’t even notice other women. Right~?”
“Th, that’s right.”
Lily smiled faintly and grabbed my cheeks with both hands.
With a charming smile, Lily asked,
“Were you lonely?”
Naturally,
“Yes, I missed you to the point of going mad.”
“Huhehe, I did too.”
Short, short… deep.
Lily, after briefly kissing my lips twice and deeply once, traced my lips with her finger.
“Not as much as yesterday, but since you’ve made me lonely to this extent, comfort me, alright?”
“Yes, I will.”
Short
After a finishing kiss, Lily straightened her back.
“Wash your hands and come over; I prepared dinner early.”
Dinner tonight was Old One’s grilled dish.
After a happy dinner,
As I sipped honey liquor,
Lily spoke.
“Well, it’s time for something very important now?”
“Something important?”
“Yup~ Something super important.”
Lily pulled me up and stood me in the middle of the room, stretching her hand into empty space.
As if pulling something, she then
Chhhrrr
A long rod appeared out of nowhere.
Each of the rods had clothes made with what appeared to be high-end fabric hanging on it.
“This… could it be…”
“Yup, it’s a tuxedo!”
Oh my god.
Thus, I had to change attire several times as Lily searched for the tuxedo she liked.
“Hmm! This one’s the best.”
“Hhhh…”
“Good job~”
Short
Lily kissed my exhausted forehead.
Thanks to that, I managed to gather some energy and forced myself up.
“I don’t really know much about it, though.”
“Huhehe, my sense of clothing is absolute. Just believe me.”
She seemed to handle that part quite well.
As I idly touched the lapel of the suit, I suddenly realized Lily had gone quiet.
“Lily?”
With no response, I turned around to find Lily staring at me intently.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Didn’t I think the prince-in-white-horse trend was long over?”
“Huh?”
Lily, without saying anything, approached me,
“Open your arms.”
Confused, I opened them, and with that, Lily slipped into my arms.
“Hm…”
Lily didn’t move for a while, burying her face in my chest.
“Uh… Lily? Are you alright?”
“…No.”
“Huh?”
Lily, lifting her head from my embrace, had her face flushed red.
“My heart feels like it’s about to burst.”
“Why…”
“Arthur, would you make me one promise?”
Though an ominous premonition struck me, as it was Lily’s request,
“…What is it?”
“Will you try on other clothes when you have time?”
“…”
“What?! Treating me like a dress-up doll, huh…?”
“In return, I’ll wear whatever you pick for me.”
“WHAT?!”
At that moment, images started flooding my mind.
Lily in a neat uniform,
Lily in simple civilian clothes,
Lily in an opulently adorned outfit,
And most of all…
Lily at the beach with her porcelain skin—
“Lily.”
“Yyess?!”
“Did you just think of something dirty?”
“A, No! Not at all!”
In surprise, my pronunciation slipped entirely.
Chuckling at my reaction, Lily whispered into my ear,
“Shall we go to the beach this summer?”
Goodness me.
Gripping Lily tightly, I asked,
“Really?”
“Of course~ Spending the night there and coming back would be wonderful, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, yes, I’d love to!”
“Huhehe, you’re being overly enthusiastic, aren’t you?”
How could I not be?
To go to the beach with Lily…
I’ve never been to the beach in my entire life.
The emerald sea I’ve only seen in books…
And Lily standing against that backdrop.
It made my chest tighten just imagining it.
The sticky, muggy season I’ve never looked forward to, summer.
For the first time in my life, it became a season I eagerly awaited.
