Chapter 96: I will make you a dish
After spending a night at Sirud’s house, Mary and Luke were driving together and chatting as they moved.
They talked about Sirud’s grandfather, or stories from a sports event.
During their conversation, they also discussed what they did at Sirud’s house.
“So, how was last night? Mary, it must have been your first time, and I regret that it wasn’t in a better environment. I’ll make sure to prepare a proper place and setting next time. What do you say? Will you join me?”
Squeak!
However, because Luke’s way of speaking had the potential for conflict, the driver hired by Aidel family was startled and made a driving mistake.
Stopping the car on the side of the road, she spoke with a trembling voice, as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Miss? Surely… you mean… your first experience…”
Mary, also puzzled, initially smiled and then suddenly realized, her face turning red as she shouted,
“It was a game! I played a game for the first time at Sirud’s house yesterday!”
‘Luke sometimes omits subjects when she speaks!’
Was this intentional behavior to cause misunderstanding? Is Luke actually enjoying this?
Mary’s suspicion was reasonable, but Luke just clicked her tongue because it was an unconscious action.
There was a reason why Luke had trouble as well.
In the past, it wasn’t that strange to omit subjects in conversation.
That’s because almost all living things and objects had spirits, and spirits often revealed their faces by calling their names to confirm who was calling them.
So, the indiscriminate use of ‘nouns’ could inadvertently call spirits that appeared anywhere during conversation.
And the existence of spirits ultimately meant the flow of mana.
Ordinary people don’t care much about the flow of mana, but Luke was once a wizard.
Because of this, wizards sometimes omit ‘nouns’ in conversation to eliminate the cause of potential errors in mana flow from the subtle flow of magic they intended.
Most of what wizards say can be understood objectively and calmly from a situation even without nouns or subjects, and because they usually don’t talk about many topics, most of the words were quite communicable, so Luke, who was a wizard, also used that conversational style.
Therefore, even now, sometimes if you don’t pay attention, subjects are omitted in that way.
Because she’s familiar with it as a wizard.
Yes, to put it simply, Luke is deeply immersed in Super Magic League, which was created by combining the technology of this era in a single amusement area.
Wizards had as much competition as academic zeal.
Why is it that they all say that wizards are like children even when they are old?
Well, Mary and her driver, who didn’t know this, could only look at Luke, who made misunderstandings with a subtle expression.
The driver glanced at Luke and asked to confirm the truth.
“Is that really true?”
“Yeah, that’s right. We were talking about games. Is there a problem?”
“No, no problem.”
As she looked at Luke’s gaze, which seemed to be unable to understand what she was thinking, she received a look that seemed to be unable to understand what she was thinking.
No, isn’t it a possible misunderstanding to talk about a ‘first experience’ with a girl who stayed over at her ‘male’ friend’s house?
But I feel like I am the one with the problem.
‘I guess I’m not weird’
***
“Ugh. Damn it.”
The man spat out a curse and clutched his chest.
Today, the pulsing of his heart in the circle felt stronger than usual.
He gritted his teeth, trying to control the chaotic surge of magic in his heart, and gasped for breath.
“I need medicine.”
Lately, he found it increasingly difficult to control the flow of mana.
Why was that? He thought he had mastered control over his heart.
Could it be that the day of the seizure was approaching already?
“Damn, I thought I had two more days.”
Blaming the increasingly rapid cycle of seizures, he got up and rummaged through the drawer.
As always, he was looking for the medicine he kept there.
“Wait.”
Suddenly, he remembered that he hadn’t paid for the medicine yet.
What day is it today?
Fearing the uncertainty in his mind, he pulled out the drawer completely.
As soon as he turned it over, everything spilled out onto the floor.
He threw the drawer aside and frantically searched through the scattered items.
Damn it, they were all trash.
Pieces of paper with outdated information, scrolls that had been used up, and various other odds and ends.
Things that were not organized and only cluttered, proving the life he had lived.
But there was nothing to be found in the midst of this chaos.
“Damn it.”
He needed the medicine.
In a desperate frenzy, he searched not so much for something, but rather for an escape from reality, clinging to a fleeting hope that there might be at least one left if he looked hard enough.
He grabbed his trembling hands, bit his lip against the itching sensation all over his body, and focused on searching for something.
He pulled out another drawer, emptied its contents, and opened the kitchen cabinet, clearing out all sorts of miscellaneous items.
Like a madman.
Even though it might be meaningless…
“…!”
“No.”
It wasn’t meaningless.
Among the dusty trash, there were powders that were indistinguishable from dust, which were clearly leftover medication residue.
Because dust isn’t this dark shade of pink.
Didn’t they say that effort brings reward?
I don’t know if these words can be used in a place like this at all.
Hurriedly, he brushed away the pink dust with his saliva-soaked fingers and put it on his tongue.
And the effect of the medicine quickly spread.
“Kuk, haa….”
The man’s deep breath was like the sweet breath of survival that a person who had held their breath underwater for a long time would release when they finally surfaced.
Having somewhat freed himself from suffering, he looked around the messy, nauseating indoor environment.
It was dirty and repulsive.
Just like his own situation.
“Damn it.”
The man opened the phone.
[What’s going on there? You contact me first -]
“I urgently need a job.”
[Oh. An ‘urgent’ job, huh.]
The voice always unpleasant to hear, and the expression on the other side of the receiver is bright.
A bastard.
[Coincidentally, there happens to be a good job.]
***
“This is Luke’s house, huh? It’s my first time seeing Luke’s house.”
“I see. Come to think of it, Mary Aidel was the only one who confirmed my residence visually at the academy.”
“Hehe, is that true?”
“Really. Well, would you like to come in for a moment?”
“Hehe, somehow it makes me happy. No, it’s too late today, and if I stay out two days in a row, my parents will say something.”
“In that case, there’s nothing we can do. Then tell me whenever it’s convenient.”
“Really? Then later I’ll invite you to my house! But, with all that luggage, won’t it be heavy?”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry.”
After exchanging such greetings, Luke got out of Mary’s car, carrying a cello case on her back, a suitcase with clothes and a computer in her arms. She bowed her head politely towards the driver who had driven her here, thinking that the driver seemed to find Luke’s appearance courteous, and watched Luke’s back as she walked away, thinking that the kid was brave and admirable.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome. Luke.”
When Yerina greeted her, Luke gave her a slight smile, and Yerina returned it with a smile.
After the greeting, Luke carefully put down the cello case and bags containing clothes that she had brought to Sirud’s house.
Yerina helped Luke with that.
“Luke, I’ll help you.”
“Thanks. Oh, by the way, I did the laundry there. So there’s no need to do it separately.”
“Is that so? Then I guess I have to thank you.”
As she took out the clothes from the bag she had brought, Yerina smiled happily when she suddenly saw the animal pajamas.
When she saw that this was missing, she wondered if it is lost, but it turned out that it was taken with her.
“Luke, did you have a good time? How were your friends?”
“Well, it seems like Sirud doesn’t need me to worry about him anymore. He’ll probably recover soon. I’m really relieved.”
“So?”
Yerina thought to herself, seeing Luke’s relaxed expression, that she must have been quite worried about her friend in her own way.
In truth, Luke was the one who had caused her friend to fall ill, so she couldn’t help but worry. But she hadn’t explained all of this to Yerina.
“Hmm. Anyway, I gained a lot from visiting the sick.”
Luke briefly reflected on what she had gained from this outing.
She had brought Mary and Sirud closer together, exchanged contact information with Sirud’s grandfather, and even gained confidence in her own objective musical abilities. She had also introduced a child to the fun of the Super Magic League.
And finally…
“Yerina, I learned a recipe while I was there! I think you’ll really like it if you try it. How about it? Have you eaten yet? If not, I’ll make you my dish.”
Luke confidently extended her chest, folding her arms.
Yerina lightly applauded Luke’s appearance.
“Really? I was just getting hungry. Wow, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Yeah. Even though I’m not an elf, I really enjoyed it, so you’ll definitely like it too.”
Luke tied an apron around herself and asked Yerina to tie up her hair while recalling the recipe.
Perhaps because she was thinking about food, Pie, who had come close to Luke’s face, murmured as if reminding her not to forget it.
But what could she do? Despite her many words, spirits couldn’t eat.
As we were comforting Pie like that,
Watching Luke, who was tying her hair and humming a tune, Yerina felt proud.
What should I say? Does it feel like the child has already become an adult?
She thought she was glad that the child seemed to be getting brighter.
“So, what are you going to make?”
“Well, what I’m going to make is…”
Luke opened the refrigerator’s door.
As Luke checked the refrigerator’s status, her bright expression suddenly hardened.
There was nothing but one carrot, a little baby greens, and a bit of lettuce.
Yerina, who walked beside Luke and checked the refrigerator’s status, put her hand to her mouth and made a noise.
“Oh, I forgot to go shopping.”
“Yerina, we should check the list first….”
“Well… It’s too late today. Let’s just eat what we have.”
Haha, Yerina laughed without thinking.
Luke sighed as she looked at Yerina like that.
These days, I don’t know where Yerina’s mind is wandering.
Is it because she’s busy?
Come to think of it, she’s been coming home late lately, and she’s working hard on something….
At this rate, it won’t work.
“Yerina, work is important, but sometimes it’s good to take a break.”
“Yeah….”
Although I already felt that way, you know what I mean.