32 - The Youngest is Hiding a Lot
Chapter 32
The clouds receded, and the moon revealed itself. The gray-blue eyes that appeared under the moonlight shimmered with a mysterious light.
“Khalid……”
As his name was called, he grinned.
“Yeah.”
“You……”
I moved my feet again, which had been paused as if bewitched.
“I didn’t expect you to welcome me like this.”
Khalid stood up as if he was used to it and spread his arms.
“I……”
Thump, thump, thump. Before I knew it, my walk had turned into a run.
And then, just like that.
“I told you not to block me!”
Thwack!
The boy’s body staggered from the light headbutt.
Scamper, scamper. The animal friends were terrified and ran away.
“Wow, the headbutt is new.”
“It’s because my fist is a water fist! Why!”
I shook my fist and huffed and puffed. Khalid only smiled faintly, stroking his stomach.
“Tch.”
Ironically, it was me who had tears welling up in my eyes.
My head is more dazed? How can a little kid’s body be so hard!
“Everything’s fine, but can you give me a warning before you come at me like that? I unknowingly put strength into it. I didn’t break anything, did I?”
It was a very pride-hurting thing to say from the attacker’s point of view.
“And when did I ever block you that you’re bringing it up now?”
“So you did block me!”
“Malfunction. I just said malfunction, didn’t I?”
“Do you think you can fool me?”
I growled again. Khalid, who was a head taller than me, stared at me intently.
“So, Master. What are you doing here?”
Softly curving eyes. The corners of his lips rising coolly.
“Even pretending to be dead after abandoning me.”
Oh, that’s a bit of an angry face.
I took a step back without realizing it. The boy, who had been staring at the distance I had moved away, suddenly came closer and grabbed my shoulder.
“No. You can’t run away anymore.”
“No, wait a minute……”
“I finally caught you.”
“Huh?”
“I finally found you.”
What did he catch? Did I mishear? As I tilted my head, Khalid smiled with an ambiguous expression.
“So what are you doing here? You’re obviously hiding that you’re a magician. That outfit is…… Don’t tell me.”
Eyes that were a subtle mix of gray and blue scanned my head and clothes intently.
“No way, right?”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly. Leaving aside the short-cut hair, what I was wearing now was clothing I had bought from a boutique a few days ago.
A luxurious and neat outfit that fit my body perfectly…….
A boy’s clothes.
“Duke Jebert wouldn’t be that hopeless, would he? Right?”
“Well, it’s kind of a result of several misunderstandings.”
“……”
Khalid shut his mouth tightly. He was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even find the words to say.
I didn’t miss the opportunity and changed the subject.
“What about you, what’s with showing up without any contact? You started with an explosion out of nowhere……. What if you had been caught!”
“Then should I have just stood by and watched as the Magical beast charged at you?”
“The knight Uncle would have taken care of it……”
“It’s fine since I wasn’t caught.”
I was speechless at his tone, which didn’t seem to want to back down. As I stared at him silently, Khalid glanced at me and grumbled softly.
“……My body moved first, what else could I do?”
Sigh, a short sigh escaped.
He was always like that. After being rescued from that cave prison, he followed me around like a puppy.
‘Of course, there’s no puppy that looks as dangerous as him, though.’
Offering me the ‘Oath of Truth’ was an extension of that.
The magic power intertwined like a single root was entirely under my control. Until I cut it off first, he would have no choice but to serve as my servant.
‘Will you die if I tell you to die? Why are you messing up your own fate?’
I can’t help it.
If he shows even the slightest sign of regret later, I’ll have to let him go right away…….
“……”
As I stared intently at the boy in front of me, I naturally made eye contact with the squirrel on top of his head.
Munch, munch.
Looking at the gentle eyes munching on acorns, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“You really have no fear. You’ve been gently coaxing me with a squirrel since the castle walls.”
“Why are you saying such embarrassing things like coaxing?”
Seriously, what is he even saying?
“I told you.”
Khalid briefly moved his magic power. At that moment, the yellow heterochromia faded from the squirrel’s black eyes.
“Protecting you is my job.”
The squirrel, whose soul had returned, sniffed in the air and then ran away in a hurry.
“Don’t say you’ve forgotten my oath.”
The corners of his lips, which were slightly raised, drew an even longer curve.
‘I felt it from the first time I met him…….’
His handsomeness, which couldn’t be hidden even by his shabbiness, wasn’t a matter of age…….
Dark navy hair with a bluish tinge, eyes with a strange swirl of gray and blue. And the two vertical dots under his left eye.
‘Just grow up like this.’
-He’s a prime example of that.
“Sigh, okay, so put your magic power away.”
“You’re the only one here who can sense magic power anyway.”
Khalid answered a little crookedly.
He didn’t have much knowledge as a magician, but he was born with magic power. So much so that even that Magic Tool couldn’t suppress it all.
So, it’s the opposite of me.
“Boo, no showing off your magic power!”
I couldn’t help but jeer out of envy.
“You’re back to your habit of glossing over things.”
Khalid shook his head and muttered. I smiled slightly and took a small step back.
“Later. I’ll tell you later, so don’t ask any more questions, don’t show off your magic power, and just say okay……”
“Ha.”
A moment of silence passed. Cal, who had been staring down at me intently, bit his lip slightly and lowered his head, wondering what he was thinking.
“You’re going to gloss over things like that and abandon me again……”
Huh?
I was quite embarrassed. The boy’s fist, clenched so hard that it turned white, was trembling slightly. His solid shoulders were also subtly…….
Huh?
“Ka, Cal? You’re not crying, are you?”
“I can’t feel your magic power, they said all the magicians who went to the Canalan Canyon died……. What on earth was I supposed to do at that time……”
“Ah, they didn’t die!”
I was so embarrassed that I blurted out whatever came to mind.
“What?”
Khalid’s head snapped up. His cheeks were dry, but I was already flustered and kept talking.
“I let them go.”
His eyes widened slightly as he looked at me.
“What…… do you mean?”
“I broke their magic cores, so they won’t be able to use magic and will live with chronic illnesses for the rest of their lives. Their lifespans will be shortened a lot, too. But they all said they didn’t care……. Anyway, they didn’t die!”
I waved my arms around and explained enthusiastically.
It was the last operation.
The magician unit passing through the Canalan Canyon was ambushed by a Dark Creature. It was a crisis, but on the other hand, it was also an opportunity.
I was going to abandon them and run away to meet Leviathan Uncle. But…… the faces of the remaining young magicians kept bothering me.
I faked everyone’s death as if they had been annihilated by the Dark Creature.
“Ha……. Then what were those corpses?”
“They were just decoys made of dirt.”
“You made all that by yourself?”
“I didn’t need to make all of it anyway……”
It was just a matter of leaving a few limbs.
Khalid bit his lip until it bled and couldn’t help but press me.
“Then you should have made your corpse a little better, why did you only get caught……!”
I smiled ambiguously and closed my mouth. But if I said it, he would definitely get angry…….
But Khalid quickly realized the truth of my silence. He raised one corner of his mouth coldly.
“……It was on purpose. So that the other kids wouldn’t be suspected. You wanted to turn the attention to you.”
