Ch. 254
Not long after Akia left, another visitor arrived.
Lamenting my undying popularity, I opened the door—only to find someone whose existence in this city I’d completely forgotten.
“Who was it again…?”
“It’s me, Geenie! Don’t joke around….”
“Goodbye.”
It was Bright. Since he was a pervert, I could ignore him with a clear conscience, so I slammed the door in his face.
Why did people keep interrupting me whenever I tried to focus?
I needed to finish reading all the materials I bought from the Information Guild by tonight….
“Geenie!”
Bang, bang, bang!
“It’s a bit much to kill someone just for knocking, right?”
[Very much so, yes?]
“Even if it’s Bright?”
[I feel a little sorry for Bright. He gets treated like trash just for the crime of hitting on you, Master, doesn’t he? Seeing him chase after you so happily even while being treated so poorly every time… he doesn’t feel like a stranger, so I can’t bring myself to hate him?]
Weirdos bonding through empathy.
Judging by the relentless knocking, Bright wasn’t leaving anytime soon. I sighed and shoved the documents I’d been reading under my pillow.
When I opened the door again, I scowled, ready to chew him out.
The biggest problem was that Bright would probably enjoy being chewed out.
“What is it? I told you not to come looking for me because you’re annoying!”
I growled the moment the door swung open.
Bright, who was about to speak, widened his eyes and fluttered his long lashes for a while.
By looks alone, he could pass as innocent and even decent.
“…Geenie, did you change your hairstyle?”
“You noticed.”
“Of course! Who do you think I am? I’m the president of the Geenie Fan Club!”
“How does it look?”
“It’s the best, obviously! It’s cool! It’s thrilling! As expected, there’s no style you can’t pull off, Geenie!”
“Heehee. Say more.”
“I missed you! I worked like a slave in the communications division for four days without even washing, thinking only of you!”
I didn’t miss you at all.
Honestly, I’d kind of forgotten you existed.
The words rose to my throat, but I chose the kindness of not saying them to Bright’s face—his cheeks sunken, complexion pale from constant all-nighters.
And I knew why he’d put himself through that hell: he’d traded his own labor for Toomdra tickets.
“So why are you here? I’m busy, so just state your business.”
“I heard there’s a festival opening tomorrow. It’s a festival for lovers, but… I thought it’d be nice to go with you.”
“The one with the flower crowns and all that?”
If he came to ask me on a date, he was too late.
Even if he’d come earlier, I still wouldn’t have gone with Bright.
“Yeah, but it seems you already… have someone to go with….”
“That’s right. How did you know?”
“I ran into your leader on the way here. He was searching everywhere with that big, mercenary-looking friend of his. He was practically pale—I felt bad for him.”
“Just as planned.”
“He asked me if I knew where a flower shop was, so I figured you were going there with him.”
My popularity really wouldn’t cool down, would it.
Bright kept talking, shoulders drooping.
“I don’t know any flower shops, but there’s a big flowering tree behind the Magic Tower. It’s inside the wall, and since it’s private property, the flowers are untouched… I told him about that place. The mages don’t care about flowers anyway.”
“…You told him where the flowers are?”
“Yeah. You can get in through the back alley.”
“Even though you knew I was going with him? You really are an idiot, aren’t you, senior?”
“But! It would be a disaster if you, Geenie, wore a shabby flower crown! That’s a much bigger disaster than me not getting to go with you!”
(T/N : Respect to you Bright. )
For a man who could be moved by my contempt alone, Bright’s love definitely leaned masochistic.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but if you follow us and film it, I won’t let you off easy.”
“Can’t I—can’t I just watch?”
“As if.”
“…You’re going to wear a flower crown, Geenie, and I can’t even record it!”
“Anyone would think you just got tragic news.”
Among communication-type Magic, there was a high-level spell that could record a specific person’s voice or capture their actions and store it in a Magic Orb. Bright had a history of filming me beating people up the moment he learned it existed.
I’d smashed the Magic Orb before he could use it to blackmail me.
He claimed it was “for his personal collection,” but the person I happened to be beating was the headmaster’s great-grandson, which made it a problem.
“There’s something I want to ask… can I come inside and talk?”
“Say it here.”
So he hadn’t come for a date. If he’d run into Ash on the way, he would’ve known it was a lost cause.
Bright was quicker than he looked….
“That leader. The one named Ash—he’s actually the second prince, Epiros, isn’t he?”
“…Come in.”
I hate it. I really hate it—the fact that the dazed kids swarming around me all belong to Royal Drike Academy, where only geniuses gather.
I furrowed my brow and stepped aside to let Bright in.
Mia, Iruze, Bright. To me, they were just foolish friends. In reality, they were geniuses recognized for exceptional talent in their fields.
And among them, the dumbest one was probably me.
The way they usually acted, they seemed a bit lacking… but thinking about it, that might be part of what makes them geniuses.
Thinking of Rovenin, I became certain.
Geniuses have a screw loose when it comes to everyday life.
“When did you figure it out?”
I didn’t bother denying it.
Come to think of it, it had been Bright who told me Ash left for the Path of Trials.
“His name, the fact that he’s gathering companions… and there’s no way you telling me to help someone would be for an ordinary reason, right, Geenie? I figured it had to be him. And the polymorph necklace, too.”
“The necklace… It’s impressive you recognized it. I couldn’t tell at all just by looking that it was enchanted.”
So he really was a genius in that field.
I was, despite myself, a little impressed.
“I can’t tell just by looking either.”
“Then why are you acting all high and mighty like a jerk. You wanna die?”
“I suspected he might be the second prince, so I cast Detection Magic. The necklace reacted. He had a few other magic tools too.”
“What were you going to do if you got caught?”
“As long as the second prince isn’t a more skilled mage than me, I won’t get caught.”
“…You know you have to pretend you don’t know, right?”
Bright nodded obediently, then lowered his voice like a gentle lamb.
He always looked like he’d do anything I said, but I knew the perverted beast hiding underneath.
“Geenie, if you tell me to help him, I’ll devote everything to it, of course. But the second prince is rumored to be pathologically upright. If he knows we know his identity, will he even allow our help?”
“That’s why I’m telling you to keep it secret.”
“You already know, and it seems like he knows you know, too.”
“…You only use your head at times like this.”
Bright’s guess was right.
Ash was stubbornly refusing my help.
Everything would be easier if he accepted my goodwill, but he was clinging to conscience—clearly choosing loss on purpose. Though I did like that upright side of him.
“You seem to like the second prince a lot.”
Bright’s smiling eyes looked especially deep as he studied me.
“Going to a festival you’d never go to with me… wanting to make him Emperor despite all the trouble. You’ve always been very interested in him, Geenie.”
“Are you still writing my Observation Diary?”
“Of course.”
I have to find it and burn it someday.
Bright was the person who knew me best after Rai.
The gap between them was huge, but the fact that Bright’s eyes sparkled at my every move was reason enough to beat him up sometimes.
“He seemed like a good person! You’re picky about people, Geenie, so he’ll surely be a good Emperor. If he’s good enough to win your heart, who couldn’t he win over?”
“Somehow… you look happy, senior Bright.”
The bright, foolish mask Bright usually wore wasn’t that thick. His dark thoughts slipped out often.
“Of course. If the second prince becomes Crown Prince, the possibility of things developing between us disappears completely! There’s no way you’d marry into the royal family, right? In that case, there’s still hope for me.”
“There isn’t.”
“Geenie, I know you well. You want a man you can control. A man who’s submissive, useful, doesn’t bother you, and can serve as a decent shield! No—since you want to wield him, it’d be a weapon rather than a shield.”
Mages are sly.
They’re always calculating, so you can’t judge them by their faces.
Some people say I’m too harsh on Bright, but if they saw that excited expression, they’d realize I’m being very lenient.
“Why don’t you wake up from your dream?”
[Should I bite him soon? It’s always been around this time.]
Diligently courting someone with all your heart and accepting that courtship were completely different things.
Bright’s pitiful, nice-guy act was just a tactic to cling to me.
“Why…? Geenie, can’t you come to like me?”
“Don’t you understand the common tongue? I said no.”
“I’ll try harder! Just tell me what you don’t like. Huh? What more should I do? I’ll work on my looks, and I’ll master the practical magic you like… I won’t even be jealous if you say you like the second prince more! I’ll wait demurely, okay?”
Having to explain every rejection was tiring.
Since I was tired of rejecting him, I decided to give him a little hope.
“Bright, my poor senior… there’s a golden opportunity to win my heart. Want to hear it?”
“What is it? I’ll do anything!”
“Then choose. First: bring me the Dragon Heart from the dragon that kidnapped me—avenge me and prove your love.”
“…Why don’t you just say no like you usually do?”
“Listen to the rest. There’s an easy one too. Bring me the head of my nemesis, Rovenin Fedri….”
“That also sounds like a no.”
“There’s one more. You’re giving up without even hearing it? Is that all the will you have?”
“…I feel like it’ll be pointless to hear it.”
“No, this one is really possible. You just have to try hard. Find the lost Contract Seal of the Spirit King! And it has to be the Water Spirit King’s—no others will do.”
“I really hate that the last one seems the easiest….”
Bright laughed, light as a dandelion seed drifting away, and I smiled brightly back at him.
“I’m a person with a lot of affection. And you, senior, are very useful. As long as you have uses, I won’t throw you away.”
“Yes, I love that honest side of you, Geenie!”
“Humans must have greed… Yes! I have a good idea. From what my parents say, it seems I have a lot of suitors? I should set a condition. I’ll leave out the talk about Rovenin and the dragon, and tell them to find the Contract Seal! The dowry is the Spirit King’s Contract Seal!”
My mood suddenly improved.
I’m quite the genius when it comes to schemes, you know.