Book 1 Chapter 606

606.

Niel and Marchell were sitting at opposite ends of the room.

They didn't even look at each other, their heads sharply turned away.

The warm heat rising from the floor naturally made their bodies hotter.

Niel felt a needless thirst and reached for a water bottle in a corner of the room.

The moment he poured water into a cup and brought it to his lips.

"Pwah! Wh-what? Is this alcohol?"

Niel, who had spit out the alcohol he had in his mouth, wiped his lips and hastily checked the other water bottles.

"They're all alcohol!"

Niel, wearing an incredulous expression, urgently headed to the hot spring connected to the room.

Niel scooped a cup of hot, steaming hot spring water, cooled it, and took it into his mouth.

"Kuh-hek?!"

The pungent taste that instantly filled his entire mouth made Niel involuntarily spit the water onto the floor.

"Wh-what is this?"

He hastily looked to the side.

"Good for skin health and fatigue recovery. Harmless to the human body, but the taste is strange, so do not drink."

Niel felt a headache coming on.

In the end, it meant that if he was thirsty, the only thing he could drink was alcohol.

'This is driving me crazy, really.'

"Don't make a fuss, Niel Rhoda."

At that moment, Marchell sighed and spoke.

Niel snorted at those words and returned to his original seat.

Just then, a strange silence began to flow again.

Gurrrrrrgle-!

A sound came from Marchell's stomach.

At that, Marchell covered his face.

Niel scoffed, looking at Marchell.

"As expected, a wizard who just sits in a room and reads books. You have no willpower. To make such a pathetic sound after just one day of hunger…"

Gurrrrrrgle-!

"…"

The same sound came from Niel's stomach.

In a way, it was natural for such a sound to occur.

Niel and Marchell.

The two of them had been hungry all day.

In addition, during the day, they had done purely physical labor without using aura or magic.

And now, all sorts of delicious food laid out in the room were stimulating their sense of smell.

Their bodies couldn't help but react honestly.

Marchell glanced at Niel, who sharply turned his head, his face beet red.

'Ah, this is so embarrassing!'

Niel pressed down on his thoughtlessly growling stomach and screamed inwardly.

He had scoffed for nothing, and now he was about to receive even more ridicule.

"Pffft."

At that moment, Marchell burst into laughter.

"You haven't changed, Niel Rhoda."

"What do you mean?"

"The needlessly rigid part. You're strict even with yourself. And you become an utter fool when it comes to anything related to your lord."

"Hmph! Do you think you're not like that? You're needlessly free-spirited, aren't you? And you're just as much of a fool as I am!"

Niel, having snapped back, sighed.

Marchell looked at Niel and said,

"Shall we eat first?"

"…Yeah."

Niel also nodded.

It was strange to continue starving in front of food when they were hungry.

And it wasn't like the food was to blame.

Marchell ate a piece of meat dish and exclaimed in admiration.

"This is very delicious."

"Don't eat it."

"Why are you picking a fight?"

"I made it. So don't eat it."

"…"

Marchell let out a deep sigh.

"It seems I told young master Leo something useless. If I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn't have done it."

"Useless talk?"

"There is such a thing."

"…"

Niel, who hesitated for a moment after hearing Marchell's words, asked,

"Does that happen to be about me?"

Marchell did not answer.

'No wonder. Chelsea Rwaling asked me something strange earlier… it was because of that.'

Niel also recalled the conversation from earlier.

And so, the awkward atmosphere continued.

Niel, choking on his food, repeatedly thumped his chest.

Marchell frowned at the sight.

"Stop making a spectacle of yourself and drink this at least."

"Don't be ri…diculous! Gulp! Hah! Hah!"

Niel managed to swallow the food and said,

"I absolutely don't drink alcohol! You drink it!"

"I don't drink alcohol either."

"Oh, really? You look like you'd be the best at breaking school rules, yet you don't drink alcohol?"

"I once made a mistake after drinking. I decided not to drink since then."

At those words, Niel's face crumpled.

'Annoying. How can the reason for not drinking be so similar to mine?'

Just then, a heavy silence fell.

'Young Master Leo… must have arranged this occasion for the harmony between Gerdinger and Rwaling, right?'

Perhaps his and Marchell's relationship was an obstacle for Leo.

'The young lady is also building a friendship with Abbad.'

The direct descendants of Gerdinger, who could be called their lords, were making efforts.

In such a situation, he had been building a wall with Marchell over past events.

As Niel, the loyal knight, was thinking these various thoughts.

Marchell opened his mouth.

"Niel Rhoda."

"Why?"

"To be honest, I still have feelings for you."

"What?"

For a moment, Niel wore a dumbfounded expression.

But a moment later.

He let out a scoff.

"For someone like that, didn't you have a pretty big scandal? There was a huge fuss when you broke up with your girlfriend in your second year and wailed, wasn't there? Getting caught drinking in the dorm and being disciplined was a bonus."

Marchell let out a deep sigh at Niel's words.

"To be honest, that's why I don't drink alcohol."

"What?"

Marchell scratched his head vigorously.

"Back then, didn't a rumor spread that you were dating a man first? Because of that, I drank heavily and made a mistake. Fortunately, I didn't mention your name."

Niel's mouth gaped open.

When Niel was in his first year.

On a school trip, after drinking for the first time and getting tipsy, he had once mentioned that he had unintentionally dated a man.

Of course, that man was none other than Marchell.

Thanks to that, the rumor spread throughout the entire school.

"I resented you for seeming to have forgotten me so easily. That's why I treated you even more harshly."

It was a long-forgotten scandal.

"Still, because of my lingering feelings, I haven't dated anyone while attending school."

Niel let out a hollow laugh after hearing Marchell's words.

"Just like me."

"What?"

"That rumor. I also drank because of you and made a fuss."

Niel and Marchell looked at each other in silence.

Then, without anyone leading, they both burst into laughter.

Niel, who had been laughing for a long time, hiccupped from a stomach ache and wiped away the tears in his eyes.

"Really. You and I are both quite pathetic."

"Yeah. It's an unsightly mess."

Marchell agreed and looked at Niel.

"But it's too late to turn back."

"Yeah. It's too late."

Niel also nodded.

"Niel Rhoda. The young master and young lady wish to resolve the lingering resentment between their families. You know well that's not an easy task, don't you?"

"Yes. It's a difficult task. Still, I want to follow their wishes. Because I am Gerdinger's knight."

"I am the same. Because I am Rwaling's wizard."

Niel and Marchell stared intently at each other and spoke.

"We cannot be an obstacle to our lords."

"Right. So I want to start our relationship anew."

The two smiled simultaneously.

"Let's forget our past feelings. Let's be friends."

"I agree."

Niel extended his hand, and Marchell took it.

It was a reconciliation after a full five years.

"Wow! I feel so relieved!"

Niel lay spread-eagled on the floor and said in a refreshed voice.

Then he suddenly stood up.

"Then."

"Are you going to drink?"

"Yeah. It's not like I didn't want to drink. I'm an adult now. Isn't it unfair?"

Niel poured alcohol into his glass and said,

"Want a glass too?"

"Hmph. Now that there's no need to dwell on the mistakes of that day. Should I break my sobriety too?"

"Yeah. There's no chance of making a mistake now."

Niel, as if relieved, poured alcohol for Marchell.

They clinked glasses and took a sip of alcohol.

At the alcoholic aroma spreading in his mouth, Niel frowned and grimaced.

"Ugh. I don't think I'll ever really like it."

Marchell chuckled at the sight.

"Haa. By the way, you and I are adults now."

"Yeah. Back then, we used to talk about how we'd be getting married around this time."

"For two little kids, we certainly weren't scared, were we?"

"Yeah. Still, it was good."

"Yeah. It was like that."

Recalling old times, the two clinked their glasses again.

***

"Ugh! Cold! Cold!"

Leo, who came to Chelsea and Niel's room, looked at Chelsea, who immediately burrowed into her blanket, with a puzzled expression.

"It's not that cold, though?"

Chelsea, who had been wiggling in her blanket, paused and poked only her face out.

"Yeah, actually, I'm not cold."

Chelsea, smiling meaningfully, got up from her spot with the blanket wrapped around her body.

Leo looked at Chelsea, who was tightly bundled in her blanket, with a puzzled expression.

Step- step-

Chelsea approached Leo.

Under the dragging blanket, something sprawled on the floor was visible.

It was none other than the clothes Chelsea had been wearing just moments before.

Chelsea, who came in front of Leo, who was looking at her with a bewildered gaze, subtly lowered the blanket from her shoulder.

Her sky-blue hair flowing down her neckline and her slender, white shoulder were revealed.

"Am I alluring?"

Chelsea asked with a deep smile.

Leo grasped the blanket Chelsea was wrapped in.

"Eh?"

And without hesitation, he pulled.

Swoosh-!

"More cute than alluring."

Leo chuckled, looking at Chelsea, who was wearing a swimsuit.

At Leo's reaction, Chelsea pouted her lips.

"What? How boring. Would it kill you to be even a little flustered?"

"It's not good to tease an adult."

Leo put his hands under Chelsea's armpits and lifted her up, as if grabbing a cat.

And he took the flustered Chelsea to the hot spring in the room and threw her in.

"Kyaaaak?!"

Splash-!

"Pwah! That's too much!"

Leo ignored Chelsea's grumbling, closed the door, and changed into the swimsuit provided.

And he entered the hot spring.

Leo, stretching his limbs in the hot spring, leaned back and muttered,

"How refreshing."

"Wow, he's really like an old man. His body is that of a boy, but how can he be so much like an old man?"

Chelsea booed softly, but Leo didn't mind.

"What will you do first when you go to the government building tomorrow?"

Leo chuckled, looking at Chelsea, who asked with a puzzled expression.

"I'm thinking of meeting the spirit of purification first."

"To make a contract?"

"Yeah."

Leo spoke as if it were a very simple matter.

"Indeed, no matter how great a spirit it is, it would be hard to refuse a contract with Leo oppa."

"It doesn't matter if they refuse."

"Huh?"

A ladle used for scooping bath water floated past Chelsea, who wore a puzzled expression.

Hot spring water filled it.

-Take this!

Peep! Peep!

-Fiora and Kiruan. Stop that.

-Hey! Phoenix! Fairy! Elsi-nim said to stop! Shall I rip off your wings?!

Squeak!

-Eek!

Fiora and Kiruan, who had been splashing water at Elsi, playing in it, were terrified by Laruel's chilling shout.

"…"

Chelsea remained silent at the sight.

Leo pointed at Laruel and said,

"Because if they refuse, this one will wring their neck."

'Somehow, there are no normal ones among Leo oppa's summoned creatures.'

Chelsea muttered inwardly.

Then she looked up at the night sky.

"I hope Marchell and Niel sunbae reconcile."

"They definitely will."

Chelsea smiled bashfully at Leo's answer.

***

"Ugh."

Niel felt a splitting headache.

'Just how much did I drink yesterday?'

He couldn't remember well.

What was certain was that they had definitely drunk all the alcohol in this room.

'Ah, I'm never drinking again.'

A long time ago.

Niel, making the same vow he had made years ago when he first drank alcohol, stirred in bed.

Then, feeling something warm beside him, he instinctively burrowed into its embrace.

The sensation of warm, firm yet soft skin brushing against him felt good.

"Ugh…"

Marchell, who was beside Niel, let out a pained groan.

Even so, he pulled Niel closer into his embrace.

Niel meekly burrowed into his arms.

"…"

"…"

The two, who were about to fall back asleep, suddenly felt something strange and opened their eyes wide.

The two, embracing each other under the blanket, froze instantly.

The two whose thoughts had stopped.

A moment later, without either one speaking first, they bowed their heads and looked under the blanket.

When they raised their heads again, both their faces turned pale, neither speaking first.

Just as a scream of horror was about to burst from their mouths.

Bang-

"Marchell, I'm sorry. I saw the two of you… Kyaaaak?!"

Chelsea, who had entered the room, involuntarily shrieked and ran out of the room.

Leo, who had followed her in, was silent for a moment, then smiled faintly.

"It seems I've interrupted a good time."

"L-Leo Young Master! No! It's not! This! This! Don't go, please listen to me!"

Niel said, as if shouting, with a pale face.

But Leo immediately left the room.

Leo chuckled hollowly, looking at Chelsea, who was gaping with a flushed face.

"I told those two not to cause childish trouble, but they ended up causing adult trouble instead."