Book 1 Chapter 704

The sound of water droplets, formed by steam from the hot springs condensing on the cave ceiling, falling back into the hot springs echoed refreshingly.

Sizzle-

The bonfire illuminated the interior of the cave.

Chloe, who had laid out her school uniform and underwear around it, approached the hot springs and cautiously dipped her feet in.

The temperature was just right, neither too hot nor lukewarm, and it crept up her toes.

As the warmth spread through her body, a pleasant sigh naturally escaped her lips, as she had been exposed to the cold for a long time.

After enjoying the warmth of the hot springs for a moment, she carefully submerged her entire body.

"Hooah. As expected, there's nothing better than soaking in hot water on a cold day."

Chloe hummed a tune with a languid expression.

"Ugh~ Ah~ It's so warm, it feels so good~ Hot springs are the best~ The best~"

"Does it feel that good?"

"Kya?!"

Splash-

Startled by the voice from the other side of the cave, Chloe shrieked, instinctively pressing herself against the side of the hot springs.

"D-Did you hear that?"

She asked with a completely flushed face, and Leo's laughter could be heard.

"Of course I heard it."

Splash!

'Ah, seriously!'

Overwhelmed with embarrassment, Chloe plunged her face into the hot spring water.

She had been so relaxed that she had momentarily forgotten they were in a cave.

Trembling with shame, Chloe slowly peeked her face out.

"Ever since you enrolled, you've been so clumsy. I don't really understand why people call you the Ice Queen or something."

In their first meeting, Leo had even found Chloe's dropped student ID.

Chloe tried hard to be a flawless honor student, but surprisingly, she had many absent-minded moments.

With her mouth submerged in water, Chloe puffed out bubbles with a sullen expression at Leo's words.

Crackle- Snap-

Amidst the sound of burning logs.

Chloe, who had been silent, opened her mouth.

"Leo."

"Yeah."

"Are you okay? It must be quite cold."

Even for a physical monster like Leo, he must be quite exhausted if he was exposed to the extreme cold.

Moreover, with his entire body wet, his body temperature had dropped, and he was continuously losing stamina.

'Mana isn't even moving right now.'

She didn't know what kind of curse it was, but it was certainly a chilling one.

Not just magic, but aura and spiritual power too.

None of them could be manifested.

"I can manage."

Chloe dipped her mouth back into the water after Leo's reply.

Making bubbles again, Chloe said with a determined expression.

"Leo. If you stay like that, won't it be physically difficult for you too? I- I don't mean it with any strange intention. How about you come into the hot springs?"

She said with a slightly trembling voice, but with utmost seriousness.

Thump- Thump-

Leo's footsteps could be heard.

Leo's large shadow stretched across the cave wall and began to shrink.

Seeing that, Chloe pressed herself against the hot springs.

Leo, who had come to the front of the hot springs, asked seriously.

"Are you really okay with this?"

"It's an emergency situation."

Leo sighed softly as he looked at Chloe, who was avoiding his gaze and trying to maintain her composure.

"Turn around."

At those words, Chloe turned her head and looked the other way.

Rustle- Splash-

The sound of wet clothes hitting the floor could be heard.

Her heart pounded wildly at the sound of him undressing.

'No thoughts. No thoughts. Rune symbols…!'

With a bright red face, Chloe began to recite rune symbols in her head.

Splash-

Ripples spread in the water.

As a small wave of hot spring water hit Chloe's back, her body stiffened.

Every flow of water felt stimulating.

'Wait, come to think of it, this is a mixed bath, isn't it? Aren't I doing something ridiculous right now?'

Chloe's mouth moved.

She had made this suggestion because it was an emergency and Leo shouldn't be exposed to the cold, but upon thinking about it for a moment, it was truly a ridiculous act.

'I hope he doesn't think I'm some kind of weird girl.'

She was sure Leo wouldn't do anything strange.

But more than that, she was worried about Leo's evaluation of her.

Her head began to spin with various thoughts.

"Thank you for your concern."

At that moment, Leo spoke.

Hearing that, Chloe exaggerated her composure and said.

"We're in an isolated situation. We can't afford to waste energy. So, don't turn your head this way or anything."

"Okay."

"By the way, it's a bit narrow for two people to enter, isn't it?"

The hot spring wasn't narrow, but it wasn't wide enough for two people to comfortably fit.

"If you're okay with it, lean on my back. It'll be more comfortable."

Chloe flinched.

Casually glancing around, Chloe carefully leaned her back against Leo's.

She felt more comfortable, but her heart was pounding like crazy.

Leo's warmth was starkly different from the water's temperature.

Feeling self-conscious, she tucked her knees together and wiggled her toes.

"Chloe."

"Yeah?!"

Chloe jumped in surprise at Leo's call.

"Do you like hot springs?"

"Yeah. Most people from the northern continent do. Because it's a cold region."

"Then come visit Duncan during winter break."

"Ah. Come to think of it, Duncan became your country, right?"

Chloe smiled, recalling the famous hot spring tourist city.

"How are the hot springs in Duncan?"

"I went in with Chelsea and played, and it was nice."

"Ah. Chelsea… What? You went into the hot springs and played with Chelsea?!"

"I was wearing a swimsuit, so don't imagine anything strange."

At Leo's words, Chloe submerged her mouth in the water and created bubbles.

Feeling awkward, but thinking that not saying anything would make her more conscious of the situation, Chloe said.

"By the way, you called this mana freezing phenomenon a curse, right?"

"Yeah."

"What kind of sorcerer could have caused such a powerful curse?"

"…"

Other than the fierce blizzard that had begun to rage, there was no other immediate danger, but if this were a combat situation, being deprived of abilities like this would actually be a very dangerous situation.

"Leo, you said you've experienced a similar curse before, right? When was it?"

"Briefly, when I fought Erebus."

Leo mixed in a little lie, unable to speak the whole truth.

"At that time, the mana in the surrounding area was completely burned up in an instant."

"…Now it's frozen."

Chloe fell into thought.

'And that snow.'

Chloe recalled what had happened a little while ago.

The snow that didn't melt.

She had brought it back in an empty potion bottle to investigate, but it had melted by now.

'The snow melted, and what remained was ordinary water.'

The medium, water, was nothing special.

That meant the power that froze the water was special.

"A phenomenon similar to the curse that occurred during the battle with Erebus. And unmeltable ice."

Matching keywords, Chloe said to Leo seriously.

"Leo, do you think it might be related to Erebus's fragments?"

"There's almost no possibility of that."

"Why?"

"Why do you think that monster is called the Flame of Calamity?"

Erebus, the evil god who hated the world and sought to burn and destroy everything.

The absolute Flame of Calamity.

That is Erebus.

Erebus used all sorts of powers.

However, he had never seen Erebus use any ice-related abilities, even at the moment of his demise.

'But.'

It was certainly just a difference in element.

As Chloe said, the current phenomenon did show Erebus's characteristics.

'I'll have to ask Rian when we get back to school.'

Rian, who was a god, knew the most about Erebus.

"By the way, what about the ice clone research you mentioned during the entrance ceremony?"

"Yeah. There hasn't been much progress, but I feel like I've found a clue!"

Chloe's eyes sparkled.

"Your advice to approach it with the many-worlds interpretation was really helpful! The many-worlds interpretation itself, where the world splits at every choice made moment by moment…"

Chloe, excited, began to rattle off her magic theories.

'…I shouldn't have asked.'

Seeing the excited Chloe, Leo scratched his cheek.

He had momentarily forgotten that this vibrant girl's passion and love for magic were no less than Luna's.

Magic wasn't just about combat.

Inquiry and research.

The desire to satisfy intellectual curiosity.

In that sense, Chloe was much closer to being a mage than Leo.

For Leo, magic was a tool to defeat enemies, a weapon, but for Chloe, magic was an endless field of study.

And in terms of academic talent, Chloe could be called a genius without exaggeration.

Their fundamental attitudes were different, so in their first or second year, perhaps.

But by the third year, when discussing complex magic theories, Chloe reminded him of Luna.

'She also resembles Lissinas.'

Lissinas, known as the King of Wisdom, also had a strong desire for knowledge.

Such Lissinas was a good discussion partner for Luna, who knew nothing but magic.

'If Luna's curiosity was purely limited to magic, Lissinas's curiosity encompassed all things.'

And Chloe's curiosity was not limited to magic alone.

Chloe, who enjoyed learning through her extensive reading, had many similarities with Lissinas.

'She's also good at chess.'

Leo thought of the two companions.

"Leo?"

Snap!

Chloe tugged at Leo's shoulder, pulling him to face her, as Leo drifted into thought.

"Are you listening to me?!"

Chloe protested with a disgruntled face.

Leo's red eyes and Chloe's blue eyes met in the air.

She seemed to have momentarily forgotten the situation, engrossed in the discussion of magic theory.

Leo closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

Understanding the situation from that action, Chloe's mouth twitched.

Heat rushed to her face.

An embarrassment incomparable to any before washed over her entire body.

Her reason was paralyzed, and all her senses became sharp. As Chloe stood frozen, her mouth agape.

Drip-

A cold drop of water, condensed by the steam on the ceiling, fell onto Chloe's back.

"Hiyak?!"

Splash-!

Startled by the sudden cold drop on her back, Chloe recoiled forward.

And unintentionally, she ended up in Leo's arms.

Chloe, whose thoughts had frozen, stood still for a moment and then recoiled in shock.

"I- I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Leo!"

"You don't need to apologize. Oh, it looks like my mana is back."

Leo said calmly.

"Th-That's right! Th-That's a relief… Th-That's a relief… Haaaaw!"

Chloe covered her face with her hands, and Leo chuckled at her reaction and stood up.

"Let's call it an accident."

"Yes, an accident! An accident! Hahaha!"

Chloe laughed awkwardly.

Leo used magic to dry the water on his body.

He then dried his clothes by the bonfire and put them on.

Meanwhile, Chloe, who had been in the hot springs calming her racing heart, cautiously opened her mouth.

"Leo. This is just a precaution, but please never tell anyone about this? Especially Kal."

"I won't, so don't worry."

At those words, Leo let out a sigh of relief.

"By the way, Chloe. You're a bit… larger than I thought…"

"If you say anything more, I'll turn you into an ice sorbet, no matter who you are."

"So fierce. Let's get ready to go quickly."

Leo chuckled and moved away. Chloe then plunged her face into the hot springs.

'I'm so embarrassed I could die.'

Bubbles bubbled bubbled bubbled.

After trying to shake off her thoughts for a long time, Chloe took a deep breath and got out of the hot springs.

Then she put on her clothes.

While trying to clear her mind, Chloe unconsciously recalled what had just happened.

'By the way, Celia and Sia were soft, but Leo's muscles definitely make him firm.'

Standing blankly, Chloe, who had unknowingly compared him to the female students in the Knight's department, suddenly head-butted the wall.

THUMP-!

'Ah! Seriously! What are you comparing him to! Chloe Muller! You'll look like a pervert if you keep doing that!'

Shaking her head vigorously to clear her stray thoughts, Chloe neatly tied her necktie and headed towards Leo.

"Let's go, Leo."

The blizzard had also stopped.

Leo, waiting outside the cave, looked intently at Chloe, who had returned to her normal self, and said.

"Chloe, you're bleeding."

"What?!"

Chloe shrieked and wiped her nose.

"…No, you're bleeding from your forehead."

"Ah!"

Chloe fumbled and used healing magic on her forehead.

Seeing that, Leo clicked his tongue.

"Kids these days."