Even at the restaurant, Han Yuri’s test that wasn’t quite a test continued. Thanks to that, Ian had to keep eating under rather uncomfortable circumstances. He had expected it to some extent, but uncomfortable was uncomfortable all the same.
It was similar to, yet different from, the acting he had done on the cruise. Back then, it had been a masquerade performed as a group; now, it was merely an act meant to fool one person. In terms of difficulty, this was easier, but the mental fatigue had been far lighter on the cruise.
It was only natural. The victims on the cruise had been bewitched by an aberration and turned into something like NPCs in a game, while Han Yuri was perfectly fine.
It was always harder to deceive a normal person than a fool. Because of that, Ian had to put in no small amount of effort.
“You’ve got something on your mouth.”
“Hieek.”
Ian wiped the sauce from Yuna’s lips with a napkin. She had been tearing into meat with her nose practically buried in her plate, and when her cheeks flushed slightly, she went back to eating the food she had brought. Ian gazed at her as though he were looking at some adorable creature.
“Ugh, look at those eyes. I’m jealous of Yuna.”
“Ah… haha. Even after all this time, the affection hasn’t cooled. I’m surprised myself.”
Fortunately, his facial acting landed properly. Ian brushed Yuna’s hair once, then said he would be back from the restroom and rose from his seat.
There weren’t many people in the restroom. He entered the stall at the very end and caught his breath.
“This is so stifling I could go insane…”
The words he muttered to himself rose upward, then scattered.
Ironically, that small square space gave him a faint sense of stability. He had never liked cramped spaces in his life, but today, for some reason, the restroom felt quite pleasant.
Was this how people who sat alone on toilets eating meals felt? He couldn’t know, but he somehow felt a strange sense of kinship.
“Phew…”
Ian let out a long breath, took out the grimoire he had tucked inside his coat, and stroked it. It wasn’t an action with any particular meaning; it was just that doing this made him feel like he was petting a cat, and that put him at ease.
In truth, a grimoire and a cat weren’t all that different. Temperamental as hell, prickly toward anyone who wasn’t its owner—if that wasn’t a cat, then what was? It was practically a space cat.
‘Come to think of it, weren’t there space cats in the Cthulhu Mythos? What did they look like again?’
Thinking idle thoughts, he stroked the cover, swish, swish. The grimoire, which had been quietly enjoying his touch, vibrated as though pleased, while Ian put a cigarette he had kept in his coat into his mouth and bobbed it.
He wanted to smoke one, but he couldn’t very well return with the smell of cigarettes clinging to him. Besides, smoking was prohibited in the restroom to begin with.
“…I should probably head back.”
That was enough of a breather. Ian put the cigarette back into his pocket, stored the grimoire away as well, and left the restroom. When he headed back to the table, Han Yuri, who had been drinking from her cup, waved at him cheerfully.
“You’re late.”
“It ended up that way. Where did Yuna go?”
“She went to get dessert. There she is.”
Where Han Yuri’s gaze pointed, Yuna was sweeping a heap of tiny cakes, jellies, chocolates, and the like onto her plate. Seeing the corners of her mouth lift slightly, it seemed some of her tension had eased. Or maybe she simply liked food.
Whatever the case, the fact that she wasn’t beside him at the moment put him a little more at ease. Ian nodded and plopped down into his seat.
He dipped a few pieces of sushi he had brought earlier into soy sauce and put them in his mouth. They had cooled a little, but they were still quite tasty. It seemed they weren’t charging such high prices for nothing.
“By the way, Mr. Shin Ian.”
“…? Yes. Go ahead.”
At the sudden call, Ian set down the cup of water he had been holding and spoke. Han Yuri glanced off into the distance, at Yuna still putting food on her plate, and let out a small laugh.
“You’re good at acting. If Yuna had any talent for acting too, I might have been completely fooled.”
“…”
Ian’s mouth closed. He stared at Han Yuri with a cold expression, then realized this was not something related to the Mysteries and gave a bitter smile.
There was no need to overreact. It wasn’t as if anyone’s life was on the line, so why bother?
To begin with, there had been plenty of evidence. Yuna’s statements kept changing, their physical contact was far too modest for lovers, and there was her excessive shyness and embarrassment. It was all so obvious that anyone with a bit of sense could have realized it. She had probably more or less caught on from the café.
“Yuna has always been terrible at acting.”
Han Yuri said.
“She’d steal my pudding and eat it, then insist she hadn’t, and every time, her eyes would dart all over the place. She’s honest to an excessive degree.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. This time, it seems she hired a proper actor, but even so, Yuna is still Yuna. I knew from the start.”
After saying that, she turned to Ian and asked in a voice that had settled a little.
“…Well, you’re not some rental boyfriend or anything, are you?”
“…Haa.”
In the end, Ian had no choice but to tell her what had happened beforehand. Naturally, he kept silent about how they had met and anything related to the Mysteries. Ian himself didn’t know how Han Yuna had become a mage, but no matter how he looked at it, Han Yuri did not seem to be involved with the Mysteries.
Rather than her family being special, it was probably Han Yuna alone who had stepped into this side of the world. There was no need whatsoever to tell someone with no power to protect herself about the hidden side of the world. If she knew for no reason, it would only draw them to her.
“I see…”
After hearing the summarized story in full.
Han Yuri trailed off, watching Yuna trot toward them with quick little steps, and gave a bitter smile.
“Thank you. For going along with something this ridiculous.”
“It’s nothing. I was compensated too. There’s no need to worry about it much.”
“Even so. Haa… Why did she have to lie and tire so many people out?”
“Haha…”
When Ian laughed dryly, Han Yuri took a sip of the cola in her cup, looked back at him, and continued.
“It feels a little strange to say this with the person in question right in front of me, but fortunately, you don’t seem like a bad person, so I’m relieved. You’re friends, something like that, right? You met by chance?”
“Mm… If I had to define it, yes.”
“Then please keep being friends with our Yuna. I’m the only person she’s ever been close to in her life, so she’s probably secretly happy to have gotten close to you, Mr. Ian.”
“…”
“I know Yuna has a secret that makes her different from other people. One day she suddenly claimed she had realized the truth of the world and started doing weird things like eating dirt.”
Eating dirt.
It was one of the most basic steps to becoming a mage. It now felt like a distant past, but Ian, too, had once bought and eaten soil from a flower shop. Yuna had probably done something similar.
At the time, it had been the only method, and because of his obsession that he might go mad if he failed to become a mage, he had stuffed it down without caring about anything else.
Thinking back on it now, he truly couldn’t even grasp how he had done it. In fact, hadn’t the madness been there from that point on? Honestly, it was a miracle he was still alive.
At any rate.
There was no need to refuse Han Yuri’s request to get along with Yuna. He had intended to maintain a lasting relationship with her anyway.
Magic that could alter hardness at will, regardless of whether the target was organic or inorganic, had an extremely wide range of uses.
There was the drawback of consuming blood, but even taking that into account, there were more than enough reasons to keep her nearby. There was a reason he planned to take her vampire hunting.
His relationship with Yuna benefited Ian as well. So his answer was as good as decided.
Ian glanced sideways at Yuna, who had come close before he knew it, and nodded with a faint chuckle. At that clearly affirmative gesture, Han Yuri smiled back.
“…?”
Yuna, who had not heard their conversation, tilted her head, but unfortunately, there was no one who would tell her the truth.
*
The meal ended safely and well.
A little past one in the afternoon, the three of them left the buffet and took a light walk through the park.
Flowers had not yet bloomed in the winter park, but ice crystals were spread beautifully across the ground, reflecting the sunlight. Rainbows trapped inside tiny ice prisms scattered clusters of light in every direction. They were beautiful flowers that bloomed only in winter.
They did not encounter any aberrations during their walk. With two mages present, he had wondered if they might, but there was no sign of any. It was fortunate.
After finishing their walk, they strolled around the city lightly. After taking care of dinner as well, Han Yuri headed to the station to catch a train down to the provinces. The two of them followed her to see her off.
“Then I’ll be heading back now. Let’s meet again if we get the chance.”
Standing before the KTX bound for Daegu, Han Yuri smiled and said farewell. Ian smiled back and bowed his head.
“Have a safe trip.”
“Yes. You too, Mr. Ian. Yuna, you make sure to eat properly, and if you’re sick, go straight to the hospital. Got it?”
“I-I got it…”
Yuna grumbled in reply. Han Yuri hugged her tightly once, then entered the train, found her seat, and sat down.
A short while later, the train departed. The train, which began moving slowly, accelerated rapidly and raced along the rails. Yuna, who had been exchanging waves through the window, let out a long breath once Han Yuri disappeared from sight.
“Phew…! She’s finally g-gone!”
“Aren’t you a little too happy? She’d be upset.”
“I-I’m more upset! Next time, I’ll tell her to l-let me know a month before she comes…”
Ian looked down at the muttering Yuna and let out a small laugh.
He did not tell her that Han Yuri had seen through the act.
After all, she was probably rejoicing under the impression that they had fooled her perfectly. There was no need to rain on her parade. It was only right to protect her innocence.
‘It’s over.’
Leaving the chuckling Yuna behind, Ian let out a long breath into the air. White vapor followed his exhale and rose toward the sky.
The long day was finally over. Thinking that, he felt the strength suddenly drain out of him. He wanted to lie down in bed and pull the blanket over himself as soon as possible.
There was no reason to hesitate. Ian tapped Yuna on the shoulder and spoke.
“Let’s go back.”
“Ah, yeah. L-let’s go. Thanks for today…”
“Sure, sure.”
The two of them immediately left the station, took taxis, and returned to their respective homes.
There was no separate after-party.
Instead, a chicken gift voucher arrived.
[Han Yuna: This is your reward for working hard today. Enjoy.]
[Han Yuna: (A photo of a small can of beer and a whole chicken)]
[Han Yuna: (A photo of her awkwardly smiling while holding out a can of beer as if to toast)]
[Han Yuna: Cheers!]
At the message, cute beyond belief, Ian burst into laughter. Without hesitation, he ordered chicken, and as soon as it arrived, he finished setting it up and sent a photo of himself holding a beer.
[Me: Cheers.]
The reply came right away.
[Han Yuna: Cheeeeers!]
A reply that, no matter who looked at it, was clearly drunk.
Ian smiled bitterly, set down his phone, and drank his beer.
Well, compared to how tired he was, he felt fairly good.