Chapter 89 – What Do You Think of Me?
January 28, 2024
Pretty?
Was that just a polite remark? But why would my teacher bother being polite to me in the first place? Why suddenly say something like that?
As the memory of last night’s incident—forgotten during the exam—suddenly resurfaced, Cordelia’s heart began pounding. She quickly lowered her head to hide her flushed cheeks.
“Looks like Matilda is a bit busy.”
“Yes. Ah—pardon?”
She had been staring at the floor while walking, so it took her a moment to register his words. Leonard spoke casually, without slowing his pace.
“Weren’t you wanting to ask her something about your mother?”
“That’s right.”
“She said an emergency meeting was called because of the recent collapse, so she won’t have time for now.”
“Oh… I see. That’s fine.”
It was a little disappointing, but as long as she remained at the Magic Association, there would surely be another chance to meet her.
The exam hall wasn’t far, so they reached the research lab quickly. Candias floated up to the middle of the doorway, and the moment he spotted Cordelia, he burst into laughter.
“Kwahahaha! Hey—did you get into a hair-pulling fight with someone?”
“Eh? Me?”
“Yeah, you. Who else? What happened to your hair? Looks like you fell out of a carriage and rolled five times on the ground.”
“T-That’s impossible.”
Her teacher had just called her pretty…
Cordelia awkwardly patted her head in confusion. Leonard, who had been silently listening, suddenly kicked the door with a loud thud.
“Ah! What the—?!”
“Open the door.”
“Ahhh! Stop kicking it, you lunatic!”
“I said, open it.”
Candias shrieked, but Leonard, face impassive, kept kicking. He did it so forcefully that Cordelia had to intervene to stop him.
“M-Master…”
“You really just say whatever comes to your mind, don’t you?”
“Hey! Do I even have a mouth—ahhh! Fine, fine, I get it!”
Even after taking the hits, Candias didn’t seem cowed. He kept mouthing off until Leonard raised his hand threateningly, at which point he fled to a safe distance.
After that commotion at the door, they finally entered the research lab. The entrance was piled high with walls, desks, and items she hadn’t seen in the morning—probably the belongings Leonard had mentioned.
Leonard turned to her.
“Where do you want them moved?”
“Hmm…”
Cordelia scanned the lab carefully, then pointed to a corner that was a comfortable distance from him, but not too far.
“Over there.”
With a casual wave of his hand, Leonard made the heavy desk glide smoothly into the spot she had indicated. Then he moved the wall panels to encircle the area, creating a cozy little space. Cordelia happily rushed over.
On the wide, clean desk, pens and paper were neatly arranged. She quickly sat down, opened the drawers, and ran her hand over the glossy surface.
Leonard stood before her.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes! Very much.”
“Then I’ll tell you your first task.”
His expression grew unusually solemn, and Cordelia also straightened up.
“What is it?”
“Go to the first floor and bring me my meal. If you tell them it’s for me, they’ll prepare it.”
“…Yes.”
Of course.
Expecting something important, Cordelia slumped her shoulders and trudged out.
On her way downstairs, she happened to pass a mirror in the hallway and froze.
“Wh-What is this?”
Now she understood why Candias had laughed so much—her hair really did look like she’d been in a fight. She quickly untied her ribbon and re-tied her hair while watching in the mirror.
“How could Master look at this and say I was pretty…?”
Either he was blind, or she only looked pretty to him.
“No, no… What am I even thinking?”
She shook her head vigorously. Even she felt that was going too far.
After wandering through the Association to run her errand, she found the dining hall easily enough.
Glancing around awkwardly, she stopped a passing man.
“Excuse me, how do I get my teacher’s meal?”
The man looked her up and down in a rather rude way, then gave a greasy smile.
“A meal? Ah, so you’re an apprentice. When did you join the Association?”
He leaned in so close—his face toad-like—that Cordelia instinctively took two steps back. After getting used to Leonard’s face, no one else even seemed human anymore.
“Ah, I’m not an apprentice. Lower—no, intermediate rank.”
“Hahaha. Listen—here in the Association, rank matters more than titles. Lying about that could get you in real trouble.”
“I’m not lying.”
“Oh, come on. You don’t even know how to get a meal. I’m letting it slide because it’s me. What’s your name? Want to eat together? I’m low-rank, so I know this place well. I can tell you everything you need to know.”
She felt a flash of déjà vu—like when she’d first come to the Association and been laughed at for not knowing what an insignia was.
Only this time, she wasn’t some clueless fool.
“You said rank is important here, right?” she asked.
“That’s right.”
“Then a low-ranked mage shouldn’t be speaking so casually to an intermediate mage. Arrogantly. Rudely. Daring to.”
“Why are you repeating the obvious—”
Cordelia untied the ribbon from her hair and waved it before his eyes.
“My name is Cordelia Vasquez, heir to Acheron. And today, I passed the intermediate mage exam.”
“…!”
“What’s your name?”
The man’s face drained of color immediately. He bowed his head deeply.
“M-My apologies, Lady Vasquez.”
“Is your name ‘My Apologies’?”
She hadn’t meant to be sarcastic, but it came out that way. He floundered like he might kneel any second.
“S-Sorry. Benjamin Lutz.”
“Alright, Lutz. I’ve only been here a day, so I’m still figuring things out. I need to bring my teacher’s meal—do you know where I get it?”
“Y-Yes! Right this way.”
Benjamin didn’t dare meet her eyes. After showing her the place, he bowed excessively and scurried away.
While waiting for Leonard’s meal, Cordelia noticed a commotion in one corner of the dining hall. Her gaze followed—and there stood a beautiful woman with black hair.
“Lydia?”
She felt a rush of happiness and almost went over—then froze, remembering who Lydia loved.
‘Sure, he says I’m precious to him, but he’s never said he sees me as a woman or anything like that.’
Maybe this was all just her own silly misunderstanding. If Leonard knew, he’d probably snort and mock her: Me? You?
Thinking it over, she realized that was probably the case.
Even calling her pretty could’ve just been a teacher being nice to a student.
She was probably just overinterpreting his words, letting her imagination run wild.
‘He’s indifferent even to someone as beautiful and gentle as her. Would he ever see me as a woman? Get a grip, Cordelia Vasquez.’
She felt suddenly embarrassed for having spent the whole day with such foolish thoughts.
At least she hadn’t shown any of it to Leonard—if he found out, she’d never hear the end of it.
With her thoughts settled, she walked toward Lydia more lightly.
Lydia was already surrounded by people—not just because she was the daughter of Elfenbaum, but because her beauty was enough to inspire devotion from anyone.
“Lydia.”
“Cordelia.”
Lydia smiled radiantly, just as always.
“I’m here to get my teacher’s meal. What about you? Having lunch? How was your lodging?”
“It wasn’t bad.”
“That’s good. Lord Rosenbloom will be here soon, so even if it’s uncomfortable, just bear with it for a bit.”
“Why bear with it? I’m going to be here permanently now.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll be staying in the Association too, so I need to get used to it. What’s wrong? Would you rather I weren’t here?”
“No, no, not at all. I’m glad. Having a friend like you in the Association, where I don’t know anyone, is great.”
Cordelia waved her hands, flustered. The uneasy feeling she’d had yesterday seemed justified—there was no warmth in Lydia’s blue eyes.
“I’m glad to have you nearby too,” Lydia said suddenly, and then, out of nowhere, she grabbed Cordelia’s hand.
Her hand was so cold it startled Cordelia.
And with Lydia’s mood shifting so quickly, Cordelia didn’t know how to respond—her eyes darted nervously.
“Ah, haha. Let’s do our best together. Oh—by the way, while running errands today, I ended up taking the intermediate mage exam, and I passed!”
“You ‘ended up’ taking it?”
“It just sort of happened. It was my first time, and the examiner said I had five minutes, so I thought I had to finish in five—”
Cordelia tried to ignore the strange tension and chattered about her day. Lydia nodded a few times, but soon began to look bored. Sensitive to the change, Cordelia stopped talking.
“Sorry, I was rambling, wasn’t I?”
“I’m just a little tired.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Cordelia.”
“Mm?”
“Has Leo said anything about me?”
“Uh… my teacher doesn’t really talk about personal matters with me.”
Cordelia laughed awkwardly, deflecting the question.
“Nothing at all? Even though I have such extraordinary magical talent?”
Suddenly, sparks flared around Lydia. Cordelia flinched and tried to step back, but Lydia didn’t release her hand.
Gripping it tightly, Lydia said,
“What’s the problem, huh? What is it? What more do I have to do?”
“L-Lydia…”
“Hey! No magic in common areas!”
A man strode over and barked the warning. In that instant, Lydia’s eyes briefly turned black before returning to their original color.
What was that?
She might have doubted her own eyes, if not for the fact that Lydia had been right in front of her.
