Chapter 08
“Lafer Was Lafer”
The Encounter
“….”
A minute felt like ten years.
Lafer’s face was expressionless, neither disgusted nor satisfied. But what was certain was that his expression didn’t feel unfamiliar.
In fact, I might have known it very well.
It was the same expression I used to make when I was forced to endure my boss’s dad jokes in my past life.
I had to smile and laugh at jokes that weren’t funny, and the memory of that time flooded back to me, causing me to apologize instinctively.
“I’m sorry, I spoke without thinking. I was out of line.”
“….”
“I’ll apologize right away.”
I quickly retracted the thumb I had held up and offered my apology.
Yet, seeing his continued silence made me gulp nervously.
“Lady Levelia.”
“…Yes, Lafer?”
“Honestly, I almost got disappointed by you just now.”
I nodded, as though agreeing with his words, since they seemed to be completely true.
“Yes, I know. I’m sorry. It was just my mouth acting up…”
“Of course, I’m an incredible magician, but it’s not just about being incredible—don’t you think it’s more extraordinary?”
“Well, yes. It’s amazing… huh?”
I squinted, wondering if I had heard him correctly. Lafer, naturally, pulled up a chair and sat down in front of me.
Smiling, he continued,
“In fact, I’ve heard so many compliments about my magic skills that my ears are almost bleeding, but still, something always felt a bit lacking.”
“…….”
“Well, honestly, I thought there weren’t even words in this world that could truly describe me.”
What?
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and wondered if Lafer was just joking. Cautiously, I studied his face, but he looked serious.
Was he… for real?
“Honestly, don’t you think so too? I’m much more amazing than any word could ever express.”
His face, showing no embarrassment or awkwardness, gave off a sense of pure confidence. I was left speechless.
“Don’t you hear me?”
“…Huh?”
I got chills down my spine at his smiling inquiry, realizing I needed to answer carefully.
This was a key moment—Lafer was one of the most important players in my plan, and I had to keep him on my side.
“Yes! There’s no word in this world that could truly describe Lafer!”
I awkwardly laughed and offered my response, but it seemed unsatisfactory, as his face became somewhat sulky.
In my past life, I had to endure ridiculous dad jokes from my boss, but now I had to please the self-centered, narcissistic Archmage Lafer.
I closed my eyes in frustration, looking at his displeased face.
I can do this, Levelia.
One compliment for two hair dyes.
The most important part of my plan, a three-month-lasting hair dye, could be mine with just one bit of flattery.
With that firm resolution in mind, I looked Lafer in the eye and said,
“Actually, I think…”
“…?”
“There’s only one thing that can describe Lafer, and that’s ‘Lafer did what Lafer does.’”
“…What?”
“I think that’s the best way to describe Lafer.”
With determination in my eyes, I saw Lafer’s expression become blank for a moment, as if processing what I had just said.
I worried that maybe my words weren’t clear enough, but as I carefully observed his face, I saw him blink and then slowly smile, clearly pleased.
He looked so proud of my words that I finally felt a sense of relief.
“I really like that.”
“….”
“Lafer did what Lafer does. Yeah, I guess a wizard like me can only be described by me, after all.”
I nodded along with his words, giving a genuine smile, though it didn’t come naturally for me to flatter him.
But since my life was at stake, the flattery flowed easily.
After laughing contentedly for a while, Lafer’s expression softened, and he said with a gentle face,
“Alright. Then give me the hair.”
“…Huh?”
“Honestly, I was about to cancel everything after hearing you blow that whistle so much, but you said something I really liked.”
“….”
“Since you said ‘Lafer did what Lafer does,’ there’s no way I’m going back on my promise.”
With a satisfied smile, Lafer reached out his hand toward me.
“What are you doing? Give me the hair. I’ll make you the powerful dye that lasts for over three months.”
Oh no.
The truth was, I had half expected this to be a scam when I blew the whistle.
I avoided his gaze and slowly took a few steps back.
As I moved towards the edge of the bed, Lafer looked at me with a raised brow, his expression suddenly turning suspicious.
“No, right?”
“W-What?”
“You’re not telling me you don’t have it, are you?”
His voice grew irritated.
“Don’t mess with me. I’m seriously tired of this.”
“No, it’s… I’m sorry.”
I quickly apologized, but Lafer’s expression twisted further in displeasure.
He looked at me with a frustrated face and demanded,
“Stop beating around the bush and tell me clearly. Do you have it, or not?”
“…I’m sorry. I don’t have it.”
I quickly apologized again, and Lafer, visibly frustrated, rubbed his face with his large hand.
He glanced at me, waiting for an answer.
“Why did you do it?”
“Huh?”
“Why did you blow the whistle so excitedly when you didn’t even have the hair ready?”
His face twisted with a mixture of irritation and anger.
I realized that he wasn’t going to let this go until I answered, so I carefully opened my mouth.
“S-so, it was… I just wanted to see if it would work!”
“…What?”
“I wanted to see how quickly you’d come when I got Heidi’s hair and called for you, and I also wanted to see how loud it would be…”
Lafer’s face froze at my long-winded excuse, and I nervously chuckled at my own ridiculousness.
His silence lasted longer than I expected, but finally, he sighed and softened his expression.
“Ah, I see. That makes sense.”
I didn’t believe his response, but I was relieved.
Maybe the old saying was true: “You can’t spit on a smiling face.”
I let out a deep sigh of relief, which I hadn’t realized I was holding.
Then, Lafer reached out his hand toward me again and said,
“Then give it to me.”
“Huh?”
“The whistle, give it to me. I gave you one chance to call on me, and now you owe me.”
Seeing Lafer act like he was going to take the whistle from me immediately, I quickly hid it behind my back and said,
“Huh, when did I say that? I never said that!”
“You think I’m some 24-hour on-call service? Of course, it’s just one time!”
“Well, you haven’t even made your wish yet!”
“But you called for me right now!”
“No, if you give me something, you should at least let me check if it works properly!”
“What, check if it works?”
“Honestly, I need to see if it works before I trust the product!”
Lafer quickly got off the bed and started following me as I moved further away.
“I told you, you naturally ignore me, like breathing.”
“When did I…?”
“You’re the only one who can check if my work has a flaw.”
“Well, checking isn’t a bad thing, right?”
“It’s bad! It’s bad! You’ve already hurt my pride with your checks!”
Lafer, closing the distance between us, growled.
His silver hair shimmered as he reached for me again.
“So hurry up and give it to me. I can take it from you even if you try to hide it.”
“Do you want to become the person who takes things from a helpless noblewoman using force, the youngest genius archmage in the world?”
As Lafer used his magic to try and force my hand open, I quickly moved to the window, away from him.
With the whistle tightly in my grip, I looked at him as he shook his head in disbelief.
“Ha ha, really. This is unbelievable.”
“I… I won’t do it again. I’m really sorry.”
I apologized again, but Lafer just smiled slyly.
I was filled with unease as I saw him, his eyes not smiling at all.
In a kind voice, he spoke:
“Levelia, I’ve been thinking about it, and from your logic, it sounds like you think everything can be solved with an apology after causing trouble.”
“That’s not…!”
“So I thought maybe I’ll just cause some trouble first and apologize later.”
“…What?”
An ominous feeling washed over me.
I couldn’t imagine what kind of trouble Lafer, who clearly thought outside the box, was planning for me.
