IDMWE 09

Chapter 09

No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t make sense.

Why would *he*, Rigan Clanford, feel such a thing for someone like Leona?

Unless it was an unknown ability like the angel’s power, it was an inexplicable phenomenon.

‘Then, as I thought, was it caused by what happened earlier?’

Rigan began to forcefully piece together the knowledge he had.

The angel and constellations had used something called ‘divine power’ to stick his and Leona’s hands together.

Perhaps this ‘divine power’ could cause peculiar phenomena in humans.

In short, just as a human exposed to magic experiences side effects, his body, exposed to divine power, was reacting sensitively and going through this.

‘Yes. As expected, this is definitely— Hypersensitive Mana Sensory Syndrome.’

Otherwise, there was no way to explain this heart that fluttered when looking at Leona.

Surely, it had to be that.

Rigan continued to brainwash himself.

“Hey, Rigan. I’m done, so let’s go now.”

Leona lightly tapped Rigan’s back as he continued to mutter to himself.

“Wh-what!”

Even though it was just a light brush, Rigan flinched and shouted like a startled sparrow.

“D-Don’t touch me so carelessly! Right now, I’m sensitive because of ‘Hypersensitive Mana Sensory Syndrome’!”

“Huh? Ah, okay. Sorry.”

Leona scratched her head awkwardly.

Whatever that syndrome was, the already prickly Rigan had become even more sensitive.

And Rigan’s strange reaction peaked when Leona said her next words.

“Hey, but I feel really gross because I sweated. Can’t I wash up a bit?”

“Wash… Are you crazy?!”

“No, just stick my hand out through the bathroom door crack like this, and I can just quickly splash some water on myself.”

“That’s… Use your head!”

Leona simply couldn’t understand why Rigan was kicking up such a fuss.

Wasn’t it pretty much the same as when they changed clothes earlier?

“But I can’t go to sleep smelling like sweat.”

“Sw-sweat smell…”

At those words, Rigan recalled Leona’s scent that had hit him earlier.

Along with that dizzying feeling that had gone straight to his head.

*Drip, drip*—.

“Hey! You’ve got a nosebleed!”

At that, Rigan quickly wiped under his nose.

His hand was covered in bright red blood.

It was as red as Leona’s sweat-dampened hair.

“Don’t… mind it. This is all because of ‘Hypersensitive Mana Sensory Syndrome’…”

Rigan felt like he was going crazy.

The heat he had barely calmed in his face seemed to be rushing downward.

“…Sh-showering is… no. Absolutely not.”

“So you want me to sleep like this, all wet? I’ll stink terribly, can you stand it?”

“Wet, like this… You’re really doing this on purpose…!”

“Me? Doing what?”

Looking at Leona’s innocently questioning face, Rigan felt like he had become trash.

If things continued like this, he might end up becoming the lowest form of human—a pervert who gets excited by the smell of his rival’s sweat.

“Hey, Leona…”

“Huh?”

“…Just cut off my arm.”

It was Rigan’s final choice to protect human dignity.

Fortunately, Rigan’s arm was saved.

Because the administrative department, having found Rigan dripping blood and dirtying the hallway with his nosebleed, brought over a magical tool enchanted with a cleaning spell.

Although it wasn’t for people, the easygoing Leona had no complaints about simply wiping herself down with a cleaning tool.

And Rigan firmly resolved to invent a spell that would allow showering without taking off clothes, in addition to a spell for changing clothes.

Anyway, it was after all these twists and turns that the two returned to the visitor lodging.

“Hmm, well then now…”

As Leona glanced at the bed in the center of the room, Rigan responded firmly.

“You won’t die from not sleeping for a day.”

From his words, Leona could feel his determination to bite his own tongue and die rather than share a bed with her.

‘He said mages need sufficient rest to calculate well, didn’t he?’

Leona felt a bit puzzled seeing Rigan saying something completely different from before, but she let it slide.

After all, mages were also famous for being fickle.

In the end, the two decided to sit on the sofa in the room and do their own things.

Leona carefully polished her sword with one hand, and Rigan read a book.

Several hours passed in that stiflingly quiet atmosphere.

‘What should I do now?’

After finishing her sword maintenance, Leona mentally replayed her previous sparring sessions.

Then, she looked through the blacksmith’s new catalog and chose a dagger belt that would match the throwing dagger set Rigan had promised to buy her.

After doing all that, she had nothing left to do.

‘Ah, I have absolutely nothing to do.’

Leona stealthily glanced at Rigan.

‘…He hasn’t moved a muscle for hours.’

Rigan was still in the exact same posture as before, reading his book without any disturbance.

Feeling bored, Leona tried to strike up a conversation with Rigan.

“Hey.”

“Quiet. You’re disturbing my reading.”

Oh, she had expected to be ignored, but although it was a rebuff, she got a response.

As if she had found a fun toy to play with, she turned her body toward Rigan.

“How can you stay in one spot without moving for hours like that?”

“…If you’re bored, look at this.”

Instead of answering, Rigan handed Leona a book next to him with an annoyed look.

Leona took the thick book without thinking.

The cover was embossed with the title: <Calculus and Analysis: An Introductory Guide for High-Dimensional Mages>.

“You’re giving me this to read right now?”

“Being an introductory book, it’s not that difficult and it’s interesting.”

Interesting, my foot. Without even opening the book, Leona laid it flat and propped her chin on it.

Thanks to its thick size, it was perfect for observing Rigan.

Leona stared intently at every part of Rigan.

Then she discovered one truly astonishing fact.

“Your eyes are completely blue.”

At Leona’s words, Rigan finally turned his gaze, which hadn’t left the book even once, to look at her.

“…What? You’re just realizing that now?”

Rigan seemed oddly displeased.

Leona looked at his reaction with a puzzled expression and retorted.

“Huh? When would I have had the chance to look closely at your eyes? I just vaguely thought they were either green or sky blue.”

And upon hearing that, Rigan was truly dumbfounded.

No, no matter how much, they’d known each other for years—wasn’t this a bit much…?

The women who always squealed whenever they saw him said his eyes were like ‘a blue diamond born from warm sunlight and mysterious moonlight.’ Others described them as ‘a single delphinium wet with water.’

‘And now what was that? She just vaguely thought they were green or sky blue?!’

Rigan once again realized that Leona truly had zero interest in his appearance.

“Your eyes must be seriously bad. At that rate, you should go see an ophthalmologist.”

Rigan answered coldly like that and turned his gaze back to his book.

Of course, his insides were still boiling.

‘To not even remember the eye color of someone you’ve been fighting with all this time. They say knights need good observational skills. She’s truly disqualified as a knight.’

His hand was automatically turning pages, but his mind was entirely elsewhere.

‘Seriously, does anyone remember eye color because they want to? I just can’t help but remember that red color that looks like it’s painted with blood.’

After grumbling to himself for a while, Rigan suddenly came to his senses.

‘Wait, why am I even thinking about such useless things?’

As Rigan shook his head, he suddenly thought the room was too quiet.

Forcibly keeping his eyes fixed on the book to avoid looking at Leona, it seemed his other senses were becoming more vivid.

The warm body heat of their clasped hands.

The sound of breathing…

“Huh?”

Sensing something odd, Rigan reflexively turned his head.

And there…

“What, are you sleeping sitting up right now?”

Rigan’s gaze fell upon Leona, who was fast asleep using the book he had given her as a pillow.

Rigan couldn’t understand this situation at all.

‘No, in the dead of night, in the same room as a man, even holding hands.’

And with a man who was very, very charming and handsome, and even had excellent magical abilities.

‘How can she sleep so peacefully…?’

Leona was even drooling on the book he had given her.

“…She truly has no fear.”

For some reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of defeat.

After watching her defenseless form for a long while, Rigan covered his face with the book he was reading.

‘I’ll close my eyes too.’

With a sigh, he closed his eyes.

…It was a night where sleep didn’t come easily.

The next day, Leona was summoned by the Commander early in the morning.

“What brings you here at this early hour?”

Leona and Rigan quickly prepared and visited the Commander’s office.

As the two entered together, the Commander saw their clasped hands and made a peculiar expression.

“Oh dear, it’s still not resolved?”

“There are still a few hours left.”

At Leona’s answer, the Commander glanced at Rigan with a somewhat troubled look and said,

“Ahem. Well then, I’ll call you again later when it’s resolved.”

Leona looked at the Commander and asked,

“Is this something that Rigan shouldn’t hear?”

“No, it’s not particularly that. But since it could be about your personal life…”

“Then, it’s fine.”

As far as Leona was concerned, she didn’t have any personal life she needed to hide.

Seeing her confident attitude, the Commander cautiously opened his mouth.

“Well then, ahem. It’s about a new recruit who will be joining our Central Branch.”

‘A new recruit?’

No, she was a new recruit herself, so why was he asking her about it?

Leona tilted her head in puzzlement.

“That person… no, that new recruit, I heard they’ve been friends with you since childhood.”

No way.

At the person who instantly came to mind, Leona’s face crumpled mercilessly.

“This time, they graduated at the top of the Spirit Academy…”

“I’ve never considered that bastard a friend.”

Leona’s sharp retort, which burst out in an instant, echoed loudly through the Commander’s office.