Time was wasted, and despite insisting that he would rather train during that time, Lee Ha-yul was busy drifting off to dreamland the moment he was cradled in her arms.
To be precise, he immediately buried his nose into her chest, breathing deeply, blissfully unaware of anything else as he fell asleep.
“……”
Ariel knew the effects would be tremendous, but experiencing it firsthand was amusingly surreal and undeniably cute.
With a strange expression, Ariel patted Lee Ha-yul’s back and flicked her fingers.
Soon, the backrest supporting her back tilted slowly.
She gently leaned it back, careful not to wake Lee Ha-yul and to make him more comfortable.
As the backrest tilted, Lee Ha-yul snuggled closer, almost looking like he was clinging to her.
[Hmm…?]
He wriggled for a moment at the change in position, but then, feeling comfy, he started to burrow even deeper into her embrace.
He snuggled even closer, wriggling and breathing in deeply.
– Sniff sniff…
“Ugh…”
Ariel, who had been wearing a peculiar expression, flinched at the warm breath tickling her neckline; it was an oddly foreign and uncomfortable sensation.
Despite the strange feelings creeping through her, Lee Ha-yul continued to nuzzle deeper into her chest, demanding affection.
He stretched out his arms to hug her tightly, sometimes pausing, only to sway his body gently to urge her to continue the caresses.
The sweetest thing for him was burying his nose in her chest and inhaling her scent as if it were the finest perfume.
He found her body scent so delightful that he pressed his face deeper in, seemingly unconcerned about suffocating.
Whenever he tried to tilt his head up for air, he would dramatically shake his head, whimpering in protest.
Ultimately, Ariel had no choice but to offer Lee Ha-yul the comfort he was yearning for.
[It smells good…]
“Eek, cough…”
[Milk…]
‘…I’m not a cow, and no milk is coming out…’
The necklace jingled, voicing part of her inner thoughts.
Ariel cleared her throat softly, gently stroking his hair and patting his back.
It was the first hug between them.
For what it was, it was exceedingly intimate, and his clinginess was endearing.
But Ariel didn’t find it odd.
At that moment, she suddenly noticed a status window pop up at the corner of her vision.
A bright blue holographic screen floated silently.
[Player Adjustment System: Affection Level]
Lee Ha-yul → Ariel Segnis Ternovia
●●●●●●●○○○(51▷70/100)
「Tower Master of Knowledge」 「Leader of the Magic Association」 「Hmm?」 「Complexity」「Confusion」 「Questions」 「Doubts」 「Gratitude」
An instant 20-point rise in affection level, soaring up to 70, just from hugging and granting him comfort!
…And with that, the label of ‘crazy’ and the suspicion of ‘normal person?’ faded away.
Huff…
The relatively easy and steep rise in affection left Ariel with a whirlwind of complicated thoughts.
She understood that Lee Ha-yul was deeply yearning for affection, but experiencing it felt different.
To think that just offering comfort and letting him smell her scent would boost his affection level so dramatically…
‘……’
It also meant that he was craving affection that much.
His inherent nature and the extreme lack of affection he had experienced throughout his life were merged with the harshness of the world wrought by his curse, and the fear of impending doom; affection must feel especially sweet to him.
Hah…
And here she was, along with the other tower masters, urging this child to fight.
Ariel’s expression darkened as these thoughts suddenly crossed her mind.
There were many excuses.
Even if they hadn’t brought him here, Lee Ha-yul would have had to fight eventually.
The tower masters invading had already destroyed countless worlds, and that destruction would continue.
If this world were to perish, the next target would most likely be Lee Ha-yul’s original dimension.
If it was then that Lee Ha-yul had to start fighting…
Without a body, only as a soul, with no time or resources to grow as he did now, and with no support around him, fully subjected to the enemies’ curses, without powers, magic, or anything of use.
He would have to fight under much harsher conditions.
…Even with all those excuses, the guilt didn’t fade easily.
No matter how many excuses there were, in the end, it was Ariel’s inability that forced this child into combat.
When Lee Ha-yul first met Ariel, he showed strong caution but also sincerely wished for her to be a good person.
In this moment, as he snuggled in her arms, looking happier than anyone in the world, the guilt pricked her heart over and over.
“Sigh…”
The tower master bore her duties given by the tower, and in return, gained the right to enforce them.
Politicians sometimes viewed people not as beings but as profits and numbers.
But that wasn’t easy.
She was not the kind of person suited to be a ruler.
Ariel let out yet another sigh and pulled Lee Ha-yul close.
In the end, the only things she could do for him were teaching him magic and handing over useful artifacts.
And so, letting him rest comfortably in her arms was the very least she could offer.
.
.
.
Lee Ha-yul’s sleeping habits weren’t particularly troublesome.
He simply burrowed into her embrace and sniffed her skin in his sleep.
So, Ariel would only shiver lightly and gently soothe him as he snuggled up more.
Despite insisting that he didn’t need sleep, Lee Ha-yul couldn’t help but fall into a deep sleep for nearly eight hours before he regained consciousness.
[Ummm…]
The voice from the necklace reached her ears.
At that sign of awakening, Ariel opened her eyes.
She adjusted Lee Ha-yul, who was still drowsy and whining, cradling him and patting his back.
[Good]
[Good?]
[Pet me… more…]
Though he was awake, Lee Ha-yul was still half asleep, acting like a spoiled child.
He wriggled at her touch, burying his face in her chest, rubbing against her.
Lee Ha-yul was easily affected by sleep, particularly in the morning.
Especially when he could bask in someone else’s warmth and scent, he would easily fall back into slumber, making him extra drowsy that day.
Because of this trait, those who slept with Lee Ha-yul would intentionally wake up earlier than him, just to enjoy the sight of him whining in his dreams.
[…Ariel?]
“Yes, did you cough?”
Lee Ha-yul finally became aware of his surroundings more than ten minutes after he began his little tantrum.
As he was being patted on the back, he slowly lifted his head, blinking his gray eyes open.
His eyes, which seemed to blend a hint of ominousness with divinity, lacked focus.
– Sniff sniff…
After blinking for a moment, he buried his face back into Ariel’s chest.
He pressed his nose into her cleavage, sniffing as if verifying something before tilting his head.
[…I can’t smell anything.]
A look of curious confusion crossed Lee Ha-yul’s face.
Only then did Ariel realize that her ploy had failed.
[Didn’t we kiss…?]
Lee Ha-yul’s pure question made Ariel flinch.
From his perspective, considering his newfound sense of smell, it would be odd not to think that Ariel had taken liberties with him.
Ariel quickly shook her head.
“…N-no, that was just me releasing the curse partially using my ability for a moment.”
[Oh…]
Lee Ha-yul nodded, perfectly content with her swift explanation.
Then, pouting cutely, he tightly embraced Ariel around the waist.
[I want to smell it more…]
“Ugh…”
Ariel shivered again.
While her eyes closed again, she could clearly sense the desire directed at her.
Breaking a curse conditionally was inherently difficult.
But within the tower’s walls, it was relatively easier.
So, offering Lee Ha-yul comfort was not something challenging at all.
“…Next time, when you sleep, I’ll let you experience it again.”
But if she presented her chest to him now, he would likely feel revived and refuse to sleep, and that was not a good idea.
Ariel decided she would lure him into sleep using her scent as bait.
Of course, if Lee Ha-yul insisted and demanded it right then and there, she wouldn’t have any choice but to yield…
[Alright…]
Fortunately, Lee Ha-yul, while disappointed, nodded obediently.
Her mission to get the golden child to sleep was a success.
.
.
.
As evidenced by his quickly skyrocketing affection levels, Lee Ha-yul’s distance with Ariel had diminished drastically.
[Ariel]
[Can you pet my head?]
…No, it was less a distance than an absolute cling.
After blowing away Lee Ha-yul’s drowsiness, the magic training session commenced.
While he would normally sit across from her at a table, he was now perched on her thigh.
This was due to Lee Ha-yul’s insistence that he didn’t want to be apart from her.
‘……’
Ariel felt awkward about this close proximity, but outwardly, she maintained an indifferent demeanor as she resumed their lesson.
Every now and then, she would jerk slightly whenever he squirmed beside her, feeling the ticklish sensation, but the lessons proceeded without any issues.
After wrapping up the training session, Ariel settled into her chair to start managing the tower.
Though she only recently began teaching Lee Ha-yul magic, this habit of tower management was one she had cultivated for a long time.
Embracing a sense of calmness, she closed her eyes.
A little later, she subtly opened one eye.
She spotted white hair.
It wasn’t an unusual sight.
Ariel herself had white hair.
However, the sensation she felt from her embrace was something unfamiliar.
Lee Ha-yul was still nestled in her arms.
He was examining a book with his face buried against her chest.
If it had been just yesterday, he would have been lifting off into the air to devour the book’s contents, but now it seemed that her embrace had become his preferred spot, clinging to her without wanting to let go.
He was so averse to separation that he didn’t even bother getting up to fetch the book, instead using telekinesis to bring it to him.
Time passed.
After Ariel finished managing the tower and Lee Ha-yul completed his review and preparation, it was time for sleep.
Lee Ha-yul buried his face in Ariel’s chest, savoring her scent, and drifted off to Dreamland.
There was no hint of the determined refusal to sleep that he had shown earlier.
‘……’
Spending an entire day in her arms seemed to suggest that Lee Ha-yul had grown quite fond of Ariel’s embrace.
Though she felt puzzled, fundamentally, Ariel was someone who acted for his benefit.
In the closure of this world, where no one but Ariel and Lee Ha-yul existed, the effect of only having someone to rely on would naturally emerge.
Ariel was unsure if she should feel happy about this and closed her eyes tightly.
.
.
.
Currently, Lee Ha-yul’s magic level was noticeably rising.
With the vast knowledge of numerous mages stored within the Tower of Knowledge and Ariel, who was now beside him—no, cradling him and earnestly teaching him—his growth was a natural occurrence.
“This time, we’ll start with this spell. I’ll give you a moment, so please work through the reverse calculations.”
[Yes]
Having made up her mind to simply be happy that Lee Ha-yul liked being in her embrace, Ariel assigned him a problem and began to think for a brief moment.
‘It would be nice if I could pass on the unique magic… but would there be time?’
Unique magic.
Much like martial arts can evolve into specialized abilities and expand further,
magic can also become a unique ability.
While Ariel had achieved several unique magics, the one she wished to pass on to Lee Ha-yul was the first unique magic she had ever developed.
That particular unique magic was perfectly suited for him.
With pure magic energy, its output would be significantly enhanced, and with Lee Ha-yul’s level of mind-splitting capability, it could be managed adequately.
Additionally, Lee Ha-yul would soon jump into many battles and conflicts entirely of his own will.
It would be a significant advantage in situations where he had to face numerous enemies.
However, the issue was time.
Given that it was a spell intricately linked to uniqueness, it couldn’t be manifested simply through mere memorization.
From the establishment of the spell’s formation to its activation,
it could only be triggered once a complete understanding of the unique magic was attained.
This meant that Lee Ha-yul would need to elevate his level to the bare minimum required to grasp her unique magic.
Then, Ariel would also need to be there beside him… holding him and providing context for the unique magic.
Could that really be achieved within just a month?
‘…The chances seem low. Perhaps it would be more practical for me to teach him the spell first, allowing him to learn on his own later…’
[I’ve solved everything!]
“…Huh?”
Ariel blinked in surprise.
Lee Ha-yul looked up at her, his face visible as he swayed back and forth.
Understanding her request, Ariel patted his tummy before confirming the answers he had provided.
The problem she posed to him was no simple task.
It was deep and extensive enough to easily consume dozens of pages of paper.
While she never doubted that he could solve it, it hadn’t even been a few minutes since she assigned the problem…?
Ariel, perplexed, examined the problems he had solved.
“…Well done. There’s nothing incorrect, and the process is also appropriate.”
Ariel nodded silently, amazed.
He solved everything spotlessly. Not a single error; it was perfect.
Of course, there might be some parts that felt shaky, but considering his level, it was all the more impressive.
‘What’s going on…?’
Ariel’s eyes brimmed with bewilderment, and soon something fluttering at the edge of her vision caught her attention.
A blue ribbon swayed back and forth, flapping around Lee Ha-yul’s wings.
…It swayed playfully like a puppy wagging its tail, waiting for a reward.
[Excited]
[Pet]
[Longing]
As the necklace spilled out the blatant and pure desire, Ariel readily reached out to ruffle Lee Ha-yul’s hair.
“…You did wonderfully.”
[Hehe…]
Lee Ha-yul rubbed his head against her hand, grinning with brightness that lit up the surroundings.
Days later, Lee Ha-yul astonishingly completed a month’s worth of lessons in just three days.
*
[Player Adjustment System: Affection Level]
Lee Ha-yul → Ariel Segnis Ternovia
●●●●●●●○○○(70▷72/100)
「Tower Master of Knowledge」 「Leader of the Magic Association」 「Hmm?」 「Complexity」 「Confusion」 「Questions」 「Doubts」 「Gratitude」
…
[Player Adjustment System: Measurement]
▷Psychic State
「Happiness」
「Warmth」
「Satisfaction」
「Desire for Praise」
「Sense of Accomplishment」
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