The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 31
Joy and relief seized her chest so tightly she could barely breathe. The urge to run toward him and close the distance between them surged fiercely. She longed to clasp his hand, to feel his warmth against her skin.
Yet his gaze, his scent, his voice, his very presence——
Had weighed upon her heart and feet more powerfully than the strongest wind, she surely would have done so.
“Cecilia.”
The moment he called her name with a smile as scattered as fallen petals, she felt something unfamiliar stir within her. It was something too ambiguous to name clearly, yet too vivid to deny outright.
Yet why couldn’t she call out his name in return?
In the end, it was he who approached first, while she stood dazed, her breath still unsteady.
Following her wish, he gently took her hand, drew her into the shade, and with meticulous care, wiped away her perspiration with his handkerchief.
“It’s been a while.”
He greeted her in a voice as warm as spring sunlight. Though too brief to truly call it a long separation, the time had been long enough to deepen their longing for each other.
So the yearning and joy woven into that simple sentence were surely no illusion.
Cecilia drew down the large hand resting near her brow and clasped it in hers. The warmth from her hurried arrival mixed with his in a lukewarm blend.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“Not at all. You needn’t have rushed like this——”
“But I received such an urgent note, I had no choice but to hurry. How did you manage to come all the way here?”
“Did I not promise to come and see you?”
Ah.
Before departing for the Holy Temple, he had indeed made such a promise—not to see the Ceremony, but to see her.
Yet she hadn’t known he meant to meet her in secret before the Ceremony itself. Security must have been reinforced with the Ceremony looming, but given the absence of any commotion, it seemed he had made full use of the hidden abilities of the Tower Master.
Whatever the method, Cecilia resolved to savor this small miracle to the fullest. After all, hadn’t she suffered enough through chastity and training for various other reasons?
But the miracle he had brought was anything but small.
“Are you hungry? I brought some food, just in case.”
Lien led her beneath the shade of the trees and spoke shyly.
A charming Blanket in pale green and yellow lay already spread, as if prepared in advance. Upon it rested the Rattan Basket she had once given him as a gift, nestled within which were neatly cut Sandwiches, Orange Juice, and even a fresh Sacher Torte, all arranged with care.
“I prepared in haste, so it’s only these simple things, but I do hope they suit your taste.”
‘An angel.’
Lien was surely the angel God had sent for a starving Saint.
“Thank you.”
Cecilia suppressed her excitement and sat down primly in the prepared spot. Then she took a bite of a Sandwich stuffed generously with meat.
“Ah——”
“Does it not suit your palate?”
“No, it’s so delicious.”
This taste of the secular world, delivering such electric stimulation to her taste buds——had she been a bolder sort of woman, she might well have covered his cheeks with kisses.
Perhaps because she was concentrating so intently on the food, Lien, who had been carefully unwrapping another Sandwich for her, finally broke into soft laughter.
“I brought plenty, so please eat slowly.”
Lien wiped away the sauce at the corner of her mouth with the tip of his finger, his eyes crinkling gently.
‘Perhaps the trials of this past week were divine providence designed to maximize today’s healing.’
Just as both her body and heart had swelled with satisfaction, Lien opened his mouth as if he had been waiting for this very moment.
“Only a few days remain until the Ceremony. Are your preparations progressing well?”
“Well enough. According to what the Archbishop told me, the number of visitors will exceed twice that of previous events, so I’m rather anxious about making any mistakes.”
“I’ve heard the same. Apparently, after the news broke that a Saint would be participating in the Ceremony, visitors have been flowing in from all directions.”
“Is that so?”
How strange that an unofficial Saint could be so popular. The prospect suddenly weighed on Cecilia, and she set down her nearly finished Sandwich.
“That’s more nerve-wracking news. By the way, will you be coming that day too?”
“If you permit it.”
“Why would I need to give you permission for that? Of course——”
“Well, I might not simply attend.”
“What do you mean?”
“If circumstances allow, I’m thinking of abducting you.”
Cecilia blinked slowly, bewildered.
Abducting her? Surely he wasn’t serious.
After uttering something so preposterous, Lien calmly handed her a plate of dessert as if he’d merely remarked on the weather, completely unruffled.
“Please try this. I made it fresh this morning, so it should suit your taste.”
‘Now hardly seems the time to be concerned about dessert.’
Even as she thought this, she found herself forking a bite of the dessert into her mouth, and only then did Lien continue.
“Should you ever wish to abandon the Ceremony——”
——
“Then any mistake that might occur would not be the breaking of a sacred Ceremony by you, but by a man without grace——me. So——”
His gentle voice resonated softly, yet with unmistakable weight. Cecilia could not find words for the emotion that resonated within her, and she simply held her mouth closed.
“You need not worry about anything at all.”
‘Ah.’
There are moments when unreality sharpens every sense to crystalline clarity. Precisely like now.
In the muggy heat, sweat beaded faintly across her pale skin, and dampness clung to the small of her back.
Sunlight blazed with almost painful intensity; through the verdant canopy of broad-leafed trees, wind whispered down in dry rustles, and the fresh, green smell of grass pressed in on all sides.
Deep in the throes of summer, Cecilia observed his sandwich, untouched by a single bite, and his tea, unmarked by a single sip. She observed the man who, heedless of thirst and hunger, regarded her with quiet, unwavering intensity.
Realization descended upon her with the grace of butterfly wings, yet precise as the flight of a bee.
Perhaps Plan D was already complete.
Perhaps what she had yearned to receive from him all this time, he had already been offering.
And so Cecilia, swept by sudden impulse, parted her lips.
“Lien.”
“Yes?”
“I think I like you. No—I do like you.”
The moment her confession finished, the orange juice bottle slipped from his trembling grasp and tumbled away.
The blanket soaked through, and the sweet scent of juice rushed forth.
“……What?”
It seemed her words had struck him with far greater force than she’d anticipated.
His long lashes quivered; his pupils, moments before rigid, rippled like a shore meeting a sudden swell. His breath came in jagged gasps, and his lips moved soundlessly again and again before he pressed his hands against the reddening tips of his ears.
“I believe my ears have… they must have broken.”
“They haven’t broken.”
Her confession had come without context, but even so, this reaction seemed excessive. Cecilia replied with cool detachment, though he appeared too overwhelmed to heed her tone.
“……But there’s no way you would say such a thing to me, to someone like me. It can’t be true…….”
As Lien rambled incoherently, he suddenly raised his head. The confusion that had clouded his features melted away, replaced by something desperate—something urgent and pleading.
“Please, say it again. Just once more, I beg you.”
Heedless of the soaked blanket, he braced himself on both hands and leaned toward her, moving with such desperate intensity that Cecilia found herself readily obliging, parting her lips once more.
“I believe you are…….”
“Saint!”
And at that very moment, a voice cried out to her from far down the hillside.
‘Ah, yes—I was wondering when someone would interrupt.’
Cecilia regarded the culprits with cool disdain, her moment shattered with the impeccable timing of a scene torn from a romance novel.
Below the knoll, white-robed priests moved about in agitation, apparently having only just discovered her absence and fallen into considerable commotion.
‘Never mind the moment. Just confess properly again, why don’t you?’
She considered it, but quickly abandoned the notion. His reaction suggested near-certain success, and besides, if this world she was trapped in truly belonged to the romance genre, then surely any significant scene where two souls were meant to bind required at least elegant words and elegant flowers to frame it properly.
Moreover, though she was prepared to resort to a kiss if necessary, this place possessed no atmosphere for such a gesture.
‘I’ll confess properly in the Daisy Flower Field once the Ceremony is over.’
The field belonged to Lien now, but by then his possessions would be hers and hers would be his.
‘And I’ll prepare a gift in return for the necklace then, too!’
Satisfied with this excellent plan, Cecilia felt her spirits lift. She rose lightly to her feet.
“Let me go before the commotion grows worse. We can continue this conversation back at the Mansion.”
“But……!”
“Thank you for coming to meet me. I’ll see you at the Ceremony!”
Lien reached out urgently to stop her, but Cecilia waved her hand with cheerful brightness. She left him frozen in place and descended the hillside with a light step.
Like the warm wind of a humid summer.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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