Editor : Amethyst00



Eliza, having successfully taken Carl out from among the magic department students, quickly flew into a deserted hallway.

"Eliza! Stop for a moment!"

"What? We're still in the magic department area."

"Just stop for now."

"Rue."

At Carl's words, Eliza stroked the neck of Rue, the Pegasus with whom she had a contract, and called his name.

Tap—

Rue landed on the floor.

Carl pressed himself close to the corridor wall.

Then he fumbled around the wall and soon pressed a specific spot.

Sss—

A part of the wall slid inward with a swish.

Alongside it, another part opened like a door.

Carl grabbed Eliza's wrist—her eyes wide with surprise—and pulled her inside.

Rue followed behind them.

The door closed behind them.

"A secret room?"

Eliza furrowed her brow as she looked into the dark interior of the room.

"Carl. It's too dark in here…"

Flaaash—!

As soon as Eliza finished speaking, a magic stone lamp on the ceiling turned on.

Eliza looked around the room, her expression puzzled.

The secret room wasn't very large.

But it had a small bookshelf on the wall, a desk and a chair in one corner, and even a simple bed for resting.

It felt surprisingly lived-in.

"What is this place?"

"A secret room I found at the beginning of the semester. I use it as my personal lab."

Carl shrugged.

"Personal lab?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't the magic department provide personal labs for magical research?"

Eliza looked confused.

Within the Clocktower dorms, each department is given special space suited to their needs.

Students in the knight department are given personal training spaces.

Summoning department students are given places for their contracted spirits to stay.

And magic students are provided space to research magic.

These are personal entitlements for students, where they can conduct studies freely.

"They do provide personal labs. But there are all sorts of restrictions. The student council manages them pretty strictly."

A secret space that only students can use is a tempting place for trouble.

Because of that, monitoring is tight.

At the very least, students must log their usage times, and when used with others, the space must be open.

This is to prevent it from being used for anything other than study or training.

In cases like Carl's, who practices alchemy, there's even a requirement to regularly report what he's making.

Carl had already been caught by the student council several times and was treated as someone to keep an eye on.

"You should've behaved better in the first place."

"I didn't expect that from you."

Carl looked wounded.

Eliza might've had good grades, but behavior-wise, she was also a delinquent.

She snorted at Carl's response.

"Anyway, alchemy needs real alchemical tools. There's a limit to what you can do in a dorm room."

Unlike personal labs, private rooms offer complete privacy.

But as Carl said, there are limitations.

"Huh? You weren't doing anything this elaborate back in second year."

"Yeah. I thought I wasn't going to make it to third year. That's why I opened a personal shop in Lumeria City."

Carl shrugged.

Carl had inherited Dweno's alchemical text.

That made him one of the top students in potion-making in Lumene.

As he studied and interpreted Dweno's texts on his own, the scale of his alchemy naturally expanded.

"So doing this in secret means you're conducting risky experiments, right?"

"I just casually break a few school rules."

Carl chuckled.

"If Leo finds out, he might lock me in detention for a month."

"Huh? I feel like Leo Plov might let this slide, though?"

To Eliza, Leo didn't seem like someone bound by principles.

'Or maybe he's just unexpectedly twisted?'

As Eliza tilted her head, Carl shrugged.

"Leo, personally, probably wouldn't care if I did this kind of research. But he's not just a student—he's the student council president."

Leo is strict about following the rules as student council president.

What he might tolerate as a friend, he wouldn't allow in an official role.

Carl knew this.

He never expected special treatment just because he was close with Leo.

That's why this lab was kept secret.

"Leo Plov doesn't know about this?"

"He probably does."

"You said he wouldn't leave you alone."

"Yeah, but I haven't been caught, right?"

Carl snickered.

"If you don't get caught, it's not a crime. That's Leo's mindset."

"…That guy really has no sense of right or wrong."

Eliza frowned.

Rue, in his humanized form, curiously examined the lab.

"But is it okay to bring me here?"

Eliza crossed her arms as she asked, and Carl replied casually.

"Why not?"

"It's your secret space."

"Yeah. But you're my girlfriend."

"…"

"There shouldn't be any secrets from the woman I love."

"Ha. Unbelievable. You're the type to get scammed easily, huh?"

Eliza scoffed and turned her head away.

'Seriously, this guy sneaks in when I least expect it.'

She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling.

"Anyway, Eliza. I don't know what happened, but don't look this way for a bit."

"Why?"

"To apply some ointment on the wound from your whip."

"Oh…"

Eliza looked flustered.

"I'll apply it."

"No, just turn your head for a moment."

Just as she made a puzzled face—

["Eliza. Eliza."]

Pegasus Rue called out to her.

"What is it?"

["Come here and look at this."]

Rue stood in front of a cabinet where Carl's potions were stored.

Eliza approached with a curious expression.

"What am I looking at?"

["This."]

Rue pointed to a potion bottle filled with golden liquid.

Its label read: Love Potion.

Eliza recognized it.

Carl had made it once before, causing a huge commotion.

She also knew it had no real effects.

"What about it?"

"Shh—!"

Rue silenced her with a finger over her lips.

She glanced toward Carl, then popped open the bottle and handed it to Eliza.

["Give it to that man."]

"Huh?"

["After he drinks it, pounce o—"]

"Wait, wait! What are you saying?!"

Eliza quickly clamped her hand over Rue's mouth.

Rue gently lowered her hand and spoke in a whisper.

["Eliza Hergin, as your contract companion, I truly like you."]

To Rue, Eliza was the ideal soul and body for a summoner.

["As your soul's partner, I wish to support not just you, but the prosperity of your descendants."]

"I appreciate the praise, but how did the conversation end up here…?"

["It's not strange. For a family's prosperity, many exceptional children are needed. Surely your children will inherit your beauty."]

"Well, sure…"

["But it's statistically unlikely that a summoner as talented as you will be born again."]

"[But if you have many, one might match or even surpass you, right?]"

"…"

["That man also seems to have a radiant soul. I think you two are well-matched."]

"But, I mean, Carl and I aren't even married—we just started dating…"

["Don't you love him?"]

"…"

Eliza was at a loss for words.

Just then—

"Eliza. Why don't you sit on the bed or something?"

"What?!"

"Why are you so startled?"

Carl looked at her in confusion—but then his face went rigid.

"Gah! Wait! What are you holding?!"

"Why are you shirtless?!"

They both freaked out at the sight of each other.

Carl rushed over and snatched the love potion bottle from Eliza's hand.

Eliza sucked in a breath at his approach, still shirtless.

"Phew… thank goodness."

"Didn't you say this stuff doesn't work? Why are you so freaked out?"

Eliza asked, pretending to be calm.

"This one does work…"

Thwack—!

"Eek?!"

Suddenly, Rue kicked Carl square in the back.

He let out a scream and tumbled onto the bed with Eliza.

"Aaagh!"

He grabbed the potion bottle just in time—but ended up fully on top of Eliza.

Tap—!

"Phew. Saved…"

Carl realized he was straddling Eliza.

Their eyes met—and both of them flushed red.

"Sorry!"

Carl scrambled off the bed.

["Tsk—!"]

Rue clicked his tongue.

When Eliza glared at him, Rue turned his head away.

"What's so special about that potion?"

"It's extremely dangerous."

"This one actually works? Drinking it has effects?"

"The first one worked too."

Carl resealed the bottle tightly.

"What kind of effects?"

"It melts clothes."

"…What?"

"If you spill it on yourself, you're naked. For over a day."

"……"

Eliza was speechless.

"What kind of perverted potion is that?! Who made it?!"

"Dweno."

Carl scratched his head while watching Eliza retreat to the corner of the bed, her face beet red.

Seeing Rue's sparkling eyes, Eliza said:

"Carl."

"Yeah?"

"Get rid of that. And never make it again."

"Got it."

Carl nodded.

"By the way, why are you shirtless?"

When Eliza narrowed her eyes, Carl pointed to his neck and chest.

They were red and abraded.

"Thanks to someone's whip. I was applying ointment."

"Ugh."

"Anyway, it's all done. Should heal soon."

Carl put on his uniform jacket from the chair.

Eliza glanced at him briefly.

Though a mage, Carl had a strong physique from his time in Lumene.

"So? Why'd you kidnap me?"

Carl joked as he sat down, and Eliza quickly responded.

"A fairy stole something important from me."

"What did they take?"

"The reply letter I wrote for you."

"Oh? You were planning to reply?"

Carl looked touched.

"Hmph. What do you take me for?"

With a slight blush, Eliza scoffed.

"Anyway! If someone reads that letter, the entire school will know about us in seconds!"

Carl's expression turned serious.

That was a big problem.

He wasn't the only one who feared getting teased.

'Thinking about those wretched guys…'

He shivered.

"Let's eat something and figure it out. We probably can't go back to the dorm tonight."

Whether they caught the fairy or went to Leo's room, they needed to contact Kiran quickly.

Carl approached a storage box where he kept food for when he worked.

He opened the lid.

Click—

"……"

He stared blankly into the box.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't empty.

"What are you doing?"

Eliza asked, confused.

Carl replied, "Found it."

"Found what?"

"The fairy."

"What?!"

"But it's not Kiran?"

He showed her the inside of the box.

There lay a fairy in the form of a small girl, fast asleep.

'Wow… I didn't realize, but she's actually kind of cute when not being a menace—'

Grab—!

["Eep?!"]

"Hand over the letter. Now."

"Eliza, calm down!"

The fairy, startled awake, screamed, and Eliza, eyes fierce, growled as she grabbed the terrified creature.