# 60
Fortunately, he had a habit of waking up early; otherwise, if he had been sleeping, he might have had to welcome Riyekan in his pajamas without receiving the message.
Thinking that he should have a talk to ensure this never happened again, Jin-ha added to his to-do list for today: “Persuade Riyekan to arrange appointments at least half a day in advance.”
They would probably part ways after breakfast, so after lunch, he could return to the annex to review the reports the children had written during this time and…
“Wrong.”
“…You startled me.”
Turning his head at the sudden voice, Jin-ha found Riyekan leaning his upper body over Jin-ha’s shoulder, peeping at his memo. Jin-ha pushed Riyekan away while calming his startled heart.
“I said it’s wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hunter Lee Jin-ha’s schedule for today is playing with me in the morning, playing with me in the afternoon, and playing with me in the evening.”
“…What?”
“In short, it means you’ll be playing with me all day long.”
When Jin-ha burst into a hollow laugh in disbelief, Riyekan narrowed his eyes and gently admonished him.
“Hunter Lee Jin-ha’s main job is to entertain me. You shouldn’t confuse your work priorities.”
Since that was officially true, Jin-ha couldn’t find any words to retort.
However, watching his arrogant attitude despite having been the one who had just been pathetically holed up in the tower, neglecting sleep and meals until the day before yesterday, made Jin-ha feel a surge of irritation.
“……”
“What?”
“…Nothing.”
As Jin-ha sighed and turned his head away, Riyekan chuckled as if he had expected this reaction, then sat down across the table.
“Let’s fill our stomachs first.”
When Riyekan snapped his fingers, dozens of candles that were half-melted into the surrounding rocks lit up. Then Legas appeared carrying a large plate stacked with sandwiches and bread.
By now, the sight of Legas acting as a cook or servant was no longer surprising.
Jin-ha routinely took out two sandwiches and placed them in front of him. Though there seemed to be a lot of food left, it was clear that the recent Riyekan would easily devour it all.
“…By the way, what is that?”
He hadn’t noticed it earlier because it was dark, but looking now, Riyekan was wearing an incredibly elaborate floral crown.
The dark-colored magician’s attire decorated with splendid gold thread and the floral crown that looked like summer woven together clashed terribly, but at the same time, they suited Riyekan’s face surprisingly well.
A grown man who looked good in a colorful floral crown. Though his face was more handsome than pretty, Jin-ha wondered how this was possible, but it couldn’t be denied when it was right before his eyes.
He didn’t want to think such thoughts, but he truly was a consistently handsome man.
If only it weren’t for that unnecessarily handsome face…
“Ah, this.”
Riyekan’s face distorted.
“Someone put it on me, and it won’t come off…”
Who on earth could put a floral crown on the Master of the Noon Moon Tower and prevent him from taking it off?
When Jin-ha instinctively reached out and touched the luscious red flower protruding from the crown, the crown immediately tilted, contradicting Riyekan’s claim that it wouldn’t come off. He grabbed the crown to prevent it from falling onto the table and narrowed his eyes.
“Really, stop with the pranks for once…”
Before his complaint could even finish, Riyekan snatched the crown away and threw it into the bushes. He looked alarmed, as if Jin-ha had touched something dangerous.
Then Riyekan rubbed Jin-ha’s hand thoroughly with a napkin to clean it and spoke.
“Hunter Lee Jin-ha, let me give you one piece of advice.”
Jin-ha, thinking he was about to be advised not to touch a magician’s belongings carelessly, nodded seriously. Perhaps the crown had been woven with poisonous plants. He had clearly acted too rashly.
“If someone offers to give you good information or share power with you, don’t follow them carelessly. Understand?”
“…Pardon?”
Jin-ha doubted his ears at the tone that sounded like he was admonishing an 8-year-old child.
“Are you… joking?”
“Joking? I’m not someone who makes frivolous jokes or pranks. This is a serious matter.”
Riyekan was absolutely someone who played pranks carelessly. Jin-ha had a burning desire to point this out, but he suppressed it and asked politely.
“I need you to explain why you’re saying this so I can understand.”
Riyekan, who had a conflicted expression as if debating whether to explain, took a deep breath and said with a face full of discontent.
“It’s because of the fairies.”
“The fairies… you say?”
“Yes. There’s a suspicious sign… Wait, come to think of it, the matter that was missing from Master Senistry’s report last time was also due to fairies. Perhaps since then… No, it must be.”
Riyekan, who had been muttering to himself, thrust his face toward Jin-ha.
“If Hunter Lee Jin-ha gets bewitched by fairies, it might not end with just being dragged along to play. So when entering the tower, be sure to call Legas to accompany you. Understand? You must, you must.”
“I need to know why you’re doing this…”
“The most fearsome fairy among the fairies is targeting Hunter Lee Jin-ha.”
“Why would such a fairy target me?”
“How would I know the mind of a capricious fairy? Anyway, promise me. Never wander alone in the tower.”
“Is it okay if it’s not in the tower?”
If he needed to be careful of fairies, shouldn’t he be careful everywhere? It was strange that he added the qualifier “in the tower.”
“Outside is fine. No, is it not fine? Hmm… Outside too…”
Jin-ha was alarmed to see Riyekan starting to seriously consider this. He regretted asking. Due to unnecessary curiosity, a future where he had to be accompanied by a monitor wherever he went was approaching.
Jin-ha quickly pushed buttered bread into Riyekan’s mouth. Riyekan chewed it naturally but was still nervously tapping the table with his fingertips. This seemed insufficient to calm his heightened nerves. Jin-ha served buttered bread topped with salted meat, followed by fruit, and then cookies.
Only after all that did Riyekan turn to look at him as if wondering why he kept feeding him. It was an opportunity. Jin-ha naturally changed the subject.
“Shouldn’t we eat quickly so we can get to that busy schedule of yours?”
“Ah, right…”
“So, do you have a plan for what you want to play today?”
At that, the man changed his expression and pretended to be shocked, opening his mouth wide. As if he had caught something.
“I knew it. Because Hunter Lee Jin-ha is an indifferent man, I knew you would completely forget about our promise.”
“Promise, you say?”
Jin-ha was now getting used to Riyekan’s way of speaking. This man had an annoying habit of pretending to be hurt by everything, but fortunately, he wasn’t persistent, so Jin-ha could deal with him by ignoring him appropriately.
“Yes. I promised to guide you around the tower, remember?”
Come to think of it, that was true. Hadn’t he even been made to fill out a strange survey because of that?
“I thought that was canceled because a certain magician shut himself up in the tower.”
“No, it was postponed because someone was paying attention to an unnecessarily useless kid.”
Riyekan extended his hand into the air, and as golden powder seemed to sparkle above it, a few pieces of paper dropped into his hand. It was a document titled “Noon Moon Tower Tour Schedule.”
As Jin-ha received the document and read through it, his eyes showed surprise. There was an unexpected phrase in the middle of the schedule.
“Fairy Garden…?”
“According to the survey results, you were very interested. So I added it to today’s schedule.”
“Weren’t we supposed to avoid fairies?”
“It’s fine when I’m with you.”
At that moment, what Riyekan had said earlier flashed through his mind.
‘Someone put it on me, and it won’t come off.’
The being who could place an elaborate floral crown on the head of the Master of the Noon Moon Tower and prevent him from removing it. And the being targeting him, difficult to block even with Riyekan’s power. The most fearsome fairy among the fairies.
It must be the Fairy Queen. No one else could do that to Riyekan. Realizing this, Jin-ha glanced at Riyekan. When their eyes met, a low warning whispered “Shhh” was secretive.
They had discussed fairies several times before, but Riyekan had never reacted like this. Seeing him troubled only this time, it seemed he was bound by a contract to keep some secret related to the Fairy Queen.
Jin-ha quietly nodded and read through the schedule from the top again.
“The Castle of Aoldor. The Dead Temple of Dalsi Plains. The Fairy Garden…”
None of these seemed like names of places inside the tower. Hadn’t he said he would guide him around the tower? Based on the schedule in the document, it seemed like they would need to take a car on a field trip far away.
What was he planning?
As Jin-ha looked at him suspiciously, Riyekan grinned with a face full of composure.
“Excited?”
“Yes. Very, very excited.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
