#38
“Since I’ve told you why I like dragons, I’d like to hear why you dislike them.”
“I live in the Austen region, right? And that’s supposedly the territory of a dragon named Derik. But when that dragon went into hibernation, he said he liked the cold and completely froze the entire Austen region. That’s really mean! Honestly, the dragon is just one creature, but how many people live in Austen… How can he only think about himself? So selfish!”
Noah reached out toward the grandfather who seemed lost in thought, unable to find a suitable response to his words. Noah’s fingertips naturally touched the wrinkles on the old man’s face, particularly the deep ones between his eyebrows.
“Grandfather. You’ll get more wrinkles that way.”
“Well then. Do you prefer weather like in Feyrn?”
“Feyrn is nice too, but I just wish it was less cold than it is now. I like when there’s lots of snow, but it’s always frozen solid, so our knight uncles have to clear it every day, and the magicians have to melt it.”
I mentioned wrinkles, but grandfather is still talking about the weather. Noah shook his head thinking about snow—beautiful and picturesque when falling, but a headache once frozen.
“If you want nice weather, Feyrn would be perfect, but you want to keep Austen’s weather as is, just a little less cold?”
“Yes.”
“And why is that?”
“Because Aeongi doesn’t like hot weather.”
Raymond, who had been working while listening to the casual conversation between Chris and Noah, gradually lost his smile. During their informal chat, Noah nagged that Chris’s wrinkles deepened whenever he was lost in thought, and Chris chuckled while patting Noah’s head.
Had Chris ever patted his head like that?
Had he ever talked so comfortably with him while smiling like that?
Though things seemed a bit more relaxed now, Chris had always been such an imposing, intimidating figure to him.
“Who do you think is stronger between Aeongi and a dragon?”
“Grandfather, are you seriously asking that? Dragons don’t even exist. Our Aeongi is a super big snow leopard! He’s the boss of the Heidel Mountains.”
The conversation between Chris and Noah continued precariously until Elisa came to find Noah for dinner. As soon as Noah disappeared, Chris also vanished, saying he had business to attend to.
Left alone in his room, Raymond sighed deeply as he stared at his remaining work.
* * *
Despite meeting the Dean three times during his first month at the academy, Noah managed to finish his first semester without causing major problems or being summoned to the Dean’s office again.
When vacation started, Noah’s life at Schwein Castle was the epitome of boredom. Since he was attending the academy, there was no home tutor, and Aeongi was the only one he could play with.
But as soon as Aeongi arrived at Schwein Castle, he returned to his massive original form and left for the forest. One day passed, then two, then three, and after Aeongi left, a blizzard rolled in. Noah, forbidden from going outside, spent the entire day by the window.
Except for mealtimes, Noah sat by the window reading books while waiting for Aeongi to return. Exhausted from waiting, he trudged to his room when Elisa told him it was time for bed. The snow that had started falling in the morning was growing heavier, and it didn’t look like it would stop anytime soon. Sometimes the white snow against the black sky looked beautiful, but not today.
No news is good news, he thought. Aeongi was a snow leopard by nature, so he’d probably be fine, but Noah couldn’t help worrying. Plus, today he’d heard some really depressing news, which made him crave Aeongi’s presence even more.
He wanted to burrow into that warm embrace, bury his face in that soft fur. Then Aeongi would hold him with his large front paws.
Wanting that comfort, Noah entered his room and his eyes widened in surprise.
“Aeongi!”
Noah flung himself at Aeongi, who was comfortably sprawled on the sofa as if he’d been there all along.
“I told you to tell me before you leave. Where did you go without my permission! There was a blizzard a few days ago, and it’s snowing like this again today. Do you know how worried I was that something might have happened to you? You’re the only one I can play with here, what am I supposed to do without you? And I heard some depressing news earlier!”
As Noah rolled around on Aeongi’s body while grumbling in a petulant voice, a small sigh escaped from Aeongi’s mouth. Regardless, Noah touched and rubbed and pressed against Aeongi, confirming that his return wasn’t a dream but reality. Finally, he stopped all movement and let out a long sigh.
“Aeongi. Raymond has become the Tower Master. You know Remona, right? The magic department male professor with the blue ribbon and long hair who pulled your sleigh before. Anyway, Raymond became the Tower Master, so he can’t be an academy professor anymore. What am I going to do?”
The old man who came out of the laboratory whenever Noah visited Raymond turned out to be the Great Magician Chris, as he had suspected. For a Great Magician, he asked many strange questions. Noah had clearly gone to see Raymond, but on days when the old man was there, he’d end up arguing with him until all that precious time was gone.
While unintentionally building a friendship with him, Chris suddenly dropped the bombshell that he would pass the Tower Master position to Raymond, who had just turned twenty.
Though the Tower Master was known for disappearing without a trace as a hobby, his power and symbolism couldn’t be ignored. But he said he no longer wanted to be bound by these connections. After his outburst, everyone’s attention naturally turned to Raymond, who had been designated as the next Tower Master.
Despite Raymond’s exceptional skills and potential for growth, it was already unconventional for him to become a professor at the academy at such a young age. The entire empire was in an uproar at the news that he would become the Tower Master as well.
Everyone protested, asking the Tower Master to stay longer, and even Raymond refused, saying he didn’t yet have the ability to fulfill the role. But the stubborn old man said if he didn’t hand over the Tower Master position by the end of the year, he would disappear again. He added that if he left, he would never appear in public again.
Unless a Tower Master suddenly departed from the world, the position was transferred through official procedures. If a Tower Master’s whereabouts were unknown, the position had to remain vacant for a certain period. This was in case the Tower Master might return. And that period was 10 years from the point when the Tower Master’s whereabouts became unknown, after which one of the tower magicians could ascend to the position.
The commotion that began when Noah was at the academy finally ended with Raymond succeeding as Tower Master.
Before the vacation, Raymond had told Noah that even if he became Tower Master, the tower was inside the academy, so Noah could visit anytime to have refreshments and ask questions about assignments he didn’t understand. But everyone knew that would no longer be possible.
Noah had hoped against hope, but Raymond really did become the Tower Master, which meant having private, comfortable time with him would now be as difficult as catching a star from the sky.
Looking at Raymond’s handsome face and having him call Noah a baby while patting his head had been Noah’s driving force. Studying was fun and interesting, but he had lived for the joy of seeing Raymond. Feeling a rising sense of suffocation, Noah sighed again, but smiled when Aeongi raised his front paws to embrace him.
“Aeongi.”
“Nyaa~”
Noah raised his hand and touched Aeongi’s face. Then he showered Aeongi’s cheeks with kisses.
“I only have you.”
“Nyaa~”
“Hmm? You feel the same? Okay. I love you too.”
Momentarily immersed in melancholy, Noah closed his eyes, comforted in Aeongi’s warm embrace. When you’re bored and depressed, sleep is the best solution.
* * *
“Dad!!”
After rummaging through the large boxes placed here and there, Noah found a large crescent-shaped ornament and called for Lucas with a loud voice, tensing his stomach muscles. But it was Aeongi, not Lucas, who quickly approached Noah’s side.
“Aeongi, could you put this up there?”
Noah showed the ornament he was holding to Aeongi and then raised his hand to point at the top of the large decorative tree beside him.
In this world Noah had transmigrated into, there were all kinds of festivals. But the winter festival period, which included Arhen’s Blessing Day, was the one most people looked forward to and enjoyed.
This festival, which had a Christmas-like feel, lasted about two weeks. The entire empire celebrated, but the Austen region was the most active. Today was the day to decorate Schwein Castle for the festival, and Noah was in the middle of decorating the tree in the main hall.
Somehow it felt like the top of such a tree should have a star or moon, and Noah had found the perfect ornament. He wanted to place it himself, but since he couldn’t reach, he had called for Lucas.
It was just a joke when he asked Aeongi to put the ornament up, but Aeongi, who sometimes understood words surprisingly well, snatched the decoration Noah was holding in his mouth.
“Ah, you can’t do it. Give it back. Here comes Lucas.”
Aeongi moved faster than Noah could take back the ornament or Lucas could arrive.
Clunk… THUD-
“Hey!!”
It was fine when Aeongi raised his massive body and stood on two legs. It was also okay when he placed the ornament he was holding in his mouth at the top of the tree. But as Aeongi turned his body after placing the decoration, he lost his balance, and simultaneously, the large decorative tree toppled over.
Amidst the thick dust and scattered decorations, Noah stood without a single hair out of place. It was only a matter of time before his frustration toward Aeongi erupted.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
