Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 61

Hissop carefully posed a question.

“Vanessa, you really don’t know the conditions?”

“No. I only know magic that already has established formulas or methods. Simple things that anyone with enough mana can do.”

Vanessa answered without looking up. Hissop scratched his head, watching Vanessa still rummaging through documents.

“For someone who says that, your magic’s realization speed is fast, and the range is very specific. You really don’t know?”

Vanessa tilted her head, puzzled. Hissop was looking at her seriously.

“I really don’t know. Large-scale magic doesn’t work for me either. If I knew the conditions, why would I hide them?”

“Hmm… I guess so…. Still, think about it carefully when you’re alone. It’s just strange. I’ve never seen anyone who can easily perform multiple magics like Vanessa without knowing the conditions.”

“Just incantation magic or those based on will?”

“Even so, it’s the same. In the end, all those things are related to your innate conditions. You know one of my conditions, right? Clapping. The rest is a secret, though.”

Hissop clapped. Soon, the water in the glass soared and began to spin.

“In the case of incantation magic, I don’t need to clap. But if I don’t clap, the realization is slower than I thought, and adjusting the range is difficult. There are many magics that don’t work well either because I used magic ignoring my innate conditions.”

Vanessa blinked.

She had never felt such a sensation. She had always relied on simple gestures and soft singing to easily realize magic.

“Think carefully. Originally, you get clues from these things to figure out the conditions.”

Vanessa nodded as Hissop gave her a bright smile.

Vanessa finally finished her assigned work for the day and jumped up. Hissop clapped beside her.

“Come to the Special Task Force! Come and take over my paperwork.”

“No way.”

Vanessa refused firmly and ran away, packing her things haphazardly. She didn’t care whether Hissop called after her or not.

She hurried down the antique stairs and turned to the side. She had a dinner appointment after a long time, so she was in a hurry, and her pace quickened. She thought it would be okay since most of the Special Task Force members would be off work.

But as soon as she thought that, Vanessa bumped into someone at the corner of the hallway.

Fortunately, the person quickly caught her, so she wasn’t hurt. A large hand wrapped around her arm and quickly let go.

The face she met was surprisingly handsome. Vanessa, who made eye contact with Gideon, apologized in shock.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s alright. You’ve been working until now. Dinner?”

“I’m about to. Lieutenant Hissop is in there, and he kept playing around next to me. And one of the Special Task Force members I met for the first time was subtly trying to pass his work on to me, you know? He has slightly red hair and wears glasses.”

Vanessa immediately started tattling.

*That’s how you should tattle in the first place. To the highest person!*

Gideon chuckled softly at her words filled with anger.

“Is that so? I’m sorry. I’ll talk to them. If you haven’t had dinner yet, would you like to go out with me?”

Vanessa glanced up at him. The man was wearing formal attire instead of his uniform today. There must have been a joint meeting between nobles.

The high-collared clothes suited him very well. Today, he was wearing a dark navy outfit, but as always, it wasn’t even half as flashy as the other nobles. The silver embroidery with Valder’s crest only filled a small part of his chest.

Yet, it always caught her eye.

Vanessa realized that she was blankly admiring him and mentally scolded herself. Gideon looked puzzled.

“Vanessa?”

“No, it’s nothing. I’m sorry, but I have an appointment today.”

“Is that so.”

He gave her a polite greeting with a hint of regret. Only after meeting his eyes, which held a faint kindness, did Vanessa bow her head.

And then she ran out of the Special Task Force building again as if fleeing.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Vanessa sat on a green chair in front of a restaurant full of sparkling lights, waiting for someone.

Couples hugging each other and children holding their parents’ hands passed by.

The appointment time was already quite late, but the wait wasn’t boring at all because the person who would appear was someone Vanessa had been eagerly waiting for.

“Vanessaaaaaaaaa!”

“Lina!”

Lina ran, calling Vanessa’s name from afar. She didn’t care at all that dirt was getting on her pink shoes.

Vanessa smiled brightly and held out her hand, and Lina even had tears in her eyes.

“Oh my, why do you look so thin again?”

“You say that every time.”

Vanessa pulled Lina, who was already touching her face, arms, and waist, into the restaurant and took a seat.

It wasn’t an incredibly formal place, so the inside was filled with a pleasant noise that was good for conversation.

“Lina, I really missed you. I really thought about you and Chebatti every day.”

“Me too. I even miss arguing with Chebatti every day.”

Vanessa handed the menu to Lina. It was a restaurant recommended by the seniors of the Magic Department, and it was a luxurious place where the names of the dishes were very long and even the origins of the ingredients were carefully marked.

It was famous for closing down completely when the ingredients ran out.

“Chebatti will be here soon, and I’ll pay today. I’ve received so much from you, but I don’t think this will be enough.”

“Oh, great. I should get a lot from the excellent talent of the Magic Department. Seafood is so good these days.”

Vanessa happily watched Lina, who was excitedly choosing the menu. She was really proud that she could finally give back to her friends with what she had earned herself.

While Lina was busy choosing the menu, someone knocked on the window. Behind the large glasses, smiling eyes were visible.

“Chebatti!”

Lina stuck to the window and wiggled her fingers. Chebatti made a face as if he was sneering but soon came into the restaurant. Chebatti started reading the menu as soon as he sat down.

The two of them chose one menu each, but Vanessa added a few more expensive ones.

“Does the Magic Department pay a lot?”

“I’m going to starve after tonight, so be quiet.”

Since all three of them had scattered to different places, there was no end to the stories to tell.

Lina talked about the difficulties of taking over the business, and Chebatti said that it was hard to achieve results. Vanessa told in detail about the situation between the Magic Department and the Special Task Force.

“…So, you ended up taking on a job that wasn’t even yours?”

Lina gave her a pitiful look. Vanessa was furious.

“I didn’t know! I just asked once because I saw something strange, but it happened to be related to the Special Task Force-”

“Special Task Force?”

Lina made an even more dumbfounded expression. Chebatti sucked on his ice cream spoon and said.

“That’s where Vanessa’s long-time crush is.”

“Please don’t call him that.”

Vanessa said gloomily, but Chebatti didn’t care.

“Fate must be fate. You run into him quite often.”

“Not with any intention mixed in?”

Vanessa became sincerely wronged as Lina’s suspicious gaze returned. Vanessa didn’t want to work overtime every night either.

“I thought I would be working with the Ministry of Justice! I really didn’t know I would be working with them.”

“Hmm, then do you see ‘him’ often?”

Vanessa hesitated and nodded as Lina rested her chin on her hand and her eyes sparkled. Chebatti hummed.

“Magicians create relationships with just their will, or so they say.”

“No! I’m not a great magician either.”

“Vanessa, now that it’s come to this, let’s just confess.”

Lina suddenly made a serious face.

“If you get rejected for sure, you’ll come to your senses, right?”

“…….”

Vanessa glared, but Lina smiled brightly.

“He should have seen you being sad around the end of your fifth year. Even if he didn’t like you, he might have fallen for you if he saw that cute face. Your cheeks were flushed from crying so suddenly.”

“You were really heartbroken but pretty and cute back then. Your eyes were sparkling with tears every day.”

“Hey… you guys….”

Only then did Lina and Chebatti change the subject when Vanessa glared at them sincerely.

But even after that, Vanessa was teased no matter what she said. When she said she wouldn’t show them where she lived, Lina pointed at Vanessa with her ice cream spoon.

“It’s obvious. You must have chosen a moderately cheap place with no soundproofing at all.”

“She doesn’t show it to me either. I think it’s on that street.”

Vanessa exercised her right to remain silent. She pretended not to know no matter how much Lina and Chebatti teased her.

While Vanessa was rolling her eyes here and there, she noticed that the atmosphere inside the restaurant was strange. Everyone was staring out the window with surprised expressions.

“What-”

*Is it?* Vanessa regretted it as soon as she turned her gaze. The smile on her lips faded, and she only blinked her eyes several times.

*I shouldn’t have looked.*

Gideon Sol Valder and Eugenia Alban were standing together outside the window.

She couldn’t even see that Gideon’s expression was indifferent. She just noticed the similar outfits of the two.

The two, who looked similarly gorgeous no matter who looked at them, looked like a painting.

“What is it?”

Lina and Chebatti also turned their gazes together and then closed their mouths.

The man across the window seemed to be saying something indifferently, and Eugenia Alban, who was listening, smoothly raised the corners of her lips.

There was no need to say how beautiful that smile was.

“Vanessa, shall we get up now?”

Lina looked out with a cold expression and packed her things without even hearing an answer. Vanessa also nodded. The meal was over, and there was one dessert left, but there was no need to eat it.

Vanessa finished paying and got up. Chebatti was clearly worried about her mood.

“I’m okay. It’s natural that the two of them know each other. Senior Eugenia is the successor of the Alban family….”

But as the end of her words trailed off, Lina frowned with her sleek eyebrows.

“Let’s go for now. And I have to go anyway. Do you know how long we’ve been talking?”

Lina said, making a fuss as if trying to ease Vanessa’s mood. Chebatti also looked at his watch and made a dumbfounded expression.

“We haven’t talked much. Time seems to flow a little differently than when I’m working.”

“You like working more anyway.”

“I used to. It’s a little different these days.”

Vanessa deliberately slipped out through a small side door. She didn’t want to face Gideon and Eugenia head-on. If she faced them, she felt like she would look even smaller.

*It’s so tiring. I want to stop this emotional exhaustion now.* Uneven breaths burst out.