Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 333

Aris Richelieu was an astute person.

She trusted her senses and talents, yet she also knew how to listen to others.

Even after reaching the pinnacle as a mage, she strived to find joy and passion within it.

A person who could see reality but still valued inner goodness.

A righteous seeker of magic who knew that there were things that could only be obtained by not breaking, even when shaken.

It would be a lie to say that her figure, not hastily sympathizing even while lamenting that an environment befitting her talent was not given, didn’t particularly catch my eye.

I tried to get close to her because she was a good person, and I tried to distance myself because she was an outstanding person.

I opened my heart to her innate goodness, always thinking that she might make a mistake someday.

And Aris was not a person so lax that she would dismiss Lenok’s minor mistakes as mere discomfort.

[You’re nervous.]

Davi whispered from inside my coat.

[You’re nervous, Master.]

“…Be quiet.”

[Why? Aren’t you swaying?]

“I’m just not used to it.”

[Uuuu.]

Lenok took Davi out of his coat, held her upside down, and tightly grasped her tail.

[Spirit is dying~ Spirit hurts~ Master is tormenting me~]

Lenok, watching the little fox humming a yodel as she was shaken back and forth, sighed deeply.

“Okay… Just keep your tail in check.”

Davi, who had been sleeping soundly all day at home, was finally able to hide the number of her tails after three days.

It might seem pointless now, but doubt and certainty are completely different things, aren’t they?

Since Aris was the one who suggested the meeting first, Lenok also needed to prepare in his own way.

[As you can see, the preparations are perfect.]

Davi, who was curled up with two tails in her front paws, replied.

“…”

[Joke. Joke.]

The little fox, who was humming nonchalantly, blurred two of her tails and hid inside the coat at the same time as she felt a familiar magical power from the other side of the street.

Lenok also naturally raised his head and looked at the other party who had arrived at the meeting place first.

Aris’s back, looking up at the street’s electronic display board with her hands behind her back.

Her golden hair was so vivid that it was easily recognizable to Lenok’s eyes, even among the crowd.

At the same time as Aris turned her head, her blue eyes captured Lenok’s figure.

Confirming Aris walking towards him, he quickly checked his appearance. Lenok cleared his throat and spoke first.

“It’s been a while.”

“Has it?”

“…It’s been over a week since we last met in the lab.”

At her question with a smile, Lenok quickly changed the subject.

“More than that, I didn’t expect you to choose a place like this for our meeting. I thought you disliked crowded places.”

It wasn’t a lie. In fact, the downtown area where the two were standing now was somewhat different from what Lenok had imagined the moment he received Aris’s call.

If Aris really just wanted to hear an answer, if she wanted to resolve all the doubts she had accumulated so far, wouldn’t she have chosen a quieter place than this?

Aris nodded gently at Lenok’s words.

“Come to think of it, we’ve only ever met in libraries or labs, haven’t we?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Research on spirit formulas is starting to hit a wall, so I thought it would be good to clear our heads, so I called you out.”

“Clear our heads, you say?”

“Yes. When I was living in the Magic Tower, my teacher often gave me these kinds of experiences. Experiencing and recognizing the ways of the world is also part of a mage’s training. Now, I’m giving that experience to Lenok.”

Aris said that, smiling slightly awkwardly.

“And while we’re at it, there’s something I want to say.”

“…”

Watching Aris start walking ahead without waiting for an answer, Lenok sighed softly.

It was an unfamiliar experience. He didn’t have many memories of investing money or time to experience the conveniences of this city.

But even that, if Aris wanted it, he had no choice but to go along.

Following Aris, who was walking lightly as if she was slightly excited, Lenok also moved his feet.

* * *

Whether the words about giving him an experience of the world were not a lie, Aris, as if determined, began to drag Lenok around various places in the downtown area.

“Lenok, how about this magic theory book?”

“It’s of poor quality. It’s difficult for an introductory book, but it’s shallow for a major book-”

“It’s a book written by an elder of our Magic Tower.”

“-and surprisingly profound. The boldness of including unverified theories in an introductory book is evident… Haa. Stop teasing me.”

“Ufufu… !”

Browsing through various books in a bookstore.

“The movie we just watched. The ending was so touching.”

“Is that so?”

“I even shed a little tear without realizing it. How was it for Lenok?”

“The part where the male lead doesn’t realize the female lead’s feelings was a bit awkward. It was amazing how he could be so oblivious.”

“…”

“Professor? It seems like you’re walking faster all of a sudden…”

Stumbling after giving his impressions while coming out of the movie theater.

“They say the cake here is so delicious.”

“It’s not far from the library. Have you never come here alone?”

“Well, it’s a bit too much for one person…”

“…”

“…Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

Looking down at the street view from a high-rise cafeteria.

Through the thick mug and the rising steam of coffee, he carefully observes Aris’s face sitting across from him.

And he realized something he had known for a long time.

The smile on her face. And that a similar smile was reflected on his own face like a mirror.

“…”

After opening his eyes in this world, he never thought he would be able to experience such a moment.

That this time, stopping his endless run and looking back, wasn’t so bad.

The smile on Aris’s face seemed to be saying that to Lenok.

“Thank you for coming out today despite the bothersome call.”

“It’s nothing.”

And the end of the day. The rooftop of the library overlooking the night view of Balkan.

Even in this city full of chaos and desire, the night view past midnight feels fleetingly beautiful.

Watching Aris’s back as she looks down at the lights of the night street with her hands on the rooftop railing, Lenok realized that his heart was wavering.

The golden hair that shines faintly even in the dark night sky. The deep blue eyes like the sea.

Because he thought that this moment, this opportunity to fully capture that image in his eyes, might not come again.

Does she know? No, she must be waiting.

He had tried not to give her certainty, but even so, Aris had followed the traces and mistakes that only she could recognize and had arrived here.

Even though she had already reached the answer, she was postponing the moment of confirming the answer sheet.

Only to hear the answer directly from Lenok’s mouth.

“…”

His lips moved.

Even though the moment he had pondered over dozens or hundreds of times was right in front of him, he was still hesitating.

What should he say? What words should he say first to convey Lenok’s thoughts?

Words are incomplete, twisted, distorted, and cause misunderstandings.

But Lenok also knew that the truth that is not conveyed even if you don’t speak is an illusion.

That’s why he had to speak.

Because the person who deserved to hear that answer was always waiting for his words.

Even if he couldn’t tell her everything right away, he had to give her certainty.

If it was just to let her know that Aris’s questions and waiting were not in vain. If it was just that much, wouldn’t it be okay?

At the same time as accepting that fact in a corner of his heart, his mouth naturally opened.

“Aris.”

Lenok said in a low voice.

“I…”

“I had something I was originally going to say before coming here today.”

Aris interrupted Lenok.

She turned her head.

“And there was something I wanted to hear.”

“…”

“But, I’ve changed my mind.”

Her face was faintly smiling.

The smile that Lenok had seen countless times every time he met her.

But Lenok could no longer know what Aris was thinking.

Aris, who had turned her back, slowly walked towards Lenok and slightly passed him.

The two people standing back to back. Aris closed her eyes, leaning her head against Lenok’s back.

“I’m going back to the Magic Tower.”

“…”

“I’m going to postpone all the lectures and research I was scheduled to do next semester and hand them over to another professor.”

“Is it because of the elders of the Magic Tower?”

“No. It’s my decision.”

Her voice did not waver.

Aris asked.

“There have been many things, right?”

“…”

“Me too. I can’t live only doing what I want… So, I wanted to confirm before I left.”

“Confirm… you say?”

“Yes.”

She replied.

“The belief that there are things that don’t change. The wish that they wouldn’t… Whether those feelings still exist within me.”

“…”

“Actually, I already knew the answer, but still…”

Aris, who trailed off, slowly distanced herself from Lenok.

“I’ll be back after winter. Will you wait until then?”

Aris’s figure, smiling without saying anything more.

Lenok, who was staring at her, slowly nodded his head.

“I understand. If you come back after winter… Then I, too, think I’ll have something to tell you.”

Aris smiled.

“I’ll be waiting.”

“…”

Both Aris and Lenok knew.

That there was clearly a moment when they could have exchanged answers, and that it had now passed.

And that it was Aris, not Lenok, who had postponed the answer they had been waiting for.

* * *

Aris quietly looks down at Lenok’s back as he disappears into the night streets.

Her expression, unlike before, was calmly subdued.

That the brief enjoyment was the last of it. As if she was aware of what she had to do from now on.

Beep!

The ringtone of her cell phone, as promised, echoed. She naturally took out her phone and put it to her ear.

A gentle, middle-aged woman’s voice echoed.

-Aris. It’s been a while since I’ve heard your voice.

“Teacher.”

-The approvals are all done. I’ve sent you the ticket, so it won’t take long.

“…Thank you.”

-It’s strange to ask this now, but what’s the reason for you returning to the Magic Tower?

The woman asked in a slightly puzzled voice.

-The old men at the top don’t really care about your situation and are happy, but I’m different.

“…”

-I respect your decision to want to train your students in a different direction than the Magic Tower’s principles. You’re not a child anymore, and you’re a fully established Archmage. Or are you having difficulties in that area?

“That’s not it. It’s just… there’s a more urgent problem that needs to be solved right now.”

Aris replied.

“I want to borrow the power of the Magic Tower to investigate ancient book materials in academia. To do that, I’ll have to appease the elders to some extent.”

-You, who didn’t even want to join the circle of order, are making such a request… Can I hear the reason?

“That’s…”

Before answering the woman’s question, Aris stared at the darkness of the street where Lenok had disappeared.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to hear the truth.

Aris, too, had imagined this moment today amidst hundreds of worries.

But the words he had left behind then were stuck in a corner of her mind and wouldn’t leave.

Time. Was it about the remaining time?

“…”

Aris Richelieu was an astute person.

Enough to grasp fragments of the truth by tracing even the slightest traces that others could never notice.

Even if it’s just some words that could be easily overlooked, she remembers and reflects on them.

In this world full of all kinds of mysteries and miracles, there are not many impossible things,