Chapter 122 : Chapter 122
Volume 2
Chapter 46 : Invitation
The next morning, at dawn.
When Muen woke from his sleep, he saw that Senior Anna was still sitting sideways by the window, where the blue curtains swayed gently, resting her cheek on one hand as she gazed out at the scenery beyond.
The thin morning sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a jade-like glow across her fair profile.
At that moment, with all her usual allure faded away, Senior Anna sat in the light looking almost holy.
For a moment, Muen found it hard to look away.
“You’re awake?”
His soul was gently drawn back by that soft greeting. Muen came back to himself and saw Anna smiling at him.
“How do you feel?”
“I... I feel great. Better than I ever have before. My mind feels completely light...”
Muen answered instinctively, then suddenly realized something.
“That potion from yesterday...”
“It was a sleeping potion meant to help you get a good night’s rest. No matter what, going into an exam in good condition is the most important thing, isn’t it?”
“I see...”
Understanding dawned on Muen, and he could not help smiling bitterly.
Without realizing it, he had become a little obsessed.
No matter how resilient his mental strength was, studying at that intensity for a full month while sleeping only two hours a day would still cause exhaustion to accumulate little by little without him noticing.
If Anna had not forcibly made him rest for a night with that potion, and jolted him back to his senses in the process, then even if he had gained one more night of review time, he probably still would not have done well on this exam.
For any exam, one’s condition was a crucial factor as well.
“Then... were you here the whole time?”
Looking at Anna, still seated in the same place as though she had never left, Muen could not help asking.
“As if.”
Anna shot him a glance, full of charm.
“I have my own things to do too, all right? It’s just that you slept for a very long time.
Although...”
Suddenly, Anna folded her arms across her chest and leaned forward slightly, the corners of her lips curving into a faintly teasing smile.
“The way you put it, Junior... does that mean you really wanted me to sleep beside you?”
“W-Well... since you brought it up, Senior.”
Muen instantly straightened his back and declared with solemn righteousness,
“If that’s the case, then as your junior, I suppose making such a sacrifice would not be impossible.”
“Hehe, saying something like that while blushing doesn’t make it very convincing, Junior~”
Anna laughed sweetly, utterly delighted, before abruptly changing the subject.
“While you were sleeping, I made a few small changes for you. You won’t blame me, will you?”
“Small changes?”
Muen was still completely confused when Anna handed him an adorable little mirror.
The moment Muen took it and looked into it, he froze.
The person reflected in the mirror had a neat crop of fine golden hair, so bright that it seemed even more dazzling than the morning sun outside the window.
The stubble along his jaw had also been shaved clean, bringing out the fairness and handsomeness he already possessed.
“This... was your doing, Senior?”
“Is there anyone else here besides me?”
Anna let out a soft sigh.
“When I saw you yesterday looking like that, I couldn’t help tidying you up a bit. Junior, you’re not going to blame me, are you?”
“N-No, of course not.”
Muen picked up a lock of his short hair and rubbed it lightly between his fingers, speaking in astonishment.
“I just never imagined that you could cut hair too, Senior, and... that your skill would be this good. I almost feel as though some professional master did it.”
“Hehe, Junior really does have a sweet mouth.”
Anna covered her lips and laughed.
“Though to be honest, it has already been a long time since I last cut anyone’s hair. Back when I was at the orphanage, I used to do it often.”
“The orphanage?”
Muen instantly caught that word.
“Prying into a woman’s past is not a very good habit, Junior.”
Anna reached out and flicked him lightly on the forehead with a finger.
“The exam is about to start. Aren’t you going to get ready?”
“Ah, right!”
Muen suddenly snapped back to reality and hurriedly checked the time, only to discover that there was only about an hour left before the exam.
“I actually slept for almost fifteen hours?”
After quickly doing the math in his head, Muen finally understood why Anna had said he had slept for such a long time.
Even a pig could not sleep that long in one go.
“I had wanted to go over the material one more time before the exam too, but there’s no time now.”
Muen let out a bitter laugh and quickly turned to Anna to say goodbye.
“Then, Senior, I’ll be going first.”
“Be careful on the way, and good luck.”
“Mm. I will.”
Muen turned to leave, but when he reached the doorway, his gaze drifted back one last time almost by instinct.
Inside the empty potion classroom, Anna stood alone against the wall, turning her head to look out at the even emptier view beyond the window.
The blue curtains cast a cold shadow over her.
She looked... so lonely.
Something in Muen’s heart trembled for no clear reason.
“Senior.”
“Mhm?”
“About what you mentioned before.”
Muen turned around and said seriously,
“I want to join the Ancient Potion Club.”
“Oh?”
Anna raised a brow in surprise, then smiled softly.
“So Junior has finally become interested in ancient potions too?”
“Mm, I suppose you could say that.”
Muen answered seriously.
But in truth, that was a lie.
In reality, he was not all that interested in potions at all.
For Muen, who pursued power so intensely, a subject like potions—highly practical, yet providing very little direct help in improving strength—was not something he ought to be wasting time on in the first place.
Only...
Muen suddenly remembered that yesterday, Anna had already given him his final lesson.
Which meant that the bond between teacher and student had come to an end.
But Muen did not want the bond between himself and Anna to disappear so easily. He needed something new, something that could still connect the two of them.
So it did not matter whether it was potions, magic, magic art, or whatever kind of club this was.
He would join it all the same.
“All right.”
Anna looked at Muen, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she smiled gently.
“Welcome to the club, Junior.”
Muen smiled too.
“Is there any kind of admission procedure?”
“A tiny club like mine doesn’t have so many formalities. Just remember to come by from time to time. I’m usually here in the afternoons.”
“I see.”
Muen nodded.
“Then I’ll go take the exam first. See you later, Senior.”
“Mm. See you later.”
“Ah, right.”
Muen suddenly remembered something else, though bringing it up made him feel a little shy.
“Um... Senior, are you free during Open Day?”
Although Saint Marika Academy was run as a closed campus, every month after the exams there was a three-day free holiday known as Open Day.
It was both the time when students went home to replenish their supplies, and the carnival period for certain students who had been pent up inside the academy for far too long.
It was said that the commercial street outside the academy only opened during those three days each month, yet still made a fortune.
Even the inns on the street had to be booked a month in advance.
“Open Day?”
Anna thought for a moment.
“I have something to do on the first day, but I’m free the rest of the time.”
“Then...”
Muen drew in a deep breath and asked,
“Then, Senior... on the second day, would you like to go out for a walk with me?”
“Oh?”
Anna froze for a moment upon hearing that, then immediately understood.
A mischievous smile spread across her face.
“Junior, are you... asking me out on a date?”
“A date? That does sound pretty good.”
Muen said it while keeping a brave face, though his cheeks had gone slightly red.
“But really, I just want to repay you a little, Senior.”
“Repay me?”
Anna twined a finger around the end of her hair and turned her gaze away.
“But I haven’t decided what kind of reward I want yet.”
“This isn’t a reward.”
Muen said seriously,
“It’s just a small token of my feelings.”
“Your feelings?”
Anna froze for a moment, then laughed.
Her eyes curved like crescents.
“All right, then. Since it’s an invitation from my junior, I’ll go.”