My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 107
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 107
"...Did you eat something wrong?" It's been a while since I've asked such a stupid question.
The answer is even more ridiculous. "My digestive system is fine."
"You're lying! You're being weird! This is not the Lancer I know..!"
I've never seen you, Lancer, act this calm before! Grunting to myself, unsure of how to carry on the conversation, I lean back into the couch.
"You’re… suddenly all grown up."
"I am a grown-up." Lancer clutches the handle of his teacup, still seemingly relaxed.
"...." At a loss for words, I only stared at him from across the table.
My staring seems to bother him as his expression slowly changes. He lowers his teacup before staring back at me.
"...."
I felt like I was in a stare-down. We both glare at each other, neither of us saying a word.
I wonder what he's thinking right now.
Gazing in his blue eyes, which are as vast as an endless sky, I never grow tired of looking into them. I want to know what he's thinking beyond them.
Even now, I can't hear his thoughts. So I have no idea what's going on inside his head. I don't know what he's feeling, or what he's experiencing.
I can hear Ryan just fine…. But why can't I hear Lancer's thoughts? I can't wait for Viscount Artisina to return with the answers.
"Skyla, why… why aren't you saying anything…?" A stuttering, trembling voice from across from me. "...Did I do something wrong?"
The way he speaks is enough to make me sit up from my lying position. I snap out of it and throw my hands up in the air.
"No, I'm, uh, just, uh… a little overwhelmed. I've got a lot on my mind because of that…." My words come out in a gibberish, uncharacteristic of me.
Seeing Lancer's panicked expression made me panic too.
His unconfident self has his head hung low. He slowly raises his head. "Oh, I see. So you're not mad at me, are you?"
"Why would I be mad at you?" I lightly chuckle in disbelief, and Lancer lights up with renewed vigour as he jumps from his seat.
"I was worried because you looked serious, so I thought maybe I said something wrong…."
Stepping in front of me, Lancer holds out a hand.
"Let's go to bed."
Huh?
I freeze at the sudden suggestion.
What was he saying now?
"Go to bed…. Why on earth would we go to bed in broad daylight?" I ask, forcing myself to swallow even though my mouth is dry.
Lancer looks at me like I'm the strange one and tilts his head. "You said you had a lot on your mind. Your head must be heavy, so you'll be fine if you lie down. I'll nurse you back to health."
Ah….
Lancer took my words literally.
Think pure thoughts, think pure thoughts, think pure thoughts….
Embarrassed, I follow Lancer's lead to the bed. I plan to pretend to rest for a while, and then get back up.
But then Lancer suddenly points to my feet.
"Your shoes."
"What?"
"You're supposed to take your shoes off when you climb into bed."
Ha….
He's really going to put me to bed.
I grunt inwardly but kick off my shoes before I lie down.
"Here." Lancer pulls the covers over me. I feel like I should seriously go to sleep.
"Do you want me to put a damp towel on your forehead?" He asks as he kneels near the bed, looking at me.
"That's for when you have a fever."
At my response, Lancer cocks his head.
"If you have a headache, then doesn't that mean you have a fever?"
"Headache and fever are different conditions…. Actually, let's not talk about it."
Come to think of it, Lancer must have never experienced being sick in his life, because if he was, he would have used magic to make it go away immediately.
I lie still, wiggling my toes and staring at the ceiling, when Lancer asks again. "How's your head feeling?"
I slowly turned toward him. "I'm sorry, but ordinary people don't get headaches that go away in a minute."
"I see… sorry. I can't use magic to make other people's illnesses go away."
"There are things you can't do with magic."
"Right." Lancer nods. "Magic is not universal, I cannot use it in areas I do not understand."
"What does that mean?" My curiosity was piqued by that.
Pleased that I'm listening intently to him, Lancer explains excitedly. "In short, what I don't know is what I can't do with magic. The reason I can't cure your headache with magic is because I don't know what or how your headache is."
"Hmm."
This is an unfamiliar concept. I thought I had a pretty good understanding of magic from my studies of the Hebnia Kingdom, but apparently not.
"Teleportation, for example. I can only teleport to places I know."
"Really? I thought you could go anywhere you wanted to go."
"No. And another thing. I can't do magic that creates something out of nothing."
"What does that mean?"
"Imagine you asked me to find your lost cat."
"I don't have a cat."
Oh, right. Lady Aronia has a cat, Viscount Artisina has a cat (himself), yet I'm the only one who doesn't?
Lancer nods. "So, Skyla, you don't have a cat in the first place, so I can't use magic to create a cat for you since it doesn't exist. This is not just for me, it's for other mages as well."
"I see." I nod.
I'm surprised. It's as though I've finally found a weakness of Lancer. I thought that since he was born an archmage, he could do anything. But that doesn't seem to be the case.
As I reflect on the newfound fact that magic has its limits, a sudden thought comes to mind.
So why can't I hear Lancer's thoughts?
This 'curse' that allowed me to hear other people's thoughts was definitely magic.
And magic has its limits.
And this limit on the magic upon me meant….
"Aren't you cold?" Lancer slips his hand under the covers.
I flinch at the action, but soon realize he's doing it to feel the temperature inside the covers and relax.
"It's not that cold."
"But it's winter, let me warm you up."
With that, Lancer traces something with his fingers inside the covers. A gesture similar to the one he did to dry Julia's clothes.
His magic activates in an instant as warmth emanates from within the covers. The cold, stiff fabric against my skin melts into softness at once.
A shiver runs down my spine.
I feel like I'm lying next to a bonfire….
It's warm even though there's no heater or anything else under the covers. I can't wrap my head around it.
"Are you feeling better now?"
"Mmm." Instead of answering his question, I hum in affirmation. Meanwhile, a thought runs through my head.
If Lancer were lying next to me right now, the warmth I feel would be more natural….
I shake my head at my own absurdity.
No. There's no way I'm letting him know that.
"If you don't like the magic, I'll warm you up myself. Can I lie next to you?" Lancer's voice, full of innocence, interrupts my thoughts.
Huh?
I blink owlishly. For a moment, I wasn't sure if my ears were registering what he said.
But unlike my bewildered ears, my lips respond honestly.
"Do what you want."
"Alright!" Lancer crawls into the other side of the bed. The bed creaks, and I flinch involuntarily. "It's been a while since we've slept next to each other like this."
He chuckles and turns toward me, his back facing the window, his face facing me. He hums a low tune and stares at me intently.
Feeling slightly overwhelmed by his stare's intensity, I turn away.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm sorry, it's just that you're so pretty."
"It's not like this is the first time you've seen me, so why are you staring?"
"You know, I've seen your face all my life, yet I don't know why I want to see it again and again."
Lancer let out an affectionate giggle. The tips of my ears are burning hot. I'm grateful my hair was covering them.
As I fret over my reddened ears, he says something out of the blue.
"Come to think of it, Skyla, I've always wanted to sleep next to you."
"What? You still can't sleep alone even though you're old enough?" I sneer, purposely avoiding his outlandish declaration.
He laughs softly and holds out his hand to me. "It's not like that."
"Then why do you want me to sleep next to you?"
I reach for his hand, and he grasps it. I turn my head slightly to face him as he lies on his side. For some reason, I'm embarrassed to turn fully toward him.
"You won't laugh if I tell you why?"
"I'll laugh if it's funny."
"Well, then, Kayla, maybe you will laugh."
My cold hands heat up with the warmth of his on them.
"I've had nightmares of hurting people."
Lancer's fingers seem to melt each and every one of my knuckles.
