Special Side Story Episode 2

“No, that is a very touching thing to say, but……”

I had expected him to be moved to tears, yet for some reason, Xenon’s expression was odd. He looked somewhat awkward, which left me feeling distinctly unsettled. Instead of an effusive, over-the-top reaction, what took its place was a voice that seemed vaguely, uncomfortably evasive.

Wait, is that really the appropriate reaction to hearing, ‘Your love is enough’?

Narrowing my eyes, I glared at Xenon.

“What’s with that face?”

“I’m touched.”

It was an immediate reply, but to me, already wrapped in suspicion, it didn’t sound sincere. Rather, its excessive swiftness only fanned my unease.

“That’s not it, is it?”

“That is it. It’s very touching, yes.”

Xenon, who had been frowning in thought, suddenly widened his eyes. The ambiguous attitude from a moment ago vanished, and his face sharpened as if he had found a clear objective.

“For now, I shall strive harder.”

It was generally Xenon’s usual demeanor to be hesitant and faltering in front of me. Based on past experience, whenever he suddenly adopted such a triumphant attitude, it was usually right before he said something utterly preposterous.

“……Strive at what?”

“At anything. For now, I shall do my utmost for your physical pleasure.”

Staring blankly at Xenon, I only snapped back to my senses when I saw him approaching me with sparkling eyes.

“Are you out of your mind? The sun is high in the sky right now… Wait!”

Before I could even find a chance to flee, Xenon abruptly scooped me up into his arms. Deliberately exerting his strength to lift me in both arms, he took off with light, almost flying steps.

“But this is a pleasure only I can give you, isn’t it? I’ve been holding back so much, wanting to rush out the entire time I was at the Magic Tower…”

“This seems more for your pleasure than mine, doesn’t it?”

“If we must be precise, it’s for the pleasure of us both.”

Looking up at him with an expression of utter absurdity, I gave up on trying to scold him. Even though it was broad daylight, during the few days he had been away from Veladia Castle, I too had been secretly wrapped in loneliness.

In the past, even when he went to the Magic Tower, he would come to the castle for a few hours at night, but since becoming the Tower Master, he no longer did so, forcing me to spend several nights alone.

Already, the warmth I felt after several days apart was welcome, and I truly couldn’t bring myself to push him away. The fact that it was daytime was embarrassing, but that thought too soon vanished from my mind.

After all, this was Veladia Castle, and I was its master. I had no need to mind anyone’s scrutiny; I was fully entitled to spend enjoyable time with my lover.

Feigning resignation, I leaned my head against Xenon, and a low chuckle reached my ears. Somehow, my heart felt all soft and fluffy.

* * *

In the quiet night, after confirming Anelli was fast asleep, Xenon rose from the bed. Just in case, he entered the room farthest from the bedroom and took out a communication orb.

The bright light from the orb illuminated Xenon’s face. Perhaps due to the deep shadows, his expression looked unusually fraught with worry.

“What should I do?”

The moment the connection was established, the abrupt question made the other person frown.

―What about?

“Lady Anelli has absolutely no intention of getting married!”

At his despair-filled cry, Secian, Xenon’s teacher and now an elder of the Magic Tower, narrowed his eyes. Though his image in the orb was not clear, his distinctly awkward, frowning expression conveyed his feelings perfectly.

―……And so?

“And so?!”

Secian sighed, looking at his disciple who was making a fuss with a sour expression.

―So, are you planning to cancel your proposal?

“Of course not!”

Xenon retorted almost reflexively, then immediately furrowed his brow.

“But what if she refuses?”

Secian, who had been endlessly pestered every time he faced Xenon, no longer batted an eye at most of Xenon’s frivolous antics. He had once tried to soothe the frantic Xenon, but fundamentally, he couldn’t understand even a speck of Xenon’s blind, sometimes near-worshipful, devotion. To Secian, Anelli seemed closer to an undead who had been beheaded and revived—which was only natural.

Wasn’t it so? Though the world revered her as the Messenger of God, from a mage’s perspective, interpreting Anelli’s very existence as a resurrection through unknown ancient magic was far more convincing.

And personally, Secian had no interest whatsoever in resurrection magic or magic related to the undead. So, he was simply fed up with whatever nonsense his disciple was spouting.

―If she refuses, then you’re refused. Refusing a proposal doesn’t mean wanting to break up. It just means continuing as you are now.

To Secian’s dignified answer, Xenon immediately countered.

“But lovers can be replaced at any time.”

Right after uttering those words, Xenon’s expression grew even more serious. Rubbing his chin in thought for a moment, he muttered as if to himself.

“Moreover, Lady Anelli is the celebrated Resurrected One wherever she goes, and there are still those pesky stalkers hovering around.”

―……Sigh.

“And on top of that, because I became the Tower Master, the periods I’m apart from Lady Anelli have grown longer. I have to go to the Tower more often than before.”

Finally unable to bear it as Xenon even complained about his position as Tower Master, Secian raised his voice sharply.

―If you’re the Tower Master, you should be at the Tower! How long do you plan to stay in the mountains raising Monsters?!

Xenon glared back defiantly.

“Raising?! The Monsters residing in Veladia Castle are all beings with independent selves! And thanks to them, the Magic Tower’s research achievements have increased dramatically. We’re even securing high-grade materials with ease. Didn’t you see the Monster research team’s performance report this quarter?”

―If they can live well on their own, then you shouldn’t have anything to do! If you have nothing to do, why do you keep going back and forth there so often?

“I’m guarding Lady Anelli’s side, of course.”

In the end, it was Secian who gave up first.

―……Everyone knows you two are attached at the hip; isn’t it time you cured that separation anxiety of yours? Shall I assign you more therapists?

The two had never made any official announcement.

But whenever the Resurrected One, on the rare occasion she appeared at official events, was accompanied by a red-haired mage, no one was unaware of it. Not only did he follow her around like a loyal hound, but as the only person the Resurrected One—who accepted no attendants—treated with familiarity, he was impossible to miss.

Amidst this, as the Tower’s master changed, some personal details inevitably became known. The fact that the one who inherited the Tower was that very red-haired mage who chased after the Resurrected One spread in an instant. And naturally, people came to know that the Resurrected One and the Tower Master shared a certain relationship.

It was practically a relationship known to the entire continent. Xenon was well aware of this fact, but it seemed he was not at all satisfied with just this.

Secian couldn’t understand why his disciple was acting so pathologically. Well, it was only natural. Xenon was the only one who had seen Anelli disappear before his very eyes.

“It’s not a problem a therapist can solve. Everything is fine as long as I’m by Lady Anelli’s side.”

It was something he couldn’t tell anyone. The story of how the person he loved was swallowed by a green light before his eyes, vanishing without a trace, only to reunite with him by fate on the road.

Though they reunited, Xenon, who had briefly experienced something akin to Anelli’s death, was left with trauma. Though he couldn’t say it openly to Anelli, he felt a vague anxiety that the cruel, selfish goddess might reclaim Anelli’s life at any moment.

Secian didn’t know the fundamental cause, but instinctively sensing his disciple’s condition, he called in all sorts of therapists. Fearing his unstable mental state might be discovered by Anelli, Xenon sought various ways to stabilize himself whenever he went to the Tower, but it was no easy task.

So much so that he even began to think it might be better to research a way to kill a god.

At least if he could kill a god, or even just know a method to do so, he would be able to stand against her whenever she tried to take Anelli away.