“Ah, it tickles.”
Rose burst into giggles but didn’t stop his actions. Elijah, who had finished the virtual calculations in his head while drawing the magic circle, glanced at Rose’s expression. The brown eyes looking at him sparkled with anticipation and curiosity.
“You might be a bit surprised, but it won’t hurt, so don’t worry.”
Soon the cluster of light in his hand brushed onto Rose’s skin. The light that had been wriggling as if swimming inside the skin soon hardened into a specific shape.
“Hk…….”
Rose’s eyes widened. On the arm that had been white and clean without a speck of dust, a single alphabet letter the size of two finger joints was engraved.
Elijah’s ‘E’. It was the only gift he could give Rose, who had no ribbon or bracelet to give him.
“Wow……, isn’t this really cool?”
Rose couldn’t take his eyes off his arm and kept exclaiming. His lips parted in surprise and his round eyes were lovely.
“There seems to be light inside this.”
He rubbed his skin as if it were fascinating. Like light had seeped beneath the skin, the letter glowed faintly.
“It’s cool, Elijah! It’s such a cool gift…….”
Rose was almost moved beyond simply being happy. Seeing him like this so much, he should have done it earlier.
Of course, imprinting magic seemed to be originally used to prove ownership on dragons or livestock rather than people, but so what? If Rose liked it, that was enough.
“Uh……, it’s disappearing already?”
The light that had been gradually fading soon completely disappeared. Rose looked here and there at his arm, which now had nothing on it, with a disappointed face as if he had seen a midsummer mirage.
“If you do this, it brightens up again.”
Elijah, who had smiled slightly while watching Rose like that, infused his magical power into his arm.
“Wow!”
Seeing the brightly glowing mark, Rose let out a big exclamation. His reaction was so cute that he wanted to keep showing him anything.
“Do it again, Elijah.”
Perhaps finding it fascinating how it appeared and slowly disappeared every time Elijah touched it, Rose asked him to do it again several times and kept admiring each time the mark appeared.
“Will this stay forever?”
“Yeah. It won’t disappear unless I erase it.”
“Other people can absolutely never erase it, right?”
“Yeah.”
Suddenly Rose pulled Elijah’s neck and hugged him tightly. Elijah, who had tumbled backward, hugged him back.
“I’m so happy, Elijah…….”
Elijah’s vision was filled with a white face. Rose, who had touched noses with him, whispered softly.
“Then now I’m yours too, right?”
“…….”
He clasped hands with Elijah, interlocking their fingers. The two wrists, one wrapped with a red ribbon and one faintly engraved with the alphabet E, came together.
“I’m yours and you’re mine. Right?”
Somehow feeling like he should, Elijah quietly repeated his words.
“I’m yours and you’re mine…….”
Saying it out loud himself made his face heat up for no reason.
I am Rose’s, and Rose is mine.
It was just a simple proposition, but a ticklish haze rose from deep in his heart.
“Thank you for the gift, Elijah.”
It was the moment he thought the whispering breath was too close. Soft and tender lips made a smacking sound as they briefly touched and then fell away.
“…….”
The green eyes that had been completely trapped in Rose’s gaze widened. The red lips curved upward in an arc with a grin. Those impossibly warm and soft lips that had just touched him.
“Let’s go to your room, Elijah.”
Rose, who had gotten up, smiled and pulled his hand. Elijah, who had been swaying along as Rose led him, quietly touched his lips with one hand.
Clearly Rose had no magical power and didn’t know how to handle magic, but it was really strange.
It felt like a hot brand remained on the lips he had touched.
* * *
With each passing season, the children grew by a span. During the four winters that passed, Igrit learned to do much more diverse magic than just lighting candles, and Daisy no longer ate selectively.
And Elijah.
“Daisy, have you seen Rose?”
“Ah, your princess? He’s coming over there.”
Now he couldn’t even imagine a life without Rose by his side.
“If Rose is the princess, is Elijah the prince?”
The children giggled. Igrit snorted and gathered his tableware.
“A weak princess with no magical power and a stupid prince who only knows studying. What kind of boring fairy tale is that?”
It was really a mean joke for anyone to hear. Few people laughed at that joke, and most of the children were busy watching Elijah’s reaction.
However, Elijah himself didn’t care what he said. No, in fact, he didn’t even hear what Igrit said at all. His steps just unconsciously headed toward Rose, who was entering with Master.
“Rose, you’re here now?”
Rose, who had been looking around the dining room, found him approaching his side and smiled brightly. He clasped hands with Elijah out of habit. Apart from suffering from a special illness, Rose, who had grown steadily, was considerably taller than the other children.
Instead, perhaps due to growing pains, he often lay sick saying his body hurt.
“Does your knee not hurt anymore?”
“Yeah, Master healed it.”
Elijah looked down at Rose’s legs. He also wanted to relieve his pain with healing magic like Master, but he was still clumsy so he couldn’t use it carelessly.
“Let’s sit quickly, Elijah. I’m really okay now. Want to see?”
Rose hopped in place. Elijah was startled and stopped him.
“Don’t do that. What if it hurts again?”
Elijah still treated Rose, who was now half a span taller than him, like a small doll. Rose laughed heartily and sat him down in front of the table.
“Knee pain isn’t related to jumping, Elijah.”
Clang, clang, the bell rang. When Jade, sitting at the head seat, announced the start of the meal, the children all pulled their tableware forward at once.
The children, who could now manage their own hair, no longer had the same buzz cuts. Some grew it to their shoulders and tied it in one, others cut it roughly at appropriate times, and just the freedom of hair length made each one’s individuality stand out considerably.
“Elijah, you’re on the same team as me today too, right?”
Igrit, who was across from them, spoke. From some point on, they often learned tactics outside under Jade’s supervision. Jade expressed this to the children as ‘actual combat’ or ‘missions’, and it was mainly work like taking back stolen goods from some criminal or obtaining food supplies.
“Then I’m the leader today.”
At Igrit’s words, Elijah frowned.
“Why do you decide that on your own? We should all discuss it together.”
“Why discuss it? It’s natural for the most excellent person to lead the team.”
“Who acknowledges that you’re the most excellent?”
“Stay out of this, Rose. What do you know when you don’t even have magical power?”
The eyes of the children around turned to Rose. Igrit’s mean words weren’t surprising since it wasn’t just one or two days. They were just curious about Rose’s reaction.
Rose, who had been quietly staring at Igrit without any sign of displeasure, leaned his upper body forward and propped his chin.
“Is that the only thing you’re proud of in your life?”
“……What?”
“You say the same thing every time you see me. I was just wondering if having magical power is your only source of pride.”
“…….”
Igrit’s face heated up bright red like his hair color.
“Even I, who has no magical power, can see that your skills are a complete mess, but if that’s your only source of pride, it’s quite regrettable. Right?”
Iris next to him swallowed a laugh with a “pft.” Strength went into Igrit’s hand holding the bread.
“You, are you done talking?”
His voice, which had grown loud from excitement, wavered.
“Even without magical power, I’m much better than you, you know? You think I can’t beat a weak one like you?”
“What will you do if you win?”
“……What are you saying?”
“What’s such a big deal about beating a weak one like me?”
“…….”
“Is that the only way you can prove your worth?”
Screech, the chair made a loud noise as it dragged backward. Igrit, who had bolted up from his seat unable to control his anger, put down the bread he was eating with a thud.
Clang, clang. The bell rang from the head seat.
“What’s this commotion during a meal, Igrit?”
The stern voice instantly poured silence over the table. Igrit, who had been breathing heavily without being able to sit down, suddenly opened his mouth confidently as if he had thought of something.
“Master, I want to take Rose on our mission today too.”
The children’s eyes widened as they looked at Igrit. Why is he like that? Why take someone with no magical power? It’ll be big trouble if Rose gets even slightly hurt.
Deep wrinkles formed on Jade’s face, which had been consistently calm. His eyes, which had deepened into triangles, looked at Igrit and then soon stared at Rose.
“Rose won’t be of any help even if he goes.”
“No. Rose can definitely join us too, Master.”
Elijah, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward.
“Igrit, what are you even saying? Taking Rose is dangerous.”
“Elijah, what are you saying? Do you also think Rose is a weak one who can’t do anything?”
“That’s not what I meant…….”
“Rose is strong enough even without magical power, so he can go on missions anytime.”
“I can tell you’re not in a good mood right now, but don’t make such absurd unreasonable demands. Rose is different from us…….”
“That’s enough.”
Jade shook the bell on the table briefly. Cool gray eyes stared at Rose for a long time as if gauging something. Elijah was relieved, thinking Master would of course not allow it.
However, the words that came out of his mouth after a while overturned Elijah’s expectations.
“Alright. Rose will join this mission too.”
“What? Master, why suddenly…….”
“Igrit’s words are correct. Rose should also do his share. He just doesn’t have magical power, but his limbs are perfectly fine, so it’s not fair for him to do nothing and consume the food you all procured.”
