# Chapter 42
I looked up at Rite in disbelief at his absurd excuse. I wasn’t sure if I was angry, sad, or frustrated. A guardian’s primary duty should be the child’s safety. How much effort had I put into eliminating dangerous factors? Yet Rite, who was supposed to be safely protected by me, kept interfering with that.
“So you went out because of that? Do you think that makes sense?”
“Why not?”
“Please, Rite. Please…”
“Maybe Arden should guard the door then.”
Despite my pleading, Rite responded indifferently as he set the beast’s head down on the floor. I couldn’t understand the current situation. How could I comprehend the idea of entering the forest to get my attention? I was already giving all my attention to Rite. Yet he kept trying to extract more than I could possibly give.
“The body is outside.”
“…Why?”
“White buffalo hooves are useful too, aren’t they?”
Was he carrying in just the severed head to show me? To be precise, the horns and hooves from white buffalo weren’t particularly useful to me. Since they were classified as animals rather than monsters, they were used for decorative items rather than alchemical materials.
“When did I say I needed such things?”
“You might need them someday. If Arden doesn’t use them, I could at least carve them into something.”
“Rite.”
“Arden.”
I called Rite with a stern expression, but he paid no attention and called me back instead.
Rite extended his arm. There was a long scratch on his right forearm, which had somehow returned to a normal human arm. It looked like it had been scraped by something very sharp and keen.
“I got hurt.”
It was strange. White buffalo horns weren’t this thin. Their thick, rough horns couldn’t inflict such a wound.
“Can I sleep with you tonight?”
Rite’s smiling expression as he asked this question made him look just like an innocent child who knew nothing. Surely Rite knew that I wouldn’t agree to such nonsensical logic. Yet the fact that he asked like this meant that the threats had begun again.
“No.”
At my immediate refusal, Rite’s relaxed expression hardened. I straightened up from leaning against the doorframe, stood upright, and looked at Rite. His purple eyes watched me with a rebellious gleam.
“As you said, I’ll guard the door.”
“…Arden.”
Rite called my name and gave a small snicker. That look was similar to how I had scoffed when Rite had said he wanted to sleep in my room last night.
“My room has windows too.”
“You really…”
“Choose. I’m threatening you, just as you said.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Why am I doing this?”
Rite’s right forearm twitched. Black scales faintly rose above the torn flesh and then receded again.
“I truly wanted to be helpful to Arden. That’s all.”
His voice was gentle, as if soothing me. Rite, who had been slowly approaching me from the entrance, sat on the arm of the sofa and looked at me. With the shortened distance, I could see more. For instance, what had seemed like a composed expression from afar wasn’t quite so.
Rite was pretending to be composed. Evidence of this was how his eyes busily scanned different parts of my face, or how the facial muscles around his upturned corners of his mouth weren’t natural.
“I’ll ask one more time, Arden.”
“…”
“Can I sleep with you tonight?”
Rite is unstable. He’s not rational. That’s why he keeps going deep into the forest. I felt like I could finally understand a tiny bit of Rite’s abnormal behavior. Really, just a tiny bit.
“…There are conditions.”
Rite’s eyes, which had been looking near my lips, moved quickly to meet mine. I raised one hand and spread two fingers. As I folded my middle finger, I presented the first condition.
“There are two conditions. One, you won’t climb on top of me while sleeping.”
“…I could have guessed that one without being told.”
Ignoring Rite’s mumbling, I resolutely folded my index finger and continued speaking.
“Two, you must not put my fingers in your mouth. Just lie down quietly beside me and only sleep.”
“…”
“If you can’t accept these conditions, there’s no negotiation.”
“Fine. I’ll do that.”
Obvious dissatisfaction appeared on Rite’s face. He seemed to have expected his complete victory. Although Rite wasn’t pleased, looking at the conclusion, the winner wasn’t me but Rite. If this were to be considered a contest, that is.
‘Lately, I’ve been having erotic dreams often.’
‘Arden. Always just Arden.’
Pretending not to hear, pretending it never happened, didn’t erase it from memory. After hearing such things, could I fall asleep in the same bed? Everything went dark before my eyes.
* * *
Absolutely, I must not show any sign of being flustered or concerned. That determination turned out to be a poison. While I was worrying about whether I should tell Rite to use separate blankets, or if saying that would seem even stranger, night quickly arrived.
Before I could reach a conclusion, while I was standing there not knowing what to do, Rite took just one pillow and lay down on the bed first. Lying on his side with his chin propped up, Rite looked up at me sitting at the desk.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“…”
“You’re always tired in the morning because you work so late. If there’s unfinished work, instead of now, tomorrow after you wake up…”
“…Alright. I’ll stop.”
I turned off the desk lamp and left the room to wash up. Even until the moment I closed the door, I felt his gaze following me, making me conscious of every step I took.
I entered the bathroom and closed my eyes while leaning my head against the door. Why am I already creaking like an ungreased machine?
While I had no experience in this area either, given our different ages, I couldn’t understand why I was acting so awkwardly like a simpleton, rather than Rite.
“No, that’s not it.”
What am I thinking? I opened my eyes wide and straightened up from leaning. Rite and I didn’t have that kind of relationship, so dating experience was irrelevant. Listening to Rite’s unreasonable demands had confused my mind as well.
I turned on the cold water to splash on my face. Despite freezing at the cold touch on my hands, I still directed it straight to my face. Only after washing my face with water cold enough to take my breath away was I satisfied. My mind had already cleared when the water first touched my hands, but lacking the confidence to return to the room immediately, I tormented myself with cold water.
But staying in the bathroom longer than usual might make Rite think strange thoughts. After spending about the usual amount of time, I came out of the bathroom. The time when I could show my expression lasted only until opening the door. I closed my eyes tightly and took a deep breath. I stroked my chest with my palm as if to comfort myself, then grabbed the doorknob and turned it.
“Why are your cheeks so red?”
As soon as I opened the door, Rite’s gaze flew at me. Leaning against the headboard reading a book, Rite narrowed his eyes.
“…Because I washed with cold water.”
“Why?”
“It’s raining… I thought it wouldn’t be as cold as usual.”
“So, what’s your review?”
“It was cold.”
Rite laughed softly, finding my response amusing. He inserted a bookmark in the book he was reading, closed it, and placed it on the bookshelf right behind the bed. Only then did I realize that Rite had been reading my book, not his own.
“What were you reading?”
“Understanding Magical Tools.”
“Did you understand it?”
It was a book I had obtained through Pini before using magical tools for security around the house. Although I had requested the easiest and most basic book, I still had difficulty understanding it.
Even the simplest magical tools were hard for novice magicians to create. So there was no way I could understand it, not knowing even the basics of magic.
“I just… read it for what it is.”
Rite understood text easily. I had been worried because he was weak with numbers and calculations, but in this area, he was even better than me. Perhaps because he read so many books, he could understand complex, long sentences in one go.
‘The books Arden reads all have terrible sentences. The subjects are too long… Look. From here to here is all one sentence?’
Yet the books I read were always subject to Rite’s criticism. After criticizing my books like that, it was strange that he would read one of mine.
“If you find it interesting, take it and read it.”
“Aren’t you reading it? The book looked quite clean though.”
“The magical tool manual is enough for me.”
The manuals that came with the magical tools were much easier to understand. They omitted all the magical theory and only wrote the operating methods. Even if I didn’t understand exactly what principles were involved, it wasn’t a problem for me as long as I knew how to operate them.
“Are you lending it to me?”
“You can have it.”
Whether it’s on my bookshelf or yours, it’s all the same. I won’t read it anyway. Thinking this, I took out the book Rite had placed on the shelf and put it on the nightstand beside the bed. Then, without thinking, I took off my slippers and got onto the bed.
Only after putting both knees on the bed and lifting the blanket did I recall what I had been worrying about until now. The tension that had relaxed during our conversation instantly rose again. It wasn’t the first time sleeping in the same bed with Rite, but my body stiffened.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
After pausing for a moment while holding the blanket, I moved again at the sound of Rite’s voice. I carefully got under the blanket and lay down. Lying at the edge of the bed would make me look too conscious, so I lay in the center of the pillow as usual, which made our shoulders and arms touch. It was natural since the bed was narrow.
I maintained a calm face, trying hard not to be too surprised. Suddenly, I became conscious of Rite’s breathing. Was it always this loud? Or was it because we were too close? Yet I didn’t have the courage to turn my head, so I stubbornly stared at the ceiling.
“I’m turning off the light.”
“Huh? Oh…”
As soon as my reply fell, an arm appeared abruptly in front of my eyes. The arm that crossed over my face turned off the Aether lamp on the nightstand. It happened so quickly that it was fortunate. Thanks to the darkness, Rite probably couldn’t see my startled eyes.
My heart was beating fast, so I closed my eyes and counted sheep. Since it was something done to fall asleep, I could expect it to have a calming effect. It would be even better if it made me sleepy too.
“Good night, Arden.”
“…You too.”
The bed wasn’t sized well for two adults. Moreover, Rite was larger than average. That I could lie down like this meant…
I opened one eye slightly and looked at Rite in the darkness. I couldn’t see clearly, but I could make out Rite’s shoulder pressed right against the wall beside the bed. It seemed he was lying on his side, and thinking about it, lying on one’s side rather than straight was better for saving space. Just as I was about to turn my body to the opposite side of Rite, his hand grabbed my shoulder.
