Chapter 56: It’s the Mothman!

“Simon, I have something I want to ask of you.”

“Boss, I have something I want to tell you.”

At the boundary between the building’s shadow and the slanting sunlight…

The two who met at the street corner spoke at the same time. They both froze for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh together.

Lila hadn’t expected Simon to have something to say as well, so she suggested,

“Let’s go sit in the shop and talk.”

“Alright.”

****

They arrived once again at the familiar corner. The orange-yellow wallpaper radiated warmth, and the green plants on the table were lush, easing one’s fatigue.

In Simon’s subconscious, the shop carried the feeling of home. As long as he stayed here, it felt as if he could finally relax.

A gentle voice, half real and half imagined, seemed to surface in his mind.

‘Haven’t you been tired enough outside?’

‘Then just rest here.’

Simon looked across the table, at the cute face beneath soft white hair. Those mysterious golden eyes flickered with curiosity.

Habits were a frightening thing. Once you got used to something, the sense of loss when it disappeared only grew stronger.

Like how, sitting in this seat, Simon would sometimes, often, always, imagine that in the days to come, this white-haired girl could stay by his side forever.

Even if she didn’t help him, just knowing she existed filled his heart with a kind of strength.

So he couldn’t imagine a future where he and Comflor would part ways. People always said no banquet lasts forever, even the closest friends must eventually separate.

If one wanted to always stay together… perhaps only lovers could do that.

A relationship where they could always be together, always accompany each other, always stay connected.

Simon’s heartbeat suddenly quickened. Once the thought appeared, he couldn’t suppress it. His cheeks flushed, and he no longer dared to look at her, lowering his head instead.

Then a sense of loss welled up from within. Simon understood his own situation too well. He was someone trapped in darkness, so the moment he saw a glimmer of light, he would chase it desperately, trying to grasp it at all costs.

But from the very beginning, they were not on equal footing. Comflor was his savior, his benefactor.

So acting like a greedy child, asking his savior for even more affection, was impossible.

The reality was that he was just an ordinary employee she had hired, doing work anyone could replace. Compared to others, the only difference was…

He was troublesome.

Trouble from being bullied, from being beaten and battered, from being discriminated against and excluded…

Precisely because he liked her, no, admired her, he worried about dragging her into all that trouble.

Maybe only when everything settled, when his life climbed back from negative into zero again…

Only then would Simon be able to let go of everything and boldly say those three words.

I like you.

But right now, still running along that negative line, Simon chose to hide these feelings.

“So what did you want to tell me?”

Lila tapped the table lightly, pulling Simon back from his wandering thoughts. She tilted her head in confusion.

Simon reached for the book strap at his waist, made from chain and leather. He had crafted it himself at Rebo’s request.

That mischievous fairy had complained that holding the book all the time was inconvenient, and using a bag wouldn’t allow quick reactions in emergencies, so this method was best.

Simon agreed.

Aside from Lila’s hellish training, he had been renting a private training room every day.

There were two types of rooms in the academy’s training hall. The one he used with Lila before was a free open training field.

The biggest difference was privacy. In truth, even though Lila always chose times with fewer students, people still saw her beating him.

No one ever tried to stop her, probably because most people already despised Simon, and even those indifferent to dark magic feared Lila’s noble status.

So all that pain had to be endured alone.

During this time, although Lila’s training intensity remained brutal, Simon could tell she was often distracted.

Sometimes, mid-training, her expression would suddenly darken.

Then she would casually say,

“I have something to deal with. Keep training, Simon.”

And leave in a hurry.

Facing Lila, Simon always felt like he could never escape her grasp.

And precisely because of her, he worried whether Comflor might also be targeted by that “witch,” subjected to something unreasonable.

A witch was a witch, Simon couldn’t understand her at all.

At first, he thought it was just a prank. Yet she truly was teaching him seriously.

But then, after treating it as normal training, she would impose harsh punishments.

Pain, wounds, countless blows and humiliations.

In those moments when pain blurred his mind, Simon would often think:

What is the meaning of living?

And the first thing that came to mind was always the moments with Comflor… and her smile.

If not for her healing light, he would likely already be dead.

Thinking this, Simon unfastened the strap holding the book.

The reason for renting the private room had been to understand and get familiar with Rebo.

Although she might be several times older than him, her personality made Simon feel like he was dealing with a child.

As Rebo had said, Simon didn’t need to do anything, the grimoire itself could construct the spell framework and draw mana from the air to cast magic.

From his tests, the grimoire could store enough magic for three basic spells, and once depleted, it needed half an hour to recover.

For a beginner-level mage, this was slightly below average, most could cast about five basic spells.

But for intermediate mages, they could already cast basic spells freely.

As for higher levels, there shouldn’t be any among first-year students.

With magic capable of taking lives so easily, even a difference of one or two casts mattered greatly.

As for sword intent, Simon was still far from grasping it. But his body, after training, had grown quite strong.

If he got lucky in grouping and only faced beginner mages, he might have a chance.

Even if the odds were slim, he still wanted to try.

Because before this, “success” had never existed for him at all.

Simon placed the black-covered book on the table.

Lila immediately recognized it—it was the book he had borrowed from the library.

Strangely, the experts who examined the second floor found nothing unusual, and the disturbances had ceased. Now the second floor was back to normal traffic.

“What is it, Simon? Is there something strange about this book?”

Lila asked, pretending ignorance, though in truth, she really didn’t know what he intended.

“This is a grimoire,” Simon explained.

“What’s that?”

Lila asked instinctively.

“It’s hard to explain plainly…” Simon thought for a moment, then nodded. “How about this, Rebo, come out for a moment.”

Blue particles of light began to scatter from the book, gathering in the air and forming a small humanoid shape.

Then the blue-haired fairy appeared, sounding slightly dissatisfied.

“Simon, you finally let me out, I was suffocating in there.”

She flapped her wings cheerfully, hovering in front of him.

Seeing this, Lila’s mind briefly froze.

She had expected some strange spell or something, why did a fluttering moth-like thing come out?

Based on her past-life knowledge… was this called a mothman? She wasn’t entirely sure.

“What are you?”

Lila blurted out.

The next moment…

“You’re the thing!”

Came an extremely indignant retort.