Part 4: Regrets (3)

After finishing his business at the branch.

Aiden glanced back over his shoulder.

The distant silhouette of the Mage’s Branch, a place brimming with troubles, was growing smaller in the distance.

He felt no concern about Branch Manager Cody.

After the beating Cody had taken, there was no way he’d dare reveal Aiden’s identity. Even if he did, no one would believe him.

‘Living a normal life is surprisingly exhausting.’

Aiden furrowed his brow.

It wasn’t physical exhaustion; it was psychological fatigue.

Do you know the most efficient way to solve a problem?

By eliminating it.

If a person is the problem, then you remove the person.

But after understanding that the “normalcy” his master desired from retirement meant restraint, Aiden resolved to avoid killing as much as possible.

Like he had done with the mercenaries and gang members he’d encountered before.

Unless, of course, they were reckless enough to try to kill him.

Because of this, Aiden realized something.

From now on, he would have to learn not how to cut tangled threads, but how to untangle them.

“Are you that happy?”

“Yeah, I feel like I’m soaring through the sky. It almost feels like a dream.”

Lucy couldn’t take her eyes off the recommendation letter. It was as if she were holding a lover’s token.

“Even the Branch Manager praised my talent, didn’t he? He said it’s rare for someone to manifest wind magic on the spot like that.”

“He did say that.”

“Aiden, how did you know in advance?”

“I just sensed it.”

“There you go again, slipping away like an eel. So unfair. Aren’t you going to tell me what you talked about alone with the Branch Manager?”

Aiden nodded instead of answering.

In this world, some things are better left unknown.

For Lucy, today’s events belonged in that category.

“Aiden.”

“What?”

“Thank you so much. You saved my life. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to get into the Academy.”

Suddenly, Lucy hugged him.

He could’ve dodged, but he didn’t. He understood it was her way of expressing gratitude.

Lucy was warm.

The warmth from a scarf and the warmth from a person were distinctly different.

Aiden was slightly startled by the realization that people could be warm.

If he told anyone about this…

They’d probably think he’d lost his mind. But it was true.

Aiden had only ever been in contact with cold people.

The only ones he allowed to touch him were corpses.

“What’s that look? Were you having indecent thoughts?”

Lucy pulled back from the hug and gave him a mischievous grin.

Aiden had spaced out.

“I wasn’t. I don’t feel anything for women.”

“Wait… Are you saying…”

“Don’t misunderstand.”

Aiden’s voice was firm.

Having lived as an assassin his entire life, he was especially cold toward women and children.

He had seen too many comrades fail missions because of their attachment to women and children.

“Then what were you thinking about?”

“That you’re warm.”

“What a bland thing to say. Of course people are warm. What, did you think they’d be cold?”

“That’s true. People are warm.”

“Honestly, Aiden, you’re so hard to understand. I’d think you’ve never hugged anyone before.”

“……”

“I heard your family passed away early, but surely you’ve hugged a friend or a lover at least once?”

“I don’t have any friends or a lover.”

“You’re kidding, right? How can anyone live without someone to rely on?”

“I just kept living, and here I am.”

The sincerity in Aiden’s tone left Lucy looking crestfallen. She lowered her head and apologized to him.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Aiden shrugged.

The two continued walking in silence.

It was then that Aiden asked himself a question.

Why had he helped Lucy?

There had been no need to help her. Whether she got into the Academy or not didn’t matter to him.

If anything, it might have been more advantageous for her to fail.

One of Aiden’s retirement directives was to make ten friends.

And the person at the top of that list was Lucy.

If she had stayed behind at the tavern, Aiden would’ve had an easier time befriending her.

So why?

Why had he felt so uneasy watching her sob under the Branch Manager’s schemes?

Aiden had always been able to clearly distinguish between others’ discomfort and his own.

This time, though, it had been different.

‘Maybe…’

Perhaps he was beginning to find his own answer to the question: “What is a friend?”

If Lucy’s definition of friendship was like butter melting into each other’s lives, then Aiden’s definition was…

It was strange.

The answer he thought he held slipped through his fingers like grains of sand.

Aiden, the strongest assassin on the continent, had astonishingly failed in his pursuit.

He had never lost track of an Archmage, a Dragon of Cataclysm, a deity, or even a demon.

“Things might get harder from here on out.”

Aiden changed the subject.

“What do you mean?”

“Getting into the Academy and adapting to life there are two entirely different things.”

“You think I won’t adjust?”

“You’re older, and you’re a commoner. The Academy claims to have no class discrimination, but that’s just words.”

“Wow, look at you, Aiden. You’ve really grown. Now you’re worried about me.”

Lucy smiled warmly.

“I’m just being realistic.”

“I’ve already braced myself for it.”

“Life isn’t that forgiving. If determination alone could solve everything, every swordsman would be a Sword Master, and every mage would reach Fifth Class or higher.”

“Ouch. Stop hitting me with the truth. It hurts.”

“What will you do if you can’t adapt to the Academy?”

“As much as I hate to imagine it, if that happens…”

“If it does?”

“I’ll give up and go back home.”

“You’d just give up? After wanting it so badly?”

“There’s no point clinging to something that isn’t working.”

Her response surprised Aiden.

He had assumed she would never give up.

Lucy had a stubborn tenacity.

Even if she wasn’t particularly talented, the fact that she had self-taught magic spoke volumes about her grit.

“Why?”

“Sometimes, giving up is part of life. Letting go is a right, too.”

“Letting go… is a right?”

“Yeah. It absolutely is.”

Lucy nodded firmly.

It was a way of thinking Aiden had never considered.

To an assassin like him, giving up was synonymous with death.

But if he accepted Lucy’s philosophy…

It meant Aiden had lived a life devoid of rights.

Indeed, Aiden had only ever carried out missions.

A life dictated solely by missions was a life of obligations, not rights.

Aiden had never experienced having a right.

Because…

He wasn’t a person. He was just a cog in his master’s machine.

Maybe that was why…

Aiden was curious.

How far, and in what direction, his life’s trajectory would roll without his master’s hand to guide it.

“I still don’t know what kind of person you are, Aiden. But I feel like I know you a little better than I did yesterday.”

“……”

“Seems like you’re tied down by something. I hope you can live a little more freely from now on.”

“I’ll try.”

“In that case, today’s on me!”

Lucy’s voice brightened as if to lighten the mood.

Before Aiden could react, Lucy’s finger pointed triumphantly at a nearby store.

*  *  *

The dessert shop, Sweet World.

Lucy and Aiden sat by the window. The tables around them were bustling with customers.

Not a single seat was left unoccupied.

The shop’s interior was luxurious.

A chandelier hung from the ceiling, while the tables and cutlery sparkled elegantly.

The fragrant aroma of tea wafting from every corner tickled the nose.

“That was close. If we’d come a bit later, we would’ve had to wait forever.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“To show you a whole new world, of course. Heh. This place is super famous!”

“For what, exactly?”

“Desserts. You’ll fall in love at first bite!”

While waiting for their order…

Aiden swallowed his saliva unconsciously.

Sweet World was the most famous dessert shop in Centum.

Thanks to the aid of magic and elemental arts…

Sugarcane could be grown in abundance, making desserts accessible even to commoners.

Although desserts were still pricey, Lucy didn’t mind the splurge on such a happy day.

“Your order is ready,” the server said, approaching their table.

He set down a delectable apple pie and tea before leaving.

Lucy promptly placed a slice of pie onto Aiden’s plate, then helped herself to a slice.

She cut into the pie, speared it with her fork, and brought it to her mouth.

The taste was heavenly.

Yes, this was it.

The rich apple aroma and the refined sweetness that only Sweet World could achieve captivated her taste buds.

No matter how bitter life could be…

One bite of this apple pie was enough to make her happy, a truth Lucy was reminded of every time she indulged.

“How is it? Isn’t it amazing?”

Lucy looked at Aiden expectantly.

Aiden, who had just taken a bite, furrowed his brow slightly.

Lucy took it as a good sign.

That was the furrow of truth.

People furrowed their brows both when food tasted bad and when it was overwhelmingly good.

But there was no way Sweet World’s apple pie fell into the former category.

Clink.

Aiden set his fork down.

Then he dropped a bombshell.

“It’s too sweet.”

“No way! You just don’t get it, Aiden. This isn’t just sweetness—it’s sophisticated sweetness!” Lucy defended the apple pie with urgency.

“Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t suit my taste.”

“Come on, just try a little more. Please?”

Relenting to Lucy’s persistence, Aiden took another bite.

His expression remained unchanged.

“I’ll just stick to tea.”

“This is shocking! Aiden, what on earth do you normally eat to dislike this?”

“I don’t like food in general. Eating makes me feel sluggish.”

Thinking back…

Even at the tavern, Aiden barely touched his food.

He had only nibbled on some soup and bread to stave off hunger.

“You don’t enjoy eating at all?”

“Is it something I’m supposed to enjoy? As long as my body gets the nutrients it needs, that’s enough.”

“So if you could get all your nutrients without eating, you wouldn’t eat at all?”

“If that were possible, yeah.”

“I’ve met my match. A man who eats just to survive…”

“Do you live to eat, then?”

“To some extent, yes.”

Lucy popped the remaining pie on her plate into her mouth. The apple pie still delivered supreme joy.

Exaggerating just a little…

It felt as joyous as the day she’d received her academy recommendation letter.

If Aiden couldn’t understand the happiness that came from delicious food…

He was missing out three times a day.

And over a lifetime, he’d miss out tens of thousands of times.

“As a dessert enthusiast, I can’t accept your attitude. Aiden, you have to awaken to the world of desserts today.”

“I’ll pass on such a pointless awakening.”

“No! You can’t give up!”

“I thought giving up was a right?”

Aiden threw her own words from earlier back at her.

“There are things you should never give up on! Let’s settle this once and for all—whether you awaken or not!”

Lucy went all in.

She ordered every dessert the shop had to offer.

Her savings melted like snow, but she couldn’t back down now.

Seasonal fruit pies.

Various cakes.

And even crispy tarts.

Aiden tasted each dessert with just one bite.

“Too sweet.”

“Too sweet.”

“Still too sweet.”

His responses were unwavering.

Lucy felt like she might see him in her nightmares tonight.

It was hopeless.

Aiden was the devil of the dessert world.

The bane of pâtissiers everywhere.

If even Sweet World couldn’t satisfy him, no one could.

Yet desserts without sweetness weren’t really desserts.

Lucy looked down at the table in despair.

The desserts Aiden had barely touched were scattered like corpses.

Lucy ate as much of the leftovers as she could, but even she had her limits.

“Wouldn’t it be better for both of us to just call it quits?”

Aiden shrugged, his indifference infuriating.

Lucy felt defeated and despondent.

How could Aiden reject the desserts that others would fight to taste?

But there was nothing left to try.

The table was littered with the remains of desserts—martyrs of Aiden’s unrepentant rejection.

Aiden’s single word, “Sweet,” had been enough to crush them.

And then…

Salvation arrived.

A staff member approached, a familiar face.

“Clara? Aren’t you off today?”

“Cecil’s feeling unwell, so I came in to cover her. You’ve been working hard, haven’t you?”

“Clara… I…”

“No need to say anything. I’ve heard the whole story.”

Clara patted Lucy’s shoulder reassuringly and cast a glare at Aiden.

No matter how handsome he was, anyone who disrespected desserts was her enemy.

“Oh my, it seems our desserts don’t suit your taste?” Clara’s smile was sharp enough to cut.

This was a war she had no intention of losing.
 

To be continued

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