The Sage that the Sword Saint is Obsessed With

27 – 8. The Heart in a Cookie (4)

1.

They successfully defeated the giant.

It wouldn’t have been strange if there were hundreds of casualties as it was a monster, but thanks to the efforts of the two individuals, not a single casualty occurred.

However, not everyone was unharmed.

“Creak…!”

Ruwen lay on the cart.

Every time the wheels creaked, he groaned in pain as if he was being crushed by the carriage.

While battling the giant, endorphins had explosively secreted that acted as a painkiller. However, when they defeated the giant and entered a state of victory, the pain that had been suppressed returned and began to ravage Ruwen’s body.

“Huhh…Ugh…!”

Nevertheless, he was satisfied that in exchange for his battered body, he was able to protect the people.

…And he achieved revenge.

With a forceful movement, Ruwen squeezed his temples and took out an envelope from his uniform pocket.

Even though everyone was celebrating the defeat of the giant, Ruwen felt gloomy.

“…I worked so hard on it.”

The cookie, which he intended to give to Evan as a present, was now shattered to the point of being sorry to give it as a gift.

If he were to give something like this, he would be met with curses.

Maybe it was the will of the gods.

Don’t give it.

Don’t know the subject.

Ruwen let out a long sigh, closed his eyes, and muttered, “Ah, well…”

At that moment.

“How are you feeling?”

Leuwen startled and quickly sat up at the sound of a voice nearby.

“Kku-eug…!!”

He slowly lay back down, gritting his teeth.

He had been so startled that he momentarily forgot about his broken rib.

Leuwen’s trembling golden eyes turned to the side.

There, Evan, who was riding on a horse, was looking down at Leuwen.

Leuwen blinked.

Huh? Why is he here?

He thought he was seeing things.

“I can tell without you saying anything.”

Evan gracefully dismounted from his horse and climbed onto the carriage.

The carriage shook.

Leuwen’s heart also shook.

“Eue… euh…?”

Is this a dream?

Am I dreaming?

He couldn’t believe that Evan had approached him first.

“Tell me where it hurts. I’ll treat you.”

It’s really Evan!

It’s really Evan!

Just being able to hear his voice up close makes Leuwen ecstatic and his heart race like crazy.

“…Ah, no. No, thank you!”

Leuwen hurriedly corrected his tone to formal language and refused the treatment.

“Don’t waste your mana on me. A minor injury like this will heal on its own over time.”

Evan’s expression turned crestfallen at Leuwen’s words.

“I’m just saying this in case you have any misunderstandings. I’m not offering to treat you because you’re special. If you’re collapsed, the knights won’t function properly, so it’s my duty to treat you.”

Evan took a seat next to Leuwen.

“Tell me where it hurts.”

Leuwen hesitated for a moment.

It

You should never accept Evan’s kindness for any reason.

Once his touch grazes you, it becomes a desire to feel it again.

However,

Leuen was a woman truly vulnerable to desire.

“…My, my ankle.”

Evan immediately checked Leuen’s ankle.

Her right ankle was swollen like it had been stung by a bee several times.

“It might hurt. Endure it.”

Evan placed his hand on Leuen’s ankle.

“Hmm…!”

Even the slight touch caused a shiver of pain.

Evan used healing magic.

Having learned all the magic available at the Sage’s Tower, he also possessed healing magic. Originally, healing magic was his main specialty.

Nevertheless, in terms of effectiveness, it was not as potent as a cleric’s divine healing.

Mana permeated, and the swollen ankle returned to normal.

Although a tingling discomfort lingered, it had recovered enough for her to move her ankle.

“Next.”

Although she needed a full-body treatment, Leuen pointed to the most painful spots.

Each time, Evan treated her.

“…The ribs are the last.”

Evan placed his hand on Leuen’s chest.

Leuen flinched. It wasn’t just because of the pain from the pressed ribs; a little higher, and Evan’s hand would touch her breast.

-Thump, thump

Her heart raced uncontrollably.

Leuen held her breath.

Because if she breathed, Evan’s hand might touch her breast.

Evan’s treatment was very matter-of-fact.

There was no sense of sincerity.

However,

The mana’s energy permeating her body was warm.

That warmth gently soothed the wounds.

… It’s a familiar sensation.

Evan’s warmth that I haven’t felt in 8 years.

Suddenly, Llewellyn felt a lump in her throat.

She covered her face with her two arms.

The longing was moist.

– Thump thump thump thump!

Her heart began to beat faster.

It felt like it would explode.

“Why is your heart beating so fast? Is there something wrong again?”

Llewellyn’s trembling heart was transmitted to Evan’s hand.

Still covering her face with both arms, Llewellyn tilted her head.

She didn’t say anything, just bit her lower lip.

If she opened her mouth, instead of words, emotions would burst out.

This warmth.

This precious warmth.

She thought she would never feel it again.

For 8 years, she pretended to forget.

It flashed through her mind every time she got injured in battle.

That’s why Llewellyn had to become stronger.

Because if she got injured again, Evan’s warmth would come to mind again.

I hope time could freeze like this.

If this really is the last time, I wanted to selfishly enjoy this happy moment forever, as someone who had already become selfish.

But cruelly, time goes on.

After the treatment, Evan’s hand let go.

The warmth disappeared in an instant, as if it had never been there.

On the other hand, Llewellyn’s chest became even hotter.

Her eyes became hotter too.

Every moment with Evan is both joy and pain.

Evan, who finished the treatment, looked at Llewellyn.

She was crying again.

Would covering her face with her arms make it less noticeable, perhaps?

Leuen’s shoulders trembled, and the lower lip, vaguely visible beneath her forearm, was tightly pressed against her teeth.

There was nothing to say at the sight of this.

An awkward atmosphere.

An atmosphere that evoked memories of the past.

Evan stood up to return to the conversation, but suddenly, his eyes caught a paper envelope near Leuen’s head.

Thinking it was nothing special, he was about to ignore it, but noticing that the envelope was slightly open, he sneakily peeked inside.

“Dirt?”

At first glance, it looked like dirt.

But upon closer inspection, it wasn’t dirt.

“What’s this?”

At Evan’s question, Leuen lowered her arm slightly, peeking at the contents of the envelope with her moist golden eyes.

“Oh… that, that’s…!”

Leuen hastily raised her arm, attempting to snatch the envelope from Evan to conceal its contents.

Evan raised his arm higher to prevent Leuen from grabbing it.

“No…! Ah, no…!”

Though shorter than Evan by a head, Leuen bounced on her toes, desperately trying to reach for the envelope.

It seemed like it was about to slip away, but he had to seize it.

“Why? What is it?”

Now that it was out, Evan became even more curious about the contents.

-Clunk!

The cart shook violently.

For a moment, the balance was lost, and it swayed.

Evan quickly regained his balance on both feet, but Leuen, whose ankle hadn’t fully recovered, wobbled forward. And just like that, against Leuen’s will, she ended up nestled in Evan’s arms.

The faint scent of Leuen’s warm sweat wafted to Evan’s nose.

“…”

“…”

A brief silence.

Leven leaped back with a yelp before Evan could express his discomfort.

“Huh!”

In the process, he stumbled backward, squashing his buttocks.

“What on earth is this?”

Evan observed the contents more closely.

He even took a whiff.

A faint scent of mild butter and sweetness wafted through the air.

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“…A cookie?”

Although it resembled something scooped out of damp earth, this was indeed a cookie.

Leven nodded her head, as if responding to Evan, and shrugged her shoulders.

Evan picked up a relatively large piece and tasted it.

Bland.

It wasn’t a particularly delicious cookie.

Perhaps his palate had refined after consuming the delicacies prepared by the genius maid in the Tower of the Sage for three years. Anyway, compared to what the maid used to make, it was a far cry from being appetizing.

“I was expecting something so delicious that you’d run after it to snatch it away. But it’s not really tasty.”

“…Ugh.”

Leven’s reaction, for some unknown reason, seemed to treat it as something precious.

“Why do you eat this?”

Evan tossed the cookie bag outside the cart.

“Ah…………”

Leven stared at the fallen cookie bag outside the cart as if she had lost her country.

Watching her in despair, Evan chuckled.

Despite resolving not to be bound by the past after receiving apples in the barn, there was still a lingering sense of satisfaction in getting back at it in a small way.

“Did I make a mistake, by any chance? I thought it might be inedible, so I threw it away. Is it okay?”

Evan asked in a nonchalant manner.

“…Yes.”

Leven forced a smile and nodded her head.

“It’s okay.”

But her eyes showed no trace of a smile.

2.

I returned to the village.

Not only did news spread that we had won the battle, but we also defeated a giant, so the village held a bigger feast than ever before.

Evan strolled around the village.

More accurately, he briefly escaped.

The inn was too noisy due to the feast, so he couldn’t stay there.

The members of the knight order were drinking and laughing themselves to death, playing games like chess, so he couldn’t sleep at all.

He wanted to say, “Shut up, all of you,” but Evan wasn’t the type to ruin a good atmosphere.

It was when he had been wandering around the village for a while.

“Huh?!”

He ran into a girl.

A very unpleasant-looking girl.

A girl with black short hair and golden eyes.

She looked just like Lwen before they parted ways.

But the atmosphere was completely different. Even the corners of her eyes were slightly raised.

“You’re the Sage, right?!”

The girl came up to Evan, her eyes sparkling.

Evan took a step back.

“I’m not a Sage yet. By the way, who are you?”

The girl introduced herself with proper posture.

“Hello. I’m Leia, Lwen’s younger sister. Nice to meet you!”

Leia, her voice getting louder like an excited child, extended her hand for a handshake.

Evan shook her hand.

“I really wanted to meet you!”

“You’re talking about me?”

“I’ve been studying magic alone, and I have so many questions about it. So, I wanted to meet you and ask various things about magic. I thought I could only meet you at the inn, but I’m glad we met like this.”

Leia, who is usually mature, transformed into a child of her age in front of Evan.

As someone dreaming of becoming a magician, the future Sage was an object of admiration. Moreover, hearing about his achievements on the battlefield through Raven’s brother made her admire him even more.

Did you protect the members and defeat a giant today, too, like a falling meteorite?

There are so many things she wants to ask.

I want to learn about magic all night.

But what I was most curious about right now was this.

“Um, by the way… Did you get cookies from Unni?”

Cookies painstakingly made through the night.

She pretended it wasn’t for her, but it was clear that Evan was the intended recipient.

“Cookies? What cookies are you talking about?”

“Wow.”

Lea sighed, touching her forehead.

“Unni didn’t give you cookies?”

“That’s correct.”

“Oh my, if you went through the trouble of staying up all night to make them, you should have given them.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Our Unni baked cookies all night to give as a gift to the wizard. After continuously making failures, she finally managed to make something presentable… But in the end, she didn’t give it to the wizard.”

“She made them? The commander did it herself?”

Surprising indeed.

Leven baking cookies herself.

Apart from wielding a sword, Leven was otherwise quite clumsy.

“No way…”

Then suddenly something flashed through Evan’s mind.

“Did it happen to be in a white paper bag?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Evan felt a complex emotion.

There was no obligation for Evan to accept the gift just because Leven gave it. He could easily refuse with courtesy. He had the authority to do so.

But what was this feeling?

It should be refreshing, but instead, it felt unpleasant.

“I have something urgent to attend to. Let’s talk again when there’s another chance.”

“When will that be?”

“If we happen to meet on the street next time.”

Evan left his seat.

“Where are you going, Wizard?”

The guard at the entrance of the village saluted Evan.

“I’m going for a short walk.”

“Understood. Be careful. The monsters that emerge at night are very fierce.”

Although it was unnecessary worry, Evan chuckled and nodded.

“I will be cautious.”

As soon as Evan left the village, he drew a teleportation spell.

He didn’t know the exact coordinates.

He teleported, visualizing a rough location.

This was the only way to get rid of this unpleasant feeling.

Even though Evan’s personality had changed over the years, he was still inherently kind-hearted. Even though he had no reason to feel guilty, his conscience pricked at him.

After teleporting a few more times, Evan found a paper envelope lying on the side of the road.

The contents were intact.

If he had purchased it from a store, he wouldn’t have felt any guilt.

“…Did she make this herself?”

Thinking about the effort the person put into making it, he decided to taste it properly.

He rummaged through the envelope.

In the powder, there was a piece of cookie in perfect shape.

“…As expected, it’s tasteless.”

Being exposed to the air for a long time made it dry and the taste even worse.

However.

The taste conveyed the effort Ruen put into making this pathetic piece of cookie.

Extinction.

The paper envelope that he held turned into powder and disappeared into the night wind.

It’s done.

He had tasted it properly.

Yes, it’s done.

But somehow, he felt even more unpleasant.

There was a sense of disgust, but afterwards, something unclear twisted inside him, making him feel even more uncomfortable.