Chapter 114
I thought I had gotten somewhat close with magic just now, yet there were hardly any kids approaching me. The reason being,
“Whoa! Hyung! How do you do that?”
“Wooow! Big brother, you’re so cool!”
Everyone was captivated by Nova’s skill as he juggled three balls with a carefree expression… Seriously, he was really good.
I mean, he even had the talent to spin them with his legs in between!
“Stella, throw me the ball from that bag.”
“Hmm… this one?”
As I tossed the ball from the bag, he smoothly caught it and circulated it into his loop.
Is he good with his hands, or did he steal someone else’s technique again?
Anyway, as I continued to toss the balls in amazement, his hands became busier.
“Hey, hey… wait a minute… throw it more gently!”
“Wow… this is already the tenth one! Amazing!”
The kids were reacting well, and I was having fun too; it’s safe to say that this is what they mean by killing two birds with one stone.
Eventually, with the continued additions of balls, Nova’s hands got tangled, causing him to hilariously tumble backward.
The balls that had been soaring through the air came crashing down onto his head.
“Ha ha ha! What’s Nova-hyung doing!”
The kids burst into fits of laughter at his ridiculous appearance.
Of course, I too was desperately hiding my giggles as my lips curved upward.
“Pfft… ahahaha!!”
“Stella… you…”
“It’s just a bit of revenge for earlier~”
Sticking out my tongue in mockery at last felt refreshing.
All the playful teasing and jokes up until now made my day!
As I was happily laughing, the kids started to gather around me.
“Can you show us that thing you did just now one more time?”
“That thing? Sure~ I can show you.”
“How old are you, sister?”
“Um… 17 years old?”
“Can I touch your skin?”
“Uh, my skin?… Why all of a sudden?”
Bending down a bit to meet their gaze, I reached out my hand as the girl began to poke at my wrist.
“Wow… it’s really soft… like baby skin.”
“Um… if you keep touching, it tickles…”
“Really? Can I touch it too?”
Before I could reply to the boy’s question, a bunch of kids began to swarm me like ants.
With how forcefully they piled on, I tumbled backward in an instant, and all I could see was
Thud!
“Ahhhh!”
The countless eager, crazy eyes filled with curiosity mixed with sunlight shining through them.
That sight was not just amusing for me, but the look of Nova standing beside me, his expression dazed, was quite a sight too.
“Hey, hey… everyone calm down a bit… why all of a sudden…”
“Your cheeks are soft, sister! They feel like baby’s skin!”
“Really! It’s softer than ours!”
“Uh… uh… um… um… uh…”
“Can I touch your hair just once?”
“Whoa! Your eyes changed to blue! Just like Nova-hyung!”
That’s terrifying! Here I was, piled under kids, feeling like a frog about to get squashed, honestly, who wouldn’t be scared!?
“Nova, help me out…”
“…Cough, they’re not that rowdy… why not just go along with it and play a little?”
“You… you!!”
That jerk Nova just laughed at me! He’s such a petty guy for playing around earlier!
Honestly, I could easily shove the kids off me right now if I wanted to, but if I hurt any of them, that would be the last thing I want, so in the end, I had no choice but to endure it quietly.
“You guys… earlier you were only interested in Nova. Why the sudden change now!”
“But… your face looked scary before…”
Huh? I looked scary? Now that I think about it, Shia had said something similar before.
[Stella seems to have sharp eyes that give a cold impression to first-timers.]
[That’s why the ones who were bad-mouthing me behind my back feel like I’m arrogant. Is that what they mean?]
[Seems so. You should smile a bit more often!]
So then, does that mean the kids thought I looked scary because of my usual expression? I was just wearing a blank face, but what was I supposed to do about my appearance in the first place?
Well, I guess I don’t want to be disliked without reason, so I should just smile. Hehe.
While I was staring blankly into space, Nova beside me seemed to feel apologetic and spoke up.
“Um… Stella… should we stop this now? It looks a bit excessive even from my perspective…”
“No… it’s fine… I think it’s okay… probably.”
As long as my smile can make the kids happy… it should be a good thing, right?
While I was lost in thought, I heard the hurried footsteps of a middle-aged woman approaching us from a distance.
“Oh my! What’s happened while I was briefly away? Kids! You can’t make it difficult for our guest!”
With a bright, youthful voice, it seemed this woman in a cheerful apron was the director of the orphanage.
Upon the director’s sudden appearance, the children quickly scampered away from me.
She reached out her hand to help me up, who was still sprawled on the floor, and opened her mouth.
“I’m sorry, our children can be quite well-behaved, but it seems they got too excited after seeing someone new.”
“It’s alright! I actually quite like these kids… haha.”
Soon after, the director made eye contact with Nova and smiled kindly.
Nova also smiled and handed the bag of apples he was holding to the director.
“What, you brought another gift? You really didn’t have to come all this way…”
“I only came over during the break, no need to worry about it.”
The director beamed at the nonchalant Nova before shifting her gaze back to me.
“Stella, right? I’ve heard so much about you from Nova. Please come inside.”
“Ah, yes, I understand!”
“Hehe, you really are a pretty student. You two make a good pair!”
“Ah… so, uh… thank you…”
Even though I didn’t mention anything about being a couple, the way she said it made it seem like Nova had already talked about it.
Or they have seen us together as mentioned by the elders earlier, so it seems we do look like that.
If it were the old me, I would have screamed asking why I was dating him, but now I just,
“Hehe…”
With the words going around me, a smile crept onto my face.
Some of the girls around looked despondent upon hearing it, but what can I say! I’m sorry kids, but you will have to give up because he’s my boyfriend!
The director looked at Nova with a relieved expression and said,
“I didn’t expect you to bring such a pretty girlfriend with you. I’m glad!”
“I’ve told you already. I have someone I’m destined to be with since long ago.”
“I thought that was just a lie. I was worried you couldn’t forget Lena, right?”
“Lena…?”
Lena… Is she the woman who went on adventures with Nova?
The director startled and hurriedly tried to cover her words.
“Oh dear, forgive me! I truly apologize for bringing this up in front of your girlfriend.”
“No, it’s alright! I’ve understood things to some extent too.”
“Rather than standing and chatting, shall we go inside?”
*
The green vine of trees slightly clinging to the outer walls of the building was a testament to the passage of time, giving the mansion a nostalgic countryside feel.
In the garden, colorful flowers bloomed, pushing away the remaining snow and asserting their presence.
Following the director’s suggestion, I stepped inside the orphanage and was sipping tea in the lounge.
Nova was still outside skillfully engaging with the children.
“He really knows how to entertain them.”
I was surprised to see Nova, who normally doesn’t care much for others, playing with the kids like a friendly older brother.
Why is it that Nova seems to be so close with the people of this orphanage? Even though his parents are in good health, he clearly didn’t grow up here, and I could tell because we lived together.
While I mulled over these random thoughts, I locked eyes with the director, who was smiling warmly.
Trying to hide my awkwardness, I was about to take a sip of tea when I accidentally burned my tongue.
“Oh my, are you alright?”
“Ouch… I-I’m fine… this tea is really good… fragrant and… warm…”
Feeling embarrassed, I gulped it down to prove I was okay.
“…You don’t need to rush so much; it’s fine to take your time.”
“I really am okay! Can I have another cup?”
“Of course, actually, now that Nova isn’t here, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”
What did she want to tell me? Perhaps it’s something like “please take care of Nova,” or maybe about his relationship with the orphanage.
Nodding and receiving more tea, the director began to speak.
“I’m not sure how much you have heard, but have you heard about Nova’s companions?”
“Oh yes, I heard some about them today.”
“In that case, it will be quicker to explain. This orphanage was only recently built.”
Originally, it was just an old, abandoned mansion.
Now it made sense why the inside felt so new despite the outer walls showing signs of age.
“This is a place where children without parents, who were sold into human trafficking or slavery, come to live.”
The director looked outside at Nova with a bitter expression as she spoke.
“I was once an ordinary mother of a child, but… I was kidnapped by a certain organization.”
“…That organization, could it be…?”
“Yes, it’s a cruel crime organization called Akandis, which has been making headlines lately.”
Could it be that organization after all? They had kidnapped me before, and they kept committing such inhumane acts… I wanted to offer comforting words, but I couldn’t muster any.
It was natural that one wouldn’t know how to console someone whose child had been subjected to human trafficking.
“A long time later, when even the guards had given up on searching, he appeared.”
“Was it Nova?”
“Yes, he came to me holding my child’s corpse.”
“…”
“At that moment, I cried inconsolably. It was so painful and tormenting, and I unleashed my anger on him.”
The director wiped away her tears and continued speaking with more composure.
“At that time, he told me this: he apologized for not being able to save them and even bowed his head to me… when I should have been grateful to him for just finding the corpse.”
“…Director…”
“I created this orphanage out of a sense of atonement, wanting to protect children like my own.”
I could clearly feel the weight of her pain without needing words to express it.
For an ordinary person, just accepting the death of a family member would be difficult.
But perhaps anyone who saw this would feel respect for her.
“During the time I was rescued, those who helped me build this orphanage were Nova and his fellow party members.”
“Really?”
“Yes, thanks to them supporting this place with money and furniture, I was able to manage it.”
Despite everything they had done… who would still complain about such kindness?
“Honestly, I’ve realized that Nova is the first person to bring you here aside from his companions. He’s very cautious and careful about sharing this place with others.”
It was evident from all that I’d seen of him that he was meticulous and shrewd.
If Nova truly put his mind to it and chose to overwhelm me by any means, what would happen?
“Regardless, I felt that Nova genuinely trusts you.”
“Really?”
“When he’s with you, he shows a truly happy expression…”
Did he? Whenever he was with me, he always had that smug, annoying look that made me wonder.
Yet I do remember seeing him maintain a certain distance when interacting with other girls.
Even with Shia and Serena, he had that kind of boundary in his behavior.
While I was lost in thought, the director’s melancholic voice continued.
“Whenever he came here, he would always have a gloomy expression.
After losing his companions, each time he visited to pay their respects, it often resulted in him crying silently.
This year, perhaps thanks to you, he seems to have a pretty decent expression—more likely, he’s even happy.”
“He cries? Nova has never shown such emotion before.”
Hearing it described so specifically made my heart ache, realizing how deeply Nova felt about the demise of his companions.
“He’s truly mature and strong for a 17-year-old.”
“… I think so too.”
“His sense of hatred towards that organization is profound enough to cut through to the bone.”
“Because they killed his companions.”
“Precisely. That’s why I hope you’ll be there to support him, to ensure he doesn’t let hatred consume him and ruin himself.”
Having been at the academy for six months, I might have been cautious about speaking too freely about Nova,
But aside from matters concerning the organization and the Demon Race, I knew he was genuinely kind-hearted and had a good nature.
There are various sides to him, too—he tries to act cool, yet when he’s joking around or being teased, he reveals a more naive side.
He’s someone who is surprisingly concerned about how others perceive their feelings.
So, I began to think that Nova might just be the type who appears tough on the outside yet is soft on the inside.
And… he’s really good-looking, but I’m not just saying that! He only looks at me and always cares about me… a person I adore… so,
“I want to be there for him and support him.”
