Avoid 19-rated content - Side Story Chapter 1

It was Saturday when Del noticed something strange about Andrea.

Del, who lives in the Magic Tower, would spend Monday to Thursday studying magic or practicing, and on Fridays to Sundays, he would teleport to Andrea’s cottage and spend his free time with him. At first, they only met on weekends, but as the number of days increased, two days a week together was too short.

Usually, the two of them would spend all their time together from Friday morning to Sunday evening. Andrea would complain that even that was too short, but it was just a cute tantrum, and he never complained about Del studying magic. Rather, he was happy to see Del become attached to this world and dedicate himself to something.

Even this Friday, as usual Del came to Andrea’s cottage in a teleportation magic circle. They walked through the forest together, picked fruits to make jam, have sex while flirting and joking, nap for a while, wake up, had a meal when they got hungry, and had sex again….The sun had already risen on Saturday.

Andrea brought a tray with breakfast to bed. Del slowly woke up and ate the sandwich that Andrea had made and drank fresh juice. Then, he cuddled up to Andrea and went to the bench in front of the cottage, reading a book with his loving and handsome lover.

It was while Del was reading a book that Andrea started acting strangely. He had been dozing off, so Del just let him be, but suddenly he got up from the bench in a hurry. His face was pale as if he couldn’t escape from a nightmare.

“No….”

Andrea muttered and then quickly ran into the cottage suddenly.

“Andrea?”

Del called out to him, but he didn’t seem to hear at all.

I think this was the first time Del had seen him acting so flustered. Del put down his book and cautiously followed Andrea into the cottage. Andrea was standing in the kitchen, absentmindedly running over the empty table with his fingertips.

“Andrea.”

When Del called in a whisper, Andrea quietly turned around. He smiled.

“Yeah, what’s up, Del?”

He looked completely calm and nonchalant with a face as if nothing had happened

He seemed so startled and surprised just a moment ago. Did I see it wrong? Del thought as he tilted his head.

“It’s nothing. Why are you in the kitchen?”

“Oh, I was a little thirsty.”

Andrea said that, and then he poured water from the kettle and drank it.

Did I see it wrong? Del went back to the garden with Andrea.

However, even in the early morning of that day, Del noticed something strange. He woke up because his throat was dry, and Andrea was not there next to him.

“What, where did he go…….”

Del couldn’t even open his eyes and stumbled into the darkness. He went downstairs to drink water and looked around, but Andrea was nowhere to be found.

“Did he go outside?”

As Andrea’s job involved a lot of nighttime activities, he might have wandered around the streets at night because he missed those nights.

No matter how close the cottage was to the village, it was still a forest. Andrea was not crazy enough to wander around the forest at night.

Then, he heard a crashing sound from upstairs.

“Del? Del! Del!”

A desperate voice rang out, as if his soul had been shattered, as if someone had been deeply hurt. Del woke up in an instant and ran upstairs to the second floor. In the end, he almost jumped over the stairs and was crawling on all fours.

“A-Andrea! What’s wrong!”

“Del?”

Andrea’s eyes, looking back at Del, were cloudier than usual. The white moonlight of dawn feels dimly upon them. The ambiguous light created strange shadows on Andrea’s face.

“What day is it today?”

Andrea suddenly asked out of the blue. His voice was hazy.

“It’s past twelve so It’s Sunday now… Why are you acting so strange? Are you hurt?”

“No… I’m sorry. I misunderstood something. Come here.”

Andrea smiled softly as usual. Del awkwardly hugged him. Andrea’s arms were wet. His clothes were so sweaty that they stuck to his back. Del didn’t bother to mention it and just slid his hand down to his waist.

This was definitely strange. His instincts were telling Del that there was something wrong with Andrea.

***

“Maybe it’s time for him to die.”

“What?”

“When a person suddenly changes, they say it’s time for them to die. I think the bastard’s time has come.”

Cain said. fiddling with the end of Del’s wand. He is currently lying in Del’s bed in the Magic Tower playing around lazily.

Del looked at Cain.

“Please don’t say such things unluckily, Magic Tower Lord.”

“You should call me “Master”! Hurry up and call me “Master”!”

“You have to act like a “Master” and then I will treat you like a “Master.”

“What? Hey, Mana vessel! Are you now abandoning your Master because of a man?”

Cain jumped out of bed and ran wild. But Del stayed quiet and concentrated on mixing the potion.

Del’s mind became even more complicated than before. Andrea was clearly acting differently than usual and was hiding something from Del.

“Where does it hurt…?”

That’s a big problem.

Then, the potion exploded. Del was startled and stepped back, dropping the bottle he was holding. At the same time, Cain, who had been fiddling with Del’s wand on the bed, quickly ran up and started chanting a spell. The liquid disappeared cleanly and the smoke that filled the room also evaporated.

“Are you concentrating?!”

Cain scolded Del. He was about to scold him even more fiercely, but he soon lowered his hands and let out a sigh.

“…Are you really that worried?”

Del’s beautiful face was full of concern. His clear green eyes were flickering as if tears could fall at any moment.

Cain messily ruffled his hair and handed Del his wand.

“If you’re that worried, then go check on him.”

“…..It’s Monday now.”

“Then take a week off!”

When Cain yelled and Del slowly raised his head.

“Can I really take a break? You said you’d kick me out if I slacked off on my studies.”

“Go before I change my mind.”

Del giggled and patted Cain’s chest with his palm.

“This kid…”

“I’ll be back, Master.”

Del didn’t even change his clothes and immediately ran towards the gap in the bookshelf. From behind, Cain yelled, “What the heck, he’s happy. Oh, Mana vessel, when you come back, you’ll take the magic test, you!” After Cain’s last request for him to come back soon, Del disappeared through the teleportation magic circle.

***

After arriving at Andrea’s attic, Del immediately called out for him, but stopped himself from speaking.

Andrea tried to hide his abnormal state from Del. What that meant was that he behaved differently when Del was around and when he wasn’t. Del swung his wand and quietly recited the invisibility spell. Now he could execute basic spells without drawing any formulas.

As Del’s figure gradually became blurry and he became completely invisible.

He came out of the attic very quietly and slowly. Andrea was very sensitive to his surroundings and alert to any signs, he had to be extremely careful.

He walked down the stairs on his heels. The house was quiet. It was as if no one was here.

Could he have gone to ‘One Cup of Sugar’ or gone grocery shopping?

It was a bright afternoon, so he probably didn’t go to work. Since officially dating Del, he rarely took on any requests or tasks himself.

It was then, He was walking by, and he heard a sound of something stirring inside the bedroom on the second floor. Del turned his body and cautiously approached the bedroom.

It was past 2 PM, why was he still in the bedroom? Andrea wasn’t a lazy person. Del looked into the bedroom.

The room was dark. The bedroom had thick curtains, so there was almost no light coming in. Andrea was lying on the bed as if he were dead. But he wasn’t asleep. He was just lying still, looking up at the ceiling.

“Why is he doing that?”

Del wondered. He thought he might be feeling sick, but he didn’t seem to be in pain or have a fever. Maybe he took a nap and just woke up? But even after that, Andrea didn’t move for a while.

As time passed, Del felt like he was going crazy. He sat squatted in front of the bedroom and stared at Andrea before dozing off.

How many hours have passed? As the sky outside turned a reddish-orange color, Andrea slowly got up. Del opened his eyes and wiped the drool from his mouth. Andrea passed Del, who was squatting invisible and left the room.

“Ouch, my legs are numb,”

Del grumbled to himself as he got up. Then he followed Andrea at a distance, wondering if he was going to eat or go to the bathroom.

But Andrea went upstairs. He was heading to the attic.