HH Chapter 27

[Haylan’s affection points have increased. +10]

…Huh?

I woke up the next morning, puzzled by the system window that popped up.

‘Why did it suddenly increase so much?’

Moreover, one of the bad endings had disappeared overnight.

[Bad Ending No. 15 ‘Midnight Heart Attack’ has been eliminated.]

That was probably because of the ghost. Wow, it seems I could have died of a heart attack if I’d been even more startled yesterday.

Happy about my unexpected gain, I checked Haylan’s current affection status.

[Haylan’s current affection points are -79.]

‘Was there something that happened last night that would warrant a 10-point increase?’

The sudden jump in affection overnight was puzzling, considering how much I had to fawn over him to raise it by 1 point at a time.

‘Could it be?’

A thought suddenly flashed through my mind, and I sat up. I pulled out the pile of snack bags from my bag and counted the remaining cookies in each one.

‘About fifteen.’

The cookies! 

Was he so happy and satisfied eating each piece that he raised my affection points in the middle of the night? I felt happy, imagining the character’s pixelated sprite in the game, completely engrossed in the snacks.

‘Did he notice that a bag of cookies was missing?’

I knew that the ghost from yesterday had stolen Haylan’s snacks.

Feeling a little guilty, I grabbed a bag of cookies before leaving my room. But when I stepped outside, the atmosphere felt somehow different.

“I’m sure I left the key here. That’s strange…”

‘…Huh?’

I saw some of the servants looking puzzled in front of the mirror.

‘Why are they suddenly looking for a key?’

My heart skipped a beat as I remembered the library key hidden in my room and gulped.

“Take your time looking for it. It’s a good thing there’s more than one key.”

“Yes, I’m sorry….”

More than one key?

As if to prove her words, the library door on the second floor was wide open. I was sure I had locked it yesterday…

The head butler, seeing my stunned expression, explained the situation.

“The Young Master ordered the library to be opened. So, you may use it freely from today.”

I felt a gaze on the back of my head and turned around. The kid downstairs was staring at me.

“…….”

“…….”

No, wait, is he actually looking at me?

Remembering the cookies in my hand, I offered them to him.

[Haylan’s affection points have increased. +1]

Haylan accepted my gift without a word, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I looked back and forth between Haylan and the open library door, piecing together the situation.

Ah… it’s an affection event!

After breakfast, we went into the library and sat down.

‘If only he’d opened it a day earlier….’

It was good that I could use the library during the day, but I felt a bit silly for secretly having snuck in and stolen the key.

“Why did you suddenly decide to open the library?”

I asked, looking around the room restlessly. Haylan, who was choosing a book, glanced at me and replied,

“Weren’t we going to study?”

“Study?”

“I said I’d teach you.”

With that, Haylan pulled out a book from the bottom shelf that was, to exaggerate slightly, the thickness of two handspans. Seeing him wobble under its weight, I quickly took it from him. The title on the cover was <The Principles of Defensive Magic>.

‘Is he talking about making defensive scrolls? I thought he was only helping me once.’

I had already completed the quest. I blinked in confusion, then quickly nodded vigorously before my affection points decreased.

“Did you burn that book you had?”

“Uh… not yet?”

“Burn it. That book will only confuse you more.”

He had a point. I swore to burn the book on fire tonight. It claimed to be for beginners, but it was full of mistakes. Haylan’s explanations were much easier to understand.

The servants placed a table and two chairs side by side in the middle of the library. And there, I received one-on-one tutoring from Haylan.

“Tell me the three activation conditions for a magic circle.”

“The property of the magic, the amount of mana required, and the range of the magic……”

“Yes, you know that much. Then why don’t you understand this?”

“…….”

“You should understand half of defensive properties just by knowing Laffa’s Theory.”

My mind went blank. Haylan’s words made me feel incredibly stupid.

Just by glancing at any basic magic textbook, you could understand why mages were so rare in this world.

‘The difficulty level suddenly spikes!’

I liked math, but I was just an ordinary high school student, not a math major. I’d learned magic on my own, following the system’s guidance and finding books.

Mages were rare in the city where I lived, unlike other larger cities, so I had earned the title of “Red Lion’s Mage Mercenary.” People praised me, and even my colleagues treated me like a valuable asset.

But in reality, I was nothing special. I had only learned a smattering of magic that I could understand, picking and choosing like a picky eater.

In short, I was a self-taught, half-baked mage.

‘But it’s not my fault that the difficulty level is so inconsistent, is it?’

Chapter 1 started with basic arithmetic, like, “John ate one of three apples. How many are left?” Then, two chapters later, it suddenly jumped to something like, “John threw an apple at Jane. When the apple started parabolic motion at a 24-degree angle, prove the apple’s feelings of despair in binary.” It was filled with gibberish I couldn’t understand.

In the end, I confessed before my lack of skill was completely exposed.

“Actually, I don’t know what Laffa’s Theory is.”

And that’s why I haven’t understood a single word you’ve said. Haylan’s eyebrows twitched at my words. He looked at me with disdain again.

“That’s the most basic of basics. You can draw a binding magic circle but don’t know Laffa’s Theory?”

Why? Haylan squinted at me suspiciously.

Laffa’s Theory was something every mage should know. It was usually covered in the first chapter of any basic textbook.

But I was able to use magic thanks to the system, not because I could sense the flow of mana or use my senses like other mages. Laffa’s Theory was based on mana sensitivity, so it was completely irrelevant to me.

So, I’m not stupid! 

I muttered, avoiding Haylan’s gaze,

“I skipped it because I didn’t understand it….”

This was the consequence of ignoring the fundamentals. I’d cherry-picked only the parts I understood from every magic book. I couldn’t even read the parts with unfamiliar symbols.

“Huh? But how did you know I specialize in binding magic?”

“…….”

Did he hear it from Christine? Or… hehe, has my reputation spread this far?

Haylan blinked a couple of times, then replied nonchalantly,

“I saw the doodles you scribbled on your desk.”

It was neither… Let’s stay humble.

I remembered drawing a few binding magic circles on the papers I’d spread out on my desk while making the defensive scroll.

‘So he saw them yesterday.’

As I nodded, Haylan attacked me again.

“How can you draw a magic circle if you don’t even understand the basics?”

“Well… it seems to work even if I don’t know the theory.”

“That’s impossible.”

“It’s true….”

In the end, I decided to draw the binding formula I frequently used in front of Haylan to prove my point.

“…….”

“…….”

Scribble, scribble…. 

Even I felt embarrassed by how slow I was.

It wasn’t the first time I’d injured my dominant hand. As a result, I had naturally learned to use both hands, but I still couldn’t write or draw magic circles as easily with my left hand.

“You don’t have to rush, take your time.”

“Huh?!”

“……Why are you so surprised?”

He looked at me with narrowed eyes and added,

“I just said that because you were struggling to write.”

Oh my….

My heart warmed, and I stopped moving my hand, touched by his words.

‘Is he… worried about me?’

The corners of my lips curled upwards involuntarily, and Haylan flinched. Before he could furrow his brows and lower my affection points, I decided to reassure him.

“It’ll heal on its own.”

“……Sorry.”

Haylan apologized curtly in a sullen tone, then urged me to continue what I was doing. His feigned annoyance seemed like an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

‘He was concerned after all.’

I was the one who shoved my hand into the closing door. And I was also the one taking advantage of Haylan’s guilt. I thought it wasn’t something he needed to apologize for, which made it even more surprising. It seemed like I would be able to remove the splint from my finger soon.

‘What should I use to coax Haylan after my hand heals?’

While pondering how many cookies I had left, I finally completed the binding magic circle.

Ta-da!

“……What is this?”

Haylan frowned as I showed him the completed circle.

“The structure… what is this?”

Ugh…. 

I was speechless at his appalled reaction.