Episode 18
Lionel really was a god-sent worker.
“I gave the striped tiger two cleaned chickens. I also cleared away the bones lying around its cage.”
Lindsay couldn’t help but admire him.
It hadn’t even been ten minutes since she’d asked, and he was already back.
A handsome guy who was also good at every job she gave him? How could she possibly dislike him?
“Good work. I forgot to even tell you to clean up the bones, but you thought of it yourself.”
“Well, since I did well, you should keep praising me… and give me a reward too.”
A reward? Back in her day, if you did well, people just piled more work on top, maybe even kept you working late.
But what came out of Lindsay’s mouth was different.
“…What kind of reward?”
Inside that cautious question was a mess of feelings—guilt for overworking him, gratitude for how perfectly he did everything, and worry over what kind of request he might make.
As long as it wasn’t something outrageous, she figured she’d agree.
After all, she had used him nonstop all day.
Just thinking back made her feel bad—she’d worked him to the bone, and only gave him a bacon sandwich and a glass of milk for lunch.
Catch a horned goat and put it in the pen.
Release snow rabbits into the pasture.
Dig a dream-fox out of its burrow and brush its fur… Lionel had done an endless list of chores on the farm.
She owed him at least a little.
Lionel pulled his lips down, hiding his smile.
He knew this kindhearted witch would run him ragged, then feel guilty about it later.
He smiled gently at her.
A warm witch like her would never refuse.
“Have dinner with me somewhere nice and private.”
Not a marriage proposal, not even anything serious—just a lighthearted date request.
All the more reason she wouldn’t be able to say no.
“Dinner in a cozy spot, huh? That’s all you want? This is your one chance to ask a witch for anything.”
Lindsay looked at him like he was some country bumpkin who’d just stumbled into the capital.
From the moment he’d always come running for the next chore without hesitation, she’d wondered how on earth he planned to survive in this harsh world.
And here he was again—handed a golden opportunity to ask for something big, and all he wanted was a meal together.
And he knew she was a witch, too!
“That’s enough. What I really want… is just an ordinary day with you.”
“There he goes again with the cheesy lines… Fine. I’ll think about it.”
It was basically a yes. Lionel’s smile bloomed, wide and bright.
His mind raced through the list of restaurants he’d already reserved.
All of them were top-class places in the capital, the kind where reservations were nearly impossible.
Lindsay listened to him list them off, then asked, “Does it have to be a restaurant?”
Lionel shook his head immediately.
As long as she was there, he’d be happy even eating grass out on the prairie.
But really, he just wanted to treat this poor, simple witch to something new and delicious.
“Nope. Even a sandwich from a shop would be fine, as long as it’s with you.”
“Good. That matches my plan, then. Only thing left is to close up the shop…”
Lindsay tapped her chin, lost in thought. Lionel jumped in with an eager voice.
“Just tell me the steps, I’ll pass them on to Rudolf.”
“You’d do that? It’s simple—there’s a spare key under the counter. Just lock up with that.”
“I’ll remind him to record the sales too.”
“No need. That’s a hassle. I never do that anyway. Just tell him to lock the door properly and head home. And don’t use teleportation magic while you wait—you’ll get kicked out of here.”
She said it would take about thirty minutes.
Then Lindsay vanished with teleportation magic.
Lionel sat quietly in the grass, just like she asked, and pulled out his handmade wooden communicator.
He pressed a button, wood rubbing against wood with a faint sound. Rudolf’s voice came out.
—“Rudolf here, Master of the Tower.”
“Anything happen at the shop?”
His voice was cold, flat, and nothing like the warm tone he used with Lindsay.
Rudolf didn’t seem bothered, though, and continued naturally.
—“Nothing at all. Just fewer customers than usual. If you’d like, I can look into some advertising.”
“No need. Just lock up and return to the tower.”
—“Understood. Since I couldn’t find a ledger, I made one myself. Should I leave it on the counter?”
“That’s fine. Thank you for today. I’ll see you back at the tower.”
—“Yes, Master.”
Lionel put down the communicator and looked up at the farm’s sky.
The unmoving sun above proved this was an artificial sky.
The massive illusion and space-expansion magic that sustained this farm filled him with awe.
He could cast spells of this level.
But to have it keep running smoothly even when the caster is left? That wasn’t easy.
It would normally require an array constantly drawing mana from the surroundings and backup mana stones for emergencies.
Somehow, this witch had solved it her own way.
Back when he first arrived at the mountain peak, he’d felt the vast mana swirling under his feet—it gave him chills.
He wanted to ask her about it, but decided against it.
Better not to trigger her suspicion.
Awe and curiosity were soon followed by a heavy sense of helplessness.
Could someone like him really bind a witch who used such magic so casually?
And then there was her monstrous cat, always by her side. He felt like he was standing before a massive wall.
That contract they had, with its supposed “binding terms”? Useless.
A witch like her could break free anytime she wanted.
If she chose to leave, there was nothing he could do.
His head dropped, shadows falling across his face.
He kept racking his brain for ways to keep her bound to him, but nothing seemed possible.
Then, suddenly, he remembered a myth he’d heard as a child.
A mighty archangel who fell because he fell in love with a mortal.
Why would such a being throw away eternity for a human?
The answer wasn’t complicated.
If he could make Lindsay feel the same way about him—if he could make her choose to stay with him—then she’d never leave.
She was softhearted toward the weak and pitiful.
All he had to do… was become someone she couldn’t leave behind.
The gloom faded from his eyes, replaced with a new determination.
Right on cue, Lindsay returned.
“Did you wait patiently?”
Lionel quickly shoved away all his dark thoughts.
He jumped to his feet. She had a smudge of soot on her cheek.
“Yes. Does that earn me praise, too?”
“As if. Come on. Let’s eat dinner while looking at a great view.”
Her blunt refusal was almost cute.
She said no, but kept her promise anyway.
Lionel’s lips curled up again.
Lindsay handed him an umbrella and pointed to the sky.
“See you up there. The spell word is Up.”
A passage opened above her, and a gust lifted her body into the air.
Lionel followed, whispering the spell.
Up.
“Up,” huh? He liked that word.
