In Order to Meet You, Beloved - Chapter 7

EPISODE 7

The two people, startled, tried to release their hands, but the tightly clasped hands showed no signs of moving.

A thin line of light slowly traced a pattern across their hands. Three lines converged to form a triangle, and then another inverted triangle appeared. As the two triangles combined to create a star with strange symbols filling it, and a circle connecting the star’s vertices was completed, their clasped hands finally separated.

The two, bewildered, looked down at their hands. A star, drawn in golden lines, adorned the back of their right hands.

“…It’s a hexagram.”

“A hexagram?”

“It’s a complete shape often used in magic circles. Seeing it in person, it seems to be influenced by magic, even if it’s a magic circle I’ve never seen before.”

At that moment, Lyneth, who had been peeking between them, sharply scanned their hands and the surrounding area. The transparent brown eyes of Cordelia, who had possessed Noah’s body, examined the threads, moving them around.

“I can feel a faint magical energy.”

“Magical energy?”

“There are threads connected. To your fingers.”

Cordelia, with a puzzled look, stared at her fingertips.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Of course not. It’s only visible to a wizard’s eyes. Since it’s visible, it’s best to conceal it. Now, let me take your hands.”

Noah and Cordelia extended their hands simultaneously, and as Lyneth grasped their hands tightly, a red light began to seep from the tips of Lyneth’s fingers. The form of the threads, briefly visible in the light, disappeared again. Cordelia muttered to herself without realizing it.

“Seeing it like this, it feels like the red thread of fate.”

Though the threads had vanished, the hexagram remained on their hands. Lyneth clicked her tongue lightly.

“Seems like even this can’t be erased. You should both wear gloves until it disappears.”

Muttering about magical theories, Lyneth, who had finally introduced herself to the still-dazed Noah, said casually.

“By the way, I’m sorry for the late introduction. I’m Lyneth Sandria.”

“Oh, so… you’re a priestess?”

All priests abandon their previous identities and surnames upon being affiliated with a temple, adopting the temple’s name as their surname. Noticing the cautious look from Noah upon hearing the name of the affiliated temple, Lyneth answered firmly.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have sought you out.”

Calming his anxiety nonchalantly, Lyneth sighed with her arms crossed.

“You two don’t know each other well, right?”

“Yes.”

Unlike Cordelia, who answered confidently, Noah hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“This makes me think of something related to magic.”

“Yes?”

“I recently acquired a crystal orb that grants wishes…”

When Noah explained the general circumstances, Lyneth looked at him in disbelief.

“Why on earth did you just accept something like that? It looked suspicious from the start!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

Next to the apologetic Noah, Cordelia tilted her head, resting her chin on her hand.

“A crystal orb? There was nothing like that in the room.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. I looked around the room as soon as I woke up. If there had been anything that noticeable, I would remember it.”

“Maybe it’s just a medium of some sort…”

Lyneth, who looked troubled, pondered whether it might not be a curse. Next to her, Cordelia spoke up.

“Perhaps a traditional approach might work unexpectedly?”

“A traditional approach?”

“From fairy tales and such, it’s said that something like a kiss can break a curse, right?”

“Really?”

“Huh?”

As the two questioned her, Cordelia grabbed Noah’s arm and pulled him closer. Looking up at her with a bewildered expression, Noah faced her refined face, blue eyes, and sharp features and thought, ‘It’s my face, but it is quite pretty.’

“Shall we give it a try?”

Though it felt awkward to do this with someone who had the same face as hers, she thought, ‘Why not?’ When Cordelia playfully brought her face closer, Noah panicked.

“Wait, just a moment!”

He quickly raised his hand to block her approaching face. Since it was his own face, he was particularly defensive. With his lips squished against his palm, Cordelia mumbled.

“Hmm? Why? It’s not like it’ll wear out your lips.”

Seeing Cordelia’s playful suggestion, Noah shook his head vigorously. Trying to calm his increasingly flushed face, he quietly replied.

“Well, I’ve never done anything like that before…”

Although he wasn’t against kissing the person in front of him, he had a basic romantic fantasy. Even so, he thought it best to avoid such contact without any genuine feelings.

Then Noah met Cordelia’s confused gaze. Realizing that his words might be misunderstood, he clarified.

“So, what I mean is… It’s not that I dislike you, Cordelia. It’s just that I’m not comfortable with being forced into doing something like this.”

“Oh, sorry. That would be awkward.”

Before Noah could finish, Cordelia quickly added, feeling she might have spoken too bluntly. Unlike Noah, who was nervously worried about offending her, Cordelia was internally reflecting on whether she had been too casual.

Even so, using a first kiss for something like this feels a bit much, doesn’t it?

As she reined in her runaway thoughts, Cordelia shook off the guilt she felt.

“But you’re twenty-four, right? With that face, you’ve never kissed before?!”

Noah averted his gaze as if to say, ‘Does that even make sense?’

“It just happened that way…”

“Wow, you are quite different from Cordelia.”

At the amused tone, Cordelia turned her head with a squeaky, oil-deprived sound and met Lyneth’s gaze. The expression on Lyneth’s face seemed to have ‘thief’ written in big letters, causing cold sweat to trickle down her back.

Well, even if she thinks so, she suppose she’s been a bit of a troublemaker.

Facing a younger person who had never even experienced a kiss, Cordelia felt an unusual pang of guilt. Her inner voice screamed, ‘This is so chaotic!’ but her conscience began tapping away with increasing intensity. It was quite a sight.

“…Is it really that strange?”

“Huh? No, it could be.”

Cordelia’s hat had slightly tilted as she answered brightly.

“Your hat is…”

“Huh? Oh.”

As she removed the hat, her bangs fell back into her field of vision. Cordelia smoothly brushed her bangs back with one hand and put the hat back on. It looked as natural as if it were her own body.

“By the way, why are you growing your bangs out like this? I was surprised at first. It looked uncomfortable to see forward. Don’t you plan to cut it?”

“…It feels a bit awkward to reveal my face.”

“Why! It’s such a waste.”

“A waste…?”

“Wait a minute.”

Lyneth raised a finger to her lips and gestured outside the alley. The two pairs of eyes followed the group in white clothing running towards them from outside the alley.

“It’s definitely around here!”

“Find them!”

They were dressed as priests. Seeing them, Lyneth clicked her tongue in frustration.

“Oh, damn. I should have made the barrier stronger.”

As an institution that exclusively managed magic, the temples were also responsible for local magical security. It was natural for them to respond to any strong magical reactions that suddenly appeared.

The problem was that the source of the disturbance was them.

“What do we do now?”

Cordelia whispered, and Lyneth decisively replied.

“We have to run. Now, run in the opposite direction!”

Following the lead of the running Lyneth, the two of them moved quickly. Stepping out of the alley, they found themselves in a somewhat crowded area, though not as busy as the city they had just left.

While trying not to lose sight of Lyneth’s head moving against the flow of the crowd, Cordelia spotted the priests running from a far distance, diagonally to the left.

Oh no. What should they do?

Just as Cordelia instinctively tried to cover her hand with the hexagram, someone grabbed her hand firmly.

“Cordelia!”

Just as she was about to shake off the hand, a whisper made her pause. Following the grasping hand, Cordelia was gently pulled into the narrow alley.

The priests brushed past the narrow gap where only one person could pass through. Cordelia, holding onto her companion by accident, rolled her eyes. Looking down at the violet hood sticking closely to her body, she suddenly thought.

Wow, she’s smaller than she thought. Or is this person just really big?

As she had this thought, Cordelia looked up at the face peeking over her and paused her reflections. Noah held onto the hem of her clothes as if to suggest waiting just a little longer.

Thump, thump. The rhythmic sound of his heartbeat and the sound of inhaling and exhaling were so close she could hear them. Although her self-consciousness wasn’t overwhelming enough to make her heart race, being so close and making eye contact felt strangely unsettling.

Is this person also thinking the same thing as her?

Meanwhile, Noah reached out his hand towards Cordelia’s face. Cordelia flinched instinctively and felt the thing that was covering her head move as Noah’s hand brushed it.

Ah, her hat must be askew.

Cordelia, swiftly extending her own hand, moved Noah’s golden hair that had gotten tangled into her face. For a brief moment, it felt as if there was a faint rustling sound.

Despite his elegant appearance, the tips of this man’s fingers were quite rough—perhaps because of his occupation?

“I can sense magical reactions coming from that direction!”

With the faint shout growing fainter, the commotion moved further away. Noah whispered, his breath brushing against Cordelia’s face, which tickled her quite a bit.