Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
As the alarm rang out due to the destruction at the lodging, Yerna, who had hurriedly returned, was met with a scene that was nothing short of devastating.
The door was shattered, the culprit was sprawled out unconscious, and the interior was completely wrecked and chaotic…
For Yerna, an elf who liked things neat and harmonious, it was almost a nightmare.
Upon seeing such a situation, she immediately awakened the red-haired male forester who was unconscious and unleashed her anger.
As a result…
“No, Yerna. Just listen, okay? Really, I couldn’t help but misunderstand.”
“Are you not raising your hand properly? Who wants to hear excuses right now?”
“Y-yes…”
The red-haired giant didn’t even get a chance to explain himself and was kneeling with his hands up, facing the wall, receiving punishment.
Seeing Yerna scold him, Luke tugged at her clothing and said, “Um, I’m fine. So, could you forgive him?”
“…”
Yerna, with a stern expression, looked down at Luke.
After locking eyes with him for a moment, she let out a sigh as if conceding defeat and said, “Hah… Fine, I’ll let it slide since Luke wasn’t hurt. Speak up.”
“So!”,
The man immediately sprang to his feet, getting into a stance.
Seeing that, Luke thought he looked more like a fighter than a mage.
“Alright, listen up!”
“I’m listening.”
“I didn’t fall over by myself; that kid used magic! With no incantation at all!”
He gestured wildly with his hands and legs as he spoke.
Yerna, unable to tolerate his rambling any longer, asked, “Huh. Luke, is that true?”
“Of course…”
Luke was about to confirm that it was true when he recalled what a young man named ‘Marco Albi’ had said on the previous bus.
“Unauthorized magical use carries fines and imprisonment, right…?”
As the forest keeper, Yerna had the authority to enforce the law.
Could she really be okay with openly admitting that he engaged in illegal activities?
Even though he didn’t know, it was indeed unlawful.
Could she truly avoid being disappointed in herself?
Luke didn’t want to disappoint her.
Would it be better to say he hadn’t used magic at all?
Luke contemplated this deeply.
“Hahaha, come on. Do I look like someone who would do that?”
A slight cold sweat might have trickled down, but Yerna never once thought that Luke would lie, so she simply nodded.
“I knew it, right?”
“What! No, that…!”
The red-haired man’s face turned bright red as he pointed at Luke while grabbing the back of his neck.
Fearing that he might create a situation where he would have to use magic again like before, Luke hid behind Yerna.
Ironically, that pose resembled a frightened child hiding behind their mother.
Yerna couldn’t help but feel pity for that sight.
As Yerna consoled Luke, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him,” Luke simply nodded, believing it would benefit him in the current situation, without thinking to clarify Yerna’s misunderstanding.
The man, seeing Luke’s behavior, made a sound like “Ugh, ugh!” as he attempted to lean back.
Fearing he would expose his magic usage again, Luke quietly placed his finger to his lips to hush him, raising his eyebrows from an angle where Yerna couldn’t see.
Since Yerna didn’t see that suspicious gesture, she spoke to the still fuming Dayton with a strange expression.
“Look, magic is just an excuse. In the end, you fell over and fainted by yourself. Isn’t that a lack of training?”
“Yerna, I truly felt mana in that guy! It was at least of mid- to large-monster level! A human wouldn’t have that much mana in their body!”
In response to the man’s desperate shout, Yerna nonchalantly replied, “That’s because our Luke has a circle in his heart, so he could feel the mana.”
“What! A circle!?”
Luke, feeling more burdened than ever from the astonished look on the man’s face, discreetly moved further behind Yerna.
Seeing Luke’s action, Yerna thought he was frightened and scolded the man.
“Shut up, you’re scaring our Luke! He must be in shock thanks to you!”
“…”
On the other hand, Luke had no words left, so he kept silent.
The man beat his chest in protest, claiming innocence, but ultimately, his words did not reach Yerna.
In her heart, Luke’s credibility had already grown so high.
Yerna looked at the man with an expression of distrust and said, “So, Dayton Geneper, I’m curious. Why were you sneaking around my lodging?”
“Well, uh… Haha. I just happened to…”
Dayton, unable to find a decent excuse and floundering, ended up saying something worse than nothing.
Upon hearing that response, Yerna immediately reacted.
“What do you mean you just happened to? You jerk!”
Wham!
“Kugh!”
Yerna delivered a high kick straight to Dayton’s head.
Pointing at him as he rolled on the ground, she said, “I’m on duty today, so you’d better fix everything before you clock out. Got it?”
“Ugh, got it, got it!”
As Dayton clutched his head and rolled on the floor, Yerna thought to herself that when she got angry, she exhibited such behavior.
———-
Dayton quickly fitted the purchased door and arranged the table.
He cleaned up all the broken debris and overturned items, swept the floor, and wiped it down until it was clean.
Luke helped out, too.
It was a mishap born from a minor misunderstanding.
In fact, Luke felt sorry for him.
“Hah…”
Eventually, it was just Luke and Dayton left alone again.
The atmosphere was heavy.
If the atmosphere had a form, it would undoubtedly resemble a dark swamp deep in the forest.
The only fortunate point was that there was some work to concentrate on.
Luke busily manipulated the broom in an attempt to escape that atmosphere.
However, it wasn’t just Luke who couldn’t stand that mood.
“Hey, kid.”
While wiping things here and there with a cloth, Dayton called out to Luke.
But the term “kid” was enough to irritate Luke.
From Luke’s perspective, he was merely a greenhorn.
Although he felt sorry for him, he didn’t want to let that title slip by without protest.
“Call me Luke Irusi.”
“Uh. Sure, Luke Irusi…”
Dayton scratched his head and fumbled with the bandage stuck to his forehead.
It was a slight tear from the high kick by Yerna, for which Luke had put a bandage on.
“Uh… I’m sorry. I thought you were a monster.”
“It’s fine. As a forest keeper, you could think that way. I understand.”
In the forest, many forms of danger exist.
Within that danger, there could certainly be monsters that closely resemble humans. In fact, it would be safe to assume that there are.
In that regard, Luke could consider himself very lucky.
If he had just encountered Yerna in the forest, she might have attacked him, mistaking him for a monster.
“With ears and horns like that and that level of mana, I really couldn’t help but think you were a monster. Please forgive me.”
“Of course. In that case, I must apologize as well. It wasn’t intentional.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
Dayton thought about it.
Circle magic is a type of magic that carries risks each time it’s used.
Magic always comes with the possibility of “failure.”
However, unlike class magic, which carries virtually no risks, failure in circle magic could threaten one’s life.
He must have had no choice but to respond in such a dangerous manner to protect himself from an unexpected attack.
However, unfairness doesn’t negate unfairness.
“But why did you make me out to be a liar? You did use magic, didn’t you?”
“Hmm… That wasn’t actually magic.”
“Then what was it?”
Luke didn’t respond and diverted the conversation.
“But, do you also possess magic sight?”
“Not exactly magic sight, just enough to feel it. But when you say ‘do you also,’ do you have ‘magic sight’?”
“Yes, though it’s only in one eye.”
Luke pointed to his left eye.
But in the past, both of his eyes had been magic sight, both of them shimmering gold.
Currently, though, it was just one.
Thus, the information he could read with magic sight was considerably limited compared to before.
‘In the past, being able to see magic was enough to read everything…’
Luke now employed a method of filling the gaps in information with speculation and understanding.
Such actions were only possible due to an overwhelming accumulation of knowledge.
“Huh.”
Dayton seemed taken aback by this information.
“Were you just cross-eyed…? Hah, seriously.”
Scratching his head irritably, Dayton thought.
Magic sight, after all, is already very rare even when it manifests in just one eye.
If one could read magic as soon as they saw it, then encryption magic that locks magic would be useless.
‘So that’s why you could counter my magic.’
Realizing it alone, Dayton nodded and said to Luke, “So, who taught you circle magic? You seem to use it quite freely.”
“I taught myself.”
“What?”
Well, nowadays, who would teach circle magic?
Usually, as soon as a circle forms in the heart, it’s surgically removed.
With that situation, it would be impossible to find a mentor; thus, most people end up self-studying and typically die from mana backflow.
And yet, for someone to have perfected circle magic to this extent…
“Looks like you’ll go far with this. But still, since circle magic is dangerous, you should restrain yourself.”
“If handled well, it can be quite useful.”
“If you make a mistake, you die, you know.”
“Then don’t make mistakes, right?”
“Easy for you to say.”
Dayton sighed deeply, scratching his head, feeling as though he was having a quarrel with a child.
‘No, I’m actually arguing with a child.’
As he looked at Luke, who was smiling while affirming circle magic, Dayton sighed while pressing his temples.
“What do you intend to become when you grow up?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Luke stood tall, confidently declaring.
“My dream is to be a great magician.”
Even if he ended up in this body.
