“Luke! Is it true that there is self-attendance?”
“So that’s how it is.”
“What! I’m jealous! I don’t want to go to the Academy either!”
Mary pouted sulkily as she spoke.
Despite that, it seemed she was enjoying her life at the Academy quite a bit.
This girl appeared to have many friends.
“Haha….”
At first, Luke wasn’t opposed to trying to adapt.
However, the more he spoke with the kids, the more he felt a disconnect.
What was their favorite song? What games do they play? What TV shows do they watch at home…?
There were only things he found difficult to answer.
Nevertheless, the kids were quite kind, diligently looking for common interests even while Luke was fumbling.
He thought that if he wanted to meet their expectations, he could try to fit in, but Luke simply couldn’t do that.
The more he talked, the more the points of interest deviated.
Favorite song?
The song “The Serengeti Plains and the Twelve Knights” by the bard Denis that he had fleetingly heard when visiting the capital in the past had a nice sound, but now he didn’t even remember that it existed.
Game?
Were they talking about hide-and-seek or tag, or playing hero?
He was only playing with them, and at his age, he didn’t enjoy such things.
TV? Well, he found that puppet show about the Spirit Girl Maruru or Meruru quite interesting.
However, the portrayal of spirits and magic couldn’t be considered excellent since it was merely an entertainment puppet show.
So, irrespective of the show’s craftsmanship, it was hard for Luke to truly enjoy it.
Responding to such things, one by one, was tiring, but of course, Luke, with his curious appearance and atmosphere, was always being pulled in by the kids.
Luke wasn’t very good at refusing the requests of children.
Didn’t he want to fulfill as much as he could of what the kids desired?
Even if it made him tired.
Thanks to that, he had actually been feeling quite exhausted lately.
Thus, Zemphey’s suggestion of self-attendance was truly appreciated.
It would be a shame for Luke to completely cut off from the Academy.
Especially since the library and restaurant were still quite useful.
“But why are you at school? It’s lunch break; did you come to eat?”
Mary asked.
Well, asking if he came to eat wasn’t entirely incorrect.
He might as well have a meal while he was there.
“What’s the menu for today?”
“They said it’s seafood cream pasta.”
“…….”
‘Seafood and pasta…….’
Luke thought he must eat this without fail, swallowing his saliva.
“You just swallowed, right? You really came just to eat?”
Oh dear, did he really swallow?
Luke awkwardly smiled and shook his head.
“That’s not it; I came to return a borrowed book.”
“A book? Oh right, you borrowed a lot last time.”
Mary nodded as she looked at the large bag Luke mentioned.
“But where’s Shirud?”
“Shirud should be in class. Do you want me to call him?”
“Hmm, there’s no need. You should play well with him.”
“Okay….”
Is he embarrassed about rumors spreading?
It shouldn’t matter too much!
There were already plenty of rumors about them being more than just friends.
In the few days Luke attended school, there wasn’t a student who hadn’t seen him with Shirud.
Unless it was love at first sight, that distance couldn’t be explained!
“Got it, then see you later during lunch!”
“Yeah, Mary. See you then.”
———-
Luke returned the fairy tale book and entered the library to borrow a few cooking books.
“Hmm, this says it’s something even children can do, so at least I can try something.”
If asked about his cooking experience now, Luke would certainly say he had very little.
After all, Luke had originally been uninterested in cooking.
Meals at home were usually prepared by servants, and they were not particularly tasty. While they did present decent meals, back then, he didn’t enjoy the flavors that much.
Moreover, as time passed, he increasingly consumed potions rather than meals.
By the time of his later years, meals were entirely replaced with potion intake, reducing it to merely sustaining himself.
‘As one ages, the sense of taste dulls.’
The circle is a power, but not omnipotent.
No matter what, escaping the “mortal” plight is impossible for humans.
There is no ability to heal the natural decay of aging.
That is ‘providence.’
A mage uses providence, but it is entirely different for a human to escape from it.
He is not a ‘Hero’ who transcends providence, but just a ‘hero’.
Escaping from time is something that not even ‘Hero’ Renie could achieve.
So how could Luke, who is just an ordinary hero, disregard that?
As he grew older, his teeth weren’t sound, and his sense of taste faded.
It’s only natural for someone in such a body to find little interest in meals.
‘My body is becoming youthful; is this the change? How wonderful!’
Just a few days ago, he had complaints about this body, but now that circumstances have changed, a feeling of gratitude for his body swelled up, reminding him how fickle human feelings can be.
He had awakened to the joy of eating something delicious far too late.
In his past life… what if he had researched how to make delicious food back then?
Would he have been able to see Lenie’s smile again?
Looking back, what truly remains in his heart are these simple pleasures.
At that moment, the spirit Py checked the book Luke had picked.
Seeing the illustration in the book, he looked up at Luke with a gloomy expression, as if he didn’t understand.
The expression made it seem as though it was quite regrettable that spirits do not eat.
However, upon making eye contact with Luke, Py tilted his head and brightened his expression.
—Luke, are you looking forward to cooking?
For spirits that don’t eat, the concept of ‘cooking’ likely doesn’t exist, and so it seems he simply used human language.
Looking forward to it?
Suddenly, Luke raised his hand to touch his mouth and realized he was smiling in excitement.
Ah, so that’s how it is.
He had laughed again.
“Hmm. Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”
—……!
Seeing the blue figure casting its eyes away with a disgruntled sound, Luke spoke as if he were teasing.
“I’d love to serve you a meal too, but since spirits cannot eat, there’s nothing I can do, right?”
—……,……,……!
‘That might mean it’s unfair.’
———-
‘It’s really delicious…’
The seafood pasta he took a bite of was fantastic!
The seafood covered in cream was tasty, of course, but the texture of the pasta being chewy as it broke down in his mouth, combined with the salty and soft texture without any fishy taste and the gentle hint of the ocean, seemed to present a goal to Luke, saying, ‘This is cooking.’
How wonderful it would be if he could make such dishes at home!
And the person watching Luke from the side was Mary.
Luke, with his sparkling eyes while enjoying his meal, was always so amusing to watch.
Is eating really that enjoyable?
Although Mary liked eating too, she couldn’t enjoy meals as much as Luke did.
‘How can he eat like that and still be so slim?’
It’s quite the mystery.
No matter how much of a hyun he was, he should become chubby if he ate that much every day.
As she pondered over such thoughts, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from somewhere.
Someone was running.
“Ah!”
It was Shirud coming to the restaurant.
“Hey, if you were at school, you should have told me!”
As soon as Shirud spotted Luke, he ran over, showing his discontent.
Luke ignored Shirud’s reaction as he deftly twirled the seafood cream pasta onto his fork and calmly swallowed.
In reality, it wasn’t so much about ignoring him, but in Luke’s opinion, talking while eating wasn’t polite, so he aimed to finish his meal quickly. However, this was more than enough for Shirud to feel neglected.
“Don’t ignore me!”
Luke raised his hand toward Shirud, and Mary interjected from beside him.
“Just wait a moment; Luke has to finish eating first.”
At that, Shirud was left speechless, staring blankly at Luke as he continued eating.
Munch, munch, munch…
While he was diligently chewing, some might say it was cute how he kept his mouth busy, but for Shirud, it brought strange feelings as it reminded him of his grandfather.
‘Why is that…?’
Regardless of how Shirud felt, Luke, having finally finished his meal, stood up with his tray and said.
“Let’s head to the classroom.”
It wasn’t polite to occupy a table in the restaurant after finishing eating.
“Ah? Um….”
In the end, Shirud merely sat there dumbly, watching Luke eat until they exited the restaurant.
Mary was smiling at whatever was so amusing.
———
Upon arriving at the classroom, Shirud didn’t even sit down and immediately said.
“Is the reason you decided not to come to school because of me?”
Shirud was feeling a twinge of guilt.
He was aware that it was because of his mistake that Luke was now suffering a punishment instead.
At that moment when he was in the health room, Luke was summoned to the principal’s office.
Shirud couldn’t help but worry.
Would Luke, who got scolded on his behalf, hate him now?
Was that why he didn’t want to come to school…?
Luke shook his head and said.
“That’s not it; don’t worry. It’s self-attendance that I received proper permission for after talking with the principal.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then it’s fine….”
Shirud sighed heavily.
“Ah, Shirud. Even though I might not show up at the Academy much anymore, if you have any questions about me, you’re going to have to contact me, okay?”
“Uh? Ah, yeah. Right.”
“Hand me your phone. It’s better to exchange numbers.”
As Luke extended his hand, Shirud hurriedly fumbled to take out his phone and handed it to him.
Before he knew it, Luke had almost mastered interpreting and skillfully handling the phone. He quickly dialed his number and confirmed the vibration, then returned the phone to Shirud.
It was quite a swift exchange, and Mary, covering her mouth, spoke.
“Uh, isn’t this your first time exchanging phone numbers with a boy?”
Luke realized that, apart from Yerna and Dayton, the only numbers stored on his phone were the forest keepers and, additionally, Mary.
And oddly enough, they were all female.
However, completely ignorant of the additional meanings of exchanging numbers, Luke simply nodded and replied.
“That’s true.”
“Oh, then Shirud is the first!”
“Seems so?”
Luke said nonchalantly while casually handing back the phone.
“What?”
Shirud flushed red as he accepted the phone.
In response, Mary chuckled lightly.
“Fufufu….”
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, it just looks like you two get along well!”
“Well, it’s not bad; isn’t that right, Shirud? Do you dislike me?”
“……Uh? No… I don’t dislike you….”
What a pitiful guy.
A boy like this making such a weak response is just sad.
“Mary, I’m counting on you to take care of Shirud even when I’m not around.”
“Leave it to me!”
Mary smacked her chest and said confidently, and Luke nodded in agreement, showing trust.
“W-Who are you to ask me like that?”
Shirud’s flustered shout was once again thoroughly ignored.
