The car came to a stop with a screech, and a slight inertia scattered Luke’s hair forward.
Luke tidied his hair and unfastened his seatbelt.
Clack, as he reached for the handle, Yerna spoke to him with an air of caution.
“Luke, call me when you’re done. I’ll come pick you up.”
“I understand. Thank you, Yerna.”
“Have a good time.”
With Yerna seeing him off, Luke smiled widely as he stepped out of the car and gave her a slight nod in greeting.
Confirming that Luke had entered the research facility, Yerna sighed softly and absentmindedly looked up at the clear sky.
“That’s just absurd.”
A ten-year-old as a candidate for a dragon knight?
Of course, that would only be true if Luke’s ‘hypothesis’ was proven factual, but even so, the shock didn’t lessen one bit.
When thinking about it, Luke seemed to excel at everything.
Be it studies, sports, or music… How could one child be so versatile? Previously, she had just thought he was a child with extraordinary talent.
“Luke Irushi…”
Perhaps Luke was actually a reincarnation of Luke Irushi?
“…”
After staring vacantly at the clouds drifting by for a while, Yerna shook her head. She rested her forehead on the steering wheel and muttered.
“The child I thought was abused is actually a reincarnation of Luke Irushi…”
Once she voiced it, it felt like even more absurdity.
She was reminded of Luke’s appearance, who did not believe in such non-magical things like reincarnation and who would dismiss such fantasies.
Every time he had free time, he would tuck himself into a box to use a cellphone, draw pictures, and when a photo was taken, he would pose with a peace sign, blush often, and always show gratitude with a bright smile…
A reincarnation of Luke Irushi, who was said to have an inhuman charisma.
These days, all the anecdotes about Luke Irushi were nothing but mythological tales.
He was said to have created islands, opened the sky, manipulated time and space, and twisted dimensions…
Up until the day he completely disappeared, he was a legendary hero who was almost like a god.
An overwhelming presence that could make even dragons kneel before him.
The most arrogant mage because he was the most talented, now in the form of a young girl…
“That’s nonsense.”
Yerna snickered at the ridiculous thought.
Honestly, what if Luke was really that ‘Luke Irushi’?
Would anything actually change?
Luke would still be Luke, and she would remain his guardian.
Unless Luke chose to leave her…
For now, she simply enjoyed seeing the child happy.
Yes, that’s all there was to it.
“Well, for now, that’s enough.”
———-
Luke felt oddly excited.
What would the research facility of this era be like? The magic sight was already running vigorously from the start.
Py appeared before Luke, her eyes sparkling, and tilted her head as if to say something.
– Luke, are you looking forward to it?
“Yes, I’m quite excited. Are you not?”
– … I’m excited!
Luke gently patted Py’s body, savoring the feel of the mana that made up her form, then opened the door to the research facility.
Clack.
As soon as he opened the door, he felt eyes on him.
Researchers who were walking their paths stopped and blinked, gazing at Luke.
It was not everyday that a ten-year-old child entered the Tyner Research Institute.
A few among them whispered while looking at Luke.
“Is that the child the professor mentioned?”
“I’ve heard about him, but he seems so young.”
“He’s cuter than I expected.”
Luke, who didn’t quite catch the conversation, just shrugged his shoulders and exchanged glances with Py.
After a moment, James, who had been waiting inside after receiving advance notice, rushed over.
“You’ve arrived. So, how was the journey? Did you get lost?”
James extended his hand to Luke as he spoke.
“Yerna brought me, so there was no chance of getting lost. By the way, this facility is quite impressive.”
“Haha, thank you for the compliment.”
Luke and James shook hands.
“We’ll delay your introduction to the other researchers for now. Let’s head to my office first. That should work for you, right?”
“I appreciate the direct approach.”
———
“I hear you like cocoa.”
James set a cup of cocoa in front of Luke.
It was something he had bought and prepared the day before for Luke.
“Thank you.”
Luke accepted it, blowing on it gently to cool the rising heat.
As he did, he looked around.
The office was adequately spacious.
However, all the walls were lined with bookshelves, creating a library-like atmosphere.
The titles seemed to mostly be related to history and monster biology.
There were occasionally books on mathematics and magic as well, but they were far less frequent.
But judging by the multiple signs that each book had been read many times, it was clear that James had probably read all the books here.
Unless he had bought them secondhand right from the start.
James spoke to Luke, who had fixed his gaze on the bookshelves.
“Hmm, what kind of books are you interested in? If you find something over there that piques your curiosity, I can lend it to you.”
“Actually, I’m interested in all the books.”
“Haha, I can’t lend you everything. You wouldn’t be able to carry it all.”
“Well, in that case, ‘3000 Years: The Forgotten History’ is the book I want to read the most. Would that be alright?”
The content about forgotten history was not even found in school textbooks.
All the tales of long ago seemed to have been left only in the form of fairy tales, and this book appeared to be one of the oldest histories Luke had seen.
“Of course. You can take it with you when you leave.”
In that cheerful atmosphere, James suddenly placed some materials on the table.
These were the materials Luke had sent to the publisher.
“I wanted to discuss this material.”
“Straight to the point, as always.”
Puff, the cocoa was still hot.
Luke carefully set the cup down from his lips, ensuring not to spill, and moved it to one side of the table.
The upcoming conversation showed signs of being quite lengthy, so it would be enough time to cool the cocoa.
——–
The conversation started to dwindle and entered a lull.
They discussed numerous questions and doubts as well as the contradictions in the materials, but every time Luke answered without hesitation.
‘Bold and structured conjecture.’
James increasingly felt himself captivated by Luke’s explanations.
The demon realm Luke described was completely different from the intermediate realm, yet still an ecosystem where life could exist vividly painted itself in James’s mind.
James exclaimed in admiration.
“Luke, it’s really difficult to find any flaws in your conjecture. I can’t prove it wrong.”
But Luke caught the underlying meaning in James’s words.
“However, conversely, it cannot be proven to be right either.”
“…That’s right. The biggest stumbling block in monster studies is that there’s no way to prove conjectures about demon biology.”
Luke sighed.
After all, it was information that he had seen and heard directly.
He had made conjectures he was sure of, but there were no means to prove them.
If he wanted to open the door to the demon realm, which had been sealed for 5000 years, he would now need to become a 9-circle mage.
‘9-circle, huh…’
As Luke muttered that it would be quite difficult to even obtain one grant, James readily agreed.
“Hmm.”
Luke now took a sip of the cooled cocoa.
Indeed, cocoa was quite a delicious beverage.
After swallowing a mouthful of cocoa, he spoke.
“By the way, why is there such a lack of materials related to the ecology of the demon realm?”
“Because of the ‘Forgotten Battle’ 3000 years ago. After that day, there were numerous losses. Lives, materials, and even ‘memories.'”
Luke frowned slightly.
“Even memories? This certainly must not have been an ordinary battle. Just who or what did they fight against?”
“Since we cannot know that, we refer to it as the ‘Forgotten War.’ No one remembers it, so unless we seek to uncover it, even the fact that there was a battle will be forgotten.”
James spoke with a serious tone.
Luke felt odd at James’s demeanor and asked.
“Wait, then what on earth is written in that history book?”
Luke pointed to the book he was thinking of borrowing, ‘3000 Years: The Forgotten History.’
If, after the great battle of unknown cause and purpose 3000 years ago, there was no way to fill the void left by lost materials and memories, then what exactly did that book contain?
“It deals with the lost history. It discusses which parts are currently vacant and which conjectures are the most credible.”
“…That’s very interesting.”
The knowledge Luke had was from 5000 years ago; he had no way of knowing what happened in between. What could have happened that erased history? That piqued his curiosity greatly.
Seeing Luke deep in thought, James suddenly glanced down at his wristwatch and exclaimed, rising from his seat.
“Oh dear, time has really flown by. I lost track of it while talking. I need to organize the research materials today.”
“Go on, I’ll be waiting.”
“Will you? I’ll be back soon.”
As James was about to step out the door, Luke abruptly called out to him.
“Ah, wait a moment, James.”
“Do you have something curious in mind?”
Luke nodded and pointed with his finger toward a strange pot placed deeper in the office.
It was a pot that had a cactus and another plant, but the magical formation inside was far too complex and elaborate for a mere pot.
It was a question he had been curious about since earlier but had not voiced it for fear of interrupting the flow of conversation.
“What is that?”
“Ah, that’s a ‘computer.’ Don’t you have one at home?”
“I’ve never seen one before. What do you use it for?”
“It’s used for solving complex calculations or gathering and classifying large amounts of information. You can even search for things… No, I’m a bit surprised that you don’t know what a computer is in this day and age.”
James scratched his cheek.
These days, there shouldn’t be a household without a computer; what kind of life could one lead without encountering one?
‘There wouldn’t be any thought of amnesia…’
Or perhaps the ‘guardian’ was stricter than she appeared?
Well, it’s possible that a household raising a child might not have a computer…
Regardless of what James was thinking, Luke innocently asked.
“So, what you mean is… that it’s similar to a calculator or a librarian?”
“Not really… Hmm… It’s hard to explain since you’ve never seen one. Well, it’s probably best just to try using it.”
“…Can I touch it?”
At Luke’s question, James approached the computer and pressed a button.
A whirring sound of magical operation filled the air, and mana was absorbed from the cactus and released, activating the magical circuits of the computer.
Luke activated his magic sight to observe the whole process carefully.
It resembled the workings of a cellphone.
Unlike a cellphone that operated solely using magic stones and a core, the cactus section seemed to regulate excessive heat gathered in the magical circuit to prevent damage.
“Well, important data has all been backed up, so it should be fine. You can touch it for a bit.”
“Really?”
Luke instantly rushed to the table, pulling out a chair and lighting up with excitement.
“Is this crystal orb used to operate it?”
“Yes, that’s how you operate it. The search window is already displayed on the screen, so if there’s something you’re curious about, feel free to search for it.”
“Thanks for telling me!”
Once James left the room, Luke sat at the chair and placed his hand on the crystal orb.
“This is quite a different experience.”
Though Luke had dealt with futures through the crystal orb, he had never operated such a magical device.
Thus, his heart raced a bit.
-…
Py looked at the crystal orb and growled softly.
It was as if she was uncomfortable with Luke touching something resembling herself.
