Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
Finally succeeding in coming in first place, Luke helped Shirud, who collapsed as soon as he reached the finish line, find a place to sit and recover.
Luke gently patted the still-breathless Shirud and said, “Thank you for going along with my insistence. It must not have been easy to completely entrust your body to me.”
‘Completely entrust my body? That sounds a bit strange.’
In reality, it was just a story about Luke carrying him while running. The side of his ribs, where Luke had held him, still hurt a little.
“Huff, huh.”
As Shirud took ragged breaths, Luke asked, “Shirud, are you okay?”
While saying this, he circulated mana in Shirud’s back to stabilize his heartbeat and the disarray of his circle.
He seemed quite surprised. His heart was beating so fast. Moreover, he appeared to be severely nauseous.
“I-I’m fine… ugh…”
Shirud thought.
It was Luke who carried him, so why did he feel exhausted? Humans were definitely not meant to be carried around.
‘It’s strange that this isn’t a foul play…’
How could running while carrying a partner be anything but a two-person three-legged race? Of course, it was fast, but why was it so fast while running like that? He couldn’t understand it at all.
‘I knew he was strong, but…’
He definitely felt that Luke was getting stronger. Shirud let all the strength leave his body and bowed his head as if he were collapsing.
“I’m completely worn out…”
At that moment, Shirud reminded Luke of a piece of laundry that had just come out of a washing machine, limp and lifeless.
Seeing Shirud like this, Luke thought that perhaps he had overdone it.
Even though victory was essential, had he moved so recklessly?
‘I didn’t act my age. Was I too excited?’
Perhaps he had enjoyed himself a bit too earnestly under the guise of victory.
Thinking that made him feel a little embarrassed again.
“Now, just wait a moment. I’ll go get you something to drink.”
“Okay, please….”
Shirud thought, as he saw Luke, who seemed somewhat shy about it.
‘I don’t think he used magic…’
If he had used magic, he would have had some inkling, so did that mean it was purely his physical ability?
Could a ten-year-old really possess such monstrous strength?
Comparable in power to the bear beastmen, who were known for their exceptional strength.
Well, even if it was granted that he could lift him, it was unheard of for Luke—the one who couldn’t run at full speed in a two-person three-legged race—to outrun a cheetah. How was he able to run so fast?
‘What the heck is Luke?’
Is she a cat beastmen or something?
“Shirud!”
Shirud’s thoughts were interrupted by someone calling out to him.
“Who is it….”
It was a girl with impressive grayish-brown curls, tied back with a large ribbon—Mary Idle.
“I saw the match. It was amazing!”
Mary shouted as if she had just witnessed something great.
“Yeah, it was incredible.”
Mostly due to Luke’s antics.
Mary shook her head, as if to say it wasn’t just that.
“Also, you didn’t lose your balance while running like that.”
“Did I?”
“And you still beat the cheetahs! Did you see their faces? They were completely shocked! Ha-ha! It serves them right. They’re the type who only rely on their talent and don’t practice.”
“Is that so?”
Shirud, being the one lifted and flown about, had no idea how he appeared in the eyes of others.
It was just that he found himself arriving first and feeling nauseous.
“But what on earth does Luke usually do to become that strong? I’m curious too.”
As he pondered this, Luke returned holding a thermos.
Luke smiled at Mary, who sat next to Shirud, and said, “Mary, have you been looking after Shirud while I was gone? Thank you so much.”
“No, we just talked a bit!”
“Is that so? Still, I appreciate it.”
Luke handed the thermos to Shirud and said, “Drink this. It’s tea brewed from ingredients good for fatigue recovery.”
“Th-thank you….”
“If you drink it too quickly, it won’t be good for your digestive system, and you could end up taking too much, so sip it slowly, swallow it one mouthful at a time.”
“I got it… cough, cough.”
“Ha-ha. See? Even when I tell you to drink slowly.”
Mary, who watched the scene unfold, couldn’t hide her fluttering feelings.
It was clear that Luke definitely liked Shirud!
From what she had seen so far, she felt about 80% sure.
Mary looked at Luke, who was patting Shirud’s back with sparkling eyes, and asked, “Luke, did you brew that tea yourself?”
“Well, yes….”
‘100%!’
This time, Mary was convinced.
Luke liked Shirud as more than just a friend!
Meanwhile, while patting Shirud’s back, Luke suddenly realized.
“Uh….”
“Shirud?”
The mana flowing from his body… this was.
“Oh no, Shirud. It seems like the effect of the elixir is too potent…?”
It was undoubtedly a potion significantly diluted to be suitable for a child’s body, yet it seemed to have worked splendidly.
Was Shirud’s constitution enhancing the potion’s performance?
‘Well, I’ve never given a potion to an albino high elf with excellent mana response in my previous life…’
In fact, no elf with such a constitution existed in Luke’s era.
Thus, it was something he had not anticipated.
“Shirud? How are you feeling right now?”
“…I’m good, very good.”
Shirud was accepting the inexplicable energy boiling in his chest.
In his current state, he was confident that he could undoubtedly win the next event.
This omnipotence and exhilaration…!
“Hee-hee-hee….”
Understanding Shirud’s condition through his magic sight and circle, Luke withdrew his hand, which had been patting Shirud’s back, and thought.
‘…This is bad. The duration won’t be too long, but…’
On the other hand, Mary, still with sparkling eyes, was thinking.
‘It seems like Shirud really enjoys the tea that Luke made.’
——–
The next event Shirud participated in was soccer.
And there was no one in the elementary division who could stop Shirud’s onslaught of power like a rampaging monster.
With rapid, precise, and clever ball control, Shirud played in such a way that he turned all the other kids into mere statues, with the goalkeeper just standing still.
It was a level of play that wouldn’t be strange even in the high school division.
‘I can see the trajectory.’
Moreover, Shirud’s vision of handling the ball was incomparable to before.
He could easily discern where everyone was, where he needed to go, and where to send the ball.
It was so clear what the optimal move was at every moment.
This was the effect of the fatigue recovery elixir.
Omnipotence and exhilaration. The time dilation effect from cognitive acceleration.
With that, Shirud’s performance in the elementary soccer match was beyond that of ordinary elementary students.
He scored an astounding five goals all by himself.
Meanwhile, watching Shirud receive cheers, Luke thought.
‘Isn’t this definitely a foul play…?’
He felt slightly troubled, almost guilt-ridden.
This wasn’t an achievement based on his usual abilities, but rather, a victory obtained through a drug.
Of course, the potion itself wasn’t problematic.
For others, it was just a fatigue recovery medicine, but for Shirud, it was something different.
While thinking about Shirud, Diana, who was picking at snacks, asked.
“Luke big sister.”
“Um, Diana. Why do you call me?”
“Do you like that big brother? You keep staring at him.”
“Ha-ha, I was just watching.”
“Um… okay?”
Kids really say the most random things sometimes.
Is this a testament to their innocence?
———
As the sky turned deeper blue, the sports festival began to come to an end.
Thanks to Luke and Shirud’s stellar performance, the winning team was the blue team.
With this sports festival, Shirud suddenly became a star at the academy.
Well, certainly. Although Shirud was under the effect of the elixir, that alone was not the reason he could present such a remarkable performance.
It was his skill that actually involved manipulating the ball, breaking through, and kicking it into the goal.
The elixir merely assisted his efforts.
Of course, it did grant him above-average cognitive abilities and physical strength… but without his usual experience and thoughts, he wouldn’t have been able to properly utilize the information given.
In any case, the lively sports festival had come to an end.
Bang. Countless light magic illuminated the sky above, blooming like flowers of light against the blue sky.
“Luke, look at the sky, it’s so beautiful.”
“Indeed. It’s an application of dancing lights, and the manifestation spell pattern is a basic projectile shooting method. It adopts a method of linking lights in parallel to change the color of the light through interference.”
Luke murmured mechanically.
It seemed he wasn’t particularly interested in fireworks…?
“Ha-ha. Is that so? You really know a lot about fireworks, Luke?”
Sure enough, how could he not know? It seemed absurd for a tenth-circle mage capable of directly manipulating the stars to be captivated by merely launched dancing lights!
Yet, Luke wasn’t his usual self, so perhaps that was why he didn’t feel in the mood.
“Ha.”
Luke lowered his gaze to the certificate and trophy in his hands but didn’t appear particularly happy.
“Luke, lighten up. What does it matter if you aren’t recognized with a prize? The most important thing is that you had fun.”
“…….”
It seemed that the excellent activity award from the sports festival wasn’t included in the ‘record of awards.’
Luke briefly recalled the award ceremony.
—–
“Excellent Activity Award, Luke Irushi!”
At that time, those words felt incredibly sweet. It felt like he had taken another step closer to early graduation.
Watching his name engraved in the crystal with magic on the spot, he felt a significant sense of accomplishment.
Just as he was about to take the certificate and trophy and leave, Luke suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He noticed that there were plain crystals identical to the trophy he received… filling a box with several of them.
Now that he looked closely, there were several certificates as well.
It felt as if a lot were prepared for the entire student body.
Luke asked, with a slightly trembling voice, looking at the man, the headmaster, Zenpei, who had handed him the certificate and trophy.
“Zenpei. What is all this?”
“Of course, it’s the certificates and trophies for the entire student body. Everyone worked hard, so we can’t just give it to some and not others.”
He understood, but Luke felt his expression freezing as he heard those words.
“So… what about the record of awards?”
“Unfortunately, early graduation doesn’t count. An award that everyone receives has no worth in that regard. However, you will be recognized for participating in school activities, so don’t worry.”
“…You tricked me.”
“Ha-ha! The important thing is that you had fun, right!”
“So you weren’t a dwarf but a fat gnome?”
“That’s a bit harsh!”
It seemed that five thousand years was indeed enough time to turn dwarves into fraudsters.
