Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
The tranquility of the holiday continued into the following afternoon.
In modern society, the existence of plants that produce mana is essential, resulting in the formation of “green belts.”
While there is a World Tree in the city center, relying solely on one artificial World Tree to supply mana throughout the urban area is somewhat forced. Although the Sephirot-type World Tree has the strongest output, if there is no greenery to support it, supplying mana to households is impossible. The World Tree is the mother of the forest, and the term ‘mother’ cannot hold true without children.
Therefore, modern cities are designed from the planning stage to calculate maximum magical efficiency and incorporate forests within the city. The parks created in these areas, while lacking in plant diversity, are almost equivalent to forests in terms of mana.
The most noticeable difference is that sidewalks are paved with blocks for pedestrians, and the plants are neatly arranged off the paths to facilitate exercise and leisurely walks.
Yerna was slowly walking through the green park, holding hands with Luke, who was somehow appearing lethargic.
Was it because of the post-lunch drowsiness? Due to his cat-like traits, Luke was usually sleepy and was aware of this fact, often taking naps after meals.
His expression, resisting the light boredom, showed that he was completely relaxed.
Of course, if he wanted to actively chase away sleep, he could easily do so. However, he no longer felt the need to suppress drowsiness.
There was no longer any necessity for him to cut down on sleep to research or learn anything. Some appropriate studying while his mind was clear was more than sufficient. Furthermore, in this world, there was no longer a great ‘evil’ threatening the entire world like the Demon King.
Thus, there was no need to hastily gather circles as if he were being chased by something.
Now, weren’t the time and resources allotted to him sufficient?
Peace was sweet. And sweet things can be addictive.
Luke was addicted to peace. He did not want to lose this tranquility.
“Hmm….”
Luke took a deep breath while enjoying the languor. The scent of grass, the lingering mana generated by plants, and the sounds of a forest brimming with life.
It was satisfying.
“What do you think? The park isn’t bad, is it?”
At Yerna’s question, Luke quickly checked his expression, tightened his relaxed facial muscles, and focused his eyes to glance around.
“Yes….”
As spring was slowly approaching, the scenery had changed. Trees adorned themselves in green, and yellow and white flower buds bloomed on the green pillars that had sprouted up from the crevices of the ground. In the distance, many birds, which had made their nests in the branches of the World Tree, wandered around the park, showing off themselves.
“It’s a nice walk. Though it’s not as good as the forest where you serve as the Forest Keeper.”
“Hehe, you’re being quite generous to Luke Forest.”
Perhaps because of their name being the same, Luke seemed to have a fondness for Luke Forest.
“….”
Luke quietly replied and turned his head toward Luke Forest.
‘Why is it that my name is attached to the forest?’
Among the many forests in this world, the first forest he opened his eyes to was ‘Luke Forest.’ What a coincidence, or perhaps fate.
Py, who had been following Luke’s gaze, alternated between looking at the direction of Luke Forest and Luke’s expression, tilting his head in confusion.
— Luke, do you miss it?
“Hmm, I suppose.”
Indeed, spirits are spirits. It seems they are born with the ability to read emotions; Py picked up on feelings Luke wasn’t even aware of himself.
‘I have no idea what it is that I miss.’
Luke shook his head and composed his expression. He always wanted to show a bright demeanor to Yerna. After all, she would always worry because of him.
‘Though I wish I could tell her it’s all a lie.’
For a mage, lying is essentially a taboo. A magician who deceives the world must never deceive themselves.
Mages should never be cunning, as the first one to be deceived by a lie is oneself.
The moment one becomes a liar to others, they also become a liar to themselves.
Magic for a mage is to manipulate reality with imagination, calculation, and firm belief. So, if one cannot believe in themselves, will the world respond? This is why mages must not lie.
However, Luke had already lied once. In the past, he lied to Yerna, saying he hadn’t used “magic.”
It’s somewhat true since he hadn’t used Class Magic. He hadn’t used a cane and hadn’t performed a spell.
Thus, it differed from the “magic” that Yerna or Dayton spoke of.
Well, he knew well that it was merely a simple fallacy. At that time, he had just lied to avoid disappointing Yerna.
That clumsy lie had made his heart race so much; how could he introduce himself to Yerna with a lie?
Moreover, if he were to tell a lie denying all that he is…
‘That would mean I could no longer remain Luke Ilrush.’
Thus, Luke couldn’t lie to Yerna. He no longer wished to lie, either.
— Luke? Are you not happy here?
Seeing Luke’s serious expression, Py bounced in front of him and coaxed him again. Luke smiled at Py, as if saying not to worry, and turned his head towards Yerna.
“This forest is, of course, nice.”
“Really?”
Yerna tilted her head slightly. Luke’s expression seemed not to be entirely cheerful.
‘Is it because he’s sleepy?’
Luke turned his gaze away from Yerna and looked into the forest, speaking.
“By the way, who are we here to meet?”
“Oh, it’s Ru’a Eraast. Do you remember?”
Luke was able to recall easily.
“Ru’a Eraast… Of course, I remember. The lady Hyun with the blue hair, right?”
“That’s right! She took care of you the last time.”
“Haha. It feels like it’s been quite a while. Why did you decide to meet here? You could have invited me over for a meal at home.”
“Ah, about that. You’ll find out once you see her.”
—-
After sitting on a bench for a while, watching birds pecking at the ground, he sensed someone approaching from afar.
“Long time no see! Luke! Didn’t you miss me?”
A blue-haired woman with an impressive long mane of hair, a dog Hyun, had arrived.
“Ru’a. How long has it been?”
“Nice to see you, Luke.”
Luke stood from the bench and greeted her lightly. Ru’a patted Luke’s head affectionately while completing her greeting. Luke, who despised getting his head patted, decided to endure it since it had been a while since he had seen her.
‘Why is everyone so eager to pat my head?’
What could possibly be so special about his hair?
Perhaps people in this age thought it was polite to pat a child’s head when meeting them.
As he thought that, Luke suddenly noticed the leash in Ru’a’s hand.
Following the line of the leash, a tiny puppy looked up at Luke, panting with its tongue hanging out.
Its tail wagged energetically; it seemed to be expressing its joy quite exuberantly.
“By the way, what is that? It’s an adorable little dog.”
“Hehe, isn’t it cute? I was just taking the puppy out for a walk!”
“I see. What’s its name?”
“Danny. You can pet him as much as you want.”
“Danny….”
Luke hesitated for a moment.
No matter how small it was, a dog is still a dog; it could bite his hand.
Well, even if it did bite him, it wouldn’t be a huge problem for him…
‘Yerna would definitely panic.’
She would surely cause a commotion, insisting on giving first aid and all. Yerna tends to be quite overprotective of him, so it was a high possibility.
“Is it not going to bite?”
Seeing Luke’s cautious demeanor, Yerna felt a bit tense. Ru’a, however, answered with her usual bright smile.
“It won’t bite! If anything, it’s the other way around; if Danny bites, I’ll be the one bitten!”
“…I’m not planning to get bitten at all.”
Luke slightly bent down and patted the puppy’s head.
He felt the delicate skull beneath its soft fur, and the skin covering it glided gently under his hand.
The sensation fit perfectly in his grip, akin to the satisfaction felt when a puzzle piece falls into place.
Luke shuddered slightly at the sensation.
“….”
Come to think of it, he would often feel this way when he patted the occasionally still Levee.
He couldn’t quite explain why, but it felt extremely pleasant.
Getting a good vibe from petting small animals could perhaps be an instinct of social animals that derive happiness through ‘communion’ with others.
‘Wait a minute, is this the reason Yerna and the others keep wanting to pat my head?’
This hypothesis caused Luke to pause momentarily in his petting.
At that moment, Danny leaned in closer to Luke’s hand and let out a soft cry, seeming to urge him to pet him more.
It seemed Danny was also addicted to ‘communion.’
Luke found the sight amusing and chuckled, saying, “Haha, you little rascal. You sure love people for a puppy. You wouldn’t be fit to protect a home even when you grow up.”
Yerna laughed at his words.
She had been worried about whether Luke would dislike or fear the dog, but thankfully, it seemed she did not have any bad memories of dogs.
“Luke, that’s what makes them great.”
Ru’a nodded at Yerna’s statement, adding, “That’s right—Danny is four years old this year.”
“What? Really?”
Luke was so surprised; it felt as if he heard a ringing in his head.
“Is that true? This tiny thing?”
He lifted the puppy up.
It felt so light. Although his own strength was considerable, even factoring that in, it felt no different from a two-month-old puppy.
Danny continued to pant while wagging his tail as he was lifted by Luke.
Its tail spun round like a wagon wheel, suggesting it was still quite immature.
But to think that this tiny creature was a four-year-old adult…
— Small, cute, isn’t it?
Luke somewhat acknowledged Py’s comment in his heart.
“What? Well, yes. It is cute, but… it’s still too small.”
The gentle gazes from Yerna and Ru’a fell upon Luke as he looked astonished, holding the puppy up.
Isn’t it funny to claim something is cute while holding something cute?
“I actually have pictures taken in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Want to see?”
“…No, that won’t be necessary.”
Luke had already transmitted mana to Danny and used magic sight to analyze and assess the little one.
Based on the stability of the mana pattern and the level of cellular aging, this puppy definitely was an adult.
He set Danny down and made a sympathetic expression.
“Ru’a, are you sure you’re not feeding him too little?”
“Of course not! I feed him the appropriate amount of food every single day! He’s just naturally like this!”
Put on the spot and labeled an animal abuser, Ru’a raised her voice slightly.
In response, Luke’s eyes sparkled as he asked, “Then how on earth is he so small? There must surely be a reason. Don’t tell me he’s a chimera? Did you use some kind of spell to suppress his growth? Enlighten me on how you managed to create such a small dog!”
A spell to suppress growth would indeed be something remarkable. Growth suppression was a magic that couldn’t even be accomplished 5,000 years ago.
Even if it is a chimera, it could serve as a metric for this era’s chimera production technology.
“Well… um, it’s a bit awkward to say…”
Ru’a scratched her cheek.
“It’s artificial breeding… So, I guess they’ve just been breeding smaller dogs over time.”
“….”
Just genetics…?
Luke’s eyes turned cold for a moment.
“Why would you go to such lengths?”
