“Hey, kid. What are you doing here all alone?”
“Are you waiting for someone?”
A few men surrounded him with offensive smiles.
Luke felt a subtle atmosphere, but thought that perhaps people just had that kind of face, so he simply replied.
“Well, what do you want from me?”
“Is the one you’re waiting for the old man with white hair, all bandaged up?”
“Oh, yes. Are you perhaps acquaintances of the Third?”
At Luke’s innocent answer, they simultaneously laughed, ‘Hahaha’.
“Of course, we’re very close with that guy. We’ll take you to him.”
So they were indeed acquaintances.
“Then, please lead the way.”
“Sure, just follow us.”
As Luke began to follow them, he felt that he was getting further from the place where he was supposed to meet Third, entering deeper into the alley.
Luke paused for a moment to ask.
“The direction seems strange. Are you really friends of Third?”
Then the men walking with him also stopped in their tracks.
Another round of unpleasant laughter erupted.
Wow. There sure are a lot of men who laugh too much.
“Kid, you’re really clueless.”
Just then, someone standing behind Luke suddenly covered his mouth.
And right away, a syringe was pressed against his neck…
Crunch.
“Huh? What’s happening?”
The needle did not penetrate.
Of course, this was to be expected.
His skin was being perfectly protected by a basic defense magic, Shield, created with the powerful magic control of the Third Circle.
Unless the syringe needle had some kind of spell wrapped around it, it was impossible for it to pierce Luke’s skin.
The situation became clear.
He didn’t know what was in the syringe, but it was clearly a hostile act.
Surely, in this era, it couldn’t be morally acceptable to stab a passerby with a sharp object.
‘…They’re quite the shady characters.’
Though he had tried to trust them since they seemed to know Third, they disappointed him.
Luke increased the magic flow in his body, enhancing his physical strength, and twisted the wrist of the man who covered his mouth.
Crack, snap-!
The sound of something solid breaking under the simple grip of his hand enveloped in blood and flesh echoed.
“Gaaah–!”
The scream was loud.
Luke didn’t want to hear the man’s wail, so he exercised his authority to control the reality and phenomena.
Third Circle magic.
“Silence.”
‘Silence.’
The man whose wrist was grabbed opened his eyes wide and began to flap his mouth without making a sound.
The fact that Luke had blocked his voice declared that he no longer intended to listen to him.
Thus, there was no need to watch him perform tricks with his face.
Using the knowledge of the whole-body paralysis class magic he had stolen from Dayton, Luke also paralyzed his body through the grip on his wrist.
“……!”
The magic he had modified from numerous past experiences hovered ambiguously between non-lethal and lethal.
Since human body characteristics and the positions of organs hadn’t changed much over the years, it was a valid modification.
The powerful shock that coursed through his entire body caused him to roll his eyes and collapse.
All of this happened in less than two seconds.
Luke lightly dusted himself off and smiled at the remaining ones with an unchanged expression.
That guy might be acting alone.
He hoped that was the case.
“I’ll ask again, are you really friends of Third?”
“This brat, what nonsense is this!!”
“……How unfortunate.”
They seemed not to be ‘real friends’ after all.
Did Third often get bothered by such bad friends?
What a sad story.
——–
“Wow, I can’t believe there are still guys like that in this modern age.”
Even though the world has become better, it seems there are still those who do terrible things to children.
What if he had been a truly helpless child?
It could have turned very dangerous.
Third must have met many bad friends in the past.
It seemed like he had suffered quite a bit over time.
“Come to think of it, he’s quite a pitiful guy.”
Living in such a bad environment must have prevented his heart from properly forming a Circle.
He must have endured suffering for many years without being able to get rid of that Circle.
I hope Third took care of things without any ill feelings.
If he has lived longer in this era than Luke, he might be more skilled in such matters.
Well, if later on there is a need for his testimony or something, he will call.
“Hmm. I wish Py was here today. He would have definitely liked it.”
Didn’t he hum a tune happily when they defeated the robber with an umbrella last time?
Even now, he felt like he could hear the melody of Py’s humming.
The emotions contained in the melody of Py’s humming, which Luke recalled, were not joy or excitement but ‘fear’, yet unfortunately, the nature of spirit-language diluted the emotions contained in a melody over time, so Luke couldn’t think at all that Py’s reaction was fear.
Unless Py didn’t play the spirit-language of fear again.
-Ding dong-.
Luke paused.
At the melody that meant ‘fool’ in spirit-language, he stopped and looked around.
But there was no sign of Py anywhere.
“Kid, your order is ready.”
“……Ah.”
Was it just a call for him?
Luke awkwardly scratched near his eyebrow and got up.
As he approached the counter, the staff wore a pleasant smile and explained each of the ordered items, pointing them out one by one.
“Here you go, pine needle tea that you ordered, and chocolate cake. Make sure to carry it well without spilling it, okay?”
Luke lightly lifted the tray and nodded.
“Thank you for your concern. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Okay, enjoy your meal!”
The sight of a child confidently ordering and cheerfully carrying the menu on a tray must have been quite cute.
She waved her finger with a smile, meaning to carry it well, with one hand raised lightly.
Luke, captivated by the aroma of the pine needle tea — a scent he had never smelled before — and the chocolate cake, the most popular dessert item, didn’t notice her farewell.
———
Luke smiled as he gently caressed the syringe and vial in his arms.
The syringe was obtained from the ‘friends of Third’ in the back alley, and the contents in the vial were the blood of a dragon he received after teaching magic to Third.
Since the needle had not punctured, he couldn’t verify the effect of the contents, but he was nonetheless interested in the substance.
Feeling delighted with the added material for his research, Luke opened the door with an excited voice.
“Yerna! I’m back!”
As soon as he entered, Yerna greeted Luke.
“Welcome back! Did you meet your friend well?”
“Of course.”
“Then since you’re back, let’s wash up quickly.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Luke answered while subtly avoiding Yerna’s gaze.
Come to think of it, today, he actually went to meet Third on his own without telling Yerna anything special.
He had intentionally said something that could lead to misunderstandings, stating, “Now that the exam is over, I’ll ‘play’ with a ‘nearby’ friend,” and deliberately went to the place where Third was.
It wasn’t a lie.
For Luke, who could travel across the entire continent as if it were his home, any place in the world was virtually ‘nearby’, and Third was a ‘friend’ while also having ‘played’ with magic.
So there was no lie to his statement, but Yerna would probably think he was just playing with kids like Shirud or Mary.
If that wasn’t the case, Yerna would have followed him. There was nothing he could do about it.
As Luke slowly unbuttoned his shirt to bathe, he glanced at Yerna from the corner of his eye.
However, since Yerna’s gaze showed no sign of leaving him, Luke had no choice but to speak up.
“Yerna, I’m sorry, but please don’t stare so much.”
“……Oh, sorry! I won’t look, so feel free.”
Upon hearing Luke’s words, Yerna was startled and turned her gaze away from him to stare intently at the wall with nothing on it.
“Thank you, Yerna.”
He briefly conveyed his gratitude for her consideration, and when she wasn’t looking at him, he quickly pulled out two objects from his pocket.
They were the syringe and the blood sample.
Both would probably elicit a clear reaction from Yerna if she saw them.
It would be an uncomfortable topic to answer if she asked where he got them.
‘I should hide these well somewhere to prevent being disturbed while conducting my research in the future.’
Luke looked around while holding the syringe and blood sample, then discovered a shower curtain rod.
The inside of that rod was empty, making it perfect for storing the syringe filled with the drug and the blood vial.
Moreover, the inside of the shower curtain rod was a place that wouldn’t be seen by most people anyway.
Luke nodded, satisfied with his thoughts.
He then immediately continued with his bath.
He liked the scent of the shampoo he bought at the department store last time.
The temperature of the water flowing from the shower was also perfect.
At this point, it couldn’t be better.
Luke skillfully gathered his hair using liquid manipulation magic to avoid damaging it and then dipped his body into the tub.
Quite satisfied, he submerged himself in the bathtub and closed his eyes.
The sensation of warm water wrapping around his body was always something that felt good, no matter when he experienced it.
Frankly, it is hard to dislike something like this.
However, back in the day, before he became this body, he had almost forgotten that experience.
In his later years, he lived only to clean away contaminants for efficiency, so there was no time or meaning for bathing.
“Ah……”
He felt good, and soon a hum filled with emotion slipped out.
It was one of the habits he developed while spending time with Py.
Whenever he felt happy or joyful, he always hummed to share those emotions with Py.
After finishing his performance filled with happiness, Luke sighed.
“Haa.”
However, for some reason, the part he usually covered with a band-aid felt a bit itchy today.
Could it be from the place that was touched by the syringe?
Surely, there shouldn’t have been any wounds at all.
—–
Yerna turned her head towards the bathroom when she heard the sound of Luke entering.
She couldn’t help but look toward Luke whenever he was present, just in case there was something she could help with.
With no TV around, there wasn’t much to watch at home.
‘Luke has already reached that age, huh…’
Feeling embarrassed at the thought of exposing his body to others, even in front of her, someone who had bathed with him several times.
Children really do mature increasingly.
By the way, the child, who could barely wash by himself yesterday, now happily sings while bathing by himself, isn’t that just so moving?
“Hoho, his voice is truly beautiful, no matter when I hear it.”
Yerna listened to Luke’s humming and finally started to mimic it.
In doing so, she felt an inexplicable happiness welling up inside her.
It seemed that she had caught not just Luke’s humming but also his emotions.
