“…….”
Shirud, left alone in the hotel, was repeatedly pressing the ‘next channel’ button on the remote, trying to find something worth watching among the dull videos on TV.
However, it seemed unlikely that he would find a program he liked, as he had no expectations of anything being interesting in the first place.
He was usually alone, and because of that, he thought he had already learned how to play by himself a long time ago.
In reality, it wasn’t that Shirud lacked enjoyable things; he simply found no pleasure in anything.
The game console thrown carelessly atop the bed was proof of that.
“……I feel empty.”
He thought as he touched the empty spot where he had once pinned a brooch to his chest.
A brooch he had given to Luke, only to have it returned to him.
Now it was with Luke.
The flower language of the Dinakis meant “protection,” which he thought might be helpful.
There was a subtly strange feeling about it…
Now that he thought about it, it had inadvertently turned into a confession at the time, but it seemed that Luke hadn’t considered it a confession at all.
In fact, it was simply the meaning of “I don’t need it, so you can keep it…”
“Ha, I was really embarrassed back then…”
After growing tired of searching for something to watch, Shirud simply turned off the TV and threw himself onto the bed beside the game console tossed haphazardly.
The bed soon stabilized after a little rocking.
While it felt soft, that was all.
Since Shirud usually used a bed even softer than this, he felt no particular thrill from the hotel’s offering.
Shirud muttered quietly.
“It’s boring.”
He stretched his hand towards the ceiling.
After a moment, a soft flame began to appear in the palm of his raised hand.
A warm feeling and a sense of everything falling into place; it was akin to the moment you could ride a bicycle properly for the first time after taking off the training wheels, felt in his palm and heart.
Shirud soon sat up and stared blankly at the flames he had created.
No cane or complicated incantation was needed; it was a phenomenon created by intuition and realization.
It was something far too simple for him, as his heart now had three rings.
However, this was merely the most basic of basics that Luke had taught him. Luke had adamantly warned him that he should never use even this elemental magic solely for himself.
“…….”
Shirud, who only knew that a little flame could only lead to mischief, didn’t understand those words but thought they were probably no different from the usual adult nagging and often let them slide by.
Well, surely, it would be dangerous if a fire broke out while playing with flames.
As he stared blankly at the flame, Shirud extinguished it and began to gaze vacantly out the window.
The world outside had darkened, but the glow from countless windows didn’t give an entirely empty feeling.
In the end, was the most interesting thing the scenery?
Shirud got up from the bed and stood by the window, looking at the night view beyond the glass.
Why did it feel so boring and frustrating?
He already knew the answer to that question himself.
“I wonder if Luke is okay.”
The day Luke collapsed, Shirud had been quite shocked.
With his seemingly complete understanding of everything, Luke felt like a kid who seemed to know everything about the world.
In fact, he had taught Shirud how to handle and use a circle, and the sight of Luke calmly controlling his emotions no matter what happened was indeed like a lighthouse that seemed unshakeable regardless of the circumstances.
In stark contrast to himself, who was merely a candle flickering in the wind, it would be a lie to say he felt no sense of admiration.
However, this time, Luke collapsed from a mana surge caused by an overflow of emotions.
Just like himself.
To Shirud, that felt like a change in values that should never happen.
A huge being, seemingly unreachable, being brought down to the level of someone like him.
At first, he felt betrayed.
How could he preach about “controlling emotions” and then go on to collapse from excitement over a flower he saw in the lab?
Wasn’t he no different from the others?
“He always acted like an adult…”
In the end, could the child not become an adult after all?
But then, the thoughts morphed into empathy and sympathy.
Luke was undoubtedly an exceptional kid.
To call him a genius would still fall short; he was genuinely incredibly brilliant.
Yet, inside, he was just as troubled by his emotions and his heart as Shirud was.
But Luke never showed that side of himself.
Perhaps it was something he couldn’t allow to be seen?
Shirud had no way of knowing what kind of life Luke had lived.
However, he knew that Luke had no real parents and that an elf with almost no resemblance to him had taken it upon themselves to protect him.
They probably shared not a single drop of blood.
Shirud briefly recalled the past.
When his father passed away, how sad and difficult had it been for him?
Now he had calmed down sufficiently to be okay, but at that time, he hadn’t wanted to leave his room for months and had no desire to do anything.
If he had been in a state where a circle was inscribed on his heart then, he surely wouldn’t have been able to handle a mana surge and would have teetered between life and death.
But Luke, who had lost both his mom and dad, had already gone through such experiences twice.
“……”
Perhaps Luke had to become an adult.
A fact he knew but didn’t want to accept.
Luke might just be a pitiful child…
While Shirud stared blankly out the window, lost in such thoughts, suddenly—
-…….
The vibration of his phone. Was it someone calling?
Shirud stretched lazily while lying on the bed, reached for the phone tossed next to the game console, and picked it up.
‘Luke’
He bolted upright.
– Shirud, I’m sorry. I should have contacted you sooner. I got caught up in looking at the World Tree for a little while after dinner and forgot to reach out.
Luke’s voice on the other end of the phone felt strangely comforting to Shirud, having not heard it in three days.
Luke didn’t often come to school, so naturally, it wasn’t unusual for them to not talk for three days, but it felt different this time.
Perhaps it was because Luke had been talking to him more often during this trip…
“……Oh, really? I’m glad to hear that.”
– So, what’s been going on…? Oh, wait, this is going to take a while, isn’t it? I’m sorry. Let’s talk more when we meet! Where are you now?
“Uhm, we’re at our original lodging…”
– Got it. I’ll call you when I arrive!
“Wait, what’s the hurry…?”
Click.
“……I have no idea.”
What on earth could be so urgent…? Ah, could it be that?
‘Because calls to foreign countries are much more expensive?’
Having thought about it, it was indeed a quite reasonable and justifiable reason.
It was certainly very much like Luke, but…
“What, is that really the only reason?”
Shirud found it ridiculous that the reason Luke had to hang up so urgently was just about call costs and turned his gaze back out the window.
The reflection of himself in the glass had, for some reason, an expression that seemed happy.
How strange; it had only felt tiring being with Luke…
Shirud flopped back onto the bed and began to wait for his contact.
Though that was practically doing nothing, it was more entertaining than searching for TV channels at the moment.
———–
“When the ambulance suddenly arrived, I thought it might be you.”
“Is that so?”
As Shirud walked with Luke in the open area, he listened to the events that had transpired.
To summarize, the moment Luke had followed the researcher up the mountain, it seemed that Shirud and Mary had just taken a bit of a break and continued to explore the cool spots after their sweat had dried.
However, while they were exploring, the loud sound of a siren came from an ambulance entering the botanical garden, and seeing that the vehicle was headed toward the mountain he climbed made him think, ‘Could it be?’
Eventually, with the flow of mana he sensed through the circle, he realized that it was he himself who had been carried away in the ambulance.
“That must have been quite an event.”
“Of course, it was a big deal!”
As Shirud let out a sigh, Luke smiled faintly.
It wasn’t like Shirud was a very talkative child, but it was nice to see him become chatty when he had something to talk about like any child his age.
Luke felt a strange sensation as it was reminiscent of the past, when he had always walked only with Kail.
“Truly, mages are all mages after all.”
In the end, did mages all find themselves on similar paths?
If he conversed like this with other children, surely he wouldn’t spend his time so isolated.
As he pondered this, Luke opened his mouth.
“I really feel sorry that you haven’t been able to go home because of me.”
“Nah, it’s fine. Besides, I got permission beforehand.”
“By the way, I heard you even had to cover my medical expenses. Is that true?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“I see. How on earth should I repay this favor…”
Luke’s fainting due to his emotional overflow was a significant event for Serena as well.
However, Luke’s medical expenses as a foreign resident were rather high, and for Yerna, who was considering loans because she couldn’t pay the bills immediately, it was as if she had saved Luke’s life.
Though Luke himself was quite skeptical about whether that hospital had been of any real help.
“But…”
Luke suddenly stopped, his expression turning serious as he grasped Shirud’s hand.
He could feel the flow of mana and the sensation of the circle; it was three circles.
With confidence, Luke spoke in a clear voice.
“You’ve become a 3-circle mage, Shirud.”
“Ah, that? Right, you figured it out, didn’t you?”
Indeed, Luke was quick on the uptake when it came to this kind of thing, so Shirud cleared his throat awkwardly, proud of himself, but then, seeing Luke’s serious demeanor, his expression slowly shifted to match it.
“I heard you passed out while nursing me. That must be related to your 3-circle, right?”
“Ah, about that, I just can’t compare to you. I don’t know how…”
Thunk.
Luke pulled Shirud’s arm to make him look at him.
In the midst of Shirud being flustered at suddenly meeting Luke’s serious gaze, Luke continued.
“My heart is managed by me; you had no reason to intervene. You could have put your life at risk.”
“……?”
Shirud gulped at Luke’s calm fury.
He had never shown anger before, and he couldn’t understand what made him so upset this time.
Seeing that expression, Luke pressed on with a more serious face.
“Manipulating someone else’s circle is an extremely dangerous act for both the caster and the person being cast upon. To think you were trying to hold my hand without directly trying to stabilize the circle—it’s practically a suicidal act. If you were going to attempt to stabilize the circle directly, you should have placed your hand on my heart.”
Shirud, at a loss for words, felt utterly flustered by the girl’s insistence that he should have touched his own heart.
He merely turned red in the face.
“Wait, listen to me!”
“Go ahead, I’ll at least hear your excuse.”
“That wasn’t a real attempt! It was genuinely just a prayer!”
“……What? Is that really true…?”
“Of course, why would I lie! I’m a mage too, and mages don’t lie!”
“Well, I guess that’s true.”
He clearly understood; then why had he acted in such a manner?
As soon as Luke let go of his hand, Shirud quickly pulled his hand back and avoided Luke’s gaze.
It hurt quite a lot after being held for just a moment.
The girl with excessive strength… No, Luke was indeed quite knowledgeable.
Then was she a knowledgeable girl with excessive strength? Whatever it was, Shirud’s thoughts were jumbled as he rubbed his sore wrist.
“Yeah, it was genuinely just a prayer. But since I was holding your hand, I suddenly became able to focus on the mana flow… So when I became a 3-circle mage, I momentarily felt tired. That’s all. I had completely given up on the idea you used to feel.”
For a moment, Luke froze at Shirud’s explanation and only managed to speak once she finished.
“……Is that so…?”
Luke felt embarrassment at realizing his initial assumptions had been entirely wrong.
What he had thought was a dangerous act was nothing of the sort.
If that were the case, there had been no need to lecture him at all…
“……”
As Shirud silently looked at her reddened wrist, Luke asked in a bewildered voice.
“Uh, does it hurt a lot?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Really, I’m so sorry, Shirud.”
“……”
“Please, child. Will you forgive me for my mistake?”
“Got it, so please stop clinging to me…”
Finally, Shirud had no choice but to step back several paces from Luke.
If he kept touching her, her heart might hurt due to the circles, and she might faint.
