Helena felt an immense embarrassment at the fact that the words she had only thought about came out of her mouth, and she ended up running away.
Was Helena always so swift?
It was quite surprising.
Meanwhile, Luke was filled with thoughts about the story Helena had left behind.
It didn’t seem like a lie.
Right after she blurted that out, Helena couldn’t control her heightened emotions and quickly fled the café.
If she were trying to lie, she would have concocted a more detailed situation.
She wouldn’t just throw out such words and then run away.
“Really, that kid fell for me…?”
It was something he never expected.
Of course, it wasn’t like Luke had never experienced any courtship in his life.
No, if he thought about it, there had been quite a few occurrences.
Becoming a member of the Iru-shi family politically was a benefit that couldn’t be ignored, and it was the simplest and easiest way to tie himself to a powerful archmage like himself.
Naturally, Luke rejected all those proposals.
He had no interest in what they were offering.
Gold and silver treasures? Absolute beauties? All useless.
He had plenty of money himself.
The wealth of an archmage at the 10th Circle was comparable to that in a dragon’s lair.
If he set his mind to it, increasing his wealth was no hassle at all.
Beautiful women also contributed nothing to his life.
As a mage, Luke would not be mesmerized by a physical temptation, regardless of how beautiful a woman was.
The naked body of any beauty felt no more significant than viewing a beautiful statue.
Moreover, he had no interest in leaving behind descendants.
If he were to have children, they would undoubtedly receive tremendous care as the next head of the family or be treated to exceptional privileges, akin to royalty.
At first glance, it seemed like a remarkable event.
However, could he assert that the child would be better than himself?
There was also the possibility of harboring misguided thoughts and causing unnecessary turmoil in Renie’s kingdom.
While it was possible to implant thoughts in the child’s brain to ensure they become an outstanding individual, what would that even mean?
Besides, even if he did, there was no guarantee that the child wouldn’t be hindered by those around them.
No matter how he thought about it, his descendants were unnecessary in this world.
The Iru-shi family, even without him, was already exerting far too strong an influence over the nation.
Furthermore, the kingdom’s situation, fighting against the great demon, was still unstable, and what Renie needed to solidify her power was time.
He had no intention of jeopardizing the significant task that Kail had guarded with his life.
Thus, Luke ultimately gave up all the glory of the family and took refuge in a small village.
Every move he made, even a simple muttered word, became tiresome to consider how it would be processed and disseminated by gossipers.
After that, of course, there was no room for rational exchanges.
At that time, he had even changed his appearance with magic.
What kind of charm could there possibly be in an old, decrepit man?
Therefore, Luke was nearly ignorant when it came to typical relationships between men and women, romance.
No matter how many romantic novels Renie had excitedly raved about in the past, they held no meaning for Luke, who couldn’t comprehend their emotional lines.
And now he finds himself in this situation.
Well, being ten years old was quite an age to be considered nearly an adult back then.
It was quite common at that time for children as young as ten to be engaged as well.
Luke easily acknowledged the fact that his current body was that of a girl.
Even if he didn’t like it, that was the reality he had to face.
But thinking about being the “object of affection” was an entirely different matter.
Was it possible that he hadn’t thought much about it because his childlike body didn’t attract such attention?
This body could very well be seen as a “woman” in the eyes of a child.
Not biologically speaking, but socioculturally.
From that viewpoint, Luke, who had never considered it even once, could naturally not know.
Except for the impulsive actions children sometimes did out of cuteness, every action Luke had taken until now was rational, thoroughly devoid of emotions, focusing on efficiency and politeness from a mage’s perspective.
He had thought that Shirud’s reactions were merely amusing incidents arising from being a “biologically female” body.
But what if it were feelings triggered by being a “sociocultural female”?
Now that he thought about it, it was strange.
Hadn’t Shirud been exceptionally good to him lately?
Helping with preparations for a birthday party that didn’t even need to be held, and giving him an expensive gift called a Moonlight Stone…
He had thought it was just because they were friends and also teacher-student acquaintances.
Moreover, Shirud had never directly expressed “I love you” to him even once.
So, it was natural that Luke had no way of knowing.
And had he known, he would have undoubtedly rejected it.
He couldn’t reciprocate Shirud’s feelings.
He hadn’t considered having a relationship with anyone at all.
Of course, children are adorable.
Just that, he couldn’t possibly think of them as objects of romance.
Even though his body was this young, the thoughts and memories inside it were undoubtedly those of an archmage from 5,000 years ago.
So, having romantic feelings from an 11-year-old boy was troubling.
“Haah…”
Luke let out a sigh.
“Should I be thankful that I noticed this before my feelings deepened…”
The only saving grace was that Shirud was still a child.
Children’s feelings can change rapidly depending on circumstances.
Even if they were severely reprimanded yesterday, if candy is given the next day, they’d laugh cheerfully—that’s the adorable nature of children, isn’t it?
He needed to talk to Shirud as quickly as possible.
Finally, Luke made a resolution.
“Yeah, when I go to the Academy next week, I should talk to Shirud right away.”
“But how?”
How was he supposed to refuse?
Luke didn’t know how to decline someone’s feelings without hurting them.
In the past, he had been in a position where there was no need to consider the feelings of others when rejecting such emotions, and he had never thought deeply about what other people’s feelings meant.
He couldn’t just tell Shirud to go away when standing right in front of him.
Thus, the recollections of the past were utterly useless.
He had no intention of cutting ties with Shirud just because he rejected his feelings.
“What should I do? I don’t want to reject him and hurt him…”
Had someone’s heart been this difficult?
No matter how he pondered, he couldn’t figure out the best way to handle it.
At this rate, should he just pretend to like him?
Furthermore, using the feeling of love might allow Shirud’s capabilities to grow at an astonishing rate.
From observing Dayton and Yerna, that emotion could be a strong motivation.
The will to look good in front of someone you love was something that could not be ignored.
“No, that can’t be.”
A false relationship wouldn’t last long.
As someone who couldn’t lie, he couldn’t even respond to the question, “Do you love me?”
If he did, that would only leave a more significant scar.
“Ugh…”
It was a problem more challenging than any other conundrum.
As he was pondering such things, he suddenly caught sight of the necklace around his neck.
“I thought this was just a birthday gift…”
If the reason for giving such a valuable gift was based on feelings for him, then he should return it…
He didn’t want to engage in such shameless acts.
However, it was something he couldn’t casually give up.
Was it not the Moonlight Stone?
It could very well be a key to open the door of the void he had left in the past, potentially allowing space to be carved.
At least until he finished his research, it crossed his mind that he might have to postpone saying anything, even to that selfish extent…
But perhaps because he was having such impious thoughts?
-Thud!
As Luke was walking while looking at the necklace instead of ahead, he couldn’t avoid a man who was running while looking at his phone.
“Ugh?”
And, with far less weight than the man, Luke was knocked off balance by his strength.
-Thump!
Losing his balance, he fell backward, landing on his rear, and the bag he had carelessly slung over his shoulder fell, spilling its contents all over the floor.
“Ouch!?”
The pain that followed his fall was a fierce pain that shot up his spine, so intense he couldn’t even scream.
His breath became short, cold sweat ran down, and even tears welled up.
Forced out of his thoughts by the intense pain, Luke couldn’t hide his unpleasant feelings and shouted.
“Who the heck is that? Someone running around like this without even looking at the street!”
He thought there was some responsibility on his part for not watching ahead, but at the very least, if one were to run on the street, shouldn’t they have looked where they were going?
He already had so much to think about.
Thus, his anger was justified.
“Ugh, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Among the spilled contents of the bag, the sight of a child looking up at him with tear-filled eyes, resentment etched on their face, was utterly pitiful.
And the chilling gazes from those around him towards himself felt all too cold.
The man spoke in a flustered voice containing as much kindness as he could muster.
“Uh, um, are you okay? Can you get up? I-I’m sorry! I was texting on my phone and just…”
“You can text while walking, why on earth…?”
Only then did Luke take a closer look at the face of the man who had bumped into him.
And he thought that the face seemed quite familiar.
“Marco? Is that you, Marco?”
“Huh? Luke…? Is that you, Luke?”
Marco Albi.
He was the boy who had told him about earphones, the magical systems of this world, and the early graduation system in the past.
