“Alright, the calculations are perfect.”
Luke nodded, looking at his computer screen.
All the necessary magical formulas were ready.
It was as if he was right on the verge of opening the door.
However, Luke encountered an unexpected ambush just one step ahead.
For the patrol forces of Luke Forest were unusually numerous due to that “support.”
No matter how perfectly he finished the calculations, if he couldn’t go to that point, it was completely useless.
Thus, Luke had to enter the heart of the forest, which was not a place he could stroll through alone.
A Class 1 danger zone.
Therefore, if he was spotted by someone, he would be sent back immediately.
But there was not no way.
Having lived for a long time with the Forest Keepers in Luke Forest, Luke had already grasped all the blind spots.
However, with so much support, the patrol route had changed, rendering that information useless.
Yet, what troubled Luke more than anything was something else.
“Luke, are you here?”
“…”
It was the Forest Keeper named Sanson.
A few days ago, he came in as support from Rienne Forest and seemed somewhat obsessed with Luke, having apparently saved him in a past incident.
He was so obsessed that…
“Luke seems to have lost his way in the forest again! He hasn’t responded from the lodging!”
“What? I haven’t seen him come out to the forest…”
Even if Luke hid for just a little while, such reactions alerted the other Forest Keepers to the fact that he had disappeared.
Luke let out a deep sigh as he stepped out from behind the hidden luggage.
“I’m here.”
As soon as Luke appeared, Sanson smiled with satisfaction.
“Oh, there you are. Why were you over there? Were you playing hide and seek or something?”
“Well… something like that.”
‘I was hiding from you.’
“You scared me. I was worried you got lost in the forest again.”
“Haha…”
“If you feel like going into the forest again, it’s essential to go with other Forest Keepers. Understand?”
“I know.”
In fact, Luke had never lost his way in the forest; he had just made up excuses a few times when meeting others while searching for spatial coordinates.
Now, it seemed he was recognized as a child who often got lost in the forest.
Moreover, whatever tales the Forest Keepers of Luke Forest had heard about him had made them surprisingly kind towards him.
Honestly, this was bothersome.
With this, even while sitting on a stump and playing the cello, he felt awkward.
‘It’s like dealing with a Forest Keeper who reminds me of the old Yerna…’
Well, to be honest, it was not entirely incomprehensible to understand his feelings.
Wasn’t that child the one he directly “saved”?
He probably had extra concern for him.
Of course, it wasn’t exactly that his life was saved, but…
After all, as long as he was in a place with mana, he wouldn’t have died, so there was no need for them to worry that much, but if they didn’t know that fact, it wasn’t unreasonable to think so.
Taking advantage of the moment when Sanson left, Luke quietly asked Daphne.
“Hey, Daphne, how long is Sanson on duty?”
“Hahaha, are you feeling a bit bothered?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Luke nodded.
Seeing him like that made Daphne chuckle.
“Hahaha, it’s until this week, so just hang in there for a bit. That guy doesn’t mean any harm. So during that time, go for walks in the forest with the other Forest Keepers.”
“…This week?”
Luke was taken aback.
A week was too long!
Because…
‘The trial period for Magic Finder is running out soon…!’
Tomorrow, the trial period for Magic Finder would end.
If that happened, his plans would fall apart.
For other, less complicated magic, mental calculations alone could yield answers easily, but opening a space required calculations of a whole different dimension.
Even with Luke’s exceptional mental calculation ability, whether he could match the values changing in real-time nature was uncertain.
Thus, assistance using a computer was indispensable.
However, being told to wait a week?
If that happened, he wouldn’t be able to use Magic Finder on-site.
That would lead to the possibility of a mishap due to unaccounted errors he couldn’t catch with mental calculations.
Opening space was both difficult and dangerous.
Especially in a time like now when Sigarmata lurked beyond dimensions.
If he failed in the neat cutting of space and slightly misaligned the dimensions, it would be a great disaster.
If Sigarmata, who couldn’t manifest due to the influence of dimensional waves, quickly manifested through that misalignment…
He would truly be crushed by a calamity he brought upon himself.
‘I have no choice. This method is the only option…’
Luke’s eyes sharpened slightly.
———
The next day.
“Hey, Luke!”
“Oh, right. Good to see you.”
Daphne greeted Luke excitedly as he tended to his flowerbed.
Luke returned the bright greeting.
“You seem to be in a good mood today!”
“Yeah.”
Today, Luke indeed looked happier than usual.
Just yesterday, he hadn’t smiled that brightly.
Could it be because of the new watering can he bought?
“Hmm, so you really like that watering can? Is it working well?”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad you like it!”
“Thank you.”
Seeing Luke so happy like that was genuinely rewarding for her.
‘I’m glad I gifted him the watering can.’
From a little distance away, Sanson was watching Luke with a warm smile.
Daphne approached him and spoke.
“Isn’t it a really pretty flowerbed, Sanson?”
“Yes, it really is. Who grew these?”
“As you can see, these flowers were grown by Luke himself.”
“Really?”
Sanson’s eyes widened in disbelief, to which Daphne smiled as she replied.
“Absolutely. We just lend a hand occasionally.”
“Is that so?”
“But if he doesn’t do things as he wants, he’ll get angry.”
“Is that so? Luke must really love flowers.”
“Yes, he does.”
Daphne looked back at Luke again.
Seeing him reminded her of when he first went out to the forest and picked flowers; it brought back a flood of memories.
Back then, Luke was so interested in flowers that he could name the flower language of Manalo and recite stories tied to those flowers.
When he walked, holding the flowers as if they were treasures because he had something to apologize to Yerna, now to see him all grown up.
When Luke was discovered in the forest, he was in such a pitiful state with a thin body and bruises everywhere…
Compared to that, Luke now was indescribably healthy and matured.
“Time flies by so fast.”
Now he had friends who celebrated his birthday at the Academy.
Then, suddenly, Daphne noticed something different about Luke.
He wasn’t wearing the necklace he had received as a birthday present from a friend.
‘Did he forget it?’
It was a necklace he always treasured and played with whenever he had the chance. It was strange.
————–
In the lodging, while Daphne was recalling memories by watching Luke tend to the flowerbed, a small figure in a hooded robe quietly moved deeper into Luke Forest.
It had a rather suspicious appearance.
Rustle, rustle.
Hearing the sound of someone approaching in the grass, it hurriedly hid its body.
What approached was a Forest Keeper.
Glancing to check, the figure hid behind a tree again.
– Stomp, stomp, stomp.
As the footsteps gradually faded, the figure sighed and emerged from behind the tree.
“The patrols are frequent… Is it because of the support that the personnel are so abundant?”
However, the voice that came from that figure was that of a very young girl, completely unlike the suspicious behavior.
The girl brought her hand to her neck to look at her necklace.
Reflected in the brilliantly shining deep blue Lunar Stone necklace was none other than Luke.
“Kate hasn’t been spotted yet, has she?”
——–
A few minutes ago, here’s how the events unfolded.
Luke, who found it difficult to leave because Sanson kept looking for him, devised a plan.
A decoy.
Setting up something to draw attention momentarily.
So, who did he set as the decoy?
It was the giant doll, “Kate,” which Luke had received as a gift from Yerna in the past.
Luke placed a cat doll in the flowerbed.
One difference, though, was that he dressed the doll in clothes he usually wore.
In contrast, Luke wore the sorcerer outfit that the cat doll had been dressed in.
If he brought the clothes separately, it might raise suspicions, so Luke opted to swap outfits with the doll.
Fortunately, the doll was quite large, so it didn’t seem too unnatural even when he put on the outfit that Dayton had bought as a souvenir.
“Alright, it’s almost done.”
Luke then took out the tail hair he had collected and sprinkled it on top of Kate’s head.
This made it look as if it was a comical scarecrow.
If it had eyes, no one would have any reason to fall for such a trick.
But once magic was added, it was different.
“Aleph, Hallus.”
Using magic that alters recognition and presents illusions, the scarecrow, which seemed like it couldn’t be mistaken for Luke, now looked almost identical.
Well, just keeping it like this would buy him some time, but it might not be enough.
Luke grabbed the feather he had stuck on top of the sorcerer hat.
It wasn’t just an ornamental feather; it was something Luke had previously stuck a golden eagle’s quill pen into.
Luke swiftly wrote the persona activation magic formula on the back of the neck.
Once the final line of the magic formula was written, then finally, the “Kate” resembling Luke opened her eyes.
“Good, the eye color is correct too.”
Luke handed the watering can to Kate and asked.
“Who are you?”
“I am Kate.”
“What should I do?”
“You are a decoy for Luke.”
Nodding at that, Luke thought the persona was adequately created.
Now, it was time to determine her capabilities.
With a snap of his fingers, Kate’s previously emotionless doll-like face began to show a little life.
“Luke, what are you doing right now?”
Lightly smiling, she replied.
“I’m tending to the flowerbed.”
That was an accurate answer to what he had input.
“I’m going to have lunch; would you like some?”
“I’ll pass for now.”
“When will you be done tending to the flowerbed?”
“I don’t know.”
Good, it wasn’t a problem that she could respond to the questions asked.
Even though he had no time to develop the personality to the point of forming complex sentences and had hastily written it, simple answers would suffice.
Well, for now, that was enough.
Luke tucked the computer under his arm and stood up.
“Alright, then take care while I’m gone.”
“Sure, have a good trip!”
“Hmm…”
However, being seen off by a doll that resembled him felt oddly peculiar.
It made his heart tingle a bit and made him want to pet her head…
‘Hmm, so this is how I looked to others?’
Luke soon thought that he should tone down the smiles he gave to others.
