Providing evidence that magic was not used was relatively more difficult than finding evidence that it was used.
In reality, though he did not use magic, if he were to investigate the traces of magical power, the traces resulting from the ‘polymorph’ spell cast on him would harm his claim instead.
However, Luke, who certainly did not want to be spanked or to stand with his hands up against the wall, did not easily give up asserting his innocence.
There are methods that can only be used because he looks like a child.
Luke appealed with a very aggrieved expression.
“Ah, mom, I’m really telling the truth!”
“Uh, mom?”
Yerna was taken aback.
Suddenly calling her mom?
To be honest, she was pleased that Luke seemed to finally acknowledge her as his mother, but at the same time, she thought, ‘at a time like this?’
She couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something calculating about it.
So Yerna barely managed to put on a stern expression and said.
“Um… Mom isn’t scolding you for using magic, but for lying. Lu, is it really a lie?”
“It’s not a lie! Why don’t you believe me? What on earth would I use magic for in a place like this?”
To be honest, using magic just to break a sandbag was quite an extravagant waste, wasn’t it?
Wasting mana on such a meaningless prank that had no productivity was an absurd waste, and Luke was a mage who not only disliked waste but also abhorred it.
“I’m not really using magic… I just hit it a bit harder…”
Besides, if he intended to use magic to destroy that sandbag, it wouldn’t be impossible to completely annihilate it in the blink of an eye without even having to touch it.
If destruction was the goal, Luke, being a perfectionist, would prefer that outcome instead.
“But mom doesn’t believe me.”
As Luke’s voice trembled with frustration, Yerna’s eyes began to waver.
“Ah, no. I just thought you were lying…”
In truth, for Yerna, the fact that Luke had used magic was less important than the fact that Luke was lying.
Worrying about using magic was more about the danger, while lying was something to get angry about.
But looking back, the scene clearly indicated the use of magic, yet Luke insisted he hadn’t used magic, so she only pursued him as a liar, without a solid argument derived from logical reasoning.
In fact, there was no perfect 0%.
So, claiming that he did not use magic was not a perfect 0% either.
And Luke was a being that existed at the extreme of that 0%, a chimera created as a result of things that were entirely impossible to conceive in everyday life.
Unless he had no information about everything concerning the chimera, the possibility that ‘Luke produced this result using only his physical abilities’ certainly existed.
“….”
Seeing Yerna appear to be deep in thought, Luke did not miss the opportunity, raising the emotion of grievance in his voice and continued as if muttering.
“… Because we’re family, you should believe me…”
“… Ah, I get it! I’m sorry! Mom was wrong! So please don’t cry, stop!”
Eventually, due to a consistent statement laced with sincerity, Luke’s innocence was proven.
Sometimes, it was necessary to prioritize emotions over logic.
——-
However, even if the misunderstanding was cleared up somehow, that fact did not fix the broken sandbag.
He swept up the spilled sand and disposed of the sandbag that had become unusable.
Of course, he would have to compensate for that damage.
It was truly an enormous waste.
Luke decided to treat this as a study of the internal structure of sandbags in this era.
If not, this commotion would have been completely meaningless.
“….”
But he couldn’t suppress the feeling of guilt.
After all, bursting the sandbag was his fault, and it was true that it led to unnecessary expenses.
Thinking that this all happened due to his lack of understanding of his own body made him feel genuinely embarrassed.
Well, he had known that the strength of this body was stronger than a typical being, but from the beginning, there had been no reason for Luke to do anything that would require using his body’s strength, so he also had the issue of not knowing his body’s limits.
As a mage, Luke wasn’t the type to enjoy physical labor, and given that this body appeared to be a very slender girl’s, there had been no cases in which it was employed for tasks requiring great strength.
However, the one who needed to understand this body most perfectly in this era was Luke himself.
Excluding himself, no one else could possibly understand this body.
But to make excuses, he had no ‘memories of the chimera entering’ the circle, so his entering ‘this body’ was unintentional.
It was probably half an accident.
As a result, he had no idea how his body would react, making his own body the greatest unknown, even more significant than any high-level class magic theory of modern times.
Simply put, Luke’s body was currently in a state of ‘functioning perfectly, but without knowing the principles behind it.’
What Luke had learned about his body up to now was merely recalling the origins of materials and suggesting possibilities and hypotheses; he had not confirmed that everything worked exactly that way.
So, Luke still could not predict what strange occurrences might happen in his body in the future.
‘Moreover, I ended up provoking Yerna too.’
Also, Luke felt very embarrassed about having whined like a child just to avoid punishment.
What kind of emotional appeal was that? Looking back now, he realized he had hastily clutched at any method available.
It was acceptable to use the fact that this body looked young, but for a mage to appeal to emotions over logic… Luke felt pathetic for being unable to think of any other way.
How could a mage, who was supposed to present thorough evidence and logic, have no other method than to plead, ‘please just believe me’?
If he were a mage, he should have presented evidence.
But then, how exactly was he supposed to show that evidence?
Was he to make a hole in the wall, saying, ‘if I had used magic, it would have been like this’?
No, that couldn’t serve as evidence at all.
Magic does not always produce greater destructive power, and the degree of impact can be adjusted in countless ways.
So how was he to demonstrate that he had not used magic at all?
Claiming to not have used magic was actually a type of argument that left no evidence, wasn’t it?
If that were the case, he would have to prove that there was no evidence of magic being used, which was a perspective Luke had never considered before.
It stemmed from Luke’s ignorance of the perspective of an ordinary person who ‘cannot see mana.’
They would not know what kind of magic the other person was using, when they were using magic, or if they were using magic at that moment, and so on.
Thanks to his innate magic sight, Luke could recognize such minor details just by looking, making it hard for him to think about how to present evidence to an ordinary person.
It was indeed not an easy task, akin to explaining how red colors seem to a colorblind person.
‘… It would be great if others could see mana like I do.’
Currently, the method of tracing ‘magical traces’ had too many flaws.
In simple terms, it was somewhat like observing the depth or shape of a footprint and guessing the person’s height and weight from that.
If the footprint is deep, it suggests that the person is heavy, or if the footprint is large, it indicates the person is tall, or if the footprint is quite eroded, that it must be old… and so on.
That approach was quite valid.
However, from Luke’s perspective, as someone who could forge or manipulate magical traces, it lost its credibility.
Luke could press harder with his foot to create deeper impressions or move lightly to produce shallow footprints.
He could make larger prints by jiggling up and down or smaller prints by standing on tiptoe.
If it’s possible to be aware of and manipulate magical traces like this, anyone could evade this tracking method of magical traces.
Of course, the method of tracing magical traces itself was not erroneous.
Even though manipulation is possible, one cannot entirely erase the magical trace itself.
The only thing that can erase magical traces is time.
‘If more people could possess magic sight, then there would be no need for such methods.’
But magic sight is genuinely a rare talent, and even if someone happens to possess it, there’s no guarantee that they would have magical talent as well.
Moreover, even if someone has both magic sight and talent, they might lack the means and sponsors to learn magic.
Furthermore, in olden times, there weren’t many instances where individuals even realized they possessed magic sight.
Ordinary commoners like farmers often never even got to see magic in their lives.
In that sense, the existence of the hero, Luke Irushi, is akin to a miracle.
With magic sight, a genius talent, considerable wealth and power, coupled with an impeccable character, such a person has never appeared in history again.
But what if everyone were able to have magic sight?
Perhaps the world could change once more after classes.
Perhaps someone in this vast world could discover an incredible magical pattern that even Luke himself could not conceive, or perhaps someone could create a remarkable alchemy recipe!
But the problem lies in ‘how’ to implement magic sight for everyone.
Luke had certainly pondered similar questions in the past, yet he had not succeeded.
There was not enough time, resources were lacking, and he lacked foundational laws or knowledge.
However, now was different.
‘Ah.’
The modern era had the class magic system, remarkably intricate high-performance enchanting methods, and infrastructure for mass production.
That meant it was not something entirely impossible anymore.
‘It wasn’t possible in the past, but perhaps it is now…’
With that sudden thought, all of Luke’s nerves began to run in that direction.
——–
While driving, Yerna suddenly glanced at the rearview mirror to check if Luke was alright.
In the mirror, she saw Luke, who had been sitting with a rather gloomy expression and petting the teddy bear ‘Liv,’ now making a serious expression, furrowing his brows.
Did he have some complaint?
Continuing to drive, Yerna asked Luke.
“Lu? Do you need to go to the bathroom? Should we stop at a rest area?”
“No, just keep going like this.”
“Then, are you hungry?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Then… are you feeling stuffy? Should I roll down the window?”
“No… Hah. Could you please stop talking? I can’t think at all.”
“Uh, okay….”
Luke responded curtly as he struggled to do mental calculations while Yerna continued to talk.
However, oblivious to Luke’s internal turmoil, Yerna muttered softly to Dayton, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
“I think I upset Luke earlier and made him really sulky. What should I do?”
“Well… Luke is still a kid after all….”
Dayton chuckled, appearing to find it difficult.
After all, though he seemed mature, when scolded, he would fall into a sulk just like Diana without much difference.
However, Dayton knew very well through Diana how to help a child recover their mood in such moments.
“Let’s secretly buy something delicious later. Luke likes food, right?”
“Mm… Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
A little later, Luke ended up enjoying cheese tonkatsu for the first time in a long while.
It was truly delicious, yet he couldn’t help but wonder why he ended up eating it.
