As expected, when Luke entered the classroom, he received enthusiastic attention from the children, including Mary and Shirud.
“Wow! You’ve grown so much during our time apart!”
“You’ve grown as much as Mary!”
At that, Mary also approached Luke, surprised as she pressed her head against his.
Shirud looked up at Luke with astonished eyes.
“It’s true, Luke! Now we’re the same height!”
“What on earth happened…?”
Was Luke’s sudden growth that shocking?
Well, even though Hyun typically grows quickly at this age, the speed must have been unusual enough to catch the children’s attention.
However, considering Luke’s level, while it might be rare, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
Given that Mary had always been taller than her peers, it didn’t take long for the children to come to terms with it.
“If you have good habits, your body will grow quickly,” Luke said.
Of course, this wasn’t a lie.
What is ‘right’ can vary for each individual.
For Luke, that method was to expand his ‘Circle.’
But it was likely different for these children.
“If you all eat well and exercise hard, you’ll grow quickly too. And sleep early at night.”
For these kids, this would be their own ‘right’ way.
“Got it!”
“Then could I grow if I don’t complain about food?”
“I’ll have to exercise hard from now on!”
“Should I stop staying up late…?”
As the kids reflected on the importance of good habits after witnessing Luke’s growth, their homeroom teacher, Emma, opened the classroom door and entered.
“Quiet, quiet. Everyone, please take your seats. I will call the roll now.”
“Yes-.”
——
After a commotion settled down, class began as usual.
And the first class was magic class.
However, Luke had no interest in the second-year academy-level magic class, as he had gone further in his review of Circle magic.
Even Shirud found the magic class currently of no value.
The teachers, well aware of this fact, responded in a way that allowed for some distractions, as long as they didn’t interfere with the class, making this time similar to self-study for Luke and Shirud.
Luke lowered his voice and whispered to Shirud.
“Shirud, how did it go with what I asked before?”
Quickly recalling what Luke had previously asked, Shirud replied,
“Didn’t I say next week?”
“Yes, next week. What’s happened?”
“I’ve mentioned it to my grandfather already.”
Why next week? Luke was scheduled to depart then.
The magic competition was being held in Beriton, where the most extensive research on Class Magic had occurred since its inception.
That meant Luke would need to take a plane, which posed a problem for him.
Although he had focused on safety and shielding external magic after exhausting his Circle,
Luke now harbored a level of pure magic surpassing even the core of a typical World Tree. Because of this, he wasn’t in a state to board a regular plane.
Thus, he would need a special plane capable of carrying individuals with high Circles, like Shirud or Solrid.
However, such planes were exceedingly rare, prohibitively expensive, and involved procedures that were far more complicated, making it quite burdensome.
Perhaps Shirud’s family intentionally used a private plane due to such inconveniences.
In every way, it required too much money and effort for what was essentially just a test flight.
So it was quite some time ago that he’d made that small request of Shirud.
Thankfully, Shirud readily agreed.
More precisely, it was his grandfather Solrid who permitted it.
“Grandfather just happens to have business in Beriton next week, so he’ll take me along then.”
“That’s a stroke of good luck. Thank you!”
Luke nodded with a smile.
“So, Shirud, do you have time tomorrow?”
“Time? Well, I guess… but what’s up?”
“Well, my family recently moved, and I now have my own room.”
“Is that so? That’s great.”
“Before going to Beriton, I was wondering if we could hang out with some friends. What do you think? I want to talk about some other things too.”
“Uh?”
Shirud was slightly flustered.
A girl inviting him to her room?
And it was the room of a girl he once had a crush on.
“……”
Shirud quickly regained his composure.
It was indeed a ‘girl inviting him to her room,’ but Luke was different from the others.
Once he began to think that way, the slight fluttering in his chest quickly subsided, replaced by curiosity.
‘What on earth has Luke decorated his room like?’
No matter how he thought about it, Luke’s room was unlikely to be like an ordinary girl’s room.
While Shirud had no experience entering other girls’ rooms, he still could grasp a rough atmosphere.
But if Luke was the one decorating it…
It wouldn’t be strange at all if it resembled a magic research lab.
‘That actually sounds kind of fun!’
Taking a large breath, Shirud chuckled and replied.
“Then I’ll ask my mom if I can come over tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.”
Luke smiled widely at Shirud.
To be honest, Luke had his reasons for wanting to meet with Shirud that had nothing to do with Helena.
He needed to discuss the marketability of his ‘tea’ as well, and to do that, he needed to invite him to his somewhat outfitted room at least once.
‘Alright, if I can appeal to Shirud well, getting permission from Serena will be all but secured.’
In situations like this, it was advantageous to garner support from those around first before directly targeting the adults.
Since people are emotional creatures, hearing positive responses from those around them naturally leads them to accept things positively.
The key is that it’s particularly effective when the surrounding figures have trust, and if one of them happens to be a ‘child’, people tend to yield significantly.
“……”
It might feel a tad underhanded, but honestly, it’s not wrong.
‘First targeting those around’ is just another way of persuasion.
Strictly speaking, it could be understood as getting a little help from one’s connections.
Besides, it’s not like he’s selling defective products that only look good on the surface; he’s offering high-quality tea that’s good for the body.
If Serena’s shop has a good reputation, that’s an advantage, not a downside.
“I’ll take it as a yes for tomorrow.”
Having smoothly navigated the invitation to his house, Luke nodded contentedly.
‘Now, there’s just one thing left to prepare.’
———
At that moment, while Luke was smiling satisfactorily, Shirud had come to a realization.
“……”
This sensation he had since earlier.
He felt that Luke had not only grown taller and more mature in presence but that other things had grown as well.
In other words, something more fundamental…
‘Could it be the Circle?’
If so, that would indeed be something to celebrate.
Luke always congratulated him whenever his Circle grew.
However, he couldn’t mention that at school.
After all, Luke was already at 4 Circles; if he publicly stated he was at 5 Circles, it would surely cause a frenzy.
Because no magic user above 5 Circles had officially existed so far.
And Luke disliked having that fact mentioned publicly.
He worried about the excessive attention that would be drawn.
At least at school, Luke didn’t want to get swept up in such issues. While he had promised Shirud they could disclose that he had a Circle, they had agreed never to mention ‘what Circle’ it was.
Shirud also accepted this arrangement.
After all, it was unnecessary to mention ‘Circle,’ as Luke and Shirud could still converse.
So, without much thought, Shirud pointed to Luke’s chest and asked,
“Luke, by the way, have you…?”
“Hmm?”
“Grown?”
The implication was clearly about whether his Circle had grown, and under normal circumstances, Luke would have understood that. However, the sudden growth in his chest made him sensitive at that moment.
“Uh, uh…?”
The question about whether his Circle had grown was interpreted as one regarding his chest.
‘I thought I was hiding it pretty well; how did she notice so quickly…?’
“……Your powers of observation are impressive. Can you tell?”
In reality, Luke believed that after removing his tight jacket, it was difficult to notice due to his baggy vest.
From the start, Luke hadn’t had much interest in women’s bodies, so his indifference only grew.
Thus, Luke considered that there was no need to specially use Polymorph to reduce his breast size.
Even if it was slightly uncomfortable, it was negligible compared to the inconvenience of using Polymorph.
Moreover, he was already employing a minor Polymorph…
But perhaps that was a deception easy to detect even for a ten-year-old?
Luke was bewildered.
‘No way, I didn’t expect her to ask so directly…’
Shirud had a puzzled expression due to Luke’s strange reaction.
“Of course I can tell; I used to touch it directly back then.”
Luke’s Circle was indeed touched before.
Perhaps it was that memory which made it easier to gauge Luke’s advancement?
But at Shirud’s words, Luke became even more flustered.
“……Y-Yes, but…”
It was true that Shirud had touched his chest before.
Did that mean she could distinguish the difference based on that memory!?
That instance was merely an unconsidered effort to have her feel his Circle, but how each person interprets their memories differs.
Thus, Shirud might have been able to gauge the growth of his chest based on that memory…
At that moment, Shirud innocently asked,
“So, you have grown, right?”
Of course, this was about the Circle.
“……It has grown.”
This was concerning his chest.
“Congratulations. That’s great.”
Naturally, a congratulation regarding the growth of the Circle.
“……Thank you.”
Luke slightly frowned at Shirud’s congratulations, turning his body slightly away.
“Ahem. But about what you just mentioned. I’m fine, but if you tell the other girls, it might be considered harassment, so be careful.”
“Uh? What? What did I just say?”
Shirud broke out into a cold sweat at Luke’s unexpected reaction.
———
A short while later, after the misunderstanding was cleared, Luke pressed his forehead against the desk in silence.
Wasn’t he just being foolish and pathetic for having such a misunderstanding?
