Jack Ruseka, a vigorous 15-year-old, wanted to know Luke’s contact information.
He eventually ended up being taken to the hospital with his remaining arm hanging limply.
Watching the festival staff carry Jack on a stretcher, Luke thought, ‘Perhaps it was a bit harsh to treat a kid who had already injured his arm like that.’
It seemed that the stress accumulated from his recent misfortunes, compounded by the much lower performance in the café than expected, had finally erupted.
However, it was certainly not right to unleash pent-up emotions on students, even if they were just 15 years old.
After all, Luke had vented his anger on those students, and he felt a late embarrassment.
Still, he didn’t feel much regret.
The displeasure he felt was a genuine emotion, and although it was becoming a bit more emotional, he believed that his reaction itself was justified.
Why, even after revealing his age of 10, did he still insist on being intrusive?
He had to admit that because of an incorrectly set growth rate, he looked older than 10, but it was largely Jack’s fault for not heeding any polite refusals.
To Luke, being treated like a liar was a truly unbearable insult.
And what if he had been a genuinely weak little girl with no power to reject that kind of attention?
He probably would have been forced to provide his contact information without any resistance.
Moreover, judging from his familiar demeanor, it didn’t seem like this was the first time Jack had acted this way.
How many girls had felt fear from such ‘advances’ in the meantime?
Thus, Luke had no choice but to take matters into his own hands.
If he let it slide, it was obvious that the same thing would happen to someone else.
Therefore, his actions were already sufficient for self-defense, and since he was legally considered 10 years old, there shouldn’t be any legal issues either…
The scene he showed Jack earlier seemed to have been a bit shocking, as Third and Yumi were quiet as if they had lost their voices.
“……”
“……”
In the past, he might have thought it was nice to have quiet, but Luke now understood what kind of atmosphere this was.
‘It seems they are scared because of what happened earlier.’
After all, from a surgical perspective, even if a dislocated joint caused no significant injury while ensuring pain was fully delivered, seeing a friend’s arm bend in the opposite direction would be quite shocking for an ordinary child.
This was probably the first time Third had seen such an angry side of him…
Therefore, to break this icy atmosphere, Luke had to step in directly.
Gently rubbing Yumi’s tense shoulders, he spoke.
“Don’t worry too much; your friend is in capable hands. He should be fine soon.”
“W-What? A friend? Who are you talking about?”
“That boy from earlier; wasn’t he your friend? Were you not worried about him?”
“Eh? N-No, not at all!!”
“Really? Is that so?”
Luke was taken aback by Yumi’s sudden outburst.
Her shouting after being quiet was like a ringing in his ears.
This kid really had quite a voice for her size.
Could it be because she was a dwarf?
As Luke stroked his ears, a flustered Yumi lowered her voice and whispered.
“They were the ones who were bothering me! So… I was just thinking about how to thank you!”
“Wait, they bullied you?”
Hearing that, Luke tilted his head in confusion.
From the conversation earlier, it seemed like she was just wanting to play with an oddly met friend.
“Yes, those kids were quite persistent in bullying me at the Academy… They ordered me around like a servant, took my money, and hit me…”
“What? Really? Can you tell me more details?”
“U-Um…”
Yumi hesitated to speak.
—–
Listening to Yumi recount the bullying Jack had done to her, Luke was deeply shocked.
Assault, threats, extortion, harassment…
Even hearing a little bit was enough to recognize that these were serious crimes.
Only then did Luke realize that Yumi was also suffering from bullying.
In truth, he had very little information about how kids nowadays ostracized and bullied peers.
Though things had improved a bit since he defeated the Demon King, survival was still difficult, and ostracism among peers had not been a serious issue. Luke himself had never experienced being the target, so he had no grasp of its severity.
However, how could he have known about the more organized and subtle modern bullying due to the developments in communication magic?
No matter how grand a wizard he had once been, he wouldn’t have anticipated that children attending the same academy would behave like that.
In fact, because he had never been weaker than anyone in social situations as a ‘grand wizard,’ this might have made it impossible for him to foresee such behavior…
Having only read the one-sided emotions of delight from kids like Jack, how could he have accurately grasped the situation?
Luke found himself regretting that he had intervened with Jack.
“…Is that true?”
-Nod.
Luke rubbed his chin for a moment, then turned to Third.
“Third, I’m starting to understand the campus violence you mentioned. You knew about that fact, didn’t you? From your righteous mindset.”
“Y-Yeah, um, kind of…”
Third somewhat agreed with Luke’s assumption.
In fact, if one were to examine it closely, the actions were not entirely motivated by righteousness.
He was merely looking for an excuse to confront Jack due to the odd behavior he had displayed in response to his presence.
However, it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say that Jack’s words and actions towards Yumi had no influence at all, and so Third nodded appropriately.
“I see, so that’s how it was.”
Hearing Third’s response, Luke nodded even more satisfyingly.
In truth, Luke didn’t particularly agree with the notion that violence could never be justified as stated in moral textbooks.
Isn’t that equivalent to saying that even he, who killed the Demon King to protect the world, and all the brave soldiers who risked their lives to protect their homeland in battle, were wrong?
Luke’s opinion was that the only way to combat violence in this world was with greater violence, and that the law was merely a means to allow the weaker parties exposed to unreasonable violence to use another form of legitimate violence, and that there was no other alternative.
Thus, Third’s so-called ‘campus violence’ was, for Luke, a perfectly justifiable and righteous act of violence.
Luke wore a highly satisfied expression and said.
“Alright, I’ll talk to Yerna about the guardian issue, so I’ll take care of it somehow. I’ll also help ensure that there are no issues regarding settlement funds.”
“Ah, thank you!”
“Yeah.”
It was then.
“E-Excuse me… I have something I want to ask too.”
Yumi, who had been silently observing after finishing her story, raised her hand to catch Luke’s attention.
Luke, smiling to reassure her, asked.
“Hmm? What is it, Yumi?”
“May I ask what your relationship with Third is…? And I think you mentioned you were 10 years old; is that really true?”
“Ah, was that troubling you?”
Luke chuckled a few times, rubbing his forehead.
‘This child seems to have misunderstood my relationship with Third.’
Perhaps it was because his voice was close and clear that he could easily read the emotions carried through it.
‘She has feelings of jealousy, caution, envy, and admiration towards me.’
In the past, when he was also unfamiliar with spirit language, he could understand only one or two emotions at a time, so he couldn’t interpret such complicated and intertwined feelings. However, now, having become accustomed to a variety of emotions and able to empathize with others, he was able to interpret such complex emotions.
Still, he was still a novice compared to spirits, and could only do so from strong voices with intent at close distance.
“Third is my student. I teach him magic, and he learns from me.”
“Y-Your student? So you’re teaching Third?”
“Yes, well, I’m quite exceptional, you know. Hahaha.”
Luke spoke boastfully, intentionally trying to make it easier for Yumi to understand.
Yumi then turned her head towards Third as if to ask if that was true.
Third nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“And yes, I really am 10 years old. So feel free to call me as you would a friend, just like I do.”
“…Eh? You don’t look like it at all…”
“Right? I don’t seem like I’m 10, do I? Haha. That’s something I often hear.”
Moreover, Third sighed and muttered along with Luke’s words.
“Well, I can’t even believe how old our master claims to be.”
At that, Yumi’s face began to flush.
What kind of misunderstanding had she been having all this time!
Luke is really 10 years old, and it’s just that he shows a bit of a genius talent for magic and is in a teaching relationship with Third!
Third murmured quietly while Yumi, stunned into silence, was processing everything.
“I can’t help but feel that claiming to be 10 is a bit of an unreasonable setup…”
“Oh, my age is officially designated as 10, you know.”
“Yes, but really, no one believes it now…”
“…”
What was he supposed to do about his body growing uncontrollably?
In truth, it had been adequately suppressed to match the appearance before gaining polymorph.
Considering how growth occurs with circles, there was no way to slow it down.
Luke clapped his hands to conclude the discussion.
“Alright! Now that the matter is settled?”
“Yes, the reason I came to find you is…”
Well, it seems like the conversation has concluded well, but in truth, this could not be the end.
Even after today, Yumi would have to continue attending the Academy, where she could constantly face dangers and bullying from students here and there.
Luke, who was not accustomed to the bullying of kids nowadays, knew that too.
“Alright, well, I also have a condition for agreeing to help you.”
“A condition?”
“Yumi, did you say you don’t have a phone?”
“Yes? Ah, yes…”
Luke extended his hand to Third and said.
“Third, hand me that ring.”
A condition, you say? Does that mean he wants to take the ring as payment?
After all, despite their master-student relationship, he didn’t expect Luke to help without anything in return.
Moreover, this ring had originally been a gift from his master.
The rights to it had belonged to his master from the very beginning.
Therefore, Third removed the ring without hesitation and placed it in Luke’s hand.
Luke took the ring from Third and examined it.
Then—.
Snip.
He split it in half.
“…!”
“!!”
Both children wore shocked expressions witnessing the scene.
One was astonished by Luke’s ability to casually snap something that looked like it was originally two rings, and the other was baffled by Luke’s action of cheerfully breaking the ring he had given her.
Then, Luke handed each child one of the rings that had transformed from one into two.
“Here, this one is for Third, and this one is for Yumi.”
The enchantments on the ring given to Third provided two functions: mana accumulation assistance and location detection.
The important function for Third was the mana accumulation assistance, while the necessary feature for Yumi was the location detection.
By sharing these two, it would allow Third to help Yumi if she ever found herself in danger later on.
“How is it, Third? Is it okay?”
Realizing the intent behind Luke’s actions, Third nodded in awe.
“Indeed, I understand.”
‘You are saying that those whom you help once must take responsibility until the end, just as you have done for me.’
While Third understood that concept, Yumi was still left in a daze.
Recognizing that she needed to explain more to Yumi, Luke spoke.
“Yumi, take good care of that ring. If you remove it when in danger, Third will come to help you. It has that kind of enchantment on it.”
“Really? This tiny ring?”
“Yeah, well. If you really don’t believe me, you can test it later. And…”
Luke cleared his throat and mumbled.
“I told you to treat me casually since I’m 10 years old… Hmm.”
“Uh, I’m sorry. You’re older and prettier than I am, so it’s hard to believe you are 10…”
“…Doesn’t that make me blush?”
Luke coughed again in embarrassment due to Yumi’s innocent attack and changed the subject.
“First, try it on your finger. We need to check if the size fits.”
“Ah, alright!”
Yumi hurriedly slipped the ring onto her finger.
As if it were perfectly tailored for her, the ring fit snugly.
At that moment, another thought crossed Yumi’s mind.
‘H-Hey, isn’t this basically a couple’s ring with Third?’
