Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
The Academy, which arrived a little late.
The sight of more than ten enormous buses lined up in the parking lot was grand, reminiscent of a royal garden where various carriages were gathered for a convention.
As Luke watched this modern spectacle, he soon discovered a group of children gathered in one place.
It seemed everyone else was already there, so Luke put a little more strength into his legs, adjusted the carrier he was carrying, and quickened his pace.
As he joined the other children, the first ones to catch his eye were, of course, Mary and Shirud.
“Mary, Shirud. I’m really sorry. Were you all waiting for me?”
When Luke approached and asked from behind, Shirud turned his head in Luke’s direction and replied.
“Uh, no. There are many others who arrived later than you, so we were just waiting…”
Shirud glanced at Luke’s luggage and looked a bit flustered.
It was no wonder; the carrier Luke was holding seemed enormous enough to fit a child without any discomfort, and it was puffed up as if it could burst at any moment.
It looked as though it might actually be on the verge of bursting, as it appeared to be secured with a belt.
As Shirud felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down his cheek, he opened his mouth.
“What on earth did you bring so much?”
“Well, it… it wasn’t that heavy…? Is that why I was late?”
Mary, perhaps sharing the same thought as Shirud, said something similar.
Luke replied in a bewildered voice.
“Is this a lot?”
Luke turned to look at his own backpack and thought.
It was incomprehensible.
Currently, he was a citizen of this country, that is, ‘Aires.’
That meant that in the foreign country called ‘Beriton,’ he would be considered an outsider.
In any nation, the reason for the existence of the nation lies in the protection of its own citizens.
As the saying goes, “an arm bends inward,” when an incident occurs, a nation will always lean toward its own citizens rather than foreigners.
Luke knew this fact very well, almost too obviously.
He had already experienced it firsthand.
No matter how respected he was as a grand mage in Arinseia, stepping into a foreign country would mark him as a person of interest, a potential threat.
Hence, as soon as Luke stepped into a foreign land, he faced significant diplomatic disadvantages.
Therefore, whenever there was a chance of venturing into a foreign country, he always had to conceal himself first. However, since he could not reveal himself as a grand mage during the process of concealing himself, traveling abroad inevitably required extensive preparation.
“Isn’t this level of preparation basic when going to a foreign country? It’s not something that should happen, but what if we were to encounter bandits or face an accident on the way? I believe one should always be prepared for every situation.”
Preparation, as far as possible until the very last moment, was Luke’s opinion.
Well, it wasn’t the reason he was late, though.
“Why would we encounter bandits…?”
“Aha…”
Shirud cupped his forehead as if tired, while Mary nodded, suggesting she understood somewhat.
Regardless, as Luke propped his chin and recalled the past, Emma appeared holding a sheet of paper with the children’s names written on it and called out loudly enough for all the kids to hear.
“Alright, I’ll check if everyone has arrived. Please raise your hand and respond when I call your name!”
“Yes—!”
——–
A girl with blue hair was cheerfully humming a tune.
“Hmm, hmm~~ hmm, hmm~~”
“Is that really that good?”
“Good? Good!”
If one were to ask what was so enjoyable, the answer was incredibly simple.
She had merely been told that they would buy ice cream after this health check-up.
In fact, it was quite a tiring affair.
She was brought to the hospital, forced to part from Luke, the one she didn’t want to leave.
That was also part of the reason Luke was a little late this morning.
Yerna pondered as she looked down at Pyris’s smiling face.
The possibility that this child was truly a spirit…
Perhaps Pyris might be the only spirit of this era.
And her sister might also be the only dragon and magical beast of this era.
There was a commonality there, if it could be considered a commonality.
So Yerna immediately took Pyris to the hospital where Luke had examined her previously.
She needed to understand what condition this child was in.
Of course, having the results of that examination would also make it easier when going through protective procedures.
Yerna briefly recalled what had happened yesterday.
——-
“…This is absurd.” That was Dayton’s opinion.
“Wow, she really looks just like Luke.” This was Daphne.
“Insane. She’s super cute.” This was Sorbi.
“Really.” Lastly, this was Kirke.
Unlike Luke, Pyris seemed to enjoy being petted.
Whether poked in the cheeks, pulled on, held high, or had her nose squeezed, she responded with adorable laughter every time.
She was just a child who loved physical affection.
It appeared that she found joy in human warmth.
Perhaps it was a sensation she couldn’t feel while in her state as a spirit.
Yerna gazed down at the girl with blue hair with a slightly loosened expression and muttered.
“Pyris…?”
“Yep, that’s me!”
Every time her name was called she would cheerfully raise one hand, an entirely cute sight.
This child was so innocent.
Although she seemed to be around the same age as Dayton’s younger sister, she didn’t fully understand language, unlike Luke.
Fortunately, she seemed quick-witted enough to engage in simple communication, but when trying to have a deeper conversation, she merely tilted her head in confusion.
So when asked how she knew the name ‘Karina Lisspend,’ she could only respond, “I just know.”
That statement was supplemented by Luke.
“Perhaps as a spirit, there’s a way to know these things. As far as I know, spirits are quite attached to their ‘names.’”
“I see.”
Although Yerna thought that it likely wasn’t just for that reason, she decided to let it slide for now, as nothing else came to mind.
Anyway, regarding her younger sister, who has become a ‘spirit.’
In fact, Luke himself probably wanted to say that she wasn’t exactly his ‘younger sister,’ as he seemed hesitant. Yet, every time that happened, Pyris would make a sad face, and he would simply go along with it, reluctantly accepting the title.
However, seeing Pyris’s ecstatic reaction, it didn’t seem too unreasonable for her to be considered a true sister.
No, could it be that she truly couldn’t be ‘not’ a sister?
Maybe it was just that Luke couldn’t remember?
What a tragic sisterhood.
Yerna felt a slight pang of sadness but decided not to show it too much.
There was no need to intentionally reveal her sadness.
It seemed everyone else present shared similar thoughts.
Anyway, returning to Pyris’s lack of language proficiency, fortunately, Luke was able to resolve that.
By some means of chatter, akin to incomprehensible babble or humming.
“Lu, what are you saying right now?”
“‘Spirit language’. Normally, we communicate like this.”
“Is that so…?”
To think that the melodies they hummed day after day were actually a means of communication in ‘spirit language’ with Py…
It appeared Pyris had been following Luke around and conversing with him even after becoming a spirit.
Wasn’t that a profoundly touching and romantic story?
“…~~.”
“…~~…”
‘Spirit language,’ it was truly a delightful form of communication.
Watching the two children, resembling twins, engage in a similar type of babbling was quite adorable.
It could very well be some sort of secret code between them.
Perhaps it was indeed necessary.
Listening to the two children hum in a similar tone as if they were harmonizing felt like it would make one’s heart flutter, and emotions might well up.
‘How fascinating.’
Speaking of which, I have heard that twins can communicate without words because they understand each other perfectly.
Could it be something similar to that?
However, that didn’t necessarily mean they were saying anything profound; Luke simply shook his head while providing translation with little substance.
“That’s incorrect. Pyris knows nothing at all. She just started eating what she could eat, and before she realized, she became like this. She probably didn’t even know if this was really happening.”
“Really knows nothing?”
“Exactly.”
“Then what did she talk about for so long?”
“Food. Things she wants to eat. Things she has eaten.”
The simple and straightforward answer left everyone with blank expressions.
“…So Pyris only talks about food?”
In response to Kirke’s question, Luke nodded.
“I suppose so. I think that will continue for a while.”
Luke sighed, looking at Pyris with sympathy as he spoke.
“She wouldn’t have been able to eat anything while in her form as a spirit.”
Hearing that, Dayton gasped in shock and shouted.
“My goodness, how long has this child gone without eating?”
“Um…”
As if trying to answer that question, Pyris looked down at her fingers and toes and began counting one by one before shaking her head and bursting into giggles.
“Don’t know!”
“Oh right, she probably doesn’t have a sense of time. Spirits usually don’t bother about concepts like time.”
———
Returning to the current situation, Pyris waited for her examination, happily sucking on a piece of candy.
‘Indeed, this expression looks just like Luke.’
It was true.
The only thing different was that Luke’s expression when he first ate fried pork cutlet was replicated in just one piece of candy.
After a long time without tasting flavors, could it be that she simply loves ‘taste’ in and of itself?
A moment later, a boy with a sullen expression was seen sitting in a chair.
“I don’t want to get a shot… Why do I have to get it when it doesn’t even hurt?”
“This is a shot you get when you’re not hurt, so you won’t feel pain later. It’s to become sturdier.”
“I don’t want to; can’t I not get it?”
“No, if you get it when you’re in pain, it hurts more.”
“Anyway, shots also hurt!”
The back-and-forth between the child and mother continued for a while until the boy’s name was called, and he disappeared.
In the now still room, Yerna chuckled internally.
“Haha, I used to really dislike getting shots when I was younger too.”
At that moment, Pyris, who was looking at Yerna with a serious expression, spoke.
“Shots…? Karina, will I get a shot too…?”
“Uh, probably.”
After all, to perform a blood test, they would need to give a shot.
“Eep…”
Pyris’s voice trembled slightly in what seemed to be fear, and Yerna stroked her hair, saying,
“Are you scared of shots?”
“Yeah…”
“…”
It’s perhaps understandable.
Well, but there’s no way to avoid the blood draw, right…?
As she was contemplating how to soothe the child, suddenly, a loud wailing came from within.
“Waaaaah–! It hurts–!”
“Geez, why is that child overreacting…?”
It seemed that boy from earlier had just gotten his shot.
Hearing the crying, Pyris jumped up in surprise.
And then, she began to run towards the sound of the crying.
“Pyris, wait a moment…!”
As a result, Yerna found herself hastily chasing after the girl.
“Waaaaah–!”
“Stop it, I said stop! The doctor gave you candy too!”
Yet the crying showed no signs of stopping.
Finally, upon reaching the source of the wailing, Pyris asked the boy who had been crying,
“Does it hurt? Does it? A lot?”
The answer was simple.
“It hurts–!”
It was perhaps obvious how Py would react upon hearing that answer.
“Waaah…!”
The thought that another child might start crying made the boy’s parents try to soothe Pyris with the gentlest voices they could muster.
“No, this is just him being dramatic. It’s really nothing.”
“Right, it’s going to be okay, Pyris! We’ll buy you ice cream after this, remember?”
However, that statement would have no impact on the spirit, who reads emotions authentically.
Pyris squeezed her tear-filled eyes shut and said,
“Wait? Where did that child suddenly go?”
“…Ah.”
She ran away.
Probably turned into a spirit.
‘How do you catch a spirit…?’
