After finishing the exercise, the refreshing sweat I shed felt significantly different from the sweat that dripped down from the heat even when I stayed still.
Just at that moment when I fully understood this fact.
Luke, who had been unable to cope with the unprecedented heat for a while, finally realized how to escape from the heat.
“Alright, this really is a perfect magic formula.”
Luke looked at the image of the magic circle drawn on the back of the sofa with satisfaction and sipped the iced tea he had placed nearby, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
The magic circle drawn on the sofa was a frost-type magic formation.
Although there were many variables that I had to calculate in my head since I couldn’t receive help from Magic Sight, the enchantment was successful nonetheless.
During the heat, my head had been dizzy to the point where I couldn’t remember anything, but I had a quill made from the feather of a golden eagle.
This meant I could enchant objects with at least primitive magic formations.
Even though I had to complete the enchantment purely by hand because I couldn’t use circles, which would greatly decrease the sophistication, what did that matter?
As long as it operated properly, that was all that mattered.
I couldn’t see the flow of mana, but visually, it looked quite good.
Luke approached the sofa and flung himself onto it.
The temperature of the sofa was pleasantly maintained at a cool temperature, akin to a pillow that feels nice when you bury your face in it for the first time on a bed.
The performance of the enchanted sofa was surprisingly decent.
“Haha, this is great!”
Originally, I had hoped for it to be a bit cooler than this, but it was sufficient for now.
‘Now I can finally think properly.’
After all, it was impossible to think deeply in front of the refrigerator.
Because it was too cold, I often had to pull my tail out of the refrigerator, and with Luke’s personality of not adequately watching his surroundings when focused on something, it was too difficult to manage studying and researching at the same time while having to always pay attention to that.
This led me to feel restricted in my thoughts, but now that I had made a sofa that maintained a cold temperature, I could finally sit down and engage in deep thought.
“Okay, let’s make some progress now.”
Having gathered his thoughts, Luke opened his notebook.
It was time to tie up the loose ends of “Research on Black Flames,” which could heal Yerna’s burn, and the “Final Recipe Revision of the Soul Healing Potion,” needed for the Third.
Since I didn’t have Magic Sight, I had to reduce improvisation as much as possible.
For Luke, Magic Sight was not just an eye that could see mana.
That very eye was the source of countless magical ideas and the window to thought.
How could a mage who could see mana think in the same way as ordinary people who couldn’t see it?
Since magical mistakes could be seen immediately, there was no chance of making errors.
You could verify all reactions and results in the experimental process with your eyes right away, allowing you to change recipes or experimental content immediately, thus significantly cutting down on research time.
Furthermore, since it read the mana of everything that exists in daily life, it also easily brought forth magical ideas that one would not normally think of.
Such Magic Sight was something I couldn’t use right now.
Could a painter who had lost their sight, a musician who could no longer hear, or a chef who had lost their sense of taste understand the sense of loss that Luke was experiencing?
Luke’s diminished magical strength and the decreased ability to wield magic due to the absence of circles had severely impaired his ability to conceive magical ideas as well.
Though this represented the general viewpoint of ordinary mages, that fact didn’t particularly comfort Luke right now.
As he sat on the sofa reviewing the data and ideas written in his notebook, Luke eventually closed the notebook.
The recipe for the soul healing potion seemed good enough as it was.
Since it was originally drafted, and I had carefully reviewed it this time, I was sure that I could create the elixir with the desired effects by following this recipe.
But the problem was the black flames.
None of the calculations seemed to fit together.
I had no idea how to tackle this, and it felt hopeless.
“This is difficult.”
A challenging problem.
In the old days, this would have been something I longed for, but now it was not welcome at all.
If I could quickly wrap up the interpretation of the black flames, I could heal Yerna’s burn and capture the clues of the person who created the artifact in Sigarmata by interpreting black magic…
I understood that impatience can be poisonous to new thoughts, but it was tough.
It was frustrating that something I already knew in my head couldn’t be executed easily.
Emotions.
They were always just resources that Luke could manipulate at will.
With mere determination, it was not difficult to quell any emotion, and if needed, it wasn’t hard to summon up any emotion as well.
But now, it wasn’t easy to move my emotions at will.
Happiness from the coldness of the refrigerator made my lips curl up unknowingly, and I panicked at the thought of falling from Dayton’s shoulder, getting angry at Dayton for putting me in that situation.
I hadn’t tried to, but I thought I could still control my emotions…
“Right now, I’m far too emotional.”
Had I been with the spirit for too long? Or was it because the influence of the circle had diminished? Or could it be due to…
The loss of ‘Luke Irus’?
“An empty shell…”
Luke muttered the word that Sigarmata had referred to himself.
She had clearly described her ego as the shell of an egg.
The shell of an egg protects an immature egg, but once the life inside has grown sufficiently, it is no longer needed.
Is ‘Parvati’ truly still alive?
If Sigarmata wasn’t mistaken, and if Parvati was truly alive…
What on earth is that child ‘afraid’ of?
Is it this world, or…
Is it because of oneself?
“I don’t know, not at all.”
Lost in thought, Luke sprawled out on the sofa.
He then looked at Pyris, who was happily drawing in her sketchbook with crayons and rolling around on the floor.
How serene she seemed. It would be nice if I could share even a little bit of that optimistic personality with her now.
That way, perhaps this headache would lessen a bit.
“……”
At least, the cheerful humming of the spirit provided a little comfort to my frustrating emotions, and Luke closed his eyes.
——
“Hmm, hmm~.”
The child sprawled on the floor, drawing on the sketchbook and humming was none other than Pyris.
She bobbed her head to the rhythm and even shook her feet back and forth.
“Hehehe.”
Drawing was really enjoyable.
The feeling of just scraping the crayon across the sketchbook was nice, and it was wonderful to express scenes I had seen in long-lost memories.
And most importantly, the best part about drawing was that I could draw not only scenes I had never seen but also the landscapes I wanted to see.
As I finished drawing a scene where I played with my sister, I realized that there were no more blank pages in my sketchbook.
I must have already used them all up.
Pyris soon approached the sofa where Luke was lying, peeping her face over and extending her sketchbook.
“Sister, I drew all of this. Other things…”
But as soon as Pyris saw Luke, she caught her words.
Ah, he was sleeping.
“What should I do…?”
I couldn’t wake him up.
When I poured ice on Luke while he was sleeping in the icebox before, I got scolded badly for touching him while he was asleep.
I thought he would like it…
Anyway, I couldn’t wake him up.
He had made it clear that he absolutely did not want anyone to touch him unless it was a critical moment where his life could be in danger, or something like that.
Moreover, what I had done with the ice wasn’t specifically intended to wake him up.
It was a very one-dimensional action because I thought it might be better for him to sleep cooler.
If I were to leave Pyris alone like this, I couldn’t imagine what embarrassing way she would put me in trouble next time, so Luke had no choice but to issue a warning that I shouldn’t be touched when I was sleeping.
“Hm…”
For that reason, Pyris, who couldn’t touch Luke’s body, fell into a moment of contemplation.
No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find anything in the house that I could use as a sketchbook. Yerna sister had told me not to draw on the floor or walls.
When I asked if it was okay to draw on things like desks or cups, she corrected me, saying not to draw unless it was paper at all.
So, if it wasn’t paper, I couldn’t draw…
“Ah!”
Pyris spotted the notebook that was on Luke’s stomach.
‘I can draw on that!’
Although Luke had said not to touch him while he slept and not to lay hands on him, what if I did it without waking him up and without touching his body?
Pyris gracefully lifted the notebook from Luke’s belly with the dexterity of a spirit.
——-
A short while later, Luke woke up with a start from a feeling of emptiness in his stomach.
“Gah!”
Oh dear, I had been sleeping with my stomach exposed!
Quickly, Luke tidied up his clothes and calmed his startled heart.
How long had I been lying there with my bellybutton out?
Did I mumble in my sleep or something?
‘There shouldn’t be any sleep-talking… Could this be due to the changes?’
If I had indeed talked in my sleep, I would have to refrain from sleeping in the living room dressed like this in the future.
After all, it made it hard for my heart to calm down at the thought of someone else seeing my bellybutton.
At least, the good thing was that no guests had come to the house.
If I exclude myself from the equation, there was only one person here, and that one person was Pyris.
Pyris was someone I usually always spent time with, so there was really no need to hide my bellybutton now.
Well, I wouldn’t be wearing these clothes outside anyway, so it didn’t matter.
“Phew…”
Anyway, it seemed that I had a pleasant sleep thanks to the enchanted sofa.
Now it was time to plunge back into my contemplation.
Luke began searching for his magic notebook.
However…
“Hmm?”
It wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
Where on earth could it have gone?
If it had fallen during my sleep-talking, it should be nearby…
‘It’s too small for a sketchbook.’
Just as he thought this and looked at Pyris, he suddenly shouted in surprise.
“Wait, Pyris! Isn’t that my magic notebook?”
“Yes! I drew a picture!”
“What in the world have you done…!”
He paused.
Luke, who had been about to get very angry, stopped when he saw Pyris’s drawing.
The area Pyris had drawn on was precisely where he had been researching black flames.
However, Luke couldn’t express his anger after seeing the drawing.
Caught up in the black circle depicted above it, he became entranced.
‘The black circle…?’
Some thought seized Luke’s mind.
“Pyris, what have you drawn here?”
Without any delay, Pyris answered.
“Yeah, it’s the sun.”
“The sun…?”
Luke mumbled as if in a daze.
Well, normally a sun symbolizes light and is typically drawn in bright colors.
Yet, why did Pyris draw it in black…?
“Oh!”
Finally, Luke gasped in sudden realization.
‘Of course, it was a solar eclipse!’
The moment when the symbol of light falls into darkness.
Light embraces darkness and emits black heat.
Was that the secret of black flames!
It felt as if the massive obstacle blocking my mind had shattered.
Oh dear, how could I not have thought of such a simple thing?
Filled with delight, Luke hugged Pyris and exclaimed.
“Pyris, you’re a genius! Hahaha!”
“Really? Sister, did I draw well?”
“Absolutely! You drew it so well! A black sun! Hahaha! This is truly an amazing idea!”
“Hehehehehe.”
Pyris was pleased that Luke was so happy with her drawing.
However, the black sun was simply drawn in black because she had used up all the red crayon while drawing a mountain in autumn.
But she chose not to say that.
It felt nice to be called a genius.
