“Ah, is that so…? I understand…”
Yerna dropped the disconnected cellphone from her ear and sighed as she laid her head on the table.
Seeing this, Luke approached her and patted her back, saying, “Is something not going well?”
“Well… I’m searching for a facility to take Ru, but it’s not easy.”
“I thought so. I can’t continue living in this house forever… I hope we can find that facility soon.”
“…Ah.”
Luke’s comment was meant to express that it would be rude to keep relying on her, but coincidentally, it held a different meaning for Yerna.
‘Well, I shouldn’t continue staying in such a nice house…’
Moreover, Luke’s calm demeanor made her feel even more guilty.
“No, it’s not that! I’m the Forest Keeper, and I often have to be on duty, which means you’ll be left alone at home! You might meet a better family than me…”
Seeing Yerna flustered, Luke thought he understood why she was acting that way. She was a woman living alone, and having a child like him in her home might inadvertently disrupt her life.
Luke didn’t want to impose on her, so he spoke as quietly and confidently as he could. “Well, I understand. I’m not that young. Just to clarify, I’ve lived quite a long time. So, I can manage on my own just fine.”
Though Luke spoke with nonchalance and assurance, to Yerna, it came across as the typical bravado of a child.
After all, Luke did not appear ‘old’ in the slightest, on top of having been kidnapped and abused, his memories were jumbled, and he couldn’t even bathe on his own. He was a pitiable child who was so uninformed that he barely even knew what cocoa was.
Yerna felt a fragmented sense of responsibility.
For a moment, an awful thought flashed through her mind about adopting the child.
‘Ugh, no. That’s not possible. He’s not a pet; this is definitely not something to take lightly. I could never raise a child. Still, Ru is mature and listens well…’
Yerna, who had been mulling over the options of raising him or not, ultimately delayed her decision again.
“Phew, let’s stop looking for today. Ru, you can play with the cellphone.”
“Really? Is it okay?”
“Of course! But you can’t play with it for too long like last time.”
“I’ll try my best!”
As Yerna handed the cellphone to Luke, his eyes sparkled as he accepted it as if it were a treasure.
Watching the girl’s beautiful smile bloom as she excitedly touched the cellphone brought a warm feeling to Yerna.
‘Is it really that pleasing?’
It was truly a heartwarming sight.
Yerna reminisced about a few days ago.
——
“Yerna, what on earth is that?”
Luke was in awe of the incredibly advanced artifact that Yerna was manipulating.
Lightning magic, light magic, communication magic, preservation magic…
The types of magic revealed by his magical sight were countless, yet the artifact was only as large as the palm of his hand.
To fit that much magic into such a small size was craftsmanship that even the Dwarves of Helkensan, known as the gods of smithing, could not imitate.
Moreover, the many spells activated and deactivated simultaneously with perfect precision, without so much as a fraction of error.
Just observing this strange balance was astonishing, and the core at the center that adjusted and regulated everything to near perfection…
Such a beautiful array of magic was something he had never seen before.
So, it was inevitable that his gaze was drawn.
“Truly, this is a ‘wonder’…”
“Ha-ha, is it that amazing? This is a cellphone.”
“Cellphone?”
“Yes. You can make calls or watch videos. Do you want to try it?”
“Is it really okay for me to touch such a precious thing…?”
“What’s there to worry about? Just don’t break it.”
“I’ll do my best! Thank you so much!”
Luke took the cellphone and immediately turned it around, inspecting it with his magical sight.
‘Wow, to think that even with my magical sight, I can only discern fragments of its technology is incredible… I can combine lightning and light magic like this? Then, what could be the reason for this arrangement?’
Yerna watched with a warm smile, only observing as Luke examined the cellphone. To her, he looked just like a child fascinated by a shiny new toy.
“Ru, you really like it?”
“Of course! This kind of magical tool is something I’ve never seen in my life. I feel like my horizons are expanding!”
“Anyway… ”
Yerna was amazed by Luke’s rich vocabulary that was not fitting for his age (though that was just his appearance).
‘Where in the world did he learn to speak like that? Did he read a lot of books? What an interesting child.’
But then, Yerna suddenly remembered that there were warnings about the cellphone’s light damaging children’s eyesight, so she said to Luke, “Ru, be careful, don’t play too close to your eyes, or your vision might get worse.”
She knew it would be nagging, but she couldn’t help it.
Still, she thought that since he was such a good listener, he would understand and follow the suggestion without issue.
“……”
However, Luke, already consumed in deciphering the countless magic circles in his mind, completely missed her words.
Yerna felt a wave of panic and said, “Ru? Ru Irusi? Hey? Are you not listening to me?”
But even after several attempts to call him, the lack of response seemed to shock Yerna, causing her expression to harden slightly.
‘Right, this is probably how normal children are. No matter how grown-up Ru acts, this is something that can’t be helped.’
But as an adult, it felt necessary to make sure that he wouldn’t be staring so closely at the phone that it damaged his eyesight.
Yerna steeled her resolve and snatched the cellphone from Luke.
“Ah, what’s happening all of a sudden…?”
Luke was startled and flustered as his observation target was suddenly taken away, his voice mixing confusion with anger.
A mage places great importance on their curiosity above all else.
If someone were to snatch away the object of their research and observation in front of them, no matter how great a grand mage they were, they could not hide their emotions for a moment.
But Yerna, interpreting this merely as childish whining, firmly resolved to use this opportunity to set him straight and spoke in a deliberately stern tone.
“Ru! I told you, if you look too closely, your eyes will get worse!”
“Well…”
‘It’s not that I can’t see the magical arrangement; it’s just so delicate that I cannot see it without getting closer…’
It was true, eyesight could indeed worsen, and at his young age, he might need to pay attention to such things. However, the body of a mage was different from that of an ordinary person.
The Circle was, in other words, a sign of one’s will etched upon one’s flesh.
The basic foundation of magic, the Circle, was the act of self-awareness, understanding, adjusting, and ultimately governing one’s own body.
Thus, the moment one carved a Circle into their heart, it became possible to manipulate their body’s mana according to their will.
Therefore, it was theoretically impossible for a mage to suffer worsening eyesight.
Even though he lacked a Circle for now, it was certain he would be able to carve one once he gathered enough mana.
So, for the time being, there was no issue in referring to himself as a mage.
Luke boldly declared, “I won’t get worse eyesight because I’m a mage!”
However, to Yerna, who found this a child’s stubbornness, she refuted him in an instant.
“What nonsense! Mages also get worse eyesight!”
“N-No way…?”
Luke went into a panic at her exclamation.
How could it possibly be a joke that a mage could suffer from poor eyesight?
“I-I must be wrong! A mage can’t get poor eyesight!”
“Then, does that mean Ru thinks I’m a liar?”
At Yerna’s words, Luke felt a shock wash over his head, which had been heated with anger.
He realized he was being unreasonable.
She was the owner of the artifact from the start and had treated him kindly, with pure goodwill.
Yet, it seems he had made her into a liar.
“Well, no, but…”
As the excitement in his head cooled, the emotion that rushed in was embarrassment.
After all, it was an unknown artifact from 5,000 years into the future.
It was possible that there were powerful hazards that could even harm a mage’s eyesight.
She was only worried about him.
With pure goodwill.
‘But did I just throw a childish tantrum?’
Luke tried to express his sincerest feelings. “Yerna.”
“……”
Yerna, arms crossed at her waist, raised her chin as if to say ‘go on’.
In response, Luke bowed his head deeply and recited his apology with respect.
“I apologize for my earlier outburst, truly… It’s just, I was so astonished by such a marvelous artifact. Could you please forgive me? I will ensure to pay attention to your words from now on, so please let go of your anger.”
“……Phew.”
Yerna couldn’t contain her laughter any longer.
“Ha-ha-ha!”
“Why, what’s so funny?”
“What does all that mean! Ru, do you memorize things like that?”
“I-I just said it…”
Luke felt heat rising to his face.
“Please don’t tease me too much…”
“Ha-ha-ha! You old soul, really!”
“……”
An old soul? Luke thought that description fit him perfectly.
