Luke, having received the cellphone, spent some time referencing the magic array in the cellphone to revise the magic equations he already knew.
As a result, these days, he found more enjoyment in designing magic arrays for concepts that came to mind in his notebook rather than in books.
Indeed, it can be said that Luke has been extraordinarily happy over the past few days.
A perspective he had never considered before.
A level of delicacy he once thought physically impossible, predicated on extreme precision.
“The shorter the distance the mana travels in the circuit, the overwhelming response speed it yields… I knew theoretically that as the size of the magic formula decreases, its performance increases, but…”
It’s not a borrowed cellphone; it belongs to him.
This means that even if he completely disassembles it, there’s no one to blame at all.
In fact, he had the urge to take it apart right then and there.
However, Luke had no intention of actually disassembling the cellphone just yet.
He understood well that impulsively dismantling a magic device without proper disassembly equipment was virtually equivalent to destruction.
It would be a significant loss and a matter of regret if he ended up breaking the cellphone he had finally obtained.
Thus, for Luke, it was best to analyze the mixed workings of the magic formulas that emerged while manipulating the cellphone.
“Hmm…”
Luke repeated this task every day.
With his cellphone, notebook, and pen, wherever he went.
Every time he looked at it, new inspirations arose, and how could he, a mage, suppress that curiosity?
In truth, he never really had the intention to suppress it.
He even reached the point of scribbling magic arrays while lying down for his own sake.
At first, Yerna thought it was a relief that Luke was enjoying it, but as time went on, she began to worry.
“Is he going to become addicted to the cellphone?”
In fact, to Yerna, Luke’s behavior already resembled cellphone addiction.
It wasn’t entirely incorrect.
Luke was indeed deeply captivated by the cellphone.
He would grin all day with the cellphone in hand, so much so that he was drawing the shape of his cellphone in his notebook.
No matter how happy he was to have the cellphone, was he really so elated that he drew pictures of it?
And they were drawn quite specifically.
Moreover, from the moment he woke up until he fell asleep over the past few days, he hadn’t let go of it even once—when exactly did he charge it?
So, it was impossible not to worry.
Back when he read books, one could at least think it was for studying, but now he was just staring at the cellphone all day.
“Luke has changed.”
Just look at how, even during meals, he doesn’t put down the cellphone.
“Luke, no cellphones during meals.”
“Mm…”
Yerna called out, but Luke merely fiddled with the cellphone, mumbling through a mouthful.
He probably couldn’t hear her because he was so focused on the cellphone.
“Luke, Luke!”
It was only after Yerna called out several more times that he suddenly turned his head this way.
“Ah. Yerna, did you call?”
He had a truly innocent look on his face.
A pure expression, oblivious to any wrongdoing.
“Hand over the cellphone; it’s being confiscated.”
“Wha—what…?”
Yerna almost weakened at Luke’s shocked expression, but she thought of it as being for his own good and spoke with a firm expression and tone.
“You’ve been too obsessed with the cellphone lately.”
“Th—that’s… But I haven’t kept it out of my sight for, like, all this time…?”
He realized it was a pitiful excuse.
Yet, Luke had nothing to say beyond that level of excuse.
“Still, it’s too much.”
He was certainly aware of that, but what could he do?
Every time he looked at it, it was something new, and since he hadn’t even understood 20% of its functions, how could he, a mage, find meals appealing?
Thus, Luke certainly didn’t want to give it up.
The essence of modern magical engineering that he had finally acquired.
He didn’t want it to slip out of his hands even for a moment.
Any mage would feel the same way.
If they could elevate their level of knowledge, they’d even eat dirt lying on the street.
But Yerna was his benefactor, someone he had to repay in the future.
If he showed her a bad side of himself, it was entirely his responsibility.
He intellectually understood it was reasonable to hand over his cellphone to her.
But his curiosity and thirst for knowledge, instinctive as a mage, resolutely rejected giving it up.
He had to give it up. But he didn’t want to.
The conflicting impulse was evident in Luke’s fidgeting as he tightly grasped the cellphone with both hands.
That sight, resembling a squirrel clutching its acorns tightly, made it impossible for Yerna to suppress a smile.
Seeing the genuinely angry expression on Yerna’s face made Luke lower his head deeply and say,
“I’m sorry… But…! I’ll do whatever you wish, so please just spare me the confiscation…”
“…Alright, Luke. Let’s talk after you finish eating. For now, put the cellphone down during meals.”
“…Understood, I will do that.”
———-
Luke sighed while looking at the paper Yerna wrote titled ‘Rules.’
“Limiting cellphone use to three hours a day? Isn’t that rather harsh all of a sudden…?”
Three hours is indeed a significant amount of time, but it’s rather inadequate given that he had spent a whole 24 hours researching and made such little progress.
To suddenly limit it to three hours would be far too insufficient.
At this point, Luke’s yearning for new knowledge was stronger than ever.
While he couldn’t say that his desire had ever been weak, back then he had ten circles embedded in his heart.
The reason Luke lost that desire by the time he reached the ten circles was perhaps that he no longer saw anything “new” to express his desires upon.
After some contemplation, Luke still deemed the general three-hour limit to be insufficient.
“Then there’s nothing I can do. Within those three hours, I’ll have to set aside understanding the magic array and focus solely on copying the magic formula.”
He could do the analysis later with the copied version.
Luke opened the sketchbook left at his home by Ru’a Eraast last time she visited and carefully and intricately drew the cellphone.
For parts that were too intricate to reproduce by hand, he scribbled in nearby empty spaces.
While he might not be able to observe the practical workings of it, at least if he sketched a rough form like this, he could conjecture from the array.
Just the replication of this simple magic array allowed him to discover a few aspects he had overlooked, so it could be said it was a quite beneficial time.
“This much might not mean it’s flawless, but at least I can continue my research even when the cellphone isn’t usable.”
When the promised three hours passed, the cellphone’s screen locked.
He didn’t know which magic had caused this, but this lock state was designed such that it couldn’t be manipulated until Yerna released it.
Having mostly analyzed the outer layer of the magic formula already, this state rendered the cellphone lacking the same value it once had to Luke.
At first, he did make an effort to unlock it, but the magic array appeared quite sophisticated, and he couldn’t find a way to dismantle it immediately.
If enough time was devoted to studying the cellphone, perhaps he could unlock it later.
If that day ever came, he might find himself losing interest in the cellphone.
Finally, Yerna returned from her forest patrol.
“Luke, you didn’t cause any trouble and did well, right? You only used the cellphone for three hours?”
“Well, didn’t you set the unlocking magic yourself?”
“Yes, I did.”
Yerna picked up the cellphone Luke had placed on the table and checked it. It was indeed in a locked state.
“Isn’t that a bit too quick to use up the three hours?”
After all, if he wasn’t using the cellphone like that, would he really be sitting there drawing pictures and reading books?
Nodding in agreement that the time limit was the right approach, she gently ruffled Luke’s hair as he sat on the sofa.
“But what exactly are you drawing…?”
Yerna looked down at the sketchbook to see the illustrations of the cellphone Luke had drawn.
From the front, side, back, and the operating screen, the magic array drawn around it bore a resemblance to a magic device.
“What is that?”
“Oh. It’s something I drew to refer to when I can’t use the cellphone. No need to worry about it.”
“….”
It was incomparably more meticulous, detailed, and precise than the messy doodles he had previously scribbled on the notepad.
He drew this just in case he couldn’t use the cellphone?
Perhaps Luke was already in a state of addiction…
“Luke, do we really not need to confiscate the cellphone?”
“Don’t say something horrid! Why are you saying that? I’ve fulfilled all my promises to you!”
Luke jumped up in shock from the sofa, holding Yerna’s hand as he spoke.
“Alright, alright.”
While his reaction was too intense to be reassuring…
“But Luke doesn’t fulfill the second promise.”
“…Y-yeah, Yerna, about that… Can you please let it go?”
“No.”
If Sorbi could do it, then there was no reason that she couldn’t.
Seeing Yerna’s determined expression, Luke muttered “sister” and trembled with his head bowed.
In response, Yerna, playfully, locked eyes with Luke and said, “Luke, do you really like your sister that much?”
“W-well, of course I do!”
Seeing Luke’s forced smile reminded Yerna of Diana’s reaction when she ate mint chocolate, making her smile.
“If she’s a guardian, it would be appropriate to call her mom, but…”
It’s too much to call her a mom when they aren’t even married yet.
