“Hmm hmm hmm.”
It was Luke’s laughter.
That laughter was not just a sound of relief from finally reaching the bathroom in time and taking care of business comfortably.
After all, using the bathroom on time is something that should be taken for granted.
So, such a trivial thing wouldn’t be enough to bring about such a joyful laugh from Luke.
Then what could make Luke smile so deeply from the heart?
The reason was as follows.
‘The teleportation was successful.’
Teleportation is magic of space, and the fact that it was successful meant that his ability to dominate his own space was assured.
So, at this moment, he had undoubtedly obtained the power of ‘dominion over space,’ which is an 8-circle skill.
In fact, the bathroom Luke used this time was not the Academy’s bathroom.
Having barely arrived at the second bathroom, he was met with the disheartening sight of a ‘Under Construction’ sign, and he was faced with a final crisis where even his mana could no longer sustain him.
He realized that if he moved anymore, the result would be uncontrollable before he even got to see any other bathrooms on different floors.
Now, there was only one way left.
‘Let’s use teleportation.’
It was a means he conjured up like a gamble after racking his brain with all his might, and indeed, the formula matched up perfectly.
Luke was delighted that all the elements he had prepared until now meshed together like gears to successfully yield the tremendous result called ‘teleportation.’
“Hmm—.”
He was so thrilled that he even broke into a little tune.
If his spirit, Py, had heard it, it probably would have started dancing around joyfully to the delightful rhythm.
“That was excellent.”
Yes, no matter how great his magical talent and knowledge were, it was generally impossible for Luke, being at the 5-circle, to perform an 8-circle teleportation.
One could use a spell one step higher with some effort, and until two steps higher, if one risked their life, it was possible to fit it together once with good luck, but a difference of three steps was completely impossible.
However, fortunately for Luke, there was not just circles but also the modern magical system of classes, and there was an ‘integrated equation’ that tied together multiple phenomena such as space and time, and there was a supercomputer, Arinseia, acting as a medium.
And that certainly played the role of an 8-circle magic.
“I’m glad I connected the computer and the phone in advance.”
Currently, Luke’s phone was connected in a triple connection method between the phone and the computer, and the computer and Arinseia.
Thanks to that, he could perform teleportation calculations without having to carry around the computer.
Of course, there were various aspects to be improved.
For instance, he could not even attempt teleportation beyond the coordinates he already knew, and the required mana was excessively large.
And since the ‘Hourglass of Reverse Heaven’ was not in a complete state, deleting calculation delays through time acceleration and instant teleportation was possible only once a day.
Also, after removing a calculation delay, the computer’s performance dropped to one-tenth, the remote delay increased significantly, and it became unusable due to those critical issues.
But what did that matter?
An 8-circle was a level far beyond the reach of most genius mages.
Luke was in a state where he had managed to catch even a fragment of that power using the strength of material!
This would undoubtedly help him later.
In fact, right now, it had been quite a big help.
Although he felt slightly embarrassed that such a magnificent technique was only being used for the urgent need of going to the bathroom, the joy of the success of the teleportation outweighed that feeling.
With such a happy heart, as he returned to the clubroom, Luke encountered Kaila’s subtle gaze.
Could it be that the earlier push in the hallway had left her with some lingering resentment?
Luke immediately bowed his head and apologized to Kaila.
“I’m sorry. I was in a hurry earlier.”
Then, Kaila smiled, waving her hand as if to say it was nothing to worry about.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. That can happen! So, did you manage to go well? You seem to look more relaxed.”
Luke felt uncomfortable about why she was looking at him like that about going to the bathroom, whether he did so properly or not.
At his age, who couldn’t even go to the bathroom properly that he should be receiving such inquiries?
“… I did manage to go.”
“Good to hear.”
“…”
Luke was left speechless at the words of ‘good to hear.’
Good to hear? Did Kaila think he looked so urgent that he was about to embarrass himself before even reaching the bathroom?
But even so, he honestly had nothing to say.
It was true at that time.
Luke felt his face heat up slightly.
Well, he didn’t seem to sense any malice from her, so he walked over to sit next to Kaila, tidying up the clutter of tea leaves and tapioca he had strewn out on the table while changing the subject.
“Anyway, let me update you on the progress of the recipes I’ve tried so far. So far, based on the combinations I’ve…”
Just then, as Luke was about to explain about the recipe, Kaila interrupted him.
“Hmm, first of all, before that, this.”
“What is this?”
Kaila pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to Luke.
Luke instinctively read the magical energy emanating from the object as he took it.
‘This formula is… Hm, a heat-generating artifact?’
Indeed, upon grasping it, he immediately felt a warm sensation through his palm.
This was probably an artifact commonly carried by the Hyun, who tend to feel the cold especially during the cold winter months.
It seemed to be a ‘hand warmer.’
“Hand warmer? Why this?”
“How is it? Warm?”
“Yeah. It is warm. But it’s useless to me.”
However, it was something useless to Luke.
Luke could regulate his body temperature freely using magic.
He also had a constitution that inherently felt less cold or hot, and if it got too cold, he could use Py, which he had modified long ago.
“Here, take it back.”
As Luke was about to return the hand warmer he received from Kaila, she instead pushed the hand warmer back toward him with her palm and shouted.
“No! Just accept it. Keep it on your belly!”
“On my belly? Why?”
When Luke questioned, not understanding the situation, Kaila approached him, smiling brightly.
“Today is a tough day, right? On a day like that, you need to keep your belly warm.”
“On a day like that…?”
Luke listened carefully to the phrase ‘on a day like that’ that Kaila had mentioned.
‘Keeping the belly warm on a day like that’—what could that possibly mean?
After a moment of contemplation, Luke suddenly realized the meaning of ‘on a day like that.’
‘Keeping the belly warm would mean talking about stomach issues!’
Could it be that he looked that urgent?
No, it was correct that he was urgent at that moment, but it was not a stomach issue.
Luke wanted to correct Kaila’s remark, but correcting it by saying it was not a big deal but a small one seemed too odd, so he decided to just go along with it.
As Luke followed along quietly, Kaila smiled contentedly and asked.
“How about it? Feeling better?”
“… I think I feel a bit better.”
Luke closed his eyes, feeling the warmth.
Though it seemed like a meaningless action for someone like Luke, who was hardly susceptible to illnesses like the common cold, he was still a living being, and if his body was at a suitable temperature, he naturally felt better.
He didn’t know why Kaila was suddenly like this, but regardless of whether it was needed immediately, the warmth felt against his belly wasn’t bad at all.
If it was a sunny day in spring, it would feel nice through the window.
Or if it was warming up a body soaked with snow by the fireplace in winter, that too felt nice.
This warmth felt similar to that.
At that moment, while enjoying the warmth, Kaila spoke in a very gentle voice.
“Luke, I’ve already told the others. If it’s tough, you can go home.”
“Wait, what?”
Luke’s eyes widened at Kaila’s words.
What did Kaila just say?
Did she really tell all the members about how he had rushed to the bathroom in such an embarrassing way?
“Why would you tell others that?”
Was this revenge for earlier pushing her in the hallway?
Kaila had a tendency to gossip a lot.
Previously, when she made a move on Luke, she spread rumors through Kaila’s words that he was being teased by his classmates as the ‘pervert who hit on a 10-year-old.’
Could this also be some childish retaliation?
If it was her intention to brand him as the ‘bathroom boy’ throughout the Academy as revenge for having pushed her once, it was only natural that he wouldn’t be able to hold his anger.
Kaila seemed very adept at making a fool out of people while pretending to be worried.
Now that he thought about it, Kail had been quite skilled in that regard too.
Now that he noticed, their names were also similar.
Could it be that Kaila is the reincarnation of Kail?
Of course, he had never resorted to such petty means.
Luke felt a rush of shame and anger turn his face completely red.
A strong grip formed on the hand holding the hand warmer, feeling like it might burst at any moment.
Seeing Luke’s expression, Kaila thought he was embarrassed because of her kindness, and she instead patted his shoulder and spoke more confidently.
“Well, that’s only natural. We’re ‘companions’ after all.”
“Companions, my foot!”
With Luke’s shout, the grip on the hand warmer tightened, causing it to finally burst.
Then, the molten mana dust that had been ground from the magic stone fell to the floor in a shower.
“Kaila! You’ve crossed the line! Why would you tell others that I went to the bathroom! Are you trying to spread rumors about me?”
But it was Kaila who was taken aback.
“Huh? The bathroom? What do you mean? Wasn’t it because of your period?”
“Period? What are you talking about? Why would I have a period?”
——
In the end, Luke couldn’t let Kaila off easy.
While the misunderstanding was cleared, Luke felt an even greater embarrassment from having to clarify the messages Kaila had sent to the others.
Luke asked Kaila, who was sitting politely at the table.
“Now, tell me. Why did you meddle in other people’s business like that?”
“No, it’s just that…”
Kaila, who needed to respond, started to roll her eyes and then closed them, shouting.
“Ugh! I don’t know how to apologize, so just hit me once!”
“Huh, hit you once…”
That was a way of apology usually exchanged between men who had done something wrong. While it suited the brash Kaila,
No. Perhaps she thought it wouldn’t hurt if a 10-year-old girl hit her.
But that short calculation of Kaila’s was clearly wrong.
Given that she was someone who often acted on her own whims, she had quite a bit of emotions built up, so she lightly punched him on the head.
-Bak!
The sound of that emotional strike was quite loud.
“Ugh!”
Kaila fell over onto the table, making a strange sound.
Luke took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands as he murmured.
“Ha, now that feels refreshing.”
Well, although it seemed like he just hit her, he had also healed immediately after the impact, so there wouldn’t be any lingering effects, including wounds or bumps.
