“Shirud, it’s truly nice to see you again like this.”
Luke smiled brightly and reached out his hand towards the completely stiff Shirud.
However, Shirud did not grab that hand.
‘Why is he acting like he knows me so well?’
Thinking back, it had only been a day, and it hadn’t even been a pleasant meeting.
Moreover, what would happen if the Circle went out of control again like last time?
This time, there’s medicine, so maybe even if a mana surge occurs, it won’t turn out like last time, but if it does…
‘He might use that as an excuse to touch my chest again.’
After thinking it over, Shirud couldn’t understand what was so special about his chest that made him want to touch it.
What on earth was appealing about a man’s chest?
“Is that so?”
Shirud warily positioned himself in a corner as he entered the playroom.
Luke, watching that scene, shrugged his shoulders and muttered.
“It seems like I’m quite disliked.”
-…….
Py also made eye contact with Luke and shrugged (though whether he had shoulders was uncertain, it felt like it).
-Luke,…….
Did Py’s incomprehensible tone seem to blame him a little, or was it just his imagination?
But thinking back, it seemed plausible that a child might dislike him.
“Yeah, I was hasty back then.”
Perhaps it was because he was happy to see the Circle again or lost in memories at the sight of a high elf descendant.
Suddenly, he thought that he had been overly familiar despite it being their first meeting.
“Hmm, in that case, I should focus on becoming friends first.”
Luke, as usual, stroked his chin and pondered.
How exactly should he become friends?
In the past, he had been popular with kids simply based on the impression of being ‘the local grandfather mage,’ but his current appearance didn’t give off such an impression.
In this age where magic was not particularly special, it probably wouldn’t seem surprising at all.
Though it was possible to use complex illusion magic, as he had shown to Diana, it was questionable whether Shirud would open his heart because of that.
‘Diana liked spirits, so it worked, but….’
As various thoughts filled his mind, he was about to step into the playroom, following Shirud, when a woman, presumably a staff member, approached and suddenly blocked Luke’s path with her hand, saying,
“Wait, you can’t go in there.”
“Wha-what’s going on?”
Luke, who was stopped from entering, was greatly flustered.
Why was he being rejected?
Had his true identity as a 100-year-old grandfather been discovered?
No, that couldn’t be.
No one could possibly recall his true form from this appearance.
Unless they were someone with ‘spiritual sight,’ a form of magic said to see ‘souls.’
Could it be that this woman was one of those rare beings with such divine vision?
That could be why she had refused him entrance, thinking it wouldn’t be fitting for an old man like himself to enter where the children were playing.
If that were the case, it would truly be a humiliating matter.
What could he say, being an old man acting in the form of a little girl?
“Um… Why…?”
“Just wait a moment.”
While Luke was flustered and turning red from these thoughts, the female staff swiftly moved, retrieving something from a drawer inside the counter.
“What is this…?”
What Luke received was something like a soft but firm peculiar plug and a cover that felt like a sock.
“What’s this for?”
As he pondered the purpose of this item, his curiosity grew.
“You, with horns like that, you must put this on the tip of your horn to go in here. Do you not know how to put it on? If not, I can help you with that.”
The staff member smiled kindly and took the protective gear she had given Luke, carefully placing it on the horn that had sprouted next to his head.
The feeling of having something covered on the tip of his horn connected to his head felt quite strange and a bit suffocating.
“Hmm, it is a bit tight.”
“But you absolutely cannot take it off. If your horns stab the children, they could get seriously hurt. So keep it on at all times. If it comes off while playing, bring it back, and I’ll put it on for you again.”
Hearing the words ‘You must keep it on, otherwise it will be forced removal!’ Luke was then allowed to enter the ‘playroom’.
——
Shirud had nothing in particular to do on his phone, but he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
“…….”
It was because of this girl sitting right next to him, staring intently at his phone.
It felt strange to do anything while being watched so closely.
After watching a video or two, he felt uncomfortable with his privacy being invaded and said while covering the phone with his body.
“Hey, why are you staring at my phone like that?”
At Shirud’s reaction, Luke, who suddenly realized his rudeness, scratched his cheek and avoided his gaze.
“Um, sorry. Shirud, it’s just that your phone is quite… interesting.”
After a quick inspection with magic sight, Luke realized that the phone Shirud possessed was an advanced device using a magical formula that improved upon nearly every aspect compared to his own phone.
Seeing such a form in an unexpected place made Luke unable to look away.
“Don’t you have a phone?”
“I do. But I can’t use it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve exceeded my usage limit for today. I don’t have the authority to unlock it.”
“…….”
‘Did he just say he locked it because he used it too much?’
Luke thought this was probably the case.
It felt a bit childish for him to use such complicated words, yet he realized how childish that sounded.
‘Now that I think about it, many of my friends’ mothers also set time locks on their phones to prevent them from using them too long.’
And so, a layer of mystery surrounding Luke peeled away in Shirud’s mind.
‘This kid is just a child too.’
A little, no… a lot strange, but still, he seemed to be just a child.
It was just that he had never had a situation where his phone was locked by his mother.
“How much did you use it?”
“I poured all my waking hours into it before being limited to three hours a day.”
Saying that, Luke smiled sheepishly.
Honestly, it was a bit embarrassing to share that story.
If he didn’t feel the need to get closer to Shirud, he wouldn’t have disclosed that information.
Although being a wizard, he couldn’t suppress his academic curiosity…
Honestly, if anyone else heard it, he wouldn’t be able to argue that it didn’t sound immature.
Yet hearing that story, Shirud found something strangely endearing about Luke’s childlike side.
However, feeling burdened at the thought of getting closer, he still spoke with a sharp tone.
“Well, you deserved to be locked out.”
“Haha, is that so?”
Shirud thought if he had spent all day looking at his phone, his mother certainly would have done the same.
A brief dry laugh, followed by a moment of awkward silence.
And it was Luke who broke the silence first.
“I’m sorry, Shirud.”
The sudden apology caught Shirud off guard.
Was this an apology for inappropriate conduct?
Luke continued speaking.
“What do you think the Circle is?”
Shirud’s expectations drastically missed the mark yet again.
‘She’s definitely an unknown girl.’
What did she mean by asking about the Circle, of course…
“It’s some kind of heart disease.”
“Huh?”
The notion of the Circle being a disease was absurd.
Luke had vaguely sensed this from his earlier conversation with Dayton, but it felt very strange.
“Heart disease….”
Currently, safe class magic is the norm, but Circle magic is certainly a method of using mana within the world.
After studying class magic steadily for months, he observed that class magic also has its roots in Circle magic.
“The Circle is not a heart disease. It’s a permission to use magic.”
“A permission for magic…?”
Circle patients can control mana at will.
However, that method is risky as it requires putting their lives on the line and is not a proper way at all.
Yet that’s a problem implemented in the present day with established methods. It doesn’t mean that Circle magic is ‘inferior.’
Luke found it uncomfortable that all his lifetime achievements could be dismissed with the term ‘heart disease.’
The Circle is never that simple.
‘Magic is, in its essence, a process of defining, calculating, and adjusting the world with human will. The Circle is the vessel that holds that human will.’
If the Circle is a brush, then the world is the canvas.
When a person grips the brush and holds their will within, the world changes.
But the number of people who can hold the brush in this world is small, and even fewer wish to grip it.
So why on earth did Shirud get to hold the brush?
“Shirud, how did the Circle come to exist?”
“That’s….”
Shirud recalled the moment he realized the Circle was engraved on his heart.
‘That guy, relying on his connections too much and showing off.’
‘Right? He has nothing to boast about.’
‘Exactly. Yet his pride is annoyingly high.’
‘Doesn’t he look strange too? With white hair, he looks like an old man.’
In moments of insecurity, the words directed at him.
That was exceptionally infuriating.
“Hey, what did you just say?”
“Sh-Shirud? Uh, when did you get here?”
So brazen.
Ultimately, they say things they can’t in front of the person involved.
That only ignited even more anger in Shirud’s heart.
“What did you just say?!”
After that, he couldn’t remember well. Did he hit one of them?
Or did he get hit instead?
But what was certain was that he awoke afterward in the infirmary.
There was a faint pain in his chest, but back then, he didn’t know it was the Circle.
And those who had been gossiping about him seemed to have transferred since then, as he no longer saw them, but after that incident, he no longer felt like making friends.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Is that so?”
And Luke read the emotion behind Shirud’s words.
He sensed the turbulent emotions, and he felt Shirud’s Circle faintly shaking.
“Then you don’t have to talk about it. I’m sorry for bringing up bad memories.”
“…It’s not like it matters; it has nothing to do with you anyway.”
The turmoil of emotions. For the incomplete 1st Circle, that alone could be dangerous.
But the mana Luke left was still doing its part.
It’s probably thanks to the dry lifestyle Shirud had maintained without much emotional change.
“Shirud, do you know how to handle the Circle?”
“…No. What about you? Do you also have a Circle?”
“Of course.”
Shirud replied in a somewhat subdued voice.
Luke, wanting to cover the emotions of Shirud, said cheerfully.
“Then I will tell you immediately what your goal should be.”
“My goal…?”
The instability of the 1st Circle is usually resolved by advancing to the 2nd Circle.
Unlike his incomprehensible demands for mana, if he learns the tricks, he should be able to reach it fairly quickly.
“Could you show me your hand?”
Shirud felt a little anxious but somehow couldn’t refuse that request.
Hesitant.
As Shirud extended his hand, he soon felt a soft touch.
As expected, Luke held his hand.
‘S-So soft…’
Whatever Shirud was thinking, Luke was operating mana, thinking about how his embarrassed appearance was indeed cute.
“Can you feel the flow of mana?”
“M-Mana’s flow?”
Shirud barely regained his focus at Luke’s words.
Now that he thought about it, he did feel something flowing through his hand…
“I think I can feel it a little….”
“Is that so? Then….”
Luke spun a circle of magic around Shirud’s hand.
“What shape is this?”
“…A circle.”
“And now?”
“A triangle… What? How did you do that?”
Shirud was greatly surprised by the magic-like phenomena Luke was performing.
‘No, it’s actually magic! To operate mana without a cane, this is insane!’
Shock and elation.
Seizing the opportunity, Luke thought he should show Shirud some ‘will.’
Once confirming he was being watched by no one around him, Luke said to Shirud.
“If you have a Circle, then this is possible too.”
Luke lightly operated mana and envisioned the phenomenon he would evoke in his mind.
‘Boys love… fire.’
The Circle represents the permission to express magic out of one’s body.
And the 2nd Circle signifies ‘the authority over phenomena.’
The wind is a phenomenon created by the flow of air.
And ‘fire’ is likewise a ‘combustion phenomenon,’ thus can be manifested adequately.
At the tip of Luke’s fingers, a small flame formed.
It wasn’t just burning.
Transforming from a larva to a pupa to a butterfly, it finally separated from Luke’s hand and disappeared with a pop.
“Wow….”
That scene felt dreamlike.
“Does it spark your interest?”
“Whoa! How did you do that? Can I do it too?”
“It’s impossible. You’re still in the 1st Circle. Didn’t I say this is your goal?”
Seeing Shirud’s growing interest in magic, Luke smiled.
“Then, what can I do?”
‘Magic that is fine for a child to use… would be something like ‘Light.”
Luke immediately created a sphere of light with adjusted brightness in his palm.
As Shirud beheld the gentle light shining from Luke’s palm, he couldn’t help but marvel.
‘This is just like the wizards in cartoons or movies!’
“How do you do that?”
“First, you need to learn how to use the Circle. Fortunately, Shirud, since you can feel the flow of mana, it would be fastest to sense it.”
Luke guided Shirud’s hand to the place where his Circle was located.
Meanwhile, Shirud was alarmed.
‘My… my chest…!’
Touching a girl’s chest was exceedingly embarrassing.
Overcome with embarrassment, Shirud struggled to pull his hand away, but it was futile.
‘What strength does a girl have…?’
So strong.
“Stop squirming and feel the flow of mana. Now, can you feel the Circle spinning?”
