Chapter 50

One of the reasons I was positively considering transferring to Seviron Academy was that the academy students could receive mana tax reductions and exemption benefits even outside the academy.

The tax deduction benefits for 2nd-circle magic included not only the low-income class but also the academy staff and students.

All this time, even using trivial magic would incur charges of tens of thousands, which felt suffocating.

Just as our ancestors could hardly imagine a time when they would have to buy water, I often forgot that I had to pay money every time I used magic.

At this rate, wouldn’t the air we breathe be sold for money in the future?

It seemed too childish to ask the Unspecified Gender professor who was already paying for my potion costs to also cover my mana fees, so I kept it a secret and always paid myself.

Of course, I planned to repay the 120,000 won I hadn’t paid yet once I had money.

The five stages of magic are: Record – Inject – Activate – Store – Cast.

The tax payment structure occurs at the “Store” stage.

Once the magic circle activates, the position and phase information of the mana injected into the magic circle is sent to the nearest national mana power plant according to state protocol.

The power plant, which possesses refined mana, substitutes that position with an equal amount of mana and casts the magic instead.

This was the modern magic operation system.

I had tried casting magic the old-fashioned way before, but it was nearly impossible to activate magic without going through the store stage.

Unless you had a “wand” like the simplified mana generator that the Unspecified Gender professor had or developed a special mana integrated circuit, magic didn’t operate normally.

By roughly calculating, forcing a 6th-circle spell like Hellfire to cast without the store stage seemed like it would generate enough power to light a cigarette.

However, I hadn’t actually tried casting 6th-circle magic.

If it were to activate, I would have to rest for months due to mana exhaustion.

So even while at the academy, I intended to study various magic to find a remedy for my mana addiction, but as Kim said, a simple mana measurement device could observe mana’s waves in real-time.

It was particularly chilling to think it could accurately identify the caster if one put their mind to it.

I had thought the system was rather flimsy, as it only verbally conveyed to students that they shouldn’t use magic without permission and had no real enforcement, but I suppose it was natural for the academy to have at least one reliable means of monitoring.

Individual autonomy for students was acknowledged, but responsibility could not be evaded.

In that respect, I was quite fortunate to receive such convenience.

Well, I was initially planning to pay for the magic I used for Yuna without a second thought.

On the other hand, I noted that the 2nd-circle spell “Tissue Regeneration” I had used on Yuna had not been detected.

Conversely, today’s 4th-circle “Irreversible Restoration” had been detected mercilessly, leading me to hypothesize that there must be a certain detection threshold.

From what I could tell of Kim’s personality, he wouldn’t ignore this just because he knew about my usage.

“Should I just go ahead and experiment with the risk of getting caught once or twice?”

However, the thought of possibly causing the detection criteria to be loosened and subsequently making it impossible to use magic secretly made me dismiss that idea.

“Do you have something to say?”

I asked Yuna, who was lagging a distance behind me. She seemed surprised that I was the one to speak first.

Her continual sighing was so grating.

I slowed my pace to match hers.

“Come here.”

Seoyuna was indeed a pitiful child.

She often acted prickly like a cat with its claws out, but when she looked so deflated like this, she resembled a dog that had gotten into trouble.

Seeing her red hair reminded me of the detestable wizard Remilia Acephite from the Hero Party, making my head heat up, but I decided to put unpleasant feelings aside for now.

“You are, you are…”

Yuna couldn’t finish her sentence and it got caught in her throat.

Though she tried to act nonchalant, her eyes betrayed her as they shook uncontrollably.

“Are you going home?”

“Uh? Mmhm.”

“Then let’s go together.”

For a while, we walked along the main road without talking.

The scenery hadn’t changed much from when I lived my first life, even though it was the future.

There were still a few old apartments that seemed to have been built in the early 2000s, and cars still rolled on the ground instead of flying.

However, seeing outdoor advertisements being broadcast in the sky without screens and public transport operating without drivers made me realize that technology develops asymmetrically.

“I’m late today, and I think my little brother will worry, so I’ll just take the bus. As for the potion cost… I’ll try to pay you back as quickly as I can. I’m sorry.”

Yuna checked the bus arriving just in time and said goodbye.

It seemed she was uncomfortable with me being by her side.

I had intended to see her off until we reached our destination, but if she didn’t want that, there was nothing I could do.

[Beep! Insufficient balance.]

[Beep! Insufficient balance.]

“Hmm? This shouldn’t be happening…”

A look of embarrassment crossed Yuna’s face.

She hurriedly opened her bag, took out her wallet, and checked for cash.

But only a lonely 500-won coin bounced down the bus stairs and rolled inside.

After all, public transport doesn’t accept notes or coins.

With no other option, I boarded the bus and handed her a coin.

“Two people.”

[Beep! It’s a child. (2)]

“Let’s go.”

This turned out to be a fortunate event.

I had conversations I wanted to have regarding today’s events, and it was perfect to sit comfortably and talk on the way.

“Why did you pay for me?”

“Stop talking and get on. There’s nobody on the bus. Let’s just sit in the back row.”

As soon as we paid, the bus doors closed and it took off with a honk.

Even with the bus driver being replaced by an AI, their impatience remained the same.

Standing was risky, so I took Yuna’s hand and we sat in the back window seat.

“How long does it take from here to your house?”

“About 20 minutes. Actually, I don’t ride the bus often, so I’m not really sure.”

“Is that so?”

“…”

Yuna said she’d have to walk for quite a while into the back alley after getting off at her stop.

Was she really walking for 45 minutes just to save 1,050 won on bus fare?

For a round trip, it would be an hour and a half.

“Why are you being nice to me?”

Yuna suddenly questioned in a blunt tone.

“Is that really the first thing you think of after all that worrying? Don’t you dislike me?”

“No! I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Then what?”

“I just think spending time with me is a waste…”

“Not at all.”

“No one likes me, I’m no fun, and I only say bad things, so everyone dislikes me.”

“I don’t dislike you! I like you, Yuna, and I want to be friends. So let me ask you in return. Do you like me?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“I’ll wait until you answer.”

I stopped Yuna from turning away and made her look into my eyes.

It was easy to handle a negative and dishonest child.

You have to press them until they face their emotions.

A human brain can seem like a well-organized logical circuit at a glance, but in reality, it’s a complex mess of spaghetti code.

It was very common for people to be unaware of what they were feeling or what they were thinking.

They couldn’t explain why they felt depressed or angry, and the cause might not even be identifiable.

That’s why we must learn to confront our emotions properly.

Otherwise, we could end up as irreparably broken as Klaus, Silvia, or Remilia.

“Hey… attending the academy is really hard. I go to bed late every day but have to wake up early to go to school.

Yesterday, I slipped down the stairs on the hillside, and even though my ankle hurt, I just kept walking.

But there’s no one in my class who talks to me. Even if I’m in pain, there’s no friend to say that I’m hurting.”

“You twisted your ankle? I saw you limping during PE class last time. Is that because of it?”

“Yeah… And at first, I didn’t like you, Na-me. When Seol bragged about you in our class and you were acting all friendly with Si-hu, I hated that.”

“Why did you hate that?”

“Well… I guess I also wanted to be friends with them…

But they liked Na-me. Because Na-me is pretty, cute, smart, and mature. It’s only natural.

It’s only natural, but… ugh… I got so jealous.

I wanted to be like you, so I took that important medicine without knowing…

Na-me must have been really angry with me… ugh… sniff.

But you’re acting like it doesn’t matter now.

I hate you… but I also really like you.”

Yuna confessed her feelings as if freed from a burden.

Just how much did she like?

I almost didn’t realize that Yuna was such a crybaby because she had been hiding it all this time.

I wiped her flowing tears with my thumb intermittently so she could finish talking, but now it seemed the faucet was broken and she couldn’t control it.

“I took the potion and sniff… I’m so sorry. I really didn’t know. I really didn’t know. I’m not going to die because of me, right? Huh?”

“What’s making you so sad? What do you mean die?”

To calm Yuna down, I pulled her into my arms.

Though she was a small child, I felt a bit overwhelmed holding her in my smaller frame. But it was meant to allow her to cry without worry.

“Sniff… I heard what you said earlier. Being terminal… doesn’t that mean you’re going to die soon?”

“Who said that?”

“At the school main building, a scary-looking uncle.”

“Did he really say that? No, that’s wrong. I’m not going to die, so don’t worry. They say I’ll get better if I keep taking the potion.”

“That means… snif sniff… you’ll always be saying you’re hurting.”

From her experience of getting hurt from the potion, she seemed to understand, so I calmly explained my condition.

“Potions are usually not meant to be taken all at once; you mix them with a bit of air to take them. Have you ever tried wasabi, Yuna?”

“Yeah… It was served once in lunch when I was in 1st grade.”

“How was it?”

“It was super spicy. My head hurt.”

“But how about when mixed with soy sauce?”

“It was tolerable.”

“That’s the principle. Got it?”

I had lived with even worse mana addiction before, but taking a potion with no side effects every day seemed like a cute level of a prescription.

While studying magic, I might be lucky enough to discover a treatment as well.

I understood Yuna’s concerns.

“My mom is often sick too. Sniff… I was really scared when Na-me said you were terminal. I thought it was my fault… I always cause trouble.”

“Your mother must be very unwell. Is she in the hospital?”

“No, she’s at home. Whenever I’m at the academy, my little brother comes home to take care of her… but I’m not sure.

What if I go home and my mom suddenly disappears? Every time I think about that, it scares me so much.

Mom can’t see anything, and she can’t move by herself. It’s all my fault. My mom is sick because of me. I’m really a bad kid. A bad kid.”

I couldn’t delve deeper into her situation.

What would it change to tell Yuna to stop blaming herself?

It was often the case that outsiders who cannot bear responsibility should keep their mouths shut.

Unfortunately, my character could not accept that.

“Yuna, have you introduced your friends to your mom?”

“Why do you ask…? I’ve never done that. No one wants to come to our house.”

“Can I come over to your house? Let’s call it even for today.”