The phone rings.
Ding ding ding.
The hollow sound echoes in a room reminiscent of a desolate sandy desert, albeit littered with trash.
On a mismanaged sofa, cluttered as if in a state of abandonment, lies a man whose form resembles that of a corpse.
However, he wasn’t sprawled out as if dead. He merely lay there, blankly, as if he had lost all desire for life.
The man was not currently sleeping.
He had opened his eyes long ago, but simply did not want to get up.
What currently weighed down on him was an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Ding ding ding.
As if the bell from the phone rang continuously, today, just like any other day, his heart raced.
Along with the grumbling of his stomach, there were many sounds resonating.
Meals, human relationships, motivation—all of these seemed to drift him toward not wanting to get up, but he had an objective he needed to accomplish, so he roused himself.
Creak—.
The sofa groaned as if it would break at any moment. It was already so tattered and old that it was a mystery how it hadn’t completely fallen apart yet.
He glanced at the name on his mobile phone. Hmm, it wasn’t someone he didn’t know. The man answered the call.
“Did you sleep well, Third?”
The voice coming through the phone was not as kind as the content; it felt somewhat mocking.
But he brushed it off as if it was something familiar.
“Have you found the information I requested?”
The man, called Third over the phone, urged for the matter at hand to be addressed succinctly.
In response to his urgency, the voice on the phone gave a dismissive “Hmph,” and continued.
“Yeah, I dug up information regarding that contact. Hahaha. What’s with this lady? There’s really ‘not a single’ bit of information.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Third furrowed his brow, demanding an explanation.
Even though his expression couldn’t be conveyed through the phone.
“It’s just as I said. Her identity appears to have suddenly dropped from the sky. Moreover, most of the identity information that exists is false due to the ‘Witness Protection Program.’ And, did you know her name is ‘Luke Iruši’?”
“‘Luke Iruši?’”
If it’s Luke Iruši, isn’t it one of the most common names used by mages as a ‘pseudonym’?
Furthermore, all identity information is inaccessible, and if her past is also clean…
“However, there is one person designated as her ‘temporary guardian.’ Yerna Risphind… Hmm, this elf. I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere.”
“Yerna? It’s a name I’ve never heard before.”
“Oh. This woman is also a beneficiary of the ‘Witness Protection Program.’ Well, the most clear information is that she’s a Forest Keeper of Luke Forest. This is all I can ascertain.”
“I understand. I’ll hang up now.”
“Oh, Third. Do you remember that the drug prices have been slightly delayed this month? Please make the payment as soon as possible.”
“I understand, so hang up.”
Irritated, he hung up and flung the phone to one side of the sofa.
Thud—.
“A Forest Keeper.”
Furthermore, if it’s Luke Forest, isn’t that the forest from which only the most monstrous keepers are selected?
A small assassin being protected by such a keeper…
The man muttered, looking down at the words he had written down in fire on paper.
“What the hell is this girl?”
An overwhelming difference in power, a level of intimidation that stiffened his body without even a flick of a finger, and an extremely pure utilization of magic…
“Is she a product of the ‘facility’…?”
The man ground his teeth.
If such a subject had contacted him…
Crash—!
He crumpled the paper and obliterated it with lightning, turning it to ashes.
“I must make her pay.”
———–
Today’s weather is clear.
The weather forecast was accurate.
“Then let’s begin the sports day at Tigr Academy!”
“Wow—!”
Finally, the speech by the dwarf principal, Zenpei, has concluded.
The children rejoice, finally thankful that they don’t have to spend time idly standing on the playground, scratching the dirt with their toes.
“You all look happy.”
-…
Py also nodded, as if in agreement.
Thanks to the spirit language, Luke and Py were skilled at understanding the emotions behind the words, and they smiled at the genuine excitement of the children.
‘This is quite enjoyable. It feels like a city festival.’
Indeed, it was. Today was the day when the academy was somewhat open to outsiders; perhaps that was why?
The lively atmosphere was even more elevated.
After the speech, a brief break was given, and soon everyone scattered in different directions toward their families.
Yerna waved to Luke from under a tree’s shade.
“Lu, over here. Here!”
“Big sister Luke! Over here!”
Hearing the calls of Yerna and Diana, Luke approached them.
“Yerna, you’ve already secured a good spot. But where’s Dayton?”
“He’s on duty today, so he couldn’t come. Instead, he packed a lunch for us.”
“Oh dear, I must really thank him for that next time.”
“Besides sandwiches, there are hamburgers too!”
“Really? Now that’s something to look forward to.”
Then suddenly, Yerna glanced at something she was holding and scratched her chin.
“By the way, what’s that? Is it some kind of magic candy wrapped around a cane?”
Moreover, one was already in Diana’s hands.
Using magic sight, Luke examined it, but there were absolutely no magical traces or any parts made of magic. It was not a cloud, merely cotton on a stick.
As he inspected its identity and his gaze met Diana’s, she broke into a bright smile.
“It’s cotton candy. I bought it at the door.”
The cotton candy handed to him in the moment made Luke poke at its fluffy form with a puzzled expression.
“Cotton candy…? What kind of toy is this?”
As he pondered, Diana chuckled and said,
“Big sister, you eat it!”
She seemed to demonstrate as she plunged her mouth into the cotton candy and made a strange sound, “Hmmmmm—,” appearing genuinely delighted.
‘Eating it…? No matter how I see it, it doesn’t look like food.’
He thought, chuckling at how this era had all sorts of bizarre things as Luke timidly took a bite of the cotton candy.
And then, the candy melted in Luke’s mouth, leaving a subtle sweetness, almost like snow dissolving.
“Hmm?”
It was just sweetness, but it had a truly fascinating texture.
It reminded him of a taste he once imagined from clouds long ago, back when he hadn’t even engraved a circle on his heart.
Of course, he knew well by now that clouds were nothing but mist in the sky, but he had thought such things back in his childhood.
His greatest wish after engraving the circle was to break free from the ground and reach those clouds in the sky.
But reality wasn’t so forgiving. By the time he had grown to the point of standing shoulder to shoulder with the clouds, he could only perceive them as slightly larger mists or mere obstacles in the sky.
However, the taste and texture of this cotton candy made Luke feel like he was transported back to those innocent days.
A complicated whirlpool of emotions swirled inside Luke.
How had he become so tainted by the world? As his knowledge accumulated, it became inevitable to bid farewell to the child within.
‘I was quite an odd and amusing boy back then.’
What led him to the conclusion that clouds would taste sweet?
“Delicious… really.”
“I’m glad you think it’s tasty. Hehe, I remembered you like sweet things.”
“Indeed.”
“Oh, by the way, Lu. Let’s tie your hair up before the sports day starts. Don’t forget the hair ties.”
“Okay. Got it.”
As Luke nodded, Yerna turned around and began the process of gathering his hair while munching on the cotton candy, when Py, looking somewhat sulky, voiced her complaints yet again.
The feelings conveyed were mixed and hard to judge clearly, but it was likely something along the lines of, ‘It’s unfair that you always eat delicious things alone!’
Luke hummed a tune and described the flavor of the cotton candy to Py.
To share just a bit of that feeling.
Seeing this, Yerna wore a pleased smile.
‘It must be so delicious that he’s humming a tune.’
——–
Yerna thought.
‘I’ve been investigating the Proitten family all this time, but… the whereabouts of the Dragon Heart have strangely disappeared. Why is that?’
There was surely something she had missed, but what it was, she couldn’t quite grasp.
‘Hmm… Wait, did that human trafficker have ties to the Proitten family?’
Although digging into the background of the deceased was not personally agreeable…
‘Should I temporarily shift my direction in this way? I need to investigate the relations of the deceased and find connections to Proitten…’
Just then.
“Alright, athletes! Take your positions!”
With the sports day officially underway, Luke moved away, and Diana began cheering enthusiastically for him. Yerna cheered for Luke as well.
The first event was a simple tug-of-war, but it seemed the opposing team was bulkier than the blue team with Luke.
Though there was a thought they might lose…. Did victory matter?
-Ready!
The children took their stances and pulled the rope taut. Everyone looked resolute, as if they could start anytime.
The judge nodded with satisfaction and raised the flag.
And then.
-Start!
“Wow!”
As soon as the flag dropped, the children tugged with shouts of “Heave-ho!” The parents cheering them mingled in a swell of excitement.
However, among them, Luke felt slightly troubled.
Tug-of-war was too simple a game, so they hadn’t practiced very much.
“Hmmm, just how much strength should I exert…?”
With the body of a dragon awakened by the Dragon Heart engraved by his three circles, Luke also possessed unusual physical abilities.
Indeed, the reason he declared participation in every event was that it stemmed from his trust in his own body.
He was no one else but the strongest chimera he had forged himself.
But when, and how to make the decision to win remained his concern.
There weren’t particularly any strategies in tug-of-war.
Although losing was not on Luke’s list of choices, overwhelming victory would also be problematic.
Doing so would leave the children with nothing but emptiness.
Sports day was an event to foster teamwork and teach the virtues of effort.
But if a single exceptional being solved everything, there would be no lesson left.
As he pondered this, someone behind voiced discontent.
“Hey, why aren’t you using your strength?”
As Luke looked around, he noticed that, among the children straining with all their might, he wore too relaxed an expression.
Thus, it was entirely plausible that he would be mistaken for not exerting any effort.
Luke nodded and exerted strength in the hand gripping the rope.
Crack, and then.
“Alright, let’s show you my strength.”
Luke let out a “Hmph.”
This was perfect acting. Using spirit language to convey emotion in his words, he bowed his head, pretending to struggle.
Moreover, he continued to fluctuate between applying strength and releasing it, adding a tense atmosphere.
“Wow! Blue team, white team! This is neck and neck! I’m really looking forward to seeing who wins!”
As the host said, it really did seem exciting.
In the end, the team that claimed victory was…
Of course, it was the blue team.
Yerna thought as she watched that scene.
“Luke is great at voice acting, but his expressions are quite awkward.”
Because his expression showed no strain at all, despite a voice that sounded like he was struggling to death.
