After spending a few days at Yerina’s house, Luke found herself in trouble.
“I can’t gather enough mana.”
To create a circle, she needed enough mana throughout her body, but strangely, her body required an incredibly high amount of necessary mana.
Despite diligently collecting mana from the air for days, it was still far from sufficient.
At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to create even one circle after a month.
“The level required to create one circle is almost enough to effortlessly convert up to five circles in one go, isn’t it?”
This was due to excessively high mana adaptability.
It was as if her body was excessively good, causing a setback.
However, when her thought about carving a circle on such a body and operating it, her didn’t feel it would be too difficult to manage.
It wasn’t entirely easy, though.
Seeing Luke groaning with her eyes closed, Yerina asked, “Luke, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Hmm… Are you sure?”
Yerina sighed deeply as she brushed her hair back.
“She’s been struggling like that since yesterday. Should I leave her alone?”
Today marked the end of her vacation.
She couldn’t find a facility to leave Luke.
She was truly a beautiful and adorable child, but her horns and ears were obstacles.
No orphanage would welcome a child who had undergone such “surgery.”
Because typically, children who underwent such procedures were all mentally unstable, which orphanages didn’t want to deal with.
She felt truly frightened by the world’s prejudices.
“Sending her to a mental hospital… That’s too cruel. Luke is truly an exceptionally well-behaved child…”
Perhaps due to losing her memory, she seemed overly mature, composed, and quiet.
She didn’t seem like a child at all, just by appearances.
But still, a child was a child.
“Luke, even if Unni goes to work, you must never wander around alone, okay?”
“Don’t worry.”
“That’s right, our Luke is so good. Then, stay put. For meals…”
“Canned tuna is fine.”
“Okay, canned tuna. If you’re hungry, just eat that.”
She knew nothing about elves and their dietary habits.
But still, Luke was a human child.
She couldn’t force a vegetarian diet on Luke just because she was with elves.
So, after contemplating what to do, she settled on canned tuna.
No need for cooking, just meat that could be eaten raw.
As an elf, she had never tried cooking with fire, and at most, she boiled water to make tea or made a special elf-style vegetable soup.
However, luckily, Luke really liked canned tuna.
“Absolutely, positively do not go outside! Do you understand?”
“I got it. I won’t disappoint you.”
“Luke….”
Yerina made a distressed sound as if not wanting to part ways, while ruffling Luke’s hair vigorously.
Though Luke found her touch awkward, she just let it be.
At this point, she had neither the strength nor the will to resist.
“If you ever feel unwell, you must call, okay? I even got a landline because of you. If you want something to eat, order it with the money on the table.”
“I got it, I got it. Don’t worry, I’ll take care.”
Yerina, who had been hugging Luke’s small, soft cheek against hers, made a faint sound of reluctance as she gently let Luke go and said, “I’m really leaving now, you must stay well at home!”
“Yeah, yeah. Oh, don’t forget to bring back magic books when you come.”
“I won’t forget!”
With Yerina barely making it in time for work, she hurriedly closed the elevator doors and disappeared.
Luke sighed at her departure, closing the door.
“I’ll have to spend the whole day channeling mana.”
It would still be far from enough, but it had to be done.
“If Yerina brings back magic books, I must reach a level where I can use magic accordingly. For that, grinding circles is essential…”
How much had the magical system developed in the society after 5000 years?
Luke’s heart raced, and she couldn’t sleep well.
“Grumble…”
But that didn’t mean she could forget hunger.
“Hmm, a child’s body is annoying. I never thought I’d get hungry so often like this…”
Without paying attention to her growling stomach, Luke reached for the canned tuna on the table.
A special canned tuna that didn’t need a can opener, safe even for children.
It was Yerna’s choice considering Luke’s situation.
Luke opened it and licked the lid.
The salty taste was quite satisfying.
“Did I always like this taste so much?”
She couldn’t remember well.
Well, if it tastes this good now, that’s all that matters.
She thought her diet had changed along with her body.
Scooping up a spoonful without much concern, she found the salty and crunchy taste highly addictive.
“Hmm… as expected, it’s really delicious.”
Finishing one can in no time, Luke felt a little irritated.
As she opened the second can and gulped it down, she thought maybe a third wouldn’t hurt…
But as she reached for the third can, she thought, ‘Maybe this isn’t a good idea…’
“If I get hungrier later, I’ll eat, but for now, I’ll focus on accumulating mana.”
‘Sitting back in the living room with a crossed-leg posture, I concentrate my entire being.’
‘Although I can sense mana slowly building up, I couldn’t form a circle yet.’
‘There’s definitely more mana compared to the past, but maybe I lack the output.’
Absorbing beyond a certain point resulted in an excruciatingly slow recharge rate.
“As expected, should I train outside?”
A wizard seeking refuge deep in the forest was never without reason.
Mana, after all, is the essence of life and its source.
A lush forest was the perfect place to accumulate mana.
‘If I followed Yerina, my master, into the woods, replenishing mana would be easy, but I couldn’t afford to do so.’
That would be too much of a nuisance.
‘Surely, I wouldn’t be able to focus on my tasks properly if I had to keep an eye on her.’
Moreover, carving a circle is a risky task.
‘I didn’t want to perform such delicate work in front of Yerina’s eyes.’
“Remembering the first time I carved a circle… It was a long time ago…”
‘Back then, I was in so much pain that I screamed for the world to leave me alone.’
The circle is the gateway that distinguishes wizards from ordinary people.
It engraves laws that originally didn’t exist into one’s body.
When you carve such a thing for the first time, it inevitably comes with great pain.
‘I didn’t want to worry Yerina anymore.’
‘I am a foodie anyway, soon to part ways with her.’
‘I cannot develop solely relying on her favor.’
‘Moreover, I needed the circle now, if not for anything else, then for future repayment.’
‘Currently, I have no power of my own.’
Luke stood up and looked out the window.
There it was, the giant World Tree.
Standing tall at the center, it supplied mana to the entire city.
“If I go there, I could definitely carve the circle…”
Luke prepared to leave immediately.
Even though she had been repeatedly warned not to go out, if suppressing a wizard’s pride was as simple as that, then there would be no concept of a grand wizard in the world.
“I’ll just be gone for a moment, nothing will happen…”
‘Still, just in case, should I leave a letter?’
***
The weather was nice.
When night falls, it gets chilly, but during the day, it wasn’t all that cold.
Luke muttered as she put on the dress that Yerina had bought for children.
“These horns are so uncomfortable…”
She was an elf with a very deep sense of consideration.
Seeing that Luke couldn’t wear things like T-shirts alone because of her sharply pointed horns on her head, she bought a button-up dress that he could easily put on.
Though Luke felt a little embarrassed, she thought it was similar to the robes she usually wore anyway.
In fact, although it wasn’t magically treated, the wool was very soft and of good quality, so she was satisfied.
Moreover, Yerina also liked the clothes, saying they were ‘pretty’…
Luke also wore warm pants with fur in them and a coat called a ‘jacket’, and wrapped the scarf she bought with them.
With all that on, it wasn’t cold outside at all.
Rather, thanks to Yerina kindness, it felt warm too.
Luke, grateful once again to Yerina who generously provided all this, grabbed the allowance money on the table and walked to the entrance.
With a slight skip, Luke turned the handle and headed straight for the elevator.
“I’ve watched someone operate it a couple of times, so it should be fine.”
Luke pressed the button labeled ‘1’ and closed the door.
Unlike the first time, Luke, now completely adept at using it, smiled slightly with a sense of accomplishment.
“That was easy. I guess I can adapt to this era quickly.”
She had a desire to understand this world and, furthermore, a will to interpret the phenomena that occurred in her own body.
Therefore, such adaptation was essential, and she thought it was rather fortunate to have transformed into a childlike appearance.
Well, he was more ignorant about this world than even a child in this body.
Knowing one’s ignorance is the first step in seeking knowledge.
Living a lifetime with ignorance is how a wizard lives.
Luke, who was once a great wizard, had never let go of that mindset.
“Well then…”
Feeling full and energetic enough, and with enough strength, the distance to the World Tree is a bit far, but there shouldn’t be much of a problem.
As Luke walked for a while, she realized that the distance didn’t seem to be narrowing.
The reason for this was something she hadn’t thought of until now.
“Oh, it’s because of the child’s pace. At this speed, it’ll take half a day to get to the World Tree.”
Having lived for over a hundred years, she hadn’t realized that even her stride had decreased.
It’s not like her legs disappeared, so she thought that if she wanted to move, she could.
Since she was hardly ever constrained by ‘time’ after reaching a certain age, she made a mistake.
“Should I get a carriage? But how?”
As Luke pondered whether to turn back, she saw people gathering in one place.
Although their actions to alleviate boredom seemed different, they were all gathered in one space.
It seemed like they were waiting for something.
“Why are they gathered there?”
Curiosity piqued, Luke inserted herself into the procession for a moment and absentmindedly tapped the back of a young man facing the other side of the road, saying:
“Hey, young man.”
The young man suddenly lowered his head at the sensation he felt, then took something out of his ear and glanced down.
“…Ah, who… what, a kid.”
“What did you take out of your ear?”
In that fleeting moment, the magical sense she possessed allowed her to surmise that the item was enchanted with a miniature vocal magic.
The young man, puzzled by what Luke’s tiny finger was pointing at, explained, “These are earphones. You use them to listen to music. Um, have you never seen them before?”
“First time. I’m embarrassed to say, I’m not very familiar with modern culture.”
“You talk like an old man.”
Smiling at Luke’s elderly manner of speaking, the young man handed her one of the wireless earphones and said, “Want to try listening? Well, they’re not made for merfolk, but…”
“Is it okay? Thank you!”
Luke took it and placed it on the elevated ear that had changed shape.
Thanks to this altered ear, her hearing became more sensitive, but Luke, finding the position quite uncomfortable, attempted to insert the earphone into her ear.
“Oops.”
Her unfamiliar small finger slipped, causing the tiny wireless earphone to plunge deep into her ear, stimulating her sensitive area with the music playing from the earphone.
“Hot…!”
Suddenly groaning and sinking down, Luke’s panic made the young man flustered.
“W-What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”
“In my ear, it’s… hah… stop… stop it!”
“In your ear? The earphone went in?”
“Quickly, take it out… huuh!”
Even though Luke tried to reach in and pull it out, it was barely visible, making retrieval impossible.
The sensation of having an ear on top of her head was unfamiliar to her, and the shortened length of her arms posed a problem.
Tears streaming down her face, Luke grabbed onto the young man’s clothes, pleading.
If things continued like this…
Experiencing this sensation for the first time due to her changed body made Luke feel incredibly awkward and anxious.
Because the unfamiliar sensation seemed to affirm an irreversible change.
“My head feels weird, please, stop, stop…”
“Um, there, I’ll take it out, but you need to stand up first…”
The flustered young man began to feel increasingly conscious of the surrounding gazes.
Were they all looking at her as if she were a nuisance?
To dispel their misunderstandings, the young man shouted a bit louder.
“The, the earphone!! I’ll take it out, just give me a moment!”
At that moment, as the music in Luke’s ear resounded with booming drums, Luke, feeling a sharp tingling in his spine, forcibly suppressed the urge to scream as she writhed backward, enduring the piercing sensation.
“Ugh!! This, ugh, ugh!!”
“The earphone, the earphone!!”
Meanwhile, the young man screamed as if in agony.
After spending a few days at Yerina’s house, Luke found herself in trouble.
“I can’t gather enough mana.”
To create a circle, she needed enough mana throughout her body, but strangely, her body required an incredibly high amount of necessary mana.
Despite diligently collecting mana from the air for days, it was still far from sufficient.
At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to create even one circle after a month.
“The level required to create one circle is almost enough to effortlessly convert up to five circles in one go, isn’t it?”
This was due to excessively high mana adaptability.
It was as if her body was excessively good, causing a setback.
However, when her thought about carving a circle on such a body and operating it, her didn’t feel it would be too difficult to manage.
It wasn’t entirely easy, though.
Seeing Luke groaning with her eyes closed, Yerina asked, “Luke, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Hmm… Are you sure?”
Yerina sighed deeply as she brushed her hair back.
“She’s been struggling like that since yesterday. Should I leave her alone?”
Today marked the end of her vacation.
She couldn’t find a facility to leave Luke.
She was truly a beautiful and adorable child, but her horns and ears were obstacles.
No orphanage would welcome a child who had undergone such “surgery.”
Because typically, children who underwent such procedures were all mentally unstable, which orphanages didn’t want to deal with.
She felt truly frightened by the world’s prejudices.
“Sending her to a mental hospital… That’s too cruel. Luke is truly an exceptionally well-behaved child…”
Perhaps due to losing her memory, she seemed overly mature, composed, and quiet.
She didn’t seem like a child at all, just by appearances.
But still, a child was a child.
“Luke, even if Unni goes to work, you must never wander around alone, okay?”
“Don’t worry.”
“That’s right, our Luke is so good. Then, stay put. For meals…”
“Canned tuna is fine.”
“Okay, canned tuna. If you’re hungry, just eat that.”
She knew nothing about elves and their dietary habits.
But still, Luke was a human child.
She couldn’t force a vegetarian diet on Luke just because she was with elves.
So, after contemplating what to do, she settled on canned tuna.
No need for cooking, just meat that could be eaten raw.
As an elf, she had never tried cooking with fire, and at most, she boiled water to make tea or made a special elf-style vegetable soup.
However, luckily, Luke really liked canned tuna.
“Absolutely, positively do not go outside! Do you understand?”
“I got it. I won’t disappoint you.”
“Luke….”
Yerina made a distressed sound as if not wanting to part ways, while ruffling Luke’s hair vigorously.
Though Luke found her touch awkward, she just let it be.
At this point, she had neither the strength nor the will to resist.
“If you ever feel unwell, you must call, okay? I even got a landline because of you. If you want something to eat, order it with the money on the table.”
“I got it, I got it. Don’t worry, I’ll take care.”
Yerina, who had been hugging Luke’s small, soft cheek against hers, made a faint sound of reluctance as she gently let Luke go and said, “I’m really leaving now, you must stay well at home!”
“Yeah, yeah. Oh, don’t forget to bring back magic books when you come.”
“I won’t forget!”
With Yerina barely making it in time for work, she hurriedly closed the elevator doors and disappeared.
Luke sighed at her departure, closing the door.
“I’ll have to spend the whole day channeling mana.”
It would still be far from enough, but it had to be done.
“If Yerina brings back magic books, I must reach a level where I can use magic accordingly. For that, grinding circles is essential…”
How much had the magical system developed in the society after 5000 years?
Luke’s heart raced, and she couldn’t sleep well.
“Grumble…”
But that didn’t mean she could forget hunger.
“Hmm, a child’s body is annoying. I never thought I’d get hungry so often like this…”
Without paying attention to her growling stomach, Luke reached for the canned tuna on the table.
A special canned tuna that didn’t need a can opener, safe even for children.
It was Yerna’s choice considering Luke’s situation.
Luke opened it and licked the lid.
The salty taste was quite satisfying.
“Did I always like this taste so much?”
She couldn’t remember well.
Well, if it tastes this good now, that’s all that matters.
She thought her diet had changed along with her body.
Scooping up a spoonful without much concern, she found the salty and crunchy taste highly addictive.
“Hmm… as expected, it’s really delicious.”
Finishing one can in no time, Luke felt a little irritated.
As she opened the second can and gulped it down, she thought maybe a third wouldn’t hurt…
But as she reached for the third can, she thought, ‘Maybe this isn’t a good idea…’
“If I get hungrier later, I’ll eat, but for now, I’ll focus on accumulating mana.”
‘Sitting back in the living room with a crossed-leg posture, I concentrate my entire being.’
‘Although I can sense mana slowly building up, I couldn’t form a circle yet.’
‘There’s definitely more mana compared to the past, but maybe I lack the output.’
Absorbing beyond a certain point resulted in an excruciatingly slow recharge rate.
“As expected, should I train outside?”
A wizard seeking refuge deep in the forest was never without reason.
Mana, after all, is the essence of life and its source.
A lush forest was the perfect place to accumulate mana.
‘If I followed Yerina, my master, into the woods, replenishing mana would be easy, but I couldn’t afford to do so.’
That would be too much of a nuisance.
‘Surely, I wouldn’t be able to focus on my tasks properly if I had to keep an eye on her.’
Moreover, carving a circle is a risky task.
‘I didn’t want to perform such delicate work in front of Yerina’s eyes.’
“Remembering the first time I carved a circle… It was a long time ago…”
‘Back then, I was in so much pain that I screamed for the world to leave me alone.’
The circle is the gateway that distinguishes wizards from ordinary people.
It engraves laws that originally didn’t exist into one’s body.
When you carve such a thing for the first time, it inevitably comes with great pain.
‘I didn’t want to worry Yerina anymore.’
‘I am a foodie anyway, soon to part ways with her.’
‘I cannot develop solely relying on her favor.’
‘Moreover, I needed the circle now, if not for anything else, then for future repayment.’
‘Currently, I have no power of my own.’
Luke stood up and looked out the window.
There it was, the giant World Tree.
Standing tall at the center, it supplied mana to the entire city.
“If I go there, I could definitely carve the circle…”
Luke prepared to leave immediately.
Even though she had been repeatedly warned not to go out, if suppressing a wizard’s pride was as simple as that, then there would be no concept of a grand wizard in the world.
“I’ll just be gone for a moment, nothing will happen…”
‘Still, just in case, should I leave a letter?’
***
The weather was nice.
When night falls, it gets chilly, but during the day, it wasn’t all that cold.
Luke muttered as she put on the dress that Yerina had bought for children.
“These horns are so uncomfortable…”
She was an elf with a very deep sense of consideration.
Seeing that Luke couldn’t wear things like T-shirts alone because of her sharply pointed horns on her head, she bought a button-up dress that he could easily put on.
Though Luke felt a little embarrassed, she thought it was similar to the robes she usually wore anyway.
In fact, although it wasn’t magically treated, the wool was very soft and of good quality, so she was satisfied.
Moreover, Yerina also liked the clothes, saying they were ‘pretty’…
Luke also wore warm pants with fur in them and a coat called a ‘jacket’, and wrapped the scarf she bought with them.
With all that on, it wasn’t cold outside at all.
Rather, thanks to Yerina kindness, it felt warm too.
Luke, grateful once again to Yerina who generously provided all this, grabbed the allowance money on the table and walked to the entrance.
With a slight skip, Luke turned the handle and headed straight for the elevator.
“I’ve watched someone operate it a couple of times, so it should be fine.”
Luke pressed the button labeled ‘1’ and closed the door.
Unlike the first time, Luke, now completely adept at using it, smiled slightly with a sense of accomplishment.
“That was easy. I guess I can adapt to this era quickly.”
She had a desire to understand this world and, furthermore, a will to interpret the phenomena that occurred in her own body.
Therefore, such adaptation was essential, and she thought it was rather fortunate to have transformed into a childlike appearance.
Well, he was more ignorant about this world than even a child in this body.
Knowing one’s ignorance is the first step in seeking knowledge.
Living a lifetime with ignorance is how a wizard lives.
Luke, who was once a great wizard, had never let go of that mindset.
“Well then…”
Feeling full and energetic enough, and with enough strength, the distance to the World Tree is a bit far, but there shouldn’t be much of a problem.
As Luke walked for a while, she realized that the distance didn’t seem to be narrowing.
The reason for this was something she hadn’t thought of until now.
“Oh, it’s because of the child’s pace. At this speed, it’ll take half a day to get to the World Tree.”
Having lived for over a hundred years, she hadn’t realized that even her stride had decreased.
It’s not like her legs disappeared, so she thought that if she wanted to move, she could.
Since she was hardly ever constrained by ‘time’ after reaching a certain age, she made a mistake.
“Should I get a carriage? But how?”
As Luke pondered whether to turn back, she saw people gathering in one place.
Although their actions to alleviate boredom seemed different, they were all gathered in one space.
It seemed like they were waiting for something.
“Why are they gathered there?”
Curiosity piqued, Luke inserted herself into the procession for a moment and absentmindedly tapped the back of a young man facing the other side of the road, saying:
“Hey, young man.”
The young man suddenly lowered his head at the sensation he felt, then took something out of his ear and glanced down.
“…Ah, who… what, a kid.”
“What did you take out of your ear?”
In that fleeting moment, the magical sense she possessed allowed her to surmise that the item was enchanted with a miniature vocal magic.
The young man, puzzled by what Luke’s tiny finger was pointing at, explained, “These are earphones. You use them to listen to music. Um, have you never seen them before?”
“First time. I’m embarrassed to say, I’m not very familiar with modern culture.”
“You talk like an old man.”
Smiling at Luke’s elderly manner of speaking, the young man handed her one of the wireless earphones and said, “Want to try listening? Well, they’re not made for merfolk, but…”
“Is it okay? Thank you!”
Luke took it and placed it on the elevated ear that had changed shape.
Thanks to this altered ear, her hearing became more sensitive, but Luke, finding the position quite uncomfortable, attempted to insert the earphone into her ear.
“Oops.”
Her unfamiliar small finger slipped, causing the tiny wireless earphone to plunge deep into her ear, stimulating her sensitive area with the music playing from the earphone.
“Hot…!”
Suddenly groaning and sinking down, Luke’s panic made the young man flustered.
“W-What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”
“In my ear, it’s… hah… stop… stop it!”
“In your ear? The earphone went in?”
“Quickly, take it out… huuh!”
Even though Luke tried to reach in and pull it out, it was barely visible, making retrieval impossible.
The sensation of having an ear on top of her head was unfamiliar to her, and the shortened length of her arms posed a problem.
Tears streaming down her face, Luke grabbed onto the young man’s clothes, pleading.
If things continued like this…
Experiencing this sensation for the first time due to her changed body made Luke feel incredibly awkward and anxious.
Because the unfamiliar sensation seemed to affirm an irreversible change.
“My head feels weird, please, stop, stop…”
“Um, there, I’ll take it out, but you need to stand up first…”
The flustered young man began to feel increasingly conscious of the surrounding gazes.
Were they all looking at her as if she were a nuisance?
To dispel their misunderstandings, the young man shouted a bit louder.
“The, the earphone!! I’ll take it out, just give me a moment!”
At that moment, as the music in Luke’s ear resounded with booming drums, Luke, feeling a sharp tingling in his spine, forcibly suppressed the urge to scream as she writhed backward, enduring the piercing sensation.
“Ugh!! This, ugh, ugh!!”
“The earphone, the earphone!!”
Meanwhile, the young man screamed as if in agony.
