“Luke still doesn’t have an official status, right?”
“Yes, he’s still in temporary category.”
Luke was a child who hadn’t even been registered at birth.
It was unclear whether her so-called parents hadn’t registered her, or if her identity had been erased due to some external pressure.
Thinking about it, there were also no records found of Luke’s parents upon investigation.
The complete erasure of records even for her parents.
People with the surname Irushi are few in the country.
Among them, there were no deceased individuals named Leon or Veena.
To be precise, records of them did exist a long time ago, but they lived in different eras and weren’t even a couple.
They must have been people with the same names.
‘Maybe, is all this just a figment of Luke’s imagination…?’
A horrifying thought crossed Yerina’s mind.
If so, what on earth had happened to Luke in the past?
Why did she have to create imaginary parents?
“Ms. Yerina, Ms. Yerina?”
The nurse calling her name snapped Yerina out of her dark deductions.
“Ah, yes. What is it?”
“Well… Although today’s examination fee is waived, having a temporary status could pose problems when receiving medical services later. It might be better to register anew.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, in our country, temporary status doesn’t apply to health insurance.”
“Hmm…”
Health insurance.
Now that she thought about it, that was indeed a crucial matter.
People can’t go their whole lives without getting sick, and without health insurance, the costs could be enormous.
But, legally, Luke wasn’t a citizen of this country.
She was currently under Yerina’s temporary guardianship and was receiving benefits almost equivalent to those of a citizen, but the fact remained that Luke had no identity.
“An official status…”
For a child who hadn’t been registered at birth to obtain this official status, something special was needed.
Four guarantors.
This system was originally designed to filter out illegal immigrants.
But four guarantors shouldn’t be a problem.
She could ask Dighton, Sienna, and Daphne.
In fact, there were plenty of other colleagues who worked as forest keepers, more than enough to help.
“Alright, Ms. Yerina. Could you please agree to this document for now?”
Yerina quickly read through the document handed to her.
It seemed to be asking for her consent to allow the use of information about Luke for government agencies, to choose between receiving test results via mobile phone number, email address, or postal code, and other various responsibilities and obligations.
Yerina filled out the form promptly, double-checked it, and submitted it.
“Alright, you may go now.”
“Thank you.”
With that, Yerina pondered over Luke’s status as she walked back to where Luke had been sitting.
“Luke, we have another place to go after the test…”
Yerina stopped mid-sentence.
“Luke?! What on earth are you doing?!”
“Yerina?”
At Luke’s puzzled expression, Yerina grabbed his arm and immediately pulled her away.
“Ah, isn’t it painful, Yerina. Ease up a bit.”
Luke was pulled away from atop Sirud’s body.
Sirud felt the strange sensation stabilizing his heart disappear.
“Phew…”
As the comforting sensation around her heart was removed, Cirud grimaced with an unfamiliar feeling.
“Ugh!”
Seeing this, Yerina scolded Luke.
“Luke! What on earth did you do to him!”
“What did I do…”
The boy was lying down with tears welling up in his eyes, and Luke was on top of the boy.
The scene Yerina saw was unmistakably one of Luke assaulting a boy of her age.
‘Even now, he looks upset, right?’
Yerina was unsure what the boy had done wrong, but the fact that Luke had hit him was disappointing and shocking to her.
Every time she took her eyes off for a moment, something happened, making Yerina realize why parenting was so difficult.
“Are you okay, kid? Can you get up? Luke! What are you doing! Apologize right now!”
“I didn’t do anything that warrants an apology…”
“Luke!”
Yerina’s shouting made a surprising response come from elsewhere.
A mix of undeserved guilt, confusion, and relief stirred new emotions.
This feeling didn’t suffocate his heart solely because the remnants of Luke’s mana were still stabilizing his circle.
“AAAHHH-!”
So, Sirud cried.
***
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”
“…”
Yerina kept bowing her head repeatedly.
Standing next to her, Luke muttered.
“Yerina, why are you doing this…”
Luke hadn’t done anything wrong.
Sirud knew she was innocent.
She had saved him from a mana outburst.
She should have been praised, not scolded.
“Luke, what are you waiting for! Apologize as well!”
But Yerina just kept bowing her head.
“Well, I only provided first aid…”
It was unfair for Luke, especially since that moment had been witnessed, leaving her little room to argue.
“Yerina, listen to me. Sirud, we didn’t fight, did we?”
Looking at Sirud with pleading eyes to say something, Sirud reluctantly said it was okay.
“Yeah, it wasn’t a fight.”
“Sirud, really?”
Sirud’s mother, Serena Triffin, asked for confirmation.
“Really, Mom. I don’t cry when I fight. Crying means losing.”
“Is that something to be proud of? Sigh.”
Serena pulled Yerina up by the shoulder.
“It’s not a fight, so let’s stop this now. What’s your name?”
“Uh, I’m Yerina Risfiend.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Serena Triffin.”
As Yerina straightened up rigidly, Serena continued with a hint of amusement.
“Ms. Yerina, honestly, I was more surprised when you came out.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, I didn’t expect to see an elf here.”
“That makes sense…”
It was indeed surprising for Serena, considering she had assumed from the girl’s horned and animal-eared appearance that her parents would be monsters, but the guardian who appeared was of her own elf kind.
“Well, are we okay now? Sirud, you’re making up with her kid, right?”
“Um.”
“Whew, thanks for clarifying that, Sirud.”
Feeling the weight of Luke’s relieved gaze, Sirud hid slightly behind Serena.
‘Oh, my child is feeling shy.’
Serena was simply amazed at her child’s new side.
“Ms. Yerina, since we’re here by fate. Let’s exchange contact info. Maybe we can have coffee and chat more leisurely later.”
“Sure, please contact me if there’s any problem, Ms. Serena.”
After exchanging contact information, Serena said, ‘Oh, it’s our turn already.’ and went inside the hospital.
Sirud kept looking back at Luke, but Luke was unaware of the complex emotions in that gaze.
“Luke, be more careful next time.”
“I understand, Yerina. Sorry for the trouble.”
***
The examination took quite a long time.
It focused on the stabilization of the heart’s circle, Luke’s current physical age, and any side effects from the anthropomorphization procedure.
Hans Gerdam, a doctor Yerina had seen before, approached her.
“Good to see you again, Ms. Yerina.”
“Hello, Mr. Gerdam.”
After a brief handshake, they sat down.
Gerdam noted Yerina’s tense posture due to her nervousness.
“You can relax, there’s no need to worry,” he reassured her, and Yerina finally managed to loosen up.
Ready to hear the results, Gerdam began discussing the examination findings.
“I can tell you the basics now, but the detailed results will be available in about two weeks.”
“Is that so?”
Hans then explained Luke’s current condition to Yerina.
“Currently, she’s maintaining a very… stable circle. This case is quite unique. It’s also rare.”
“Rare?”
The doctor pointed to a circled area on an X-ray of Luke’s heart.
“See, it’s very clear to the naked eye? Usually, these lines are very thin and not visible. The fact that a child can handle this amount of mana on her own is nearly miraculous.”
Yerina’s expression hardened.
“Is it serious?”
“Well, the unusual part isn’t the amount of mana. Look here.”
The doctor pointed inside the circle he had highlighted.
“This isn’t just one circle. It’s a double circle. Double circles are a very rare trait. Luke is very fortunate.”
Fortunate? Yerina cocked her head slightly.
“What’s good about having a double circle?”
“It’s more stable. If one circle goes into a frenzy, the other can stabilize it. Maybe that’s why Luke is still alive.”
“I see…”
That indeed sounded like a fortunate situation.
Luke couldn’t remove the circle from her body.
So, for now, Yerina could put her worries about the circle to rest and took a deep breath.
“I’ll give you more details about the double circle when the results come out in two weeks. Oh, and should we talk about Luke’s body?”
“Yes, Mr. Gerdam.”
Gerdam then spoke in a slightly puzzled tone.
“Starting with anthropomorphization… her skeleton and nerves have already merged, so surgical intervention would be difficult. There would definitely be side effects if we attempted surgery.”
“As expected…”
Yerina had a vague idea, but it was still harsh.
“Exactly how long has it been like this? Can you tell?”
“To integrate into the body to this extent, it would take at least five years. Children adapt faster, but even so, it would take that long to perfectly integrate.”
“My goodness…”
That meant she had been living this way for at least five years.
“Horrible.”
“Yes, the reality is far too harsh for that little girl.”
Gerdam tried to lighten the mood by raising his voice.
“The detailed information will come out in two weeks! If there’s anything unusual, I’ll contact you immediately.”
***
The nurse found it fascinating that Luke didn’t even flinch at the needle.
Children Luke’s age typically hated shots, and even if they didn’t cry, they would at least grimace or whine.
But Luke had lived for over a hundred years.
Naturally, she had experienced injuries severe enough to threaten her life, so a mere shot was nothing new or painful for her.
Luke had the willpower and mental strength to endure even significant stimuli.
A mere shot was trivial.
“Luke, you’re really well-behaved! Here, take some candy since you did so well with the shot.”
“Ha ha… Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
Being called well-behaved was more awkward than anything.
Well, she had received candy, at least.
-Luke…
“Why are you more worried than I am, I wonder.”
But Pie seemed genuinely concerned about the blood from Luke’s body, making excessive worrying noises as it looked at the wound.
Luke, chewing on a mint candy, wiped her forearm with an antiseptic swab as she left the blood draw room, and Yerina greeted her.
“When are you going to remove that cotton?”
“They said to hold it for 30 seconds. It should be fine to take it off now.”
“Then?”
Luke discarded the cotton in a medical waste bin and returned.
“Luke. About the little kid earlier.”
“Sirud , you mean.”
“So his name is Sirud. It really wasn’t a fight, right?”
“Right, of course. Didn’t he say so himself?”
Relieved by Luke’s confirmation, Yerina felt a bit more at ease.
If it wasn’t a fight or assault, there shouldn’t be a problem.
“So how did it happen?”
“How did it happen, you ask…”
Sensitive to the mana in the vicinity, Luke and Pie had been drawn to the trace of a first circle, which had sparked the incident.
As they talked more, Sirud’s emotions inexplicably exploded, creating that situation.
So, if you were to briefly define ‘how it happened,’ it was ‘curiosity.’
“Well, it was curiosity, you could say.”
“Curiosity?”
Curiosity, even in a child, is a completely natural response to the opposite sex.
The opposite sex?
Wait, what had Luke thought about the opposite sex up until now? Given that Luke’s past wasn’t a normal upbringing, as Yerina knew,
“Could it be…”
Had Luke ever received proper sex education?
Perhaps, in Luke’s view, ‘pouncing’ on someone was a perfectly natural way to gain interest from the opposite sex…
Maybe this situation was more serious than if she had just hit someone.
“Luke, you must never, ever climb on top of another boy, do you understand?!”
“…? Alright. I’ll be careful in the future.”
“Promise!”
“Yes, I promise.”
Maybe sex education was necessary after all. Yerina felt a darkness looming, but Luke, seeing her reaction, thought,
‘Well, I have no intention of being violent towards anyone… Yerina worries too much.’
“Luke still doesn’t have an official status, right?”
“Yes, he’s still in temporary category.”
Luke was a child who hadn’t even been registered at birth.
It was unclear whether her so-called parents hadn’t registered her, or if her identity had been erased due to some external pressure.
Thinking about it, there were also no records found of Luke’s parents upon investigation.
The complete erasure of records even for her parents.
People with the surname Irushi are few in the country.
Among them, there were no deceased individuals named Leon or Veena.
To be precise, records of them did exist a long time ago, but they lived in different eras and weren’t even a couple.
They must have been people with the same names.
‘Maybe, is all this just a figment of Luke’s imagination…?’
A horrifying thought crossed Yerina’s mind.
If so, what on earth had happened to Luke in the past?
Why did she have to create imaginary parents?
“Ms. Yerina, Ms. Yerina?”
The nurse calling her name snapped Yerina out of her dark deductions.
“Ah, yes. What is it?”
“Well… Although today’s examination fee is waived, having a temporary status could pose problems when receiving medical services later. It might be better to register anew.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, in our country, temporary status doesn’t apply to health insurance.”
“Hmm…”
Health insurance.
Now that she thought about it, that was indeed a crucial matter.
People can’t go their whole lives without getting sick, and without health insurance, the costs could be enormous.
But, legally, Luke wasn’t a citizen of this country.
She was currently under Yerina’s temporary guardianship and was receiving benefits almost equivalent to those of a citizen, but the fact remained that Luke had no identity.
“An official status…”
For a child who hadn’t been registered at birth to obtain this official status, something special was needed.
Four guarantors.
This system was originally designed to filter out illegal immigrants.
But four guarantors shouldn’t be a problem.
She could ask Dighton, Sienna, and Daphne.
In fact, there were plenty of other colleagues who worked as forest keepers, more than enough to help.
“Alright, Ms. Yerina. Could you please agree to this document for now?”
Yerina quickly read through the document handed to her.
It seemed to be asking for her consent to allow the use of information about Luke for government agencies, to choose between receiving test results via mobile phone number, email address, or postal code, and other various responsibilities and obligations.
Yerina filled out the form promptly, double-checked it, and submitted it.
“Alright, you may go now.”
“Thank you.”
With that, Yerina pondered over Luke’s status as she walked back to where Luke had been sitting.
“Luke, we have another place to go after the test…”
Yerina stopped mid-sentence.
“Luke?! What on earth are you doing?!”
“Yerina?”
At Luke’s puzzled expression, Yerina grabbed his arm and immediately pulled her away.
“Ah, isn’t it painful, Yerina. Ease up a bit.”
Luke was pulled away from atop Sirud’s body.
Sirud felt the strange sensation stabilizing his heart disappear.
“Phew…”
As the comforting sensation around her heart was removed, Cirud grimaced with an unfamiliar feeling.
“Ugh!”
Seeing this, Yerina scolded Luke.
“Luke! What on earth did you do to him!”
“What did I do…”
The boy was lying down with tears welling up in his eyes, and Luke was on top of the boy.
The scene Yerina saw was unmistakably one of Luke assaulting a boy of her age.
‘Even now, he looks upset, right?’
Yerina was unsure what the boy had done wrong, but the fact that Luke had hit him was disappointing and shocking to her.
Every time she took her eyes off for a moment, something happened, making Yerina realize why parenting was so difficult.
“Are you okay, kid? Can you get up? Luke! What are you doing! Apologize right now!”
“I didn’t do anything that warrants an apology…”
“Luke!”
Yerina’s shouting made a surprising response come from elsewhere.
A mix of undeserved guilt, confusion, and relief stirred new emotions.
This feeling didn’t suffocate his heart solely because the remnants of Luke’s mana were still stabilizing his circle.
“AAAHHH-!”
So, Sirud cried.
***
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”
“…”
Yerina kept bowing her head repeatedly.
Standing next to her, Luke muttered.
“Yerina, why are you doing this…”
Luke hadn’t done anything wrong.
Sirud knew she was innocent.
She had saved him from a mana outburst.
She should have been praised, not scolded.
“Luke, what are you waiting for! Apologize as well!”
But Yerina just kept bowing her head.
“Well, I only provided first aid…”
It was unfair for Luke, especially since that moment had been witnessed, leaving her little room to argue.
“Yerina, listen to me. Sirud, we didn’t fight, did we?”
Looking at Sirud with pleading eyes to say something, Sirud reluctantly said it was okay.
“Yeah, it wasn’t a fight.”
“Sirud, really?”
Sirud’s mother, Serena Triffin, asked for confirmation.
“Really, Mom. I don’t cry when I fight. Crying means losing.”
“Is that something to be proud of? Sigh.”
Serena pulled Yerina up by the shoulder.
“It’s not a fight, so let’s stop this now. What’s your name?”
“Uh, I’m Yerina Risfiend.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Serena Triffin.”
As Yerina straightened up rigidly, Serena continued with a hint of amusement.
“Ms. Yerina, honestly, I was more surprised when you came out.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, I didn’t expect to see an elf here.”
“That makes sense…”
It was indeed surprising for Serena, considering she had assumed from the girl’s horned and animal-eared appearance that her parents would be monsters, but the guardian who appeared was of her own elf kind.
“Well, are we okay now? Sirud, you’re making up with her kid, right?”
“Um.”
“Whew, thanks for clarifying that, Sirud.”
Feeling the weight of Luke’s relieved gaze, Sirud hid slightly behind Serena.
‘Oh, my child is feeling shy.’
Serena was simply amazed at her child’s new side.
“Ms. Yerina, since we’re here by fate. Let’s exchange contact info. Maybe we can have coffee and chat more leisurely later.”
“Sure, please contact me if there’s any problem, Ms. Serena.”
After exchanging contact information, Serena said, ‘Oh, it’s our turn already.’ and went inside the hospital.
Sirud kept looking back at Luke, but Luke was unaware of the complex emotions in that gaze.
“Luke, be more careful next time.”
“I understand, Yerina. Sorry for the trouble.”
***
The examination took quite a long time.
It focused on the stabilization of the heart’s circle, Luke’s current physical age, and any side effects from the anthropomorphization procedure.
Hans Gerdam, a doctor Yerina had seen before, approached her.
“Good to see you again, Ms. Yerina.”
“Hello, Mr. Gerdam.”
After a brief handshake, they sat down.
Gerdam noted Yerina’s tense posture due to her nervousness.
“You can relax, there’s no need to worry,” he reassured her, and Yerina finally managed to loosen up.
Ready to hear the results, Gerdam began discussing the examination findings.
“I can tell you the basics now, but the detailed results will be available in about two weeks.”
“Is that so?”
Hans then explained Luke’s current condition to Yerina.
“Currently, she’s maintaining a very… stable circle. This case is quite unique. It’s also rare.”
“Rare?”
The doctor pointed to a circled area on an X-ray of Luke’s heart.
“See, it’s very clear to the naked eye? Usually, these lines are very thin and not visible. The fact that a child can handle this amount of mana on her own is nearly miraculous.”
Yerina’s expression hardened.
“Is it serious?”
“Well, the unusual part isn’t the amount of mana. Look here.”
The doctor pointed inside the circle he had highlighted.
“This isn’t just one circle. It’s a double circle. Double circles are a very rare trait. Luke is very fortunate.”
Fortunate? Yerina cocked her head slightly.
“What’s good about having a double circle?”
“It’s more stable. If one circle goes into a frenzy, the other can stabilize it. Maybe that’s why Luke is still alive.”
“I see…”
That indeed sounded like a fortunate situation.
Luke couldn’t remove the circle from her body.
So, for now, Yerina could put her worries about the circle to rest and took a deep breath.
“I’ll give you more details about the double circle when the results come out in two weeks. Oh, and should we talk about Luke’s body?”
“Yes, Mr. Gerdam.”
Gerdam then spoke in a slightly puzzled tone.
“Starting with anthropomorphization… her skeleton and nerves have already merged, so surgical intervention would be difficult. There would definitely be side effects if we attempted surgery.”
“As expected…”
Yerina had a vague idea, but it was still harsh.
“Exactly how long has it been like this? Can you tell?”
“To integrate into the body to this extent, it would take at least five years. Children adapt faster, but even so, it would take that long to perfectly integrate.”
“My goodness…”
That meant she had been living this way for at least five years.
“Horrible.”
“Yes, the reality is far too harsh for that little girl.”
Gerdam tried to lighten the mood by raising his voice.
“The detailed information will come out in two weeks! If there’s anything unusual, I’ll contact you immediately.”
***
The nurse found it fascinating that Luke didn’t even flinch at the needle.
Children Luke’s age typically hated shots, and even if they didn’t cry, they would at least grimace or whine.
But Luke had lived for over a hundred years.
Naturally, she had experienced injuries severe enough to threaten her life, so a mere shot was nothing new or painful for her.
Luke had the willpower and mental strength to endure even significant stimuli.
A mere shot was trivial.
“Luke, you’re really well-behaved! Here, take some candy since you did so well with the shot.”
“Ha ha… Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
Being called well-behaved was more awkward than anything.
Well, she had received candy, at least.
-Luke…
“Why are you more worried than I am, I wonder.”
But Pie seemed genuinely concerned about the blood from Luke’s body, making excessive worrying noises as it looked at the wound.
Luke, chewing on a mint candy, wiped her forearm with an antiseptic swab as she left the blood draw room, and Yerina greeted her.
“When are you going to remove that cotton?”
“They said to hold it for 30 seconds. It should be fine to take it off now.”
“Then?”
Luke discarded the cotton in a medical waste bin and returned.
“Luke. About the little kid earlier.”
“Sirud , you mean.”
“So his name is Sirud. It really wasn’t a fight, right?”
“Right, of course. Didn’t he say so himself?”
Relieved by Luke’s confirmation, Yerina felt a bit more at ease.
If it wasn’t a fight or assault, there shouldn’t be a problem.
“So how did it happen?”
“How did it happen, you ask…”
Sensitive to the mana in the vicinity, Luke and Pie had been drawn to the trace of a first circle, which had sparked the incident.
As they talked more, Sirud’s emotions inexplicably exploded, creating that situation.
So, if you were to briefly define ‘how it happened,’ it was ‘curiosity.’
“Well, it was curiosity, you could say.”
“Curiosity?”
Curiosity, even in a child, is a completely natural response to the opposite sex.
The opposite sex?
Wait, what had Luke thought about the opposite sex up until now? Given that Luke’s past wasn’t a normal upbringing, as Yerina knew,
“Could it be…”
Had Luke ever received proper sex education?
Perhaps, in Luke’s view, ‘pouncing’ on someone was a perfectly natural way to gain interest from the opposite sex…
Maybe this situation was more serious than if she had just hit someone.
“Luke, you must never, ever climb on top of another boy, do you understand?!”
“…? Alright. I’ll be careful in the future.”
“Promise!”
“Yes, I promise.”
Maybe sex education was necessary after all. Yerina felt a darkness looming, but Luke, seeing her reaction, thought,
‘Well, I have no intention of being violent towards anyone… Yerina worries too much.’
