“Luke, what on earth happened?”
“Ugh, Yerina? How did you…?”
Luke was startled by Yerina, who burst into the hospital room, throwing the door wide open.
Recalling how she had ignored her plea to stay at home, her gaze lowered as if ashamed.
Yerina shouted, “I was so worried! I left my duty to my colleague and went home, but you weren’t there. There was just some strange letter left behind. Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
“Well, you see…”
What Yerina pulled out was a letter left by Luke.
It was written like this:
“I have something to find in the World Tree, so I’m going out for a while. I’ll probably be back before nightfall. I’m sorry for causing you trouble and I’m grateful.”
These words were written in ancient characters from 5,000 years ago.
So, the letter that Yerina could read looked like this:
“-■■ ■■■ there is something to find in the ■■■. I ■■ probably be back before ■■■■ nightfall. I’m sorry for causing you trouble and I’m grateful.”
“I thought you ran away! What’s with this letter? A runaway letter?”
“I just went to the World Tree for a moment, meaning I would be back before nightfall…”
“Why are there ‘sorry’ and ‘thankful’ at the end?”
“Well, because I was sorry and thankful…”
“….”
Yerina, who also heard explanations about the words she couldn’t read, rubbed her forehead in thought.
“Does she not know how to read?”
The handwriting was quite elegant, but being elegant in handwriting alone was useless.
Yerina sighed, thinking that perhaps Luke hadn’t been taught by anyone but had learned from books on her own, leading to this situation.
“Okay, I get it now. But, Luke, you know I told you not to go out. Don’t you remember?”
“Ugh, I… I really didn’t expect this to happen… I just planned to go out for a moment, and I’m not that much of a kid…”
“Luke.”
Interrupting Luke’s excuses, Yerina said firmly, “…”
Seeing her expression, Luke could only avoid her gaze, sweating profusely.
“Why do I have to scold her…”
Although she had clearly said not to go out, she wasn’t really a child.
Is appearance really that important?
Perhaps, a magic to accelerate growth…
Seeing that Luke seemed lost in thought, Yerina spoke firmly.
“Luke, did you do wrong?”
As the atmosphere became tense, Luke sighed and had no choice but to respond to her words.
“I did wrong…”
“You won’t do it again, right?”
“I won’t do it again…”
“Promise me.”
“Okay. I promise.”
“Don’t just keep saying things vaguely all the time, this time for real. Is it a real promise?”
Seeing Luke nod, Yerina arranged Luke’s hair as she lay on the hospital bed and sat beside her.
Suddenly, Luke was puzzled.
She was just a slightly unusual orphan, if you thought about it.
Did Yerina really have enough value to care so much for her?
Of course, she would become a great wizard in the future, but for now, she was just a level 1 wizard.
When Yerina showed kindness, she didn’t even have a circle.
Was it because she was a forest ranger?
But it seemed different from professional spirit.
With doubts arising, Luke had no choice but to ask.
“…Why do you worry so much about me?”
“I worry because I worry, do I need a reason? The world is so dangerous.”
“…”
Luke remembered.
When was the last time someone had worried about her?
There was nothing quite as useless as worrying about a grand wizard in the world.
The sensation of someone worrying purely felt strange.
That the world was dangerous.
Certainly, despite Luke’s good fortune in meeting good people so far, she knew there could be any number of worst-case scenarios if a child was wandering alone, as she remembered.
Being kidnapped by slavers, or falling victim to robbers, and such.
But Luke hadn’t really concerned himself with such things for far too long, and the pressure to re-etch the vanished Circle hadn’t allowed him to think about such matters.
Thinking about it like that, it seemed only natural for Yerina to worry too.
At least, it was the child’s current state.
Luke glanced at Yerina with a slight smile.
“You’re truly kind. To worry so much about a child who isn’t even mine.”
“……”
Yerina, who had been brushing Luke’s forehead, thought about her words.
‘Ah, this child still isn’t used to the kindness directed towards her.’
It wasn’t an unreasonable misunderstanding.
Indeed, Luke wasn’t accustomed to receiving ‘pure’ kindness directed towards her.
If one gives, one must receive, and there was always a reason behind kindness.
To Luke, who had lived such a life for over a century, kindness without reason was not something easily conceived.
So Luke had a compulsion, almost an obsession, to repay the kindness she received, and she had always boasted to everyone she met, ‘I will repay this favor later.’
To Yerina, who didn’t know that, Luke just seemed even more pitiful in her mind.
“…… Luke, there……”
“Hmm?”
Just as Yerina was about to say, ‘If it’s okay with you, you can continue staying in my house in the future,’
The door of the sickroom creaked open.
Along with the doctor, Gerard entered.
The doctor spoke.
“Are you the guardian? What’s your relationship with Luke?”
To the doctor’s question, Yerina answered.
“Yes. I’m Yerina Risfiend. I’m a forester in Luke Forest. Luke… she was temporarily under my protection until I found a facility.”
“Is that so? Then, for now, you qualify as a guardian. I’m Hans Gerdam, Luke’s attending physician.”
“Hello, I’m Gerard Coulson. We brought Luke to our facility for a short visit.”
After exchanging pleasantries with them once, Yerina spoke in a small, hesitant voice.
“Um, Mr. Gerdam, Mr. Coulson. Could you step outside for a moment…?”
***
“Uh, um… How much… will the hospital bill be…?”
It was embarrassing as an adult to talk about money in front of a child, so Yerina brought Gerard and Hans out of the sickroom.
Yerina didn’t have the means to afford a hefty hospital bill.
Sensing her anxiety about the lack of money, Gerard stepped forward and said.
“Ah, you don’t need to worry about the hospital bill for now. It’s an accident caused by our side, so we’ll handle it with our insurance.”
“Phew… That’s really fortunate…”
If this accident hadn’t happened in the first place, it would’ve been the best.
However, Yerina couldn’t help but chuckle at the doctor’s subsequent words.
“However, more importantly, the test results show that there’s a Circle engraved on Miss. Irushi’s heart right now.”
“Circle? Is that, what I know?”
“Yes. A very old method of magic that was popular before we started using Class Magic. During the Circle Magic era.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
They were well aware of the dangers of Circle Magic.
The biggest reason Circle Magic was banned was because too many users became invalids or lost their lives while carving circles.
Even if you were lucky enough to carve the circle, it was still problematic.
There was no system in magic, one had to rely entirely on the user’s enlightenment and talent.
And that’s not all. If you didn’t stabilize the circle every time you used it, it would devour your mana.
Who would want to use such a dangerous magic where you risk your life every time you use it?
Therefore, all Circle Magic textbooks were completely banned, and there were no more people carving circles into their hearts.
“But, does that child really have a circle in her heart?”
Yerina asked with an extremely worried tone.
A circle, isn’t it too dangerous for a child?
It’s like living with a bomb strapped to your heart.
So if by any chance a circle was carved, they all undergo circle removal surgery.
No one would want to risk dying from a momentary magic control mistake.
“Yes. There’s a very clear circle. It’s so perfect that it seems impossible to remove. Moreover, the sensitivity to mana is unbelievably high. So the amount of mana contained in the circle is… beyond what a child’s body can contain.”
“By any chance, do you know when that circle was placed?”
“Well… you can’t really know when a circle was carved due to its nature. Perhaps, did she experience any side effects?”
“If there were side effects, what would they be?”
“Suddenly complaining of heart pain, having a blank expression, suddenly getting a fever, losing consciousness or memory…”
As Hans gave examples, Yerina hastily spat out her words with a flash of realization in her mind.
“Memory…? Oh, Luke lost her memory. She doesn’t remember anything about being kidnapped.”
Upon hearing Yerina’s response, Hans nodded in agreement.
“Is that so? Maybe it’s been there even before then.”
Gerard also supported that speculation.
“I think so too. According to the testimony of my junior wizard, it seems that Luke managed to control mana leakage. But she wouldn’t have been able to do such precise mana control on the spot. There must have been some similar experience in the past. Experience dealing with mana solely by will…”
“Is that so.”
Yerina looked at the closed door of the hospital room with a puzzled expression.
‘Luke, why did you have to handle mana without a wand?’
“Anyway, there’s nothing we can do at the hospital. You can be discharged right away.”
***
After Yerina finished her conversation and opened Luke’s hospital room door, the sight before her was Luke, leaning against the bed, avidly reading the book she brought.
Finding her appearance cute, Yerina smiled slightly and approached Luke.
“Luke, how’s your body?”
“I’m fine.”
Seeing that she didn’t take her eyes off the book, it seemed she quite liked it.
“Really? Shall we go back now? It’s okay to be discharged today.”
“Yeah, I guess we should go back. You must be uncomfortable staying here.”
With a slight noise, Luke closed the book and showed its cover to Yerina.
“But, Yerina. Isn’t this a fairy tale book where wizards appear, not a magic book?”
“Hmm?”
Luke looked at Yerina with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
“This is not…? Maybe, do you not like this book?”
“No… It’s just…”
However, Luke couldn’t blame Yerina directly.
After exhaling a sigh, Luke thought.
“Still, it’s somewhat entertaining… to see someone familiar in the story.”
The Immortal King, Renye Arinseia.
A warrior blessed by the gods with immortality.
She was one of the mainstays in past conquest wars, and Luke had quite a friendship with her in the past.
Watching Luke lost in memories for a moment, Yerina asked with a chuckle.
“Luke, isn’t it boring to see someone with your name appearing as a wizard? Don’t you like wizards?”
“…”
Luke closed the book, raised her hand, and pondered.
‘Luke Irushi fought in the conquest wars alongside the Immortal King Renye Arinseia and Kale Probson. They pursued the demon king for 21 days and beheaded him in just 2 days. Kale Probson perished in the battle, and upon returning, the immortal warrior Renye Arinseia became the queen, while Luke Irushi obtained a noble title and the designation of ‘Grand Wizard,’ living as a scholar until his later years. It’s a story I know too well. Because I am that Luke Irushi.’
But who would believe such a story if told?
It’s fortunate if one isn’t treated as a lunatic.
“Yerina, I have one thing I want to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Where is Renye, I mean, Renye Arinseia now?”
“Huh? That’s just a story from a fairy tale, isn’t it? She would have died a long time ago. I can’t remember the exact year.”
“… Renye isn’t immortal?”
How could she not be, receiving immortality directly from the gods, after killing the demon king and becoming a demi-god? She must have become even stronger with immortality, certainly…
“In that case, what about the Arinseia Kingdom?”
“It was destroyed about 2000 years ago. Why are you asking?”
“…”
‘Ah, Renye. Were you also just an inevitable human? Your will to make Arinseia eternally glorious ultimately crumbled before time.’
Watching Luke’s despondent expression, Yerina finally had a realization.
‘Did I just trample on a child’s innocence? Like the expression of a child who realizes that the presents left on Spirit Day were not from spirits but from their parents.’
Suppressing the urge to slap her own forehead, Yerina forced a cheerful tone and suggested.
“Luke, on our way home, should we stop by the bookstore? Feel free to buy any book you want!”
“…Really?”
“Luke, what on earth happened?”
“Ugh, Yerina? How did you…?”
Luke was startled by Yerina, who burst into the hospital room, throwing the door wide open.
Recalling how she had ignored her plea to stay at home, her gaze lowered as if ashamed.
Yerina shouted, “I was so worried! I left my duty to my colleague and went home, but you weren’t there. There was just some strange letter left behind. Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
“Well, you see…”
What Yerina pulled out was a letter left by Luke.
It was written like this:
“I have something to find in the World Tree, so I’m going out for a while. I’ll probably be back before nightfall. I’m sorry for causing you trouble and I’m grateful.”
These words were written in ancient characters from 5,000 years ago.
So, the letter that Yerina could read looked like this:
“-■■ ■■■ there is something to find in the ■■■. I ■■ probably be back before ■■■■ nightfall. I’m sorry for causing you trouble and I’m grateful.”
“I thought you ran away! What’s with this letter? A runaway letter?”
“I just went to the World Tree for a moment, meaning I would be back before nightfall…”
“Why are there ‘sorry’ and ‘thankful’ at the end?”
“Well, because I was sorry and thankful…”
“….”
Yerina, who also heard explanations about the words she couldn’t read, rubbed her forehead in thought.
“Does she not know how to read?”
The handwriting was quite elegant, but being elegant in handwriting alone was useless.
Yerina sighed, thinking that perhaps Luke hadn’t been taught by anyone but had learned from books on her own, leading to this situation.
“Okay, I get it now. But, Luke, you know I told you not to go out. Don’t you remember?”
“Ugh, I… I really didn’t expect this to happen… I just planned to go out for a moment, and I’m not that much of a kid…”
“Luke.”
Interrupting Luke’s excuses, Yerina said firmly, “…”
Seeing her expression, Luke could only avoid her gaze, sweating profusely.
“Why do I have to scold her…”
Although she had clearly said not to go out, she wasn’t really a child.
Is appearance really that important?
Perhaps, a magic to accelerate growth…
Seeing that Luke seemed lost in thought, Yerina spoke firmly.
“Luke, did you do wrong?”
As the atmosphere became tense, Luke sighed and had no choice but to respond to her words.
“I did wrong…”
“You won’t do it again, right?”
“I won’t do it again…”
“Promise me.”
“Okay. I promise.”
“Don’t just keep saying things vaguely all the time, this time for real. Is it a real promise?”
Seeing Luke nod, Yerina arranged Luke’s hair as she lay on the hospital bed and sat beside her.
Suddenly, Luke was puzzled.
She was just a slightly unusual orphan, if you thought about it.
Did Yerina really have enough value to care so much for her?
Of course, she would become a great wizard in the future, but for now, she was just a level 1 wizard.
When Yerina showed kindness, she didn’t even have a circle.
Was it because she was a forest ranger?
But it seemed different from professional spirit.
With doubts arising, Luke had no choice but to ask.
“…Why do you worry so much about me?”
“I worry because I worry, do I need a reason? The world is so dangerous.”
“…”
Luke remembered.
When was the last time someone had worried about her?
There was nothing quite as useless as worrying about a grand wizard in the world.
The sensation of someone worrying purely felt strange.
That the world was dangerous.
Certainly, despite Luke’s good fortune in meeting good people so far, she knew there could be any number of worst-case scenarios if a child was wandering alone, as she remembered.
Being kidnapped by slavers, or falling victim to robbers, and such.
But Luke hadn’t really concerned himself with such things for far too long, and the pressure to re-etch the vanished Circle hadn’t allowed him to think about such matters.
Thinking about it like that, it seemed only natural for Yerina to worry too.
At least, it was the child’s current state.
Luke glanced at Yerina with a slight smile.
“You’re truly kind. To worry so much about a child who isn’t even mine.”
“……”
Yerina, who had been brushing Luke’s forehead, thought about her words.
‘Ah, this child still isn’t used to the kindness directed towards her.’
It wasn’t an unreasonable misunderstanding.
Indeed, Luke wasn’t accustomed to receiving ‘pure’ kindness directed towards her.
If one gives, one must receive, and there was always a reason behind kindness.
To Luke, who had lived such a life for over a century, kindness without reason was not something easily conceived.
So Luke had a compulsion, almost an obsession, to repay the kindness she received, and she had always boasted to everyone she met, ‘I will repay this favor later.’
To Yerina, who didn’t know that, Luke just seemed even more pitiful in her mind.
“…… Luke, there……”
“Hmm?”
Just as Yerina was about to say, ‘If it’s okay with you, you can continue staying in my house in the future,’
The door of the sickroom creaked open.
Along with the doctor, Gerard entered.
The doctor spoke.
“Are you the guardian? What’s your relationship with Luke?”
To the doctor’s question, Yerina answered.
“Yes. I’m Yerina Risfiend. I’m a forester in Luke Forest. Luke… she was temporarily under my protection until I found a facility.”
“Is that so? Then, for now, you qualify as a guardian. I’m Hans Gerdam, Luke’s attending physician.”
“Hello, I’m Gerard Coulson. We brought Luke to our facility for a short visit.”
After exchanging pleasantries with them once, Yerina spoke in a small, hesitant voice.
“Um, Mr. Gerdam, Mr. Coulson. Could you step outside for a moment…?”
***
“Uh, um… How much… will the hospital bill be…?”
It was embarrassing as an adult to talk about money in front of a child, so Yerina brought Gerard and Hans out of the sickroom.
Yerina didn’t have the means to afford a hefty hospital bill.
Sensing her anxiety about the lack of money, Gerard stepped forward and said.
“Ah, you don’t need to worry about the hospital bill for now. It’s an accident caused by our side, so we’ll handle it with our insurance.”
“Phew… That’s really fortunate…”
If this accident hadn’t happened in the first place, it would’ve been the best.
However, Yerina couldn’t help but chuckle at the doctor’s subsequent words.
“However, more importantly, the test results show that there’s a Circle engraved on Miss. Irushi’s heart right now.”
“Circle? Is that, what I know?”
“Yes. A very old method of magic that was popular before we started using Class Magic. During the Circle Magic era.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
They were well aware of the dangers of Circle Magic.
The biggest reason Circle Magic was banned was because too many users became invalids or lost their lives while carving circles.
Even if you were lucky enough to carve the circle, it was still problematic.
There was no system in magic, one had to rely entirely on the user’s enlightenment and talent.
And that’s not all. If you didn’t stabilize the circle every time you used it, it would devour your mana.
Who would want to use such a dangerous magic where you risk your life every time you use it?
Therefore, all Circle Magic textbooks were completely banned, and there were no more people carving circles into their hearts.
“But, does that child really have a circle in her heart?”
Yerina asked with an extremely worried tone.
A circle, isn’t it too dangerous for a child?
It’s like living with a bomb strapped to your heart.
So if by any chance a circle was carved, they all undergo circle removal surgery.
No one would want to risk dying from a momentary magic control mistake.
“Yes. There’s a very clear circle. It’s so perfect that it seems impossible to remove. Moreover, the sensitivity to mana is unbelievably high. So the amount of mana contained in the circle is… beyond what a child’s body can contain.”
“By any chance, do you know when that circle was placed?”
“Well… you can’t really know when a circle was carved due to its nature. Perhaps, did she experience any side effects?”
“If there were side effects, what would they be?”
“Suddenly complaining of heart pain, having a blank expression, suddenly getting a fever, losing consciousness or memory…”
As Hans gave examples, Yerina hastily spat out her words with a flash of realization in her mind.
“Memory…? Oh, Luke lost her memory. She doesn’t remember anything about being kidnapped.”
Upon hearing Yerina’s response, Hans nodded in agreement.
“Is that so? Maybe it’s been there even before then.”
Gerard also supported that speculation.
“I think so too. According to the testimony of my junior wizard, it seems that Luke managed to control mana leakage. But she wouldn’t have been able to do such precise mana control on the spot. There must have been some similar experience in the past. Experience dealing with mana solely by will…”
“Is that so.”
Yerina looked at the closed door of the hospital room with a puzzled expression.
‘Luke, why did you have to handle mana without a wand?’
“Anyway, there’s nothing we can do at the hospital. You can be discharged right away.”
***
After Yerina finished her conversation and opened Luke’s hospital room door, the sight before her was Luke, leaning against the bed, avidly reading the book she brought.
Finding her appearance cute, Yerina smiled slightly and approached Luke.
“Luke, how’s your body?”
“I’m fine.”
Seeing that she didn’t take her eyes off the book, it seemed she quite liked it.
“Really? Shall we go back now? It’s okay to be discharged today.”
“Yeah, I guess we should go back. You must be uncomfortable staying here.”
With a slight noise, Luke closed the book and showed its cover to Yerina.
“But, Yerina. Isn’t this a fairy tale book where wizards appear, not a magic book?”
“Hmm?”
Luke looked at Yerina with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
“This is not…? Maybe, do you not like this book?”
“No… It’s just…”
However, Luke couldn’t blame Yerina directly.
After exhaling a sigh, Luke thought.
“Still, it’s somewhat entertaining… to see someone familiar in the story.”
The Immortal King, Renye Arinseia.
A warrior blessed by the gods with immortality.
She was one of the mainstays in past conquest wars, and Luke had quite a friendship with her in the past.
Watching Luke lost in memories for a moment, Yerina asked with a chuckle.
“Luke, isn’t it boring to see someone with your name appearing as a wizard? Don’t you like wizards?”
“…”
Luke closed the book, raised her hand, and pondered.
‘Luke Irushi fought in the conquest wars alongside the Immortal King Renye Arinseia and Kale Probson. They pursued the demon king for 21 days and beheaded him in just 2 days. Kale Probson perished in the battle, and upon returning, the immortal warrior Renye Arinseia became the queen, while Luke Irushi obtained a noble title and the designation of ‘Grand Wizard,’ living as a scholar until his later years. It’s a story I know too well. Because I am that Luke Irushi.’
But who would believe such a story if told?
It’s fortunate if one isn’t treated as a lunatic.
“Yerina, I have one thing I want to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Where is Renye, I mean, Renye Arinseia now?”
“Huh? That’s just a story from a fairy tale, isn’t it? She would have died a long time ago. I can’t remember the exact year.”
“… Renye isn’t immortal?”
How could she not be, receiving immortality directly from the gods, after killing the demon king and becoming a demi-god? She must have become even stronger with immortality, certainly…
“In that case, what about the Arinseia Kingdom?”
“It was destroyed about 2000 years ago. Why are you asking?”
“…”
‘Ah, Renye. Were you also just an inevitable human? Your will to make Arinseia eternally glorious ultimately crumbled before time.’
Watching Luke’s despondent expression, Yerina finally had a realization.
‘Did I just trample on a child’s innocence? Like the expression of a child who realizes that the presents left on Spirit Day were not from spirits but from their parents.’
Suppressing the urge to slap her own forehead, Yerina forced a cheerful tone and suggested.
“Luke, on our way home, should we stop by the bookstore? Feel free to buy any book you want!”
“…Really?”
