Ap...ology
Ap...ology
"Thank you for the meal~"
That evening.
Having polished off dinner, Senior Daera headed straight for the basement instead of her own room.
Her destination was the training chamber beneath the mansion—a routine she'd kept up lately.
- Crackle...!
Sitting on the floor, eyes quietly shut, she focused on regulating her Lightning Energy.
'This must be difficult for her.'
I'd eaten my dinner separately, then discreetly followed her down.
Leaning against the wall by the entrance, I observed Senior Daera and nodded to myself.
The flickering Lightning Energy around her.
Its rhythm was mostly steady, yet plenty of off-beat surges sent stray bolts snapping every which way.
Lightning-type mana is especially hard to control. To put it bluntly, people call it a real pain in the ass.
'And when you factor in Senior Daera's Unique Ability...'
Senior Daera's Unique Ability: Heavenly Thunder.
A familiar name.
To be precise, it matches the name of the 8th Iteration's Unique Ability—the one I'd used in the original story.
'I was pretty shocked when I first heard the name.'
Lightning with output far beyond the norm. That alone made me feel something off, and when the name Heavenly Thunder entered my ears, my head went numb.
Of course, the names could simply be the same. You do find Unique Abilities whose self-recognized names are identical.
'But considering the output and properties, it does fit...'
Senior Daera's Heavenly Thunder and the 8th Iteration's Heavenly Thunder.
The more I compared their output and nature, the more my thoughts tilted toward them being virtually the same ability.
'Heavenly Thunder...'
The 8th Iteration's Heavenly Thunder was powerful.
Without even really using Archery, Heavenly Thunder alone was enough to subjugate a 3rd-Rank monster.
Factor in long-range bombardment through Archery? The 8th Iteration could seize the advantage even in single combat against a 2nd-Rank monster.
If Baek A-rin—whom he trusted and loved from behind—hadn't be!trayed! him, that iteration wouldn't have ended so emptily.
'And it took enormous effort to control Heavenly Thunder.'
It's a case similar to Calamity Flame.
When the output defies common sense, the handling is just as much of a pain in the ass.
If memory served, Heavenly Thunder also had psychological side effects. That was why I'd been careful around Senior Daera.
'......'
Today, I hadn't managed to be careful.
Like an idiot, I'd let jealousy take over and thrown a petty tantrum.
Senior Daera had brushed it off lightly, but that didn't change the fact that I'd caused trouble.
So I'd followed her down to apologize, and yet...
- Crackle...!
Before I could find an opening, she'd planted herself on the floor and started training.
Interrupting her concentration over this would be a nuisance in its own right.
'Should I go over and apologize now? Or wait until she's done and heading back up, and borrow a moment then...'
- Crackle...
In that instant, the Lightning Energy she was controlling stopped.
And my fretting, along with my breath, stopped with it.
After blinking a few times, Senior Daera rose from her spot and walked straight toward the entrance.
"Junior Disciple, what are you doing here?"
[Hgk]
She poked her head past the entrance and asked, looking precisely in my direction.
Blue eyes gazed straight down at me. She'd sweated a little, probably from the mana and Heart Power expenditure, even though her body had stayed still.
At that, I quietly lowered both hands from my mouth.
[...How did you know I was here?]
My presence is normally faint and hard to detect. Even though I'm less careful about it inside the mansion, I'm still hard to find as long as I stay out of sight.
Senior Daera tilted her head at my question.
"Umm... I dunno? Instinct?"
[I see...]
Instinct. It sounded like a vague, evasive answer, but I nodded along readily enough.
The 8th Iteration's Heavenly Thunder included amplified senses and reflexes, plus the unlocking of a sixth sense.
If Senior Daera's Heavenly Thunder was the same ability as the 8th Iteration's, it made sense that this intuitive side would develop.
'Is it really the same ability?'
The 8th Iteration's Heavenly Thunder manifested through an artifact. He'd always had a lightning attribute, but the Innate Talent called Heavenly Thunder was achieved through an artifact.
- [Senior, how did you end up manifesting that Unique Ability? Did you, um, maybe pick up some weird artifact?]
- An artifact? No? I don't really know either.
- [?]
But Senior Daera said she didn't know herself. From what she'd told me, it just manifested one day out of nowhere...
"So? What's the matter, Junior Disciple?"
[Ah]
My thoughts, starting to sink deep again, were cut off. My shoulders twitched under her tilted gaze.
[Uh... um...]
"Um?"
[Umm...]
The moment to apologize had come, just as I'd wanted. But actually getting the words out was hard.
The content of the apology was embarrassing, and just plain awkward.
[About this morning... I'm sorry for throwing a tantrum. My emotional control was lacking.]
I swallowed and debated it for a moment, but there was never an option to run away here.
In the end, I bowed my burning face.
"...Junior Disciple, is that what you were lurking around here to do? Apologize?"
Senior Daera looked completely taken aback. I lifted my head, feeling sheepish.
[Yes...]
"...Pfft, ahahaha! Junior Disciple! Honestly, apologizing over something this small!"
Senior Daera burst into laughter. A reaction I hadn't expected either.
I stood there looking dumbfounded while she wiped tears from the corners of her eyes and patted my head.
"Heheh, ah, my stomach hurts. Feels like I might throw up my dinner... Junior Disciple, it's fine~ Honestly, you call that a tantrum? Anyone listening would think you'd punched me in the face! That was just some cute whining, come on."
[...It wasn't meant to be cute.]
"Oh? So you really were throwing a tantrum? Like, you were really annoyed with me? Wanted to just shove me away?"
She was prodding at my pride now, but she'd set a trap I couldn't block, so all I could do was hang my head.
That made her crack up all over again.
[Relief]
Behind my bowed head, a relieved smile crept onto my own lips too.
- Ding!
'Hm?'
The alert came a moment later.
[Contact: Master]
[▶Master: My disciple]
[▶Master: A little later... around then]
[▶Master: Would you be able to come up to my room?]
Right after Senior Daera, a summons from Master.
* * *
Lee Ha-yul → Daera Celeste
●●●●●●○○○○(61/100)
「Master's Disciple」「Lightning」「Sense of kinship」「Pity」「Compassion」「Pitifulness」
▼Change▼
●●●●●●○○○○(61▶67/100)
「Senior Disciple」「Heavenly Thunder?」「Sense of kinship」「Compassion」
* * *
The interview ran longer than expected. The main topic was over quickly, but the conversation that followed was just as worthwhile.
'A real Spirit Caster really is on a different level.'
Walking out of the research lab, Lee Ha-sol nodded to herself, replaying the conversation in her head.
For someone just about to step into Spirit Arts, the advice she'd received was meat and drink.
The digressions that followed were arguably even more useful than the main discussion.
'And the conversation itself was enjoyable.'
Liana Bellus. Just as the rumors said, she was a kind and gentle woman.
Her voice was soft-spoken yet perfectly clear. The conversation occasionally bounced in lively ways, but you could always feel her consideration for the other person.
A good person. The words surfaced on their own.
- Ah, hahaha! The spirits were playing tricks on me.
"......"
Some parts hadn't sat quite right. As she recalled Liana flinching and letting out a flustered laugh, Lee Ha-sol sifted through her memories.
Liana's Unique Ability is a wind-attribute power.
The ability to control the wind, feel the wind, and convert mana into wind.
A common ability.
- Whooosh...!
A gentle breeze suddenly rippled. Her hair swayed lightly in the disturbance.
The sensation of the wind brushing over her entire body. From it came the wind's grain, its path, its information.
Without using mana, without stirring her Innate Talent, it was information she could gain at a baseline level if she wished.
A common Unique Ability doesn't let you seize Siyoram's Top Seat.
Lee Ha-sol's natural talent and skill were excellent, and her Innate Talent was truly exceptional.
...Inside that research lab, she hadn't been able to properly feel the wind. It seemed like measures had been put in place to block detection.
Especially around the space beneath the desk, something...
- Fweee!
A green light cluster bloomed above her palm as the wind coalesced. It was the lower Wind Spirit contracted to Lee Ha-sol.
"Hi there?"
- Chirrrp!
"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too."
Sensing the intention conveyed by the blinking spirit, Lee Ha-sol smiled softly and held a conversation.
Lower spirits have only a faint sense of self. You could almost call them instinct-driven clumps of mana.
But small exchanges like this are possible.
Communion with spirits is also important for their growth. It's an essential process for budding self-awareness.
"Was there, maybe... someone else in that room just now?"
- ......
The conversation, which had been flowing smoothly, abruptly cut off. A single question had stopped it cold.
- Chirp, chirrrp...
The light cluster spun in place, about half a turn. The motion looked exactly like a person averting their eyes. On top of that, its body was flickering as if it were breaking into a cold sweat.
"Hmm..."
A spirit and a Spirit Caster are linked by a contract and stay together. In other words, without a contract first, they can't form a bond.
There are other cases.
The race commonly called fairies. They're said to coexist with spirits without contracts.
And then there's another rumor that surfaced recently.
Siyoram's Special Admission Cadet.
They say he commands spirits without a contract. And even spirits already contracted to others end up following him...
Looking down at the flustered spirit on her palm, Lee Ha-sol tilted her head.
'...Am I having weird thoughts?'
Lee Ha-sol's face reddened at the image her mind had conjured.
It was far too lewd an idea. That innocent-looking professor, stashing Lee Ha-yul under her desk, and doing... those sorts of things?
She could hardly believe it.
But considering that Professor Liana was also one of the women living together with Lee Ha-yul, and then thinking back to the suspicion she'd just felt...
'Good grief.'
Her head hadn't had a light, easy day in a while.
When would she finally get a moment of real peace?
At the sudden surge of fatigue, Lee Ha-sol let out a deep sigh.
'Still, I'll be seeing him soon enough... Maybe I can just casually ask then.'
Recalling her recent text exchange with Lee Ha-yul, Lee Ha-sol allowed herself a faint smile.