Thirteen Palms Revealed

"Ah, right. That reminds me."

Come to think of it, that wasn't why I'd come here to talk.

This is all Ruphus's fault.

I shot Ruphus a glare before turning to Latynia.

"It's about magic."

"Before that, are you really not going to sit next to me?"

"Huh? Wouldn't it be better to face each other while we talk?"

"Ah... yeah, you're right. Sure. Go ahead and keep talking."

"I asked one of the instructors a question and got an answer, but I didn't really understand what she meant. It was..."

I repeated exactly what Olivia had told me, word for word as much as possible.

I didn't want to twist the meaning by choosing the wrong words, so I stuck closely to her explanation.

Latynia listened intently to my words, then fell deep into thought.

"Hmm... That's tricky. Could I see that material, by any chance?"

"Here."

I summoned a small piece of Thousand Changes onto my hand.

As something shiny suddenly appeared on my palm, everyone's eyes focused there.

Even Ara, who had been pretending to read her book while watching Latynia and me, stared blankly at the Thousand Changes.

"So this is the material."

"Yeah. It's called Thousand Changes."

Latynia took it and fiddled with it, clearly fascinated by the texture.

Guess Thousand Changes works its charm on everyone. Except Ji-ah.

Latynia snapped out of her daze late and came back to her senses.

"Ah! The texture is amazing. Hmm..."

She kneaded the Thousand Changes while lowering her head in thought.

After a long while pondering, Latynia looked up.

"To put it simply, it's like this. When I explained the basics of elemental magic, I told you to visualize the attributes, right?"

"Yes."

"Not just elemental magic—most other types of magic are fundamentally shaped by the mage's imagery. The only difference is that you have to refine your mana specifically."

Latynia paused for a moment before continuing.

"Visualizing could be rephrased as 'according ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to will,' don't you think? I believe Instructor Olivia meant it that way. Does this material have any special abilities?"

"Ah!"

I took the Thousand Changes back from Latynia.

Then I closed my eyes and pictured a chair.

When I opened them, the Thousand Changes had transformed into a small wooden chair.

Latynia gasped in admiration as she watched it change.

"Wow..."

I placed the chair on the desk.

Thud. The solid feel of the wooden chair came through perfectly.

"Thousand Changes can change its form according to my will like this. I thought it could only alter its appearance, but..."

When I infused my will into Thousand Changes, only the shape changed—the texture and weight stayed the same as before.

But the chair I'd imagined now had a different weight and texture from the original Thousand Changes.

Thousand Changes is the medium for my abilities.

Have I been misunderstanding my own power this whole time?

As I pondered my will, imagery, and abilities, light began to leak from the pattern on the back of my hand.

With it, the mark on my right hand started to fade bit by bit.

"Do-jun! Your hand!"

"Ah..."

Once the light on the back of my hand died out, the mark had completely vanished.

And then, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.

I stared at the translucent window floating in front of me.

"Ha... unbelievable."

"Do-jun?"

I shot up from my seat and stormed out of the library.

I heard Latynia calling after me from behind, but my mind was already elsewhere.

The translucent window had vanished, but its contents remained vividly in my memory.

No, it wasn't packed with so much information that I couldn't remember it anyway.

Entries like Touch of Pleasure and Resonance were all gone, leaving just those two lines.

Thirteen Palms, but only up to 12—now I get why.

Thousand Changes is separate from the list.

And all the sub-entries vanished, leaving just the number.

Things like Touch of Pleasure and Resonance must be included in that count.

So, abilities that grant pleasure or manipulate emotions were born from my will.

The moment I met Ji-ah and pounced on her... and everything after...

"Do-jun!"

I turned around at the voice calling me as I walked lost in thought. Latynia had followed me out.

"Do-jun, your expression..."

"..."

What kind of face am I making?

I couldn't judge well since I was losing control of my expressions.

"Are you okay?"

"Ah, yeah."

I shook my head to clear the thoughts.

I decided not to dwell on this anymore.

"You scared me, bolting out with that scary look on your face."

"Sorry. My hand suddenly lit up, so I got startled."

I brushed it off for now.

I needed time to sort my thoughts.

"That's a lie."

Latynia saw right through the gap.

"I've only seen that expression on you once before."

"When?"

"Back at the Prism main building."

"..."

Latynia stepped right up to me.

She leaned in close, almost touching my nose, and said,

"What happened? Can you tell me?"

"Well..."

Should I tell Latynia? It feels like something I should hide... but maybe it's okay?

Latynia gazed at me with her clear eyes as I hesitated.

Fine. I'll tell her.

"I hurt someone with abilities I wielded unconsciously, and only now do I realize it was me."

"What do you think about that person?"

"They're precious to me. I always want to treat them well."

"Then it doesn't matter anymore, right?"

"Huh?"

Latynia smiled and said,

"Even if you hurt them before, it's all resolved now, isn't it?"

"Yeah. That's how I see it."

"So just treat them even better from now on."

"Will that be enough?"

"Yes. You both already know each other's intentions, right? So focus on the future, not the past. Just be better from here on out."

"Ah!"

She'd voiced exactly what I'd thought earlier.

I'll just do better from now on...

"Thank you, Latynia."

"As long as you get it now, that's enough."

Her comfort chased away all the dark thoughts.

Yeah. I'll just treat her better starting now.

I'll pay more attention to Ji-ah.

"So you can't say things like refusing the bodyguard role. Got it?"

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Th-that precious person is..."

"Lee Ji-ah, right? The girl I always had lunch with before."

"Huh?"

Latynia's face froze.

She stepped back with a stiff expression, her voice trembling as she said,

"N-not me?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Ugh... ughhh..."

"Latynia?"

"Waaaaaah!!"

Her face beet red, Latynia bolted away.

I chased after her and grabbed her; she flailed wildly.

"Let go! I'm going back to the kingdom! Waaah!"

"Calm down! It's not embarrassing!"

"I don't know! How can I after saying something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so embarrassing..."

"You're precious too, Latynia! That's why you're precious!"

"Really...?"

"Of course. Not as much as Ji-ah, though."

"Let go! I wanna go home!"

She started flailing again at my teasing.

It took quite a while to calm her down after that.

I led the now-settled Latynia back to the library.

She was still huffing, but she seemed somewhat composed.

"Latynia."

"Hmph!"

That said, conversation was still off-limits.

"Latynia. Are you going to keep this up?"

"I don't know! Why don't you go take care of that precious lady of yours, Do-jun?"

"Then can I just go?"

"Huh?"

Latynia whipped around in surprise, then turned away again.

Still so dishonest.

I slowed my pace a bit.

Latynia slowed down belatedly too.

When I went slower, she matched me... and soon enough, we came to a complete stop.

"Latynia."

"Y-yes?!"

I pulled her into my arms.

"Do-jun?! People are watching..."

Latynia, who'd been squirming at my sudden hug, quietly wrapped her arms around me.

She must not have noticed the stares we'd been drawing by lagging so far behind everyone else.

"You're precious too, Latynia. Won't you forgive me now?"

"..."

When I let her go, her face was bright red.

I spoke to Latynia, who had her head down, embarrassed about hugging in public.

"Shall we go?"

"Y-yeah..."

We returned to the library with her head still lowered.

Back at our reading room seats, Ruphus and Ara were giving me strange looks.

"What?"

"You didn't do anything to Lady Latynia, did you?"

"What could I have done in that short time?"

"True. Then why is Lady Latynia acting like that?"

"The shock of her embarrassing slip-up must have hit her late."

Latynia poked my side from an angle they couldn't see.

I ignored the prods ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and sat down with her.

"So, where were we?"

"Um... Thousand Changes..."

"Ah, right! Yeah."

I pulled out Thousand Changes again.

Now I could shape it into other forms naturally.

I bounced the ball I'd made with it as I spoke.

"I get that Thousand Changes reflects the image I have in mind. But is that such a big deal?"

"It means Thousand Changes operates similarly to mana."

"What does that mean?"

"Fundamentally, the way you handle Thousand Changes is the same as how a mage casts spells."

"Ah, I see."

"Wait. Actually... hmm..."

Latynia fell into thought again.

After tilting her head for a long time, she said,

"Not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sure if this is right, but... I think Thousand Changes is like the origin of a mage's power."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I'm not certain, but it just feels that way."

"Hmm... I'll have to think about that. Thanks, Latynia."

"No problem."

After that, she explained various insights she'd had about Thousand Changes.

The most useful was how to use magic.

Imagining Thousand Changes like a spell made it far easier to wield than before.

Sorry, Instructor Nephrian, but this beat two months of lectures for me.

The next morning, I met Ji-ah at our usual fork in the road, like always.

She hadn't been late once since then.

She looked tired sometimes, but...

I called out to Ji-ah, who was waiting on the bench.

"Hey. You're early again today?"

"Ah, h-hello."

Come to think of it, Ji-ah had a lot of bad history with Thousand Changes.

We wouldn't part ways unless absolutely necessary, so she'd see it often.

If she recoiled every time, it'd be awkward for both of us.

Good thing I'd figured out how to use it properly—time to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Ji-ah. I have something to show you."

"Huh?"

I summoned a small piece of Thousand Changes.

Ji-ah's face froze at the sight of it in my hand.

"This is..."

"Eek!"

Before I could explain, she freaked out and backed away.

Her trauma must be worse than I thought.

It's not that scary an object...

"It's not weird. Look, the texture's nice, right?"

"Kyaa! Don't shove it at me!"

Her reaction was so intense I had to dismiss it.

Guess she needs more time.

I'll get her used to it gradually.

I'll be using it a lot from now on, after all.