A Glimmer of Warmth Amidst the Trials
Togun Masao's life could be summed up as an endless chain of hardships. Born with the cursed constitution of a Mana Rejecter, he had endured training that bordered on abuse since childhood. While his cousins often perished under the grueling regimen, he had distinguished himself enough to be chosen as the next heir to the family heirloom. Yet he himself admired the Majoan and dreamed of becoming the greatest mage, so he enrolled at Benedict Academy—only to remain a failing student and the undisputed bottom of his year. His life itself was nothing but suffering and adversity.
Even so, Togun Masao could say with confidence that the past few days of torment made all twelve years of his previous hardships feel like a mere scratch.
"……"
Several days had passed since the autumn rain began falling the day after he started learning footwork from Jealousy, soaking the ground. Togun let out a deep sigh as he gazed at the scenery outside the window, where the sun—rarely seen lately—blazed hot enough to dry the damp earth.
'At least I won't be getting beaten in the rain today.'
Even after Marrow Cleansing had burned away every impurity in his body and loosened his muscles and ligaments to their limits, Jealousy's beatings showed no sign of stopping. If anything, they had grown worse. Under the pretext of teaching him to dodge with footwork, attacks far stronger than before now came flying in bizarre trajectories.
'Why am I still alive without a single broken bone?'
Just yesterday evening, he had collided head-on with a bicycle speeding down the street, yet felt no pain at all. It was only then that he realized his endurance had improved dramatically. Honestly, after being pummeled to that extent, it felt almost unfair that he didn't even have a single bruise to show for it—people might think he was faking it.
'I don't want to go to training.'
The motivation that had once burned brightly upon realizing the effectiveness of Jealousy's training had long since faded. Anyone would feel the same after being beaten like a dog every single day. Especially when there was no sense of progress no matter how hard they tried.
'How many nights has it been since I last slept?'
He was dragged out around ten at night, trained without a wink of sleep, then went straight to school. He couldn't sleep during class, so he forced himself to listen while half-asleep, then dozed off during every break only to be jolted awake again.
'This isn't training. It's torture.'
His head felt foggy. Every time he blinked, it seemed like he might lose consciousness entirely. Dark circles as heavy as Karlsen's. For someone who wasn't even a mage capable of handling mana, the schedule was far too brutal for an ordinary person to endure.
Of course it was. Depriving someone of sleep and forcing them to train continuously was the very method once used by Cheonsal—the Hwan Empire's elite assassination squad—to forge assassins.
'Even my family at least gave me enough time to sleep.'
It was a training regimen that literally shaved years off one's life. Togun was only twelve. A crushing sense of crisis washed over him—he might die young if this continued.
"You look especially tired today."
Hemming approached with a worried expression upon seeing Togun, who looked ready to collapse at any moment.
"Is the training that harsh?"
Among the first-year students participating in the Academy Tournament—excluding Marily—everyone was visibly exhausted. Jeon came to school with a face swollen like dried seaweed soaked in water. Arina pored over workbooks whenever she had a spare moment, her fingers stained with ink that never seemed to dry. They were all struggling, but Togun Masao was in a league of his own. Watching a child grow paler and more haggard by the day, no adult could help but worry.
"No matter how important the tournament is, don't push yourself too hard. What good is it if you collapse?"
"Yes, you're right."
Honestly, Togun would have loved nothing more than to rest for even a single day. The problem was that such honest complaints were never accepted. Yesterday, he had even begged Karlsen to let him rest for just one day, saying he would die otherwise. He already knew from experience that his mad temporary master wouldn't listen.
"It's impossible. If I did, he'd just say, 'Then do you want to take the beating in his place?' and punch me."
But even Karlsen merely raised both arms above his head as if washing his hands of the matter and fled from Togun in a panic. His usual sluggish, lifeless steps were nowhere to be seen. Togun could only watch the retreating figure with hollow eyes.
With that, his last remaining hope vanished yesterday, and his world completely crumbled.
"If you're really that tired, go to the infirmary and take a nap. I'll explain to the professor."
Just like Marily had exploited in the first semester, if a student appeared unwell and used the infirmary, their class attendance would still be recognized. Since the next class happened to be Karlsen's, he would surely understand Togun's situation.
"No, I'm fine."
But Togun simply shook his head at the suggestion. It wasn't because of some diligent reason like never being able to skip class.
'The infirmary just feels... uncomfortable somehow.'
More precisely, ever since some time ago, he would feel chills run through his entire body whenever he encountered Professor Clara in the hallway. His limbs would tremble so violently that he felt like he might collapse on the spot. In fact, if he hadn't quickly leaned against the wall, he probably would have fallen flat on the floor.
Togun didn't know it, but this was trauma etched into his body. His instincts had seen through Clara's true identity and were triggering a reflexive rejection.
"Ugh."
Just thinking about Professor Clara made nausea rise. Togun forced it down and slumped over his desk.
'This won't do.'
Seeing Togun in such a pitiful state, Hemming couldn't just stand by. His eyes sharpened with resolve as he gently patted the boy's back.
"Do you have time tomorrow evening? The others too, if possible."
"Huh?"
"If you're free, I'll close the restaurant tomorrow. Bring everyone. I'll have my wife prepare something delicious."
Watching children not much older than his own son struggle so hard, he wanted to support them with food at the very least.
"As the old saying goes, food is the best medicine. A hearty meal should give you some strength."
His words overflowed with affection for the children. Yes, this world wasn't filled only with people like his temporary master or Professor Karlsen. Realizing at the age of twelve that the world was still worth living in, tears welled up in Togun's eyes.
"Yes, I'll ask the others."
Wiping away his tears with his sleeve, Togun replied with a bright smile. A ray of sunlight piercing through the difficult days. For the first time in a while, his heart felt lighter, and his fatigue seemed to ease a little.
'Alright. Let's push a bit harder.'
As he watched Professor Karlsen enter through the front door of the classroom, a faint spark rekindled in Togun's dimming eyes.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Dinner?"
After Karlsen's curse magic class ended, Marily tilted her head in confusion at Togun's sudden suggestion.
"Out of nowhere?"
"Yeah, Hemming said if we're free tomorrow, he'll prepare a meal. For everyone."
"Hemming? You mean that regular Korean restaurant you always go to?"
Peace Restaurant, was it? According to Marily's memory—which never forgot anything once remembered—that seemed to be the name.
"Yeah, sounds fun. I'm in."
Marily, who enjoyed even the smallest changes in daily life, readily nodded. Besides, unlike the others, she had no preparations for the Academy Tournament, so her schedule was wide open. There was no reason to hesitate.
"I already texted Jeon, and he said he can make it."
"That block of ice isn't interested. What about you? You're coming too, right?"
"Huh?"
At Marily's words, Arina—who had been quietly solving problems given by Professor Magnus even after Togun arrived—slowly raised her head. Her bloodshot, sunken eyes, red from staring at the workbook for so long, turned toward Togun. Then she glanced at the problem she was working on and nodded.
"Yeah, I think it'll be fine. Probably."
She must have set a daily quota for herself. She seemed to have judged that she would reach her goal if she continued at this pace.
'Professor Paracelsus said he won't have time tomorrow anyway.'
Her head was starting to feel stuffy and sluggish, so she thought she needed a refresh. Togun's invitation had come at the perfect moment, almost as if planned.
'I should let Uncle know this evening.'
Come to think of it, he had mentioned going somewhere during lunch today. Would he be back early? She had only heard it half-asleep last night, so she couldn't quite remember where he was going. All she could recall was that he would return before dinner.
"But are you really okay?"
After thinking for a moment, Arina looked at Togun with concern.
Her own schedule had conveniently aligned, but was he truly alright?
"I heard you're training every night until dawn."
Marily seemed to share the same thought and added her own words while studying him. Those dark circles, that haggard face stained with exhaustion and worry—how could that possibly belong to a twelve-year-old boy? Even fathers of this era who endured all kinds of hardships for their families didn't look this worn out.
"I'm fine. I can just throw up after eating."
"That's quite a gloomy line for something said so matter-of-factly."
At Togun's bold words, the pity in the two girls' eyes deepened even further.
"Well, anyway, it's decided then."
As if trying to change the gloomy atmosphere, Marily clapped her hands energetically.
"Tomorrow's a party."
Come to think of it, since the team had formed, they had never once held a meal together or done any team-building activities. All that had followed was a grueling series of individual training sessions—except for Marily—to improve their own abilities. If anything, their teamwork had been drifting further apart, and as the team's strategist, she couldn't just let that continue.
"No, it's not really grand enough to call a party……"
"I'll cover all the expenses. Don't worry about the cost—just ask them to show off their skills to the fullest."
"……"
"Arina, do you prefer a quiet party? If you want something lively, I could call a few singers. Starting with Layla Ruby…… Do you have any other favorite singers?"
"No, it's fine. Let's just hang out by ourselves."
"Hmm, I suppose that's best."
So this was what royalty was like. It felt like things were gradually getting out of hand. The saving grace was that Arina was there to rein in Marily's runaway enthusiasm.
'Aunt Anna might feel burdened.'
Thinking about it, Hemming had invited them out of pure goodwill, but the opponent Anna would have to face was none other than the royal head chef. Of course, Marily wasn't the type to tactlessly complain about the food being bad or not to her taste in front of the person who made it. But the mere title of royalty was already more than enough to make an ordinary person feel pressured.
'I should go home today and immediately kneel to apologize to my wife.'
Hemming, who had been secretly eavesdropping on their conversation from afar, seemed to share the same thought. Forcing a bright smile as he watched them chatting noisily, he quietly rubbed his face with both hands. All he could do was offer a sincere apology to his wife, who would now have to endure unnecessary stress because of him.