A Rare Outing
Kain never engaged in any external activities. He was the strongest hikikomori alive, the kind of man who could lock himself in his room for the rest of his life without a single complaint if he so chose. Even so, there were rare moments when the urge to step outside crept up on him—not the veranda that only pretended to be outdoors, but the real world beyond the front door.
"……"
His face remained expressionless, but anyone who knew him well would have recognized the subtle discomfort and irritation etched into it. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Kain stared at his smartphone screen and clicked his tongue in annoyance. The battery read 60%. Despite being plugged in since last night, the number hadn't budged. It should have been fully charged by now.
This was clearly a hardware problem. More precisely, a fault with the built-in battery itself.
"……This is pissing me off."
Unable to hold it in any longer, Kain voiced his frustration aloud. With a scowl, he irritably tossed the phone onto the blanket. Even someone as deeply versed in magic as he was couldn't fix this. It wasn't a matter of spells or formulas—it was a physical component issue, squarely in the domain of technicians and craftsmen rather than mages.
Of course, he could learn how to repair it if he wanted, but that would be far more trouble than simply buying a new one. Besides, anything he made himself would only be a knockoff, not the real thing. This wasn't the Fan Empire; there was no reason to mess around with defective parts when proper replacements were readily available.
'Should I just buy a whole new phone, or replace only the battery?'
How much time was left on his contract? He had probably bought this one after settling in the capital. Roughly two years had passed, so the contract was likely nearing its end. Maybe it was time to upgrade to the latest model. Money wasn't an issue, after all.
"……"
Once he made up his mind, he preferred to act before the hassle grew. Kain rose from the bed, picked up the phone, and muttered to himself as a new thought occurred to him.
"Might as well get the kid a new one while I'm at it."
Unlike his own, Arina's phone hadn't been replaced in a while. Not that it mattered. Contracts could be broken with a penalty fee, and he had more than enough money to spare. In fact, he was wealthier than the king of this nation or the emperor of the Fan Empire.
"……"
Once decided, he executed immediately. He knew from experience that the longer he put things off, the less inclined he'd be to do them. Kain opened his door and stepped out, glancing around the living room. Arina was nowhere to be seen. Probably in her room.
'She used to complain that her room felt too stuffy and always studied out here.'
Without Kain lounging on the sofa, she must have retreated to her own space. The real reason she preferred studying in the living room was simple: she didn't want to be apart from him. Whether it had always been this way or had developed after her parents died, Arina was the type to feel lonely easily. It was a kind of affection deficiency, the root of her "good child" syndrome.
With that thought, Kain crossed the living room and headed straight for her door.
"Mm."
At that same moment, Arina sat at her desk, frowning deeply at the mana restriction cuffs resting on its surface. Arms crossed, she stared at them as if facing a lifelong rival, deep in thought.
'Should I use them or not?'
It felt wrong. These were the very cuffs that had been locked around the culprit's wrists during the Mana Up incident. She could still vividly recall the image of the arm being severed, blood soaking the cuffs. Even though they had been returned to her as personal property and thoroughly cleaned with bleach until they gleamed, wearing them still made her deeply uncomfortable. If she sprayed luminol on them right now, the result would probably look like a crime scene straight out of a detective drama.
Yet she couldn't bring herself to stop using them. Now that she knew how effective they were, she couldn't go back. Without the cuffs, she could no longer train her mana control at all.
"……"
Comfort for her body and discomfort for her mind waged a fierce battle within her. It was a clash of titans, a dragon wreathed in lightning and a tiger cloaked in earth tearing across heaven and earth in a spectacular struggle. A battle so intense it could be called a cataclysm.
"Hey, kid."
"Hyaaaah?!"
Just as the scales were beginning to tip toward comfort, an absolute being burst through her door without warning, instantly dissolving the internal conflict. Arina let out a strange yelp and shot upright, only to stub her toe against the desk leg. She swallowed a silent scream and collapsed back into her chair, waves of sharp pain shooting through her foot.
"……?"
Kain tilted his head as he watched the bizarre performance unfold before him. Why had she been so startled? Had she been looking at something indecent? He wasn't the type to scold her for that sort of thing, but it still seemed a bit early for Arina.
"Need more time? Should I come back in five minutes?"
It was a rare display of consideration from Kain, the kind that happened maybe once a year. Arina, belatedly embarrassed, nodded silently. She did need a moment alone.
Click.
With the door closed between them, a somewhat heavy silence settled. Five minutes passed. This time, Kain knocked first before speaking in his usual flat tone.
"Kid. Can I come in now?"
"……Yes, please come in."
When Kain entered, Arina was still faintly flushed. She cleared her throat and looked at him, though the subtle twitching of her right foot betrayed that the pain hadn't fully subsided.
"Is something the matter?"
Her tone was the same as always, but the question carried a clear intent to change the subject. Kain wondered if he was imagining the hint of reproach in her voice.
"You okay? You still look like you're in pain."
"……"
Was this being considerate, or inconsiderate? At times like this, it was best to just pretend she hadn't heard. Arina pouted slightly at how he had ignored her attempt to steer the conversation.
"Sit down."
Completely oblivious to her feelings, Kain approached calmly and made her sit. Then he knelt in front of her and began examining her injured foot, turning it this way and that. The sight reminded Arina of their first meeting.
'Back then, Uncle treated me like this too.'
A smile formed on her lips as the memory surfaced.
"There. All done."
The pain had vanished completely. Arina wiggled her toes in wonder. She hadn't noticed it at the time, but now she could faintly sense the lingering trace of mana.
"Is this dark magic too?"
Did dark magic include healing arts? Kain stood up with a casual shrug.
"Dark magic does have some healing techniques, but they're mostly about breaking things."
They were derived from the practice of cutting, sewing, and reassembling corpses—essentially surgical procedures in a hospital sense.
"This is just regular magic. Simple healing magic, at that. You could learn it and use it right away if you wanted."
It wasn't a serious injury, after all—just a stubbed toe against a desk leg.
"If you want to learn, I'll write down the formula and pattern for you later. That way you won't have to worry about stubbing your toe on desk legs ever again."
"I won't do it again, okay?"
Her voice rose slightly in disbelief. Did he really think she was the type to constantly stub her toes? Kain chuckled at her reaction, the earlier incident already forgotten as her mood brightened.
"You used to have to handle injuries on your own. I'm pretty confident when it comes to the healing side of magic."
Confident was an understatement. He could probably pass the licensing exam and work as a doctor without any issues. He simply had no desire to do so.
"Alright, if you're feeling better, let's go."
"……Where to?"
Did he mean the living room? At Arina's puzzled look, Kain belatedly realized he hadn't explained anything. Or rather, Arina's outburst had left no room for explanations.
"Outside. My phone's broken, so I'm going to buy a new one. Might as well get you one too while we're at it."
"……You're voluntarily going outside, Uncle?"
That was what surprised her? The look of utter shock on her face was almost offensive. There was no need to go pale like she'd seen a ghost.
"Ah, I'm fine. I don't really have any problems with mine."
She quickly composed herself and shook her head while looking at her phone.
"Still, upgrading would be nice. I hear kids these days always beg for the newest models."
"Mine's already a recent model, though."
"A newer one came out."
"It's just got one more plus in the name."
She'd heard the only real difference was a slightly larger screen. No matter how she thought about it, there didn't seem to be any urgent need to replace it. Unlike other kids, Arina didn't use her phone for social media or games—she only made calls or sent texts. It was a stark contrast to Kain, who spent entire days glued to his device.
"Well, if that's how you feel."
No point forcing her if she didn't want to. Still, the next time a new model came out, he'd have to make sure she upgraded. He wouldn't accept the same excuse again.
"Then I'll just go by myself?"
"Wait a moment."
Even if she wasn't replacing her phone, this was different. It had been nearly a month since the Layla Ruby concert—the first real chance to go out with Kain since then.
'Deciding whether to put the mana restriction cuffs back on isn't the priority right now.'
Training could resume after they returned, but opportunities to go out with Kain were unpredictable. Her eyes lit up as she hurried over to him.
"Ten minutes—no, just five minutes. Please wait. I'll be ready in no time."
"We're just going right outside. What preparation do you need? Let's just go."
"Three minutes! I'll be done in three minutes!"
Shouting like she was negotiating under pressure, Arina practically shoved Kain out of her room. Caught off guard, he found himself standing in the hallway staring blankly at the now-closed door. The moment it shut, a flurry of noisy activity could be heard from inside.
'She's gonna stub her toe again at this rate.'
She could take her time. But since he'd been kicked out before he could say anything, all he could do was scratch the back of his head and adjust his horn-rimmed glasses as they slid down his nose.
"Three minutes, huh. Might as well boil some cup noodles."
No matter how fast she moved, three minutes wouldn't be enough. It would probably take at least ten. That should be just enough time for the noodles to cook and be ready to eat.
"……"
Kain glanced at Arina's door once more before heading toward the kitchen.
"Ah, I should've factored in the time to boil the water. Guess I'll have to eat quickly."
……He thought to himself, completely missing the point.