Chapter 117
Chapter 117
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Connection
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I unlocked the front gate with the auto-recognition key and stepped inside. I walked across the narrow courtyard and pulled on the front door handle. With a creak, the door opened smoothly, just as expected—Mom was home.
I stepped inside, unnecessarily tense. Then I froze in surprise.
“Huh…?!”
I stared blankly ahead. Right in front of me, right at my feet, was a tiny fluff ball. It turned to look at me and parted its tiny lips. Between them, I glimpsed a small fang.
“Meow~.”
I sank to the ground, covering my mouth with both hands. All my tension melted away as I was utterly captivated by that little creature. No wonder—it was just too adorable! With trembling hands, I reached out. God, how long had it been since I’d touched an animal? Memories of my past life kept resurfacing, so I’d never even considered getting a pet….
It was a tiny, cute kitten. Measuring it against my palm, it was no bigger than that. Truly small enough to fit in both hands.
‘Kyaa, eek—!’
Screaming internally, I scooped up the kitten, which didn’t even seem wary. It was still so young that it couldn’t control its claws well, lightly scratching the back of my hand and my shoulder. But it didn’t hurt, so I kept stroking it while holding it close. As I was rubbing my face against the kitten right there in the entryway, Mom walked over.
“Oh my, Eunha. You’re home early today?”
“Mom!”
Forgetting everything I’d been thinking earlier, I pointed at the kitten in my arms.
“Where’d this little one come from? It’s so cute! Oh, and how old is it? Weaned yet? No, wait—why is there suddenly a kitten here?”
I blurted it all out in an excited rush. Mom’s eyes widened in surprise at my reaction, but she soon smiled warmly. I kept petting the kitten the whole time. It started squirming to get out of my arms. Regretfully, I tried to hold on, but I couldn’t bear to grip too tightly, so it slipped free. I watched it drop to the floor with deep longing.
“Ugh….”
“A colleague who had a cat gave birth to a litter, and they were at a loss, so I took this one. It’s a girl, and her name’s Lara.”
“Lara? Cute name… but kinda common.”
Even as I said that, I stroked the kitten, murmuring “Lara, Lara.” The kitten dodged my hand and padded off to the side. I looked up at Mom.
“So, what’s the occasion?”
Hee hee, Mom smiled affectionately.
“Well, you love animals, don’t you, Eunha? Mom and Dad like them too, so I brought her home. What do you think? Like her?”
“Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah!!”
I nodded excitedly over and over. Despite being a kitten, Lara walked with proper cat-like grace. But even that was so~oo cute. Wow, it felt like she’d break if I handled her wrong. That’s the charm of a kitten!
As I thought that… my expression clouded over. I remembered what I’d been agonizing about just moments ago. Soon, sadly, I’d have to leave Lara, Mom, and Dad behind.
A bit later, I looked up with an awkward expression.
“But, um, Mom… I…”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“See, I…”
I hesitated as I spoke, fiddling with my fingers and stalling over and over. But in the end, I said it.
“I… next year, I’m going to the dorms…”
I bowed my head deeply after saying it. I could already picture Mom’s disappointed reaction. Even though it couldn’t be helped, I felt guilty. But after a brief silence, Mom replied in a completely casual tone.
“Oh? Really?”
It was such a simple response that it almost made my worry seem silly. I looked up. Mom had a hand on her cheek, looking utterly unfazed.
“Actually, that works out better. I’d be sad if you left, but with Lara here, it won’t be so lonely. Good thing I brought her home.”
“…”
She really seemed fine. But soon, I realized that wasn’t the case.
“Of course, Daeyeon is a boarding school. When you move up to middle school, you have to live in the dorms—it just slipped my mind for a second.”
I could see colors of emotion swirling around Mom. The misty hues shimmered with agitation. Surprise, disappointment, loneliness… I fell silent as I watched them.
“You must be excited, huh, Eunha? Getting to live in the dorms. Back when I was your age, I wanted to try it too. But I commuted from home.”
Mom chattered on casually with a normal smile. A moment later, I nodded.
“…Yeah. It’ll be great.”
Mom smiled brightly once more.
That night, when Dad got home, I told him too about moving to the dorms for middle school. He said he couldn’t believe the time had come already and that he’d feel lonely.
I went to my room a bit early that day, bringing Lara with me. I set the litter box, food bowl, and water bowl in one spot and patted Lara’s back as she refused to stay still. Her tail flicked back and forth.
Mom had said it was a good thing she’d brought Lara home. I thought so too.
“You gotta take good care of Mom and Dad, okay?”
Oblivious to my mood, Lara was rubbing against the bed. I brought my finger to her paw and slowly blinked.
During morning homeroom, Inha and I were called out via our student IDs. We were summoned to the chairman’s office. The chairman always exuded charisma, so I felt a little tense as we walked there together. I wasn’t the only one called—Inha, Hansu, Hyunho, Minhee, and even Ardel were with us. I instinctively guessed why. No, everyone here probably had the same idea.
The walk there was unusually quiet. Inha and I stayed silent, with only Minhee or Hyunho whispering now and then. Because of Ardel, we didn’t take any shortcuts—just used the warp holes. It took about 20 minutes to reach the chairman’s office.
We quietly knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
The door slid open with a rumble. The chairman wasn’t alone inside.
The chairman was there with the high school student council seniors. I didn’t know them personally.
“Pardon the intrusion.”
Minhee bowed confidently. Come to think of it, aside from Inha and me, the other three were on the student council, so they’d probably met the chairman and those high school seniors multiple times.
I bowed my head too. The chairman nodded and beckoned us over. We approached.
“I assume you know why I called you. Your homeroom teachers should have notified you.”
“Yes.”
Minhee answered for us. The seniors’ gazes turned to us—observing, scrutinizing. It made me a bit uneasy, but I didn’t meet their eyes.
“As you know, there’s an inter-school friendship exchange match coming up. It’s just sparring for the elementary division. And you’re currently the strongest in our school’s elementary section.”
The high school seniors’ eyes seemed to sharpen. I gripped my clasped hands a little tighter.
“We need three members for the match, to be chosen from among you. Who wants to go? Discuss it among yourselves and decide.”
At those words, we looked at each other. Before any of us could speak, Ardel raised her hand.
“I’ll pass.”
We all turned to her simultaneously.
“Don’t wanna use magic in front of strangers.”
“…If that’s your reason, then you’d pass too, right, Eunha?”
I nodded at Hansu’s words. Ardel met my eyes and grinned. I smiled back awkwardly.
That left Inha, Hansu, Hyunho, and Minhee. Minhee and Hyunho eagerly raised their hands.
“I’ll do it!”
“Me too, me too!”
“So one spot left? Inha, Hansu! Which of you two wants it?”
I gave them a puzzled look. The moment Minhee asked, Inha’s head snapped up. She’d clearly been lost in thought.
Her usual blank expression hid it well, though. Inha hesitated, glancing at Hansu. Watching that, I suddenly realized something.
‘Aha….’
But I kept it to myself. As Inha’s hesitation showed, Hansu turned to her with a curious expression.
“What? You’re not going? You wanted to before.”
“…Huh?”
“You’re not skipping just ‘cause Eunha’s not, right? If you wanna, go for it.”
Hansu grinned at Inha. Wow, it was such a charming smile that even I thought he looked cool for a second. Inha’s eyes widened slightly.
“Go fight cool-like.”
This… this…
I covered my mouth, feeling a strange mix of emotions. No wonder girls fall for Hansu. Seriously… a kid who knows how to captivate people?
Inha stared blankly downward for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on her expressionless face.
“Yeah, sure.”
Inha met Hansu’s gaze and brushed her hair back lightly. Not to be outdone. The way she smirked while flicking her hair was captivating enough for anyone.
“If you’re gonna say that much, why not.”
Minhee clapped as she smiled at the two. She turned to the chairman right away.
“We’ve decided! It’ll be me, Hyunho, and Inha.”
The chairman gave a faint smile to the lively Minhee. Colors of emotion flickered around him. I tried to tune out my friends’ emotions as much as possible, but with others, it was harder. He was pleased watching us.
Seeing that made me feel good. I bowed my head, hiding a slipping smile.
“Alright. You’re dismissed. I’ll notify the three of you the day before the match…”
“Oh, but we can come watch even if we’re not competing, right?”
At Hansu’s question, the chairman slowly nodded. Oh, good. Inha’s expression brightened a bit at that. Sticking to my side, she shyly smiled and said to make sure I came watch with her. I patted Inha’s head. Hansu eyed us with a sulky look. Minhee asked.
“Can we go now, then?”
“Yes. Oh, before that…”
The chairman held out his hand. As Minhee extended both of hers curiously, he placed his fist over them. In that moment, I sensed mana flowing into his fist. A voice echoed—not audible to others, but in my mind.
「Summon」
It was incantation magic. I jolted in surprise for a split second. My heart seemed to drop. The mana used was so minimal I could’ve cast it effortlessly. But as it flowed out and resonated, I glimpsed the massive mana pulsing inside him. The sheer presence of that enormous power sent a shiver like enlightenment piercing through me.
My first real sense of S-rank mana. Auntie Seona’s was beyond my detection. I shuddered reflexively. Inha gave me a puzzled look.
“What’s wrong? Cold?”
“Huh? No, nothing.”
By then, the chairman had placed something on Minhee’s hand. It was chocolate. As we blinked, Minhee beamed.
“Wow! Thank you!”
Minhee shared the chocolates piled in her hands with us. We accepted them in a daze.
I thanked the chairman.
“Uh… thank you.”
The chairman smiled briefly.
Hyunho, Hansu, Inha, and Ardel bowed too.
“You can head back now.”
We nodded and turned to leave. Just before closing the door, I caught a glimpse of the high school student council president finally speaking. But I ignored it and shut the door.
On the way back to class, I unwrapped and ate the chocolate from the chairman. Sweet and bittersweet—just my taste. Minhee smiled seeing me eat it.
“Actually, last time I mentioned how I started liking bittersweet chocolate because you do, Eunha. Ever since, he gives me some now and then.”
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
I let the chocolate melt in my mouth and chewed. Mmm, yeah, I know. The chairman’s a kind person. Licking the chocolate, I suddenly tilted my head curiously.
“But when exactly is the match?”
“Oh, I forgot to ask.”
Minhee made a face like she’d blanked. But she swallowed her chocolate casually.
“Eh, we’ll get notified anyway.”
“Yeah.”
“Minhee, let me know when you find out the sparring date, okay?”
“Why? You wanna watch too?”
Minhee turned to Ardel with a questioning look at her words. Ardel nodded.
“Yeah. Kinda wanna see it at least once.”
“Sure, got it.”
I half-listened, glancing at Inha. She was holding my hand and staring at Hansu. Knowing when those accelerating feelings had started, I stayed quiet. Emotions build and build until they overflow. Nice expression. I murmured it to myself.
I looked up, then down. It felt like a relief, but I couldn’t be sure.
December 1st brought the major mage rank exams. From third-year middle schoolers to high schoolers and teachers—most adult mages took it. Mom, Auntie Seona, and Uncle Jeongmin too.
But C-rank and above mostly kept their rankings. Je-hyeon Brother, freshly A-rank, stayed the same.
Eunhee Sister said Seonghu Brother had advanced, though—from BB- to BB-rank.
A few days later, that weekend was the friendship exchange match.
I headed to school with Minhee, Hyunho, and Inha to match their gathering time. Like when Je-hyeon Brother had led us to watch before, the current high school student council president seemed in charge. As soon as we arrived, he handed Inha, Hyunho, and Minhee each a sheet—the tournament bracket.
“Wow, they fight like this, huh.”
Not a straight loser’s bracket; winners advanced, but losers got at least three matches each for fair sparring. Fitting for a friendship event.
“First, random pairs, two matches each. Win at least once to advance. Then random reorder. Winners fight another winner once, and a loser from another group once. Win at least once to go up.”
Repeat that. Ten schools, thirty kids. It’d take a while.
“Match time limit: 20 minutes. Pretty long, huh? Okay, competitors, over here.”
The senior led the friends away, then turned to me and pointed to the gym bleachers.
“You watch from there.”
It brought a wave of nostalgia. Before, Je-hyeon Brother had brought us to watch from there together. Now my friends were down there fighting. It was… truly sentimental.
I circled the gym, climbed the stairs, and plopped into a front-row seat. Most students were already gathered.
I scanned the kids below with my eyes, gauging their mana. Colors flickered like flames in my vision. As expected of top school picks—they were all skilled. Though none matched Inha, Minhee, or Hyunho.
‘Wow, they’re pretty good. Hm…?’
My eyes widened. I’d thought no one could rival my friends’ quality and quantity, but I was wrong. There was one. Just one, whose mana was on par.
I fixed my gaze on a boy talking with two apparent friends. I roughly assessed his mana amount and attributes.
‘Attribute… darkness? That feel… mainly shadow magic, and… special series too (magic undetectable by attribute)?’
I was impressed. This’ll be fun.
‘That one… won’t be easy…’
I watched him a while, then scanned elsewhere. Soon, Inha, Minhee, and Hyunho appeared below. I waved back at my waving friends, then checked my phone.
“Why hasn’t Hansu shown up?”
We’d come early following Inha, but he should be here by now.
I debated, then called Hansu. It rang briefly before he picked up.
[Hello? What’s up?]
“No, just thought you were late. Where are you?”
[Really? Felt normal to me… Just arrived at school.]
“Okay, cool.”
[Yeah. Be right there.]
I said okay and hung up. Right, Hansu has to come. Sitting, I stared ahead. Looking around, a few others had come to watch besides me.
As I glanced about, someone called from behind. Turning, it was a familiar face.
“Hey, Eunha!”
“Hey…”
It was Ardel. She really came. Ardel grinned at me.
“Knew you’d be watching! Oh, there’s Minhee and them. Huh? Where’s Hansu?”
“Hansu’s not here yet.”
“Hmm, gotcha.”
Ardel nodded and plopped down next to me. Her long golden hair swayed with the motion. I glanced at it briefly, then indifferently turned forward.