The Evaluation
In a car driven by a man in a black suit, a man in a white suit lounged in the back seat, smoking.
Tap, tap, tap.
It was the steady rhythm of fingers drumming against the cup holder.
Something had clearly soured the man’s mood. The driver, who knew all too well what happened when one crossed him in a state like this, kept his mouth shut and focused solely on the road.
That idiot. He should never have gotten caught trafficking.
The driver ground his teeth in silence. No doubt that was what had put the master in such a foul temper.
Still… something about it doesn’t sit right.
The fool who’d been arrested had never been particularly gutsy, even within the organization. And yet that same spineless wretch had suddenly decided to snatch a beastman girl? In Luke Forest, of all places?
Why take a girl into Luke Forest to begin with?
Most charges could be bought off with bail money. Human trafficking was not one of them—it was a serious felony. Only the most seasoned veterans in the organization ever handled that kind of work. Doing it on impulse made no sense at all. And there was no reason to route anything through Luke Forest in the first place.
Regardless, the man would have to answer for what he’d done.
While the driver silently cursed his subordinate, a long stream of smoke puffed out from the back seat.
“Haa. Are we still far?”
“We’ll arrive shortly.”
“Fine.”
A moment later the car came to a stop so smooth that not even the faintest squeal of brakes or tug of inertia could be felt.
“We’ve arrived, Master.”
“Good.”
The driver rose with practiced speed and opened the rear door. A thick haze of cigarette smoke accompanied the man who stepped out—slicked-back hair, white suit. He flicked the half-finished cigarette carelessly onto the ground, then sauntered a few steps while roughly smoothing the creases from his clothes.
“What’s left on the schedule?”
“After the appointment with the Freuten family today, nothing further, sir.”
“Good…”
Seeing the master’s mood lighten, the driver ventured carefully,
“Ah—about that idiot who got caught trafficking in Luke Forest last time. How shall we handle him?”
“Obviously—”
The man’s face twisted in sudden irritation. Cold sweat slid down the black-suited driver’s spine, but he kept his expression carefully blank. The master disliked any show of fluster from his secretary.
“Clean it up yourself. If any of that mess reaches me, you’d better start thinking carefully about your own future.”
“Yes, Master.”
Who am I?
It was one of the most important questions humanity had asked itself ever since the first spark of self-awareness. The way a person defined “I”—the way they defined themselves—shaped how they treated that self. And how one treated oneself inevitably colored how others treated them in turn, until those shifting attitudes left deep marks upon an entire life.
Why was he entertaining such philosophical musings now?
A woman with neatly combed purple hair and a crisp, professional bearing asked,
“You’re Luke Irushi, correct?”
“I am. I am Luke Irushi.”
“Hello, Luke. I’m the inspector unni. You can just call me Rachel if you like?”
“Very well, Rachel.”
After the brief introduction, Rachel continued,
“All right, Luke. How old are you?”
Age.
That, too, was one of the crucial numbers by which a person defined “I.” Yet Luke could not answer. He no longer remembered clearly when—or even whether—he had died, so his original age was a blur. Even if he spoke the true figure, no one would believe it while he wore this body. He knew that perfectly well.
Thus, once again, his answer to one of the most important definitions of “I” was simply:
“I know not.”
Outwardly he looked roughly ten years old, but he had no desire to declare with his own mouth, “I am ten.” Doing so might make others truly regard him as nothing more than a little girl of ten.
He was well aware that no one looking at him now could see the former Archmage, the great Luke Irushi of old. Still, he refused to deny himself with his own tongue. He simply could not.
“So you don’t know your age…”
Rachel took it in stride. Cases of unknown age were common enough. If a child had spent long years locked away, day and night became indistinguishable; counting the days grew nearly impossible. Even if one tried to mark each sleep as a day, the count would still fail—because no one who had gone so far as to perform a beastman transformation surgery on a little girl would ever have let her sleep properly through the night.
A faint chill ran through her at the thought, but she kept it from her face. Besides, the documents had already informed her that the child had lost her memories. Of course she could not answer her own age properly.
Looking at Luke’s slightly downcast expression, Rachel spoke gently, as if soothing her.
“It’s all right if you don’t know your age. You just can’t remember, right?”
“Indeed. That the memories will not come is the most vexing part of all.”
She stopped him as he closed his eyes and seemed to strain after those recollections.
“Enough, enough. Don’t force yourself to remember, all right?”
Nothing good would come of dredging up old memories of abuse. Better, for now, to leave them buried.
“Well… if you insist so strongly.”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
She let out a quiet sigh and asked again.
“Anyway, the ears I can understand. But those horns—what exactly is going on with them?”
“The horns, you mean.”
Luke was unmistakably human. The appearance was thoroughly alien, yet the mana array within him remained that of a human.
“Could you show Unni once?”
“Very well.”
Luke immediately brushed his hair aside, revealing the place where the horns grew. What appeared was a pair of horns that looked solid and seamlessly fused even at a glance. No amount of tugging or shaking would ever pry them free. Well—they had been attached for precisely that purpose; falling off would rather defeat the point.
Rachel gritted her teeth inwardly as she gave the horns a few experimental taps.
“Can you feel sensation in them?”
“I can.”
“What does it feel like?”
“Hmm… if I were to compare it, rather like the sensation of teeth.”
“Ah, I see.”
The nerves had been perfectly integrated as well. Removing them now would involve considerable pain, and even if removal succeeded there was the risk of permanent physical damage. How long ago had the surgery been performed for the horns to have fused this thoroughly?
I’ll have to tell the guardian later to get a full examination.
Rachel jotted “precision examination cost support” in her notebook, then asked,
“All right, Luke. How’s your heart? Does it hurt at all?”
She was, of course, referring to the circle. Luke nodded.
“It is fine. So long as I have sufficient mana, nothing untoward will occur.”
“Hmm… So you’re saying you can control the circle yourself?”
“Naturally. To me a circle is already no different from my own hands and feet.”
Luke offered her a reassuring smile, but the sight of it only drew a bitter smile from her in return.
Ah… how long has this circle been left carved into her and neglected… this poor child…
Never having received the timely removal procedure, she had ended up like this. The pain a human felt when a circle was inscribed defied description, and that pain scaled with the volume of mana etched into it. Because of Luke’s uniquely high mana affinity, the quantity of mana in her circle far exceeded the average—highest among every patient of “Mana Accumulation Syndrome” in the world. The agony she must have felt when the circle was carved into her heart was beyond words.
And inscription was only the beginning. Whenever the mana ran wild, the circle brought pain that surpassed imagination. She must have searched desperately, with every ounce of strength, until she found some way to manage it.
“It must have been hard…”
“It was not hard. So you would do well to smooth that frown.”
“Ugh…”
Rachel felt as though she might cry at any moment. To dismiss her own suffering as nothing simply because someone else looked a little sad—what kind of heart did this child possess? How had she grown so mature?
Her chest ached.
“All right, Luke. Last question. Are you happy right now?”
Luke considered for a brief moment, then answered with a bright, matter-of-fact grin.
“Of course!”
To a mage, the new was always right and good—and every single day of his present life felt utterly new.
Faced with that sincere smile, the inspector had no choice but to reach her decision regarding Luke’s disposition.
“Ms. Yerna, the evaluation is complete. The results will be sent by text message in one week.”
“Ah, is there no way to know right now…?”
“I still have additional documents to prepare, and approval has to come down from above. So right this moment is a bit…”
“Ah, I understand. Thank you so much. Sh-shall I walk you out?”
“I’m fine. I came alone, after all. Take care, then.”
And one week slipped by in a blink.
“Yerna, is it today?”
“Yeah. Today.”
Yerna clutched her phone in both hands, heart pounding with anxiety.
Please, please don’t let us fail.
Luke found the sight of her so tightly wound rather pitiful. He stepped closer, gently stroking her back as he spoke.
“Do not fret so. Even should I be sent to a facility, I shall never forget the kindness you have shown me. Whenever the day may come, I will return to repay this debt of gratitude.”
“Luu…”
At that very moment the phone vibrated. Yerna instantly opened the screen, read the message—and froze solid.
“……”
Seeing her reaction, Luke prepared words of consolation, certain the news was bad.
As expected, it did not go well. Still, I am truly grateful for all the care until now…
But the words that burst from Yerna like a scream were nothing of the sort.
“Th-the temporary extension is three years? It can stretch that long?”
“Three years?”
Ordinarily a temporary extension lasted a year at most. Three years was extraordinarily long. There had to be a reason. Yerna checked the message again.
We hereby inform Temporary Guardian Yerna that the temporary protection period has been extended. The extension period is three years. The temporary protection expiration date is the 10th of December, Baal Calendar year 1024. Barring special circumstances, the child will thereafter be transferred to a government-designated facility.
The reasons for this exceptional extension period are as follows: the child currently places great trust in the temporary guardian and displays profound satisfaction with present life; the temporary guardian likewise desires adoption. Additionally, it was judged that a period of one year is unsuitable for a long-lived rare race such as an “Elf” to seek a spouse.
In consideration of the fact that the child is a patient of Mana Accumulation Syndrome, additional medical expense support and mana fee support will be provided.
Please submit the results of a precision examination conducted at an official hospital within one month. The full cost of said examination will be covered.
We wish peace upon your household.
Rachel Tenner
Yerna let out a cry of pure joy and threw her arms around Luke.
“Kyaaa! We did it, we did it!”
“Ugh—Yerna, I cannot breathe…!”
Luke went completely rigid, turning into a scarecrow for fear that his horns might injure her if he moved his head.