Outing
After several days of living at Yerna's house, Luke found himself in a bind.
My mana just isn't building up at all.
To form a Circle, he needed enough mana to envelop his entire body—yet for some reason, this body demanded an absurdly high threshold of it. He had spent days diligently drawing in the ambient mana from the air, but it was nowhere near enough. At this rate, he would not even manage a single Circle in a full month.
Mana that should have been enough to spin me straight up to the Fifth Circle… and it barely covers forming the First?
The culprit was his ridiculously high mana affinity. His body was simply too excellent, and that excellence had become a shackle. Still, whenever he imagined what it would feel like to carve Circles into a vessel like this and actually put them to work, the difficulty no longer seemed quite so crushing. That was not to say it was easy—far from it.
Yerna watched Luke sitting with his eyes closed, letting out soft grunts of effort, and asked,
"Lu, does something hurt?"
"Ah, it is nothing. Pay it no mind."
"Mm… really?"
Yerna brushed her hair back and tied it up with a heavy sigh.
He's been struggling like that since yesterday. Is it really all right to leave him alone…?
Her leave ended today. She had never managed to find a facility that would take Luke. He was a truly pretty, adorable child—but the horns and the ears were the problem. No orphanage welcomed a child who had undergone that kind of "procedure." Children who received such modifications were almost always mentally unstable, and the homes simply did not want the trouble. The world's prejudices, she thought, were truly terrifying.
Sending him to a psychiatric ward… that's just too cold. Lu is the quietest, most well-behaved child imaginable…
Perhaps because he had lost his memories, he was far too mature, composed, and silent for his age—almost not like a child at all. But a child was still a child.
"Lu, even when Unnie goes to work, you absolutely must not wander around by yourself, okay?"
"Do not worry."
"That's right, our Lu is such a good girl. Stay put, then. For meals…"
"Canned tuna will suffice."
"Okay, canned tuna. If you get hungry, just eat that."
As an elf she knew nothing about meat, yet Lu was still a human child. She could not force a vegetarian diet on him the way she might with another elf if she wanted him to grow properly. After much fretting, she had settled on canned tuna—meat that required no cooking and could be eaten straight from the can. Yerna herself had never cooked with fire; the most she ever did was boil water for tea or prepare her special elf-style vegetable soup. Fortunately, Luke adored the tuna.
"Absolutely, absolutely no going outside! Got it?"
"I understand. I shall not disappoint you."
"Luuu…"
Yerna ruffled Luke's hair vigorously, making reluctant little noises as if she could not bear to part. The touch felt awkward to Luke, but he let it be. In his present state he had neither the strength nor the will to pull away.
"If you feel sick, you have to call me, okay? I even got the landline hooked up because of you. And if you want something to eat, use the money on the table and order it."
"I know, I know. Stop fretting and go do well at work."
Before he realized it she had scooped him up and was nuzzling her cheek against his soft little one. With a sudden "Hah!" she set him gently back down.
"I'm really going now. Stay home properly!"
"Yes, yes. Ah—when you return, do not forget the magic texts."
"Got it!"
Running late, Yerna hurriedly shut the elevator doors and vanished. Luke sighed at the sight and closed the apartment door.
"I suppose I shall spend the entire day circulating mana."
It would still be woefully insufficient, but it was work that had to be done.
Once Yerna brings the magic texts, I must at least be able to cast spells at the level they describe. For that, consolidating a Circle is essential…
How far had the magical systems of this society advanced in the five thousand years since his time? The thought made his heart race so hard he could barely sleep.
—Grrrrgle…
That did not mean he could ignore hunger, however.
"Hrm. A child's body is troublesome. I never expected to grow hungry this often…"
Rubbing the stomach that insisted on announcing itself at the worst moments, Luke picked up one of the tuna cans left on the table. It was a special child-safe design that needed no can opener—just peel back the lid. Another of Yerna's thoughtful choices.
He opened it and, first of all, licked the lid clean. The salty flavor was quite satisfying.
Did I always enjoy this taste so much?
He could not quite remember. Well, if it tasted good now, that was enough. His body had changed; his palate had simply changed with it. He thought nothing more of it and dug a spoon into the contents.
"Mmm… truly delicious, as expected."
That salty, slightly crumbly texture was exquisitely addictive. In no time the spoon was scraping the bottom of the can. One can felt a little unsatisfying, so he simply opened a second and polished it off just as quickly. A third crossed his mind, but he decided to save it for later if hunger returned. For now, mana accumulation.
He returned to the living room, settled into a cross-legged seat, and focused every part of himself. He could feel the mana rising slowly, yet it was nowhere near enough to form a Circle. Compared to the past he certainly possessed more raw mana, but the output was lacking. Once absorption passed a certain point, the rate of replenishment became painfully slow.
"So I really must train outdoors…"
There was a reason mages secluded themselves deep in forests. Mana was the force and wellspring of life; a forest rich with living things was the ideal place to accumulate it. Had he followed Yerna to her workplace in the woods he could have filled himself easily—but that was out of the question. What kind of nuisance would that be? She would spend the whole day watching him instead of doing her job. Besides, carving a Circle was delicate, dangerous work that could not tolerate interruption. Even for the woman who had saved him, he had no desire to perform something so precise and hazardous under anyone's eyes.
It reminds me of the very first time I carved a Circle, long ago…
Back then the pain had been so fierce he had screamed loud enough to shake the world. A Circle was the greatest gate separating mage from ordinary person—the act of engraving a law that had never existed into one's own flesh. The first time always brought agony to match. He did not want Yerna worrying over him any further. After all, he was only a temporary freeloader; sooner or later he would have to leave her side. Simply accepting her kindness would never let him grow. And if he ever hoped to repay her, he needed a Circle now. At present he possessed no power of any kind.
Luke rose and looked out the window. There it stood—the colossal World Tree, towering at the city's heart and supplying mana to the entire metropolis.
"If I go there, I will certainly be able to carve a Circle…"
He finished preparing to leave at once and stood. He had been told again and again never to go out, but if something so trivial could suppress a mage's drive to ascend, the very concept of an Archmage would never have existed in the world.
"I shall only be gone a short while. Nothing will come of it…"
Still, just in case, perhaps he ought to leave a note.
The weather was fine. Even if the nights turned chilly, the daytime was not particularly cold. Luke muttered to himself as he pulled on the child's dress Yerna had bought him.
"These horns are far too inconvenient…"
She was an elf of remarkable consideration. Seeing that the sharp horns jutting from the sides of Luke's head made it impossible for him to put on a T-shirt alone, she had purchased a button-front dress he could manage by himself. Of course, a buttoned dress was the sort of thing little girls wore, so a faint sense of shame lingered. Yet he had always preferred robes; he decided to think of it as something similar. It lacked any magical treatment, but the wool was wonderfully soft and of excellent quality, which was satisfying enough. More than that, it was the outfit Yerna had bought for him while cooing over how pretty it looked. Complaining about it would have been the truly childish act.
He also pulled on the warm fleece-lined pants, the outer garment she had called a "jacket," and the matching scarf. Once dressed, the outdoors no longer felt cold at all. He even felt a warmth that came from Yerna's kindness itself. Offering silent thanks once more to the elf who had given him everything so freely, Luke scooped up the pocket money left on the table and walked to the entrance. Rising on tiptoe, he turned the doorknob and headed straight for the elevator.
I have watched her operate it a time or two. It should be fine.
He pressed the button marked 1 and closed the doors. Completely at ease with the machine now, unlike his first attempt, Luke felt a small surge of accomplishment and smiled faintly.
"Simple. I shall adapt to this era soon enough."
He possessed the desire to understand this world, and beyond that, the will to interpret what had happened to his own body. Adaptation was therefore essential. Turning into a child, he decided, had actually been fortunate—because right now he knew less about this world than a child smaller than this body. Knowing one's own ignorance was the first step toward seeking knowledge. A mage spent an entire lifetime walking hand-in-hand with ignorance. Even when he had been an Archmage, Luke had never once set that mindset aside.
"Well then…"
His stomach was full and his stamina ample. The World Tree was a fair distance away, but that should not pose a problem.
After walking for quite some time, Luke realized the distance was not closing as quickly as he expected. The reason was something he had never once considered.
Ah. A child's stride is the issue. At this pace it will take half a day just to reach the World Tree.
After more than a century of life, he had failed to register that even his own stride had shrunk. His legs had not vanished, so he had assumed he could simply go wherever he wished. Once he had grown old enough, "time" had rarely constrained him; that was the mistake.
Shall I procure a carriage? But by what means…
While he was debating whether to turn back, a cluster of people gathered in one spot caught his eye. Each of them was doing something different to pass the boredom, yet all of them occupied the same space—as if waiting for something.
Why are they gathered there?
Curiosity stirred. Luke slipped into the line for a moment and, rising on tiptoe, tapped the back of a young man who was staring blankly down the road.
"I say, young man."
Startled by the sudden touch, the youth looked down, pulled something from his ear, and lowered his gaze.
"…Ah, who— Wait, it's a little kid."
"That thing you just removed from your ear—what is it?"
In a single instant Mana Sight had told him it was an object enchanted with miniature vocalization magic. The young man eyed the tiny finger pointing at the device, then went "Aaah—you mean this?" and began to explain.
"These are earphones. You listen to music with them. Uh, you've never seen them before?"
"This is my first time. Embarrassing as it is, I am not particularly well-versed in modern conveniences."
"Kid's got a funny way of talking."
The young man smiled at Luke's elderly manner of speech and held out one of the wireless earbuds.
"Wanna try? Well, they're not exactly beastman-compatible, but…"
"May I? My thanks!"
Luke accepted it and brought it to the ear that now sprouted from the top of his head. Those altered ears had sharpened his hearing, yet their new position was terribly awkward. He tried to push the earbud deeper inside—
"Ah."
His still-unfamiliar small child's fingers lost their grip.
"!"
The tiny wireless earbud slipped straight into the depths of his ear canal. The song playing through it began to hammer against his eardrum, stimulating that hypersensitive spot without mercy.
"Hah…!"
Luke let out a sudden moan and sank to the ground. The young man panicked.
"W-what? What's wrong?"
"In—inside my ear… Hnn… St-stop it…!"
"Inside your ear? The earbud went in?"
"Hurry, pull it— Hiih!"
He tried to dig it out with his own fingers, but he could not see inside his own ear. The unfamiliar new position of the ear, plus the shortened length of his arms, only made it worse. To Luke's keen hearing the sound was an enormous roar—like someone pounding the inside of his skull with a hammer. The relentless shock drained the strength from his legs; tears spilled out against his will. In the end he could only clutch the young man's pant leg and beg. He was certain he could never solve this alone.
"My head feels like it's going to break—please, just stop already…!"
The young man was every bit as flustered.
"H-hey, I'll get it out, so just stand up for a sec—"
The stares of the people around them suddenly felt razor-sharp. Everyone was looking at him as if he were some kind of child abuser! Desperate to clear the misunderstanding, he raised his voice.
"O-okay! The earbud!! I'll pull the earbud out, just a second!"
At that exact moment the drum section of the song in Luke's ear blasted at full volume. A jolt ran up his spine; he arched backward and barely managed to choke down the scream that tried to force its way out.
"Hnghhh!! This—ugh, nnnh!!"
The surrounding gazes grew even sharper. A few people seemed to be making phone calls. The young man finally shrieked in pure desperation to deny their suspicions.
"I-it's not anything weird! It's an earbud, an earbud!!"