Academic Counseling
There were acts that, in ages past, had been perfectly permissible.
For Luke, one such act was the placing of a hand upon another's heart — so that mage might feel mage, sensing each other's achievements and the state of their Circles.
Of course, as a general rule, one did not do so except between master and disciple, or between those bound by the deepest of friendships…
And that was never because the act itself was shameful before a stranger.
It was because, without such a bond, there was simply not enough trust.
To lay a hand upon a Circle was to hold the power to influence that Circle directly — which meant, in turn, that one could kill the other party outright, unilaterally, if one so chose.
Besides, the age Luke had lived through was not a society that would have read the gesture as "touching someone's chest."
A Circle was etched upon the heart; it had nothing whatsoever to do with sex.
Mages, who prized reason over feeling, tended at most to think that a large bosom simply made it rather inconvenient to reach the heart.
The thirst for knowledge was meant to take precedence over lust.
"Indeed. Thou art far too emotional."
In that regard, Shirud was most un-mage-like.
A proper mage need not be asexual — but one ought at least to be able to master such impulses.
"……"
Shirud, however, lay there staring blankly at the ceiling, unable to form a single word.
When it came to grasping the nature of a Circle and learning the knack of stabilizing it, that kind of contact was simply the swiftest path.
Words were better than writing; seeing was better than words; and experiencing was better than seeing.
That was common sense in the teaching and learning of magic as well.
Especially with Circle magic — where personal insight and the construction of one's own system were everything — such experience was essential.
But that Shirud would be so conscious of it…
This is inconvenient, in more ways than one.
Luke rested a hand upon Shirud's chest and set about stabilizing the boy's Circle.
"There. Dost thou understand now? This is the sensation of moving mana."
"……"
Shirud, too, had begun to grasp it dimly.
Why this little girl had been so fixated on his chest.
What on earth she had been after, pawing at him like that.
Why, the moment she touched him there, his Circle had settled.
He understood completely.
I wasn't the weird one.
He thought he finally knew why it had felt the way it had, back then. At the time, all he had felt was fear — and yet the second a little girl groped his chest, he had suddenly felt reassured? Was that not strange?
That just sounds like a total pervert.
Remembering it now only made him feel embarrassed all over again.
"Shirud?"
Luke called out in a questioning tone toward the boy who had been silent for some time.
Shirud averted his eyes and muttered,
"Ugh. Why do Circles even have to be etched on the heart, of all places…"
If only they formed somewhere you could touch freely — a hand, a foot, the forehead — how much better would that be?
Why did Circles only ever appear upon the heart?
Luke answered him.
"Because the heart is the most suitable place for mana to accumulate."
The heart was the symbol of life.
It was, therefore, an organ that would keep beating until the very moment of death.
That pulse was the most fitting — and the most effective — foundation upon which a Circle could take root.
Which was precisely why Luke had been so astonished upon first seeing the wands of the present age.
For a Circle to function, life was required — and a wand was not alive.
Five thousand years ago, that had been common sense.
But common sense has changed.
Thinking that he would very much like to research wands himself before long, Luke left Shirud a moment to settle fully, then began to speak.
"Shirud. I shall tell thee the things thou must know, and the things thou must take to heart, as thou learnest the Circles."
Luke explained the acts one must never commit with a Circle, the methods of quelling a mana rampage, and a handful of spells worth practicing.
Naturally, anything dangerous, overly difficult, or usable as an attack was left out.
What he could reasonably teach Shirud, then, amounted to Light, Shield, and a basic technique for reinforcing one's metabolism.
Well — even that much would be more than enough to help the boy develop a feel for handling mana.
Once he grew accustomed to it, advancing toward a second Circle should pose no great difficulty.
"A Circle is power to one who can govern the heart — and poison to one who cannot. Remember this well. Never, under any circumstances, flaunt thy strength before others. I taught thee Circle magic because thy Circle was far too unstable — not so that thou mightst use it to harm anyone. Thou must remember that."
"……Got it."
Shirud answered as if entranced.
At first he had taken her for nothing more than a weird little pervert.
So how did she know the handling of Circles in such exhaustive detail?
Things that never turned up no matter how hard you searched — how?
He had no idea.
With the knowledge of a still-young Shirud, he could not even begin to guess.
All he could feel was that she was somehow… extraordinary.
"……"
Shirud had always believed himself a special existence.
But that specialness counted for nothing at all before Luke.
Strangely enough, the feeling was not unpleasant.
Pleased that Shirud had properly taken his words to heart, Luke stroked the boy's head as he spoke.
"Good. Thou art a fine child."
Stroke, stroke.
Shirud thought the hand ruffling his hair felt oddly like his grandfather's.
Probably the Circle's fault.
The moment the children disappeared into the playroom, Yerna knew instinctively that it was time to talk.
"Well then. Shall we have a conversation?"
"Y-yes."
When Serena smiled, Yerna answered with a touch of nerves still clinging to her voice.
Sensing how tightly wound Yerna was, Serena spoke first, hoping to put her at ease.
"Please, don't be tense. I didn't come here to blame you for anything."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that…?"
"I simply hoped that our Shirud and your little girl might grow close from now on."
"Pardon?"
Yerna was thrown completely off balance.
Every carefully prepared apology she had rehearsed in her head was washed clean away.
From now on, she wanted them to be close?
Why on earth?
To Serena, Luke was little more than a fleeting acquaintance — and the first impression had hardly been a good one…
Well, Luke is cute, I'll give her that…
But this world was not so soft that a child's cuteness alone could solve everything.
"Ah, right — what was the child's name again?"
"Lu-Luke. Luke Irushi."
"Irushi…? Hmm. You don't share a surname with the child, do you?"
Serena pointed it out lightly.
To an outsider, the relationship between Luke and Yerna was genuinely difficult to place.
They looked nothing alike, bore different surnames, and were not even of the same race.
How Luke had come to be with Yerna at all — or whether Yerna was even a proper guardian — was the sort of question one might reasonably ask.
That no one had pressed the matter until now was likely because a family situation that looked too complicated tended to discourage inquiry.
Besides, once you explained you were a temporary guardian, most people simply accepted it.
"Luke is… under my temporary guardianship."
"Temporary guardianship? For how long?"
"About three years."
Serena's eyes widened a fraction, as if mildly surprised.
"Three years? My, that's rather long for a temporary arrangement."
"Yes — there are a number of reasons for that…"
An unfortunate past, the beastman transformation procedure, the Circle… all those grim particulars she bundled together under the vague phrase "a number of reasons."
There was no need to drag the darker details into the light unprompted.
She would answer if asked, of course — but Serena had no desire to pry into such things either.
"I suppose so. Well, even granting there were circumstances, three years suggests the government already regards you as the child's guardian, doesn't it?"
"That's… true enough."
Yerna herself had the sense that the government examiner already considered her Luke's de facto guardian.
The only reason she remained a temporary guardian rather than a full one was that the adoption regulations placed heavy weight on the requirement of being married — and for no other reason of substance.
"In that case, Luke isn't attending school, I take it."
"Th-that's right. Honestly, Luke only obtained official status quite recently, so we haven't even received the mandatory education recommendation yet."
Serena smiled faintly.
"Then it sounds as though it's time Luke went to school as well."
"School?"
School… It wasn't as if Yerna had never considered it. On the contrary, she had always known she would have to send Luke eventually.
"I'm just not sure whether school would suit Luke… or even where I ought to send her…"
"Don't worry, Miss Yerna. I told you, didn't I? I want Luke to become a close friend of Shirud's."
Serena smiled with her eyes and took a sip of coffee.
Watching her, Yerna absently lifted her own green tea and wet her lips just enough to taste it.
Serena set her cup down with a soft tap and continued.
"What about the school Shirud attends now? Teag Academy."
"Pardon?"
Teag Academy — that was the one famous as an elite institution, wasn't it?
A school with dormitories that even came with attendants, said to be attended only by genuine "nobility."
…And she had heard the tuition was rather steep.
Reading the troubled look on Yerna's face, Serena spoke at once.
"Don't worry about the tuition. I'll cover it. I made the proposal, after all — it's the least I can do. I'll also cover the cost of the uniform and school supplies."
"Y-you will? Really?"
It was an extraordinary offer.
Full tuition support?
Passing up a chance like this would be pure foolishness.
Well — education through Class 2 was mandatory anyway (though Luke was already self-studying Class 4 material), so she would have had to send Luke to school sooner or later.
Even so, she could hardly decide the whole matter on her own.
However good an opportunity Yerna might think it, Luke might feel differently.
"I… I'm very grateful, but I think I ought to ask Luke before deciding."
"Of course. Asking the child's opinion comes first."
Yerna and Serena both glanced toward the playroom, where the children were occupied.
Shirud was lying down with his arms folded across his stomach, and Luke was stroking his head while murmuring something.
The sight was so endearing that Serena couldn't help but smile.
"Looks like they're playing house."
Was Shirud the baby, then?
A truly rare scene.
"Y-yes, it does."
Yerna, watching the same tableau, felt nothing but a flutter of unease.
Something about the atmosphere was… off.
Had she given Luke a thorough enough sex-education talk last time?
She wasn't sure.
"Is something the matter, Miss Yerna?"
"Ah — no, nothing at all… Haha."
"…Is that so?"
It was an awkward laugh.
But Serena, who had no idea of the reason, could only look mildly puzzled.
Yerna glanced at Luke once more.
Well… was that level of contact all right…?
She hadn't climbed on top of him, at least…
So why did the anxiety refuse to go away?
The dormitory is out. Absolutely not.
Even setting aside the mana-bill that would likely explode if Luke lived in a dorm, the anxiety alone made it impossible. There would be no dormitory.