A Bold Confession and the Agony of Warp Sickness
When I gave a lukewarm reaction, Bright shouted, clearly flustered.
“Keniyan! I’m a Keniyan! You don’t know the Keniyans?”
I didn’t. What was that supposed to be? Some chocolate-making family? We already had Iruse for that. When my indifferent attitude persisted, Iruse, who was standing beside me, quickly whispered in my ear.
“Jeanie, the Keniyans are the only mage family in our entire country. They were granted peerage for their magical bloodline.”
“Oh.”
“Remember now?”
“I think it was on the test. That mage family.”
I recalled how I’d flown into a rage about having to memorize such pointless nonsense.
There was a class called Noble Genealogy that forced us to memorize the accomplishments and histories of prestigious families. It was utterly useless, but apparently it existed.
Being part of it meant the family was impressive, at least.
Not that I cared in the slightest.
“I didn’t recognize you. So what business does the young master of the great Keniyan family have with someone like me?”
Bright looked secretly pleased that I had acknowledged his greatness.
Maybe it was the weight of the family on his back, but Bright was a boy brimming with confidence from head to toe.
Though calling him a boy felt like a stretch. He looked much closer to a young man.
He was significantly taller than me, and his face had lost nearly all traces of baby fat, leaving behind clean, refined features.
He had soft-looking chestnut-brown hair and eyes the deep purple of the finest amethyst, so…
“Ahem, well… I saw what happened yesterday.”
“Saw what?”
“Your duel with that combat class kid. I was in the dining hall.”
“And?”
“It’s just that… well…”
It was because his eye color was so strikingly beautiful.
The reason I kept staring at Bright was that the harder I looked, the more he stammered.
“…?”
Since he was my senior at the academy, I was trying to remain reasonably polite, but I couldn’t figure out why he was acting like this toward me.
Why had he suddenly approached, standing right in front of me and awkwardly fumbling for words? Why were his cheeks turning red? And why were those jewel-like purple eyes trembling so violently?
His rather handsome face had flushed crimson in an instant.
As I tilted my head in genuine confusion, Bright Keniyan took another step closer.
We were standing far too close.
What exactly was he trying to do? If this was a duel challenge, I really wanted to pass.
Just as my curiosity hit its peak, Bright finally drew in a huge breath and shouted.
“Huh?”
“Whaaat!”
“I’ve never seen anyone use magic as elegantly as you… so…”
Damn it. Even the little kids are—
“After that, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I wondered if this was what it meant to like someone.”
At first I was so stunned I couldn’t speak, but I soon began to view the situation in a more positive light.
Well, my beauty was objectively top-tier. This body’s popularity wasn’t half bad, was it?
While a sense of pride swelled in my chest, another part of me felt deeply skeptical about my past self. Why had I gone seventeen years in my previous life without receiving a single confession, only to get one now in the body of a ten-year-old?
What exactly had I been doing back then?
Oh. Right. Studying.
“I’ve never felt anything like this before! The whole time I was watching you yesterday, I got goosebumps. My heart kept racing…”
“Are you sure those weren’t just fear-induced goosebumps?”
“No! It’s different!”
Bright Keniyan shouted desperately.
I gazed up at him.
His skin was flawless, without a single pimple. His intellectual features, those mysterious violet eyes, the clean, almost painted-on lines of his gaze.
I had to admit it. He really was handsome.
“Hmm…”
“I’ll treat you really well, Jeanie!”
“It is tempting, but I’m sorry. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that.”
It was a little regretful, so I licked my lips.
“W-why? Do I not appeal to you?”
“It’s more that it sounds like a hassle.”
“I won’t be any hassle at all!”
“But I don’t even know what dating is supposed to be… and I’m not interested. Most of all, the age gap between us is huge, isn’t it?”
I was only ten years old. It felt far too young to be dating anyone.
If I added my previous life’s age, I was twenty-seven, which suddenly made Bright seem much too young.
Looking at it from either direction felt like I’d be committing a crime.
“There’s only a six-year difference between us!”
“That’s still a lot, isn’t it?”
“…My parents have a fourteen-year gap?”
Of course, that was considered normal here. A kind of normal I still couldn’t get used to.
Many people got engaged at my age, and children from prestigious families often had fiancés chosen for them the moment they were born.
“Hmm. Still impossible.”
“Do you already have a fiancé or something?”
“I don’t have a fiancé, but the answer is still no.”
“What exactly don’t you like about me? I’ll fix it!”
Watching him flail around like this was actually kind of cute.
“It’s not that I dislike you, senior. I just don’t know you very well…”
“Then let’s start as friends!”
They said charm was all in the face. This must be what they meant.
When a good-looking guy clung to me like this, I couldn’t help but feel secretly pleased.
Those moist, pleading eyes weakened my resolve.
“Please, Jeanie!”
“Fine… If it’s just friends, I suppose.”
I might have been smiling without realizing it.
“Thank you!”
Still, the idea of me actually dating, getting engaged, or marrying someone remained completely unimaginable.
Just a few hours earlier, I had received my very first confession in this life and had been riding a strange wave of confidence. Now I was in utter despair.
All I wanted right now was to die from this godawful nausea.
“Ughhh…”
My stomach churned with excruciating intensity.
“I’ve heard that people who don’t handle warp magic well sometimes experience these symptoms…”
“…Why does it have to be me of all people?”
“I’m truly sorry. I had no idea you were that type, Jeanie.”
Teacher Iruto’s attempt at comfort did absolutely nothing for me.
I had discovered my bizarre incompatibility with warp magic at the exact moment I used it. Shouldn’t there have been some warning beforehand?
“Urp.”
I slapped a hand over my mouth, terrified I might actually vomit, but even that motion made the world spin.
This horrific sensation was like riding in a car doing figure-eights for three straight hours!
This went far beyond normal motion sickness.
My insides roiled so violently I wanted to spit out my own organs.
Rai usually vanished somewhere whenever Iruse was around. After all, Iruse viewed him as a rare creature and research subject, making her essentially his natural predator.
But my condition must have been so terrible that he hadn’t fled and was staying right by my side.
My state was so pathetic that even a tactless spirit felt compelled to show sympathy.
“I-I feel like I’m dying.”
“Oh dear! It seems quite severe. We have another warp tomorrow. Will you be alright, Jeanie?”
“Teacher… could I please just take a carriage instead…?”
“The festival would be over by then…”
I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry violently.
This wasn’t the end of the warping. We had only traveled to Lemale, the city between Vailan and Elan. Tomorrow we still had to warp again to Neikal, the capital of Elan.
One more warp remained.
No… if I include the return trip to Dmitry… that means three more warps ahead, doesn’t it?
I had momentarily forgotten this was a round trip!
The cruel realization sent a chill down my spine.
This was a nightmare!
The most unfair part was that out of all these children, I was the only one suffering from ‘warp sickness.’ This was one instance where I really didn’t need to be special!
Clap, clap.
“All right! Has everyone gathered their luggage?”
“Yes, Teacher!”
“We’ll be heading to the inn, so please make your way to the prepared carriages.”
“Yes!”
“Free time begins after you’ve received your room assignments. And don’t forget to take a knight escort whenever you go out.”
All the children except me moved with perfect discipline at Teacher Iruto’s instructions.
With the teacher’s support, I barely managed to climb into a carriage.
There was no strength left in my body. Warp sickness was not something any person should ever have to endure.
What truly plunged me into despair were the three remaining warps still ahead of me.
Trials really did come from the most unexpected places.