Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: A Promise Kept
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“Frankly speaking, with your current skill level, it’ll take decades before you can walk—if ever.”
Week six of home tutoring.
As usual, after lightly going through the magic lesson, Kasena Page startled and whipped around just as she was about to peer into the astronomical telescope.
“What?! No way! That can’t be!”
“It’s here.”
“No, that’s impossible. I’ll work hard starting today. I’ll do whatever you say. So—”
“—This isn’t something you can achieve through hard work. I think I overestimated your talent.”
“Then what?! Am I, am I just supposed to live like this forever? You liar! You said you’d make me walk!”
Rain glanced at Kasena for a moment. She didn’t seem brash without a fragile side—she already looked on the verge of tears.
“Please hear me out. It’s only with your ‘current’ skill level.”
“……?”
“From now on, I’ll provide some help. First, take off that skirt.”
Before she could react, a book flew and smacked into my forehead. Impeccable telekinesis.
“You show up wrapped in bandages and spout nonsense like that, you lunatic!”
“With telekinesis at that level, you’ll master it even faster than I did.”
“What?”
I rolled up my pant leg for Kasena. She alternated her bewildered gaze between the runes etched on my leg and my eyes.
“What... is this……?”
“I promised, didn’t I? I’d make you walk again.”
Kasena’s pupils trembled in an instant. A faint breath escaped her, as if her voice wouldn’t come.
“Joke around and you’re dead.”
“I’m serious.”
“What is it……?”
“It’s called pillar runes. Etch them into the body to control the power of magic affecting it.”
Yun (奫) smooths the flow of magic on the flesh like water.
Ha (霞) mitigates or nullifies central commands that could overload the body.
Ju (柱) converts magic applied to the body into a conditional permanent state.
These were experimental pillar runes I’d etched on both my legs. It had taken quite a while to research and realize them.
‘Etching them into the body required cautery, so it hurt like hell…….’
Still, the pain was worth it since success eliminated all risk.
“The central magic barrier is pentagonal, and the rune to etch is Lei (擂). It imbues lightning magic with a frictional quality.”
The task was simple. Could she control the most delicate adjustments needed for the joints in her lower body—every single one?
“Try moving your hand.”
“?”
“The sensation of moving your hand is exactly the command sent through your nervous system.”
“Uh…… so?”
“We replace that with magic. The rune used is Lei (擂). It’s less dangerous than raw current—just an electrical impulse.”
A magic circle suddenly appeared above my palm. When I crushed it, my left foot curled from big toe to pinky in sequence.
“Like this. Stimulating the nerves with mana to move it.”
Kasena’s face went pale.
She barely managed to speak, grinding her lips together.
“If... if I do that, can I... can I walk?”
“Of course. Why else would I come here covered in wounds?”
I’d even tested it assuming the caster was disabled—blocking central nervous signals and using telekinetic waves to move hands. It worked.
“If I can move the most complex fingers, legs should be no problem.”
Kasena looked half-doubting…… but her lips kept twitching into a hopeful smile.
“So…… take off the skirt?”
“It’s delicate work—two or three hours. If you squirm, it could be dangerous, so I’ll bind you with magic for my convenience.”
Kasena stared at me, then clenched her fist.
“No way! That’s too creepy! I’ll stay still!”
“It’s not like I’ll get excited seeing you naked anyway.”
“What?!”
Hmm, what’s with that expression? Relief or anger? Hard to tell.
“I need Bell Sidias to see your body’s circuits while I work. My eyes only see magic circuits anyway.”
“Ugh…….”
“Feeling better now?”
“Shut up! Do anything weird and I’ll castrate you!”
After a brief hesitation, Kasena blushed and began carefully removing her skirt.
“You’re…… staring…….”
She used to need a maid for even this, but now with telekinesis, she could lift her legs with it—no issue.
“Even on the hips…… right?”
“From the hip joint to the fibula. Finally, a circle array near the spine.”
“Got it…….”
I heated the cautery needle with fire.
Sitting to the right of Kasena on the chair, I gripped her emaciated leg and focused.
Carefully, calmly. No room for error with pillar runes.
“Ow……!”
“No weird noises.”
“It’s your fault for pressing so hard!”
Kasena’s hot breath reached even me.
Does it hurt that much?
But from experience, itching hurts more than this. Better to press hard.
“Ow……!”
“No twisting.”
“Ah, it hurts……!”
“Endure it.”
“G-Gently, please……!”
“This gentle? Good?”
“Y-Yeah…… that’s perfect…….”
There’s a saying: crows flying and pears falling. It happens more often than you’d think.
“Miss, what’s this noise?”
It was Kasena’s nursemaid—one of the four allowed in this room.
That’s why the middle-aged woman who opened the door saw it immediately.
Her precious miss, in her undergarments in front of a strange man……
“Uh…….”
The nursemaid’s eyes spun, and the next moment, she swung the lamp she carried at Rain’s head.
“W-Wait!”
“It’s not what it looks like, stop!”
“Miss?!”
“First, close the door and talk!”
“……?”
“You have to keep this secret. Just us three.”
After hearing a brief explanation from Kasena, the nursemaid covered her mouth with both hands. Tears glistened in her eyes.
“The miss can walk again……?”
“Yes. So please help.”
“Of course, of course! I don’t even know how to thank you…….”
“Then if anyone sees this, please vouch for my innocence, and tell the miss some old stories or something.”
“Old stories?”
“Distract her. Oh, and keep wiping the blood.”
The nursemaid gripped Kasena’s tear-streaked hand tightly amid the relentless pain.
“Miss, you’ll walk again…… You used to run so happily in [Sage’s Plaza], remember?”
“Yeah…….”
“We’ll go together again, walking on your own feet. And to <Delaiten> too……!”
With the nursemaid sharing old tales, the work became much easier. And I learned about Kasena’s past.
How much time passed?
As I wiped sweat from my brow, Kasena’s legs were covered in pillar runes like tattoos, and the floor was soaked with sweat and blood.
“Bring some disinfectant please.”
While the nursemaid fetched it, I looked at Kasena. Her eyes brimmed with tears from the pain.
“Did it hurt?”
“Hmph! Not at all!”
Pointless pride……
She’s still a kid.
“Good. Now activate the pillar rune circle on your spine with your hand.”
Like Logan lightly activating Chaihak Academy’s secret manual with mana, this circle activates by infusing mana.
“The pillar runes control the magic’s range, so only your legs will move—no injuries.”
Kasena nodded.
Hope had instantly banished her fear of walking.
She closed her eyes, placed her hand on the circle, and activated it with mana.
‘Please don’t fail…….’
I swallowed dryly.
The runes etched into Kasena’s body began flickering blue.
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
All three of us gaped. Nothing happened.
Her legs didn’t move.
Instead, strength drained from my legs. Failure? I blankly swallowed air as tears streamed down Kasena’s cheeks.
“…….”
I felt truly sorry. Giving hope then snatching it—I didn’t know how to apologize. First time for this. That’s when—
“It moved…….”
“Huh?”
“It moved, it moved, Rain! My pinky toe, my toes moved……!”
What……?
Kasena was definitely crying.
Yes, tears flowed from her eyes…… but her face was smiling.
“Look, see this!”
It was true. Maybe I’d stimulated too weakly from doubt? The nursemaid sobbed, hugging Kasena.
“Miss, miss……!”
“I, I’ll walk again soon, I can walk……!”
“Of course you will!”
“So until then…… don’t tell Mom or Dad! Got it?”
“Yes, yes!”
She’d walk soon enough. I’d even added telekinesis assist to the pillar technique.
Of course, rebuilding leg muscles for normal walking would require massive rehab.
‘But whatever. We’ll worry later.’
For now, sincerely applaud my success and Kasena’s future, then excuse myself.
“Rain!”
As I turned to leave the nursemaid and Kasena to their intimate moment, Kasena shouted.
I tilted my head and turned back, blankly watching as she fidgeted, face red, and mumbled.
“Really, really…… thank you…….”
Ah, she smiled. A dazzling smile, even brighter than the first day.
Maybe it’s because of that expression.
The chancellor auntie said I made that face when I first learned and used magic from her. Tureina too.
‘Did I want to see that expression from others again?’
Because the chancellor auntie told me to become someone who shares magic’s light?
No, that’s not it.
Rain deliberately didn’t smile.
He thought it wasn’t something to smile about together. It was just part of the contract—something given in return for what he received.
“No need to thank me. It was part of my deal with the chancellor.”
Still, despite that, the fatigue from a month of hard labor melted away like snow in that one smile—I couldn’t deny the feeling.
“By the way, I won’t come anymore. My job’s done.”
“Huh? What? Wait, hold on!”
“To keep that power constant, you’ll need to build mana—it’ll motivate you. And you’ll learn far better directly from the chancellor than from me.”
No lies there.
Just as I learned more from Aunt Elin and Grandpa than any tutor, Kasena should learn from Madelia.
The deal with the chancellor and promise to Kasena could be considered fulfilled. Time to focus on myself again.
“Besides, I hate babysitting.”
“What? Hey!”
I lightly waved off Kasena’s retort and descended the tower’s long stairs.
‘It was just part of the deal…… but I can feel a little happy at times like this, right, Auntie?’
Unbeknownst to himself, the boy took another step closer to truth (眞理) today.
Socrafres.
- Inheriting progress on ‘Unique Magic’ research from surrounding environment.
- Progress: 45.3% → 47.9%.
Unaware why his steps back to the dorm felt so light, or why memories of leaving the magic tower resurfaced.
- He’d return as a wonderful adult who could share magic’s light with others.
Then his steps paused briefly.
Come to think of it, where did it go?
The bamboo hat the chancellor auntie gave him…… Tureina always treasured it, but now that she was gone, where was it kept?
‘If I can find it, I definitely will.’