Do I Really Have to Go?
Who would've thought I'd get completely wrecked like this...
Manipulating things with mana was trickier than I'd expected, but compared to playing normally with this body, the controls felt way more comfortable. And yet, I still lost. Sure, turning into a kid meant my brain wasn't spinning as fast and my reflexes were shot, but the real problem was this game. How the hell does a level 1 noob zone end up infested with toxic veterans? Not that I had any room to talk—I'd been planning to massacre newbies myself... Anyway, it was infuriating. I'd only thought about it; I never actually hurt anyone. If anything, I'd just been toyed with by the real old-timers.
The gods don't know the principle of presumed innocence...
"Ugh... seriously..."
I wasn't in the mood right now. Every match I'd played today had been ruined by those toxic players, so gaming just didn't appeal. I shut it down in a huff, and that's when my sister's voice called from downstairs, telling me to come eat.
She must've already come home and set the table... She probably didn't even say hi when she got in, not wanting to bother me while I was gaming.
I couldn't ignore her call for dinner, so I got up and headed downstairs.
When I got there, the table was fully laid out, welcoming me like some kind of feast. It was so lavish, I wondered if she was going all out just because I was here. Money was no object for her, sure, but this had to take a ton of effort.
I sat down, eyes sparkling with anticipation as usual. It wasn't the kind of fancy food for the elite, but to someone like me who'd grown up poor, this was more than luxurious enough for dinner.
I channeled mana into my chopsticks, shaping them into form like always.
"You really have no intention of using kid-friendly chopsticks...?"
What nonsense. I shook my head firmly.
"Fine..."
Sis still looked worried, but there was no issue with using them like this.
"Oh, right, Seol-i."
"...?"
"Don't you want to think about going to school?"
School? School?
"There's a lot you could learn there... And at your age, you're supposed to go."
Oh... I'd forgotten about that. Come to think of it, elementary and middle school were compulsory here, right?
But I'd already been through elementary, middle, and high school. Telling me to start over from elementary was basically asking me to die.
I shook my head vigorously.
"Suyeon starts school soon too, and she says she wants to go with you."
Why me, of all people...? Sure, after what happened recently, we'd become master and disciple. So it made sense she'd want to stick with me, but that was it. I could teach her separately later—no need to do it at school too. That just felt... off.
I knew it was partly laziness on my part, but still.
"Can't I just... not go to school...?"
I really, really hated the idea. Even if I went, I had no confidence I'd fit in with the other kids. I'd spent a year alone in the mountains, so I was clueless about current trends—what kids liked, what they talked about, how could I know? I'd definitely get left out of conversations.
And once they realized I was different, I'd be hit with their pure, unfiltered kid cruelty. If it were just me, I could tough it out, but Suyeon would be there too. If we got lumped together and bullied, it'd ruin her school life—and it'd be my fault.
I didn't want to go myself, but elementary school was hell if you didn't fit in.
"Hmm... You really hate it that much?"
I nodded. Who in the world actually likes school? Some say it's only boring if you don't have friends, but those people can all get wrecked. As if I chose to have no friends... It was pissing me off just thinking about it.
"But Seol-i... Elementary school's mandatory. If you don't go, the police uncles will come grab you!"
"..."
I knew that. They probably wouldn't actually drag me off, but now that I was a kid in this country, elementary school was unavoidable.
From what I'd heard, awakeners learned how to use their powers at academies starting in high school, but elementary and middle were regular compulsory education—awakeners and non-awakeners alike went to the same schools. High school was different, but elementary wouldn't be weird. I wasn't an awakener, but I could use magic fluently, so... wherever.
"Suyeon's not starting right away anyway... Oh, wait a sec."
Sis said to hold on like she'd just remembered something, then headed to her room.
A moment later, she came back holding something familiar in her arms and approached me.
This was... the bottle I'd given that uncle back then, right? The one with the potion.
"I got it from him. He said you made Suyeon better by drinking this."
Oh, right... I'd half-forgotten about it. Not completely, since it healed Suyeon, but it wasn't a big deal. In the end, my potion saved her—that's what mattered.
I took the bottle from sis. I'd figured they'd use whatever was left for research since modern tech couldn't cure her, but it looked untouched since then.
That's weird...
"Um... Seol-i?"
"...?"
She'd been talking normally a second ago, but now her voice was awkward. When someone suddenly gets hesitant like that, it's usually because it's hard for them to say or they're feeling guilty about something. Whatever it was, it felt scarier than the school talk earlier. No way it was less scary.
"Wh-why are you looking at me like I'm the enemy...?"
"..."
I had every reason to be wary... What kind of hassle was she planning now...!
"Hmm... That potion you gave the uncle back then... Do you have any more?"
Huh? That one? I nodded. If she saw my room full of stuff, she'd find tons. I'd made a ridiculous amount while "researching." Of course, I kept them sorted by type. It might be a mess now from moving, but I'd organized it fine when I lived alone.
"Mind if I ask one thing?"
Asking was fine... My only gripe was why bring up serious stuff right in the middle of dinner.
Other than that, no complaints. Actually, maybe it was better to just get it all out now. I nodded.
"I have a lot to say, but... better to be straightforward and honest."
"...?"
Honest?
"Can I research your potion?"
My potion? Research this? I looked down at the bottle in my arms.
"Of course, any money from selling it goes to you... Sis has more than enough cash anyway."
Ah... yeah... Whatever. Point was, I knew this recovery potion I'd made was something special. It'd brought Suyeon back from the brink in an instant—who wouldn't know?
I hadn't seen it myself, but that uncle bowed to me. Hard to doubt.
When I gave it, I hadn't even thought they'd research it. Only later did it hit me they might. At first, it was just pity—like, here, have this one.
And the result? I'd gotten close to Suyeon... and that uncle. Close? Nah, but he'd promised on his own to come running if I ever needed help. His feelings were obvious.
Still... if giving it to sis let me save someone, wasn't that enough? Making more was easy anyw—
Oh.
"S-sis..."
"Yeah...?"
"I want to give you some, but..."
Even for research, it wouldn't work. Sure, basic recovery potions could be made from mountain herbs. But they wouldn't be this effective. This was a secret elixir—pharmaceutical mastery, everything I had poured in. My magic, my mana ratios, the arrangements. That's why I could only say:
"Only I can make this..."