Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Light (1)
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Tiny, sparkling specks of light slowly drifted between my fingers.
I stared at them, unable to tear my eyes away as they moved.
More specks made of light appeared one by one, lining up like little bugs and marching across my fingers.
They crested the tip of my index finger, passed through the valley between, vanished briefly into the shadow on the far side of the ridge, then climbed up my middle finger.
Eventually, the specks of light began gathering in my palm.
They clustered together in the center, swelling into a larger mass of light.
"Lib! Are you even listening?"
Wedin's loud voice suddenly boomed from above, startling me so badly my shoulders jerked.
The clump of light hovering over my palm vanished in an instant.
"Ah..."
I let out a small sigh of regret. It had been going so well for once.
"I've asked you a bunch of times already. Don't you have class at the Tower today?"
Finally losing his patience, Wedin peered down at me from the ladder-back chair.
I was sitting on the worn wooden floor of the library, and I answered a bit lazily.
"Yeah. But I have to stop by the medical center first."
"To see Saint Grain?"
"Yeah..."
I noticed Wedin looking down at me with a meaningful gaze.
"What?"
I asked with a giggle.
Wedin hesitated, then scowled grumpily.
"Uh, if you're scared of the checkup, I could go with you?"
"Isn't it more that you want to go to the medical center?"
I chuckled. Wedin's face turned red.
"No? Why would I?"
"You admire Grain so much. You want to be a holy mage, and you love poking around the medical center..."
"Shut up."
True to form, Wedin got annoyed right away and grumbled. I burst out laughing.
But then I ran short of breath and coughed—cough, cough—the sharp, aching pain rising from my chest.
I tried to breathe slowly. Cold sweat beaded in my palm in that brief moment.
A rasping sound came from my throat, but as I steadied my breathing, it gradually subsided.
"...You okay?"
Wedin waited until my breathing evened out before asking quietly.
I nodded.
"Yeah. Let's go to the medical center together."
"Say, 'Please come with me' first."
His shamelessness made me laugh again. I played along whinily.
"Please come with me, Sir Wedin."
"Fine. Can't be helped."
He said it like it pained him, then grinned foolishly at his own words.
Our laughter echoed through the empty, quiet library.
Feeling a bit better after laughing, my mood lifted considerably.
It had been five years since I started living in Prion.
Once I could control my mana, I managed to suppress the sudden seizures on my own to some extent.
But I still had to visit Erban Medical Center regularly for checkups.
Severe seizures could make me lose consciousness or bring on other symptoms, leading to frequent hospitalizations.
In that situation, living a normal life like the other kids in Prion wasn't easy.
Around the time I began learning mana control from Luwen, I enrolled in Prion's elementary school.
I must have been a bit past seven.
I did enroll, but my poor health kept me from attending classes regularly. Even when I went, seizures often forced me to leave early.
Naturally, opportunities to make friends dwindled.
Instead, I often snuck into the elementary school's library.
To keep up with lessons, do homework, watch the other kids, and read books.
Wedin Raifelt was the friend I met in the library.
He was the son of a merchant from the western market, and his parents had deliberately enrolled him here.
Because of that, in a place full of kids from knight orders and agency families, Wedin stuck out awkwardly and naturally gravitated to the library like me.
His personality wasn't the easiest, so it hadn't been long since we started talking.
He probably pitied me for my illness and decided to befriend me.
A cheer went up from outside the open window—waaah.
I pulled my eyes from the book I'd made no progress in and looked out the window.
The Arton Counteroffensive Festival was coming up soon.
The one festival held every three years, when Prion buzzed with preparations.
Even our little elementary school was no exception.
The students were building something huge for the festival parade, practicing flashy moves, and preparing cool costumes.
I'd never joined the parade myself, but I'd seen my classmates excitedly preparing.
"Kids these days."
Wedin took a jab at the noise outside. Even though he was just a twelve-year-old boy himself.
"Once they go to knight school or upper schools, they'll get sick of it. What's so fun about it?"
"But you'll still go watch the festival, right, Wedin?"
"It's right in front of my house. How could I not?"
Right, his family lived in the shopping district.
I recalled Wedin's house from the time I'd visited.
I'd slept over once, and his parents, brother, and sister were all kind and nice.
If anything, Wedin had been the least welcoming.
"Your parents must be busy..."
"Total chaos. Some festival commemoration event or whatever—it's got the already crowded streets packed with people."
"Heh."
"Even at midnight, the taverns are jammed, people singing and making a racket. Can't even sleep."
Wedin unloaded his gripes about the festival like he'd been waiting for it.
I listened with great interest.
Despite all the complaining, he'd enjoy it more than anyone when the time came.
"Clemence has been talking for weeks about the three of us going to see the festival together."
"Ugh... about that. Wouldn't it be weird if I tagged along?"
Wedin groaned.
"Why?"
"Well, Clemence is the granddaughter of a White Guard Knight, you're the son of a Blue Guard Knight... and I'm just the plain son of a merchant."
"So?"
Wedin scowled down at me from his chair.
"It's not that it's weird, but... I just feel like I'd look ridiculous."
"Dunno. Maybe 'cause I'm not a merchant's son."
I grinned teasingly, and Wedin irritably dropped the book he was holding onto my head.
Thud.
It wasn't heavy, but it carried all his frustration.
"Put the book back where it belongs."
I picked up the beginner's holy magic book that had struck my head and looked up.
Wedin was climbing down the ladder with a sulky expression.
Just because I'd teased him a little and laughed. What a kid.
Sighing, I stood with the two books in hand.
These had been pretty high up, but Wedin clearly had no intention of climbing the ladder again.
"No helping it."
I took a small breath and summoned my mana.
The two books floated into the air, enveloped in clumps of mana.
Wedin stared, mesmerized, even though he'd seen it plenty of times.
I smiled faintly and pushed his book all the way to the top shelf.
Carefully controlling the mana, I slotted it into the empty space.
The process was much like picking up the book by hand and placing it on the shelf.
The difference was using mana instead of hands, and while the movement was crystal clear to my eyes, it was invisible to others.
To Wedin, it just looked like the book floated up and returned to its spot on its own.
I called this power "Visible Mana."
Having mana do the work didn't mean it wasn't tiring.
Using mana always drained stamina. It was just easier to perceive and control because I could see it.
Wedin watched me with eyes full of awe and wonder.
I drew a weary breath and smiled.
"I think... having a merchant's son as my friend is way cooler."
Surprise spread across Wedin's face, quickly turning it red.
He scratched his tousled light-brown hair and looked away sharply.
"If you're done cleaning, let's go."
"Okay."
Giggling, I followed Wedin out of the library.
The hallways and classrooms were silent. All the kids must have gone out for festival prep.
Our chattering voices echoed through the entire little school.
"...To pass, you'll need more physical training. And sword practice."
"Tell me about it."
Wedin grumbled as he walked a bit ahead.
"I'm applying for holy magic support, so why do I need tests in stamina and swordsmanship?"
"Even holy mages need to protect themselves at a minimum."
His grumbling silenced, Wedin shut his mouth and nodded in agreement.
Most kids in Prion got a shot at knight school after turning twelve.
Of course, having a chance didn't mean everyone got in. The entrance exams were brutally tough.
Difficulty varied by department, but everyone needed basic stamina and sword skills, whether holy magic or regular magic.
It had little to do with me, though.
I'd turn twelve soon, but knight school wasn't even on my radar.
With stamina that couldn't keep up with normal kids, I'd never pass the exam.
"If you're worried about the practical, want me to ask Brother Shuren to teach you?"
Wedin pondered my suggestion.
"Isn't Shuren in his senior year? He's probably busy."
"True. But if you say you want training, I'll ask."
"Hmm..."
"You hate training."
I beat him to the punch. I knew exactly what he was thinking and what he'd say.
Wedin scowled, his line stolen.
"But to pass... yeah, I need training. Let me think about it."
"Whatever. If you decide yes, I'll ask for you."
I said it magnanimously.
"What fun talk is this?"
A cheerful voice called from the bottom of the stairs.
A girl with her silver hair neatly tied back and wearing a light green dress looked up at us.
"Oh, Clemence."
"Hi, Lib. Wedin."
Clemence nodded at us like she'd expected as much.
"You guys were in the library after all? I was on my way to get you."
"You didn't have to come yourself."
I grumbled a little.
Somehow, Clemence knew my regular checkup days better than anyone.
Maybe because we'd grown up together, she always fussed over my condition.
She made sure to join me even for routine checkups at the medical center.
"What are you saying? Of course I should. Besides, I'm here instead of Brother Shuren today."
"Why not Shuren?"
"He's busy with school festival prep. He was gonna come anyway, but I said I'd do it. We met in front of the school."
We descended the stairs side by side.
Shuren attended knight school and looked after me, but this year as a senior, he was swamped with graduation exams.
Plus the school's festival prep on top—must be crazy busy.
I could go to the medical center alone, but neither Shuren nor Clemence would let me.
A familiar-faced coachman waited for us in front of the elementary school gate.