For You 108

#108

To begin with, isn’t “young demon” a bit of a stretch given my age? Though seventeen is still a minor, if I consider my past life, my age would be considerably greater. Of course, while understanding my mana, I realized I don’t properly remember my “past life,” but I was certain my age was more than seventeen.

Yet to think I couldn’t hide a single emotion and ended up revealing everything! Fortunately, Persis and Yaksi didn’t notice. If they had noticed even a little… just the thought made me dizzy. The mana, which had been expanding as if demanding attention the more I used it, swirled chaotically in my mind. I couldn’t understand why it kept growing instead of shrinking, but it had been screaming for attention.

I exhaled deeply. Now I understood what had happened just moments ago.

“It wasn’t that I couldn’t use magic power.”

[It was that the mana emerged first.]

Mujin finished the thought I was trying to articulate. In the end, I couldn’t help but cover my face with both hands.

[Ah, sorry.]

No, don’t apologize—that makes it even more embarrassing. I wish you wouldn’t. I especially wished Mujin wouldn’t do that. I had forgotten, but Mujin was my parent after all. I didn’t want to reveal such emotions to a parent.

[The prince is… quite important to our Andelion, isn’t he?]

Of course. I’ve watched him since childhood and wish for him to live the life he desires. I could confidently say I cherished him as much as Iria.

[I thought that if something like this happened to Andelion, it would naturally be because of that, Iria? Was that her name? That princess from the neighboring country…]

“Iria? Why Iria?”

I lowered my hands and looked at Mujin. Why was Iria suddenly being mentioned? A moment later, after hearing Mujin’s words, I could only gape in astonishment.

[Don’t you like that princess?]

“What? Me? No!!”

I vehemently denied it, shaking my head. It was absurd. I always felt awkward when misunderstood like this. I had never looked at Iria that way. Because Iria wasn’t that kind of person. Iria was…

【I’m sorry, Andelion.】

Just then, with a crackling sound, a face flashed through my mind. A woman with tears in her eyes was pointing a knife at me. The blade was aimed directly at my stomach, and I didn’t avoid it.

As if I were meant to receive that blade. As if I knew this was the end of the story. Standing like that, I met her gaze. Just as her blade was about to slash into my stomach, I closed my eyes.

[Andelion!]

Startled by the sudden call, I jerked my head up.

“Huh?”

I wasn’t sure what had just flashed through my mind. It appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye, and it wasn’t clear. I tried to recall the scene again, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see it.

[Is something wrong, Andelion?]

“Ah, no. I just spaced out for a moment.”

The last time I went to the temple, I was overcome by a feeling as if I could see the future. The feeling that if I took action A, future B might come to pass—without anyone telling me, I strangely felt it might be so. No, more precisely, it was like I was assessing possibilities. Not exactly that “this will happen,” but scenarios that might follow certain events appeared and disappeared in my mind.

But I had never seen such a direct scene as just now. Moreover, though I seemed to have seen something, I couldn’t remember exactly who did what. It wasn’t a scene from the game. I had played this game countless times; there was no way I had forgotten a scene. Despite frowning in concentration, nothing came to mind.

I shook my head, dispelling the scene that had just surfaced. That wasn’t important right now. First, I needed to somehow resolve Kuatrin’s inspection.

“Well, now that we know the mana doesn’t listen to me in front of Persis, I’ll just have to be careful during the exam…”

[How can you be careful?]

I couldn’t answer Mujin’s question. He was right. I didn’t know how to be careful. Persis and I were in the same class, and we would inevitably take the practical exam together. The best solution would be for either me or Persis to be absent on the day of the practical exam, but if either of us were absent, Kuatrin’s suspicious gaze would intensify.

I sighed deeply, looking at the mana flickering at my fingertips. Why doesn’t it move according to my emotions at times like this? If I’m this troubled, shouldn’t you just stay quiet too? I was beginning to suspect whether this mana had a separate consciousness.

[Usually, this is resolved with time, or it gets better as you grow older…]

“Was it the same for you, Mujin?”

[…Well, yes.]

After giving an unsatisfactory response, Mujin fell silent.

Since the practical exam couldn’t be postponed when it was right around the corner, I needed to find another solution. I couldn’t suddenly change the exam format either. No matter how much I thought about it, no solution came to mind.

[There is one method, though…]

“What is it?”

[Using my ability to temporarily seal your mana.]

Indeed, that method might help me navigate the situation. Since nothing major would happen in a sealed state, I decided to follow Mujin’s suggestion. It was just a temporary fix, but it was the best way to get through this current predicament.

* * *

The practical exam began with the swordsmanship test. Since the magic exam was two days later, there was no need to seal the mana before then, but I thought I should prepare for any unforeseen circumstances. Since Kuatrin had said he would observe both the swordsmanship and magic exams, there was no harm in sealing the mana in advance.

I clenched and unclenched my hand wearing the swordsmanship gloves several times. Though I had lived much longer without feeling mana, now that I couldn’t feel it, I felt empty. The plan was to unseal it once this practical exam was over, so I just needed to endure until then.

The swordsmanship exam took place in the training ground where we usually had classes. Unlike the magic exam, which was conducted by each class separately, the swordsmanship exam brought together all first-year students. And today was the day of Karn and Iria’s duel, which was a significant event in the game.

I hadn’t asked, but with Iria’s usual skills, she would have effortlessly ranked in the written exams. She would probably pass the swordsmanship exam easily as well. After all, Iria, who had fought on par with Persis, couldn’t possibly fail to defeat someone like Karn.

“I surrender.”

While thinking this, as I was moving my body, I eventually planted my wooden sword into the ground and called out to the opposing student. The student who faced me looked surprised, as if they hadn’t expected the match to end so quickly. They seemed to think I had gone easy on them. Panting heavily and breathing roughly, I was apparently invisible to the opposing student, who frowned, gave me a cursory greeting, and then turned away.

I had tried my best, but what could I do if this was my limit? I wiped away my sweat and stepped aside so as not to interfere with others. That’s when I spotted Kuatrin in the distance, watching the students and conversing with school officials.

Seeing him smile gently with a benevolent face, I felt strange because it was so different from what I knew. It was a face that could make one mistake him for a prince who cared about the country’s future.

Among these students, there would be some desperate to catch the eye of the First Prince who had suddenly visited the school. Some would be pouring their efforts into this, hoping to secure a position in the royal court, but in reality, the First Prince probably didn’t care which students were here or what abilities they possessed. He might recruit notable students along the way, but the First Prince’s purpose wasn’t to inspect the school.

The First Prince’s gaze, which had been conversing with a teacher, reached me in the distance. I didn’t panic and bowed my head to the First Prince who was making eye contact with me. He also nodded slightly to me and then casually turned his gaze away.

It’s fine. The mana was properly sealed, and I hadn’t shown any conspicuous behavior, so there shouldn’t be any major issues. Hiding my nervousness, I looked at Persis in the distance as he dueled with another student. He easily subdued a student and then bowed his head in greeting.

Despite being the Second Prince, Persis had no qualms about bowing his head to others. It was an action truly characteristic of Persis.

While quietly watching Persis, I spotted Karn on one side of the training ground, giggling with his group. Whatever was so amusing, he didn’t hide his satisfaction as he chatted with his acquaintances.

Something felt off. I quickly turned my head to see where Tus was. Since all first-year students were gathered together, Tus should have been among them. However, Tus was nowhere to be seen. Thinking he might be hiding in a corner, I looked around, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Young Master Andelion.”

“Yutis.”

The moment Yutis called me, I had a feeling my bad premonition was about to come true.

“The student you asked about is nowhere to be seen.”