Youngest 145
by Cristae145
With all the high-ranking mages off at the Delkan Ruins, the sluggish “second” left alone in the royal palace must have finally decided to make a move.
“They probably crossed the border with magic restrainers, at the very least.”
In that case, it didn’t seem like they planned to act in the same blatant, disruptive way as the “fourth.”
“What should I do…?”
Tomorrow was both the exhibition and visitation day. In other words, the awkward pretense of hiding my identity would come to an end.
So I had to decide.
Would I confront this head-on, or hide again?
As I pondered, my gaze drifted toward the distant Central Library.
The capital was the worst terrain for any mage.
“But I know somewhere that’s an exception.”
In that case…
There might be a way.
And there was something I needed to attempt soon, in order to solve this Mage’s Crest problem.
“All right. Tonight, I’ll sneak back into the Old Library.”
I bent down to gather more acorns, all the while wondering just where Khalid might be at the moment.
I missed when I could communicate with him easily, even if he occasionally ignored me.
Somehow, it felt a little bittersweet.
“Ugh, but there sure are a lot of ginkgo trees here.”
I pinched my nose against the slowly rising stench.
“So, Khal, where’s my friend!”
Surely he wasn’t skipping off to the infirmary again?
Khalid was looking up at the sky.
Unable to make any more excuses about the infirmary, he’d just managed to escape reluctantly from the art class he’d been forced to attend.
The aesthetics professor, who always pestered him for a portrait the instant he appeared, was especially persistent.
“I’m not even enrolling, so why on earth do I need a student ID?”
Supposedly, it was for taxidermy or some other nonsense.
He didn’t understand it.
No matter—in the end, all the attention grated on Khalid’s nerves. He truly wasn’t used to it.
“Still… why hasn’t Allen contacted me at all?”
Clicking his tongue, Khalid shielded his eyes from the sun.
He’d sent him off because high-ranking mages were swarming at Delkan Ruins.
“Is it because there’s been no news?”
But even when there was nothing to report, Allen always sent a letter.
Usually Khalid’s messenger hawk served as his carrier, but since there wasn’t even a trace of ambient mana here in the capital, he was planning to use a mundane courier instead, to conserve magic.
“Is that why it’s late?”
Khalid fiddled with his bracelet.
No matter how much innate mana he possessed, without a supportive environment it was a hassle to manage.
He couldn’t quite sense when to release or restrain his power.
“That’s probably because you still can’t control your mana perfectly. You’ve got a kid’s body.”
Ruby, even smaller than Khalid, stood on tiptoe and tapped the top of his head.
It was a moment that was both pleasing and subtly wounding to his pride…
“The surrounding mana was always acting as a buffer for you, you know? When there was a lot, it absorbed the excess; when there was little, it reinforced you!”
“It’s so annoying, not being able to use magic freely.”
“Now you finally understand how I feel. Let this be a chance to be reborn as a humble child.”
Her emotional expression was the only reward for that conversation.
Still, Ruby reminded him to use magic only within the strict limits allowed by his bracelet.
The control device would prevent any wild surges.
“At least I can still power the squirrel and support Ruby with magic,” he thought.
Khalid kicked at the ground, his discontent showing. His shadow stretched long across the earth.
“If only I were taller…”
If only he grew big enough—would he be able to wield magic at will, with no restrictions?
If he could grow stronger—strong enough…
Then he could protect Ruby with certainty.
He clenched his fist tightly.
For a moment, he wished time would rush forward.
As he left the backyard and walked along, he spotted a familiar back in the distance.
“…Ruby?”
What was she doing here?
Khalid increased his pace. Huge oaks and ginkgo trees lined the path.
Ruby was crouched behind one massive tree, peering watchfully ahead.
“What are you looking at?”
“Ah—! You scared me. Shh!”
As he placed a hand on her shoulder, Ruby startled, then yanked Khalid down behind the tree with her. Awkwardly, he crouched beside her.
“What are you doing?”
“Wait. It should happen any moment now.”
“…?”
Glancing over, he saw her plump cheekbones raised with anticipation.
The only thing in Ruby’s line of sight was a winding trail—one often used by students for strolls.
But there, right in the middle, a heap of fallen leaves seemed piled unusually high…
“What on earth are you—”
Just then, a burst of laughter rang out.
“Ah, tomorrow’s finally the last day!”
“Wasn’t this so boring and dull?”
A group of boys, judging by the color of their ribbon ties, appeared to be campers.
“What the…”
Khalid’s heart momentarily plummeted.
“Was she… waiting for the boys?”
His mind went blank.
“Hey, Haben! Give back the ball!”
At that moment, a boy called Haben snatched the ball and took off running.
“Ha ha ha! Come catch me!”
Ruby’s eyes sparkled even brighter as she watched.
The moment Haben dashed full tilt onto the leaf pile in the middle of the trail—
Squish.
“Argh! What is this?!”
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know! I stepped in something gross!”
“Something gross? Wait a second, Haben, you—”
His friends all grabbed their noses.
“Something stinks like poop!”
Snicker.
Ruby covered her mouth, giggling.
How’s the smell of mashed ginkgo fruit?
“It’s not poop! Seriously! What is this?!”
Haben, flailing to wipe the goo from his shoes, lost his balance and slipped spectacularly.
Busted ginkgo fruit smeared all over his clothes.
“Ha ha ha ha! Haben’s got poop on him! He stinks!”
“No! I said it’s not poop!”
His friends teased him as they ran off, and Haben finally scrambled to his feet and disappeared uproariously.
“Serves him right!”
Ruby stood, dusting off her hands.
“Did you… gather ginkgo fruit and set a trap?”
“Yep. Pretty clever, huh?”
Seeing the look of satisfaction puff her cheeks, Khalid felt his heart return from where it had fallen.
“He teased Jerdene during activity period again.”
“Jer…dene?”
Thud. His heart dropped again.
Now, who’s that…?
“Bad Haben! You deserve to be teased back!”
Ruby punched at the air.
“But what about you? Shouldn’t you be in class right now?”
“It ended early.”
He hid his glum feelings as he answered. He’d felt it since the start, but today especially, it gnawed at him more than usual, how unfair it was not to be in the same group as Ruby.
Why was he feeling so petty lately? He couldn’t understand himself.
“Really? Then I’m glad I ran into you!”
“Why?”
Ruby beamed.
“Let’s go for a secret walk together this evening. To the Old Library.”
“….”
Just the words—together, secretly, walk—lodged in his mind, drowning out everything else. Like magic, his gloomy mood vanished in an instant.
Was it normal for feelings to be this paper-thin and changeable?
Khalid pondered the matter seriously, but soon concluded:
“Well, it’s Ruby, after all.”
With her, everything felt just as it should.
That evening.
Together with Khalid, I headed for the Old Library once more.
Thanks to Professor Yuliope, I could borrow the Old Library key whenever I wanted, but since we’d arrived after closing time, I still needed Khalid’s help.
“Thanks, squirrel!”
I handed the squirrel two acorns I’d collected during the day. Its black eyes gleamed with excitement.
“But why the Old Library all of a sudden? Is there something else you want to investigate?”
Khalid asked as we walked between the bookshelves.
He seemed a little more relaxed than before.
After all, Professor Yuliope was gone for the day anyway.
“There’s something I want to test, using the magic circle on that tablet.”
“Test?”
“Just come with me.”
I whispered softly, moving forward.
The enormous tree I’d seen before looked just as lush today. Maybe it was some kind of evergreen—the leaves remained vivid green, even in this autumn air.
Behind the tree, hidden away, was the stone tablet.
I traced the magic circle engraved atop it with my hand again.
“Hm…”
Somehow, I felt sure I could do it.
I plucked a couple strands of my own hair.