Youngest 146
by Cristae146
“Ouch.”
“What are you doing all of a sudden?”
Khalid scowled and grabbed my wrist.
Limp and thin strands of black hair dangled in my hand.
“Just watch.”
Gripping the hair, I fueled it with magic. The air around us trembled for a moment.
Would it work?
“Here goes.”
A blue magic circle floated up, and I felt my internal mana and the surrounding magic flow into the intricate formula.
The limp strands of hair stood on end. And then…
‘The inscription on this tablet is for a spell that stops time.’
Then what about a variant of it? In other words…
‘Reversing time.’
At that moment, I felt a mass of energy drain straight out of me.
‘Huh? This…’
The moment I sensed something was wrong—
“Ruby!”
The black hair clutched in my hand slowly began to turn silver.
“W-What is…”
“Heh, hah…”
The magic circle fizzled out abruptly.
My vision spun and nausea welled up from deep inside. The classic sign of mana depletion.
“Ruby! Are you all right?”
Khalid swiftly took my hand and infused me with magic.
Apparently, even with ambient magic present, it was too much for me to handle.
“At least… it works…”
Sprawled on the floor, I raised the hair I’d been gripping tightly.
Now a bit shorter, and half-turned silver.
As if… it had reverted to how it was before I dyed it.
“It works.”
But as one would expect, moving time itself was no small feat; merely changing a couple of strands had completely drained my mana. And I hadn’t even finished the process.
Without the exceptionally pure mana from the Sealing Beast, I might have seriously damaged my magic core.
‘A dangerous spell circle.’
That was my conclusion.
But I’d learned something else, too.
‘I can use this time magic.’
I was certain of it now.
My hand went instinctively to my lower back.
‘With this… if I can stop the growth of my crest…’
Even if I couldn’t rid myself entirely of the crest right away, wouldn’t it at least buy me some time?
‘Time to build the strength to face the Mage King.’
My eyes filled with a crimson glow.
‘Wizeria.’
Eyes closed, I called out into the sea within my mind.
‘Please—help me stop the time of this crest with my own magic.’
The sea of wisdom that held every magical circuit in the world. At that instant, the waves surged with mighty force.
Of course.
The reply came as a gentle ripple, swelling into great waves, knowledge rising as one from their depths.
Everything I have exists for you.
“Wow, I’m so sleepy.”
As I slipped out the back way from the library, I said,
“That’s what happens when you overdo it.”
Khalid clicked his tongue in disapproval as he supported me. Unable to stand it any longer, he removed one of his bracelets despite my protest.
“Still, we did get something out of this.”
“What could you possibly mean by that? Your hair didn’t even go fully silver.”
“There’s something, trust me.”
Khalid didn’t know about the growing crest.
He seemed to think I was just trying to change my hair color with time magic.
‘Wizeria has crafted a spell circle for me.’
Once I recovered my mana, I’d be able to stop the crest’s progression.
With Wizeria’s knowledge, I could cast the spell at peak efficiency, without my energy draining away like before.
But despite my hope, my steps were as shaky as a newborn fawn’s.
Maybe it was the abrupt, heavy magic loss—my energy just wouldn’t come back.
“Oof…”
Finally, I staggered to the side of the path and plopped down.
I felt like a drunk who couldn’t even carry their own weight.
“…You’re hopeless.”
A broad, dark back appeared in front of me.
“Climb on.”
“What, are you my big brother now?”
“Why would you say something so dreadful?”
Dreadful?! Well, maybe my brothers were a bit embarrassing in public, but still!
“I just don’t think you’ll even make it back to the dorm like this. I’ll have to keep channeling magic into you the whole way.”
Khalid spoke evenly and calmly.
Hurry up.
His voice was, for some reason, a little deeper than usual.
“W-Well, I could just hold your hand—”
“That’s not enough.”
“…”
“The more contact, the better.”
At that, the little dwarves living in my heart began to race around madly.
“You…!”
My ears instantly grew hot and I snapped in embarrassment.
“Why do you have to say weird things like that?!”
“What even is weird about it?”
“…Ugh. I’m heavy, though.”
“I’ll see about that—just hurry. The security patrol will be here any minute.”
In the end, I clung to Khalid’s back like a cicada.
As soon as his sturdy arms locked around my legs, fresh magic cascaded into me. It felt as if I were wrapped in a gentle, powerful embrace.
‘I really have gotten heavy.’
Autumn is the season for gaining weight, after all.
“…”
“…”
In my silent anguish, only one set of footsteps echoed.
Seeing the path bathed in cool blue moonlight, it felt as though we were walking through a dream.
“Khal… you’re the one staggering more than me.”
“Would you please stop fiddling with my hair? I can’t concentrate on walking.”
I giggled. The nape of his neck, pale in the moonlight, looked a little warm.
“Your hair’s really nice. What’s it like being born with everything?”
“Please.”
Khalid muttered like a groan and let out a long sigh.
“Born with everything—yeah, right. I don’t even have my memories.”
“Heh… Don’t talk about yourself that way.”
I answered drowsily, resting my cheek on his back.
His heartbeat was strong and soothing, like a lullaby.
“You’re really an amazing person, you know…”
The protagonist of a novel, no less.
“The most incredible main character in the whole world…”
He didn’t know it yet, but it was true.
Khalid stayed silent for a long while.
Suppressing a yawn, I added whatever came to mind.
“Of course, I still think my dad’s a little cooler.”
“…Did you really have to tack that on?”
“Hehe.”
I laughed briefly, slowly opening and closing my eyes.
“Huaaahm. What do I do? I’m so sleepy.”
“Sleep. I’ll wake you.”
Someone driving… no, someone riding a horse… no, not that either. You shouldn’t fall asleep on someone giving you a piggyback ride.
But I was just too tired.
Clear magic continued to pour into me, which only made my weary body relax all the more.
“Sorry. I was supposed to take you on a walk tonight…”
“It’s all right.”
Khalid smiled slightly.
“This is more than enough.”
His soft voice faded away at the end.
Late at night.
Balok could not sleep.
He had tried downing glass after glass of liquor, but it only deepened his brooding.
“…A battlefield?”
He let out a dry laugh. Did that really make any sense?
“What? The youngest brat mentioned something like that in the Old Library?”
“Yes. …You haven’t heard anything from Grandfather, have you?”
“Of course not. Is that what’s got you on edge?”
“Well…”
“What, then?! Her village was attacked by Dark Beasts; she must’ve been talking about that.”
“I suppose so…”
Though Liam reluctantly nodded, he was still a boy at heart.
Taking Balok’s firm words to heart, he decided he’d probably been overthinking things.
Of course—the worry that Liam put aside, Balok now bore entirely himself.
“Bah, enough of this. I can’t take it anymore.”
He slapped his glass on the table.
Then, without a moment’s hesitation, left the manor and set off for the academy.
If Morris found out, it’d make his eyes roll, but Balok was the sort who absolutely had to act once he’d made up his mind.
Especially on nights when his head was spinning like this.
He approached the academy’s rear entrance, under strict security.
When the night guards spotted him, their eyes bulged with shock.
“G-G-General…!”
“I’m not going anywhere, so zip it. Got it?”
He flashed his credentials casually and strode toward the dormitory.
He slipped past the dormitory guards just as easily. It was a bit of a nuisance, but considering the extra personnel dispatched by Zevert lately, the new level of security was actually decent.
It should be, at least.
After all, my precious youngest is inside.
“Ah, ah, how long has it been?”
Balok carefully opened the door and entered.
Inside the quiet, peaceful room, the two children slept soundly.
“Look at this—like a couple of bean bugs.”
He snorted and yet felt a pang of pity.
Sortie had kicked the blanket off and sprawled out, snoring. In contrast, Rubian lay curled tightly, wound in the covers.
Balok tucked the blanket in around Sortie, then crouched by Rubian’s bed.