CHAPTER 5

How to Live as a Hero in a Magical World (5)

Let Your Body Recover

Kaian had already guessed that it would be difficult to become close to Eldarin anytime soon.

That was putting aside the problem of having another mouth to feed.

After all, she had threatened him with a candlestick on their very first meeting and then burned his house to the ground.

It was safe to say that he had completely ruined his first impression.

Still, she said she was going to raise me into a hero.

Then she must have seen some potential in him, right?

On top of that, Eldarin had nursed him for several days and even given him medicine. She had gone out of her way to mention that she had made the medicine herself.

Whenever his arms hurt too much for him to hold a spoon, she had even fed him soup herself.

Those were not the sort of efforts someone would make unless they considered him a precious disciple.

That was what he had thought, anyway…

“AAARGH! I was eating! It hurts! It hurts! Put me down!”

“Silence.”

For some reason, Kaian was currently being dragged around by the back of his neck by Eldarin in the middle of eating his soup.

Eldarin dragged Kaian up one floor.

It was an unusual space with a tree growing straight up through the center of the room.

Eldarin tossed Kaian at the tree.

—Crash!

“Ugh!”

Kaian groaned, unable to even touch his throbbing back.

“Uuugh…!”

Eldarin was a slender woman on the outside, but she possessed incredible strength.

That was why Kaian had come to suspect that her true nature was closer to that of a mountain goat than an elf.

Of course, he did not actually know how strong mountain goats were. But judging from everything he had experienced so far, they must have had some serious muscles.

Eldarin’s grip was unbelievably strong whenever she pulled on my ears. And she’s thrown me onto the bed several times, too…

Every time she did, Kaian could only clutch the aching part of his body and whimper.

The difference in physical strength was simply too great for him to even think about fighting back.

Kaian shouted in frustration.

“You can’t just throw me like that! I’m a patient! I can’t even get out of bed yet! …You!”

After days of the same arguments, even his words were beginning to get cut short.

Eldarin, however, paid no attention and merely scolded him sternly.

“If you know that, why are you pestering me to teach you magic?”

Kaian felt wronged.

Pestering her?

Wasn’t Eldarin the one who had said she would teach him?

That was why they had even made a grand contract, and why the rather embarrassing yet surprisingly cool butterfly mark had been engraved on his left wrist.

And yet, the moment Eldarin saw that he had awakened, she had immediately threatened him.

—Do not even think about using magic for the time being.

Then how many people would simply say, Yes, ma’am. Understood, and leave it at that?

As a result, the two of them had been locked in a tiresome argument ever since that day.

Teach me magic.

No.

Teach me magic.

No.

Kaian was irritated, but he was also miserable.

“You said you’d teach me! You said you’d make me stronger!”

Eldarin wore an expression that suggested her head was beginning to ache.

Kaian knew perfectly well from fairy tales that elves had better hearing than humans.

So he deliberately shouted even louder to annoy her.

It was the only attack he had at his disposal.

Besides, I have two older brothers…!

As the youngest child in a family with two older brothers, he had long ago learned that he could never win a fight through sheer strength.

If he picked a fight and things went wrong, he had to shout for anyone in the house to come running.

Otherwise, there was no telling how many bumps would end up on his head.

Kaian let loose the full force of the voice he had spent eight years perfecting.

“Liar! Why are you lying to me?! You promised you’d teach me!”

Veins bulged on Eldarin’s beautiful forehead.

Apparently, the stories had been right about elves being proud and hating to be insulted by others.

Kaian felt guilty, but he could not back down.

Even now, the people who had killed his family were probably going about their peaceful daily lives.

They eliminated the biggest obstacle in their way—my family. The longer I lie here, the more powerful they’ll become.

The longer he remained bedridden, the greater the gap would grow.

That was why he had to learn magic as quickly as possible.

He had to become strong.

Kaian shouted, his eyes brimming with tears.

“I agreed to the contract because you said you’d teach me magic! You said you’d make me stronger! I don’t have time!”

One might have expected Eldarin to feel sympathy at the sight.

Instead, she answered in an even colder voice than before.

“How long do you think it takes to become strong? A week? A month? A year? What if it takes ten years? Can you endure that long? What if it takes even longer? Can you be patient?”

That finally brought Kaian’s tirade to a halt.

Ten years…

No.

What if it really took even longer than that?

Would he be able to endure it without going mad?

Kaian’s lips trembled as he desperately searched for something to say amid those horrible possibilities.

But Eldarin stopped him firmly.

“I intend to raise a hero. I have no intention of helping you pursue some half-baked revenge.”

Her voice was as cold as a blade.

“If you are so consumed by anger that you wish to hasten your own death, then leave. I have no need for talent like that.”

Kaian’s heart sank.

Leave?

Where was he supposed to go?

He had nowhere left to return to.

Silence finally descended upon the room.

Eldarin swallowed a sigh and once again lifted one of Kaian’s arms with tremendous force.

“Ugh!”

This time, Kaian did not resist.

Eldarin pulled a dagger from the pouch at her waist.

Kaian’s eyes widened.

A dagger far larger than the tiny pouch itself had somehow emerged from a bag that looked as though it could barely hold a hand mirror and a snack.

That’s cheating.

But what could he possibly complain about now?

Eldarin nicked the tip of Kaian’s finger with the dagger.

Strangely, all he felt was a slight sting.

A plump bead of blood gathered on his fingertip before falling onto one of the leaves of the tree in the middle of the room.

—Drip.

The leaf began glowing turquoise.

—Fwoooosh…!

The light immediately flowed into the branches, then down from the branches into the trunk, and from the trunk into the roots.

Kaian quickly followed the direction in which the roots extended.

They pass through the wooden floor and lead into one of the walls!

Hanging on that wall was a full-length mirror framed with intertwined wooden vines.

A mirror? Could that be the gateway to Eldergrove?

Meanwhile, Eldarin was pleased to see where Kaian’s gaze had moved, but she maintained an even more impassive expression.

He is undoubtedly an unusually clever child for his age. But he has no idea what sort of situation he is actually in.

It was not as though Eldarin had properly explained anything to him, either.

For her, communicating with a human—especially a human child—was something she had not done in hundreds of years.

Naturally, she was bound to be somewhat clumsy at it.

—Ssshhh…

Just as Kaian had expected, the turquoise mana traveled from the tree roots through the wooden floor and into the vine-covered frame of the mirror.

Eldarin added an explanation in her dry voice.

“Trees extend their roots and share information with one another. Thanks to that, I know everything that happens on this land. This mirror is a device that allows me to see that information.”

By then, the entire vine frame had been suffused with turquoise light.

The surface of the mirror rippled.

—Wooooong.

Then the mirror displayed the face of a man wandering through the forest.

Kaian found the man’s face strangely familiar.

Who is he? I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before…

Eldarin spoke.

“They are the ones searching for you.”

Kaian’s head whipped around.

Eldarin, however, calmly continued, ignoring his startled expression.

“They say they are from House Veloer. They have been searching the forest for days, saying they are looking for their sister’s youngest son.”

Kaian stared as if entranced at the man reflected in the mirror.

Now that he heard it, the man really did resemble his mother, Liana.

The man in the mirror appeared to be receiving a report from one of his subordinates.

“—My lord! The traces of mana end here.”

“—End? What do you mean?”

“—Exactly what I said. The traces simply disappear here, as though something evaporated.”

“—Then are you saying the child is dead?!”

“—We do not know. We cannot even be certain that the mana we were following truly belonged to the child…”

“—I am certain! I can tell! It is mana almost identical to my sister’s…”

“—My lord…”

“—Find him! We must at least find the child’s body! We have to lay him beside my sister… Otherwise, how could I… How could I ever face my dead sister again…!”

Kaian felt a warm light spread through one corner of his chest.

Thank goodness. It seems they recovered my family’s bodies safely.

He had been haunted every night by the fear that his family might have been abandoned somewhere in an unknown land.

He had feared that wild beasts might have defiled his parents’ and brother’s bodies.

But judging from the man’s words, their bodies had apparently been recovered safely.

What a relief. It really is.

And if he had relatives, perhaps they could uncover the truth behind his family’s murders.

A new hope began filling Kaian’s heart, and he bit down on his lip.

Eldarin seemed to understand his feelings as well and spoke calmly.

“If you go to them, you will be able to live comfortably as a noble in Sylvaris. They will likely support your revenge in every way they can. It is the fastest path you seek. So if you do not intend to follow my words, you may go to them.”

Kaian looked up at Eldarin in surprise.

Her expression was utterly indifferent, making it seem as though she genuinely did not care whether he left or not.

Meanwhile, the face of his relative in the mirror was filled with desperation.

Wouldn’t it be better to go to my relatives…?

Hadn’t his mother’s oracle told him the same thing?

That he had relatives on the eastern continent of Sylvaris.

But for some reason, Kaian could not bring himself to answer easily.

Then another thought suddenly occurred to him.

Has the power of Mother’s oracle completely disappeared?

Maybe Mother’s oracle will tell me what the right answer is!

Kaian immediately closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.

Then he pictured the road that would lead him to his relatives and waited for his mother’s oracle.

He waited for the familiar sensation of his soul being squeezed, followed by his mother’s voice.

“…”

But there was no pain.

No voice, either.

Kaian was bewildered.

Why? She clearly told me that I had relatives on the eastern continent.

If going to them was the right path, his mother’s oracle should have told him so.

Calm down, Kaian. Think. Stay calm.

Kaian closed his eyes again.

Then he imagined a life spent with his relatives.

A warm welcome.

Gentle, sincere consolation.

Abundant food and a comfortable environment.

The ordinary life he yearned for so desperately unfolded effortlessly in his mind.

But… would I really be safe there?

The people he was dealing with were the ones who had brought down House Valentin, the greatest family in the Valancia Empire.

Could House Veloer really be safe?

What if his enemies invaded House Veloer as well?

Would I be able to survive there?

—Throb.

At last, the sensation of his soul being squeezed returned.

“Ah…!”

But the pain was far worse than he had expected.

His pulse hammered as though his veins were about to burst, and his entire body began trembling violently, as though every bone in him were about to shatter.

Before he knew it, Kaian had collapsed onto the floor, desperately trying to catch his breath.

“Haa… haa…”

His entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

Come to think of it, his mother had never told him to go to his relatives.

She had simply told him to survive.

But the moment he saw an easy and familiar path, his resolve had wavered.

What a stupid idiot I am.

Kaian wanted to cry, but he did not even have the strength to do that.

As he lay on the floor, continuing to gasp for breath, Eldarin calmly explained his condition.

“Your body is in terrible shape from forcing yourself to fulfill the oracle. Your physical body will naturally recover with time, but the real problem is your mindscape.”

Eldarin lifted another drop of Kaian’s blood with magic and dropped it onto the leaf once more.

The mirror rippled.

This time, it displayed a burning forest.

“That is…”

“The state of your mindscape.”

“What…?!”

The flames within Kaian’s mindscape stretched far into the distance.

They swallowed everything in their path, spreading farther and farther until, eventually—

They were burning the Valentin estate itself, which lay deep within his heart.

No.

Perhaps the flames had begun there in the first place.

“As you can see, your mindscape has been seized by an inferno. The magic you used last time did nothing more than force those flames out of your body. You could use similar magic again, but… each time you do, the flames within you will burn even more fiercely.”

Kaian coughed as though his throat were filling with smoke.

“Then… cough… what happens to me?”

“Your mindscape will be permanently destroyed. Naturally, you will no longer be able to use magic. Eventually, even your soul will burn away, and you will die. There were quite a few idiots like that in the old days.”

Kaian, who had just become one of those idiots, flopped flat onto the floor.

“Haah… You could’ve told me something that important first.”

He had spent several days pointlessly wasting what little strength he had.

Eldarin looked down at Kaian, who was thoroughly exhausted, and continued.

“So do not even think about using magic for the time being. Your physical recovery comes first. After that, I will teach you how to control the inferno and how to repair your mindscape. If you dislike my methods, you are free to leave. Burning through the rest of your short life as quickly as possible is one option, too.”

“Haha…”

Kaian gave a hollow laugh.

Calling it an option was generous.

In the end, she was telling him to give up on both his revenge and his dream of becoming a hero and simply destroy himself.

“I can’t do that.”

He wanted to become strong.

No.

He had to become strong.

Strong enough to stand proudly before the relatives who were searching for him.

Strong enough to protect all of them.

Kaian somehow managed to curl himself up and kneel.

“Ugh… I’m sorry! I’ll do as you say! So please let me stay here!”