Chapter 28: CH 28

He alternated his gaze between the note that read ‘painkiller’ and the medicine bottle then clenched his fist.

Although he still felt reluctant, he knew it was right to repay the favor since he had received help.

Therid, with his spirits ignited, left the room like a knight on a mission.

* * *

The mansion was bustling with preparations for the festival, but everything was going smoothly without any major issues. The problem remained that I hadn’t decided on my whereabouts.

‘Leaving? Staying?’

However, Dianel was a beast. Not just in words, but in reality, he could transform into an animal by harnessing the power of the divine beast.

Perhaps due to the instincts of a beast, he became more interested when his target tried to escape. If I fled clumsily, it would only serve as entertainment for Dianel.

To successfully escape, I had to make it clear that I was of no value as prey. The problem was that escaping from him was quite difficult, and convincing him of my lack of value was equally challenging.

‘Well, running away won’t solve anything.’

So, first, I needed to find out why Dianel was so interested in me.

‘Fortunately, Hierian is by my side.’

He firmly believed that I was playing a game, so if I asked for help to maintain the illusion, he might step forward.

‘Yes, let’s request assistance.’

Just as I made up my mind, a knock on the door followed by Therid’s voice reached my ears.

“Siara! I have something to say!”

He seemed to have regained consciousness after fainting.

‘Judging by his loud voice, he seems to be fully recovered.’

I was glad to see he was strong. I stood up and opened the door.

“What’s going on?”

Therid anxiously looked around and spoke in a hushed tone.

“That kid, you know.”

“Kid? Ah, Hie?”

Hierian had asked to be called by a different name, fearing that someone might recognize him if his real name was known. So, I had been calling him Hie temporarily.

‘Could it be that he realized he’s a magician?’

I glanced at Therid and noticed that his expression was unusual. He seemed determined about something, and I swallowed hard.

“…What about Hie?”

At that moment, Therid spoke with a serious expression.

“I fought him yesterday. And his skills were quite remarkable.”

…That’s an obvious thing to say. I sighed and was about to close the door, but he urgently grabbed onto it and continued speaking.

“I’m serious! He was stronger than the imperial wizards!”

“He might be skilled despite his age.”

“It’s not just about his age. He calls you ‘sister’ and keeps clinging to you… Imagine him being a grown adult or an old person. He might be dangerous.”

A fully grown Hierian constantly clinging to me…

‘That indeed might be a bit subtle.’

Come to think of it, why doesn’t Hierian change into an adult appearance?

Hierian was a genius in transformation magic. There was no need for him to maintain a youthful appearance. So why did he keep pretending to be a child?

While contemplating these thoughts, I heard a scream from Therid. I raised my head, and there, I saw Hierian conjuring a rope with magic and tightly tying Therid with it.

“Eek! Umpf!”

“I’m not a dangerous person!”

Hierian bravely shouted from Therid’s back.

“I can’t use transformation magic!”

Then he sniffled and wiped his teary eyes. By now, the corners of his eyes were slightly red.

“…Knowing nothing at all.”

* * *

A meeting of three began by chance. The participants were me, Therid, and Hierian. Thanks to the maid’s special attention, the three-tiered tray on the table was filled with desserts. There was also sweet milk heated to the perfect temperature for Hierian to enjoy.

However, Hierian sat there with a gloomy expression, only biting on the candy he took out of his pocket, without touching the food on the table. Therid swallowed his saliva, looking at him with a gloomy face. There were still red marks around his mouth, remnants of being tied up with a rope.

Therid, while scratching his head, spoke up in the awkward situation of the three of us sitting together.

“That, that…… sorry.”

“…….”

“Uh, well… I’m sorry. I never thought a powerful magician like you wouldn’t be able to perform transformation magic.”

Hierian’s shoulders slumped even further with a melancholic look. Tears welled up in his eyes.

‘He seems genuinely upset. It seems to be real.’

Didn’t I hear from Izaya that transformation magic was one of Hierian’s specialties? When I looked at him with a puzzled expression, Hierian glanced at me subtly and mumbled dejectedly,

“I used to be good at it…….”

“Suddenly not anymore?”

“Yeah, no matter what I do, it doesn’t work.”

He seemed genuinely disappointed. Then Therid patted Hierian on the back and said,

“Kid, to think that you could perform that level of magic at your age? You’re amazing.”

“……I’m already awesome.”

“Yeah, you’re awesome. Thanks to you, I’ve gotten to see an Auror manifest.”

Hierian’s mood seemed to lighten up a bit with the praise. He took out candy from his pocket and offered it to Therid, saying,

“Thanks. Want some candy?”

“Uh, sure.”

When Hierian offered the candy at a time like this, it was a way of forgiving the previous mistake. Watching the heartwarming scene, a contented smile formed on my face.

‘It’s been resolved fairly well.’

As I watched the two of them hesitantly nibbling on the candy sticks, a thought crossed my mind, and I furrowed my brow.

‘Speaking of which, why is Hierian so young? Is this another effect of the curse?’

He was perfectly fine, but suddenly he collapsed in front of the magical pillar and couldn’t perform transformation magic anymore. It all happened after I was cursed, so there was a high chance Hierian was affected too.

As I stared at him intently, Hierian tilted his head as if asking why he was like that. Suddenly, his reddened face and the image of him collapsing near the magical pillar overlapped.

At that moment, Hierian writhed in pain, as if his whole body had turned into flames. If it was because of that incident that Hierian got worse…

While continuing my train of thought, Hierian looked at me and asked,

“Hey, sis, do you know why I got worse?”

“Huh?”

“You took care of me when I collapsed.”

I shook my head.

“I don’t know either. You looked like that from the moment I found you.”

“Oh, I see.”

Hierian’s expression turned gloomy again. Therid, who didn’t seem to understand what our conversation meant, muttered in confusion,

“Siara treated you when you collapsed?”

“Yeah. Did you just realize that?”

“It’s not like someone your age-“

“Are you saying adults are stupid? Maybe you should read some books.”

Hierian laughed heartily. Then Therid suddenly stood up from his seat and shouted,

“Do you want to compete to see who’s smarter?”

“Sure! What’s at stake?”

“What do you want?”

Hierian looked at me.

“You decide.”

The winner was already determined.

‘Hierian will win. Therid has no idea how smart magicians can be.’

It was wrong from the start to think that just because you’re a kid, you can win. I sighed and replied,

“Twenty laps around the dance floor on the back of the one who lost.”

Therid let out an excited shout,

“That’s nothing.’”

”I like it too.”

“Do you think you can defeat me?”

“I have no chance of losing anyway.”

Hierian’s eyes sparkled.

“I’m very smart, you know.”

* * *

The competition was determined to be a question-and-answer game, where each person had to guess the answers to the questions asked. If either of them got more than three questions wrong first, they would lose.

Therid, with a confident voice, was the first to go. He asked,

“You! Do you know what 58 times 204 is?”

“11,832. What were the last words of the scholar Ishius?”

“Everything in the world is a lie.”

Hierian shrugged his shoulders.

“Why don’t you know that?”

“Why do you know that? Anyway, it’s my turn. Do you know the origin of the Satheus School?”

“It is rooted in the Orthodox Empire and its culture of unity. The founder is Satheus—”

“Ah, stop. Let’s move on to the next question.”

“What is 204 times 58?”

“Hey! How do you know that?”

I watched and laughed. Then Therid stared at me fiercely.

“Why are you laughing? Do you know?”

“It’s the question you asked Hierian earlier.”

“…”

Hierian added with a mischievous smile.

“Silly adult.”

Therid frowned and bent his knees, extending his back toward Hierian.

“Get on.”

“We have one more question, right?’

“It’s fine. Even if you have a bad head, you should at least have a good body.”

Hierian didn’t refuse and was lifted onto Therid’s back. Therid firmly supported him and ran toward the hall. Anyway, it was a heartwarming conclusion.

* * *

Count Astita was busy with festival preparations. He looked up from the papers spread across his office and scanned the empty desk.

It was Therid’s seat. The count, with a slight frown, turned to the servant who was heating water for tea and asked,

“What is Therid doing?”

“He dueled yesterday and seemed tired, so he’s resting, it seems.”

“He’s hardworking.”

The servant handed the count a cup of tea and smiled.

“That’s right. I’m glad he has regained his energy.”

Count Astita nodded. Since returning to the mansion, his son, who had always been gloomy, had started to show signs of laughter. Although he was unaware of it.