episode_0002

“It’s warm… .”

The morning sunlight was equal to everyone, so its warmth could be felt even through the faded window.

The day begins as usual, but today the warmth of the light seems a little warmer.

There was no way the weather would have changed overnight, much less that I woke up late.

Just as there is a saying that everything depends on one’s intention, I also did the same.

Today, the day I had waited so long for to dawn, was finally the day to leave for the academy.

I was so excited that I had a hard time falling asleep last night.

To become a person who has expectations of things like this…

It may be new, but I realize once again that I am very broken.

Anyway, like everyone else, I too accepted the refreshing feeling of a new beginning.

Thanks to that, the weight of fatigue that had always been weighing me down melted away.

――Quick!

Is it really possible to feel this light in body and mind? It was a feeling I had felt for the first time in months.

I sat in front of the mirror with such ease. As expected, it had been several months.

The light had already faded, and it was a mirror with speckled grime in various places.

Nevertheless, it was also a perfect mirror to see myself completely.

“Hmm… .”

Sit quietly and check your clothes.

I tidy up my clothes to the point of excessiveness, perhaps even to the point of obsession.

Maybe, some would say.

No one will look at me favorably anymore, so why do I act so senselessly?

It was really reasonable advice, but it was also very stupid advice.

Behavior was as important as mindset.

If you lie in bed and don’t get up, you’ll never have the will to do it.

If you were walking around acting like a dirty person, it made sense that you would act the same way.

In the end, this was not something I did to look good to others, but only to look good to myself.

“What is this… There’s nothing I can do.”

However, no matter how much effort I put in, as always, there were some things that couldn’t be made up with effort alone.

Is it because I feel awkward because I haven’t worn it in a long time?

It never was. The problem was very simple.

The school uniform was too big.

I feel like I stole something from my older brother who is slightly older than me. Even though I don’t have a brother.

Clearly, my clothes, which I had been wearing comfortably until a few months ago, no longer looked like mine.

And my reflection in the mirror clearly explains why.

Incredibly glowing skin. The pale complexion adds to the feeling of a very pitiful look.

It wasn’t just the skin.

Everything about me returned to the past, including my head, torso, and limbs.

My body in my eyes does not look like that of a twenty-year-old young man.

At most 15 years old. No matter how well he played, he looked like he was around 17 years old.

This was also because of that day.

Another hardship that the incident that happened that day gave me. A pain that I will have to carry with me until the day I die.

That day, my ‘magic core’ was broken.

A magic core that all wizards have.

The ‘Magic Core’ is not simply an organ that allows you to use magic.

In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that for a magician, it was the main body, perhaps even more.

The magic core grows with its owner.

As the owner grows, the magic core grows, and when the owner dies, the magic core breaks down. And the opposite was also true.

“Ha… .”

And look at my miserable legs.

My magic core was broken, and thanks to it, I became half-crippled.

Countless amounts of magical power leaked out of the broken part.

The magical energy I had built up so far collapsed and dissipated as if it had been a sand castle. I could never forget the feeling of deprivation at that moment.

Now I can no longer contain as much magic as I did in the past.

My body became younger. Because the size of the body has decreased, the body has also returned to how it was before growth.

The magic core was not completely destroyed, so people barely survived… I never thought it was better to be alive.

Nevertheless, I threw away the thought of wanting to die.

Because I can’t die yet.

Even if I die now, it’s just a dog’s death. It is never too late to die after achieving your goal.

Of course, there was no way to return the body.

But there was no need to do that. Just being able to use magic was enough.

I raised my slightly cute hand and tied my hair.

Perhaps because she hadn’t cut it for a long time, her hair had grown to the length of her shoulders.

There was a time when I thought about cutting it off, but I decided to leave it alone.

I suffered as long as this hair grew.

So it was appropriate to cut it off right after everything was done. There was no moment like it.

So I spent all my time in front of the mirror until Cecil came to visit.

**

How long will it be before I leave that shabby house?

In fact, it could be said that this was the first time since I received my pension.

–tweet

Was the world truly this beautiful?

The sound of birds playing freely was so beautiful.

The light of the world, which could not be captured through the faded window, was so bright that it was difficult to capture it all with the eyes.

-clatter-clatter

‘There is no time to get lost in sentimentality.’

I had to rush the wheelchair to barely get to where the carriage was.

My eyes focused only on the front, the place where I had to go. My ears caught only the dissonant sound of old wheels.

Because the house was in a fairly remote place, I had to travel alone for a long time.

Cecil was not there.

She didn’t follow me and stayed home. Maybe it was because of family matters, or maybe he just didn’t want to follow me.

It didn’t really matter.

I didn’t ask for her help anyway, and my heart was too numb to suffer from the loneliness that comes from being alone.

“Huh… .”

I had barely arrived at my destination when the sweat on my forehead began to drip down onto the floor and my arms, which had no chin after working out for a long time, were shaking.

Fortunately, I was able to come this far thanks to my physical strength.

It was impossible to go further than this due to poor efficiency, but it had to be meaningful to arrive.

――Quick!

I was put in a carriage with a wheelchair.

Fortunately, there were no problems.

It seems that these people heading to the same place as me had kind hearts, so they put me and my companion on the carriage without saying a word.

I sit in the corner of the carriage, catch my breath, and think for a moment. I wonder what it would be like if the authors found out about me.

Wouldn’t they immediately beat me up and throw me out of the carriage?

‘What a pointless idea.’

I laughed at the meaningless delusion.

I didn’t have time to devote to this. I needed to replenish my stamina with some money to go.

I immediately closed my eyes.

I was planning to make up for all the sleep I lacked here.

**

The carriage ran without stopping for a full day and arrived at the capital of the empire.

As soon as I got off the carriage, I headed to the academy.

Since I knew the route, there shouldn’t have been any problems… That’s not necessarily true.

“Oh my… Feel sorry too.”

“Why at such a young age… .”

There were too many people in the capital.

And the sickly boy pulling the wheelchair seemed to have stimulated everyone’s hearts.

Countless eyes began to fall on me.

They probably won’t even know if they die or wake up. That for people like me, indifference is the most necessary.

The looks they gave me to satisfy their own conscience were extremely burdensome to me.

“Would you like me to take you to where you are going?”

Of course, there were people who not only looked at me but also readily offered to help me.

But this too was rejected.

I didn’t want to expend my mental energy on someone I didn’t know. If he were to ask me why I did this, there was nothing more troublesome than that.

Although it was hard to get so much attention, it was still a good thing. It wasn’t because countless criticisms and swear words were poured out on me.

I benefited greatly from my younger body.

The face of the ‘Duke’s eldest son’ was quite well known to people, but it was different for me when I was young.

Only the people at the academy and those who participated in the trial know that I have returned to my childhood.

Even if I knew someone else, the chances of there being someone on this street who was close enough to me to remember my childhood were slim.

So, I arrived at the academy despite all the interest.

“What… I really didn’t know it would come. How can you be so shameless?”

The guard guarding the entrance to the academy frowned.

The words coming out of his mouth were also harsh. I’m glad it’s not an insult.

He checked my student ID and let me in.

Since I was a student at the academy, there was no way he could harm me.

There was no one wandering around the premises.

Today was Sunday, so you could say I was lucky.

Arrived at the dormitory building.

Since I had already paid tuition and dormitory fees upon graduation, there was no problem.

Of course, the housemaster’s face turned sour when he saw me. The ugly face had already reached its peak.

” Wow, that crazy bastard.”

“This is really coming?”

I can also hear the sound of students chewing on me when they happen to see me. The word ‘noble’ was filled with meaningless vulgar words.

That wasn’t all.

[kill it! This is trash!]

[A bastard like you is a shame to wizards. Why are you alive?]

[Disgusting bastard. Are you still human?]

There were countless swear words and graffiti written on my door.

From trivial things to things that are difficult to put into words. It was so dense that the shape of the door could not be seen, and even the walls around it were covered in it.

‘I don’t know what to do with the extreme hospitality.’

It doesn’t really hurt anything.

There were no more feelings of exhaustion, and it was already expected.

They simply followed man’s evil nature.

The truth doesn’t matter.

They just needed someone to bite them. No matter who the target was, they needed someone to put down, and this time, I just became that person.

It was obvious that if I disappeared, someone else would become prey.

――Kkiik

I opened the door and came inside.

The inside was the same as then. Nothing had changed from the day I left here as if running away.

“Ha… I’m tired.”

I immediately laid down on the bed.

It was because I was tired. I had to let go of all my fatigue for tomorrow.