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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: A New Sight
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As always, his tone was exceedingly polite and gentle.
The children naturally lined up against the wall. Loan bowed his head slightly to express his gratitude.
A daily occurrence in Loan's dormitory.
The children didn't know why Loan did this. They wondered if it was out of resentment for their past bullying or just for fun.
It was just a 'routine' they had grown accustomed to.
Of course, some children had harbored rebellious thoughts. But every attempt to act on them ended in failure.
It was as if Loan had eyes in the back of his head; he would instantly notice any attempt to sneak up on him, and he would uncannily avoid the places where they hid to ambush him.
He would even point out the hiding children later and question them, so they no longer dared to even make plans.
"Loan, so should we just walk from side to side again today?"
In fact, there were more children like flat-nosed Balder who readily followed Loan's instructions.
"Ah, yes. Do that, but today, I'd like you to weave between the beds as well. In a way that you overlap and then separate again."
Balder, the de facto second-in-command, divided the children into two teams and choreographed their movements, and the children complied without a word.
Once the children started moving, Loan closed his eyes and fell into meditation as usual.
At least, that's how it looked to the children. And yet.
"Phil? Did something happen outside today? Your walk seems a bit uncomfortable."
In the complex procession, it was confusing enough to tell who was where even when looking, but Loan pointed it out precisely without even opening his eyes.
"Emmett, Justin, Russell, Lina, Olga, Ben…"
On top of that, today he even went as far as to call out the names of the children passing behind him one by one.
Low whispers spread throughout the room.
"What is he… so creepy…"
The fear of an unknown ability.
This fear, difficult for children under ten to handle, was the fundamental reason they all moved voluntarily.
But to Loan, it was nothing more than a mysterious and precious gift.
'I can now perfectly distinguish the children's mana.'
It was the result of daily, repetitive training.
He had honed his ability to perceive mana to the point where he could distinguish between children of similar height and build.
Now, for the next goal: to see myself and the world at the same time.
Loan found the clue for this in his 'eyes'.
'If I can open my physical eyes that see the world and my mind's eye that sees mana at the same time, it should be possible. To do that, I first need to be able to see mana even with my eyes open.'
After all, the 'mind's eye' was a concept Loan himself had created.
Loan began attempting a new way of seeing mana, opening and closing his eyes.
Sometimes, he would stare intensely forward for a long time.
"What's with him now…"
Some of the children would flinch in surprise.
He paid them no mind, concentrating with a frightening intensity and sweating profusely.
His mystical, blue-green eyes, without a single twitch, slowly became bloodshot.
*Is he glaring at me?*
The children trembled in fear, moving with their eyes fixed on the floor.
And so, Loan once again set a new record for being terrifying.
* * *
The next day, on the streets.
Loan became able to see mana with his eyes open.
It happened unexpectedly.
'I see, I was mistaken in thinking I had to close my eyes to open my mind's eye.'
It was a limitation he had created for himself, and he had shattered it in a single day.
However, because his eyes were open, there was a side effect: the images of reality and mana overlapped.
It was incredibly fantastical, but also extremely disorienting, and it seemed he would need time to get used to it.
Loan didn't rush, patiently honing his senses by opening and closing his eyes.
'Just stick to the plan, nice and slow.'
See reality and mana simultaneously - see the world and myself simultaneously - find a way to condense mana through breathing - try to make mana ripple.
It would take quite some time, but as Loan watched the people passing by, he felt a renewed sense of relief.
'I'm so glad I'm a beggar.'
How efficient it was to be able to train while doing his assigned job.
For that reason, begging was a job with very high satisfaction for Loan.
With a grateful heart, Loan worked diligently and devoted himself just as much to his training.
And so-
The boy who once sat in serene solitude on the floor of a bustling intersection now gazed at the world with open, mystical eyes.
Clink-!
At the sound, he would sometimes meet their gaze, smile, and express his thanks.
"Ah…"
It felt as though they had offered a small kindness and received a great blessing in return. That was the thought of the one who gave alms.
He had a different aura than when his eyes were closed, but he was beautiful all the same.
While Loan remained constant, the world around him flowed by quickly.
Before long, people's clothing grew thicker.
Winter.
A year had passed since Pauline left.
'Mama Pauline. I'm nine years old now.'
His heart felt lonely, but.
For some reason, Loan didn't feel cold.
Even when he breathed in the chilly air, a warm energy circulated ceaselessly within his body.
He didn't even wrap himself in the thick, shabby blanket Blake had given him. He didn't feel the need.
"Oh, my goodness."
"Will that child be alright?"
The scantily clad child in the snowy landscape was sorrowfully beautiful.
Loan met the pitiful gazes of the people looking at him, and he saw their mana as well.
He familiarized himself by overlapping their clothing, expressions, and gazes—things he hadn't observed before—with their mana.
Those with stable mana tended to have more luxurious clothing and relaxed expressions.
When he wore an expression of admiration, more money went into his begging bowl.
"Thank you. You have a very beautiful heart, ma'am."
The lady in the fine coat beamed with a pleased expression.
Those whose mana was fainter than the day before had heavy expressions and looked extremely tired.
When he wore a pitiful expression, more money went into his begging bowl.
"Thank you. You have a very warm heart, sir."
The exhausted laborer gave a bittersweet smile and patted Loan's head.
As the beautiful sculpture, always in the same spot, began showing tailored responses to passersby.
The emotions felt while giving alms were varied.
For some, it was pity; for others, fondness; for some, admiration; and for others still, it was comfort.
Thus, the reactions were just as varied.
A gentleman who would go out of his way to walk past Loan to give him money, a grandmother who would neatly package the food she made that day and leave it for him, and even a noblewoman who wrapped a fine scarf around his neck.
As winter deepened, Loan's daily earnings grew day by day.
It was a strange phenomenon.
Usually, earnings would drop once people became familiar with a beggar's face, which was why they rotated spots, but in Loan's case, it was the complete opposite.
Blake couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Is this even okay?"
He meant, was it okay for a beggar to earn this much money.
Loan looked at his begging bowl and nodded.
"There are so many kind-hearted people. They say many warm things to me, too. One lady even cried, asking if I could see now, calling it a miracle."
He blushed as he said it, and even Blake found himself smiling along.
As if feeling awkward about his smile, Blake quickly wiped his mouth and put on a serious face.
"That's why you have to be more careful. There are plenty of guys who don't like seeing others do well."
"You mean the Manson Family?"
"There are plenty among ordinary people too, but they're the prime example."
"They don't seem to show up much after you taught them a lesson, Blake."
Embarrassed by Loan's words, Blake looked out of the alley and tilted his head for no reason.
As if by doing so, he might spot a member of the Manson Family hiding somewhere.
"Hmm… They're not the type to stay quiet just because I dealt with one of them. Who knows. They might be plotting something."
"You mean they'll retaliate?"
"Yeah. So if you see any suspicious guys or anything strange, tell me right away."
Loan simply nodded in response.
He had to force himself to hold back the words that were about to come out.
'It's probably better not to say anything.'
In fact, over the past day or two, he had seen something strange.
Strangers who displayed an unusually dense and bright halo of light—no, a concentration of mana.
These strangers, like Blake, seemed to have mana condensed in their abdomens. They would watch Loan from within the crowd before quickly disappearing.
He didn't know how they did it, but they would leap like cats onto the buildings behind the alley.
'Those people have rippling mana, too.'
He had identified two of them, watching in wonder.
Their concentrations were different, and the flow of their shimmering mana was unique to each.
A sort of individuality, you could say.
For now, he could only distinguish them to that extent, but it was quite entertaining to watch.
In any case, telling Blake would mean revealing that he could see mana, and it might prevent him from training or observing in the future.
'For now, I'll keep it to myself.'
Loan decided.
But the problem wasn't a matter of Loan's intentions.
The very next day after creating his secret.
That day, Loan's morning earnings were particularly good.
'I'm going to need a new begging bowl.'
No matter how popular he was, it didn't look good for his begging bowl to be too full.
Usually, Blake would swap it out at the right time, but today it had filled up unusually fast.
Loan had no choice but to head for the base camp in Sector 1.
It was where they gathered for lunch and tallied their mid-day earnings, and where the spare bowls were kept.
Loan crossed the intersection, wary of the passing horses.
If he walked four more blocks and crossed the street one more time, there was a dark alley near the middle of Sector 1.
He had grown quite used to observing mana with his eyes open, so he no longer felt dizzy while walking.
Loan walked at a leisurely pace, sensing the halos of light alone in the dreary winter world.
Then, he suddenly saw them.
'The strangers.'
They would appear and disappear behind him, to his side, and in the distance, but judging by their direction and speed, they were clearly following him.
Loan was inwardly alarmed.
He didn't know who they were or what their intentions were.
'Was it the Manson crew after all?'
He had to brace himself for harm.
What should he do if they closed the distance?
The only things he could rely on were his talent for observing mana and Blake.
He couldn't count on the residents of Danton. They would toss coins to a harmless beggar, but they hated getting involved in friction and conflict more than anything.
For now, his goal was to make it to the base camp safely. It would be a relief if Blake was there.
'If he's not…'
Loan pushed aside the ominous thought and heightened his senses as much as possible.
He pictured the area around Sector 1 in his mind like a wide, flat plane and marked the locations of the strangers' light halos.
After gauging the distance between them, Loan broke into a run.
As expected, the strangers maintained their distance while continuing to follow him.
His heart pounded.
A considerable amount of excitement made his senses even sharper.
Loan heightened his concentration, his three eyes open at once.
He adjusted the positions of the light halos on his mental plane, gauging the distance between himself and them.
At some point, he even forgot that he was seeing himself and the world at the same time.
Loan ran. Finally-
'Not much farther.'
But his momentary relief quickly turned to alarm.
Suddenly, the strangers picked up their pace.
Glancing to the side, he saw black figures running across rooftops, leaping from one building to the next.
The afterimages of their mana lingering in the air were, in a way, quite beautiful.
While Loan was briefly captivated by the sight, they closed the distance enough for him to make out their appearance.
Both were dressed in black suits with swords at their waists, an intimidating sight.
They were clearly not part of the Manson crew.
In that case, did he not need to run?
Hesitating for a moment, Loan turned his head at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Loan!"
Blake was running toward him.