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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Questions and Answers
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The area outside the annex was in disarray.
Quite a few people lay fallen amidst the traces of a fierce battle.
As Oscar walked alongside Loan, his subordinates zipped past, delivering their reports.
"The Faith Division has sustained no casualties."
"Confirmed: 13 dead from Le Tell, 3 from the shelter. We estimate two have fled."
"It appears the high-ranking priests and executives were only involved in the initial construction of the ritual formula."
"The cause of the ritual's disruption is unknown. We have requested support from the 4th Stability Division for a detailed analysis."
After hearing all the reports, Oscar spoke to Loan.
"Where in this place do you feel most at ease?"
Why would he ask such a thing?
Loan tilted his head and answered.
"The library."
"Lead the way."
Oscar dismissed his subordinates and gestured to Loan. Loan began walking toward the main building.
Looking up, he saw children with their heads craned out the windows, peering outside.
As they entered the lobby, Loan asked.
"What will happen to the shelter now?"
"A new director and new administrators will come."
"Will they be good adults this time?"
"Good adults?"
"Adults who don't steal mana, don't kill children, don't stab them in the heart, and don't turn people into trees."
Oscar paused on the stairs and stared intently at Loan.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No. That won't happen again. Is the library much further?"
"We're almost there."
When they reached the third floor and entered the library, Amy, who was always there at this time, was nowhere to be seen.
What happened to Amy?
She had taught him to read and had been the kindest person to him at the shelter, perhaps even his closest friend. But in the end, she was also the one who had led him to the annex.
Judging by her somber expression back then, she must have known what was happening there.
'Amy must be one of Le Tell, too.'
It wouldn't matter if she were dead, but…
What if she escaped? If they were to meet again someday, what would he even say?
His thoughts branched out into countless possibilities.
While Oscar looked around the library, Loan found himself debating whether Amy should be included in his decision to eliminate everyone from Le Tell.
No clear answer came to him.
Before he had even begun, he was realizing just how difficult his resolution would be.
To take a person's life meant denying them any future chances, so he knew he had to be incredibly careful.
"There aren't many signs of books being read. And these are recent. You must have read them."
Loan nodded without a word.
The book Oscar held was 'The Grafton Kingdom and the Birth of the Union.'
It was the starting point of Loan's knowledge about the world.
"I don't see any books here on mana training or magic use. How did you learn on your own?"
"I just knew."
"Just knew?"
"Yes. I'm very smart, you see."
Loan spoke without hesitation.
He was confident because it wasn't a lie. He saw no reason to be humble.
The corners of Oscar's mouth curved up ever so slightly.
"I can see you don't lie, and that you're smart. Well then… tell me everything. From your beginning to what happened in that place just a little while ago."
Loan began by saying it would be a very long story, then turned a chair around and sat down.
At his audacious demeanor, Oscar let out an involuntary snort and sat down across from him.
Just as he had swayed the hearts of so many others, Loan began to calmly unravel his story.
He didn't reveal the details of his ability to see mana or his mana training, but Oscar soon found himself deeply engrossed in Loan's life.
It was a fascinating, unbelievable, and rather sorrowful tale.
And a short while later.
"That's why I think my mother, Pauline, gave me this power."
Oscar nodded as he watched the sword fragment rise and hover over Loan's right shoulder with a low hum.
"I see."
He affirmed it, but in truth, he understood almost none of it.
A child who had never learned mana training was using mana, and he had destroyed Eger's body, which was several times his own size, as if it had exploded.
The man he fought after that, Blake, was a skilled individual Oscar knew of. A magic swordsman from Le Tell, whose skills were on par with or even surpassed a Runner.
'And he's saying he killed a man like Blake with ease.'
No matter how careless Blake might have been, in the world of masters, the moment one stands on the brink of life and death is a line they never concede.
Ultimately, he had to accept that this child possessed that level of skill.
The problem was, that was only a fraction of the absurdity.
'He dispelled a ritual formula set by a high-ranking priest of Le Tell just by touching it?'
'He cast telekinesis, a spell he never learned, without any incantations or formulas?'
'He's continuously levitating that sword fragment, yet he shows no signs of mana depletion and is still full of life?'
Though he couldn't find a clear answer to any of these questions, Oscar didn't doubt for a moment that Loan was telling the truth.
Come to think of it—
The most incomprehensible thing of all was this child's charm, which captivated others. Perhaps this, too, was a powerful talent worthy of being called a form of magic.
"If my answers were satisfactory, may I ask some questions now?"
And to top it all off.
Where did this confidence come from, to so innocently ask what he was curious about, with no awareness of his position as the sole survivor of a major crime scene?
Oscar gave Loan a peculiar look before nodding.
"Go ahead."
Oscar found it strange how naturally he was indulging Loan's request, but he waited silently for the question to come.
In any case, this was just another method of interrogation.
Being asked a question was no different from hearing an unexpected answer.
"What is the tree?"
"It's a ritual mechanism of black magic created by Le Tell. It's based on human life."
"Everyone was talking about a 'fruit.' You too, Vice Commander."
Judging by his tone and posture, he truly didn't know about the tree.
Oscar continued his explanation.
"It absorbs mana and forms a crystal. It's like an essence that condenses the mana that forms the basis of life, so it's extremely valuable."
"So it's a fruit that contains people's lives."
"Yes. This is the one you were in the process of making."
Oscar took out the shriveled fruit and held it out.
Loan accepted the essence, which contained a certain amount of his own mana.
Though the quantity was small, its concentration was undeniably denser than the mana drifting in the atmosphere.
"Hmm…"
He fiddled with it.
It looked like a jewel, but it wasn't very hard to the touch.
If he had succeeded in the mana extraction and produced a proper result, would it have had the texture of a fruit?
"Do people eat this?"
"They do. It's called the fruit of Le Tell. It sells for a very high price on the black market."
"Do nobles like Lady Caroline buy them?"
"If they don't care how the fruit is made, then yes. It can drastically increase one's accumulated mana training in an instant. As long as it can be made, the demand will be endless."
Loan nodded, but he couldn't comprehend killing people for such a thing.
He decided then to establish a standard: if he ever met people who acted or behaved in ways he could never understand, he would see them not as humans, but as beasts.
"Why the reading?"
"Some magical formulas have conditions attached. This is one of them."
"Ah, I think I overheard something about that. Someone called it a damn tricky ritual. So it was a rather difficult condition from Le Tell's perspective."
"Correct. The fruit is a condensation of life's source. Stabilizing the tree that serves as the medium is of utmost importance. We believe the reading is a necessary process for the quality of the fruit."
Loan recalled how Le Tell's tree had reacted when he read aloud.
It wasn't much different from the reactions of the humans who had listened.
The people who had become engrossed in the stories, so immersed that they held their breath, not wanting to miss a single sound.
The tree that had let out a murmur of emotions.
Moments when emotions were swept away entirely by the flow of the story.
"It would be able to calm the mind. Because it's a tree, but not yet a tree. Because it's still human, too."
"An excellent point. We are approaching it from a similar perspective."
Oscar marveled at Loan's repeated insights, and Loan marveled at Oscar's kindness.
Most people had generally been good about answering his questions and teaching him things, but Oscar was remarkably professional and clear.
"You're very kind, Vice Commander Oscar."
"..."
He had never heard that before.
What part of him had made the boy feel that way?
Oscar was at a loss for words in the face of the awkward compliment.
"May I continue asking questions?"
"Yes."
"What is telekinesis?"
"I assumed that's what you were doing when you made the sword float. That you were using telekinesis, one of the types of magic."
"Ah… so this falls under the category of magic, too. I still don't know much about magic."
As he said this, he subtly moved his fingertips from side to side, and the sword fragment drifted back and forth in the air accordingly.
The speed and timing were incredibly precise.
Although the fragment was small and light, in terms of mastery and accomplishment, it could be considered a significant feat.
'Without any incantation… It may be 1st-class telekinesis, but it's hard to judge by class alone. He is young, but his talent and ability are more than sufficient. No, they're simply miraculous.'
Afterward, Oscar and Loan continued to ask and answer each other's questions as night fell.
Dim moonlight seeped in through the window.
Anyone unaware of the circumstances might have mistaken the scene for a tender lesson between a private tutor and a precious young master, continuing late into the night.
"You said you were ten?"
"Yes."
He had fudged his age a bit, but Oscar didn't question it and asked another question.
"Are you still set on the idea of coming with us?"
"Yes. The moment Le Tell did that to my mother, Pauline, my mind was made up."
And even more so after seeing the fragments the lingering will had shown him.
"I suppose I have no right to stop you. But I am curious. You've already been betrayed by those who were kind to you. Why do you trust the Union?"
"I don't trust you completely. But…"
Oscar waited patiently as Loan paused.
Loan once again gazed intently at Oscar's mana before continuing his answer.
"You are very clear and bright, Vice Commander Oscar. According to my experience and intuition, I think you're a pretty good person."
"I'm clear and bright?"
This, too, was something he had never heard in his life.
Oscar unconsciously ran a hand over his face and cleared his throat.
He always made a habit of staying clean, but he never expected to be complimented so directly.
Of course, the boy's words clearly had a deeper meaning, but since that meaning wasn't wrong either, he felt a strange heat rise to his face.
"To trust us and follow us for such a reason… isn't that too reckless?"
"I'm a good judge of character."
"Yes. It certainly seems that way."
"..."
Oscar genuinely thought so.
But he was a man who knew how to separate public and private matters.
"However, your accompaniment cannot be decided so easily. And even if I were to permit it, I could not let you get involved in our work."
"Isn't there something I could do to help?"
"Perhaps. But the Union does not easily accept outside help. There are proper reasons and procedures required."
"Are my abilities lacking? I can use mana, and… telekinesis."
"There are things more important than ability."
"..."
His firm tone left no room for argument.
Realizing he wouldn't be persuaded no matter what, Loan's face fell in deep disappointment.
His eyes and the corners of his mouth drooped.
At the sight of sorrow slowly welling up in the boy's expression, Oscar's heart sank without him realizing it.
A thought crossed his mind: Had he done something terribly wrong?
"No, Loan. What I mean is…"