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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Hello? They Call Me a Genius
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Hi? They call me a genius.
An unfamiliar ceiling.
Wow, this is awesome.
I always wanted to say that line at least once, but I never imagined I'd actually get the chance.
If you're isekai'd or reincarnated into another world, you have to try something like this, right? Well, I finally did.
Not bad at all.
With that thought, I blinked.
'First things first.'
I'm alive, right? I survived, didn't I?
I wiggled my fingertips.
Thank goodness, they moved fine. Once I confirmed my hand was working, I immediately gave my cheek a light slap.
Smack!
"Ow."
Shit, I hit too hard.
I couldn't control my strength. As I rubbed my stinging cheek...
"Oh my?"
A voice rang out.
I lifted my head slightly to look. Someone was there.
On the opposite side from where I was lying. A woman sitting in a chair with her legs crossed.
"You've got some weird sleeping habits, huh? Slapping your own face like that. Or did you have a nightmare?"
"..."
Her robe-covered figure and the glimpse of black hair peeking out were anything but ordinary.
Seeing that, I propped myself up a bit.
And carefully knelt on my knees.
"Huh?"
The woman reacted to my movement.
"...Thank you for saving my life."
"You knew it was me who saved you?"
"I remember it, sort of."
"Good. I was wondering if I'd have to crack open your skull and implant the memories if you didn't."
"...Pardon?"
Open what? I flinched at her words.
That line was no joke.
She clearly wasn't normal. And at the same time...
'An outsider.'
I could tell she wasn't from around here.
No local would dress that lightly.
'Someone who doesn't feel cold even dressed like that.'
It sounded familiar from novels. Knights and mages who wielded mana were supposedly indifferent to heat or cold.
'...Is she one of those?'
That seemed likely.
'What kind of person is she?'
No clue. At least not to me right now.
Damn this orphan's lack of knowledge—what does he even know?
'Anyway.'
Whatever she was, she saved my life. That's clear.
I'm alive. That's all that matters to me now.
"Kid."
The woman addressed me.
"Yes?"
"Why'd you grab me?"
Her question made me roll my eyes. Why did I grab her?
'Instinct.'
Pure instinct telling me to grab her if I wanted to live. Nothing else explained it.
"...I hurt you because I wanted to live. I'm sorry."
I bowed deeply in apology first.
Her demeanor and vibe screamed anything but commoner.
This damn noble society.
Even in romance fantasies that seemed soft, Ruin's knowledge told me the rules between nobles and commoners were ironclad.
One wrong move, and I'd be screwed. Better to grovel.
But...
"No, not that."
"Pardon...?"
She seemed utterly uninterested in that.
"Why me, specifically."
With those words, she raised her index finger. On top of it...
Hum.
Light shimmered. It gathered like heat haze, forming something.
"You."
She spoke, the shimmer still dancing.
"You see it, right?"
"..."
"What are you waiting for? Read it."
She urged me.
I said awkwardly,
"Um... that."
"What? Don't try saying you can't see it now—"
"I can't read."
"...Huh?"
"...I'm illiterate."
I said it sheepishly.
An orphan with zero parents couldn't read.
I'd tried to learn, sort of.
'But no time, what with stealing food money.'
No time for that when survival was on the line. Who has eyes for anything else?
"Ah."
The woman reacted to my answer.
"Didn't expect you to be illiterate. But you can see it, right?"
"Yes."
"What do you see?"
"...Letters."
"Good."
She nodded in satisfaction. Then...
"What about here?"
She pointed her index finger at her chest. There...
'That thing?'
I remembered. What I'd seen before passing out.
Vast and grand.
Profound and deep.
Yeah, I threw in every fancy word I could think of.
But what was it? Just something immense.
However...
'I can't see it now?'
It was gone now. No matter how hard I squinted, all I saw was her ample bosom.
Not bad, actually? Could I just keep staring?
This might count as sexual harassment.
As I stared unwittingly...
"You can't see it anymore, huh?"
"..."
Busted.
I awkwardly averted my gaze. Then...
"Is it because the mana sickness amplified your mana veins? Might be worth researching."
Her voice held more excitement than disappointment.
"Mana sickness?"
"The condition you had. When a human suddenly awakens to mana, their body can't handle it well, causing overload."
"..."
Awakened to mana? Me? That was unexpected info.
So it wasn't just some shitty disease?
'This guy doesn't even know that?'
It wasn't common knowledge. Not even in the novel.
What the hell is mana sickness?
"Usually, a family mage stabilizes it, or the body adapts within days even if overloaded..."
She stared at me intently.
"I've never heard of anyone nearly dying from mana sickness."
"Is my body that pathetic?"
Days? I'd been in agony for a month straight and almost died.
How crappy does a body have to be for that?
She chuckled at my exasperation.
"Pathetic...? If anything, the opposite... but no need to explain now. Anyway, kid."
"Yes?"
She called me and continued.
"Good call coming to me instead of a priest. Those idiots from the Holy Kingdom couldn't have saved you."
Holy Kingdom idiots.
Her words made me swallow hard.
Only a handful in this world could badmouth the Holy Kingdom like that.
'Who the hell is she?'
Definitely not ordinary.
Who? I racked my brain for novel details.
No use.
'No fucking clue... She wasn't in the 60 episodes I read.'
No black-haired, badass big sis like her in what I'd seen.
"They couldn't even suppress mana sickness this severe. If they'd found you, they'd have grabbed you for human experiments, obviously."
"...Human experiments?"
Didn't sound like anything to do with the Holy Kingdom.
"I'd love to, honestly. Take you along and run some tests... but sadly, no time."
"...Should I say lucky?"
"For you?"
"..."
My stomach kept twisting.
I'd definitely latched onto the wrong person.
"Thought about keeping you around... but that'd be a hassle. Leaving you alone seems more fun. So, I'll let you be for now."
"...Me?"
Treating me like an object. Take me or leave me—what the hell?
Then...
"Oh, by the way, I bought you."
"Pardon?"
Bought?
She pulled a paper from her bosom.
It bore the seal of my orphanage. Simple: she'd adopted me.
I couldn't read, but I knew that much.
Whoa, what the—insane.
'How'd she find out?'
How did she know which orphanage? And adopt me in that short time?
Orphan Ruin.
Suddenly got a mom?
"Mom?"
"Call me that again, and I'll cut your tongue out."
"...Sorry."
Had to shut up.
Looks like I couldn't call my mom "mom."
"Put a collar on you so you can't run. Behave yourself."
Tap tap.
She touched her own neck at my question.
"You won't feel or see it. But it's locked tight."
"..."
That made it scarier.
What is she? As it really sank in that I was fucked...
"Lucky for me. Coming to this backwater was such a pain, but I found something fun."
Her voice burned with enthusiasm. Uncomfortably intense.
"Wait, what makes me fun—"
I stopped mid-sentence. Dizziness hit suddenly.
At the same time...
Drip drip.
"...Huh?"
Blood flowed from my nose.
"This is..."
"Not fully cured. You have too much. Best I could do was seal it temporarily."
"Pardon?"
"To recover, study magic hard. At this rate, you'll die the same way in a week."
"A week!? Wait, and magic in the meantime?"
"What else? Survived mana sickness? Become a mage."
"Me, a mage?"
The ones spewing fire, making ice, flash-bang? Me doing that?
'Mages.'
Untouchable without talent, per novels and Ruin's common sense.
And I could? As my eyes widened...
"If you can't be a mage, say so now."
She said.
"I'll kill you quick and be on my way—"
"I'll study harder than anyone."
"Good attitude."
She smiled.
And just like that, my future as an ex-orphan—now single-parent kid—was set.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I had to become a mage.
Or die.
Die by the hand of the woman who saved me (aka mom).
Or...
'Get buried by mana sickness.'
Her esteemed momship said the outbreak was sealed, but mana would rampage eventually. Raise my mage level to control it.
Mana tuning.
Once I could do that, I'd be fine.
'...And how long is that?'
How far? On asking, Mom said:
-Who knows? You'll figure it out as you go.
So carefree. Less than a day with a mom, and I already felt unfilial.
'Just run?'
I considered it.
She might be lying. And I was alone now.
The room she'd dumped me in.
She'd brought me here and vanished.
After one homework assignment.
-Weave the energy in your body into your heart. Form a circle. Time limit: tomorrow morning.
Circle.
Source of magic for all mages.
She told me to make one.
What if I fail? Mom said:
-Try failing, then.
Making me seriously unfilial. Wanted to rebel like a teen, but...
'Fuck it.'
A weak, talentless seed couldn't even do that.
Just do it.
"At least teach me properly before leaving."
Weave mana into heart how? Bullshit.
Her "method" was one book.
"Can't read the damn thing..."
Illiteracy hurt. She did this on purpose?
"Haa."
Sigh escaped. Rubbed my dry face.
Then...
"Whatever. Let's try."
High or bust.
If not, oh well. Worth a shot.
-One day. Should be enough for you.
Some inexplicable faith.
One day. Fine, one day it is.
Closed my eyes tight.
Whirr.
After pain and healing, I moved the energy I felt in my body.
Weave into heart.
Weave.
Weave.
Weave.
Repeating that thought...
Clunk.
Something wove together, locking into my heart.
Huh.
"...It worked?"
5 seconds.
Time it took me to form a circle.