Mastered Magic - 61
Bell simply stood to the side and lightly chuckled.
Marc smiled.
"I'm feeling fine. I'm still a bit tired, but I already got some rest!" He stretched slightly before grinning. "Now I'm feeling hungry. Let's go together and eat."
As he spoke, Marc moved the blanket aside before reaching for his pouch and potions.
He grabbed them...
And hugged them close to his chest.
…
Both Noria and Brea smiled, as did Marc, before the four of them left the room and began walking toward the dining hall.
As they walked, Bell remained slightly behind the others, casually watching their surroundings. However, as his gaze landed on Marc, he suddenly noticed something.
Bell's mouth opened slightly in surprise.
For a brief moment, he simply stared.
Then his shocked expression slowly turned into a smile.
"So now he's in the second stage of Pure Eyes... His growth is scary. Terrifying, even."
Bell's smile widened slightly.
"But it's amazing."
By the time they finally arrived at the dining hall, Marc was already filled with excitement.
In front of him stood a long table covered with all kinds of high-quality and delicious meals.
"Woaaaa??? There's so many of them???" Marc exclaimed as he excitedly looked around at the food.
The two sisters chuckled beside him while King Brunzel, who was already seated, laughed and gestured for them to come over.
Soon, everyone took their seats.
The two princesses sat with their mother, while Marc, Bell, and Juro sat across from them. King Brunzel remained seated at the head of the table.
The food was fresh, warm, and hot, with delicious aromas filling the entire room.
Marc excitedly looked around at the dishes before suddenly turning toward Juro.
"Oh, Teacher Juro, could you hold these potions for me? I don't think my pockets can fit them."
Juro nodded and took the potions from him before placing them somewhere inside his jacket.
Marc then safely placed his pouch into his pocket.
Finally, he grabbed his utensils.
His excitement was obvious.
The king gave the signal to begin eating, and everyone immediately started digging in.
Marc couldn't help himself as he began trying the different dishes in front of him. He noticed a red soup with small sparkles floating across its surface, then turned his head and saw a piece of meat with a faint blue tint.
Marc didn't hesitate.
He began trying everything.
Juro laughed as he ate as well, almost keeping up with Marc's pace.
While eating, Brea looked toward Bell.
"Bell, I'm surprised you managed to defeat that one sneaky kid."
She wiped her mouth with a napkin before continuing.
"When their party first appeared, that kid managed to quickly take down their opponent from behind. How were you able to sense him?"
Bell paused while eating and thought for a moment. He then took a drink of water before answering.
"Well, he may have been using some form of invisibility magic, but that magic was leaking mana, so it was kinda easy to spot him."
"Dhatds su cul, Bel!" Marc said with his mouth still full of food.
Noria and Brea chuckled while King Brunzel laughed.
"Hoho, clever kid, aren't you? I heard from your teacher here that you're a genius when it comes to magic."
Juro raised an eyebrow.
"Hey now, don't start trying to recruit a kid into your army."
The king laughed.
"Never, kids shouldn't be involved in war. I'm just saying he has a lot of talent."
Bell looked toward him and smiled.
"Yeah, I'm a genius."
The king looked slightly surprised by Bell's confident reply.
Juro simply continued eating with a smile on his face.
Then King Brunzel laughed.
"Yeah, I like that confidence of yours! Hahaha!"
Bell continued staring at him.
The king noticed his gaze while eating and looked back at him.
"Is something on your mind?"
Bell simply smiled.
"No, but I think you should also share some food with that person watching over you."
The moment those words left Bell's mouth, King Brunzel's eyes widened in surprise.
Not only him.
Even Juro looked subtly surprised.
The queen and the princesses were shocked as well, while Marc continued peacefully eating, seemingly unaware of the sudden tension around the table.
"Bell... did you know about that?" Noria asked, her expression filled with confusion and surprise.
King Brunzel quickly turned toward Juro.
"Did you tell him...?"
Juro took a drink of wine before answering. Despite the surprise on his face, he was smiling.
"No, I did not."
After hearing that, King Brunzel laughed.
"Gertha, show yourself."
The moment he spoke, the space beside him began to waver.
A flow of wind slowly spiraled through the air.
Then, as if appearing from nowhere, a man materialized beside the king.
Marc froze in the middle of eating.
His spoon slipped from his hand and landed against the table.
"Woaaaaa??? Did he just appear from thin air????? That's so cool!"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Gertha replied before bowing toward the king.
"Hello, Gertha."
"Hi, Gertha."
Noria and Brea greeted him.
Gertha turned toward them and respectfully bowed before facing the king again.
King Brunzel casually grabbed another plate before placing some food onto it.
"Here. The kid said you should eat too. Go ahead, it's fine."
"But, Your Majesty..."
The king raised his hand, stopping him.
"Don't worry. There are guards and mages here, plus our guests are pretty reliable, don't you agree?"
Juro simply smiled while continuing to eat.
Gertha paused before bowing.
"As you wish."
He accepted the plate.
Then, another spiral of wind appeared around his body.
Within seconds, he disappeared.
But not before giving Bell one last look.
Bell calmly drank from his cup of water as he returned the gaze.
And with that, King Brunzel began laughing again. The more time passed, the more interesting Bell seemed to become in his eyes.
"Woah, to think a kid like you was able to spot him. That's some next-level genius."
He turned toward Juro once more.
"Are you sure you didn't tell him????"
Juro smiled.
"I really didn't."
The two of them laughed.
Meanwhile, Marc, Noria, and Brea had already begun talking about Gertha and how he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Bell, however, continued eating quietly as he thought to himself.
"Well... I took a big gamble there."
"I didn't actually see that person."
"I just guessed based on experience. When I met his grandfather back when I was still in my old body, he used to have a personal guard around him who also used stealth magic."
Bell glanced in the direction where Gertha had disappeared.
"So I took a big guess that he might be the same as his grandfather too..."
"That man he calls Gertha..."
Bell's eyes narrowed slightly.
"He has mastered that specific magic."
A mastered magic meant using the same magic consistently and training with that specific magic countless times until the user eventually became a master of it.
However, there were different levels to mastering magic.
A normal person who had mastered a magic could become incredibly powerful because they could bring that magic close to its maximum potential. However, they would still need to incant it before using it.
But there was another level of mastered magic.
One where the user fully understood the entire mechanism behind that specific magic.
Once someone reached that level of understanding, they could surpass the normal potential of the magic itself, allowing them to cast it without needing an incantation.
Bell continued thinking.
"When he used his invisibility magic again, he didn't incant anything. And he didn't use mana manipulation magic either."
"There was no trace of mana being manually manipulated..."
"So that only leaves mastered magic."
Bell quietly continued eating.
"He must have truly mastered that one specific magic to the point where he no longer needs to incant it."
"Well, that's pretty impressive."
Bell thought back to how Gertha had disappeared before him.
"No wonder I couldn't sense or see him."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"I just bluffed that I could so I could get the king's attention on me more."
Meanwhile, Juro had his own thoughts.
"Did Bell actually sense that man...? Or did he somehow see him?"
Juro continued thinking about it, his mind going over everything that had happened.
"Could this kid really grow up to become someone terrifying in the future...?"
But after thinking about it for too long, Juro's stomach reminded him that there was still plenty of food in front of him.
So he simply continued eating anyway.
The table remained lively. Everyone continued eating and talking, each of them having their own conversations and moments throughout the night.
Time slowly passed.
Eventually, everyone had their fill.
The royal family continued with their own conversations while Juro sat nearby, casually sipping some wine. Bell rested with his eyes closed.
Marc, however, had wandered toward one of the balconies of the castle and was quietly looking outside.
Bell opened one of his eyes and noticed him.
After watching Marc for a moment, Bell stood up and slowly walked toward the balcony.
Marc noticed him when Bell appeared beside him.
"Oh, Bell. Are you also here to feel the fresh air with me?" Marc asked with a smile.
Bell smiled back.
"Yeah."
The two stood beside each other and looked outside.
The night sky stretched above the kingdom while lights glowed from houses and along the streets below. Carriages and carts slowly moved through the roads, while people still walked around despite the late hour.
Marc looked around with clear interest.
Then his gaze slowly moved beyond the kingdom.
Toward the vast land stretching before him.
He quietly admired the scenery, seemingly captivated by the thought of how much beauty and how many magical moments might exist beyond the places he had already seen.
Bell remained quiet.
Then he turned his gaze toward Marc.
Marc's eyes were filled with wonder.
From Bell's past experience, he had become capable of reading people's intentions through their expressions, their behavior, and especially their eyes.
But when he looked at Marc...
He saw nothing complicated.
Only wonder.
Curiosity.
Both quietly reflected in Marc's eyes beneath the moonlight.
Bell smiled.
"You're really curious, huh?"
Marc continued looking ahead and simply smiled.
"Mmm! I am..."