Adolescence (3)
Chapter 46
Ray felt dizzy for a moment.
“Me, me being shorter than Karen? Than this kid who hasn’t even turned thirteen?”
Of course, Ray was also only thirteen in physical age and had been feeling stressed lately as his eye level with Karen became more similar.
Still, he suppressed the anxiety by raising his head with unwarranted confidence that he couldn’t possibly be shorter than Karen.
But then, Johanna’s comment forced Ray to face the reality whether he liked it or not.
As Ray trembled and pulled Karen’s arm, he said,
“Karen, stand up and see.”
“Huh? Stand up?”
“Yeah, turn around after standing.”
Ray still doubted it could be true.
Could his hair strand at least be longer than Karen’s? He couldn’t let go of such expectations.
When Karen stood upright, Ray prepared himself mentally, aligned their backs, and asked Delun who was trying to sneak away from the classroom,
“Delun, come here.”
With a slumped face, Delun approached Ray.
“Who’s taller?”
“Hmm…”
Above Ray’s head peeked out a strand of red hair.
As Delun hesitated, Karen slightly bent her knees.
Seeing Karen shrink, Delun finally replied while averting his gaze.
“Uh, you’re slightly taller, Brother.”
Of course, Ray wasn’t clueless.
While biting his lips in despair, Ray’s eyes met Luna’s.
Luna was puffing her cheeks, clearly trying hard not to laugh.
Ray frowned.
“Luna, don’t think about laughing. You’ll die if you do.”
Ssshh…
The sound of air escaping, Luna’s puffed cheeks deflated.
Returning to her usual expressionless face, Ray massaged his temples.
It wasn’t that Luna couldn’t control her laughter; she just wanted to tease Ray.
Why have our once innocent kids changed so much?
Ray sighed over his misfortune and waved his hand.
“Luna, wait a bit. The rest of you, go back inside.”
Delun immediately left, and Johanna pulled Karen’s arm, making sure to irritate Ray till the end.
“You brat.”
‘Shit.’
For a moment, Ray considered throttling her but calmed himself down instead.
If Johanna had gone too far, Ray might’ve already done something about it.
There were a few cases where some troublemakers got beaten like dogs and crawled around the playground.
However, since most of Johanna’s attitude issues were directed at Ray, he found himself powerless against her recently.
“What happened to our sweet Johanna…”
Closing his eyes, Ray recalled the cheerful Johanna from childhood.
Looking at Johanna with her light brown hair, Ray often thought of the golden retriever his cousin raised in his past life.
That cute dog wagging its tail happily all the time.
How did it evolve into such a chaotic beast?
With a weary look, Ray dragged a chair and sat across from Luna, whose cheeks were again puffed up.
Reaching out, Ray grabbed Luna’s cheeks and shook them. A sound of air escaping followed.
“Is it fun?”
Luna nodded silently.
Ray sighed in resignation.
“Alright, if it’s fun, fine. But why has Johanna been acting this way toward me lately? Did I make any mistakes?”
Luna thought about it.
Ray hadn’t made no mistakes at all.
Firstly, Ray tended to be overly casual in touch.
During adolescence, children become more sensitive emotionally and physically react strongly to physical contact.
Despite this, Ray often absentmindedly patted their heads or chins.
Some kids still liked it, but others inevitably reacted sensitively.
Moreover, ever since Johanna began wielding sword skills impressively, Ray excessively praised her as a genius.
Johanna indeed developed swordsmanship faster than other kids of her age.
Except for Ray.
While Johanna struggled to block a knight’s sword five times, Ray was beating knights with his fists in the corner.
After sending a knight off on a stretcher, Ray approached Johanna and shouted,
“Already able to deflect a knight’s blade! Johanna, you truly are a genius!”
It was undoubtedly deceptive praise.
However, the fundamental reason for Johanna’s increasing resentment towards Ray was due to the ambiguity of their relationship.
What was Ray to Johanna?
A parent? Guardian? Peer friend? Teacher? An interesting opposite sex?
To Johanna and the orphanage kids, their relationship with Ray was very complex, leading many to feel confused.
For instance, they would often feel torn between admiration and jealousy when comparing themselves to the superior Ray.
Many adolescents rebelled against their parents without reason.
They felt envy and frustration toward their peers.
They teased those they liked romantically because they couldn’t express their feelings properly.
And for Johanna, Ray was both a parental figure, a friend, and an attractive opposite sex.
“…Johanna really likes you.”
Luna blinked at Ray.
“…So don’t hate her.”
“How could I?”
Chuckling, Ray patted Luna’s head.
Luna still enjoyed Ray’s touch.
Sighing, Ray muttered,
“I need to find you a proper magic master soon.”
Though Luna attended today’s class, she had already learned everything four years ago.
When Ray started teaching Luna, he anticipated it would take two years to exhaust her potential, but it took less than that.
Ultimately, Ray taught her everything, including physics and engineering knowledge he initially hesitated to share.
Since this world differed from Earth, he worried about instilling wrong knowledge or fixed ideas, so he presented concepts in a hypothetical manner.
‘Even that didn’t last long.’
After running out of things to teach,
Luna would hold Ray’s hand, borrow interesting books from the Count’s house or church, and spend her time reading.
Looking at Ray with a complicated gaze, Luna handed him a stack of papers.
“…Do you want to solve these together?”
“What is this?”
“Problems I made myself.”
Ray glanced at the stack.
Mathematical formulas filled the first page, incomprehensible at first glance.
Recently, Luna had been creating math problems beyond Ray’s cognitive capacity and insisting he solve them.
He understood.
Luna had no one else to discuss mathematics with except Ray.
However, Ray couldn’t keep up with Luna’s rapid thinking.
Sighing deeply, Ray picked up a writing tool.
He planned to indulge Luna’s hobby for an hour.
*
For several days, Ray re-educated the kids about sex and warned the red-light district people to cooperate in managing the children.
How long the effect would last was uncertain.
Johanna continued grumbling and singing “brat,” and Luna’s cheeks alternated between puffing up and deflating.
Though there were plenty of complaints,
It was a peaceful time.
For the first time in a while, Ray visited the brook in the forest and sat on a rock.
With the improved budget at the orphanage, he no longer needed to work part-time distributing contraceptives, and a practice area was secured within the orphanage, reducing his visits here.
Facing the familiar scenery brought a smile to his face.
Translucent leaves split the sunlight into rainbows.
Looking up, the sky was full of vibrant colors.
Ray felt his heart calming.
Indeed, it was adolescence.
His rationality was firm, but his emotions fluctuated frequently due to imbalanced hormones.
Having experienced adolescence while fully conscious, Ray now understood why teenagers acted so chaotically.
Peeek!
Raising his arm, Ray caught the pigeon sent by the Count.
After reading the letter, Ray stood up. He needed to visit the Count.
*
“My knight has arrived!”
At the manor, Alesya greeted Ray first.
Her presence at the main gate suggested the Count tipped her off.
Alesya, now fourteen, was gradually shedding her childish appearance.
Her fresh smile peeking through her flowing blonde hair was quite charming.
Ray looked at Alesya with admiration.
‘I wondered if she’d handle adolescence well, given how precocious she was since childhood…’
Ray’s worries proved unnecessary.
Alesya remained somewhat lacking in decorum for a noble lady but stopped causing trouble recklessly like before.
‘Reflecting now, it seems adolescence coming early is easier for guardians.’
When adolescence hit after some maturity, it was harder to manage.
Well, one issue remained with Alesya.
She still lacked perceptiveness.
“Hmm, Ray.”
Alesya, looking ‘down’ at Ray, tapped his head.
“You’ve gotten smaller lately.”
“Ughgk…”
Ray twisted his body, wishing for the first time since reincarnation that time would pass quickly.
Being treated like a child by someone he watched grow up since childhood was frustrating.
Ray firmly believed that eventually, he’d grow taller than Karen or Alesya.
What if he doesn’t? Such a future doesn’t exist.
Ray brainwashed himself accordingly.
Alesya stretched Ray’s head upward a few times and said with concern,
“Ray, I wish my knight were taller than me.”
Alesya had clear preferences.
She envisioned her first kiss with someone around fifteen centimeters taller, gently forcing her chin up for a kiss.
But looking at Ray, it seemed she’d have to pull his chin instead.
“Ray, I heard that sleeping a lot and eating balanced meals help you grow taller.”
“Ughgk…”
Ray already slept regularly and ate properly.
Alesya recommended,
“Recently, we received rare herbs said to aid children’s growth. Please take them home.”
Normally, Ray would’ve rejected Alesya’s suggestion out of pride,
But sometimes, pride isn’t the priority.
Ray bowed respectfully.
“…I appreciate your offer.”
“Wonderful! Please grow tall enough to make my neck sore!”
Why does my height affect your neck?
Without voicing his curiosity, Ray headed toward the reception room where the Count awaited.
The Count smiled at Ray upon entering.
“Come in.”
Given how often Ray acted unruly, he should pay attention to small formalities.
After receiving the Count’s permission, Ray sat down.
After exchanging pleasantries, the Count brought up the main topic.
“I know what concerns you about Luna.”
David and Lockett coveted talents like her.
If Ray were to seek a teacher for her carelessly, it could lead to more than just headaches.
“Keeping her completely hidden could be an option.”
This was the safest choice. Moreover, the Count wasn’t suggesting hiding Luna forever.
“After you reach the Master level and become Luna’s official guardian, she can certainly learn magic.”
“No.”
Ray shook his head.
If Luna was destined to be a hero and an irreplaceable resource,
Not nurturing her abilities could potentially lead to the world’s destruction later.
“I want to help her flourish. Is there no good way?”
“Then what about this?”
The Count handed Ray a piece of paper and continued.
“Why don’t you visit the Magic Tower yourself to find a teacher?”
“The Magic Tower?”
“Yes, the Magic Tower.”
“To me, the Magic Tower is a lunatic asylum.”
In Ray’s opinion, mages were crazy.
The Magic Tower was where mages gathered.
Therefore, the Magic Tower was indeed a lunatic asylum.
