Chapter 78

Doyugeon was silent. His face turned red, and he kept his head down, still reeling from the impact of the kiss.

Due to the height difference, whether he lowered his head or not, his expression was fully visible. As I continued to look up at him, he seemed to snap out of his daze somewhat, and our eyes locked.

The boy shivered and took a step back. “Why are you running?” I immediately closed the distance again. In response, he panicked and took a couple more steps back.

Bewildered, I watched as he covered his face with his hands and muttered something quietly to himself. It was too soft for me to understand, and it seemed like he wasn’t saying it for anyone else to hear. Nevertheless, it annoyed me that he dared to defy me.

As expected, the drastic measure had been effective, and luckily, I managed to calm things down. Though I had gone a bit too far with some threatening behavior, at least I handled it cleanly, relieving some of my concerns.

However, I couldn’t help but worry about his overreaction. I saw the future where he’d be swayed by a partner. This is precisely why I tried to give him controlled romantic experiences, but Yumina interfered, preventing it. The damage Yumina had caused was immense.

When I took a step closer, his muttering ceased, and his breathing became more noticeable.

Hmm…

A small sense of mischief rose in my chest. It made me hesitate. After all, until now, I hadn’t teased Doyugeon, not because I didn’t feel like it, but because I deliberately refrained. In my past life, despite having a calm personality, I occasionally teased people because it played an important role in communication.

Not so much in this life. I mostly avoided teasing him, considering it my responsibility to act mature around him as an example to follow. Even though being mature was more of an ideal than a reality.

…But wait. We’re the same age, so why do I need to be a role model? That’s reasonable.

I used my magic power to lightly tap Doyugeon’s side. He made an odd noise and flinched. Incoherent words followed before he hastily ran off, heading home. He seemed unable to process what had happened. Letting him go home instead of forcing him to stay was probably for the best.

I dismantled the ongoing magic that I had maintained by dispersing my magic power. Several trees floating in the air crashed down with a loud sound, and part of the open field where I had been flying collapsed, kicking up some dust. I used a breeze to clear it away.

Looking around, the area was quite a mess. The ground was uneven, and some trees I had carelessly dropped had fallen onto other plants. One pine tree groaned under the weight and eventually toppled over.

Hmm…

Well, I suppose the maintenance team will handle it.

I walked back to where a flowerpot had been left on the ground and picked it up. I brushed off the dirt. It contained green onions—well, not the ones you eat, but the Stucki I named “Green Onion.” I had intended to introduce our plant friend to Doyugeon, but I missed the opportunity.

“Next time,” I promised softly, though the plant didn’t respond.

Maybe it was hurt and too offended to speak. I felt sorry.

A voice reached my ears, and turning around, I saw Grandpa leaning against the wall of the mansion. Nearby, the Secretary was trying to console him.

“These days, they’re all like this,” the Secretary said.

It sounded more like teasing than genuine comfort. Talking about the times—how absurd. As someone still in middle school, I found it somewhat amusing. Maybe this is the relaxed confidence of a middle schooler? It was enjoyable.

Grandpa stumbled over and grabbed my shoulders.

“Heaven! This old man…”

He went on about something else.

I wiggled free and left the mansion. There was nothing more for me to do here.

I sat in the back seat of the car and carefully placed Green Onion beside me. As I leaned back comfortably, the driver started moving smoothly.

I was still worried. Though things calmed down well today, subconsciously using magic isn’t a good sign. I’m concerned that if someone irritates me, my subconscious might automatically use magic. Reattaching a severed limb with healing magic is simple, but something worse would be trouble.

Yumina might consider me a terrible person, but I, too, have normal feelings and emotions. It’s just that everyone’s emotional spectrum varies, and there’s often a disconnect between outward appearance and inner feelings. If there’s a risk of affecting others, then I worry first.

Just now, if things had gone differently, who knows what would’ve happened. Even if I had been angry, killing someone would’ve been irrational, and I would’ve stopped in time. However, cleaning up the mess afterward would’ve been messy, and demanding apologies wouldn’t have helped.

Still, if the boy had just listened earlier, none of this would’ve happened. Even though the incident has passed, it’s bothersome. Now that he’s a high school student, his behavior might worsen rather than improve, making the future uncertain.

Though this is fundamentally his fault, it’s beyond my control. Instead, I thought about practicing mindfulness to better manage my subconscious. The problem today was likely caused by my subconscious reacting too much. If I can manage and restrain it, I might be able to prevent similar incidents.

But how do you control the subconscious? Meditation was the first thing that came to mind. I had tried it in my previous life to enhance productivity, but it was ineffective. It’s unlikely to change now. Silicon Valley methods also include drugs, but I don’t want to rely on them.

So how do you tame the subconscious?

Hmm…

Should I try psychological counseling?

After reconsidering, the situation today wasn’t caused by my subconscious but by my conscious mind. The human mind may be greatly influenced by the subconscious, but this situation today was a conscious misstep.

This must be because I’ve been neglecting my magic practice. Since I’ve experienced magic becoming easier as time passed, I had let myself relax too much. Magic is a function of the mind, and since adolescent brain growth accompanies physical changes, improvements happen naturally over time, allowing me to focus more on item replication. Although I can’t replicate C-grade items due to fundamental reasons.

Now that I think about it, am I capable of holding a book while focusing on reading using magic unconsciously? Without accidentally dropping it on my face when the magic wears off? That would be pretty neat. Maybe I should read more at home.

I urged the driver to hurry.

*

“So you kissed?”

“It wasn’t a kiss, just a peck.”

I didn’t initially plan to say anything, but the aftermath of the kiss remained problematic even after all four of us had moved our things into our new shared home. Every time Doyugeon ran into his room when entering the living room, Yumina would interrogate me. It wasn’t like there was a specific reason to hide it.

“You did kiss!”

Unlike Yumina’s outburst, Laplace’s calm voice added, “But isn’t there a difference between the two?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

“Such nonchalance isn’t right!”

“What exactly did I do?”

“You stole his first kiss!”

Talk about exaggeration.

“Just kissing once isn’t that big of a deal. The meaning people assign to physical touch comes from societal consensus, not some absolute truth.”

With that, I took a sip of the cappuccino given to me. It’s nice while warm, all the better for being handed to me.

Laplace giggled.

“No no no, this just won’t do. Perhaps you should show a bit more… more…”

Yumina fidgeted while looking at me, then suddenly turned to Laplace with an intense gaze, making Laplace flinch.

“You do have something more to say, don’t you?”

“Me? Why me?”

“Yes!”

“Why so suddenly…?”

Fair point. Taking away the authority and still expecting much is asking for trouble.

Still, Laplace seemed eager to help despite losing some influence, even in the face of Yumina’s forceful argument.

“If we must, since it’s a first experience, shouldn’t there be a more tender reaction?”

“First experience…!”

Yumina dramatically collapsed. The response was lacking.

“A tender reaction? That could work, but I think my reaction is already loving enough. What else is there to add?”

Laplace, unaccustomed to such comments, was left speechless. Yumina, who had heard this often, didn’t react much anymore.

Silence followed.

No, this silence is awkward.

I reached for my cappuccino, realizing the cup was empty.

Ah.

I’ve already finished it. I placed the cup down, and the gentle clink echoed as it touched the coaster.

Silence continued.

I gave Yumina a little tap with my foot. It’s awkward, she shouldn’t be the only one comfortable; we could use some input here. Yumina showed little reaction, and her passiveness as the intermediary responsible for the conversation annoyed me. Even when I nudged her sharply, she merely flinched but didn’t get up.

After casually fiddling with the empty coffee cup, I got up.

“I have to wake up early tomorrow for the freshman oath during the opening ceremony, so I’ll go to bed first.”

Laplace, who was nibbling on a cookie, looked up and nodded.

I returned to my room.

Maybe I should play some games.

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