Growth (2)
Chapter 81
The next day.
Ray placed finely chopped Lafuma leaves into a teacup, stirred them with boiling water.
The mixture of Lafuma and water began to take on a refreshing green hue.
As Ray noticed the soft light spreading across the surface of the liquid, he took a sip from the cup.
A faint sweetness spread over his tongue.
Though it wasn’t particularly appealing, Ray swallowed without complaint.
‘Hopefully, this will work…’
He planned to try what Saria had given him. If it proved effective, he’d pressure the Count into stocking up on it.
“So…”
Ray looked up to meet Jimmy and Matthew’s eyes.
“Nothing unusual happened while I was gone?”
Even though they hadn’t seen each other in months, Ray felt genuinely glad to see their faces.
Jimmy grumbled first.
“You don’t know how much Karen searched for you? The others didn’t say much, but it was chaos.”
Jimmy went on to describe how restless the children had been during Ray’s absence.
Matthew added, “Newcomers aside, most of the kids here have grown too attached to you. To them, you’re no different than their parents. If you’re going to take responsibility, stay with them until their heads grow a bit thicker.”
“I understand.”
Ray nodded.
Thanks to increasing support for the orphanage, it could now run smoothly even without Ray. But in its early days, Ray had to personally oversee everything from A to Z.
For those who entered the orphanage back then, Ray was the orphanage, and the orphanage was Ray.
Recalling the past, Ray finished the remaining tea in one gulp.
As Ray set down the cup, Jimmy asked curiously,
“By the way, weren’t you attacked on the road today? Did you encounter bandits?”
“Haha…”
After a brief pause, Ray recounted the incident at the gorge in general terms.
After hearing the full story, Jimmy closed his eyes tightly.
“Why do you keep getting into trouble wherever you go?”
“It’s just that I’m not very lucky, I guess.”
‘Surely, if I were luckier, I wouldn’t have been dragged into another world instead of my friend.’
Seeing Ray brush it off as if it were nothing, Jimmy looked exasperated.
“But you held off the Royal Guard by yourself?”
“I didn’t just hold them off—I killed them.”
“…?”
Jimmy and Matthew blinked dumbly.
Without hesitation, Ray began to rotate his Circle.
Jimmy and Matthew already knew so many secrets about Ray that hiding something like a Circle would be pointless now.
‘Rather, it’s better to make sure they fully understand.’
Just what kind of being is this child standing before your eyes?
Crack!
Mana surged, freezing the teacup and table where it touched.
The frost quickly spread to the walls, leaving Jimmy and Matthew speechless.
In a matter-of-fact tone, Ray explained,
“I’ve made some progress. While following Harshia’s footsteps, I figured out how to handle Spatial Blades.”
Matthew wiped his sweat-drenched face.
“Ray, just checking… You’re not planning to flaunt this kind of achievement unless you want the Empire hunting you, right? But let us know what value lies within the person we invested in.”
In short, it was a reminder: ‘Since I’m this good, let’s continue working well together.’
Jimmy awkwardly cleared his throat while smoothing out the ice forming on the table.
“S-so, are you planning to stay here, in Phillip’s County?”
“I just said that, didn’t I? Of course, I need to stick around until the kids grow up a bit more.”
Phillip’s County might be small, but all the preparations necessary for nurturing talent were in place.
The Count was supportive, the backing was solid, and high-quality instructors to teach the children were secured.
When the children become adults, they’ll need exposure to bigger opportunities, but not yet.
‘If I push hard for another year or two… It might be time to start putting them into proper teams.’
Gacha. Level-ups. Growth.
And naturally, after that…
‘It should be fine to structure the team with Luna and Johanna as the core members…?’
Deck-building.
*
Karen’s face had been glowing all day.
Not only had Ray returned to the orphanage, but he had also gifted her a beautiful necklace.
Every time she walked, the chain tickled her skin, sparking endless fantasies in her mind.
Although Karen knew that Ray hadn’t given her the necklace out of romantic feelings, it was hard to shake the faint hope.
Of course, Karen tried to restrain herself.
She was the only one among the orphanage children to receive jewelry, which could easily provoke envy.
Moreover, Johanna seemed genuinely upset about the whole situation.
Karen carefully hid the necklace under her clothes, resisting the urge to show it off—a testament to her growing maturity.
Johanna hadn’t spoken a word since yesterday.
Though they still ate and slept together, there was no conversation between them.
Karen wanted to cheer Johanna up but had no idea what to say in this situation.
Dinner time came again.
Sitting across from Johanna, Karen mechanically chewed on a piece of bread amidst the icy atmosphere.
As she moved her arm, her shoulder muscles shifted, pushing the necklace slightly to the side.
The sensation against her skin caused Karen’s expression to soften momentarily before stiffening again.
Johanna watched every move, feeling an indescribable irritation but unable to vent her frustration anywhere, so she clenched her spoon tightly.
At that moment, Ray appeared in the dining hall.
Bang!
Upon seeing Ray, Johanna slammed her hand on the table, stormed out of the room, muttering under her breath.
Ray sighed, watching her retreating figure.
It was quite daunting figuring out how to calm her down. Even buying a similar trinket for Johanna might only fuel her anger further, and it wouldn’t be a good educational approach either.
‘Let me observe for a while…’
While Johanna’s antics were cute, she was undoubtedly the hardest to handle due to her consistent complaints.
Reflecting on this, Ray realized he needed to be more careful.
“Umm, Luna.”
Ray approached Luna, who had been sitting at the same table as Johanna.
“Can you spare some time after finishing your meal?”
“…Sure, now works.”
Luna, who usually ate little, seemed to have eaten enough.
Without hesitating, Ray led Luna away.
“Come on. A new teacher has arrived to teach you.”
*
Ropheiren, waiting near the entrance of the Sigini Mountain Range, tensed his body.
Further down the path, Ray was approaching with Luna and Alesya.
Ropheiren, having prepared himself beforehand, waved lightly at Luna.
“Hi! You’re Dinareu san…”
Before he could finish, Ray abruptly clamped his hand over Ropheiren’s mouth and twisted his neck halfway around.
Dragging Ropheiren into the forest, Ray released him only when they were far enough from Luna and whispered harshly,
“What were you about to say just now…?!”
“N-n-nothing?”
Ropheiren stammered nervously.
“Isn’t the child’s name ‘Dinareu san rejeondeurigoa’?”
Rarely, but sometimes, names include region-specific prepositions like “von,” “of,” or “ap.” Similarly rare, middle names might also be used.
Thus, Ropheiren assumed the name Ray was about to introduce belonged to “Dinareu san rejeondeurigoa.”
Even Ropheiren, a mage, couldn’t imagine that Ray had referred to Luna as “an orphan collected from Dinor of Legendary grade.”
Ray groaned.
“Her name is Luna. Got it?”
“Yes, understood. Then, what does ‘Dinareu san rejeondeurigoa’ mean…?”
“Forget it.”
With a piercing look, Ray forced Ropheiren to nod.
Returning to their spot, Ray and Ropheiren found Luna looking at Ray with an oddly unfocused gaze.
While Ray awkwardly cleared his throat, Ropheiren gently took Luna’s hand.
“Hello, Luna. My name is Ropheiren. I’ve been entrusted by Ray to teach you magic and have come to Phillip’s County. Nice to meet you.”
Ropheiren’s warm smile softened the tension.
Luna hesitated briefly before bowing her head slightly.
“Nice to meet you.”
Once introductions were done, Ray pointed toward a clearing in the forest.
“Luna, show Mr. Ropheiren some magic.”
“Is it okay to…?”
Luna, who had once accidentally displayed her magic recklessly and caused Ray serious injuries during combat, hesitated.
Ray playfully ruffled her hair.
“Don’t worry. You can trust him.”
Among the mages Ray knew, Ropheiren was relatively trustworthy.
Nodding, Luna extended her hand toward the clearing.
As Ray whispered instructions to Ropheiren,
“Prepare to extinguish any flames.”
“Understood.”
Ropheiren was still confused.
Did this child truly possess the talent of a grand mage, or was Ray exaggerating?
Technically, Harshia—Ray—wasn’t someone who rigorously studied and applied magic.
Logically, Ropheiren thought it possible that Harshia might have misjudged Luna’s magical abilities.
‘Well, we’ll see soon enough.’
Surrounding mana began to fluctuate wildly.
Luna’s Circle revealed itself.
Revealed itself.
A Circle, which should have been rotating around her heart internally, was visible to others.
Ropheiren caught his breath sharply.
‘…?’
What is this? What am I seeing?
Is that massive circular belt actually her Circle?
“That’s… impossible…”
Zzzt!
A flash of light erupted from the enormous Circle.
Moments later, the clearing in the forest exploded in a burst of flames.
BOOM!!
“…”
Ropheiren lost his words.
The spell Luna had just cast, if defined strictly, was “Ignition.”
That simple spell resonated with her massive Circle to unleash such tremendous power.
“I personally cut off David’s head when he insisted on extracting the child’s heart.”
Ropheiren’s gaze snapped back to Ray.
“Likewise, Locust met his end after I carved him up for coveting her.”
Ray questioned Ropheiren.
“What will you do?”
Attempting to kneel, Ropheiren stopped himself upon realizing the audience and answered standing.
“I… crave knowledge, not power.”
What good would processing her heart into an Artefact to enhance Circles and mana serve?
“Trust me.”
“Let me see if I can.”
Ray nodded.
The thunderous sound subsided, and the forest grew warm with scorching air.
Ropheiren extinguished the residual flames with a spell.
Luna watched the magic Ropheiren performed with interest.
Catching Ray’s subtle hint, Ropheiren extended his hand to Luna.
“To begin as my disciple, we must form a contract seal. Is that alright?”
Confirming Ray’s silent approval, Luna nodded slightly.
“Yes, it’s fine.”
“Follow my guidance.”
Ropheiren formed the contract seal with Luna.
Ray used his authority to ensure no impure content was included in the contract.
Fortunately, Ropheiren refrained from any deceit in front of Ray.
Having successfully completed the contract seal, Ropheiren asked somewhat awkwardly,
“Now, we are master and apprentice. Let’s work well together.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Hmm… Shall we start the first lesson immediately upon returning?”
“Before that.”
Ray interjected.
“Luna, you should also form a contract with a Spirit.”
There were far too many people in the world who coveted Luna’s talents.
Even Ropheiren couldn’t guarantee he’d remain docile forever.
“Luna, you need someone to protect you, someone devoted solely to you—an ally exclusively yours.”
Ray regarded Luna with a rare compassionate look.
Alesya summoned Fenrir and Phoenix in physical form after discussing the matter beforehand.
“Fenrir! Phoenix! Could you bring along some friends?”
[…]
[…]
Despite usually being obedient, Fenrir and Phoenix acted stubbornly this time, ignoring Alesya’s request.
Alesya muttered to Ray, perplexed.
“Ray… It seems my Spirits aren’t keen on bringing their friends.”
With a grim expression, Ray drew his sword.
“Oi, bastards.”
A surge of Sword Aura emanated from the blade.
“Want a taste of my Spatial Blade?”
You cheeky brats.
Fenrir and Phoenix glared and vanished into thin air.
