NOVEL NEXT chapter 50
50 – 50. A moment of warmth
Approaching Jizel’s room, I addressed the dorm keeper.
“Right now, open Jizel Irikali’s room for me.”
The keeper frowned, hesitating.
“Even if you’re a professor, such actions without cause aren’t permissible.”
Perhaps fearing potential retaliation from Jizel.
I grimaced.
“Open it. If you don’t want to witness a broken door.”
Seeing my resolve, the keeper grimaced, pondered, then reluctantly handed over the key.
“…Don’t cause any trouble.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it without issue.”
I received the key and unlocked Jizel’s door. As expected, Jizel was collapsed inside her room.
“Hey.”
I called softly. Jizel looked at me, then closed her eyes.
“Do you want to die that badly?”
“…No.”
Shame evident, Jizel avoided my gaze. I spoke to her.
“I told you clearly. When practice is over, just rest. There’s no need to push your magical circuits to the brink. Did I or did I not?”
Jiselle closed her eyes and, in a hoarse voice, replied, “I… did.”
“Why? Did experiencing magical exhaustion twice make it seem easy? Since you can move your arms and legs, did you think it wouldn’t matter if you went through it a few more times?”
Jiselle looked at me with eyes filled with complex emotions. I spoke to her while gazing at her.
“Magical exhaustion is basically the body burning itself to the point where it can no longer bear it. It’s not just barely moving your arms and legs; essentially, it’s like being completely stretched out with only consciousness remaining. But, did you think you could do that several times a day and still be fine?”
“…”
“Don’t be so impatient. I told you that in a few months, you’ll automatically reach the level of an expert. I said that, but… why did you ask me for help if my words didn’t make sense to you?”
“Oh, no…”
“No? It’s not ‘no.’ If you can’t reach the level of an expert by tomorrow, did someone threaten to kill you? Did you have to go through this and damage your body to this extent?”
Jiselle couldn’t say anything and just tightly sealed her lips.
Damn. I can’t even say worse things.
I lifted Jiselle’s body and teleported with her to the infirmary.
“Oh my, what’s happening?”
The nurse looked at me and asked. I pointed to Jiselle with a gesture.
“This student collapsed from excessive magical practice. Could you check if there’s anything wrong with her body?”
The nurse looked at me and said, “Oh, yes, of course.”
She laid Jiselle on the bed and checked her wrist. After a while, she looked at me and said,
“Her magical circuit was burned too much. As soon as the magic filled up, she used it again, and as soon as it filled up again, she used it… It must have gone through that process. Ah, Jiselle, what did you do? The magical circuit is not a well. It’s the human body.”
In other words, it meant that continuously filling up didn’t imply an infinite capacity. Realizing that, Jiselle bit her lip.
“For now, just keep lying in bed. I can heal it with divine power, but… it won’t be a pleasant experience. Continuously damaging the muscles and healing them with divine power will cause them to distort strangely. Anyway, there’s no big problem for now, so it’s better to rest quietly.”
The nurse, who said that, added one more thing.
“By the way, let me tell you, if this situation had continued, there would have definitely been a big problem. You might have ended up with a body that couldn’t use magic at all.”
After saying that, the nurse left the room. I looked at Jiselle and asked,
“Why did you do that?”
Giselle looked at me. I continued to gaze at her.
“I’m not scolding you. Just curious. Why did you want to become strong so quickly? Let’s say it’s because of the trauma from the ridiculous power display during the entrance exam. Was becoming strong something you had to achieve by pushing through your own body?”
At that, Giselle hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“…I have trouble sleeping.”
“Trouble sleeping?”
“Just before falling asleep, when I’m alone, staring at the dark ceiling… Every time, memories resurface.”
I looked at Giselle.
“…What memories?”
“The memory of almost dying during the entrance exam. Facing monsters constantly, almost dying while trying to stop a criminal, those memories kept haunting me, and I couldn’t sleep.”
“You didn’t seem particularly tired, though.”
“I managed for a day or two like that, then just started using sleeping pills. And continued.”
“…So you’ve been forcing yourself to sleep with sleeping pills all this time?”
Giselle gave a bitter smile.
“…Pathetic, isn’t it?”
Well, I had never been in a situation like Giselle’s to begin with. My growth process was smooth until I became an adult, and I never really felt fear when facing the Black Ocean. Because, I had already lost everything a long time ago.
So, I couldn’t understand the heart of a girl whose weakness had turned into a nightmare.
Pressing my temples with my fingers, I looked at Giselle and said,
“…No, not really.”
But, because of the nightmares that lingered in my heart, lost and unsure of what to do, I could sympathize. Regardless of how deep the darkness in one’s heart is.
Damn. Feeling a sense of camaraderie with the daughter of my enemy.
When I was grappling with self-loathing, Giselle spoke with a trembling voice.
“…I’m sorry.”
I didn’t say anything in response to that apology. Giselle directed her words toward me.
“Fainting after doing something as pathetic as trying to lead a group that didn’t listen to me, it’s pathetic.”
“Yeah, it is pathetic.”
Gizelle wore a bitter smile on her lips.
“There’s a limit to impatience. Seriously, what were you thinking? I had to practically argue with the dorm manager because of you. I had to tell them to open the door.”
“Well… I should apologize.”
“Yeah, you can figure that out later. What I want to say is, being too hasty can unnecessarily complicate things. Especially since you have the potential to influence others a lot.”
In response to my words, Gizelle nodded.
“Yes.”
“If you get hurt, it’s a big deal. Why do you insist on blindly pursuing things that you think are right without considering the consequences? The intensity of your training was already at the maximum your body could handle. Or did I intentionally make your training easier because I was worried about you?”
Thinking back to the training, Gizelle spoke.
“No, that’s not true. You don’t like me, do you?”
“I knew?”
“I made a mistake from the beginning, and I’m not foolish enough to think I could earn favor. That’s why I asked. I needed someone who wouldn’t bother with concerns like mine.”
I sighed.
“But you forced me to worry. Without even considering the possibility that something might go wrong during your training, and the academy could be turned upside down. What were you thinking?”
“…It’s not so bad to be worried about.”
“Right, me. Did you even know I was worried about you? Stop talking nonsense and get some sleep. Just sleeping will help.”
Gizelle closed her eyes. I sat next to her bed, watching her.
Just before losing consciousness, Gizelle spoke in a soft voice.
“I’m sorry…”
She quickly fell asleep. No, it was more like she had emptied her body of energy and lost consciousness.
She mentioned being unable to sleep properly due to past events, so perhaps she deliberately aimed for this state.
Anyway, with her body in such a condition, it was natural that the bed wouldn’t be comfortable even while she slept.
Gizelle moaned, sweating coldly. I silently observed her in that state.
And then, I gently held her hand while she slept. Perhaps reassured by the warmth, Gizelle soon became quiet.
“…What am I doing, really.”
Suddenly, I found myself wondering why I was in this situation and sighed.
“I’m sorry!”
Jiselle bowed her head and spoke to me. It seemed like she was aware of her own mistake.
I looked at her with cold eyes and let out a deep sigh.
“Fine, just go today without practicing. The magical circuits still need some time to recover.”
Jiselle nodded and cautiously left the laboratory. Watching her, I grimaced, then washed my face with the water in front of me.
Why? Because there was a letter.
Moreover… it was an invitation in the form of a letter sent directly from the magic tower, enclosed in an envelope adorned with a navy background and golden decorations.
It was an invitation to attend the academy, expressing a desire to know more about my magic.