Chapter 13 : Adventure Level 5 (2)

Yu Mina grinned widely.
Asking if she could hit on Do Yugeon?

“What do you like about him? Ah, wait, you’re not picky, are you?”
“Hey, I have standards too, you know.”
“I didn’t know. Sorry.”

I bit into a peach.
Yu Mina stared intently at me.
Was she urging me for an answer?

I gathered my thoughts for a moment.
Considering Yu Mina’s dating style, maybe stopping her would be better for Do Yugeon?
But then again, she wasn’t a bad person, so maybe there was no need to interfere.

“Do whatever you want. Though I doubt he’ll accept.”

Yu Mina laughed.
“Could you still be so confident if we kissed right in front of you?”

Hearing the word “kiss” from a middle schooler’s mouth felt incredibly strange.
Seeing two middle schoolers kiss right before my eyes would probably be quite the culture shock.
Like thinking, Wow, middle schoolers these days are fast.
No, wait, I’m currently a middle schooler too.
There’s no way I’d be surprised like that.

More importantly, she’s been trying to pair me up with Do Yugeon since earlier.
Why the sudden change?
When did I ever do anything that could be misunderstood like this?
Hmm.
I have no idea.

“Probably?”
“Hmm…… No other reaction?”
She looked displeased.
“What kind of reaction?”
“Like surprise, agitation, or maybe—no, wait, do I even have to tell you these things?”

Yu Mina swayed and leaned against me.
She was slightly taller, so it looked more like I was being hugged, but anyway.
I used magic to place the plate and fork in an empty space on the bookshelf.
I heard her mutter.
“Did I guess wrong?”
Her voice was loud enough to be clearly overheard.
Was she asking me to inquire?

“What were you thinking, bringing up Do Yugeon?”
Yu Mina looked at me.
“Well, lately, whenever we meet, all you talk about is Login, and you spend a lot of time with Do Yugeon, right?”
“I haven’t only talked about Login.”
“It’s about the frequency. So I thought, Finally, our dear lady is starting to date.”
I couldn’t understand how her thoughts went in that direction.
Yu Mina spun around.
I inadvertently got spun around with her.

“I thought you were starting to date, but I waited and waited, and there was no reaction. It didn’t seem like you were hiding anything either. So I wondered if maybe you were a dating novice and hadn’t realized it yourself, and decided to test the waters today.”
She spun around again.
Stop spinning.
“But what in the world, it was a complete dud!”

Yu Mina narrowed her eyes and stared straight at me.
“You really don’t have even the slightest feeling for him?”
“Not even a little.”
“Not even a tiny little bit?”
“Nope.”
“You shouldn’t answer so quickly! Think about it, think!”
“Actually, I want to ask you. Why are you acting like this?”
“What do you mean, why!”

Yu Mina flung her arms wide, hit a bookshelf, and winced in pain.
Oh dear.
We should probably move.
“Want some coffee?”
“Juice is fine.”
“Give me the fork.”

I used magic to carry the plate and fork to the kitchen.
Although this place was intended as a library, the kitchen was stocked with snacks.
I wasn’t fond of eating while reading, so I didn’t eat when alone, but when guests came over like now, sometimes we ate together.
I made a cappuccino and went to the table, where Yu Mina had already prepared juice and cupcakes.
Cupcakes?
They weren’t here before. Did Mom or the bodyguard buy them?

“Quick, sit down.”
I sat in the chair opposite her.
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
“The young lady before my eyes has known her childhood friend of seven years—”
Seven years?
“It’s six years.”
“Right, six whole years! After being childhood friends for so long, you feel absolutely nothing? Wouldn’t I be flabbergasted?”
“You seem to have some kind of fantasy about childhood friends.”
“This isn’t a fantasy, it’s reality! It’s impossible to be indifferent after sticking together for six years.”

Despite appearances, she was the youngest daughter of a family in the legal profession.
How did she develop such a personality in that kind of household?
It’s a mystery.
I unwrapped a cupcake.
“A childhood friend is just a friend you’ve known a bit longer. Not necessarily a special relationship. So it’s possible not to develop romantic feelings. You have male friends too, right?”
“My male friends are either ex-boyfriends or potential future boyfriends.”

Huh, wrong example.
Wait? Hold on.
“Does that statement include Do Yugeon now?”
Yu Mina drank her juice.
“Of course. But I don’t mess with people who are taken.”
“I told you, we’re not like that.”
“Maybe you’re not, but Do Yugeon might be. What if Do Yugeon confesses?”
“I’d have to reject him.”

Yu Mina leaned forward abruptly.
“If he suddenly confesses out of the blue, you won’t be as composed as you are now.”
“Hmm…… I guess I’ll have to experience it to know.”
Come to think of it, Do Yugeon was also reaching the age where he might start wanting to date.
Talking about it like this made it feel real.
It was hard to imagine, but him dating someone.
Would he at least tell me who his partner is?
I hope he would; I think I’d be disappointed if he didn’t tell me.

Yu Mina chatted for a while longer before leaving.
I didn’t particularly feel like reading, so I returned home.

Should I practice healing magic now?
After experimenting with the System’s healing magic, I found out that it wasn’t necessary to replicate the entire process; mimicking just the initial mana configurations produced a healing effect.
The effect wasn’t very potent—just enough to stop the bleeding from a light pinprick, barely noticeable—but it was definitely a healing effect.
Since I had only replicated a very small part of the mana configuration, even if the effect was minor, it could be considered an initial success in the sense that I was at the starting point.
Therefore, the future is important.
The future where I need to learn healing magic effective enough to be used in real situations.

To increase the healing effect, I need to develop two capabilities.
One is Mana Sense.
The mana configuration of healing magic is so detailed and complex that I gave up observing it midway; it’s difficult to grasp with my current senses.
I’ll need to contemplate ways to sharpen my senses.
However, Mana Sense isn’t the most urgent issue right now.
The capability that truly needs development is the other one: Mana Control.
Being able to see the mana configuration is useless if I can’t replicate it.

Until now, I hadn’t been frustrated by poor Mana Control, but annoyingly, this healing magic is difficult to imitate.
When I move some mana slightly to match the configuration, the nearby mana also subtly shifts, disrupting the overall mana configuration.
I can sense the required configuration well enough, but when I try to execute it, I fumble.
Perhaps comparing it to using Excel without shortcut keys is an appropriate expression.
My patience is being tested.
Still, by starting with the easier steps and gradually proceeding, I can feel myself slowly getting better, so I’m continuing to practice.
Someday I’ll be able to do it skillfully.
Someday.

I brought the Scindapsus planted in a pot from the kitchen to my room.
Pricking my finger with a needle wasn’t good for my mental health, so while looking for alternatives, I discovered through experiments that healing magic could also treat plants.
Why magic meant for people also works on plants is completely beyond me, but I figured it’s fantasy, so mana with healing properties must naturally be versatile, and decided to just accept it.

I made a hole in a leaf with the needle.
“Want a cookie?”
Looking toward the door, I saw Mom peeking in.
“Yeah. Ah, juice instead of coffee, please.”
I just had coffee, so drinking more might keep me up tonight.
Although maybe not, since the awakening effect seems to have diminished lately from drinking too much coffee.

I moved my mana to form the first configuration of the healing magic.
As the magic took effect, the hole in the plant faintly closed up.
This much was easy now.
Carefully changing the configuration, I formed the second one.
The hole, though still faint, closed up more noticeably than before.
Now, the third one?
This is where it gets difficult.
It’s a complex configuration, hard to complete in one go, so I first shaped the mana according to the broad outline.
Then, I subtly touched the mana to adjust the finer details.

As I moved some mana, the surrounding mana scattered, distorting the shape.
When I touched the scattered mana to fix it, other mana near the adjusted area scattered.
Ah, why.
Annoyance flared, but I endured it and tried to fix it a few more times, only for the initial broad configuration to collapse, making everything a mess.
This happened every time I attempted the third configuration.
Ugh, my patience…

Laughter sounded beside me.
Mom had come in at some point with juice and cookies.
“Not going well?”
“Yeah. I feel like my personality is getting worse.”
“We can’t have that. What part is difficult?”
How should I describe it?
“It’s like trying to paint, but the brush is too big, making fine details difficult.”

I looked at the juice; it was tomato juice.
I took a sip.
What is this? It tastes bad.
Another sugar-free juice?
There’s no point in drinking juice if it doesn’t have sugar.
I’ll drink it when I’m thirsty.
I put the cup down.
“Is it difficult to shrink the brush size?”
“That would be the best way, but I haven’t found a suitable practice method.”

I had practiced Mana Control continuously since I started using magic to read books, so I had achieved a certain level of proficiency.
Lifting objects was basic, and I could even catch a fluttering falling book without crumpling a single page.
But what I needed now was a higher degree of precision than that.
The precision to move only the desired mana without disturbing the surrounding mana.
However, despite pondering, I couldn’t find a suitable practice method, so for now, I was attempting the healing magic using the direct approach.
A shortcut would be nice, but if there isn’t one, I just have to keep repeating it.

Sometimes—no, often—there are days when I don’t feel like doing anything.
Usually, I follow my schedule even if I don’t want to, but there are days when I exceptionally feel like doing absolutely nothing.
Today is that day.
In my past life, I ignored days like this.
But one day, after a coworker I was competing with for results quit due to burnout, I started planning vacations in advance to prepare for such unfortunate events.
In this life, I’m a middle schooler, don’t attend cram school, and have already finished the curriculum, so I can rest freely whenever I want without needing to plan a vacation.
Still, I usually just get by, but today happens to be the weekend, and my motivation is low.
Living diligently on such a fine day isn’t good.

So today, I’ll do nothing.
I rolled around in bed and covered myself with the blanket using magic.
Magic is so convenient.
Having coffee right here would be perfect, but I don’t feel like getting up and going to the kitchen……
Should I try making it via remote control with magic?

Moving mana beyond the wall is difficult, so first, I used magic to open my bedroom door.
There isn’t a straight line to the kitchen, and there’s a wall in between, so I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I closed my eyes and focused my mind.
Hmm, first, take out an espresso capsule.
Using mana, I grabbed and pulled out a capsule.
Controlling the force is hard.
The capsule was stuck in the paper holder and wobbled before coming out.
Wow, success on the first try.
I placed the capsule nearby for now and pressed the lever on the coffee machine to open it.
Now, just put it in and press the button.
I levitated the capsule and moved it toward the coffee machine.

Just then, Mom entered the kitchen, rubbing her sleepy eyes, snatched the floating capsule, and made coffee.
Uh.
Shortly after, Mom came to my room carrying a cappuccino.
“Are you sick?”
Mom asked worriedly upon seeing me lying in bed.
When she worries like this, it’s awkward to say I just didn’t feel like getting out of bed.
“Just a little tired—I’ll get up soon.”

Mom observed me for a moment, then smiled sweetly.
“Being lazy is fine, but at least shower first.”
Then she put the coffee down and left the room.
What, she saw right through me.
Am I that obvious?
I threw off the covers and got out of bed.
If she says shower, I should shower and then lie down.

Come to think of it, is there really a need to walk with difficulty?
Flying with magic seems convenient.
I enveloped my entire body with mana and lifted myself.
My body floated, but my pajamas felt tight and uncomfortable.
I tried using mana to lift just my bare body slightly, avoiding the pajamas, and flew.
It seemed reasonably okay.
Should I live like this from now on?

After that, I improved and mastered the magic—whether it was levitation or flight—becoming quite comfortable at flying.
Thanks to this, not only did I not have to walk until my feet hurt, but I also no longer tripped over small roots or misstepped in the forest.
It was a revolution in daily life.
However, spending the vacation often flying around even at home led to a serious problem by the time the vacation ended.
My physical stamina had dropped to rock bottom.