Chapter 19 : Forborn

The magic of stars is about drawing your own star while gazing at the stars in the sky.

In that process, even if your humanity fades due to the immense amount of information you gain, you can obtain powerful strength from a realm not permitted to humans. It truly is a magic system with clear risks and rewards.

Anyway, from that perspective, the magic she uses can be considered the wrong method.
“Ha… .”

I let out a deep sigh as I examined the magic surrounding her.

The magic Baek Si-eun was using definitely originated from stellar power. However, what she was using could be considered more primal, a magic of the religious realm. Primal magic created by people who wished upon stars since ancient times. She was using it at an instinctual level.
*
That’s right. Romantically, the people of that world had been wishing upon stars since ancient times. It was passed down as magic and tradition, and at some point, it became an actual field of study, deeply rooted in that world.

However, when I drifted into that world, wishing upon stars had long been taboo.
It was because it was revealed that wishing upon stars was the very act that summoned outer gods from the far reaches of the universe.

While some stars exist solely as laws, there are also profane stars that do not. Those are the outer gods. Beings that reveal all kinds of turbidity, infinite curiosity, and inner darkness.

Wishing means that the entities receiving the wishes become aware of our existence. It’s a terrifying thing. To think that the ones granting people’s wishes were actually cosmic-scale monsters.

In the end, the outer gods who heard people’s wishes from the distant universe felt intense curiosity and moved, and the result was… . As I experienced.

Therefore, the most dangerous act in the world: the primal magic of directly asking the stars, ‘Wish’.

That she was using it gave me a headache.

Pressing my temples, I spoke to her, imbuing my words with magical power.
“Senior Baek Si-eun. Stop right there, immediately.”

Baek Si-eun flinched at my frosty voice and sat down.

Ignoring her trembling, I created a barrier around us. I saw Baek Si-eun’s eyes darting around at the stars spreading in all directions, but that wasn’t important right now.

Next, I drew out magical power to create a triple-layered mental barrier to protect her humanity.

Every time I exerted my power, the number of magic circles sparkling around me increased. Her eyes widened, as if this was the first time she had seen someone use magic similar to hers.

Her innocent-looking blue eyes told me she knew nothing, but it would be optimistic to assume that the stars communicating with her were also pure.

Open Eyes.

Open your inner eyes.
I must find out who the star communicating with Baek Si-eun is.

I began to trace the faint thread of magic connected to her back to its source, comparing it to the countless stars hanging in the sky.
“…Constellation…?”

What a strange thing to say.

Ignoring her as she looked at me and uttered a word I’d never heard before, I continued my train of thought. Looking at the twinkling universe.

I must do my best to judge the profanity of the being communicating with her. Hopefully, it’s within the range I can search.

…If the situation truly worsens, I might have to eliminate her, depending on the circumstances.
“Ah, Ahh… .”

“Please wait a moment.”

—I’ve found the star’s location.

I said to her, who had started crying with unfocused eyes as she looked at me, and released magic into the air to visually analyze the information of the located star.

Wherever my hand reached, stars spread, emitting a beautiful light. What I saw was… . A brilliant light. Beautiful energy waveforms. A heated blade. A burning surface. A dreamy, floating sensation. An inorganic emotional circuit. I’ve seen this somewhere before.

‘What, it’s a star I already know?’

Thinking about it, this was one of the stars I examined yesterday. Like most stars, it was an old, ancient star, simply living by its own laws. …Was I overreacting? No. Even so, continuously asking favors from a star would certainly not be good for her either.

It’s not good to interfere with others’ matters, but I think I’ll have to talk to her about this.

As I withdrew all the magic I had deployed, her dazed pupils began to slowly return to normal. Just how excellent was her sensitivity to stars for her to be like that?

Perhaps I appeared as a giant clump of starlight to her eyes. To her slowly regaining her senses, I took out the notebook I had stored with storage magic and spoke.

“Shall we sit and talk for a bit?”
*
I said that, but there was nowhere to sit around.

Eventually, I covered the rest of the ground with magic, took Baek Si-eun’s hand, who was still out of it, and exited the forest.

After walking a bit along the park’s perimeter path, I found a secluded open space in the corner of the park. There was a bench there, so I sat her down.
“… .”
“… .”
A brief silence.

What was she thinking right now? Looking at her, I felt cold sweat trickling down. Where do the thoughts of those people who endlessly talk on television come from?

I had a lot to ask, but since she was looking down and keeping her lips tightly shut, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

It can’t be helped. Should I try to lighten the mood?
“I’m sorry for being forceful… . As an apology… . Do you want something sweet?”
“…No, thank you. It’s okay.”

I pulled out my secret weapon, peanut caramel, from my pocket, but she didn’t seem to like it very much. It’s really delicious… . But thanks to that, she seemed to have gathered some courage, as her eyes turned towards me and her lips parted slightly.

“…Are you, a Constellation?”

Her shift to formal speech made me highly suspicious. What in the world was this ‘Constellation’ she was talking about?

“What’s a Constellation? I just know a little about handling magic related to the stars.”
At my words, her eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected that. As expected, did she see me as a god or something equivalent?

“A Constellation is someone who grants my wishes. They don’t give me answers, but… . Always. You use a power similar to theirs, so I thought you were a Constellation.”

Indeed. I nodded at her words. She seemed to be misunderstanding her own abilities. Drawing the power of the stars from the sky with the ability to receive the favor of the stars, she thought it had a concrete personality. Well, it was understandable. Everything comes true just by talking to the sky. Without even using mana, too.

“It was a common power in the world I came from. However, it’s better not to use that ‘wish’.”

“…Yes? But I can’t. This is my ability… .”

She reacted negatively to my advice. It was a natural reaction. It was probably her greatest strength.

“I can’t explain it in detail, but it’s a tremendously dangerous power. That Constellation thing doesn’t actually have a personality either. Instead, I’ll give you this.”

I held out the notebook I had prepared. Now somewhat accustomed, Baek Si-eun’s eyes went straight to the notebook. She must be feeling the lingering scent of the stars emanating from it now.

My reason for giving this to her was simple. She had the talent to handle the power of the stars. Perhaps just reading this would bring her power back to its previous level.

It didn’t contain methods to observe the stars. And there was no excessive knowledge that would drive a person to madness either. Therefore, it could be called the perfect textbook for her.

“It’s magic that uses your own mana to handle the power of the stars, without asking anyone for help. It’s the same magic I was using earlier.”

“…But. But… , tomorrow is the defense… .”

“Just try reading it, and you’ll understand immediately. I, the best mage of that world, guarantee it. Senior Baek Si-eun, you have the best talent.”
“Is, is that so… ?”

I desperately tried to persuade her, combining lines I’d seen in novels, movies, and so on that I’d watched before. I couldn’t bear to see her using wish magic. What if something invaded here because of it? As I began to see signs of her giving in, I drove the point home.

“You could probably reach S-rank within a year.”

“S-rank… .”

“So, what do you say? Will you do it?”

“…I’ll try.”

She finally gave in to me. Whew. I felt a sense of relief. To use an expression I learned recently, it was like removing a ticking time bomb. It was something like that, anyway.

After our conversation, I decided to invest my morning in helping her sever the link with the star. I felt a little sorry for forcing her to overhaul the power she was using the day before going to the battlefield.

…By the way, just how did I look to her while using magic for her to keep speaking formally?

“But, when will you stop speaking formally… .”

“Ah, yes… . I can’t forget how you looked earlier… .”

Was it that much? My gaze fell on her. Her eyes, as she said that, sparkled like stars. Looking at that, my curiosity intensified, but somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to ask what I looked like.

I closed my eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and opened my mouth to speak to her.
“…Then, shall we open the notebook?”

After that, she delved into the notebook with an enthusiasm that contrasted with her previous hesitation, and it took less than two hours to forget the wish magic she had been using for three years.

Indeed, she was an incredible rookie.