TYND 65
by Cherry“It seems the magic stone inside you is inhibiting your growth. The younger the body holding it, the better it is for the magic stone to keep generating infinitely. You’ll grow so slowly that you might as well not grow at all.”
When his master said that, Rothy had no desire to grow bigger. He needed to remain young to maximise the use of his magic stone, which would help end the war faster.
“That’s really good, then. I’ll grow slowly. I’ll be a really big help.”
His master stared at the delighted Rothy expressionlessly, then tossed him a magic book to memorise for the day and left.
Time passed, and the war finally ended, but his master wasn’t happy about it and showed no joy. The old man prepared for his end looking extremely tired and worn out. His master, who was tying a thick rope into a circle, looked at Rothy who was quietly observing him.
He threw a thin rope beside him to Rothy.
“Tie it.”
“……”
When Rothy backed away, his master frowned.
“I said tie it now.”
“That… that’s a noose for hanging.”
“Yes. That’s yours. Tie it.”
When Rothy still hesitated and didn’t follow the command, his master raised his hand. But when no impact came and he opened his eyes cautiously, he saw his master stood frozen with his hand raised. When they made eye contact, he lowered his hand.
This had been happening more often lately especially towards the end of the war. His master would start to punish him but stop halfway. After staring at Rothy’s face silently for a long time, his master asked quietly.
“Rothy, do you want to live?
“Yes… I want to live…”
“Why? Why on earth do you cling so desperately to life when you’ve only known misery?”
“I’ve only known misery…?”
“You’ve known nothing but misery.”
Rothy cocked his head. Really? Had he known only misery?
“But I have you, Master, and I have Chi-chi.”
“……”
“And the crunching sound of stepping on snow is so cute. Finding flower buds is fun. And sunsets are beautiful.”
Rothy could’ve named ten more happy things, but he shut his mouth after saying just that much because his master didn’t look pleased. Frowning deeply, his master insisted,
“Your life has been nothing but suffering.”
“I’m not sure about that…”
“You felt the agony of your body being torn into thousands of pieces when the magic stone was implanted into you.”
“That’s true… it really hurt.”
“You constantly built tolerance to pain to overcome the limits of magic release.”
“That was really difficult…”
“I denied you meals and ordered you to learn magic. You saved countless people on the battlefield, but no one knows of your contributions. When injured, you couldn’t show yourself to healers, so you had to suffer alone in the laboratory. And the only thing waiting for you there were the corpses of other children your own age who all died cursing you. Wasn’t it a life filled with nothing but terrible suffering?”
Rothy thought quietly for a moment, then nodded.
“When you put it like that, you’re right, Master. My life has been nothing but suffering…”
“Exactly. Now do you finally want to die? Hurry up and tie your rope.”
“But why does that mean I should want to die just because my life has been nothing but suffering…?”
Rothy was confused. His life had been undeniably harsh and full of suffering. It was a life of nothing but pain. But why did that mean he should want to die? Was it strange to still want to live? Strange enough for his master to look at him like that?
If someone had every reason to want to die, but they still wanted to live… was that odd?
“……”
His strict master only looked down at him silently. That made Rothy shrank back.
“Very well… I understand. I’ll die too… My existence itself is a problem for the world, because it’s too dangerous… If people found out about me, they’d definitely try to do more human experiments…”
“You understand perfectly. Only if you disappear will people not attempt to create a second living magic stone.”
“But… couldn’t I speak with Theon just once before I die?”
“……”
“That’s not possible, is it…? You’re right… it’s too dangerous…”
Rothy gradually lost confidence in everything. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
Scree~
Watching his master’s reaction, Chi-chi approached cautiously, and settled into Rothy’s arms. The warm heat from the weasel gave Rothy a little comfort.
“Theon Detre Falsen…”
His master fingered the relatively thin rope next to the large, thick one.
“Do you like him that much?”
“Yes.. Theon’s cool. He’s very kind and very strong and very gentle.”
“Very kind and very gentle?”
“Yes.”
“In what way?”
“A long time ago, he was hurt so badly that the bone was showing. But he didn’t lash out or lose his temper. He just endured it quietly until he recovered and went back to the battlefield. He didn’t run away. That’s really kind and gentle behaviour…”
“He has too many burdens to consider running away.”
“But many people run away even when they have many burdens.”
His master smiled bitterly.
“That’s true.”
Fwoosh
His master burnt the thin rope. Then, while tying the thicker rope, he said to Rothy.
“Very well. You can live. But remember this.”
“Yes.”
“Your only path to survival is to attach yourself to Theon Detre Falsen. From now on, you must stick close to Theon. Don’t let go of him. If you don’t want to suffer anymore, if you want to live, if you don’t want to see more children sacrificed…”
“I understand.”
“I question whether that cold-blooded man will feel any sympathy for you. But appealing to your usefulness might be a good approach. He will see you not as a living magic stone but merely as a useful mage.”
“Yeah, I’ll make myself useful.”
“Let me reiterate again. Your only path to survival is Theon Detre Falsen. Not the emperor, not PLEIN, and absolutely not any foreign nations. If anyone other than Theon Detre Falsen get hold of you, you must die. He’s the one who’ll really protect you. When I’m gone, you must cling to him.”
“I know… I like Theon the best too.”
“……”
His master heaved a deep sigh. Rothy shrank back, wondering if he’d done something wrong. But what followed was praise.
“Good. Keep acting like this.”
“Like this?”
“Since your growth’s slow, you should use this to your advantage. Even when you turn twenty, or thirty, forever maintain a childlike appearance and act like a child. But at the same time, you must be a very capable child. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Rothy took his master’s advice to heart. It seemed easy enough to follow. His master made a noose with the thick rope and put it around his neck.
“Go to sleep now. When you wake up, everything will be over.”
“……”
Rothy shook his head to clear these past memories. He wanted to follow his master’s advice. But now… thinking about keeping this promise forever made him feel gloomy. He wasn’t really sure what counted as childish behaviour. But wouldn’t it be weird to act like a child even when he turned twenty or thirty?
Not to mention…
My body will grow very slowly.
Would Theon be able to wait that long? He said he’d wait… but even though Theon was an incredibly patient man… The people in that picture book were all genuinely magnificent and beautiful, even to Rothy’s eyes.
He knew.
He knew exactly how long it’d take for him to grow into someone like that.
Probably…
It’d take at least a thousand years.
How long did Theon think it’d take? He certainly wouldn’t expect it to take a thousand years. Rothy shoulders slumped again.
“It wouldn’t be a hundred years.”
“Pardon?”
Chungnip, who’d been watching Rothy, turned when he suddenly heard Theon’s voice.
“What wouldn’t be a hundred years, Your Grace?”
Theon raised his hand and marked a height about level with his shoulder.
“For Rothy’s hair to grow this long.”
“Well, I can’t be sure since he’s the first ever living magic stone. There’s no historical example.”
Make an estimate anyway.”
“Hmm, well, If I calculate theoretically…”
It was an unexpected question, but Chungnip, true to his calling as a mage, ran through the calculations mentally in earnest.
“I’d say it would take at least a thousand years.”
“Stop joking around.”
“I’m not joking.”
“Calculate it again.”
“What?”
“Do it properly and give me an exact answer.”
Chungnip was flustered by Theon’s command, but his expression was so icy that he couldn’t say anything. Leaving the speechless Chungnip aside, Theon wiped the chill from his face and approached Rothy.
“Rothy, are you ready?”
“Sorry, just a moment. Let me dress Chi-chi. Or would you like to dress him?
It wasn’t really a question.
“I’ll do it.”
Mhm. I’ll sort the books then.”
Many guests who came for an audience today offered gifts to Rothy. From cute toys to useful magitools, to fairy tale books and academic texts from the Mage Society. Ultje would go through the items first and log them into a list, and Rothy, standing beside him, would pick what to keep and what to donate. Though most of it would end up in the donation pile.
This time, the gifts he kept were limited to clothes for Chi-chi, a flower-shaped wand decoration, one fairy tale book about snow fairies, and two academic books.
While Rothy organised the books, Theon dressed the weasel in its new outfit.
Scree…
Chi-chi, long since accustomed to wearing clothes, knew how to stick out its front paws, back legs, and tail in sequence.
“……”
Theon raised the corner of his mouth as he looked at the weasel sprawled on his palm. His finger moved toward its plump belly. When he pressed the chubby stomach, the weasel lifted its head.
Scree. Screee. Screeeech
It let out a string of small whiny noises before slumping again. Theon kept teasing it while he waited for Rothy.