Chapter 23: Unveiling Hidden Talent: The Start of Elin’s Magic Journey

To’ok.
“!!”

The moment the potion touched her tongue, something felt terribly wrong.

It wasn’t about the taste.

It burned.

It melted.

Her tongue shriveled up as though it couldn’t bear the sensation.

“Ugh…”

Just as she tried to put the flask down—

“No! Once it touches your lips, you have to drink it all in one go!”

Dien forcefully shoved the potion back into her mouth.

“Ughhh!”

“If you spit it out halfway, it might have an even worse effect!”

“Urghhh…”

Elin, trembling, tried to push the flask away.

“Ugh… Why are you just standing there?! Help already!”

Dien’s grip was pushed away yet again.

Despite her efforts at maintaining a healthy lifestyle recently, Elin was still just a 13-year-old girl who had been mistreated until not long ago.

Realizing his senior’s impressive physical endurance, Luke asked,

“Is there really such a potion in this world?”

He’d never heard of a potion that could backfire if spit out.

Seeing how much Elin hated it made him hesitate to force her to drink it.

“It’s not exactly a potion—it’s more like a curse.”

“What?”

“Ugh… Explaining the mechanics would take too long. Think of it as a curse that devours other curses. That’s why you have to swallow it. If you spit it out, the curse will multiply!”

“Why didn’t you say that earlier?”

Shocked, Luke firmly held Elin in place.

“Urghhh…”

Elin’s ahoge (idiot hair) stiffened in shock.

Her eyes were filled with betrayal, as if saying, I can’t believe my teacher would do this to me.

“Just bear with it a little longer. It’s for your own good.”

He averted his gaze, afraid that looking directly at her might weaken his resolve.

“I warned you beforehand, didn’t I? I said it would taste terrible.”

“…”

Her ahoge swayed furiously from side to side, as if to say she hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

“If you keep holding it in your mouth, it’ll only get worse. Just swallow it all at once.”

“…Good girl.”

Dien coaxed her gently in a soft voice, an oddly mature demeanor for her usual self.

Overwhelmed by the soothing pats, Elin finally surrendered.

Gulp.

With tears welling up—no, streaming down—her face, Elin swallowed the potion.

Once Dien confirmed the liquid had passed her throat, she released her grip.

“Cough…! Gah!”

Elin immediately erupted into violent coughing.

“Ugh, blech…”

She dry-heaved so violently it seemed like she might throw up her insides.

“Senior, is this really okay?”

“Phew, it’s fine. That reaction means it’s working. Can you hand me something to wipe with?”

Dien held out her hand, covered in Elin’s spit.

Luke retrieved two cloths from his inventory, handing one to Dien and using the other to clean Elin’s tear- and saliva-soaked face.

“Huff… haa…”

Elin, who had been convulsing moments earlier, finally calmed down and slumped against Luke.

“Are you okay?”

Elin glared at Luke without saying a word.

“I’m sorry. But it was for your sake, my lady.”

“…I know.”

Then, as if even glaring was too much effort, she let her head droop.

“Is it over now?”

“For now.”

Dien placed a hand on Elin’s forehead.

“Hmm, your fever’s gone. How do you feel? A bit better, right?”

“…Now that you mention it.”

Elin wriggled her fingers before nodding.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Phew. Looks like it worked. Now, check if there’s still a curse near her mana heart.”

“Excuse me.”

Luke drew a strand of mana and guided it through Elin’s body, inspecting it thoroughly.

It was pure and clean—unlike last time, when the mana heart had been tainted by a dark curse.

He concentrated and approached the mana heart.

“…!”

“Judging by that reaction, it worked.”

Just as Dien said, the dark, murky curse enveloping the mana heart was gone.

Now, Elin could fully harness her abundant, radiant mana.

It marked the beginning of her blossoming talent.

“Of course, the curse is only temporarily suppressed. You’ll need to keep taking the potion regularly. It was especially bad this time because it was your first dose, but you’ll get used to it eventually.”

“…I have to take this… regularly?”

The problem was that Elin now had an overwhelming aversion to the potion.

“I’d rather die than live drinking that.”

She spoke in such extremes that Luke had to intervene.

“My lady.”

Luke hesitated for a moment.

She had finally regained her ability to use magic, but ignoring the curse wasn’t an option.

Forcing her to take the potion against her will wasn’t viable either.

“Do you really need magic?”

This is bad.

If this continued, she might lose interest in magic altogether.

“If you make a promise with me, I’ll grant you one wish.”

He made an impulsive offer, disregarding future consequences.

“…A wish?”

Elin’s interest was piqued.

“Yes. As long as it’s within my power, I’ll grant you anything.”

“…Anything?”

Her voice turned calm, and after a moment of contemplation, she nodded.

“Alright. I’ll endure and drink it.”

“Phew, thank you.”

Relieved, Luke felt fortunate that she agreed without further resistance.

Forcing her to do something she despised wasn’t something he was confident about.

“What’s your wish?”

“Do I have to decide now?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Then I’ll save it for later.”

Elin looked up at Luke and clasped his hands tightly.

“You must listen.”

Feeling an inexplicable intuition that something terrible would happen if I didn’t, I nodded.

Was it because my body felt refreshed?

Or because I had secured the wish token?

“Thank you, unni.”

Elin looked incredibly pleased.

Sway, sway.

The softly swaying cowlick was evidence of her delight.

“Uh, unni?”

Hearing the term for the first time, Dien’s eyes grew as wide as saucers.

“Isn’t this the correct way to call you?”

“Y-Yeah! That’s right. I just felt a little awkward. I’ve only ever had a younger brother.”

Twitch, twitch.

Dien’s lips twitched.

It made sense that she was happy.

Her entire network of human connections consisted of Luke and Lanian.

With her petite frame, she was often treated like a child everywhere she went.

She’d likely never had a chance to hear someone call her “unni” before.

“You’re truly amazing, unni. Even though it didn’t taste good… I’m not in pain anymore.”

“Finally, someone recognizes my greatness.”

Dien grinned smugly. Her lips didn’t seem capable of containing her smile anymore.

“I’m not sure how I’ll ever repay you…”

“Don’t worry about it! Did I help you expecting anything in return? Hehe.”

She couldn’t help but laugh, her demeanor like that of a child basking in praise.

“But you did expect something in return.”

“Ahem. Seeing you healthy makes me feel good too.”

Dien casually emphasized “unni” while brushing off Luke’s comment.

“If you ever have another problem, call me anytime. If it’s Elin asking, I’ll come running, no matter what.”

Dien puffed out her small chest proudly.

Luke, quietly observing, leaned over to whisper to Elin.

“Don’t trust her too much just because she seems so pleased with herself. She’s the type to disappear without notice again.”

“I see.”

“What? No way! Would I ever ignore my little sister’s request?”

Dien’s sharp ears picked up on their conversation, and she pulled Elin into a tight hug.

“…This feels surprisingly nice.”

Buried in Dien’s fluffy hair, Elin closed her eyes and murmured softly.

“Really? Then why don’t we take a nap together like this?”

And with that, Dien naturally waddled toward the bed.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Luke immediately pulled them apart, separating Elin from Dien.

“It’s not time for you to sleep, young lady. Don’t ruin your sleep schedule.”

“A short nap should be fine, though, right?”

“Today isn’t the first time you’ve napped. Now you’re trying to sleep again?”

“Ugh.”

Clicking her tongue as if she’d heard this lecture before, Dien jumped onto the bed.

She rolled around, wrapping herself in her hair like a shellfish retreating into its shell.

“She’s like a hermit crab…”

Luke sighed briefly and turned back to Elin.

“Shall we test things out quickly, then?”

“Test?”

“Now that the curse is gone, shouldn’t you try using magic?”

“Oh.”

Nodding as if the suggestion made sense, Elin’s cowlick bobbed up and down.

“Alright, let’s try what we did last time.”

Snap.

With a flick of her fingers, a mana orb appeared in her palm.

Elin extended her hands expectantly.
Perhaps she thought Luke would hand it over to her.

“No. This time, I won’t help you.”

“Huh?”

“I already taught you how to handle mana. Remember what I told you and try it yourself.”

“Hmm.”

Elin looked down at her palm.

Her eyebrows twitched, and her cowlick waved vigorously.

But all the mana did was swirl around.

It just wouldn’t form into an orb.

“Hey. How’s she supposed to follow along when you explain it like that? Even academy students struggle with this.”

Having rolled her way over to Luke, Dien poked her head up to comment.

“See, this is why geniuses are no good as teachers. How can someone like him be a tutor—huh?”

Clicking her tongue, Dien’s expression suddenly turned blank.

Shwoo—

“I did it.”

The mana that had been swirling in Elin’s palm had somehow formed into a perfect orb.

“I don’t feel any pain anymore!”

She even pressed a hand to her chest, right over her mana heart.

“H-How…?”

Dien’s pupils quaked like an earthquake.

Luke chuckled softly.

“I knew this would happen once the curse was removed.”

“Unni, geniuses like you shouldn’t downplay your achievements!”

“No, that title belongs to someone like her.”
Luke gestured to the pure mana orb in Elin’s hand.

“She’s the one who truly deserves to be called a genius.”

“Is this really that amazing?”

The person in question tilted her head with a serene expression.

“I already told you before. If you say this is easy, academy students would faint from shock.”

“It wasn’t that exaggerated…”

“Well, maybe not that much.”

“It’s definitely amazing!”

Still reeling from shock, Dien shot to her feet.

“That’s pure mana manipulation, isn’t it? The kind used in mana control exams! Even you can’t do it that perfectly, Luke!”

“True.”

Dien’s over-the-top reaction and Luke’s calm agreement made Elin blink in confusion.

“Do I… really have talent?”

“I’ve always told you, haven’t I?”

Luke smiled warmly, patting Elin’s head.

“Others simply failed to see it. You have an incredible gift.”

All the abuse and scorn she’d faced were penalties.

Starting on equal footing would’ve been unfair.

Elin had merely reached the starting line now.

“Now, let’s begin your real magic lessons.”

“Magic lessons…”

“With the honor of being the top of the academy’s magic department at stake, I’ll make you a grand mage, no matter what.”

Luke grinned mischievously.

“And we’ll crush the pride of everyone who ever looked down on you.”

Elin would become an extraordinary grand mage.

The people of Berthein would regret their actions.

Now, the true journey of raising this young lady had begun.