The start of an adventure
Bell straightened his posture, forcing himself to remain calm and composed despite the strain.
"But at least… it worked."
---------------------
Marc quickly stood up and ran toward Bell, his face filled with excitement and curiosity over what he had just witnessed.
"Whaaaa?! What was that???? That was soooo coollll! Can I learn that too?? Will you teach me how???"
Bell replied with an exhausted look on his face, but a small smile still lingered.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry. You'll be able to learn that."
Juro watched the two of them quietly. In his eyes, what he saw were hidden gems.
"These kids are insanely talented, " he thought to himself. "It'd be a waste for them to never reach their full potential. Hah… I guess that orphanage lady was right about them being geniuses."
His gaze lingered slightly longer on Bell.
"Especially that white haired kid", Juro continued internally. "That analytical mind of his is abnormal. Even though I had far more mana than him, he noticed a single fluctuation in my mana flow that caused a low mana frequency. And without hesitation, he burned through all of his own mana just to match it".
Juro's eyes narrowed slightly.
And he's still standing. His physical strength isn't something to take lightly either.
Jenna immediately rushed over to both Marc and Bell and crouched down in front of them, concern clear on her face.
"Are you two okay?"
Marc nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Bell also nodded in response.
"That was indeed impressive," Juro said, looking down at them with an intrigued smile. "I don't often see this level of talent in children. You were right. These kids really are geniuses."
Jenna smiled and gently patted both Bell and Marc on the head before standing up.
"So?" she said proudly. "What do you think? They're worth taking care of, right?"
She looked up at Juro with a confident smile.
Juro laughed lightly and waved a hand.
"Fine, fine. I'll take care of them and help them reach their full potential."
Marc's eyes lit up instantly. He looked up at Juro and asked,
"When do we leave?"
Juro glanced down at him and replied calmly,
"Right now."
Marc widened his eyes in shock.
"Ehhhh?! Right now???? We're leaving the orphanage right now??"
Juro put a hand on his chin, thinking for a moment before replying,
"That was the plan, but hmm… I'm feeling kinda hungry. So we'll leave after dinner."
Jenna chimed in immediately.
"Alright, since it's still morning, why don't we have a feast? This marks the day Bell and Marc go on an adventure with the village hero."
With that, she headed back inside the orphanage to start preparing the food. Grenold followed after her, along with the other kids. However, the two nine year old girls stopped for a moment, turning back to look at Bell and Marc before quietly walking inside as well.
"I can't believe I'm gonna have a powerful hero help teach me magic and explore around like an adventurer," Marc said, his eyes shining with excitement.
Juro laughed awkwardly.
"Haha… you don't need to refer to me as a hero."
"Oh, okay… Sir Juro," Marc replied.
Juro scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
"Just call me Juro, kid."
"Ehh? Will that really be fine?" Marc asked.
"Yeah," Juro said casually. "We'll be traveling together, so let's get comfortable with each other."
Marc smiled brightly.
"Okay then. I'll go back to the orphanage and help Jenna prepare. After all, this'll be my last day with them."
He turned around and ran back inside the orphanage, waving at Juro as he went.
Bell watched Marc disappear into the building before turning his gaze toward Juro.
The moment he did, Juro's face was suddenly right in front of his.
Juro rubbed his chin slowly, one eyebrow raised.
"Hmmmm… hm hm hm… hmmmm… mhmm… hmmmm."
Bell instinctively took a step back and asked,
"What…?"
"Your control of mana is way too good for someone inexperienced," Juro said slowly. "Are you… perhaps…"
Bell looked up at him, waiting for what he would say next. A tiny bead of sweat formed on his forehead.
"Perhaps… a secret son of the Greatest Mage???? Hmmmmm???" Juro exclaimed, raising one eyebrow even higher.
. . .
"Augh… what kind of nonsense are you talking about?" Bell replied with a disappointed expression.
Juro burst out laughing and ruffled Bell's hair before straightening his posture.
Bell quickly fixed his hair and looked up at him.
"You're a softie, aren't you?"
Juro tilted his head. "Hm?"
Bell continued calmly,
"Earlier, that was just an excuse to let the orphanage lady spend one last moment with us before leaving, huh? You saw her expression when you mentioned leaving right away. So you made an excuse to give her more time."
Juro closed his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Hmmmmmmmmm."
He then opened his eyes with a wide grin, just as a loud grumbling sound came from his stomach.
"What excuse?"
Bell stared at him with disappointment before turning around and walking back into the orphanage.
"What a good observation…" Juro muttered with a smile as he watched Bell leave. He then looked up at the sky and thought to himself, "Hah… looks like I'll be raising and training kids… again…"
Juro stretched his arms above his head before heading back inside.
Inside the orphanage, Marc was keeping an eye on the other kids, playing with them by forming small streams of water mana on the tip of his finger.
Grenold and Jenna were busy cooking, while Bell prepared plates on the table.
The orphanage became lively, filled with warmth and smiles.
A few minutes later, breakfast and lunch were combined, as Jenna went all out with the meal.
The table was filled with rice and all kinds of dishes. Vegetables, goat meat, pork meat, soups, and even fruits like bananas.
Marc's eyes lit up as he stared at the table.
"Wooooah… so mannyyyy!"
Juro chimed in with a laugh.
"Ms. Jenna, you really went all out this time."
Jenna smiled proudly.
"Of course I did. The village hero is eating here, and he's taking care of both of my kids."
Grenold watched the scene quietly, memories surfacing of the feast he once prepared for his own daughters before they left to live their own lives.
As everyone took their seats, they ate to their fullest. Especially Marc and Juro, who stuffed their mouths with food without holding back.
"Finallyyyy… I haven't eaten in three days, huhu…" Juro thought to himself as he grabbed food from left and right, stuffing it into his mouth without restraint. "Everyone in the village keeps offering me booze. I'm honestly sick of it…"
Bell glanced at Juro and thought, So this is going to be our instructor, huh…
As everyone continued eating and enjoying the meal, Bell decided to check his system stats. It had been a while since he last looked.
Calling out to the system in his mind, a holographic screen appeared in front of him, visible only to his eyes.
CURRENT STATS:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name - Bell
Age - 9
Gender - Male
Race - Human
Attribute - None
Old Title - The Greatest Mage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Strength: 59 +
Speed: 50+
Vitality: 110+
Intelligence: 160+
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bell scanned his stats carefully.
"I'm improving quite quickly… but I can't help feeling disappointed, he thought. I keep comparing my past stats to my current ones… argh, whatever. Let's just eat."
He closed the system window and continued his meal.
The table remained lively, filled with smiles, laughter, and chatter. Jenna watched both Bell and Marc quietly and smiled to herself.
. .
. .
As time passed, Juro informed Jenna that he wouldn't be able to join them for dinner, as he still had some schedules planned. Jenna looked a little sad, but she understood.
She then told Marc and Bell to go prepare the things they wanted to bring. Juro chimed in, saying they didn't need to pack any clothes or underwear, just a few personal items.
Marc and Bell both looked disappointed.
"Ehhhh? Then what are we gonna wear when our clothes get dirty?" Marc asked.
Juro replied casually, "You'll learn how to do laundry."
Marc's face instantly fell.
"(ＴДＴ)…"
Juro chuckled.
"Don't worry. I know magic that can clean clothes."
Marc's eyes lit up immediately, and he ran off excitedly to prepare.
Bell was already upstairs in his room. He grabbed the dagger he had gotten from the noble carriage, along with a pouch of coins he had also taken from it.
"This should be good enough," Bell muttered.
He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
As Bell walked out, he glanced to the side and saw Marc exiting his room as well. Marc was carrying a blanket wrapped around several piles of books, strapped awkwardly to his back.
Marc: …
Bell: …
..
…
Time passed, and in the end, Marc only brought one book with him. Earlier, Bell had told him not to bring all of them. Marc sulked for a bit before finally agreeing.
When they stepped outside the orphanage, everyone gathered to say their goodbyes.
Marc hugged Jenna and the other kids tightly, tears forming in his eyes as he said how much he would miss everyone at the orphanage. Jenna tried to keep a composed expression, but her eyes grew teary as well. Nelly clutched onto Marc's shirt, crying without restraint.
While everyone was hugging, Bell and Juro stood to the side watching quietly.
Juro looked down at Bell.
"Aren't you going to join them?"
Bell replied calmly, a small smile on his face as he watched the scene.
"Nah, I'm fine just watching."
After the goodbyes were finally said, Marc rejoined Bell and Juro. Jenna looked at Bell and nodded.
Bell smiled back and nodded in return.
The three of them began walking away. As they did, Juro and Marc waved back.
Jenna, Grenold, and the kids waved their goodbyes until the figures grew smaller.
And so, the adventure of the three of them began.
..
…