Chapter 30

He seemed anxious that the two might cause some trouble in front of young Kanis.

He needed to tend to Kanis quickly, but the two were entirely consumed with glaring daggers at each other.

Ultimately, he turned to Kanna with a pitiful expression, as if begging for help, but there was no way she would assist.

However, even Kanna was growing increasingly curious.

Yet, she knew that if she asked, they would undoubtedly demand to ask her questions in return.

Kanna shook her head to dismiss the thought.

Then, Kanna looked at Kanis. She saw her younger self in the child.

Kanis, with her eyes reddened from fever and damp with tears, was peeking at the people she called her parents.

More than the immediate pain, it seemed she was more afraid that they might leave her behind if she closed her eyes.

Kanis pressed her lips together tightly, her expression stubborn.

She was trying not to lose consciousness.

At some point, Renoah had moved to Kanis’s side.

Though Kanis couldn’t hear or see him, he knelt beside her and called her name.

His voice was filled with gentleness and concern.

“Master of the Mage Tower.”

Renoah naturally addressed the young Kanis—who had neither the Mage Tower nor its title—as if she were already someone of significance.

As if this version of Kanis were already a person of importance.

Even though, in reality, she was merely a fool who had dared to use that dangerous power against humans rather than monsters.

Kanna let out a long sigh that seemed to rise from deep within her.

At that, Renoah quickly approached and asked, 

“What is it? Did you suddenly feel like saying something?”

“No.”

Kanna rubbed her forehead.

To be honest, something else had been bothering her for a while now.

The thought that Michael might have seen all of this was making her dizzy.

This was a past that was shabby, disgraceful, and far from proud.

Michael didn’t need to know about this. She didn’t want him to know.

She just wanted to remain… to him… 

Not bad—not good either, just someone in the middle.

Nothing more, nothing less.

‘Will you marry me?’

Was he regretting those words now?

Perhaps, this time, it was Kanis who would avoid meeting his gaze.

At that moment, a loud noise erupted.

The man had kicked the table, sending its clutter sprawling across the floor.

The woman, unable to contain her anger, glared at the man with tears streaming down her face.

And, as if it were a lie, the woman turned her gaze toward Kanis.

“Because of someone like you.”

The scene shifted again.

Kanis, now well over ten years old, was sprinting through a narrow alley.

Whenever there was a theft, it was always Kanis’s job to distract the guards who protected the warehouse, but something was different this time.

As if they had been prepared in advance, the guards did not panic. Instead, they closed in, driving Kanis into a dead-end alley.

Kanis, who had only ever used magic to push or knock people aside, began to panic at the mercenaries’ encircling formation.

Leaping onto a wall, Kanis tried to cross through someone’s yard to escape the trap.

Renoah, chasing after Kanis, suddenly shouted, 

“Wait, there’s a mage!”

A mage had been hiding behind the mercenaries, chanting spells from earlier.

“You’ve got sharp eyes.”

“Well, Miss Kanna, you might not know, but mages instinctively recognize each other.”

Kanna silently furrowed her brows as she looked at Renoah.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

It didn’t seem like something someone who couldn’t even recognize whether their companion was a mage or not should say.

At that moment, a complex magic circle filled with intricate spells appeared in the air, glowing red.

The magic was on the verge of completion.

Even while fleeing, Kanis seemed to sense the mana movements behind her. She dove into an open space to her left, rolling to avoid the spell.

However, the magic aimed at Kanis gracefully changed direction, completely ensnaring her.

Kanis collapsed, her chin hitting the ground first.

A tricky spell that set its target… 

Kanis, who had never properly learned magic, panicked and thrashed, trying to break free from the bindings.

As the mercenaries parted, a mage and an elderly man approached the panting Kanis, who lay sprawled on the ground.

Both looked extremely agitated.

“This level of ‘aptitude’ is unprecedented. I can’t imagine how much potential they might have.”

“I was forewarned, but it’s also the first time I’ve seen someone this ‘young.’”

By then, Kanis had realized for sure. They had been waiting for her—they knew she would come.

Renoah muttered uneasily, 

“Don’t tell me…”

The old man’s face was flushed, either from the cold or excitement.

“For us, no, for everyone, there’s something you must do.”

“Let me go! Release me!”

When Kanis glared at him defiantly, the old man’s expression turned stern.

“If I release you, will you return to your parents? If it weren’t for you, those petty thieves would’ve been dead long ago.”

“……”

“You’re different from that kind. You still have a chance.”

When Kanis turned her head away, the old man bent down to meet her gaze.

“Come with us. There’s someone who needs you.”

Someone who needs her…

At that moment, Kanis clenched her teeth and headbutted the old man in the chest.

The moment everyone present witnessed Kanis’s eyes flash blue—

The spell binding her cracked and ultimately shattered into pieces, scattering in all directions.

The mage, caught off guard, was also hit and thrown back onto the mercenaries.

Could a child who had never properly learned magic really break a spell using only mana manipulation?

The old man clutched his chest and pointed at Kanis as he got up.

“Catch her! You must catch her!”

While the mage regrouped, the mercenaries closed the distance toward Kanis.

Whenever their wary eyes met Kanis’s sharp blue ones, the mercenaries flinched slightly.

Their stance was completely different from before.

The mercenaries threw a net-like object toward Kanis.

Without hesitation, Kanis charged toward the mercenaries.

And with just one strike, all of them were thrown several meters away, collapsing.

Even though it was just once, Kanis seemed to have gotten the hang of it. She disrupted the mage’s spells one after another.

She didn’t even seem to need incantations.

Eventually, the mage signaled to the old man with his eyes.

In her current state, capturing Kanis seemed highly unlikely.

The old man, deciding it was more important to lower Kanis’s guard first, raised his hands and took a step forward.

“Child, the World Tree’s power bestowed upon you—”

When Kanis stiffened her shoulders and looked ready to attack, the old man quickly stepped back.

“But think about it. How did we know you would come here and wait for you?”

“……”

“Who do you think told us? Where do you think your parents are right now?”

Kanis snapped back,

“That’s a lie!”

“Do you really believe that?”

“……”

“They sold you to us in exchange for lifting the wanted notice.”

Kanis visibly faltered.

The old man had clearly aimed for this.

“…No.”

“We’ll treat you well. You don’t have anywhere else to go, do you?”

“No!”

Kanis ultimately disappeared into the darkness.

“Shall we pursue her?”

“How could we possibly chase down that ghost-like, miraculous child?”

“Then…”

“She only has one place to go. She won’t be able to believe she was abandoned.”

“I’ll dispatch someone there.”

“And request another mage from him.”

The mage, whose face had turned pale, nodded at those words.

Renoah, who had been silently observing until now, suddenly grabbed Kanna and hugged her tightly.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m holding my arms still because I don’t know what kind of crazy thing I might do.”

“This is an illusion. Whatever we do here won’t matter.”

“Just like how the Master of the Mage Tower would never get caught by those people?”

“……”

“It felt natural, though. What a pity.”

Renoah clicked his tongue playfully, but given the circumstances, he didn’t look particularly amused either.

Regardless of what they wanted or didn’t want, the scenery changed again in an instant, transporting them to yet another unfamiliar place.

Panting heavily, Kanis returned home and stopped in front of a half-open door.

“Pack your things quickly! Do you really think the promise those bastards made to let us go is real? Once they catch that child, they’ll kill us too!”

The voices of conversation coming from inside were unusually clear.

“Did we… really do the right thing by selling her off?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Do you really think they can defeat ‘that’? If she find out we sold her off—”

“What does it matter? She thinks of us as her parents. Do you really think she’d do anything?”

“What if she finds out the truth? Did you see her eyes when she knocked someone down? Do you think that monster would see us as the same kind of people as her?”

“So, what do you want to do? Huh?”