Chapter 51
Because Abelus had gone to a friend’s house, I wasn’t able to see him until several days later.
‘It’s been a while since I came to the training grounds.’
I watched the servants open the massive stone doors, my face set with tension.
I was entering through the main gate now—bold and upright—but that didn’t ease the nerves.
‘Nothing I experienced here left good memories.’
But today was different.
I’d been told that only Abelus and his friends were inside.
With a basket of snacks I hadn’t brought in a while, I tiptoed inside.
“Miss, you’ll need to step inside this boundary.”
A servant pointed at a circular ring etched into the floor—a containment glyph.
It was a ward to keep any powers used inside from leaking out.
Crash!
Before the servant had even finished speaking, an unidentifiable shard came flying toward me.
It didn’t touch me, protected by the transparent barrier, and instead fell to the floor with a clink.
Through the crumbling pieces of stone, I could see two figures sparring.
Exi and Tophus. Abelus was nowhere to be seen.
Curious, I set down the basket and pressed my face to the barrier.
The one on the offensive was Tophus, who wielded the power of lava.
Every time he swung his arm, the stone floor of the training hall rippled like waves.
Just as a crimson glow surged toward his opponent—
Boom!
The sticky rock exploded into fragments with a thunderous blast.
The power of explosions.
It was Exiplosius’s strength.
Though both of them held swords, they were clearly just for show. The real fight was a showcase of powers.
“Is this even allowed?”
Exi gestured at the ruined floor.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll make it sparkle again once we’re done.”
“Plaster work suits you, I guess.”
“You little—”
Stung by the jab, Tophus raised the ground even higher than before.
But then Exi suddenly motioned for him to stop.
“Look over there.”
“Hah, you think I’ll fall for such a cheap—whoa?”
They were pointing at me, my forehead pressed against the barrier as I watched.
“Oops, I’ve been spotted.”
I grinned sheepishly.
“Whoa, your hair’s really something.”
Tophus dashed over and said.
“My hair?”
I tilted my head. Tophus handed me his bronze shield.
When I saw my reflection, I let out a scream.
My head was completely covered in baby’s breath flowers.
I looked like a lamb with fluffy white wool.
‘Ankus, that little…! I thought he’d go easy!’
I couldn’t believe my aides kept straight faces when they saw me like this.
I began plucking the flowers from my hair, but the two quickly tried to stop me.
“You look lovely, truly. Right, Tophus?”
“Absolutely! Uh, don’t shake them out, miss. You look so… charming—no, nice, just like that.”
Behind them, the training hall was still a molten mountain of lava and debris.
Looking at it, I forgot all about my original purpose for coming and my eyes lit up.
“Tophu! Exi! You’re amazing!”
“Oh, this is nothing.”
“We still pale in comparison to Abelus. If you train diligently, Miss, you’ll be able to do this too.”
“Train!”
I shouted in excitement.
‘That’s right, I awakened!’
Now I could train here, just like them.
Controlling powers like they did—it was only a matter of time.
“Now that you mention it, shall we try a little training session?”
Tophus stood and, laughing, lifted some rubble into the air with his power.
“Here, try hitting these as targets.”
“Easy!”
I raised both hands and fired off a blast of power with confidence—but it missed all of them completely.
“Hahaha!”
Tophus burst out laughing as if he expected this.
Determined, I fired again.
Still missed—but this time, it came closer to the target.
‘Nice! Just one more—’
I gathered more power in my hands, but something felt off.
The rubble was slowly rising higher into the air.
“Tophu! That’s cheating!”
I shouted, but Tophus wore the most innocent face.
“What do you mean?”
The targets, which had floated near his shoulder before, were now way above his head.
“Ugh, I’m already so short…”
I sighed in frustration, but then suddenly, I felt myself rise into the air.
“Huh?”
Exi had lifted me up.
“There. Now you can hit them.”
I nodded confidently, and this time, I gathered my magic into my mouth.
Whoosh!
The flame shot forward and struck a large piece of rubble dead-on.
“I did it!”
“Well done, Miss!”
As Exi and I celebrated our success like a team, Tophus grumbled.
“Tch. Even raised them so high… and she still hit it.”
He said it loud enough to be heard, clearly pretending to complain just to compliment me.
‘Guess he’s not as childish as I thought.’
Even the bit of wariness I had left toward them melted away completely.
“But did you come here alone today?”
“She must’ve come to see Abelus. Look at that.”
Tophus pointed at the basket I’d brought.
That’s when I finally remembered the real reason I came.
“…Right. Abelnu— I mean, Abelus. I need to ask him something.”
“What is it? If it’s something we know, we’ll gladly tell you.”
Exi offered.
“Thanks. But I don’t think you’ll know. I came to ask about my birthday.”
“Who doesn’t know their own birthday…?”
“Tophu, everyone has their reasons.”
“R-right. Of course.”
Exi quietly chuckled at his scolded friend.
But after I mentioned Abelus’s name, Exi’s expression darkened slightly.
“Where is Abelnu—I mean, Abelus?”
“…”
“…”
Tophus and Exi exchanged glances in silence.
“It might be best not to find him today.”
Exi said with an awkward smile.
“Everyone has seasons of heavy thoughts.”
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Before I could ask, the two of them began whispering among themselves.
“His family’s death anniversary is coming up.”
“Yeah.”
Death anniversary.
I understood immediately.
It was almost the memorial day for Abelus’s family—the ones who had lived in Kekaum.
‘I should go comfort him… no. It’s better if I stay away.’
Because I probably represented the very opposite of the people he loved and missed.
“Tophu, Exi. Take these.”
I handed them the snack basket and trudged down the mountain.
I’d ask about my birthday another time.
“Tophus, Exi. You’re still here.”
Abelus pushed open the doors to the training hall.
He had just returned at dusk after riding all day on the outskirts of Ardentluna.
“You’re back, Abelus.”
“We were just about to leave. But if you need a sparring partner, I’m happy to stay.”
“No need. What’s that?”
Abelus pointed to the basket in Exi’s hand.
With its flowered handle, it was clearly not something two men would be carrying.
“Lady Kalidora gave it to us.”
“She came by earlier looking for you. We kept her company, and she gave this as thanks.”
“She did?”
“She said she had something to ask you…”
“Oh, right—she wanted to know someone’s birthday.”
“Her own birthday.”
Tophus remembered being scolded by the little lady.
“Her birthday?”
The word felt oddly out of place to Abelus.
“She said there’s a story behind it.”
“…”
Abelus stared blankly into the air.
His face had already looked pale when he entered, and now, pain spread slowly across it.
“…?”
Only now did his two friends realize the story might be far more serious than they had thought.
