01. A sword for you (14)

The time I met Yoon Seo-hee again was after school when all classes were over.

When I went to her health room after her ordinance was over, I was able to meet her with her worries completely put to shame.

“Hello, Lee Jin-ah.”

He smiled brightly, unaware of the speed of people.

Resisting the urge to sigh, I pulled a chair and sat down.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes! Are you fine? In fact, I was able to go to class in the afternoon, but the health teacher said that I still need to rest, so I can’t.”

“Afternoons are classes for majors. If you collapse and exercise like that, I will stop the country.”

“Ah… is it?”

“Patients should not overdo it and rest.”

Then he took out her notebook from her bag and handed it to her.

“This is the lesson I took today.”

Academy’s morning classes teach general high school subjects such as Korean, English, and mathematics. I couldn’t take classes for my major, but I wanted to pass on the handwriting.

But because I skipped the first period, I don’t write anything down. What if today’s progress included test questions… It can’t be helped.

“Did you take notes instead? I don’t think so… Thanks.”

“What are you thankful for? You fell down because of me, but I have to repay you even a little bit.”

I felt at least a little responsible for Yoon Seo-hee’s collapse.

I thought it was best to endure the situation silently, but I couldn’t take into consideration the feeling of her having to watch it from the side.

Now that I think about it, there was a better way.

When I noticed the commotion. No, when I heard Yoon Seo-hee’s voice, I should have at least contacted teacher Song-ha.

I thought I had judged and acted calmly, but looking back, I lost my composure the moment I heard her voice.

That’s definitely something to reflect on.

“No.”

“What?”

“It’s not your responsibility. Don’t even dream about it.”

She shook her head slowly but firmly.

That straight gaze was staring at me with confidence.

“I did it of my own will. Even if I fall down, it’s because I’m immature, you don’t have to feel responsible.”

After saying that, Yoon Seo-hee pulls her knees together on her bed with a slightly bitter expression.

“And what am I to do if you say that? What I did for you… It’s an exaggeration, but… Anyway, it seems like I made you feel unnecessarily guilty. Then I’m uncomfortable.”

“… Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I just need to know….”

There was an awkward silence.

Did I say something wrong again? I had no idea why the atmosphere was like this.

Relationships with people are so complicated and not easily solved by thinking enough.

Well, is that the same as a sword? If the perfect sword was made according to my mind, I would have already made a master piece.

Kendo and relationships with people are all I have no choice but to keep working hard.

I decided to just convey my honest feelings instead of being polite.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?”

“The one that came out earlier. I never thought someone would be so mad for me. Still, it didn’t feel bad.”

“Because I didn’t do this for you… Oh, anyway, I’ve said it before. If they bully you, it makes me feel bad.”

“Yes, I did.”

Yoon Seo-hee kept her words that she had said at the time.

He has an incredibly sincere and consistent personality.

I took a quick look around the infirmary, just the two of us. It was because there was no one in sight who should always be in the health room.

“Come to think of it, where is the health teacher?”

“They left the knife as soon as the bell rang? He asked me to lock the door and close it on my own.”

That teacher also has a pretty decent personality… I didn’t have a chance to visit the health room, so I knew about it for the first time.

“You mean no one is coming? It just went well.”

“… Yes?”

I got up and locked the door to the health room because other students might come to the health room.

I didn’t want anyone to disturb what was going to happen from now on.

Clap.

“Lee, Lee Jinah? Why is the door locked… ?”

“Yoon Seo-hee.”

I put on a heavier and more serious expression than ever before.

It is because the words she will convey to her from now on have that much weight.

To show my sincerity, I didn’t like the light and appropriate atmosphere as usual.

I opened my mouth in a low voice.

“I have something serious to say to you.”

“Huh? Uh!? Uh, here? Now?”

Yes. There is only now.

Rather, now or never. There is no more time.

She sits across from her and makes eye contact with her with her serious eyes.

“Suddenly go, go, go… !? Ah, my heart is still ready….”

I don’t know why, but her pupils are dilated and shaking greatly.

Maybe it’s the same for me.

It’s the first time in my life that I’ve asked someone such a serious favor, and my palms are sweaty with nervousness.

A cool summer breeze blows through the open window of the health room, and her long hair gently sways in the wind.

“Seohee, come with me….”

“…… Yes.”

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Gulp.

Yoon Seo-hee swallowed her dry saliva. No, maybe it was me? I do not know.

He spoke amid rising tension.

“… Will you synchronize your magic with me?”

Yoon Seo-hee opened her eyes wide at those words.

“…… What?”

He twisted his fine forehead.

I thought she had heard it wrong, so I said it again as if to emphasize it.

“Magic tuning. Connecting the other person’s magic with my own….”

“… Hey, Kim Ijin.”

Yoon Seo-hee’s expression turned red in the chilly air.

“You, you— don’t mislead people!”

“Keep it off!”

Yoon Seo-hee’s fist got stuck in my stomach. An ideal trajectory as if drawn in a picture.

It was a blow of conversion.

I was gasping for breath and clutching at the area that had been hit, I groaned in pain. Seeing me like that, Yoon Seo-hee’s complexion changed.

“Oh! Uh, what to do! Did I hit you too hard? Are you okay? W, this is the health room. Wait, Jin-ah! I’ll bring you some medicine!”

“… Oh no. It’s okay… Kuk… You can hold on.”

I raised her hand to hold her back and calmed her breathing. She waited for a while, and her pain subsided in no time.

Yes, I did say the right thing.

It’s nothing else, it’s not something that Awakeners can easily accept. If it’s a single room, it’s rather cheap.

“Then you refuse to tune in to magical power?”

“… What is Magic Synchronization?”

“What?”

You don’t know what magic tuning is?

No, then why the hell did I get hit?

I suddenly felt unfair. Perhaps reading my expression, Yoon Seo-hee scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

“Oh, no… Because it misleads you… Anyway! So, what is magic synchronization?”

Do I have to explain from there?

I took her deep breath and explained her basics for her.

“I send my magic power through the other person’s body and figure out the circuit composition of that person. Where does the magic circuit start, what shape does it take, and where does it flow?”

“Do you need something like that to make a sword?”

“I need it. At least it does for me.”

The day Seohee Yoon stayed at her house.

I tried to persuade her, but in the end, she couldn’t say anything and stopped because it was her magical tuning.

Magic power flows through all things. I don’t know how it used to be, but after Outbreak, this proposition has become common knowledge around the world.

From the smallest ants to the largest humans, even inanimate objects such as stones and sand have magical powers.

Of course, magic flows through the sword as well.

According to the amount of magic power, the grades are divided from S rank to F rank.

So, if you know the composition of her magic circuit in detail, you can recreate the flow of magic that is most similar to her circuit inside the sword.

It’s going to be a very difficult task, but it’s worth a try.

But all of this required the premise that she agreed to sync with me.

“Getting to know the circuitry means getting to know that person one after another. Of course, you get to know the person’s weaknesses, so it’s common to not do it unless you have a really trustworthy relationship.”

“A reliable relationship?”

“Yes. Family, lovers, or really close friends.”

A magical circuit is like a fingerprint in a human body. Since each person’s circuit configuration is different, no circuit is completely identical even if similar circuits exist.

Assuming that the enemy is aware of this circuit, it is not impossible to infiltrate one’s mana into the opponent’s body by encountering it during battle.

If it’s a battle between wizards, it’s much easier to counter-interfer with the other’s magic. The field of dispel does not exist for nothing. That’s what understanding the circuit configuration means.

I was asking her to tell me such an important thing.

“So if you don’t like it, I won’t force you. We’ve only known each other for a few days, and I think it’s shameful to say such things. But it’s something I really need, so if you don’t mind-“

“Doesn’t it really matter?”

She nodded her head coolly enough to make me faint.

Looking at her with her blank face, she belatedly spoke her words.

“No, are you really okay? I’m not going to tell you, but mana tuning is not such a simple decision.”

“It’s okay. You said it was necessary to make a sword? Then that’s what I’d rather ask. It’s not like Lee Jin is the kind of person you would turn your back on.”

Yoon Seo-hee lowered her legs under her bed and met her gaze with me as she sat upright.

“So that… How do you synchronize your magic power? Can it be your hand?”

As she did before, Seohee Yoon stretched out her arms toward me. She looked at the back of her white hand and I shook her head.

“No. Synchronization of magical power cannot be done with her hands. It has to be closest to the heart.”

“… That, then?”

“The skin has to touch each other, so even if you can’t, it’s your chest, or your back… Aww!?”

Yoon Seo-hee punched her again with her cheeks red.

It was almost the same blow of conversion as before.