Time Healer Ceres

Chapter 54: The Child Who Sees Mana

“All the children who were with you have been sent to other orphanages. Some were adopted right away.”

Ceres called Zien over and briefly explained. Since the orphanage had been his home for so long, she felt he should know that it was gone, along with what had happened to the children he’d lived with.

“Hmm.”

“The director is sick and dying.”

“...Sick?”

At first, Ceres felt hesitant to tell him this. Even mentioning that man could bring back painful memories for the child.

Still, Ceres thought it was better for him to know. Rather than wondering if his abuser was living well somewhere, knowing that he was suffering for what he’d done might ease some of the anxiety the child carried inside.

“Yeah. A disease that’s making his whole body rot.”

Zien’s eyes widened slightly, but his expression soon returned to normal, as if he had no interest in hearing about the director. Ceres didn’t bring him up again.

“You know you’re starting at the Academy next week, right?”

“Yes.”

The most important thing right now was getting the child into the Academy.

He hasn’t had any proper education, but that’s not the most important thing right now.

Academy wasn’t mandatory, after all. He could always study at home. In Ceres’s eyes, what Zien needed most right now was to learn how to socialize and get along with others.

Especially with children his own age.

An Academy diploma could also give him a chance to build a future for himself. In society, graduating from the Academy could even be something of a status symbol. For now, Ceres intended to give him as many opportunities as she could.

Now there was one more thing to consider...

“That ring.”

Ceres’s gaze fell on the ring still resting on Zien’s finger.

“As I told you before, having that ring means you have a talent for magic. If you want, I can introduce you to the Magic Tower.”

I’m close with the Tower Master. I can surely get one person in.

“......”

Zein fell silent for a long while. Then he stared down at the ring on his finger.

“Would... you be happy if I learned magic, Ceres?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Ceres met his gaze and sighed.

Again. We’re back to square one.

Every time he had to make a choice, the child always looked to Ceres first to gauge her reactions. She couldn’t help but sigh.

“Zien.”

Ceres called his name softly.

“It’s your choice to make. My opinion doesn’t matter.”

“.......”

“I told you before. If you want to do it, then do it. If you don’t, you don’t have to. It’s up to you.”

His gaze returned to the ring. Another long silence followed.

As always, Ceres didn’t rush him. She simply waited patiently until he had made up his mind.

“...I will.”

After a long while, the child finally spoke.

“I’ll learn magic.”

***

“Hello.”

“......”

“I’m Cheion. Let’s get along.”

“......”

Cheion greeted the child, but Zien didn’t respond.

“You should greet him properly.”

“Hello. I’m Zien.”

At Ceres’s prompting, Zien immediately bowed politely from the waist, as if he’d never ignored Cheion in the first place.

“Um...”

He just ignored me, didn’t he?

Cheion stared at his secretary, Luca, who was standing behind him. When their eyes met, Luca calmly remarked,

“He certainly has what it takes to join the Magic Tower.”

“What? How can you tell? Is his magic talent really that obvious?”

“Magic talent? That isn’t what matters. He doesn’t let you intimidate him, Lord Cheion. That’s enough for me. He passes.”

“...Why are you the one deciding that?”

Cheion shot Luca an annoyed look before turning his attention to the ring on the child’s finger. Ceres already told him about it.

The ring of the Archmage Artia.

“Haa... I looked everywhere for that thing, too.”

The ring was said to choose only mages talented enough to earn Archmage Artia’s recognition. Cheion had never doubted that he would one day become its owner. Yet, after years of searching across the continent, he never found even a trace of it.

Now, this little boy had shown up wearing that very ring. Was his magic talent really greater than Cheion’s? The thought left Cheion feeling a little dejected, and he let out a long sigh. He had never once doubted his own genius before.

“Talent alone isn’t enough to wear it.”

“Huh?”

Ceres spoke up, as if she knew what was going through Cheion’s mind.

“There’s something else besides talent.”

“Something else? What is it?”

Cheion tilted his head. Everyone knew that Artia’s ring was meant for the most talented person, didn’t they?

“Desire.”

“...Desire?”

“You’re just a little less desperate than the child.”

A burning desire for magic. A yearning to master it. That was one of the conditions for being chosen by the ring.

“Talent alone isn’t enough. You have to want to become the best. That also matters!”

When Ceres remembered something Artia had told her long ago, she glanced at the child standing close beside her.

And yet...

Despite wanting magic so badly, enough to become the ring’s owner...

“Would you... be happy if I learned magic, Ceres?”

You still asked what I wanted first.

Remembering Zien from that moment, Ceres sighed. There was still so much she needed to teach him. When would he finally learn to say what he wanted without worrying about anyone else?

This is why a child’s upbringing matters so much.

For a second, Ceres wondered if she should go back to the orphanage director and curse him again. Were the other children like Zien, too? Were they constantly watching everyone around them, worrying about what others might think...?

“Study hard.”

“Yes...”

Ceres gently patted the head of the child, who lowered his head dejectedly. Sometimes, time could be the best medicine of all.

I hope it will be the same for Zien.

Ceres sincerely hoped that, with time, the child’s painful memories would fade away.

***

[Long time no see, half-breed.]

“...When did you escape?”

[Escape? What are you talking about?]

“Then did Ceres let you out?”

After his afternoon prayers, Ersi returned to his room only to find an uninvited guest lounging inside with her legs crossed, looking completely at home.

Dressed in a bizarre outfit and holding a skewer of fruit, the woman was Elliet, the God of Curses and Fortune.

[It was you, wasn’t it?]

“What was?”

[You’re the one who convinced Grace to seal me away in that subspace.]

“Why would I go out of my way to do something so troublesome?”

Crunch.

[You were always wary of me because I knew your true identity.]

“I never did that.”

[Then why else would she have sealed me away?]

“Because you were a useless nuisance who flirted with every handsome man you saw.”

[Wow, you’re such a hardcore T. I guess you and your master are both brutally honest.]

Crunch.

She popped the last piece of fruit candy into her mouth and stood up.

[Ceres still doesn’t know, does she? Your true identity.]

“.....”

[You’re neither human nor a god. You’re just a half-breed.]

“I still think I’m better off than someone who ran around causing trouble and ended up sealed inside a fan.”

Ersi chuckled and settled into the chair by the window.

[Ugh, this is exactly why I can’t stand you. What’s the point of being handsome when you’re so unpleasant? That girl really needs to see this side of you.]

“...I’d rather not hear that from you.”

Coming from the person with the worst personality in the world, that was quite a statement. Ersi stared at Elliet in disbelief.

“So, did you come all the way here just to pick a fight? You really haven’t changed. You must have plenty of free time.”

[You saw it too, didn’t you?]

“Saw what?”

[That thing beside Ceres.]

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