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[AI CENSORSHIP BLOCKED THIS CHUNK - RAW ENGLISH RETAINED]

TESSIA ERALITH

I kissed him… Ikissedhim!

As I ran out of the room, I could feel the temperature in my face rising rapidly.That was my first kiss.I wondered if he had liked it.Did I do it right?My face didn’t look weird, did it?

I stopped in the hall and looked at my reflection in the window.Standing right in front of it, I pretended to kiss Art again to see how I’d looked.

“Oh no!”I banged my head on the window in embarrassment, groaning at the thought of how weird I must’ve looked to him.As I looked through the window, my forehead still pressed against it, I touched my lips with my fingers.

His lips sure were soft.They were a bit chapped, but it felt nice.

My face in the reflection showed an obnoxious grin.

I wonder if I came on too strong.What if he didn’t like it?What if he thinks I was improper or lewd?

I slid down the window and slumped to my knees.How was I supposed to face him now?Things had been getting better, too.Had I just ruined everything?What if he ignored me the next time he saw me?A throbbing ache thumped in my chest and tears started welling up in the corners of my eyes.I wouldn’t be able to bear it if Art ignored me.

Should I go back to his room and pretend it was all a joke?I imagined myself bursting in the room, laughing and pointing at him.“Got you!Haha!You really fell for it!”

I groaned again at the stupidity of it all.

No!I did the right thing.Things would never progress if I left it up to Art.He still treats me like a child every time we’re together.It was for the best!

“Yeah!”I fist-pumped the air to encourage myself, but then I let out a big sigh at the thought of him not liking me.

Who cares?I thought.If Art chose to ignore me, I could just find someone better than him.He wasn’t that great anyway—just a teeny bit better-looking than average and only slightly better than mediocre in magic.

Who was I kidding?I couldn’t imagine myself with anyone other than Arthur.Sure, over the years there had been nobles who had tried to impress me in an attempt to get close, but they couldn’t compare to Arthur.

Stupid Art.“Don’t furrow your brows, Tess.Your face will turn ugly,” I said in a mocking tone, imitating him.

Tch!Making my heart skip a beat for no reason.That stupid player!

“Who cares if he doesn’t like you, Tess—it’s his loss!What don’t you have?You’re a talented mage.You’re pretty smart, and popular too, right?And not to sound conceited, but you’re not a bad-looking girl either.Arthur is the one who’s missing out if he doesn’t snatch you up.”I pointed at my reflection as if she were a different person.

I wondered what kind of excuses I would have to make to talk to Arthur.There were plenty to choose from—his mother had personally asked me to watch over him.And also, the beast core assimilation—I could ask him to help me with it, since he was the one who gave me the beast core.It was only right that he take responsibility, right?

With a deep sigh, I took one last look back at where Arthur’s room was, then slumped to my dorm.

ARTHUR LEYWIN

I kissed Tess…

I kissed Tessia Eralith, a thirteen-year-old girl.Wasn’t that a crime?Was I a criminal?No—I had to calm down.I was in the body of a twelve-year-old boy, and it was just a chaste kiss.Why did I feel so guilty, then?

And shewas the one who kissedme, after all!I wasn’t the one responsible for this.Making a move on me while I was in this vulnerable state… she sure was smart, that Tess.

I stared blankly at the door she’d left through as my shaking hand finally reached my lips.I just lay there, dumbfounded, touching my mouth as my mind relived the soft, moist touch of her lips.

This was wrong.Yes, I was technically only twelve years old, but combining my ages from my previous life and this one, mentally I was almost fifty.Considering my mental age, Tess was young enough to be my daughter.

Goddamn it.This was all because of this accursed body, these raging hormones in my body right now.The reason I was feeling so guilty was because I had actually enjoyed it.It felt nice when Tess kissed me.Itshouldn’tfeel nice and Ishouldn’tenjoy a kiss from a little girl, but I did.

I groaned, half from pain and the other half from wondering about what was going to happen between Tess and me.Knowing her, she was probably overthinking a lot of things right now, and she was going to be really uncomfortable around me.

I almost laughed at the idea of what people might think of Tess when she was with me.If someone didn’t know any better, they might even assume that she hated me, since she was the type to act cold when she didn’t know what to do.

Something told me that if I didn’t clear things up with her, there would only be more misunderstandings.

How should I clear things up, though?It’s not like she made a profession of love or anything.Should we start dating?No, no, no.Did kids our age even know what dating was?

I thought back to my past life.When I was twelve then, my life had been filled with nothing but training.Being raised in an orphanage and then being sent to an institute dedicated solely to raising duelists, I couldn’t say I’d really had any experience dating.

We were too young anyway, right?I was technically only twelve in this body—was it even capable of reproducing yet?

Oh God, nowyou’reoverthinking this, Arthur.

It wasn’t like I hated Tess.I was actually quite fond of her.She was still immature in some ways, but I shouldn’t let that be an excuse, right?

“What do you think, Sylv?”I poked my sleeping bond, watching as her body slowly rose and fell with her breaths.I was surprised she hadn’t woken up when Tess kissed me.

I played with Sylvie’s ears and paws until my breathing began to synchronize with hers, and I soon fell asleep.

While I was recovering over the next few days, quite a few people came to visit me.When Curtis came by and asked if I was okay, I only shot him a grin and said that his move was pretty damn strong, making him laugh.A few times it seemed he was about to ask me something, but he held back, perhaps because of my condition.

Claire Bladeheart also stopped in to check on me, and she kept me up to date on committee meetings so I wouldn’t be totally lost when I went back.To my surprise, Kathyln visited by herself instead of with her brother.She asked if I was okay and I could have sworn she looked worried.I was more surprised by that than anything else.Even Professor Glory came to visit, with a basket of fruits in hand.

I could tell everyone had a lot of questions.

“I’ll tell you,” Professor Glory said, “Lucas has been pretty heated up.I can’t blame him, though.To him, it must’ve felt like he was beating you in every sense, but you suddenly disappeared and instantly re-appeared a few hundred yards away.”She paused before continuing.“How did you do it, anyway?I’ve never seen anything like that.You know, even Director Goodsky isn’t capable of what you did.Instant teleportation has always been considered a myth.Yet, here you are, a twelve-year-old…”

I thought I’d be able to sit up without too much pain, so I lifted myself up just enough to be at eye level with the seated Professor Glory.But even that small movement was too much, so I just sank back down in my bed and limited myself to saying, “I think everyone has a secret or two they wish to keep to themselves.”

For a moment, I could tell Professor Glory wanted to pry, but she just nodded and let out a breath.“Okay.”

Director Goodsky visited once, briefly.I asked what was happening with the class I was supposed to be teaching and she said that, for now, Professor Glory had volunteered to take on the class until I was better.She didn’t give me the chance to ask any further questions, though.

She seemed to have come mainly to update me on how Tess was doing.“As her assimilation continues, she’s becoming more and more stable.These past couple of days, she’s only had one more fit,” she said.

“I’m glad you’re taking care of her, Director,” I said genuinely.

“She is my disciple, after all.Ah, that reminds me—I will be away from the academy for a few days on some business.Since Virion has returned to Elenoir, I need you to help Tessia with her assimilation until I return.Can you do that for me?”she said.But it seemed the question was a mere formality—she didn’t even wait for my response.

“Uh, yeah.Sure, I can do that,” I said to the empty room.I shook my head helplessly.I wasn’t sure if Director Goodsky really had business to attend to, but at least it would be an excuse to meet with Tess.

My recovery rate was a lot faster than anyone expected thanks to the assimilation of Sylvia’s dragon will into my muscles and bones.I spent my recovery time meditating and developing my mana core.I was at the threshold of breaking out of the dark yellow stage but it would still take a lot of work.I planned on leaving the infirmary and resuming normal school life starting tomorrow.Though I was still a bit weak, I would be glad to get back to my studies.My body felt stiff from being in bed for so long.

There was a strong knock on the door that afternoon, and I called, “Come in.”Sylvie hopped off the bed and padded toward the door.

“Just wrapped things up at work and came straight here.You look great!”My father had a wide grin on his face when he saw how much better I looked.

“Hey, Dad.”I smiled back, and Sylvie gave him akyuof greeting before hopping back up next to me.

Taking a seat, my father chatted with me for quite some time, catching me up on everything going on with his work at the auction house.It was remarkably relaxing to talk to him.Family sure was different than anyone else.The fact that he didn’t have any ulterior motives—no plan, no secrets—was comforting.He just wanted what was best for me.

“How’s everyone doing at home?”It felt like it had been a long time since I’d spent time with my family, even though I knew it hadn’t been.

“Ah, her zamanki gibi. Annen arkadaşlarıyla sosyalleşmekle meşgul. Kız kardeşin ise… bayağı ele avuca sığmaz oldu.” Kendi kendine kıkırdadı. “Belki seni büyütürken işimiz çok kolaydı ama bazen Ellie’ye ne yapacağımı bilemiyorum.” Kafasını kaşıdı ve daha önce orada olmayan kırışıklıklar fark ettim.

“Sadece ona biraz alan tanı,” dedim. “Yola gelir o.”

Kısa bir sessizlikten sonra, aklıma takılan bir şeyi sormaya karar verdim. “Baba, annem neden hiç büyüsünü kullanmıyor ki? Yani, küçükken küçük yaralarımı iyileştirirdi falan ama hepsi buydu. Senin onun ne kadar harika bir yayıcı olduğunu söylediğini hatırlıyorum.”

Babama bakınca, her zamanki neşeli yüzünün biraz karardığını görmek beni şaşırttı.

“Annen… kalbinde büyük bir yük taşıyor.” Devam etmek için doğru kelimeleri arar gibi duraksadı. “Hikayeyi bilecek kadar olgun olduğunu biliyorum ama sabırlı olmanı istiyorum. Kendini hazır hissettiğinde sana anlatacaktır, bu yüzden onun sana kendisi anlatmasını beklemen gerekecek.”

“Anlıyorum,” dedim. Babamın kolunu zayıfça okşadım, ardından vücudumun kasıldığını hissedince pozisyonumu değiştirdim.

“Seni dinlenmeye bırakmalıyım, oğlum.” Burnumu nazikçe sıktı ve vedalaştık. Sessizce ayrıldı, beni anneme ne olmuş olabileceği, güçlerini kullanamayacak kadar travmatize olmasına neden olan şeyin ne olduğu konusunda merakta bıraktı.

“Kyu?” dedi Sylvie, ne düşündüğümü sorarak.

Sadece başımı salladım. “Hiçbir şey değil, Sylv. Umarım.”