The old man’s eyes narrowed, the moment Satin asked as if knowing nothing. Satin slowly lowered his gaze. The old man muttered, “He really doesn't remember anything…”
It seems like the old man was talking to himself, so Satin stayed quiet and silently watched.
‘Did he believe me?’
Although Satin did hope the old man would believe the lie, this feels too easy. It’s odd, but Satin still kept silent. After all, having claimed amnesia, there was no reason to question why the old man would so easily believe him.
“Come out for now.” The old man said, turning and walking away. Satin quickly followed through.
There were two more doors next to the reflection room where Satin had been confined. Judging by the spacing of the doors, they all seemed to serve the same purpose.
‘Having multiple reflection rooms means…’
Means that they could confine several people at once, indicating that there were more than just a few individuals.
At the end of the short hallway, there was a staircase. Climbing up the dark stairs led to another corridor. Satin silently marvered seeing the new found hallway. There were paintings on the walls and a console with teardrop-shaped lamps. It looked just like an old mansion straight from a foreign drama. Satin had watched a few of those dramas before, and this felt exactly like that.
‘It would’ve been more convincing if there were carpets.’
After walking the hallway for a while, they heard children’s voices. A group of children, looking around twelve years old, came running. Satin stepped aside so that they wouldn't end up bumping into each other.
“Don’t run so noisily in the halls.” The old man lightly scolded the children.
“Yes, teacher!” The children responded like chirping birds before going outside. Through the open and closed door, the lush green forest and brightly sunlight can be briefly seen before the door closes shut.
‘This must be a school.’ Satin guessed as it seemed to fit the situation perfectly.
The building was linear, and you could see from one end to the other, meaning it wasn’t very large. Of course, that perception could change depending on the number of floors. Conveniently, there was a staircase leading to the second floor, opposite of the entrance where the children had exited.
Judging by the direction of the light, it was probably a south-facing building with hallways stretching east and west.
“What are you doing? Let’s go up.” The old man said as Satin was lost in thought trying to grasp the building’s layout. The old man started up the stairs first and Satin quickly followed.
Indeed, the building wasn’t very large. It only had two floors. Satin followed the old man into the second-floor west hallway. It was a central hallway, with rooms facing each other across it.
‘The number of doors…’
There were two doors on each wall, making a total of four. Glazing at the opposite hallway, there were three doors on each side, totalling six. So, just by using simple math, there’s a total of ten rooms on the second floor alone.
There were probably fewer rooms on the first floor. Unless there are additional buildings, the first floor likely housed the dining room, kitchen, and sanitary facilities.
‘A very small school.’
When Satin had woken up in that prison-like room, he feared he might have to endure trials and tribulations, but now that fear’s fading away.
The old man walked past two doors facing each other and entered the inner part of the hallway. Then he opened the south-facing door. Satin glanced at the opposite door before following the old man inside.
‘An office? Faculty room?’
Unlike the dark hallways with no windows, the office was very bright. Through the window, he could see the lush green forest outside.
A small school in the woods. It gives off a very peaceful feeling.
Following the old man’s gesture, Satin sat on the sofa in front of the tea table. It was quite a comfortable chair. Though he hadn’t noticed it , he had been a bit tense, and as he leaned against the backrest, his lower back felt stiff.
The old man didn’t sit down across Satin right away but bustled about doing something. Peeking over, Satin saw that he was preparing tea. Satin took the opportunity to survey his surroundings.
It was quite a cozy space, clearly decorated with care. The sofa Satin was sitting on seemed intended for student consultations, and there was a large work desk near the window. The desk was positioned so that the person sitting there would be backlit.
“Is there really nothing you remember?” The old man asked as he placed an empty teacup in front of Satin. Still preparing, he continued to clatter about the teapot and tea leaves at the cabinet.
“No…”
“How was it at first?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean did you realize it immediately upon waking up?”
“When I woke up, I was trying to figure out where I was. As I wondered why I was here…”
That wasn’t a lie. When Satin woke up, those were his exact thoughts.
“Hmm…” The old man hummed and then sat down across Satin, muttering something inaudible. As he did so, the area around his hand holding the teapot began to shimmer.
“What is that?” Satin asked instinctively.
“It’s tea. You must have had it before, but it seems like you don’t remember.”
“No, not the tea, the sparkling part.”
In video games, sometimes a spot will sparkle, indicating a clue necessary for progress. Depending on the genre, it might just yield a random item. But unlike in games, nothing will sparkle in reality just because it was hidden beneath your feet. Because things have no intention. But now the teapot the old man is holding is sparkling. It wasn’t just because of its material, faint particles of light were slowly flowing from the old man’s hand to the teapot.
“Sparkling?”
“It’s very pretty. Like magic.”
The old man lowered the teapot and muttered silently once again. Satin involuntarily followed the old man’s hand with his eyes. The particles of light swirled slowly around, creating a faint whirlpool that quickly reached the ceiling.
As Satin gazed at the ceiling, the old man lowered his hand, murmuring, “Indeed.” At that moment, the swirl of light vanished. “So you can see Magical power.”
“Magical power?”
Satin wasn’t asking because he didn’t know what magical power was. Before reincarnating into this body, Satin had read a lot of web novels following his sister. Terms like magical power or mana, even if not practically useful in reality, were common knowledge in the modern world.
However, the old man, thinking Satin didn’t know what magical power was due to his presumed memory loss, misunderstood the question.
“Magical power is the energy that makes up magic. This magical power and…”
Light emanated from the old man’s hands again.Satin was genuinely amazed.
‘Magical power is incredible.’
“This is magic.” The old man continued. A small flame appeared in the midst of the light. It looked like a mini wall among light. Satin was impressed once again.
‘Magic is incredible too.’
As the old man withdrew his hand, the flame extinguished, and the light gradually dimmed. When Satin looked, the old man squinted his eyes slightly and murmured, “Magical power is fundamentally invincible to human eyes. It’s strange how you can see it.”
“...It’s not supposed to be seen?”
“It’s not that you’re not supposed to see it, rather it’s impossible to see it. Even I, who uses magic, can’t see it.”
The old man reached out his hand. His hand, touching Satin’s face, passed over his neck, brushed his shoulder, and gently stroked his forearm. Satin had no idea what he was doing and just rolled his eyes.
“Anything odd…?”
The old man shrugged, withdrew his hand, and lifted the teapot. As he tilted it toward the cup in front of Satin, red tea poured out. In the water magically brewed, tea leaves float about.
“Could it be related to the lost memories?”
“I’m not sure…” It was something that Satin was not sure of himself, so there wasn’t much to say.
The old man drank his tea and touched Satin’s shoulder several times, muttering each time, “Strange.” Meanwhile, Satin also thought to himself.
‘If he can use magic, then this person can’t be an ordinary old man.’
Distinguishing between the elderly and the non-elderly is important.
After finishing his tea, Satin was finally able to leave the place. There was a child who came to ask about something he didn’t know, and the old man instructed the child to guide Satin to his residence.
“Did you really forget everything?”
Although Satin didn’t know the child, the child seemed to know Satin. The concept of memory loss seemed unbelievable, and the child kept glancing at Satin in disbelief.
“Yes, I really did.” Trying to sound as gentle as possible, Satin looked at the child. The child’s name was Tim. The old man called him that earlier. He was a young boy, probably about twelve years old. He wasn’t as tall as Satin’s shoulder.
If you’re a true adult, you should know to be gentle with children. Satin smiled warmly, and Tim timidly asked, “ How did that happen?”
“Well, I don’t know and maybe that’s what memory loss is…?” Satin murmured vaguely, like a foreign politician. Time quickly understood.
“I guess so. It must be really uncomfortable.”
Tim’s expression was sincere, typical of a child. Satin smiled casually, not feeling particularly uncomfortable yet. It felt more like going through a tutorial in a game.
“So, what is this place?”
“A school.” So Satin’s guess was correct up to that point. Tim continued, “It’s not a real school though. It’s a place for kids like us who have nowhere else to go, to come and learn. The teacher is a really nice person.”
It seems more like a private orphanage that provides basic education. Satin nodded as Tim spoke and giggled, “When I first came here, Satin is the one who taught me. Now that I’m the one teaching, it feels strange.”
“Really? How long have you been here?”
“I’ve been here for about five months.” Tim rolled his eyes and counted the days in his mind before answering. This means that Satin has been here for more than five months. Wondering if Tim knows more, Satin casually added another question.
“Do you know when I came here?”
“I don’t know.”
“I see.”
It was disappointing, Satin felt a bit let down. However, Tim’s words weren’t finished yet.
“But I heard that you’ve been here the longest. You’re also the oldest here, Satin.”
“How old am I then?”
“Eighteen.”
As expected from his estimation from earlier. He thought Satin would be in his late teens to early twenties, but eighteen crossed over that range. He;s two years younger than his actual age.
‘Still, I shouldn’t forget that I’m an adult.’
Even if he is in the body of a child, he couldn’t forget the fact that he was once an adult.
Credit:
TL: Sajin
TL comments:
TL: Ml~ Ml~ come outttt~~~
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