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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Test
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As Lumina’s hand touched the glass orb…
“Didn't you say you were a Legion?”
It remained silent.
The shopkeeper tried to look sympathetic, but his true thoughts were showing.
*See? I knew it.*
His expression said it all.
But he was also trying his best to look sorry for her, making for a truly bizarre expression.
*Isn't it strange that there's no reaction? I'm definitely a Legion!*
If the glass orb had so much as twitched, she wouldn't be receiving this much pity.
Lumina had never undergone a test like this before, so she wasn't certain.
She thought it would be quicker to just show him her ability, but her confidence was deflating like a punctured balloon. Just then—
Crack—.
A crack appeared on the glass orb.
Then, after a flash…
“…It’s broken.”
“Huh? That’s impossible.”
“But it is.”
Denying reality didn't change the outcome before them.
Lumina quickly pulled her hand away from the orb and looked at the dumbfounded shopkeeper.
“Wait, just a moment…”
Stunned, he picked up a piece of the glass with his bare hands.
“Ouch!”
The sharp edge pricked his finger, drawing blood.
He yelped and was about to pull his hand away, but Lumina grabbed it.
“Hold still for a moment.”
She might have experience from her past life, but this was her first time actually healing someone, so she needed to concentrate.
Lumina spoke without a trace of a smile and used her ability. Fortunately, it wasn't very difficult to activate.
Butterflies of light gathered around the wound. A moment later, when the butterflies vanished,
the wound was completely healed.
Having witnessed a miracle right before his eyes, the shopkeeper’s eyes widened so much it looked as if they might pop out.
“A r-r-real Legion?”
“Yes. I've been telling you.”
He was stuttering so badly he seemed to be trembling.
The shopkeeper turned pale.
“How is this possible?”
He hurried to lock the shop door and told her to wait.
“That stool is too high and uncomfortable. Please, sit at any of the tables over there.”
The man who had been eager to kick her out was now frantic that she might leave.
Lumina hopped down from the stool and moved to a table that was much more comfortable.
“Oh, right. What would you like to drink?”
“Pardon?”
“Should I warm up some milk for you? I don't have any tea a young lady would like, only alcohol. Milk is all I've got…”
“One glass would be lovely, then.”
“I’ll add plenty of honey! Don’t go anywhere, just wait here and drink up.”
He kept glancing nervously at Lumina, a complete reversal of his earlier attitude.
“Just a moment, then. Just a little moment. Don’t go anywhere!”
He told her not to go anywhere several times before rushing out.
In an instant, the shop became dead silent.
“Hmm.”
Lumina looked down at her palm.
The cut from the shopkeeper's finger was now on Lumina's own.
“Just as I saw before.”
Just like when she had healed Endymion's injuries, they had all transferred to her.
It felt less like healing and more like transference.
“A wound this small should heal quickly.”
Though she had grown up without proper nutrition, Lumina was a strong and healthy child.
When she got a cut, it healed faster than others’ even without any ointment.
*I never even got common colds, so getting to meet Duke Heart over a small injury is a total win.*
With that thought, she took a small sip of the milk, just enough to taste it.
“It's too sweet.”
He must have put in so much honey that it made her tongue tingle. It felt like there was more honey than milk.
Lumina grimaced and pushed the glass away slightly.
How long had she waited?
*Cling—.*
Hearing the door open, Lumina turned her head.
A man who looked younger than she remembered from her past life, about her father's age, entered the shop.
“You.”
The moment he saw Lumina, he strode toward her, looking surprised.
*He's huge.*
Lumina looked up at the tall man approaching her.
He was well over 180 centimeters, probably around 190.
He wore black sunglasses, so she couldn't see his eyes.
But based on his aura alone, he seemed like the type of man who would bury people up to their necks, stuff them in a small box, and toss them into the sea.
In other words, he looked like the boss of some criminal organization.
A man like that approaching a little girl sitting quietly and drinking milk?
Nine times out of ten, any child would be terrified and burst into tears with a loud wail.
Even a grown man would likely yelp and back away in fright.
The man standing before her, Lucius von Heart, studied Lumina intently.
He seemed to recognize something.
*Could it be…*
Could the Duke also remember his past life?
Her heart began to race at the thought that such a wild assumption might actually be true. Just then,
Lucius finally spoke.
“Where did you get that dress?”
“My dress? A relative bought it for me.”
“No, not that. Your coat.”
“This was also a gift.”
“From whom?”
For some reason, she felt like a criminal being interrogated.
Even though Lucius was the one who looked like the actual criminal.
All sorts of scenarios were running through Lumina’s mind.
But she hadn't anticipated this line of questioning and couldn't answer right away.
It would have been easier to respond if he had used a classic line like, ‘Have we met somewhere before?’
Perhaps the brief silence brought him to his senses, as Lucius shook his head as if to say it was enough.
“My son wears clothes of that exact size. I asked without thinking.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, so…”
*CRACK!*
“So you're the Legion?”
*That scared me.*
He could have just asked normally if she was a Legion, but instead, Lucius slammed his fist on the table.
The table split in two.
Even a sword couldn't have made a cleaner cut.
*Is this a warning that if I say the wrong thing, he'll treat me like this table…?*
She was well aware that Duke Heart did not have a pleasant personality.
And that she hadn't truly experienced it in her past life because of the special circumstances.
Still, she hadn't expected him to smash a table upon their first meeting.
“Boss, she's just a child. Maybe you should refrain from such… aggressive behavior.”
*Boss?! He really is a boss?*
The shopkeeper belatedly tried to stop Lucius.
“She can’t be more than ten. Besides, she’s a precious Legion, so maybe if you softened your expression while you talk…”
“Excuse me, may I say something?”
Lumina spoke up cautiously.
Instantly, both men’s gazes fell on her.
“I'm twelve years old. So you don't have to treat me like a little kid.”
“…”
“Of course, at your ages, ten and twelve probably seem about the same.”
In the conversation to come, Lumina's age was an important point.
That was why she had to clarify it.
The shopkeeper, who had expected Lumina to be frozen in fear, was completely dumbfounded.
“Ah, the young lady is a Legion, after all.”
Then he muttered as if he’d had a great realization.
To speak so calmly in this situation. She truly was a Legion.
“Brandon, I'd like to speak with her alone. You can leave.”
The shopkeeper, Brandon, stared blankly at the perfectly fine table from moments ago, then left.
He looked incredibly sad.
“Let’s move.”
“Yes!”
When the table split in two, the milk had made a miserable mess on the floor.
So they moved to a relatively clean corner.
The curtains were drawn shut, making the room dark despite it being daytime.
It created a rather suspicious atmosphere.
“I’ll ask again. Are you the Legion with the healing ability?”
“Yes, I am.”
Lumina replied with a bright smile that could have banished the darkness.
The man before her was the ultimate weapon to bring down that wretched Joseph and her relatives.
She was doing her best to smile, determined to make the best possible first impression.
“How much can you use your ability?”
“I’ve never used it to its limit. But I can heal any wound, whether on an ordinary person or a Legion.”
“What about the dead?”
“…I can’t bring them back.”
“I see. Can you show me your power?”
“Yes.”
As soon as he heard her answer, Lucius pulled a dagger from his coat and made a thin cut on his thumb.
*I can't mess this up.*
Though she was still smiling on the outside, Lumina made a grim resolve internally and used her ability.
A cluster of light in the shape of butterflies gathered over the wound.
When the light faded moments later, his finger was perfectly healed.
“I can heal any injury, regardless of its size.”
Lucius, who had been watching her silently, suddenly grabbed her hand without warning.
“W-Wait… You can’t steal my ability by cutting off my hand!”
She was so flustered that nonsense spilled out of her mouth.
While Lumina’s mind went blank, Lucius meticulously examined her fingers.
“So it’s a transference type. It moves the target’s wound to yourself.”
He wasn’t trying to cut off her wrist.
Even though she hadn't shown any sign of pain, he had noticed the wound on her in the exact same spot as his own and had arrived at the truth.
A faint blush of embarrassment crept up Lumina's cheeks.
Did he dislike it because the ability wasn't purely beneficial?
*But in my past life, he didn't seem to mind.*
She wanted to know what he was thinking, but with his eyes hidden, she couldn't read his expression.
“Why haven’t you gone to the Imperial Palace, knowing you’re a Legion with a rare ability? Not just the Empire, any country would be in an uproar to have you.”
“Well.”
The answer was already decided.
But Lumina pretended to think it over.
She was worried that if she didn't act enough like a child, the excuse of ‘she’s a Legion’ might not be enough.
“To be blunt, I don’t like battlefields. I don’t like monsters, either.”
Even if it was a winning fight, it was still a battlefield.
The environment was harsh, the food was terrible, and she’d have to spend all day on edge, surrounded by asocial Legions.
Lumina's perception of Legions wasn't a hasty generalization.
Perhaps due to their immense power, an unusual number of them had lost their humanity.
It was common knowledge that there were many eccentrics among the Legions.
*That's why ‘you’re acting like a Legion’ is used as an insult.*
There were other variations too, from ‘you look like a Legion’ to the absolute taboo, ‘Are your parents Legions?’
“Alright, I understand you have an ability different from others. But…”
Lucius’s voice echoed chillingly.
“What do you want from me?”
Lumina looked him straight in the eye and said,
“Please become my guardian.”
