Blue light Goodbye - 63
And as she looked at him, she found herself more in awe of his expression than the magic in front of them.
What she saw wasn't a simple smile.
It was pure and genuine admiration for the magic.
Even though Gluhen was one of the simplest and most commonly taught magics, Marc looked at it as if it were something grand.
Noria smiled.
He still had the same expression he had when she first showed him the magic.
…
While looking at everyone's expressions and then down at his own palms, Bell suddenly thought of something. He leaned closer to Marc's ear and whispered the plan he had in mind.
Both Noria and Brea looked confused. A few seconds later, however, Marc's face lit up with a bright smile.
"Ooo, okay!"
Bell sat back normally, and before Noria and Brea could ask what he had told Marc, he simply smiled at them.
"He'll show you. Let's all turn off our magic first."
The two princesses were still confused, but they listened. One by one, they dispersed their magic, and the glow that had filled the room slowly disappeared.
Once again, the room fell dark, with only the dim light from the window and the soft glow of the three moons outside illuminating the room.
Marc then stretched out his right arm and opened his palm before closing his eyes, remembering what Bell had told him.
First, he recalled the moment he had used Gluhen for the first time. He remembered the feeling of that light and the magic that had surrounded him. Holding onto that memory, he slowly began flowing mana around his palm.
The mana gradually began to glow.
Noria and Brea watched with fascination, their eyes following the growing light. Then Marc opened his eyes and smiled.
The mana slowly began to rise from his palm.
It expanded outward, flowing calmly through the air. It spread like the branches of a tree growing outward from its trunk, except each branch was made of glowing mana, filling the darkness with a gentle, beautiful light.
Soon, a warm blue hue washed over the room.
Noria and Brea looked up in awe, their faces filled with fascination. Even Marc stared at what he had created with wonder. Despite being the one performing it, he couldn't help but be amazed by how beautiful magic could be.
The flow of mana continued, slowly expanding throughout the room and brightening it little by little.
They all watched with smiles on their faces.
Bell did too.
He looked up at the beautiful mana spreading across the room, a small smile resting on his face.
The room felt silent.
But within that silence were smiles.
…
A couple of minutes passed, and Bell found himself in an odd situation.
He was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. Marc's head rested on his left shoulder, while Noria's head rested on his right. Brea's head rested against his right thigh, with books scattered around the room.
They were all asleep.
Except Bell.
Bell was in a difficult situation. He couldn't move at all without waking them up. He looked around, trying to find some possible way out of his predicament, but there really wasn't one.
He had expected Marc to fall asleep in Brea and Noria's room. He had planned to leave as soon as they all fell asleep.
But now he was stuck.
Bell sighed before thinking to himself, "Should I just wake them up…?"
After considering it, he glanced down at the children. First Noria, then Brea, and finally Marc.
They were sleeping soundly, completely unaware of the situation Bell had found himself in.
Bell sighed again.
This time, the sigh came with a small smile.
He simply rested his head against the bed he was leaning on and closed his eyes.
…
Another few minutes passed before the door slowly opened.
Juro stood on the other side, accompanied by the two queens. Heler and Bray looked around the room, initially noticing that no one was sleeping on the bed. Then they spotted the children sleeping peacefully on the floor, surrounded by scattered books.
Both queens chuckled.
"Looks like they're all comfortable," Bray said.
Juro, still holding the door handle, smiled.
"Yeah…"
Then, all of a sudden, Bell woke up.
His eyes opened, and he immediately noticed Juro standing by the door. Bell's eyes widened as much as he could, silently trying to signal him.
"Help me."
Juro slowly began closing the door, but then he noticed something moving. He narrowed his eyes and looked closer.
Bell.
He was awake.
The moment Bell realized Juro had noticed him, he quickly shifted his eyes toward the sleeping children, silently signaling for Juro to help him.
But Juro simply stared at him.
Then, a mischievous grin slowly spread across his face.
Bell immediately recognized that grin.
He lightly shook his head.
"Don't you dare."
Juro's grin only grew wider.
He began nodding repeatedly, as if assuring Bell that he understood perfectly.
Bell stared at him in disbelief.
Juro kept nodding.
Then, without losing that grin for even a second, he slowly closed the door.
Even at the very last moment, Bell could still see Juro's amused expression before the door finally shut.
"This...."
Bell could only think the word.
Meanwhile, Heler looked at Juro curiously.
"Was there something there?"
Juro simply shook his head with a smile.
"Nah. I just thought about how cute the kids are."
…
And so, the night slowly passed.
Around six in the morning, the sun began to rise over the kingdom. The knights and mages who had worked through the night were now switching shifts with those beginning their morning duties. King Brunzel had already woken and begun looking through paperwork, while the training grounds were filled with knights sparring and practicing their swordsmanship.
Nearby, the Horlenses were being fed mana fruits, while the mages went about their own duties.
A fresh morning had begun.
Meanwhile, inside Noria and Brea's room, Juro was already awake, gently waking Bell and Marc.
As Bell slowly opened his eyes, he noticed that Noria and Brea's heads had moved onto pillows during the night. Finally, he could move freely again.
Both Bell and Marc stretched their arms. Marc yawned as he stretched before looking toward Juro.
"Hm? Teacher Juro…"
Juro smiled.
"It's about time. We'll be leaving soon."
Marc's eyes immediately widened.
"Oh!"
His voice was enough to wake Noria and Brea as well. They slowly sat up from the carpet and stretched their arms.
"Morning," both princesses said.
Marc smiled brightly.
"Morning!"
…
Time passed as everything was prepared.
Eventually, Juro, Bell, and Marc stood in front of the castle's entrance. Across from them stood the royal family: Heler, Bray, Noria, Brea, and King Brunzel.
Bray looked at them and asked one last time,
"Are you sure about not eating breakfast here with us?"
Juro smiled.
"We're fine. Besides, the kids like hunting for their food."
Marc nodded enthusiastically.
Bell, however, thought to himself,
"Actually, I don't."
Bray could only give a defeated smile before nodding.
Heler looked at Marc before speaking.
"Oh, by the way, Marc. The gold coins are being safely delivered to the orphanage and to your friend Alex's family."
Marc's face immediately brightened.
"Really? Thank you!"
He smiled happily, grateful that his reward was already making its way to the people he cared about.
Brunzel then looked toward Juro and smiled. Juro returned the smile, and the two of them simply nodded to each other.
Noria and Brea stepped forward, approaching Marc and Bell. They expressed how much fun they had spending time with them, and Bell smiled in response before speaking.
"You two should be really careful when using that technique, alright?"
Both Noria and Brea smiled and nodded.
"We will."
Marc also smiled before looking between the two princesses.
"I hope we can all meet again and eat together again too."
Noria and Brea chuckled before speaking at the same time.
"We hope to meet you all again!"
And so, the time came for them to leave.
The castle doors opened, and Juro, Bell, and Marc began walking outside while waving goodbye to the royal family. Marc especially kept waving toward Noria and Brea.
"Bye! Bye!"
The two princesses waved back with smiles on their faces.
The royal coachman opened the carriage door, and the three of them climbed inside. Even after entering, Marc continued waving through the window, doing his best to keep his hand raised toward the two princesses for as long as he could.
Then the reins were pulled.
The horses began moving, slowly carrying them away from the castle.
As the distance between them grew, Marc finally lowered his hand.
Inside the carriage, Marc continued looking through the window with an excited smile.
Juro noticed his expression and commented,
"Seems like you're more excited than sad, huh?"
Marc turned toward Juro, still smiling.
"Well, we'll all meet them again one day. I'm just excited to go back to exploring with you two."
Bell smiled at his words before leaning his head against the window and resting it there. He closed his eyes.
Juro smiled as well and leaned back into his seat, closing his eyes.
And so, they continued their journey in quiet peace, escorted toward the main gate of the Kingdom of Nerlarnd.
..
Eventually, they arrived.
The carriage stopped, and the three of them stepped out.
They had officially left the kingdom.
Marc immediately smiled as the cool outside air brushed against his face. He took in a deep breath, clearly enjoying the feeling of being out in the open again.
They began moving forward.
And with that, their stay at the Kingdom of Nerlarnd came to an end.
As they walked along the path, Marc looked around with a smile. After a while, he turned toward Juro.
"Teacher Juro! Teacher Juro! Do you have a planned location for where we're going next?"
Juro casually replied,
"Nope."
Marc smiled even wider.
"Okay! That means more for us to explore around!"
He happily skipped along the path as they continued walking.
After a little while, Marc suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, by the way, Teacher Juro! I think I got better with my mana manipulation magic!"
Juro, walking with his arms behind his head, casually glanced toward him.
"Hmm?"
"Well, after that competition thing, I feel like my mana is surging a bit more heavily," Marc continued.
"Oh?"
Juro smiled.
"Well, that's natural. You'd get stronger through experience. Are you gonna continue that growth?"
"Mmm! Of course I will! Hehe!"
Marc continued walking with a bright smile, already looking forward to whatever adventure came next.