Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 16

Chapter 16

"I can take him?"

"Of course. If you want to."

"...I want to take him."

Dad placed Bibi into Kali's arms, then reached toward Kali but changed direction mid-motion and petted Bibi instead. Kali was visibly stiff.

Dad smiled wryly and sat down casually on the fountain, gesturing for me and Kali to come over.

"Where's Brother?"

"Sier will be writing a self-reflection essay all day today."

It seemed I'd unintentionally become the little sister who ratted him out for staying up at night... My conscience stung a little.

"Hmm, this is interestingly made. Do I put my hand here?"

Dad examined the pitching machine, then placed his hand on the palm-shaped imprint. Before I could stop him, he infused mana into it.

Since I was facing the opening, I quickly grabbed Kali and pulled him down to the ground.

"Dad!!!"

"Oh dear."

I ducked my head, expecting a flaming pebble to fly over it, but nothing happened.

When I looked up, Dad had tilted the machine and was blocking the opening with his palm.

"Dad, is your hand okay?"

"Of course. It's fine."

Dad turned his palm to show me and waved it. Not a single mark.

What? I'm sure a stone was about to shoot out.

"How did you do that?"

"It's a magical tool. If you cut off the mana flow, it naturally stops."

I thought Dad's magic was only for suppressing others' abilities, but it works on magical tools too! Well, magical tools are also powered by mana...

"Alright, then. Let's start with Kalipr."

The moment Dad finished speaking, Kaelen suddenly appeared from somewhere.

Ah, don't just pop out like that! This sunfish will light up again!

Sure enough, Kali bristled like a wary kitten—if only it were that cute. With no brakes whatsoever, sparks scattered wildly around him.

"Ouch!! Calm down! Calm down! That's Dad's adjutant! His name is Kaelen! He's forty! He got married but divorced! He's not an enemy! He's not a bad person!"

"Young ladyyy!"

As I rattled off Kaelen's personal details and completely unnecessary TMI, he started whimpering.

"You popped out of nowhere and startled Kali!"

Kali flustered, me soothing him, and Kaelen stamping his feet not knowing what to do—it was utter chaos.

"Hahahaha."

"Dad!!"

Dad just watched the pandemonium and laughed as if he was enjoying it.

Fortunately, the sparks scattered in the air quickly died down. Dad received a crystal orb from Kaelen and held it out to Kali.

"Hold this and infuse as much mana as you can."

Kali took the white crystal orb and began channeling his mana. I watched nervously, afraid the orb might shatter.

He's still young, but Kali is the strongest in this world, isn't he? If he can freely control his abilities, he'll be able to fend off most threats.

Then the color of the crystal orb began to shift rapidly. It quickly turned a pale pink, then transformed into an intense red. Kaelen was the only one startled by the rapid color change.

"What...! That fast?"

The color of one's mana varies from person to person. But the more powerful the mage, the deeper and denser the color. It must be hard to believe that a child of only thirteen possesses mana of such depth.

But what can you do, Kaelen? He's the final boss around here.

Dad nodded as if he expected this and said to Kali.

"Stop. No more. Now, try releasing the power. Imagine cutting off the flow. You don't have to eliminate it completely—think of it as half-blocking a large stream of water."

The crystal orb, which had turned a deep purple, gradually began to shift back toward red.

Kali grunted as he held the orb—it seemed controlling the output to a weaker level was harder than pouring mana in full force.

"Kaelen, how many people in their early teens have been able to turn a crystal orb red?"

"Even counting the Imperial Palace and the Magic Tower, there are only a handful. The second young master caused quite a stir at that age when he turned it purple, didn't he?"

"Yes. I remember how troublesome that was. Hmm, Kalipr. Child, narrow it down a little more."

Dad stroked his chin and watched the orb change color. When the orb had shifted from red to a deep pink, Dad raised his palm.

"Remember that feeling. At this level, you might be called a prodigy, but at least you won't attract too much unwanted attention. There's no benefit in standing out right now."

Kali nodded quietly. If Dad hadn't told him to adjust midway, the orb would probably have turned black.

Because of Czerban Caelius's other unique magic.

Right now, I'm the only one who knows that Kali has two unique magics.

In the original story, when Kali used his other unique magic—Corrosion—the high-ranking mages present were shocked, so it must be a hidden ability.

I decided to pretend I didn't know until Kali told me himself.

"Your magic itself is extremely powerful, so once you learn to control the flow of mana, that should be enough. Kaelen, demonstrate."

Dad called on Kaelen. Kaelen knelt down, met Kali's gaze, and spread his palm flat in front of Kali's face.

"Young master, follow my lead."

Above Kaelen's five outstretched fingers, tiny whirlwinds formed. They were as intricate as if he'd created miniature versions of actual tornadoes.

Kaelen spread all ten fingers and, like lighting ten candles, created whirlwinds above each finger, then extinguished them, repeating the process.

"Once you can do this freely, most forms of intensity control will become easy. Shall we try?"

I quietly crept over to Kali's side, careful not to be noticed.

What Kaelen wants is a candle-flame-sized fire rising from his fingertips. But there's no way Kali's overflowing mana is going to produce just a candle flame and stop.

"Kali, do it over there. Near the fountain."

I whispered playfully and gently nudged Kali toward the fountain.

"Don't laugh."

"Pfft! I won't. Hehe."

Kali, frowning deeply, glared at his tiny fingers and began to channel mana.

"Oh?"

On three of his five fingers, candle-sized flames flickered to life. But only for a moment—in an instant, they grew into massive flames enveloping his entire hand, and Kaelen fell backward in surprise.

"Good heavens, his mana capacity is truly immense."

"I told you to make a candle, but you made a torch!"

I grinned and pointed at the torch-like flame in Kali's hand.

How could I not laugh?

The one covered in notoriety, the one who always arrived with a bloody aura and a menacing presence—the Grand Duke Czerban! He can't even make a candle flame and ends up with a torch—how could I hold back?

When I burst out laughing openly, Kali's glare grew increasingly ominous.

'For such a little thing, his gaze is deadly.'

Instead of talking back, I bit down on my molars to stifle my laughter. It wasn't because I was scared of him. Absolutely not.

Kali casually dipped his hand into the fountain to extinguish the fire. With a "sizzle," a wisp of smoke rose.

"Kali, sit here and practice slowly."

At Dad's words, Kali silently nodded and sat by the fountain.

"Now... it's my daughter's turn. Let me hear why the girl who used to cry and throw fits over her magical tool is suddenly carrying it around all the time."

Before I regained my memories, I absolutely, positively, despised my club. Just because it looked fierce and ugly.

I used to throw a fit at just the mention of the word "club," so it must have seemed odd that I was now carrying it around.

"Hehe, since it's a unique magic I'll have to live with forever anyway... I guess I've changed my mind a little."

Thinking it was just a child's whim, Dad nodded without comment. I summoned my club and gripped it with both hands.

The only ability Dad knew about was that my club was incredibly sturdy. I decided to show him the summoning ability by pulling out everything I'd stored in the club.

"Ding, dong, ding, dong."

With each shake of the club, items piled up at my feet. Since just pulling them out would be boring, I made game-like sound effects with my mouth as I diligently summoned them.

When the light went out on all ten green gems, a heap of odds and ends lay scattered at my feet.

"Ta-da!"

"...This."

"Gasp!!"

But both of their reactions were unusual. I looked at Dad and Kaelen with a puzzled expression—why were they so surprised?

Is this really that... amazing?

I looked down at the items at my feet.

A handkerchief, a fountain pen, a palm-sized doll, an almond, a sheet of stationery, a gold coin, an apple, a brooch, a hairpin, a small hand mirror...

It was the result of me shoving in anything I could find to practice summoning.

"Kaelen, how many shadows are around here right now?"

"Since Your Excellency is here, they've all been withdrawn."

"Thank goodness. Then it's just your silence I need to secure."

"Y-your Excellency!"

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