I Was Reincarnated as a Duke as a Matter of Course, So I Bought a Slave on a Whim and Now There’s No Turning Back - 21

Chapter 21: So What If He Doesn’t Have Magic Power?

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This happened after school, the day after I was called in by the student council. Next, I was summoned by a teacher. Ever since yesterday, it had been one streak of bad luck after another. It was all that man dressed in black’s fault (wild accusation).

“Yukaaa, I don’t want to gooo.”

As I whined, Yuka approached me with her usual expressionless face. She straightened my disheveled collar and brushed dust off my shoulder.

“Saying you don’t want to go won’t be accepted. I will accompany you.”

“I’d really rather avoid getting scolded…”

“It is probably about the examination. In the end, only Luka-sama did not take it.”

Ah. Now that she mentioned it…. The magic power measurement that had been interrupted by the attack. So today was basically a make-up test just for me.

“…That makes me want to go even less.”

“Please endure it.”

It wasn’t like I had anywhere to run anyway. Even if she hadn’t said so, I would have gone. Resigned, I headed toward the building where the teacher was waiting.

The supplementary classroom.

The only one inside was the teacher in charge of the exam. I was honestly a little glad no one else was there. 

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen the teacher who had risked his life during the attack. Don’t tell me he actually died…?

“You’ve come. Sit.”

His voice was intimidating—strict, or rather, scary. I sat down in the chair. Yuka stood quietly behind me. In the center of the desk sat a transparent crystal. I hadn’t been able to touch it before, so this was the first time since then.

“We will conduct a basic measurement of magic power. Touch it and channel your magic into it.”

Right, I was supposed to smash it, wasn’t I? (pretending to mishear) Jokes aside, let’s just get this over with.

I let out a small sigh and placed my hand on the crystal. I poured in as much magic power as I could. I poured it in… I really did, but… The crystal didn’t react.

…Huh? It didn’t glow.

“…Once more.”

The teacher’s voice dropped slightly. I tried again. This time, it glowed faintly red, like the final spark of a dying sparkler. A weak, unreliable light. A flame that looked ready to vanish at any moment.

Wasn’t that weaker than before? This looked like leftover dregs…

The room fell silent. I gave a strained smile and tried to brush it off.

“I-Is it broken, maybe?”

The teacher didn’t answer.

Don’t ignore me, okay?

He looked at the crystal, then at me, then back at the crystal. Yuka stood quietly behind me. She didn’t look surprised. It was as if she had already known. The teacher finally spoke.

“…You are not suited for magical combat—no, for magic itself.”

That was blunt. I already knew, though.

“Figures.”

I nodded easily. It was a fact. This wasn’t something effort could fix.

“…What was your name again?”

“Luka Noctire.”

“…You must be joking. From that prestigious house… No, never mind.”

I could hear all of that, you know. The teacher continued.

“Basic training will likely continue as before, but I do not recommend that you aim to become a mage who stands on the front lines.”

“I won’t. It’s dangerous anyway.”

To begin with, I couldn’t even become a mage. I understood that better than anyone. The teacher narrowed his eyes slightly.

“I hear that during the attack, you were among the severely injured.”

“That’s right.”

“You did not use magic.”

“I mean, I can’t.”

The teacher fell silent, as if thinking.

“…Then how did you survive?”

…That was a bit difficult. But I didn’t think there was any other answer.

“Luck.”

I didn’t have flashy powers. What I had was maybe some reincarnated protagonist plot armor—if that even counted.

After staring at me for a while, the teacher put the crystal away.

Ah, by the way, if you touch that crystal, your luck drops.

“…I will handle this matter myself. Consider the other sessions exempt.”

“Handle it?”

“It means there is no need to speak of this to others.”

Ah, I see.

Someone who had recently been praised—on top of being from a ducal house—having almost no magic power would certainly be troublesome.

“That helps. Thank you.”

The teacher let out a short breath.

“Do not be reckless again. Next time, you will really die.”

“I won’t.”

I stood up.

“Let’s go, Yuka.”

“Yes.”

I never intended to fight from the start. I wasn’t strong. At least that much, I understood.

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Three days earlier.

The hospital room had been silent. White curtains swayed gently. Luka-sama lay on the bed, still not awake. His breathing was steady and quiet. His complexion was not bad. There was no reason he shouldn’t wake at any moment, and yet he did not move.

Yuka sat in a chair, watching him. What kind of expression was I making right now? Even in front of Luka-sama, I found it difficult to smile.

As she thought that, her fingertips unconsciously clenched slightly. The healer in charge of medical care had said.

“His life is not in danger. However… It is strange.”

“…What do you mean?”

At her question, the healer furrowed his brows.

“I can barely sense the flow of magic power.”

…

“It is not depletion. It was minimal from the start… no, thin.”

At those words, she lowered her gaze. She knew. Because Luka-sama had told her. He had struggled to improve in magical training. No matter how much effort he put in, he had not been able to handle it like those around him. And yet..

Even so, he had stepped forward. Even though he could not use magic as well as she or the others. Even though there had been plenty of people stronger than him at that scene. The healer continued.

“What a strange child… To think he actually survived that…”

“…Yes.”

Yuka gently touched Luka’s hand. It was warm. She could clearly feel that he was alive. That alone brought her relief.

“Still, he is not suited to be a mage.”

The healer said nonchalantly. At that moment… For just an instant, the fingertips touching Luka-sama stopped. Not suited to be a mage.

So what?

It was true he had almost no magic power. He was a noble, and not particularly skilled in combat. Even so… At that moment, he had been the one who moved.

He was faster than anyone. He charged in without hesitation. He had stood in front of her. She quietly stood and turned toward the healer.

“…Even so…”

The healer looked back at her.

“He saved people.”

She said only that, and returned her gaze to Luka. His sleeping profile was unchanged. A somewhat foolish, soft expression. A face that looked like he wasn’t thinking about anything. It overlapped with the face he had worn in that moment, calmer and more desperate than anyone else.

She let out a small breath.

“There are people who step forward, even if they cannot fight.”

It was neither affirmation nor rebuttal. Just a simple fact. It was the essence of the person named Luka-sama.

The healer shrugged.

“How peculiar.”

“…Indeed.”

Peculiar. Foolish. Reckless. All of those were probably true. Even so…

She sat back down and murmured quietly.

“…That is Luka-sama.”

She said in a voice no one could hear.

When he awakened, she would change. She had not been wrong to believe in this person. His lack of magic power. His inability to become a mage. All of that was trivial. He would surely laugh such things off.

Then at the very least, she wanted to be someone who understood him. She knew that people would weigh even their own family on the scales to survive. But he had changed her life, one that had already ended once through betrayal.

So next, it was her turn… To stand beside him… As long as he would allow it.

Outside the window, the evening sun poured in. Beside the sleeping boy, a single girl waited quietly.

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