"W-WHY'S THE HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARDS HERE!?"
Rynan screamed in pure panic, thinking he was about to die. This was big trouble, the kind that got people killed. Usually the Head only showed up for one thing - executions. More specifically, criminal executions where they chopped off heads.
"Calm down Rynan, I called her here. Not to kill you, but to watch your magic." Zhan tried to sound relaxed. "I guess she already saw what you can do."
"T-THAT'S NOT HELPING RIGHT NOW! AM I GONNA DIE!?" Rynan's voice cracked as he yelled.
"No, you won't die." Zhan said simply.
"BDIUCBWEIVUWBIRBVIREBU!" Rynan started babbling nonsense from fear.
"COEFUBVWIRUBIRUTB!" More panic sounds came out of his mouth.
While the two kept talking over each other like crazy people, Tarnillya just stood there staring. Her eyes were locked on the destroyed landscape that used to be trees and hills. Her mouth was hanging open and she looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"Me being here isn't the problem right now! What I want to know is, WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!?" She pointed at the flattened area. "THERE'S NOT A SINGLE SPELL IN EXISTENCE THAT DOES THAT!"
―There isn't? But I thought all magic could do stuff like this.
Rynan's thoughts were completely confused now. He figured all powerful mages could level mountains and stuff. Apparently he was wrong about that.
Tarnillya let out a long, tired sigh and grabbed her forehead. She took a step back and just sat down hard on the grass. Her brain felt like it was going to explode from trying to understand what she just saw.
"I was told there was an interesting kid here... I never thought he'd be this ridiculously powerful..."
"Well, that's him alright." Zhan shrugged and looked over at Rynan like it was no big deal.
"With magic like that, nobody could ever beat him in a fight. His mana supply is pretty weird though." Tarnillya studied Rynan with sharp eyes. "I can tell he's a good kid, since he could kill both of us in the blink of an eye."
Unlike Zhan who took forever to figure that out, Tarnillya knew right away how dangerous Rynan was. She had good instincts for that kind of thing. But the boy's innocent face told her he wasn't a threat.
"What do you mean about my mana supply?" Rynan asked without hesitation.
If this was important for reaching his dream, he needed to know. He wasn't going to be shy about asking questions. Knowledge was power, and he wanted all the power he could get.
"Well, what I mean is that you have almost no mana at all..." Tarnillya explained.
―So that's why I could never use magic no matter how hard I tried to learn it. All those years of studying were pointless.
The pieces finally clicked together in Rynan's head. He'd always wondered why magic never worked for him. Now he knew the truth about his weird body.
"When did you first learn to do THAT?" Tarnillya pointed toward the flattened trees and hills.
"Yesterday." Rynan answered simply.
"So you're a Mutant Mage then." She nodded like that explained everything.
"Hm?" Rynan tilted his head like a confused puppy. The word was completely new to him and sounded kind of scary. "What do you mean by 'Mutant'?"
"It's someone who gets huge magic power after going through trauma or a really desperate situation." Tarnillya paused to think for a moment. "But that's not exactly your case... You didn't just get power, you created a whole new type of magic."
She looked at him with wonder and a little bit of fear. "Just like how Founder Jandel created magic itself in the first place."
The whole field went dead silent after those words. Tarnillya and Zhan looked at each other with wide eyes. Zhan had a huge proud smile on his face that screamed 'Look how amazing I am! I discovered a genius!'
Zhan suddenly ran toward Rynan and dropped to his hands and knees. He slammed his forehead into the dirt and then looked up with desperate eyes. "RYNAN, PLEASE LET ME BE YO-"
"AAAAAAAAA!" Zhan screamed as he went flying through the air.
Tarnillya had grabbed his shoulder and threw him like a baseball. He flew so far that he smashed right into the hospital wall with a loud crash. Dust and pieces of brick fell down around him.
Then Tarnillya bowed down just like Zhan had done. She pressed her face to the ground like Rynan was some kind of king. "RYNAN, PLEASE LET ME BE YOUR SPONSOR!"
Zhan recovered super fast and ran back to bow right next to her. His clothes were all dirty and torn from hitting the wall. "NO, CHOOSE ME! PLEASE LET ME BE YOUR SPONSOR!"
"ZHAN! I FOUND HIM FIRST!" Tarnillya yelled while still bowing.
"NO, I FOUND HIM, YOU CRAZY WOMAN!" Zhan shot back.
"YOU FUCKING BALLOON-DICKED SHITHEAD!" She screamed at him.
"ODUIWEBUGIWUBRI!" More angry nonsense came out of Zhan's mouth.
"CONIVWEOIBROIVE!" Tarnillya yelled back with equal nonsense.
"Pfft!" Rynan couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
His whole body shook as he laughed so hard that tears started running down his face. The two powerful adults fighting like little kids was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.
The two stopped their fight and just stared at Rynan laughing his head off. Seeing his pure, innocent joy made them both smile despite their argument. He really was just a sweet kid under all that scary power.
"A-anyways, what do you guys mean by 'sponsor'?" Rynan asked once he caught his breath.
"We want to send you to the magic academy with our full support!" Both Zhan and Tarnillya said at exactly the same time.
Rynan's mouth fell open and he went completely silent. The academy was like a dream come true for someone like him. He never thought it would be possible for a poor commoner to go there.
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"T-that's p-possible..?"
Rynan asked, his voice cracking as his real emotions finally came out. Tears started flowing down his cheeks and his legs wouldn't stop shaking. He might have killed someone yesterday, but right now he was just a scared kid. All the tough act he'd been putting on melted away like ice in the sun.
"D-don't cry!" Tarnillya waved her arms around in panic, not knowing what to do.
She looked completely lost trying to comfort a crying child. Her tough commander face was gone and she just looked like a worried big sister. Even someone as strong as her didn't know how to handle tears.
Zhan looked down at the grass and got quiet for a moment. His face was serious as he thought about everything this kid had been through. A boy this young shouldn't have to deal with killing people or worrying about survival. It wasn't fair at all.
―I guess the kid's been through way more than anyone his age should have to handle.
After about a minute, Rynan finally wiped his tears with his sleeve. He took a few deep breaths and got himself back together. When he looked up at Tarnillya and Zhan, they both had guilty expressions like they felt bad for making him cry.
"So, who are you going to choose as your sponsor?" Zhan asked right away, grabbing Rynan's shoulders.
He tried to sound casual but his eyes were intense. This was clearly really important to him and he wanted an answer fast.
Rynan looked back and forth between them like he was watching a tennis match. First at Tarnillya, who looked super nervous about his choice. Then at Zhan, who had this confident smile like he already knew he'd win. Then back to Tarnillya, then back to Zhan again.
It took him way longer to answer than either of them expected. The silence stretched out until it got kind of awkward for everyone.
"Why don't I just choose both of you guys?"
"..." Dead silence filled the air around them.
Nobody said anything for a long moment. A gentle breeze blew across the grass field, feeling cold and warm at the same time. The destroyed landscape behind them made the peaceful moment feel strange.
"What a selfish child we've found!" Both of them said at exactly the same time, then started laughing.
Their laughter echoed across the empty field. It was the kind of surprised, happy laughter that comes when someone does something totally unexpected. They couldn't believe this kid had the guts to ask for both of them.
"Is it not allowed to have multiple sponsors at the same time?" Rynan asked innocently.
"It IS allowed, but nobody has ever gotten two sponsors before. Especially not from both of us." Tarnillya explained while still smiling.
She looked over at Zhan with mixed feelings written all over her face. Zhan looked back at her the same way, like they were both thinking the exact same thing.
―I hate working with this annoying guy! He's going to drive me crazy every single day!
―I hate working with this bossy girl! She's going to make my life miserable!
―But we can't ignore a kid with this much incredible power! This is too important to mess up!
Both of their thoughts were running in circles. They didn't like each other much, but they knew this was bigger than their personal feelings. This kid could change everything.
"Well, congrats Rynan. You are now officially sponsored by the Lagunna Crime Investigation Guild AND the Royal Guards Guild." Both of them said together.
They tried to sound formal and important, but they were still grinning from the whole crazy situation.
"YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Rynan threw his hands up in the air and cheered like he'd just won the lottery.
His voice echoed across the field as he jumped around with pure joy. After all the scary stuff that had happened, he finally had something amazing to be excited about. His dream was actually going to come true.