“D-Disciple?”

Yachi repeated Roan’s words, albeit in a shaky manner. She couldn’t understand what the unknown magician’s intentions were and could only stare at him slack jawed.

“Yes, become my disciple.” Roan didn’t mind it though. Never breaking away from his smile, the Magic God continued: “You see, I’ve come from the Frontier in search of talented young individuals such as yourself to join under my wing.”

“T-Talented? Me?”

“Of course!” Roan exclaimed with his heart beating wildly.

“Your magic source is beautiful! One of the cleanest I’ve seen yet! The amount of magic that you stored without proper magical training is staggering! As far as natural talent goes, I can assure you’re one of the best unpolished gems that I’ve ever seen!”

“... I-I t-think that you’ve got it w-wrong! I’m not a m-magician, and n-neither do I have the talent for m-magic!”

Yachi didn’t know how Roan came to the conclusion that she was a talented magician, but the girl knew that she had to correct him. Throughout her entire life, Yachi hadn’t learnt the foundations of magic, let alone mastering a single spell.

It wasn’t her fault, though. The people in Ebony Village disdained magic and frowned upon using it for their daily lives. Yachi had no mentors to guide her in magic, and the books she had on hand were pitifully outdated. The only thing that Yachi knew was that magicians existed, and that’s about it.

“Are you questioning my eye for talent?”

“N-No I w-wouldn’t dare! B-But…” Yachi paused and gazed down at her knees.

She had just received a tremendous kindness from Roan. Not only did Roan heal her dying body, but he’d also fed her some of the nicest food in the world and repaired her broken home. Despite the fact that they had a weird first interaction, Yachi could tell that Roan didn’t mean her any harm.

So… what would happen if this mysterious kind stranger learnt about her curse?

Yachi knew what would happen, it was just… she was afraid of it. Once the magician learnt about her curse, he would undoubtedly leave her just like the other villagers did. Just like… her parents did. Yachi was sick of being alone and getting disappointed, and thus, she had to push him away before it came to that.

“S-Sir M-Magician! I do not want to c-cause trouble for you, so I’m confessing! I-I’m not like the others! I-I-I AM CURSED!!!”

“No, you’re not cursed.”

“T-That’s why it is b-best for you to s-stay… w-what did you just say?”

The teenage girl’s body shook, and she stared wide-eyed at the magician who was casually sipping his wine. Roan wasn’t bothered by Yachi’s outburst of emotion and even dug his ears in front of her, seemingly bored.

“Yachi, you’re not cursed. It’s just that your village is ignorant of the world, so they weren’t able to identify your condition.”

“M-My c-condition?”

“Yeah… At times, you would randomly release lightning sparks from your body, right? Ah, given the intensity of your magic source, it should be lightning bolts now. The lightning bolts are even strong enough to destroy houses and burn down entire fields. And the worst part is, you’re unable to control it no matter how hard you try.”

“T-THAT! H-h-h-h-how d-d-d-did y-y-you k-know?”

“Oi, your dialogue bubble is getting worse.” Roan snorted.

“B-B-B-But...”

“Hah… I knew that a recluse village would be behind the times but who knew they would be THAT ignorant. To actually call a blessed body a curse. If I didn’t find you, humanity would have lost a prodigy. Should I inform the Alliance? Nah, it would just cause too much trouble. They wouldn’t care anyway.”

“B-Blessed? P-Prodigy? A-Alliance? S-Sir M-Magician, I don’t u-understand!”

Roan unconsciously mumbled to himself, causing much confusion to the clueless white-haired girl who looked on the verge of insanity.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I should explain.” The Magic God looked at the disoriented girl apologetically. “Yachi, you’re not cursed. You just have a special constitution called the Pinnacle Tempest Body.”

“P-Pinnacle Tempest… B-body?”

“Yes, the Pinnacle Tempest Body.” Roan reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out the book that he’d prepared.

“It’s one of the rare Heavenly Physiques known to magicians. The last recorded person who was born with the Pinnacle Tempest Body was someone who lived a hundred years ago. The others had to artificially obtain that Heavenly Physique, either through rigorous training or gruelling insemination procedures.”

“P-Pinnacle Tempest Body...” One of Yachi’s ears was perked up as she focused on Roan’s explanation while the other half of her mind was concentrating on the book that Roan had placed on her lap.

It clearly documented a peculiar body type, one that was immune to any form of lightning elemental damage. At the same time, that body type had an innate ability to ‘eat’ lightning and convert it into pure mana for its usage. Yachi continued to read the book, baffled that such a body type could ever exist in the world and worse yet… that she possessed that odd constitution.

“Those who possess the Pinnacle Tempest Body are blessed children of lightning. When they are born, they won’t show the traits of their special talent. However, when they reach a certain age and when their Magic Source begins to mature, their bodies would periodically discharge electricity to release the tension within their bodies. And that’s when their talent really starts to show.”

“It doesn’t matter if it is Elementary or Advanced-Class Magic. As long as it uses pure lightning elementals, those possessing the Pinnacle Tempest Body would be able to learn those spells with ease. Although Tactical and Strategic-Class Magic are out of your reach, you should be able to master Intermediate-Class Magic spells within a year or two of training.”

“M-Master magic?”

“That’s right, Yachi.” Roan took two steps forward and sat next to the young girl on her bed. “You’re a wizard, Har-... no, Yachi! If you become my disciple, I can raise you to the top of the Magic Society, and your name will be remembered forever in the history books of the Alliance!”

“M-My curse… i-is actually… a b-blessing?”

“Of course! If you were born in the cities, every Magic Tower Master would be grovelling at your feet! Ah, but none of them can beat me when it comes to magic, so don’t even bother talking to them, alright? I’m the best person to become your Master.”

The Magic God continued with his shameless marketing to win over Yachi. He had spent a few drops of Serenity’s essence and given almost a full day’s worth of time to nourish the young girl. If Yachi decided that Roan wasn’t going to be her Master, the Magic God would really flip out.

“The Pinnacle Tempest Body is the Lightning-Elemental Spellcaster’s wet dream. There are lineages in this world that would kill to get that Heavenly Physique! Some of them even waged wars to obtain the materials needed to upgrade their bodies to the Pinnacle Tempest Body.”

“...”

Yachi sat on the bed, silent as a grave. Everything that Roan said entered her mind and there was nothing but emptiness. She didn’t know what to feel. She didn’t know how to react. All she could do was sit there in complete silence.

“Yachi, your body isn’t a curse. It’s a gift! Since you aren’t trained, you’re unable to contain the lightning sparks, and it would run out of control. But if you’re under my tutelage… Yachi?”

Roan paused and looked down at the young girl. Her head was held down, and her face was out of view. However, Roan could tell that there was something off about the girl. Curious, he tapped Yachi on the shoulder and slightly elevated her chin.

“This… Why are you crying?”

“Hic… H-Hic… I-I’d thought I was born a c-cursed child… I’d thought… I-I was a demon who didn’t d-deserve to l-live… If w-what I had was a blessing… W-WHY DID MY PARENTS ABANDON ME?”

“Yachi...”

“Why… why… why… why… why!!! WHY!!!”

“...”

Yachi flung her arms into Roan’s chest and landed a flurry of soft punches to his body. As much as it displeased him, Roan didn’t flinch a muscle. He sat there calmly as the young girl continued to sob her heart out in his chest.

The punches continued for about a minute until Yachi could no longer take it. Her eyes spewed out gallons of tears as if the floodgates of her broken mind had been opened. Her shaking body spasmed many times throughout her outburst, and she was unable to control her body from falling deeper into Roan’s embrace.

No, it was as if Yachi’s body was seeking the comfort and warmness of the magician that sat right next to her.

Roan looked down, not able to see the young girl’s face throughout her maniac outpour of emotion. She was still in the midst of despair, so all Roan could do was to allow himself to be a punching bag for now.

‘Such coarse hair… I remember hearing somewhere that a girl’s hair was her lifeblood. If she were born in a better environment, perhaps it wouldn’t have deteriorated to this extent...’

The Magic God was a hunter that annihilated thousands of demons. A powerhouse that was worshipped by billions of humans. A magician that had mastered every spell. However, he was a stranger to comforting girls, especially teenaged ones.

“There, there… Just let it all out…”

And thus, Roan simply sat there and allowed Yachi to cry her heart out.

She cried and cried… until eventually, the tears would no longer fall out. But she didn’t leave Roan’s embrace. Yachi fell deeper down Roan’s body until her head was firmly rested on his thighs. The soft sounds of her breathing entered the Magic God’s ears as her consciousness faded away right before his eyes.

“Ah, she fell asleep.” Roan gently caressed Yachi on the head and placed her softly on the bed.

“After suppressing her emotions for all these years, they have been released today. She must be mentally exhausted.”

Yachi had been healed using a few drops of Serenity’s essence. Unlike traditional healing spells, Serenity’s essence was better described as a miraculous power not limited by the magical system. Once it seeped into Yachi’s body, her internals had been rewritten.

Every single cell in her body was transformed and nourished with the essence of nature itself. Torn muscles had been replaced, and failing organs were regrown. It wasn’t an exaggeration to claim that Yachi had received a new body altogether. In fact, Yachi’s physical self was at least ten times stronger than it would have been if she was healthy.

The girl didn’t notice it yet since she was so busy thinking about Roan, but she was much healthier and stronger. So, there was no way that Yachi fainted from any physical problems. Mentally, on the other hand…

“Hah… It doesn’t matter if it’s the Frontier or some rural village. Humans will always be humans...”

Roan sighed deeply as he watched the residue tear marks on Yachi’s face. He arose from the bed, attempting to leave her be for the night. But the moment he stood up, Roan felt a slight tug on his right hand.

Both of Yachi’s hands were firmly latched onto his, locking him in place. Naturally, if Roan wanted to pull free, he could, but the man didn’t do that. Yachi’s hands were shaking as if yelling out for the nearest source of comfort. Roan just didn’t have the heart to pull free from this adorable little animal who was yearning for warmth.

“Tsk, I didn’t know becoming a master meant babysitting. Back in my day, I didn’t cry because I was neglected. Stupid snowflake generation.”

Roan’s words were harsh, but his actions told a different story. Sitting back down on the bed, Roan allowed Yachi to snuggle up next to him as he surrendered his right hand to her.

“Think of this as a special service, girl. To have the Magic God himself be your nanny… You sure have guts.”

Roan continued to reprimand the sleeping girl, but Yachi didn’t care one bit. Her body sunk deeper into the bed and her face slowly regained its peaceful demeanour. Eventually, the periodic hiccups and the residue tears from her eyes stopped.

All that remained… were the warm sounds of her calm breaths and the peaceful silence of the night.