The celebration continued around Shinichi as elves brought out food and music, transforming the tense atmosphere into something that felt like a festival. Children kept pestering him to show more light magic, and he obliged with simple tricks like making colorful orbs dance through the air or creating small animals out of solidified light.
But as the sun dipped lower toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple, Shinichi realized how late it had gotten. His mother would be worried sick if he didn't return home soon.
He found Yuffie sitting on a low branch nearby, watching the celebration with a smile that hadn't quite faded despite the lingering redness in her cheeks. She noticed him approaching and quickly looked away, suddenly very interested in the bark beneath her hands.
"I need to head home," Shinichi said. "My mother will be worried if I'm out after dark."
Yuffie's head snapped up, disappointment clear in her green eyes. "Already? But the celebration just started, and..."
She trailed off, remembering what her father had proposed. The redness returned to her cheeks. "I mean, you should stay longer. Everyone wants to thank you properly."
"I'll come back," Shinichi promised, and he meant it. Despite everything that had happened today, he wanted to see Yuffie again. She was his first real friend in either of his lives. "I can visit whenever you want. The forest isn't that far from my estate."
"Really?" The brightness returned to her expression. "You'd come back just to visit?"
"Of course. That's what friends do, right?" He smiled, then became more serious. "But I want to give you something before I go. Something to keep you safe when I'm not around."
Yuffie tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Shinichi held out his hand, and light began to gather in his palm. But this wasn't like the combat magic he'd used against the knights.
This light was softer, warmer, with a golden hue that pulsed with gentle energy. He focused carefully, pouring his intent into the magic as Mynd's guidance whispered in his mind.
The light condensed into a sphere no larger than a marble, floating above his palm. It glowed with steady radiance that felt alive.
"This is a protection charm," Shinichi explained quietly. "It's made from my Light magic, but I've woven it with a specific purpose."
"If you're ever in danger, if someone tries to hurt you, this will activate automatically and create a barrier strong enough to protect you until help arrives."
Yuffie stared at the glowing sphere with wide eyes. "How does it work?"
"Just accept it into yourself. It won't hurt, I promise. It'll merge with your own magic and stay dormant until you need it." He held the sphere closer. "Think of it as me being there to protect you even when I'm not physically present."
She looked at him, then at the sphere, then back at him. Something in her expression shifted, becoming softer and more vulnerable. Slowly, she reached out and touched the sphere with one finger.
The light flowed into her hand like water, traveling up her arm in gentle waves that made her skin glow briefly before fading. She gasped at the sensation, but it clearly didn't hurt. When the last traces disappeared beneath her skin, she looked down at her hands in wonder.
"I can feel it," she whispered. "It's warm. Like you're holding my hand even though you're not."
Shinichi felt his own face heat up at her words. "It'll stay with you. Just be careful and don't do anything too reckless, alright? The barrier is strong, but it's not invincible."
"I won't," she promised, then surprised him by jumping down and pulling him into a quick hug.
"Thank you. For everything today. For saving me, for protecting the settlement, for being my friend." She pulled back quickly, her face red again. "And for... you know. Not running away screaming when my dad said that weird thing about marriage."
Shinichi laughed despite himself. "Your dad seems like a good person who cares about you. Even if his timing is a bit sudden."
"That's one way to put it," Yuffie muttered, but she was smiling.
...
...
Shinichi said his goodbyes to Aldric and the other elves, accepting their thanks with as much grace as a twelve-year-old could manage. Aldric clasped his shoulder and told him he was welcome anytime. Yuffie's mother gave him a small bow and thanked him for protecting her daughter.
The walk back through Thornwood Forest felt different. The twilight shadows that had seemed threatening before now felt almost peaceful, and his light-sense picked up no hostile presences. The monsters seemed to have learned to avoid this particular path.
The journey took about an hour, and by the time Shinichi reached the Sunvolt estate grounds, full darkness had fallen. Magical lights illuminated the paths between buildings, and servants moved about their evening duties. Everything looked normal, peaceful, exactly as it always did.
But as he approached the main manor house, Shinichi spotted a figure waiting near the entrance. Even from a distance, he recognized the long white hair and dark blue robes. Moro, the family's court mage who had tested Shinichi's magical affinity twelve years ago.
The old man stood perfectly still, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes fixed on Shinichi's approaching form. As Shinichi got closer, he could make out Moro's expression in the torchlight. It was deadly cold. The kind of expression that contained years of disappointment and barely controlled disdain.
Shinichi slowed his pace but didn't stop walking. He'd done nothing wrong. He'd just gone for a walk in the forest, helped some people, made a friend.
There was no reason to feel guilty or afraid. But something about the way Moro was looking at him made his skin crawl.
When Shinichi was about ten feet away, Moro finally spoke. "Out wandering again, young master?"
His voice was perfectly polite, but there was an edge to it that cut like a knife. "Your mother has been worried. She sent servants to search the grounds for you."
"I'm sorry," Shinichi said, keeping his voice level. "I lost track of time."
Moro's eyes narrowed slightly, studying Shinichi with an intensity that felt invasive. For a moment, Shinichi worried that the old mage could somehow sense the magic he'd been using, could tell that the worthless child with Grade F affinity had been doing impossible things.
But then Moro's expression shifted back to that cold, dismissive mask. "Yes, well. Try not to worry your mother in the future. She has enough concerns without adding your carelessness to them."
The old man stepped aside, gesturing toward the door. "You should go inside and let her know you've returned safely."
Shinichi moved toward the entrance, intending to walk past Moro and into the manor. But as he drew level with the old mage, Moro spoke again, his voice so quiet that only Shinichi could hear.
"Twelve years of the weakest affinity ever recorded, and yet you somehow manage to survive encounters in Thornwood Forest that claim experienced adventurers." Moro's eyes bored into Shinichi's profile.
"Curious, don't you think?"
Shinichi's heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to keep walking, to show no reaction. "I was lucky. I stayed on the safe paths."
"Lucky," Moro repeated, his tone making it clear he didn't believe that for a second. "Yes. How fortunate for you."
Shinichi pulled open the door and stepped inside without looking back, but he could feel Moro's gaze burning into his back. Only when the door closed behind him did he allow himself to exhale.
Inside his mind, Mynd's presence stirred with concern. That was dangerous. He suspects something.
I know, Shinichi replied mentally. But suspicion isn't proof. And even if he reports his suspicions to my father, who would believe him? Everyone knows I have the weakest magic in the kingdom. What could I possibly be hiding?
Still, Mynd cautioned, you should be more careful. The more attention you draw, the harder it will be to keep training in secret.
Shinichi nodded to himself as he walked through the manor's corridors toward his room. She was right. Today had been reckless. He'd revealed too much of his power, even if he'd held back during the fight. People would talk. Word would spread about the Sunvolt child who defended an elven settlement.
But as he remembered Yuffie's smile, the gratitude in the elves' eyes, and the feeling of finally having a real friend, he found it hard to regret any of it.
He'd spent twelve years training in secret, hiding his true abilities from everyone. Maybe it was time to start taking risks. Maybe it was time to stop being invisible.
The weakest Light magic in the world, they'd called it. Shinichi smiled to himself as he reached his room and closed the door behind him. They had no idea what was coming.