Chapter 15

After finishing my conversation with Lily, I decided to show my face to Ruby before leaving the mansion. Lily led me to Ruby's room. Even after Lily knocked, there was no response from inside. Apparently, when Ruby gets too focused, she doesn't hear the sounds around her. When Lily opened the door, there was Ruby, sitting at her desk, completely absorbed in her writing.

"Take care of Ruby, okay?"

Lily left the room, leaving me behind. Ruby hadn't noticed my entrance yet. Since I don't like being disturbed when I'm focused, I decided not to call out to Ruby and instead sat on the sofa to wait.

Looking around the room, I realized there were fewer dolls than I expected. I had thought the room would be filled with dolls, but there were only three on a shelf, and the rest of the room was quite ordinary. The furniture, such as tables and chairs, was neatly arranged, giving a sense of Ruby's strong personality.

When Ruby stopped writing and placed her pen on the desk, I decided to speak up.

"Hey, Ruby Revi."

Ruby slowly turned to face me.

"Roy. You're done talking, huh?"

"Yeah. Since I was here, I thought I'd say hello before leaving."

"Is that so?"

From his expressionless face, it was hard to tell if I was welcome in the room. Ruby stood up and sat next to me. She didn't seem to mind.

"What were you writing?"

"A story."

"A story, huh? How's the writing going?"

"Yeah. A lot has happened recently, and I've already decided on the ending."

Indeed, with all that has happened around Ruby in just a month since the new year, she probably doesn't lack for story ideas. The series of events began when the mansion was attacked by Quintus. At that time, Ruby's father lost his limbs, and Ruby was mocked by Liam and others. Then, Gerald retaliated against Liam, and the situation escalated to involve the entire school.

Ruby doesn't show any of her thoughts about these events. Some people find her calm demeanor in such difficult circumstances unsettling, but I think she just expresses her emotions differently from others. She probably uses her pen instead of her face or voice.

"Let me read it when you feel like it."

"Sure. If it's you."

If it's me, huh. Ruby, who rarely shows interest in others, must think I'm special. But is the friendship she holds for me genuine?

Our relationship goes back to when we were fifth graders at the preparatory school. At that time, a series of kidnappings were occurring. Ruby was one of the victims, but Van and I managed to save her just in time, and that's how we became friends.

After the incident, Ruby clung to me. I thought she felt grateful for saving her life, but even that seemed abnormal. What was strange was that she didn't show the same attitude toward Van, who was also her savior. This led me to a hypothesis: perhaps I had brainwashed her.

There is a great book called "Health Magic for Those Starting at 40" by Elijah Goldstein. One of the stories in it is about a weak animal that was healed by magic. It was a heartwarming story, and the first time I read it, I was moved by the noble character of the master. The animal, once healed, became very attached to the master, understanding that it had been saved. ...Or so I thought, until the incident.

When Ruby was kidnapped, she was in a serious condition due to magic poison. I sent a large amount of magic to Ruby, who was on the verge of death, and managed to keep her alive until Elsa came to help. Just like the master who saved the animal with magic, Ruby became attached to me after the incident.

Over time, Ruby returned to her original distance, but she still seemed to have an excessive amount of friendship toward me. Perhaps all the affection she feels for me was formed by the magic flow during that time, and I still can't help but think that.

"By the way, I brought you a souvenir."

I suddenly remembered the item in my pocket and handed it to Ruby.

"Ink?"

"Yeah. It doesn't smudge much. I use it myself."

"Thank you."

I couldn't tell if she was happy from her expression, but ink is a consumable, so it wouldn't be in the way. Especially for Ruby, who enjoys writing stories.

"Maybe you would have preferred a doll?"

When I asked, Ruby shook her head.

"No, this is fine."

"Good. I'm glad."

I had heard that young Ruby was interested in puppet shows, but looking at this room, I didn't get that impression. There were only three dolls on the shelf. A female doll was holding hands with a male doll next to her, probably modeled after Lily and Ruby. The third doll, which seemed to represent Ruby's father, was placed a bit apart, leaving an unnatural gap between it and the other two.

"That doll is strange, isn't it?"

Ruby said, apparently noticing that I was looking at the dolls.

"Strange?"

"The father is strange."

The doll a bit apart was indeed Ruby's father.

Come to think of it, Ruby's father isn't in the mansion right now, is he? He lost his limbs but is still alive. Yet, Lily never mentioned him, and Ruby doesn't seem to care much. I realized I had never seen anything in the mansion that asserted the father's existence, as if only the mother and child existed in this house.

"Maybe it's not strange. Fathers are like that in any family."

I said this to comfort Ruby, but she shook her head.

"No, it's strange. Because the father's limbs are still there."

I was taken aback. That's what she meant by strange.

"You're right."

"What should we do?"

"Hmm, how about we just take them off?"

"Sure. That might be good."

Ruby immediately nodded at my somewhat insensitive suggestion. She stood up, took the doll of her father from the shelf, and placed it on the table. It made a heavy sound, like porcelain.

"We could smash it with a hammer."

"But the father's limbs were cleanly cut off."

I remembered seeing the cleanly cut arm that Professor Wiseman had shown me, which Quintus had cut off. Indeed, smashing it with a hammer wouldn't replicate that.

"You're right. Quintus's magic sword is very sharp."

"Maybe a saw would be better?"

"There's a better way."

"What?"

"Actually, I can use a magic sword too."

"Wow."

"Right? Not as good as Quintus, but—"

I felt good being praised by Ruby. Since seeing Quintus's magic sword at the guest house, I had been practicing. I can only form a sword the size of a finger, but it should be enough to cut off the doll's limbs.

"By the way, is it okay to cut them off?"

"Yeah."

The base of the magic sword is a semi-transparent substance I call attributeless magic, which is formed by changing magic power. Magic power is usually shot out as attribute magic when it leaves the body, but by stopping it at the stage before it gains an attribute, it becomes a semi-transparent, malleable substance.

Attributeless magic has the potential for various applications but is very difficult to control. Forming a sword with the precision of Quintus requires considerable training.

I raised my right index finger and concentrated a large amount of magic power at the tip. When the magic pressure was sufficiently high, I created a small crack at the tip of my finger and released the magic power in a thin, paper-like shape.

The magic sword is effective because of this high-pressure attributeless magic. To maintain its cutting power, it is necessary to continuously supply magic power and maintain the pressure at the exit point.

The magic sword extending from my index finger was about the same length as the finger itself. It was much shorter than Quintus's, but it was long enough to cut off the doll's limbs.

I lifted the doll and brought it close to the magic sword. The blade touched the doll's arm, and there was almost no resistance. With a thud, the doll's arm fell onto the table. I successfully cut off the remaining limbs and dissolved the magic sword, sighing.

"Is this the correct form now?"

I handed the limbless doll to Ruby.

"Wow. You really are amazing, Roy."

Ruby looked at me, and her eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Yeah, I guess."

I smiled, and Ruby covered her mouth with both hands, giggling.

I gasped, as I had never seen Ruby laugh before. Her quiet laughter was contagious, and I laughed along, trying to suppress my voice. Cutting off the doll's limbs and laughing about it must have looked creepy from the outside, but the absurdity made it even funnier. It was like sharing a bad joke with a friend during a serious event. As usual, Ruby and I couldn't stop laughing for a while.