Letting go of Caius, a faint smile tugged at my lips.

'It looks like even though he doesn't feel any emotions, my Emotive Magic can be effective in combat.'

The intensity required in order to be effective was quite high, but it at least proved to me one thing; Emotionless or not, one could still fall under the influence of Emotive Magic so long as the intensity was strong enough.

'...The only problem is that in order to reach this intensity, I would have to touch them.'

That wasn't exactly ideal, as shown to me multiple times in the past. In particular, the Summit. The more skilled one was, the easier it was for them to kite or move away from me.

The most ideal option was for me to improve my control.

Only then would I have no trouble dealing with enough intensity from long range.

Thankfully, now that I was back in the Academy, I knew the right person to ask for help. She had already given me a specific cube to train, but I felt like there was more that I could do to improve.

I made a mental note to myself to ask her later.

"Here."

Coming out of my thoughts, I looked at Kaelion helping Caius sit down.

Caius's face was currently pale. His legs were trembling, and tears streamed down the side of his eyes.

But even as the tears streamed down his cheeks, he maintained his gaze on me.

"W...What..."

He looked to be trying to say something, but the aftereffects of his actions were still impacting him. Nonetheless, even though he wasn't speaking, I could more or less tell what he was trying to ask.

"You're curious to know if the previous words I told you were what I truly felt, right?"

The one about there being hope for him.

Caius's eyes shook, and I knew I had guessed correctly. Since I didn't want to leave him hanging, I just nodded my head.

"Yes, there's hope."

Caius hadn't actually lost his emotions.

Although I hadn't gotten a good look, what I felt from him was different. It was... similar to the skill that I had developed.

The one where I could temporarily seal each of my emotions.

Yes, Caius had developed something similar.

But... His was a lot more powerful.

'No, rather than powerful, he developed a more finalized version of it.'

If I started from zero, he started directly at one hundred. While I could improve the skill and get better at controlling it, Caius couldn't. He had developed it at its final point.

It was incredibly powerful, sealing all emotions, even withstanding the pure impact of my Emotive Magic.

However, the downside to such development was the lack of control over it.

He was not stuck in a limbo where all his emotions were sealed with no hope of freeing himself from the chains that he had set himself.

But if anything, this only proved one thing to me—Caius's monstrous talent. He had already developed a painting while I was still stuck with a sketch.

That was how it felt.

Of course, the main difference between us was that I was building a foundation to draw the painting while Caius had no foundation whatsoever. His lack of foundation was what led to the current situation.

But this was actually an opportunity in itself.

'If I can study his finalized version of the spell, I might be able to develop my skill further. Not only that, but I also might be able to help him get out of this situation.'

This was a win-win for the two of us.

...And I directly relayed all of this to Caius who was listening carefully. By the side, Kaelion, who was listening as well looked rather confused but at the same time impressed.

"It sounds like a good skill."

"...In some cases, yes. However, you would need to be good at understanding emotions in order to learn it."

"I can tell."

Kaelion waved his hand in disappointment. I could understand the reason for his disappointment.

Thinking back about the match I had with him, the reason why he lost against me was his lack of mental endurance. While his body continued healing, his mind didn't.

If he had a skill like this then he would directly combat his weakness.

It was unfortunate that he couldn't learn it given his lack of talent in the emotive field.

Or so I thought...

"Hey."

"Yes...?"

"Can you teach me about emotions?"

"Uh?"

Feeling his gaze, I also felt another gaze. When I looked down, I saw Caius looking at me with similar eyes to Kaelion.

'Oh, shit.'

That was when I realized.

My training sessions...

They weren't going to be as quiet as they once were, weren't they?

*

What am I even doing with my life?

It was dark, with just a dim light lighting up the small room. My fingers twitched as I reminisced over the old high I used to chase.

It would've certainly helped alleviate my boredom.

All I could see were endless stacks of papers.

The room felt stuffy, and my surroundings looked the same as always.

...What a boring life.

Clank!

"Brother."

The lights flicked open and my eyes started to burn.

When I turned my head, a familiar young figure appeared by the door. He looked around the room before sighing.

"Why do you always look the same whenever I see you? All I see you do is work. Do you have no friends?"

Ah, Noel..

"I don't have any. I'm too busy working to have a social life."

"Aren't you twenty-three already? Shouldn't you be at the age where you go out with your friends and have fun?"

"It's because I'm twenty-three that I have to work harder. I'll take a rest later."

"When is this later?"

"....When I am comfortable enough with my life where I feel like the two of us won't have to struggle like in the past."

"Ha."

Noel let out a soft sigh as he walked to the far side of the room, pulling open the curtains to let the light stream in, revealing the small balcony of the apartment. Opening the windows, a faint breeze filtered through the room.

"It feels nice outside. When was the last time you properly looked outside?"

"Just today when I went to work."

"No, I don't mean that kind of look. I mean properly looked."

"What nonsense."

Standing up, I moved to the balcony and tried to close the curtains but Noel stopped me.

"....Hey, I'm outside."

"Then get back in."

"I like it out."

"But I don't."

"There you go again being so coldhearted. I can kind of guess why nobody wants to be your friend."

"Do you want me to stop funding your life?"

"You wouldn't dare."

Noel glared at me for a moment before laughing. I glanced his way and only after a good thirty seconds did he stop and hand me a small bottle that contained a strange green liquid."

"Here, have this."

"What is it?"

"It's good for you."

"I don't need it."

It looked disgusting.

"I don't care. You're drinking it."

Twisting the white cap off, Noel shoved the drink in my hand.

"I've said it many times in the past. If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to live long. Given how you work all the time, you must at least get the proper nutrition. You can't just eat the same boring unhealthy stuff."

"What...? I'm still young. What's going to happen to me?"

"Just because you're young doesn't mean you're invincible."

His words were really wise for a high schooler. In the end, knowing how persistent he could get, I took a sip of the drink.

As expected, it tasted like shit.

But even so.

I finished it.

"See? It wasn't so hard?"

"It was really hard."

"Even if it is hard, it's good for you. You've got to take care of yourself."

"Then what about you...?"

When I asked the question, Noel paused and looked at me.

"What about me?"

"Just because I work all day doesn't mean I don't know how you're doing. You always come back at the same time, right after school and I never see you on your phone. You don't seem to text anyone, and since you never go out, it's safe to assume you don't have any friends."

"....."

Pursing his lips, Noel looked away from me and grabbed the railing of the balcony. Leaning back, he looked at the sky.

"I do have friends."

"Then...?"

"But I also have someone that I need to take care of."

"...."

"He works all day, has no friends, and barely eats anything nutritious. With someone like that, do you really think I have the time to go out and see my friends?"

A lump formed in my throat. I wanted to refute his words but realized that I couldn't. All I could do was blankly stare at him while he continued to look up at the sky.

"Hey, promise me something."

"...What is it?"

"Take care of yourself."

What an annoying thing to hear from a younger brother.

"I'm not asking you to make friends. Given your personality, I find that hard to believe is even possible"

"Oy."

I raised my hand and Noel flinched. Quickly moving back, he raised both of his hands.

"I'm too old for you to hit me."

"Then speak properly."

"But am I wrong?"

"That..."

He wasn't.

But still, how could he say that?

"I'm just..."

Raising my head back up, I saw Noel stare back at me with a bitter smile.

"...asking for you to stop rejecting people. People don't get close to you because you keep rejecting them. Even if your personality is nasty, if you don't reject them, there's bound to be some people who will stick with you. Maybe then I won't have to worry about you all the time. Can you promise me that?"

"No, I can't. "

Noel's mouth opened, but he eventually closed it and shook his head. He had this resigned look on his face. Almost as if he expected such an answer from me?

If he knew, why did he even ask?

Shaking my head, I opened the balcony door and walked back in. However, just as I entered, Noel's face appeared in my mind and I stopped.

"I can't promise I'll ever make friends, but I'll listen to what you said. If it's too troublesome I'll stop, okay?"

Though I couldn't see it, I felt a soft smile form on Noel's lips.

"That's all I wanted to hear."

He rushed into the room.

"Promise?"

"No."

"But you..."

"I'll take my words back if you continue."

"Hehe, what if I recorded everything?"

"I'll smash the recording."

"...I was lying!"

Two months after that, I was diagnosed with cancer.

I was never able to keep that promise.

"I'm here."

As I opened my eyes, I turned toward the figure that had entered the training grounds. It was dark, and my vision was limited, but I could immediately recognize who it was.

After all, I had told him to meet me.

With a tense look, he looked around the empty place before settling his gaze on me.

"...What do you want? Just so you know, I set up an emergency alert. If you do anything to me, they'll know it was you."

Hearing his words, a smile spread across my lips. Rolling up my sleeves, I stood up and moved closer to him.

His expression grew ever graver, but he didn't move away.

It was a pleasing sight.

Stopping right in front of him, I placed my finger over his forehead.

"Try your best to endure."

"Uh? Uh—!?"