Chapter 11 : Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Fina’s Worries, Ryan’s Dream
On the night he successfully finished making the firearm, Ryan was resting in his room.
Suddenly, he felt something patting his cheek again and again. At the same time, he could hear a faint sound by his ear.
He also felt a weight on his body, as though something heavy were pressing down on him.
Could this be sleep paralysis?
That was the thought that crossed Ryan’s mind.
But a moment later, he came to his senses. He had already transmigrated to another world, so how could something like sleep paralysis still happen to him?
Right after that, Ryan opened his bleary eyes.
By the moonlight, he saw who was lying on top of him.
It was none other than his childhood sweetheart, Fina.
“Shh!”
Fina pressed a hand over Ryan’s mouth, stopping him from making any noise that might wake the other children.
“Ryan, don’t talk. I need to tell you something.”
“Mmph... L-let go, hurry!”
Ryan quickly slapped at Fina’s hand, urging her to release him. If she did not let go soon, he was going to stop breathing.
“Haaah—haaah—!”
Ryan gasped for air in great mouthfuls.
“Sorry, Ryan, I...”
Fina looked at him with an awkward expression.
She had only wanted him to stay quiet so he would not wake the other children.
She had not expected to nearly suffocate him instead.
“Uh... Fina, why did you come into the boys’ room? Isn’t this against the orphanage rules?”
The orphanage had clear rules. Once the children turned seven, they were separated into different dormitories, and at night they were not allowed to casually run into each other’s rooms. Anyone who broke that rule would be punished.
Ryan had not expected Fina, of all people, to be the one to break it. She was usually such a model student.
He could not help looking at her, wondering why she had come to the boys’ room despite the rules.
“Ryan, there’s something I want to talk to you about. If we speak too loudly here, we’ll wake everyone up. Let’s go outside.”
Fina spoke in a low voice.
“Okay.”
Ryan nodded in agreement.
The two of them then left the boys’ room together and went outside.
Night had already fallen, and stars filled the sky, bright enough to make the gravel path below clearly visible.
The wind brushed through the treetops, and the rustling leaves sounded as soft as whispers.
The air carried the scent of grass and soil, mixed with the fragrance of wild chrysanthemums from somewhere far away.
Every now and then, a night bird would cry out once, only for silence to return almost immediately.
Fina took Ryan by the hand and led him in a certain direction.
Ryan glanced that way. It seemed to be toward the dining hall.
Was Fina hungry? Had she dragged him out here because she wanted a midnight snack?
But only moments later, Ryan realized he had guessed wrong.
Fina led him up onto the roof of the dining hall.
From there, they could see the distant scenery and the full view of the little town.
Once they were on the rooftop, Fina slowly sat down, then pulled Ryan down to sit beside her.
Although it had been hot during the day, the temperature difference between day and night here was huge, and the rooftop was still quite cold at this hour.
Even so, neither of them said anything. They simply leaned tightly against each other.
Ryan had long since noticed how Fina felt about him.
He liked her too. He was simply waiting for her to come of age.
There was a certain charm in that kind of anticipation, was there not?
“So, Fina, what was it you wanted to talk about?”
Ryan asked in a low voice.
“Um... Ryan, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“Go ahead. I’m listening.”
Ryan looked into Fina’s eyes.
“Ryan, do you want to meet your parents?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, Ryan, do you want to know what kind of people your parents are? And why they abandoned you at the orphanage?”
“Why would you ask something like that?”
“It’s nothing. I just really want to meet my own parents. I want to know what kind of people they are... and why they abandoned me.”
Fina lowered her head and spoke in a gloomy tone.
Ryan and Fina had both been abandoned at the orphanage together.
Aunt Kaya had told them that a long time ago.
So the reason Fina had come to ask Ryan what he thought about parents today... was because she wanted affirmation from someone who shared the same fate as her?
Ryan fell silent for a moment.
The truth was, he did not care that much about parents.
After all, he had originally transmigrated here from another world. He had no memories at all of the parents he supposedly had in this world.
So after learning that he was an orphan, he had actually felt relieved, and he had never once thought of trying to find his parents.
But looking at Fina’s expression, Ryan could not bring himself to say any of that.
In truth, by normal standards, it was perfectly natural for an orphan to want to know why their parents had abandoned them.
Putting himself in her place, Ryan felt that Fina’s thoughts were only natural.
“Fina.”
Ryan called her name softly.
Fina raised her head and looked at him.
“There’s nothing strange about thinking that way. It’s perfectly normal.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“But Ryan, don’t you want to find your parents and ask them yourself?”
“So that’s what you were thinking? Even if I wanted to look for my parents, I do not have a single clue to go on. There are simply too many humans in the world. But you’re different, Fina. You’re from the Snow Wolf Tribe. As long as you find the other members of your tribe, you should be able to get clues about your parents.”
Ryan’s reasoning was sound.
On this continent, the Human Race had the largest population, around six billion.
Trying to find his parents among that many people was nothing short of a fantasy.
This world was not like Blue Star in his previous life, where databases and all kinds of records could help with a search.
Fina, on the other hand, was different.
She belonged to the Snow Wolf Tribe.
The entire Snow Wolf Tribe only numbered a few hundred thousand, and they all lived in fixed areas, so it would be much easier to find them.
“And the only thing that can prove my identity is this lightning-shaped birthmark on the left side of my chest. But I can’t exactly show that birthmark to every person I meet, can I? On top of that, I don’t have any talent for magic, so it’s hard for me to imagine my original parents ever wanting to come looking for me.”
For Fina, finding her parents should be fairly easy.
That was not only because she was from the Snow Wolf Tribe. More importantly, Fina had A-rank magical talent and would become an A-rank Mage in the future.
No parents would willingly abandon a Mage with such dazzling potential.
“So...”
Ryan stroked Fina’s head and continued, “You’ll definitely be able to find your parents, Fina.”
What he said was very realistic, and Fina understood it at once.
“Y-You’re right... I’m sorry, Ryan. I wasn’t thinking about your feelings at all. I was only thinking of myself.”
“It’s fine. I already gave up on finding my parents long ago, so you don’t need to feel sorry, Fina.”
“Hehe, Ryan, you’re so nice.”
Ryan smiled and patted her head, and the two of them quietly admired the beautiful moonlight.
A little while later—
Fina looked up at Ryan and said, “Ryan, I’ve decided. When I’m a little older, I’m going to become a Mage and search for my parents. I want to ask them why they abandoned me.”
“And if... I mean if they really had some reason they could not help, then I’d still be willing to live with them.”
“Don’t worry, Fina. You’ll definitely achieve that goal.”
Ryan took a deep breath, then continued, “But if something unexpected happens, don’t forget that you still have many family members here in the orphanage. Me, Aunt Kaya, everyone here... we’re all your family.”
“Mhm, Ryan. I won’t forget everyone.”
“But Ryan, what are you planning to do in the future? Are you going to become a merchant like Aunt Kaya said?”
Fina asked.
She had magical talent, so she could become a Mage in the future.
But Ryan had no talent for magic at all.
Not long ago, Ryan had created perfume, a smash-hit product that sold incredibly well. Would he become a famous merchant one day?
Fina tilted her head as she thought that.
“No. I’m not going to become a merchant.”
“Huh?”
At those words, Fina’s eyes widened at once.
“You’re not going to become a merchant? Then Ryan, you...”
She very much wanted to ask what it was he planned to do.
But for a moment, the words would not come out.
She had learned quite a few things from Aunt Kaya.
Including the kinds of mad experiments people without magical talent had carried out in order to become Mages.
She was afraid.
She was afraid Ryan would become one of those people.
“Ryan, I’ll protect you. I’ll become a Mage and protect you. Please, you mustn’t do anything dangerous.”
Fina’s eyes turned red and wet as she spoke in a trembling voice.
“What are you imagining?”
Ryan wiped the tears from the corners of Fina’s eyes.
He knew she had definitely gotten the wrong idea.
When Kaya had been teaching those lessons before, Ryan and Fina had both been listening, so he knew exactly what she was thinking.
“What I meant was that I won’t become a merchant in the future. I never said I was going to become a Mage either!”
“Huh?”
Fina stopped crying.
“Ryan, th-then what exactly do you want to do?”
“Well, this is what I’m thinking. I want to create a Magic Tool that can turn ordinary people into the strong.”
“A Magic Tool? Turn ordinary people into the strong?”
Steam practically started rising from Fina’s little head. She could not quite process it.
Ryan looked at how adorable she was and reached out to pat her head.
“Fina, in this world, ninety percent of people have no magical talent. Only ten percent do.”
“Mhm, that’s true.”
“Ordinary people have absolutely no power to resist Mages. It’s like ants facing humans. A single careless movement from a human can crush countless ants.”
“Even those who have trained for years and strengthened their bodies are nothing more than slightly stronger ants when facing a Mage.”
“So I was thinking... if there were some kind of Magic Tool that could give ordinary people power surpassing that of Mages, what would that be like?”
“Ah... um...”
Fina stared blankly at Ryan.
She had never known that this was what her childhood sweetheart had been thinking all along.
But she let out a sigh of relief.
Researching Magic Tools was still far better than becoming one of those extremists.
“Then, Ryan, are you planning to sell that kind of tool? If you do, you’ll definitely become famous.”
Fina looked at Ryan with a smile.
“Why would I sell it?” Ryan said with a smile, shaking his head. “I’m not going to sell it!”
“Uh...”
“I may create a Magic Tool like that, but I definitely won’t sell it. I’ll use it myself.”
“Think about it, Fina. If a Magic Tool like that really appeared, how do you think Mages would react to it?”
“They’d be hostile?”
“Exactly. As the group that already benefits from the current system, Mages would never sit by and watch a Magic Tool like that threaten their position. And as the creator of that kind of Magic Tool, I would definitely become the target of their relentless attacks. That’s why I won’t sell it. I’ll keep it in my own hands.”
“Even so, Ryan, you’re still amazing.”
Fina nodded slightly, though it was hard to tell whether she had truly understood what Ryan meant.
Ryan had his own thoughts on the matter.
Weapons could allow him to live more freely. There was no way he would sell them and bring a mountain of trouble onto himself.
Back on Blue Star in his previous life, he had read novels for the thrill of them, not for anything else.
Likewise, now that he had transmigrated to this world, he wanted to live well and enjoy himself. He had no intention of dragging himself into trouble for the sake of people who had nothing to do with him.