Mage

He was about to return all the books when a figure flashed in his eyes. Someone jumped to the top of the table and pressed their hand against his jaw. Another hand pushed him to lean on the chair.

What the -

He tried to smack the hand away. When he caught a glimpse of two pairs of seething eyes, he stopped.

Aiden? He blinked in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" He gently removed Aiden's hand from his jaw and lift him in the waist away from the table. Putting him down on the chair next to him.

"That was dangerous." He looked around. Thankfully, the old man did not notice Aiden jumping at his table or else they'd be driven out of the library.

"Why did you leave?" Aiden asked accusingly. There's that look of sulking again, as if someone had offended him. Lucien chuckled inwardly.

"I am not interested in watching theater shows." This was true. He never attended school dramas or stage plays in his school days. He hates watching the awkward acting of other children his age back then. He still does now.

"Why did you not tell me you'll leave?"

Lucien lightly patted Aiden's head. Trying to appease the little protagonist's affected mood.

"I was about to but you were not there. Did Old Fe tell you I was here? " Aiden nodded. He was about to retract his hand, but the little protagonist held on to it, not willing to make him stop patting him.

"Why are you here? Do you love to read books? "

No, I love to watch anime. But how can I watch one in this city that is cut off from the rest of the modern world?

"No. I want to find someone. "

"Who?"

Lucien pondered. Should he tell the little protagonist about it? Nah, there's no reason to... Wait, didn't the little protagonist awaken his dark magic attribute? If that's the case, he was capable of conjuring light magic, right? Should he teach him? If the young protagonist learned light magic early on, the chances of the sealed dark magic seed working increase. And the greater his chances of being accepted to Mage Academe. Lucien drummed his fingers on the table. What's it going to be? Tell him? Or not? Tell him?

"Lucien?" Aiden tilted his head at him. He was left with no choice but to sigh. Alright, maybe he should.

"Do you remember the demons in the orphanage?" Aiden did not have the slightest bit of disparity in his reaction when he responded.

"What about them?"

"That first demon who attacked us. Remember him?"

"The demon you killed?" Aiden pulled Lucien's hand, who was just patting his head closer to his cheek. He affectionately leaned his face on it.

"Yes. When I impaled him, a black smoke slithered out of his body. I could not kill it at that time. It also did not disappear with Vanessa and her puppets."

Aiden was stunned to hear this. "What?"

"This might be hard to believe, but I think that black smoke is a demon spirit, and it has possessed one of the children who came with us."

Aiden's eyes went wide. "Are you sure?" Lucien shook his head.

"No. But think about it. When Vanessa appeared, why did the demon spirit not appear again? Did it possess another puppet? If that is so, how come none of the puppets have a mind of their own like that first demon? "

Aiden lowered his head. His thoughts were unknown. Lucien scratched his nape. Okay, that's all the information he must provide the little protagonist. A little more and he will get into trouble with the system.

Unfortunately, Aiden has other worries to talk about.

"Then should we leave?" Aiden suddenly grasped both his hands and pulled Lucien closer to him.

"Lucien, let's run away from this place. We can live by ourselves in the outside world. Did you know? One of the old men selling pancakes said that the outside world is not so bad as they make it sound. He said it's a world of innovation. Of technology! They have these lights at night. They have these talking screens and the buildings are really tall with colorful lights!"

As Aiden babbles more about the modern world, the more painful Lucien's heart becomes. How cruel was this author to let this child not see the modern cities? Not only did he witness his parents' murder, he also had to run from deserted towns one after another in order to survive. Lucien patted Aiden's head in order to free his arms from his hold.

"But it's not safe there." He felt sorry for cutting off Aiden's excitement. "The more populated places are, the more demons dwell and feed on humans. I don't know if that old man told you, but in big cities, the death row is always thousands of people every day. Aiden, we are lucky to be here."

Lucien gathered the books and put them back on the shelves. Aiden was following him like he was his tail.

"Why? Are there demons out there too?"

"Yes. And they are stronger and more populated out there, always attacking weak humans in broad daylight. But if we manage to enter the ranks at Demon Slayer base, we will be able to save those weak humans at the same time see the big cities."

"Lucien wants to join the Mages too?"

Ahm, he did not say anything about Mages though?

When Lucien look down to the books he was holding and the vibrant book titles with Mages, he silently chuckled. Seems like the little protagonist is a bit smarter than he thought

"What about you, Aiden? Do you want to be a mage?" Aiden did not answer. He did not mind and turned to take out another book. Hopefully this time, it has information about the exorcism tools' creation.

He came back to the table with Aiden at his side. When they were seated, Aiden started to speak.

"It's not that I want to. I just want to be where Lucien go."