Instant Counting

Upon reaching the back of the castle, Mirac caught sight of Carmen in the distance, her posture perfect as always.

Behind her, the heavy wooden door had just closed with a soft creak that seemed to echo in the cold air.

'Who was she talking to?' Mirac wondered, scrutinizing carefully.

But unable to make out the figure that had just dissolved into the shadow of the door, Mirac gave up on his curiosity.

Instead, with his usual slow but steady step, Mirac approached Carmen. The red-haired servant, sensing his presence, turned gracefully toward him.

"Good evening, young Prince," she said with her courteous smile, lowering herself slightly in a gesture that radiated respect and propriety. "How was your training with Grand Knight Leonard?"

Mirac shrugged, trying to appear more relaxed than he truly felt.

"It went well… everything's fine," he replied, his voice neutral but slightly strained, betraying the thoughts he didn't want to reveal.

Upon further thought, Mirac realized it was wiser to avoid talking about his vision.

He didn't even know if it was something beautiful, something to be "proud" of, or something absolutely horrible that he needed to hide.

As a precaution, Mirac decided simply not to tell anyone, while inside him, irritation grew, fueled by his disdain for Math, which had given him yet another problem to think about.

Carmen tilted her head slightly, observing him with a look that combined curiosity and a veiled concern. Her eyes seemed to probe him, as if trying to read beyond the surface.

"Young Prince, are you alright?" she asked, her tone gentle but attentive. "You seem... troubled."

Mirac looked away, forcing a smile and putting on an expression he hoped would seem convincing.

"Yes, yes, Carmen... I'm just a little tired, that's all."

However, Carmen was not easy to deceive. In her eyes, there was a sharp intuition, honed by years of observation and tact.

With her usual delicacy, she placed a hand on his shoulder, a gentle but reassuring touch.

Then, as if guided by some maternal instinct, she began to massage his shoulders slowly, trying to ease the tension she clearly felt in his young body.

Mirac didn't resist, surprised by the gentleness of the gesture. Little by little, his body began to relax under that soft touch, and the invisible weight pressing down on him seemed to ease, at least partially.

"Is it better?" Carmen asked, continuing to smile, her eyes shining with understanding.

"Yes, much better, thank you!" he replied sincerely.

For a moment, a small smile lit up the young Prince's face.

For some reason, he couldn't help but smile, feeling that small gesture like a caress to his turbulent soul.

He didn't know whether it was the warmth of Carmen's hands or the simple sweetness of her company. But at that moment, Mirac felt a little more at peace and relaxed.

However, a sudden sound interrupted them.

A clear and piercing cry, similar to that of a bird of prey, seemed to come from above.

Slowly, they both instinctively looked up.

A group of birds was flying above the castle, their slender bodies slicing through the sky in perfect harmony. The feathers, white, red, and gold, shimmered in the light of the setting sun like intertwined threads of silk.

Their movements, so fluid and synchronized, captured Mirac's attention, and he remained staring at them with a more relaxed expression, almost captivated.

Carmen, who had immediately noticed Mirac's interest, smiled.

"Those are the Siliums. A very particular species of bird," the servant said, slowly bringing her hands back in front of her. "They usually live in warm areas, like the Desert of Shakh. That's why it's very rare to see them! Especially here, in this part of the Ardorya Kingdom."

Mirac nodded, listening with apparent attention, but something was stirring in his mind that he couldn't quite define.

As Carmen spoke, a sudden piece of information invaded his mind, clear and vivid, as if it had emerged from nowhere.

His mind, though unable to grasp the reason, couldn't ignore it.

Meanwhile, Carmen continued:

"Besides their shimmering plumage, one of the peculiarities of this species is that their flocks are always made up of-"

"Forty-four birds..." Mirac murmured, almost without realizing it.

Carmen stopped, surprised.

"Oh, did you already know, young Prince?" she asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Um, yes…" Mirac improvised, trying to hide the source of the answer. "Professor Shirkenn explained it to me today…"

But in reality, that was a lie!

No one had ever told him about the Siliums, let alone the number of birds in their flocks.

And yet, that certainty seemed to have emerged spontaneously within him, undeniable and without any apparent source.

'How did I know that?' he wondered, trying to maintain a neutral expression.

He lowered his gaze, confused, but a reflection in the window caught his attention. He found himself staring at it for a moment, mesmerized.

In that indistinct reflection, as he quickly glanced at the other ground-floor windows—those he could see from his position—another thought leaped into his mind, clear and inexplicable:

'Thirty-five windows on the ground floor…'

Mirac pressed his lips together.

He didn't remember ever counting the castle windows!

And yet, that certainty was there, rooted, absolute. As if he knew something he had never learned.

A feeling that was, to say the least, unsettling.

Without realizing it, he touched his temples, trying to understand:

'What the hell is happening to me?!'

"Young Prince, is everything alright?" Carmen asked, bringing him back to reality.

Her voice, always calm, was filled with concern.

Mirac snapped out of it, trying to ignore the inner agitation.

"Uh, yes, yes, sorry… I was just distracted," he replied, lowering his hand and forcing a smile.

* * *

Excusing himself with the need to finish his homework, Mirac gave Carmen a quick nod and hurried toward his bedroom.

As he climbed the stairs, a new thought slipped into his mind, clear and unavoidable:

'Twenty-six steps…'

He hadn't counted them, he didn't need to. It was as though the number had formed automatically in his mind, as precise as a calculation already solved.

Mirac stopped for a moment, looking around with furrowed brows.

After calming himself and slowing his breath, he continued his ascent, trying to ignore the strange feeling he had.

Upon reaching the second floor, where his room was located, his gaze absently scanned the corridor.

'Seventeen paintings hanging...'

Once again, that sudden, lightning-fast certainty flashed through his mind.

* * *

After dinner, Mirac decided to lie down on the bed.

It was the most sensible thing to do: try to sleep and put aside, at least until tomorrow, the strange turmoil that was unsettling him.

The fatigue accumulated throughout the day quickly dragged him into a deep sleep.

But in the middle of the night, Mirac found himself once again in that endless night sky. There was no ground or walls, only a vast expanse of stars sparkling around him.

'Damn it! I was having a nice dream!' Mirac thought, looking around in annoyance. 'What else do you want from me, Math?!'

Almost as if in response to his irritation, the white text reappeared before him, right where it had been interrupted by Mirac's sudden awakening.

And, unable to turn his view, close his eyes, or make any other movement that might helped him ignore the messages from Math, he found himself forced to read every single word that appeared before him.

[ Congratulations! ]

[ You have obtained: Instant Counting ]

[ Instant Counting: You can instantly know the exact number of objects or elements in any scene or situation with a single glance ]

[ Current Range of "Instant Counting": 0 → 50 ]

Mirac stared at the white, floating text with increasing confusion.

'Instant Counting?'

With that, as if it had completed its task, the starry sky began to retreat again, this time more slowly.

In the meantime, before Mirac's consciousness drifted back into sleep, a sudden realization struck him: it was precisely thanks to this unknown power—Instant Counting—that he had been able to know the exact number of objects around him earlier!