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Chapter 249: A Lost Soul (Han)

[ Note: You can reread Chapter 234 and return here if you wish ]

Once class finally ended for Professor Orleans, others could be said to have taken a proactive stance and a name was said amongst the crowd

"Han!" It came from a red-haired young woman with a frown on her face. She was walking towards him. It sounded from the blond Nobleman sitting right beside him, and if one's ears were sharp, then one might have even noticed a hooded figure in the back say out his name as well.

"W-What?" Han blinked in confusion. The orphan from Rockfall Village turned to the people he was with a slightly befuddled look on his face. "Er, is there anything I can do for you?" It was like he had woken up from some sort of dream and had gotten distracted.

"I'll be going to the Student Committee with Donovanare you interested in tagging along with us?" Sir Leon de Harrington asked.

"Where's Timothyhave you seen him at all?" Penelope asked. The Noble Lady had an unhappy look on her face.

"... I don't know." Another frown rested on Han's face.

"Well, the guy walked out after lunch and he's not here." Donovan shrugged.

Sir Leon agreed with a nod of his own. "Is there some sort of trouble, Lady Primrose?"

"... Timothy hasn't been around since our last class and he isn't here either, Sir Leon. I'm simply curious if Han knows where his whereabouts were." Penelope crossed her arms over her chest, an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Timothy," Han said. He was the cook's son who spent a good portion of his free time hounding him back in the village. It was an unpleasant memory that he could still remember. And yet the two of them had moved on from it now.

"Yes, do you have any idea where he's been at all?"

"I doubt Han knows ithe's been with us the entire time. You can't expect the two to always be together just because they came from the same village, town or city." Donovan rolled his eyes. "I thought you were smarter than this, Pen."

Penelope sniffed at the young man, "Well, I wasn't asking you."

Sir Leon sighed and scratched the back of his head, "Come on now, you twoI think Timothy seems to be the type to prefer to like to be alone, but as for his reasons for taking an absence. Is there perchance a reason for it?"

"... I suppose that he may have practiced on learning a Spell? He and Han have been given an opportunity by Professor Carnus to prove themselves worthy to be in his class by performing a Spell for combat. It's one reason why he had asked help from me and Elliot before. But perhaps he had decided to do it all by himself..."

"Do you even have any capacity to perform magic, Han?" Donovan glanced at the man that seemed to be even thinner and paler than he could remember. "Most people drop out of Mixed Curriculum, not everyone has potential for it."

Sir Leon de Harrington cleared his throat, "Han is free to do whatever he wishes, Donovan. Although you provided salient points but considering the situation on hand," The Noble glanced at Han, and managed a sheepish smile. "I suppose you're preoccupied this afternoon, but do not worry about coming along with uswe won't force you. The two of us shall get going now, I wish you luck in your studies."

"It's not too late to get Primary Combat is all I'm sayingsee ya."

The two young men would leave the classroom and Han be, and as for Penelope, she stared at him with a suspicious look on her face but then harrumphed, "Donovan made some good points I admit, and if you won't work as hard as TimothyI'll be watching you run around while avoiding Elemental Orbs. Do not think that I'll treat you kindly because I know you. Very well then, I'll be off."

While the young Lady might have expected him to make a retort or something like an argument, Han didn't say a word. She was almost hesitant that she may have said too much, but she left him be and reunited with her siblings.

All around him, Students both young, well mostly younger than old, would take their leave. Until he was almost the only one left except someone approached him. "Han!" A hooded figure pulled down her hood and revealed a beautiful youthful woman. Somewhat pointy ears sprouted over her hair and she narrowed her green eyes at him, "What are you doing there and standing around for?"

"Ellynn?" Her name came out of his lips almost naturally, as if it was always meant to be said. And yet he was sure that he hadn't been seeing her for a whilealmost an entire day.

She pursed her lips and nodded, "Do you have no plans in approaching me?"

"What?"

"... during lunch, you saw me, but you never walked over." Her elven ears quivered down slightly, a streak of red crossing them. Han only stared at her, and it made her think perhaps she was putting too much attention over it. "Well, it doesn't matter since I had two other people with me at the table." She probably seemed too self-centered by talking about herself constantly. He had more immediate troubles than her. "I understand that you'll be having trouble with our test tomorrow and I have practice myself. Maybe it'll help you if you could watch me perform it?"

"I don't think I can do that."

The Half Elf grimaced at the honesty and straightforwardness in his voice. She almost expected him to say that he'd be happy to watch herand yet here he was, saying the truth of the matter. "I know you can't perform the Tri-Elemental Magical Orb by tomorrow, but maybe something easier? Perhaps Stone Dart will be manageable? An electrical shot? Or do you intend to run around at the mercy of everyone else? It won't just be Professor Carnus by that time." Somehow she found herself more talkative now than ever.

"I'm not really sure this is just all so new and the mana I have is pitiful."

Right now, it seemed that it was one of the few occasions that he showed this vulnerable side of hisshe had always seen him ready to take over the world. Ellynn was however determined to help him out, not because of anything important, but because it was the right thing to do. "I think you can ignore what the Professor says about your ability to gather mana, Han. You've been doing great, and maybe it is hard, very difficult to learn a Spell... "

"You want me to learn a Spell under a day?" His eyes glittered at the idea.

She grimaced at his words. "A Combat Spell that's tier 0 to 1 is manageable? We could practice all night?" This kind of suggestion was absurd, even more so than the idea of staying together all night.

"That would require a lot of mana."

"You could gather mana from the air" And yet it would still continue to wear him down. Whether it was from his own internal source or from outsidemanipulating mana into magic was still exhausting and mind-draining. The Professor was being too hard on them, and yet it was to be expected that at least a Level 10 Mage could perform something around that capacity.

And yet she was positive that the man probably had no Levels in Mage.

It was still amazing that he had managed to perform [ Light ] alongside Timothy back then, and even made the Battlemage look at them, but that Spell was easy. It was natural enough to change mana's form and shape to it. She looked around the classroom and realized that it was only them left and quite a few others.

"Would you like to discuss this elsewhere, Han?"

The man shifted on his feet and glanced around the room, "Where?"

"Well" The two of them could go to the dining hallbut that wasn't a good place to study, if ever. And she wasn't all that comfortable with the courtyard either, and most of the other Students would probably try to study there or at the Dewrowan Tower. "I think we could go to where Timothy probably is?"

Ellynn hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she had heard that Penelope was looking for Timothy. Han didn't reveal where the man was possibly studying for privacy?

"I don't know where he is," he said.

Ellynn blinked. "Ah..." Then did she just assume where Timothy was? The Half Elf scratched her cheek and adopted a quieter tone, "Do you not think that he might actually be in the library?"

"Well" there was some doubt in his voice.

And the memory of what had happened there made her wince, "Maybe he's not there after all? Sorry, I just thought that it was at that place where he could get some peace and quiet to study. But he probably won't be returning there anytime soon. How about the courtyard then?" If they did this outside, then there would be a lot of windand wind magic would be easier to use.

"Thank you for your help, but I'd rather go back to my room." Han finally said.

"O-oh"

"I hope you don't mind, Ellynn."

Maybe she wasn't as good as she thought in lifting up one's spirit, or the truth of the matter was something that couldn't be ignored. Even if he were to force himself to learn a Combat Spellthe chances of him messing it up and having it exploded in his face was just as likely as him performing it badly.