Chapter 2: A Peaceful Life That Was Already Enough

Asuka Ravenfall had never considered his living place a proper home.

The small building stood at the corner of a narrow alley, its paint peeling, its roof leaking whenever the rain fell too heavily. Yet for Asuka—better known as Asuka Sentou—this place was far better than any palace, magic tower, or grand hall of the Magic World.

At least, here…

there was no war.

“I’m home.”

Asuka opened the front door with one hand, while the other carried a plastic bag filled with leftover ingredients from the restaurant.

“Welcome back!”

A cheerful voice immediately greeted him.

A girl with short-to-medium pink hair, slightly messy, ran out from the kitchen. A pair of bright blue eyes looked up at him with pure excitement, not a trace of darkness from the past lingering within them.

Asuka Mari.

She was only twelve years old, yet her life had already passed through things no child her age should ever experience.

A victim of war.
A victim of human trafficking.

Asuka still remembered that day clearly—the moment he found Mari locked away, being sold like merchandise. Without hesitation, he exposed the perpetrators, dismantling the entire operation without elaborate spells or heroic declarations.

He simply… couldn’t bear to see it.

From that day on, Mari became his adoptive little sister.

“How was school today?” Asuka asked as he set the groceries down.

“Tiring! But I got good grades!” Mari smiled proudly, then immediately began helping tidy up their small house.

Despite how shabby it was, Mari always tried to keep it neat after school.

And every time Asuka saw that, he thought the same thing.

A life like this… was already more than enough.

Asuka worked as a chef at a small diner not far from there.

The restaurant was small—unfamous, unimpressive, far from luxurious. Yet Asuka’s cooking always brought customers back. Even foreign tourists often came just because they had heard that “the food feels different.”

Asuka didn’t care.

He wasn’t seeking recognition.
He wasn’t seeking power.

To him, living a peaceful life in the human world was the greatest reward.

No war drama.
No factions.
No mages claiming peace while drawing weapons.

He still remembered Merlin’s final words before her death.

“Find your own identity, Asuka.”
“Never fall into darkness and hatred.”

That was his promise.

That morning, Asuka pedaled his bicycle as usual.

The streets were crowded. Some people wore strange outfits—long coats, excessive accessories.

“Cosplay again,” Asuka muttered as he rode past without caring.

His eyes were briefly drawn to a television displayed at an electronics store—big discounts advertised. He slowed his bicycle slightly.

And—

CRASH.

“Oi!”

Asuka slammed on the brakes.

A woman was standing right in the bike lane.

“Watch where you’re going!” Asuka snapped irritably.

“Aren’t you the one who can’t ride this thing properly?!” the woman shot back sharply.

An argument broke out.

Both of them were irritated.
Both of them believed they were right.

Asuka glanced at his watch.

Late.

“Whatever,” he muttered, then started pedaling again.

But just as he was about to leave—

ZRAAK!

Magic exploded.

Uncontrolled.

And it was heading straight toward a small child standing nearby.

“LOOK OUT!”

Asuka jumped off his bike and pulled the child behind him. The magical blast struck the sidewalk, shattering part of the stone pavement.

Asuka turned sharply toward the woman.

“Control your magic,” he said coldly.
“Before you truly hurt someone innocent.”

The woman froze.

Her face turned pale.

Guilty.

The child himself looked confused—unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Asuka let out a breath, then walked away.

But the woman… couldn’t stop staring at him.

How did he know that was magic?

Claire chased after him.

She followed Asuka until he stopped in front of a small restaurant.

The aroma of food drifting from inside made her halt in her tracks.

Warm.
Rich.
A scent she had never experienced before.

Her stomach suddenly growled.

Claire froze.

Did my magic leak out again…?

“Uh, are you hungry?” a friendly waitress asked.

Claire looked at her in confusion.

Hungry…?

Asuka, who had just come out of the changing room, glanced over.

“Seriously?” he said flatly. “You don’t know what hunger is?”

He gave a brief explanation—and before she realized it, Claire ordered ramen and curry rice.

When the food arrived—

Claire devoured it.

Without hesitation.
Without manners.

As if she hadn’t eaten in thousands of years.

Everyone stared.

Asuka turned his face away.

“Embarrassing…”

When she finished, Claire looked at Asuka with sparkling eyes.

“This… is incredible.”

The waitress approached.

“Do you know her, Sentou?”
“No,” Asuka answered quickly.
“Just a strange girl who suddenly showed up.”

Claire stood up, ready to leave.

“Excuse me, miss,” the waitress said. “The payment hasn’t—”

Payment?

Claire panicked.

She didn’t understand the system.

The gazes around them slowly turned suspicious.

Asuka clicked his tongue, then paid for everything.

That evening, Claire waited for Asuka in the parking lot.

“I want to learn how to control my magic,” she said seriously.

“No,” Asuka replied curtly.

“You saw it yourself. You nearly hurt a child.”

Claire tried to defend herself—magic could be used for peace.

Asuka cut her off.

“Peace in that world is fake,” he said flatly.
“Full of hypocrisy.”

He told her about his village.
The civil war.
Magic that slaughtered everything.

“I won’t teach magic to anyone.”

He walked away.

But Claire didn’t give up.

She placed a tracking spell on Asuka’s bicycle.

That evening, Asuka returned home carrying leftover food.

“Let’s have dinner together,” he said to Mari.

The doorbell rang.

Mari ran over.

“Big brother! Maybe it’s the newspaper delivery!”
“Let’s ignore it. We don’t need a newspaper subscription anymore.”

The doorbell rang again.

Mari, who was sweeping the floor, turned quickly.

“Big brother, you should tell them we don’t subscribe anymore.”

“Alright, I’ll tell them.”

Asuka opened the door.

Standing outside was the white-haired woman.

Claire Edelweiss.

Wearing the same outfit as earlier that day, her expression serious—far too serious for someone standing in front of a rundown house with a flickering porch light.

“…You?” Asuka frowned.
“How do you know this place?”

“I placed a magic marker,” Claire answered honestly. “On your bicycle.”

Asuka fell silent for a moment.

Then he let out a long sigh.

“Of course.”

Mari peeked out from behind Asuka’s back.

“Oh! Big brother, who is she?”
Her blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Your girlfriend?”

“NO.”

Asuka answered too quickly.

Claire, instead, bowed deeply.

“I came to beg,” she said.
Her tone was serious—almost solemn.

Asuka immediately felt a bad feeling rising.

Claire knelt.

She truly knelt.

“Please teach me how to control my magic,” she said with a trembling voice.
“I have no one else.”

Mari froze.

The broom slipped from her hands.

“…Huh?”

Asuka rubbed his face.

“You can stand up first.”

Claire didn’t move.

“I know I’m being a burden,” she continued. “I also have nowhere to return to. This human world… I don’t know where to sleep. I don’t know how to survive here.”

Asuka opened his mouth, about to interrupt.

But Claire lifted her face first—

and spoke words that froze the air.

“If necessary… I will offer my body.”

Silence.

Complete silence.

Mari stared at Claire.
Then at Asuka.
Then back at Claire.

“…Big brother,” she said softly.
“What exactly did you teach her?”

“I DIDN’T TEACH HER ANYTHING!”

Asuka’s face flushed red.

“Do you even know what you just said?!”

Claire frowned in confusion.

“In the Magic World,” she said innocently,
“if someone has nothing to offer in exchange—then their body and life are the highest form of devotion to a teacher.”

Asuka clutched his head.

“This isn’t the Magic World!”
“And I DON’T want that!”

Mari stepped closer, eyes sparkling.

“Ohhh… so not a girlfriend, but a disciple?”

“ALSO NO.”

Claire finally stood up.

“I just want to learn,” she said more softly.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone ever again.”

Her tone changed.

No longer rigid.
No longer political.

Just… honest.

Asuka fell silent.

He remembered the small child from earlier.
The magic explosion.
The fear that almost repeated itself.

He let out a long breath.

“…Fine.”

Claire immediately lifted her head.

“But on one condition,” Asuka added quickly.
“Once you can control your magic, you return to your world.”

Claire nodded without hesitation.

“And one more thing,” Asuka said, pointing toward the empty room that had become a storage space.
“You sleep in the storage room.”

The room was small.
Dusty.
Almost empty.

Claire looked at it… then smiled softly.

“Thank you.”

Mari raised her hand.

“Can I ask one thing?”

“What?” Asuka asked.

“When do we eat dinner?”

Asuka paused.

Then sighed once more.

“…After I make sure she doesn’t blow up our house.”

Claire looked at the shabby house with sparkling eyes.

“I’ll be careful.”

Asuka muttered quietly.

“I’ve heard that promise before…”