"That's right!"
At that mont, i i seed to think of sothing, and her gaze shifted to Sonoko, who was seated next to her.
"What about your boyfriend?"
i i had so understanding of Sonoko's boyfriend, Kyogoku Makoto.
After all, the guy had approached her a couple of tis before, casually attempting to strike up a conversation.
But with i i's sharp intuition, it didn't take much effort to figure out what he was after.
It was obvious Kyogoku Makoto wanted to use her status as a sorcerer to gain favor.
i i found such attempts laughable.
Sure, Makoto was renowned in the world of ordinary people, so karate prodigy with over 300 consecutive wins and reflexes fast enough to dodge bullets. By human standards, he was certainly exceptional.
But in the world of sorcerers, none of that mattered.
Even the weakest, lowest-ranked Grade 4 sorcerer could take Makoto's life without so much as lifting a finger.
This was the vast, insurmountable gap between ordinary humans and sorcerers.
No matter how hard an ordinary person trained, they could never hope to stand on equal footing with a sorcerer.
i i brought up Makoto with the intention of reminding Sonoko.
After spending so ti together, i i had co to like Sonoko. The girl lacked the arrogance and entitlent usually seen in chaebol daughters.
In fact, Sonoko was a romantic at heart, a girl driven by love.
Why else would she fall for soone like Makoto?
"Tsk! Don't even bring him up!"
i i had expected Sonoko to gush about Makoto at the ntion of his na, especially given her typical lovesick behavior.
But this ti was different.
Sonoko's face twisted into an expression of irritation and disgust.
"I've already broken up with him! That guy only wanted to use the Suzuki family to his advantage!"
While Sonoko might have been deeply in love, she wasn't an idiot.
For a long ti, she chose to ignore the signs, unwilling to confront the truth.
But now? She had finally seen things clearly.
"Huh?" i i raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised by this developnt.
Sonoko noticed her reaction and sighed, a bit hurt by the lack of faith.
"Sister i i, do you really think I'm so clueless that I couldn't see through Makoto?"
"Well, yeah."
i i didn't sugarcoat her words and nodded bluntly.
"…"
Sonoko was stunned, then groaned in frustration.
"I should've just kept quiet," she muttered, turning her disappointnt into an excuse to eat more.
She dug into her food with newfound determination. It was a family dinner, after all, there were no outsiders to judge her lack of restraint.
"Hahaha!"
Shiro and Tomoko couldn't help but laugh at the interaction.
As Sonoko's parents, they were pleased to see their daughter growing closer to soone as influential and capable as i i.
---
"So, can I really not go with you?" Sonoko asked, her tone betraying her lingering hope.
To be honest, she wanted to see Ryuji again.
His image had been imprinted in her mind ever since their last encounter, surfacing again and again in her thoughts.
"That's not impossible," i i said after a mont of thought.
"There will already be a lot of people going, so adding one more won't make much of a difference. But don't bring any boys along."
"Don't worry! At most, I'll take Ran
with !" Sonoko promised.
Ran Mori, was Sonoko's closest friend. She wouldn't leave her behind for sothing like this.
"That's fine."
i i had t Ran through Sonoko before and found her to be a kind and gentle girl. She saw no issue with including her.
"Haha! That's great!"
Sonoko's mood brightened imdiately, and her smile grew even wider.
"Sonoko, watch your image," Suzuki Tomoko scolded lightly.
While they had no intention of stopping their daughter from going, Tomoko couldn't help but frown at Sonoko's carefree, unrestrained behavior.
No matter how many tis she had lectured Sonoko about proper etiquette, the lessons never seed to stick.
"I know, I know!" Sonoko replied, reluctantly toning down her enthusiasm.
She lowered her head and obediently focused on her food, though her mind was still racing with thoughts of seeing Ryuji again.
---
anwhile…
"Not bad! Not bad at all!"
An elderly woman stood before Makoto, observing him with a critical yet satisfied gaze.
Makoto sat cross-legged on the ground, his muscles taut and his posture radiating power. His physique looked tough and disciplined, honed through years of martial arts training.
The woman nodded approvingly.
Her na was Granny Chiharu, though Makoto didn't know her full background.
"Your talent isn't bad," she said. "Though it took so effort, you've officially beco a sorcerer."
It was Granny Chiharu who had taken Makoto under her wing, introducing him to the world of cursed energy and sorcery.
Now, as she looked at Makoto, she saw him as a finished product—a work of art she had painstakingly sculpted.
Her sharp eyes scanned him up and down, a hint of pride in her expression.
"Hah…"
Makoto let out a deep breath, slowly standing up from his seated position.
As he clenched his fists, he could feel the raw power coursing through his body, a strength he had never experienced before.
He felt as though he had surpassed his limits, as if his previous self was nothing compared to the person he had beco.
"So this is what it feels like to have power…"
Makoto's mind wandered, imagining scenarios where he could use his newfound strength. For a mont, he even fantasized about standing up to top-tier families like the Suzukis, certain he could crush them with ease.
But this thought was little more than an illusion born from arrogance.
His power had grown too quickly, and his mindset hadn't had the ti to mature alongside it.
"Bang!"
Makoto's fantasy was abruptly interrupted as Granny Chiharu struck him on the head with her cane.
"Ah!" he hissed, wincing in pain as he rubbed the spot she'd hit.
The old woman didn't hold back, and the blow was enough to bring him back to reality.
"Hmph!"
Granny Chiharu's stern expression made it clear that she wouldn't tolerate any complacency from her pupil.
"You may be a sorcerer now, but you're still at the very bottom. A Grade 4 sorcerer is nothing to brag about. Stop dreaming and focus on improving."
"I understand," Makoto said, his tone subdued.
Over the past few weeks, Granny Chiharu had taught him a lot about the world of sorcery, including the ranking system.
He was keenly aware of how far he still had to go.
After all, i i—the sorcerer he'd t at the Suzuki family gathering was a first-grade sorcerer.
Compared to her, he was still leagues behind.
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