Life of Magic With a Talkative Heart-Chapter 137: Time Bomb

Cyril simply stared at Luce's blindfold, his face blank.
"Excuse us," Anna suddenly said.
She quickly grabbed Luce's shoulder and led her away. "Luce, come with me for a second!"
"Don't make it awkward, please! There is nothing going on between us," Anna whispered with complaint.
"Not going on yet. I am blind, not stupid. Don't worry. I can help-"
Cyril observed them until they left the courtyard, their voices becoming indistinguishable from the other noise.
Huh.
Cyril could feel a pang of satisfaction from the situation. He never imagined there would be conversations like that about him.
But other than that, he felt awkward. He never looked at Anna in that light, or at anyone, for that matter.
"Humans are not worthy!"
Right.
Cyril shook his head. Then he checked how the rest of his group were doing.
And they were doing something.
Four children stood together, holding sticks in their hands. Their postures were heroic and wary, all glaring at the same thing.
Opposite them defiantly stood a mighty white tiger, fangs clearly visible. His head was raised high, looking down on the children despite their height difference.
Near him fluttered a red butterfly, twitching her antennae with quiet determination.
"Today we shall slay the Beast!" One kid yelled, raising his stick in the air.
The others joined him, cheerfully exclaiming.
Their sheer power of friendship made Tigris subtly lower his head, intimidated.
Then, with a spark of realization, he meowed towards Morpho.
The red butterfly only briefly hesitated before landing on the tiger's back. There she outstretched her wings, trying to be as noticeable as possible.
Tigris glanced back at his new wings, nodded, and looked at Atheris hanging on Cyril's neck with hope.
"Hiss!"
Never mind. He quickly looked away.
Don't be like that.
Cyril wryly patted the snake, before casting a spell himself, as apology to Tigris.
Would be good practice.
After a red magic circle, the white tiger was suddenly covered in black armor, making him look cool and dashing.
Regaining his battle spirit, Tigris glared at the kids and roared, the red wings on his back fluttering.
"The Beast is strong…!"
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The kids cowered a step, staring at the tiger in awe.
Suddenly, the kid at the center clenched his teeth and advanced a step.
"Do not be afraid! I am the Hero. I can resist its power!"
Immediately the other kids glared at him with complaint.
"Why are you the Hero? I would be a better one."
"But I was first! And I am standing at the center!"
They began arguing, each claiming they were more suited to be the Hero.
Tigris glanced at Morpho, then back at the kids with confusion. Finally he sat down, staring at the now quarreling kids with boredom. The armor on his body soon disappeared.
"Human nature yet again shows its true colors."
...It might be our fault.
As Cyril was observing the scene, only mildly amused, a certain joy-filled voice came closer to them.
"Ahaha!" It was Pete, the bearded priest.
One by one he strongly patted the kids on the heads, making them flinch.
"Don't fight with each other, boys! You can all be heroes!"
The kids shook their heads, shooting him a pouting face.
"But Pete! In your story there is only one hero!"
The priest awkwardly coughed, then shook his head with a wry smile.
"Don't take it so literally. Think of the hero as the good in all of us! You all can be heroes if you want!"
"But that's boring!"
The kids threw the sticks on the ground, glared at each other one last time, and went their separate ways.
Tigris, observing it all, nodded with satisfaction. It's their victory.
"Eh…" The priest awkwardly stood at the center, then chuckled with helplessness.
He then glanced over to Cyril, smiled, and walked up to him.
"Kids will be kids, right? Hi, my name is Pete," the priest said, stretching his hand in greeting.
Cyril shook it, easily enduring the deathly grip of the tall priest.
"Now, I have something to ask of you," Pete said, peeking at the miniature castle in the courtyard.
"Can you stop your magic? It's time to head back inside."
"…Sure."
…
The festivities were meager. It wasn't the most grandiose birthday celebration Cyril had been to, but it was definitely unique.
Children ran around everywhere, disrupting the peace and giving the caretaker a headache.
"Josh, Drake, stop throwing rocks! You broke another window! Do you think money grows on trees?!"
It was extremely chaotic.
Tigris finally couldn't handle the children's attention and escaped into Cyril's shoulder. The smart tiger discovered an unexpected source of help.
Atheris, the fearsome snake, was particularly effective at keeping kids at bay.
So, when even Morpho tired herself from dodging all the little hands, she landed back on his shoulder to take a break.
Alvin, along with the church members, was performing healing for the kids and the caretaker. They've also brought their own supplies and money.
At some point the doors of the orphanage were opened by a few sharply dressed servants.
They wheeled in the replacement for the ruined cake.
"Woah! Is this really a cake?!"
The kids gathered in front of what the money could buy.
The servants wheeled in a gigantic, elaborate cake. Its height almost reached the ceiling.
"We've done as you wish, Young Master!" Alan bowed in front of Cyril, his eyes sparkling with respect.
The servants calmly gazed as Cyril joined a quiet celebration in the slums. A few of them even teared up, though they quickly tried to hide it.
"Morons!"
Rhamn crossed her arms, fuming. With each laughter that reached her ears, her frown got deeper and deeper.
It was like she was allergic to a happy mood.
"Kids are annoying. What are they so happy for? Can't wait till they grow up and have to face the cold realities of life."
If you say so.
Cyril sat on the table in a corner, trying to stay out of the children's way.
Anna sat by the same table, Luce at her side.
When the two came back from their short trip, something subtly changed between them.
Luce had her head raised higher, a victorious smirk on her face. While Anna had an almost resigned expression mixed with a bit of expectation.
"That's a big cake…" Anan whispered with awe, observing the sheer amount of sugar in front of her.
"Is it that big?" Luce tilted her head, blissfully unaware of the monstrosity.
"It almost reaches the ceiling. There is no way we can eat this today…"
"Oh, wow… Wait." At first impressed, Luce's face was colored by alarm.
"If there's so much and of such quality, then won't these kids…"
Genuine panic appeared on her face, which soon spread to Anna as well.
Soon, Cyril realized it as well, staring at the sugar in front of him and at the line of eager children forming near it.
It no longer looked like a cake in his eyes. It was now a ticking time bomb.
They are going to have an energy spike…
The children were chaotic enough for him already. He couldn't imagine them becoming even worse.
"…Let's leave. I think the basement would be a good choice," Luce quietly proposed, sweat trickling down her forehead.
Cyril, Anna, Tigris, Morpho, and Atheris all nodded at the same time.