—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
It was a hectic day.
After sorting out the bandits’ equipment and belongings, tying up the horses, and moving the corpses of those bastards far away from my parents’ graves, we arrived at my house in the mountains.
Originally, I had been staying in a cave, not knowing when or how an attack might come, but Asirye said there were no more threats around.
The inside of the house was clean.
As if saying that if my mother hadn’t gone down to the village that day, the whole family would have been alive, suddenly, sorrow welled up.
“Let’s go. First, we need to wash up. Being clean is the most important factor in life, after all.”
I don’t know if it was because my emotions showed on my face or if she noticed my dull movements while preparing simple clothes.
But Asirye, who had gathered ash powder from the fireplace to replace soap and put it in a small wooden container, spoke softly and embraced my shoulders. It felt as if it had been too long since I had felt human warmth, even though it had only been 3 days.
The valley was nearby, so we didn’t need to go far, but it was dark. I thought I should at least make a torch, but Asirye surprised me by summoning a light orb in an utterly natural manner.
When we reached the valley, it was actually bright enough with the full moon and not a single cloud in the sky, so we didn’t need the light orb.
My heart already felt like it was stopping at the thought of washing in the cold valley water in the fall, but once again, Asirye surprised me without fail.
As she gestured, the valley water rose in a spherical shape and flew toward the shore.
“This is with the help of spirits.”
Before I knew it, small fire lizard-like creatures began to fly up from Asirye’s fingertips and circle around the water orb floating in the air. Just by looking, I could guess what they were doing, so I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
“Warm water…!” Eco-friendly warm water in this environment! Seeing my moved face, Asirye, who laughed once, began to wash my hair.
“There’s a village not far from here. In terms of size, it’s closer to a city. If we take the bandits’ equipment and horses and sell them, it will be worth some money.”
Looking at the valley reflecting the moonlight, everything that happened today felt like a lie.
Even the perfect warm water was continuously wetting my hair, making me feel like I was dreaming. I listened to the story while entrusting my body to Asirye’s hands washing my hair.
“It would be useful to keep and use a sword, dagger, and gauntlets. Those bandits were people who didn’t have much to begin with, but still, they robbed the slave trader I was originally caught by, so their pockets should be thick.”
It seemed like something she could think about on her own, but whether she was mindful of the contract or the conversation itself, she kindly told me one by one. That was very good, but the continued honorifics were a bit uncomfortable.
“Sis, just speak comfortably.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, even if it’s a verbal contract, I’m not your superior, and we’ll be seeing each other for the next 8 years, so it’s a bit awkward for you to use honorifics.”
“Is… is that so?”
“Yes. Please make yourself comfortable.”
“Okay, but I haven’t heard your name yet.”
Oh my. I had forgotten to introduce myself in the midst of the chaos.
“My name is Eldmia Egga. Son of Radan Ega and Evisha Luina.”
“You… it doesn’t seem like you don’t know the meaning of introducing yourself like that, but I never imagined I would hear such an introduction from someone your age.
The more I see you the more I see that you’re truly a mysterious child.”
“Because I don’t seem like a kid?”
When I threw a question mixed with laughter, the hands washing my hair stopped for a moment with a laugh and then continued.
“You’re aware of it yourself?”
“I know. I worked tirelessly to hide it.”
“Hide it? From whom?”
“The villagers and my parents.”
As a result, I was treated as a quiet child. I didn’t have a tremendous memory to remember how I behaved in my early childhood, so I just followed the behavior of the kids around me to some extent, which led to that perception.
I didn’t bother explaining, but Asirye agreed, saying it must have been quite difficult. Is this the experience of a 120-year-old?
“Come to think of it, your skills were quite exceptional when dealing with the bandits earlier. How did you do it?”
The change of subject was a bit sudden. She seemed to be mindful of me becoming depressed while recalling the past.
There was no reason to deliberately dismiss that consideration, so I just decided to follow the conversation.
“I strengthened my body with mana.”
“Oh? You can already use magic?”
“No. I can’t use magic. I can just sense mana to some extent and wrap it around my body to make myself stronger.”
If I had endured just one more year, I might have learned it. While I was thinking that, suddenly, Asirye’s hands stopped washing my hair, turned my body around, and faced me. Wondering what was going on, I looked up at her face, which was quite serious.
“How long have you been sensing mana?”
“I don’t know the exact date, but it’s been 3 years?”
“3 years? When you were 5? Have you ever been sick or had a fever during that time?”
“I’ve always been healthy in my 8 years of life.”
The reaction doesn’t seem normal? Could it be that? Was I a talent hoarder? Was there a reason I was reincarnated after all?
But when I casually asked why, the answer I heard was shocking.
“That… don’t do that. This might not be a coincidence at this level, but you’ll die.”
With a quite serious face, Asirye covered her mouth, pondered, and then nodded in confirmation.
“Really… it’s ambiguous to say this in your situation, maybe the only reason you’re alive is because god protected you. No, maybe not, but it’s normal to die if you do that.”
The technique I thought was Eldmia’s ultimate skill was actually a suicide technique. After arranging my expression, what she told me while washing me again was a shock in itself.
Mages manifest magic with mana. Knights strengthen their bodies with aura. It’s not just synonyms, but they’re called that because they’re really different.
Mana is refined from magical power and converted into mana. Magical power is refined and converted into aura. Magical power is just raw material.
“Combat mages and magic knights are very rare to see. If they really used the same magical power, there would be no reason for them to be rare, right?”
I thought it wasn’t necessary to make an analogy, but when I actually heard it, it made perfect sense.
It wasn’t simply because it was difficult to learn. There are people who only pursue one path, while somewhere, there are also people who try to pursue two paths in any way possible.
Nevertheless, it’s scarce. Nevertheless, only a very few people made a name for themselves. The reason was not just that the theory was different, but that they were completely different techniques.
I thought it was just a matter of a master baker dreaming of becoming a master cake maker, but it turned out that there was a sense of disparity as great as between a master steak chef and a master sushi chef.
That’s right. What I was feeling now was pure magical power that was not refined. Just a lump of magical power that no one thought of using as a whole.
“To use an analogy… it’s rock salt. You’re currently eating lumps of the salt that you should be cutting into small pieces, grinding into powder, and eating little by little.”
It was a tremendous analogy that literally made my mouth salty. Moreover, because it happened to be salt, it really felt like it would be fucking bad for the body.
When I actually said that, Asirye’s expression fell into even more bewilderment.
“You’re truly unexpected the more I see you. Humans cherish it because it’s expensive, and there’s even a trend that the more you eat, the better it is for your body unconditionally?”
While being swayed by the hands drying my body and hair after returning home, I thought that it might turn out that way, but since it was already spilled milk, I decided to just brush it off.
“Let’s just say they’re uncivilized.”
“Hohoho. These 8 years don’t seem like they’ll be boring. Could it be Asha’s guidance?”
Was she the guardian of the World Tree and the god of the elves? I became curious if there were separate religious teachings, but I decided to ask next time.
Anyway, it’s rock salt now.
Of course, it’s not good for the body. Hundreds of people have been recorded dying on their first attempt to gain more power.
They literally explode and die, how terrifying is that!
“Strong mages and knights are closer to gradually getting used to increasing the ratio of magical power along with the technique of refinement.
Even those who ultimately rise to the position of grand mage, I’ve never heard of them using magical power as a whole. Not to mention knights.”
In the first place, the method of sensing magical power that the mage taught me was literally just sensing it.
No matter how hard you practice for decades, it’s just that what you felt only in your fingers is felt throughout your body, not a method of directly operating the magical power you feel.
In other words, I’m not supposed to be able to do anything normally.
It’s like driving a plane without any problems when the only thing I had was a driver’s license. No wait, then what am I?
“For now, I need to know more about you, so let’s wait and see. You might be an unprecedented prodigy in history, but I don’t want to risk my savior’s life on such a slim possibility.”
“Okay.”
I accepted it nonchalantly since there was no need to be impatient anyway. I’m Eldmia Egga, approaching thirty in my mental age. A man who knows how to wait.
Asirye seemed to express concern at such a nonchalant reaction, but then she ended it with a faint smile and patting my head. I took it as trust.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The mage’s fault?