| Author: Ash | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 3882 characters |
| Translator: Musubii | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 2667 words |
Two lessons had passed since the number of members for the lunch break and study session increased by one.
I prepared the same small blackboard and chalks with what I gave to Triela for Rico. Rather, I pretended to go and take it from my storage even though I made a new one and handed it over to her. With that, I began to teach her, but…
To be honest, I was making light of Rico’s motivation. She was a very fast learner. I could even say that she was faster than Triela. In our third study session, she had already caught up with Triela’s progress. Since I taught Rico after teaching Triela first, I could see how fast Rico learned the basics.
“…Rico is a very fast learner. You’re even faster than Triela.”
“Really? Ehehe, did you hear that? I’m better than Triela!”
“Don’t get carried away!”
“Triela is being violent~!”
You guys shouldn’t quarrel. Let’s get along well, okay?
“Both of you have learned the basic kanji. It should be okay for you to start learning difficult kanji. Since Triela already learned katakana, I think it should be okay for Rico to ask Triela if there’s something you don’t understand.”
They have learned up to this point, so the rest was up to their determination. Good luck, both of you!1
“I can read the books in the reference room now, right!”
“Hmm, but I’m still not very good with the difficult kanji… I can only ask the librarian for the kanji I don’t understand.”
“It’s not like you’re asking them to read the whole text like before, so don’t worry too much.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Now then. Since the study time was over, how about having our lunch?
Today’s menu was rice balls. It wasn’t the type where the ingredients were in the middle, but seasoned rice balls. These rice balls had a mixture of minced vegetables and chicken meat in the rice. The other dish was pork miso soup. But since the meat wasn’t pork but orc meat, so orc soup? …For some reason, it suddenly sounded indecent. Hmm, let’s just go with pork miso soup.
“Let’s eat.”
“Yay! Thank you!”
While handing the rice ball and miso soup to both of them, I also prepared Norn and Bell’s share. They were curling up on my feet. Eat lots, yeah?
What I learned from feeding them a lot of dishes recently was that Norn seemed to like miso and meals with soy sauce. Therefore, today’s lunch hit right on the mark. Norn’s tail was swinging around. Bell basically ate everything. Even so, she didn’t like bitter food.
…I think Norn was getting bigger these days, but it was probably because I fed her a lot of things… I felt like I could even ride her back now.2
“…You even prepared our meals even after you taught us how to read and write. Is this really okay?”
“I don’t mind. Plus, it’s more delicious to eat together.”
“That’s right~ It’s more delicious to eat together~!”
“Rico, you… Hah, okay then. Thanks, Ren. I’ll gratefully eat it!”
“Yes, eat up.”
“Today’s meal is delicious too~”
“This is rice? Was rice always this delicious? When we ate it in the orphanage, wasn’t it hard and unappetizing?”
“There’s a trick in cooking it. Once you get used to it, you can cook it deliciously.”
“Hee… Rice is cheaper than wheat, right? Since it’s this delicious, should we buy rice and cook it on our own? It’s also cheaper to eat potatoes nowadays.”
Ah, right. Surprisingly, potatoes were normally eaten in the royal capital. Since a few years ago, a policy had recommended eating potatoes to raise food self-sufficiency rate. They taught how to store it and where the poisonous parts were. Even so, it seemed like it wasn’t spread until Harula? It would take some time before they managed to spread the knowledge in the entire kingdom.
By the way, this policy seemed to be His Majesty the King’s direct command. Plus, it seemed like selling dishes using potatoes with sprouts for personal gains could be considered as going against the King. In the worst case, they might be sentenced to the death penalty for treason? To think that selling potatoes with sprouts would kill you…
I guess if they didn’t do it that way, the guys who only thought about themselves wouldn’t be obedient, but getting a death penalty because of potatoes… it was kind of terrible.
…Oh? Speaking of which, Lily cried when she ate my potato salad before, right? When the potatoes started to spread in the royal capital, she must’ve lived here… Did something happen to her? Maybe she was poisoned before?
“The inn we’re staying in doesn’t serve food and the ventilation in the room is terrible… Since our party has a large number of people, I think we should rent a house in the future.”
“The monthly rent is quite reasonable, so isn’t it fine to do that after saving up some money?”
“Right… At least men and women have separate rooms. If we have a kitchen, we can cook our own meals too. I’ll try to look for a house with that kind of arrangement.”
“Well, I think you should rent it before winter. Please tell me when you’re going to rent a house. I’ll teach you how to cook rice.”
“Thank you!”
“Cain is stupid, so he bought his equipment first even though we can’t take subjugation tasks. He’s really an idiot, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, he’s really stupid.”
“He should’ve thought that his body will grow bigger by the time he’s thirteen years old, right? Does he understand how expensive it will cost us to buy new armors? Why is he that stupid?”
“He probably only wants to look good. Maybe he thought it’s cool to wear armor and hang a sword on his waist.”
“Ah, that’s definitely the reason.”
“After all, Cain is too much of a fool~”
“Usually people will think of their living environment first too.”
“We can only collect herbs and do odd jobs right now, so a knife or a dagger should be enough as a weapon, right? Besides, if a goblin appears, we can do nothing but run away.”
“But he made a scene when Triela defeated a goblin the other day, right? That’s why he’s so noisy, asking for a weapon~”
“Let’s ignore him.”
In the end, we came to the conclusion that Cain was stupid. However, I felt a bit complicated to get excited while talking about that fool, so let’s change the topic.
“Ah, right. Rico, please come over here first.”
“Nn? What?”
“I made a dagger for you. For armor… I think it’s still a bit too early for you, so have this leather cloak.”
“Eh, is this okay!?”
“Hey, Ren! You shouldn’t spoil her too much!”
“I’m sure it’s the same for Triela, but I hate it if Rico gets hurt.”
“Even if you said that…”
“Both of you have no right to refuse.”
“Muu.”
“Yay! I also got Ren’s equipment!”
The dagger was brand new, but I tried to modify the cloak I used in the beginning. I also applied [Concealment] Level 2 there, so it should be hard for the monsters to attack her, I think?
Eh? Wasn’t it dangerous in a different sense if I gave her equipment with that kind of skill, you say? That might be the case, but if I didn’t do this much, I felt like this kid would somehow rashly jump into danger.
Hmm, after that is…
“Do both of you still have some time today?”
“Eh? Yeah, we’re still free for around an hour.”
“Then I’ll teach you a little magic. Please come here.”
“Magic!? We can use magic like Ren? Amazing!”
“Muu, I don’t know where Ren’s evolution will stop.”
Yeah, let’s teach them magic. With this, they don’t need to pay for anything. And if they can learn it, even the small Rico can be very helpful.
“Well, yeah, kind of. For today, let’s start by learning [Mana Sense] as the preparation for learning magic.”
“We can’t just immediately use it?”
“That’s the case for talented people. We ordinary people have to do it steadily.”
Even though I said so, I’m actually a talented person. Sorry for lying~
“Both of you, please take my hand, close your eyes, and focus. I’m pouring my magic to you, so try to sense it, okay?”
I learned how to do it from Lily’s magic course, so I should immediately put it into practice! Even if both of them couldn’t learn it today, well, it seemed like they would be able to learn it before long if they practiced steadily. For now, let’s patiently keep at it.
“Hmm?”
“Ahh, I feel something kind of warm? I think?”
Oh, that went well? Should I keep going?
“Then let’s take one step further. Hold both of your hands together and let’s make a circle together. I’ll pour my magic to Triela and return it back through Rico. Please sense the flow.”
By the way, this was a practicing method I did all the time to train up to the three stages of perception, operation, and circulation. When I did it alone, I circulated my magic power within my body. Having done that, I eventually learned [Mana Circulation].
“Ah, something seems to be flowing…?”
“How about Rico? Do you understand?”
“Yeah, I feel like I understand it somehow?”
Okay, then we’ll go to the next stage. Let’s go steadily.
“Okay, now release both of your hands and try to sense the magic power within your own body.”
“Hmm… I feel like I can sense it, but I also can’t?”
“Ah, I think I get it!”
Oh? Seems like Rico was more talented? Let’s check both of your statuses then! Triela… Yeah, she learned [Mana Sense]. But the level was zero. For the time being, she had picked up on how to start. Rico was… eh?
“…Both of you have learned it, eh. I feel a bit bad, but I checked your statuses for a moment.”
“Eh? Ah, are you using [Appraisal]?”
“Yes. Please take a look at your status.”
“What happened?”
“…Rico is a bit…”
“Ah! A lot of things are increasing!”
“What? A lot?”
“Um, Rico has… talent in rare magic skill…”
“Ehhh? Seriously!? Wait, I only learned level zero of [Mana Sense], though!?”
“Rico learned level two of [Mana Sense] and level zero of [Mana Control]. In addition, she has a skill called [Magic Effect Amplification]…”
In order to increase the power and effect of magic, one should raise the skill level or increase the amount of MP used for the magic, but [Magic Effect Amplification] seemed to be a skill that increased the effect by inputting less MP on it. [Appraisal] sure was convenient since I could see the effect of the skill I saw for the first time.
“…like that. It’s a skill with that kind of effect.”
“I’m amazing!? Maybe I have a talent for magic!?”
“Right, I think you have a talent. However, it will depend on the attribute magic you are suited for and the nature of your magic. There is a possibility that it can be a waste of talent, so it’s a bit hard to judge.”
“Hey, Ren’s [Appraisal] can’t tell that too?”
“Uh…”
I could know both of that by using [Appraisal] and [Analyze].
“…Do you want to know?”
“I want to! Please tell me!”
Hmm… Since I was going to teach them magic in the future, it would be worthwhile to know it early, right? Maybe? Oh well, [Analyze]! …Ohh.
“…It’s very hard for me to say this, but your attribute aptitude is only for non-attribute.”
“……”
“…Ren, is that good? Or bad?”
“It’s better than nothing. However, since Rico can’t use other attribute magic, she might be unable to use it depending on the situation, and the firepower falls behind. But since non-attribute can be used in all circumstances, it has an extremely all-purpose nature. Plus, since it’s easy to derive from non-attribute magic to other unique magic, she may be able to learn those as well if she does her best.”
From the non-attribute magic, there were various other derivations such as [Recovery Magic], [Barrier Magic], [Magic Sword], [Magic Enhancement], and [Magic Weakening]. Well, it’s useless if the user had no aptitude for each of them, and people without aptitude for non-attribute could learn it as well. Even so, having an aptitude for non-attribute made it easier to learn.
“But you have talent, Rico! Even now, your magic power is higher than Triela! And even if your firepower is inferior, you can supplement it with [Magic Effect Amplification! Rather, your firepower will become high, you know!?”
I mean, Rico had been casting her eyes down and slightly trembled for a while, okay!? What should I do now!?
“…By the way, what is my aptitude?”
“All of the basic four attributes.”
Ahhh, Rico’s trembling had increased in intensity!?
“Hey, Ren!?”
“Wait, is it my fault!?”
Wasn’t it Triela who asked me that!? So cruel! No, no, that’s not what important now! I have to do something about Rico!
“Um, Rico. You don’t have to worry too much. These things depend on how you use them, and there are many ways to utilize them. Right, you can consult with me! So, uhh, what should I say here?”
Oh no, I’m at my wits’ end. What should I do? I didn’t hate little girls, but I wasn’t good at dealing with situations like this. I would become flustered like this.
As Triela and I panicked, Rico suddenly raised her head.
“Thank you, Ren! I’m amazing! With this, I can help everyone!”
“…Eh, Rico, you’re not sad?”
“Sad? Why?”
“Er, you didn’t feel anything when you heard about Triela’s aptitude?”
“Ah, I’m happy that we have the same duties, you know? If I have the same aptitude with Triela, my role won’t be that important in the party, right? Also, Ren said that my non-attribute is versatile, I can use it at any time, right? Then I can be useful at any time. Isn’t that great?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Originally, I couldn’t use magic, so it’s already amazing that you told me I could use it! Ren, thank you! I love you!”
…I honestly took Rico too lightly. I didn’t expect that she would be this reliable. Triela also looked surprised. Probably, she had a similar impression to me.
“Rico is thinking over it well. I can see you have been working hard.”
“That’s right! Since I’m short, I keep pulling everyone’s legs. But now I can be useful for everyone! That’s why, please teach me more about magic! Please, Teacher Ren!”
Since she already said it like that, I had to give it my all! I’ll pamper her properly! I’ll make sure she won’t be able to cry or laugh!
“I understand. First off, both of you can’t practice without me. If I’m not watching, you won’t be able to deal with it.”
“Eh~? We can’t~?”
“You can’t. Once your magic power goes out of control, it will be fatal if you’re careless.”
“…Okay, I’ll endure it.”
“Triela, please look out on Rico as well.”
“I know, Ren. This kid will do something rash before long.”
“If you break your promise, I won’t teach you magic again. So heed my warning.”
“Eh!?”
As I thought, she was planning to do it secretly, eh. Jesus.
“…I’ll say this as a warning. I’ll know if you’re secretly training, okay?”
“I understand… I won’t do it…”
Why did she reply to me like she’s saying, “Tsk, so noisy. I won’t listen to you,”… She’s making me really anxious.
By the way, Triela only had an aptitude for arrows and shields nature. She was really downhearted, but she shouldn’t compare herself to Rico who was obviously talented. Plus, I’m envious of Triela since I couldn’t use attack magic, okay?
