NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9 Master
The Golden Boy: The Awakening of Talent
Chapter 9
Master
It was like watching a magic trick.
SFX: Munch munch, munch munch, munch munch munch munch.
Her delicate body, which looked like it might break, was swallowing vast amounts of food one after another.
The empty plates had already exceeded ten. The maids and butlers were continually bringing in dishes, but she was eating faster than they could serve.
This was the astonishing appetite of the female elf we had brought back.
“…Burp. …Thank you for the meal.”
In front of the elf who quietly said this, a total of thirty plates were stacked.
The female elf looked about fifteen or sixteen years old. Her physique matched her apparent age, so where did she put all that food? Was she secretly a sumo wrestler under that baggy robe?
No, she was incredibly slim. Judging by how it felt when I was almost crushed earlier.
“Wow! You’re such a big eater!”
Phil, who was having lunch with us along with our father, said.
“This is just a light snack.”
The elf girl gave a thumbs-up.
No, don’t eat before breakfast.
“Hahaha!”
Our father, the master of this house and the owner of the food now in the elf girl’s stomach, laughed heartily for some reason.
“That was an impressive display of eating! It was worth serving the meal!”
“Thank you for the food.”
“Don’t worry about it. It is said that we humans owe a great debt to your elf kind from long ago. It is customary to treat elves with hospitality when we meet them.”
“Thanks to my ancestors.”
The elf girl said softly with a slight smile.
…It’s not just because of that, but elves really are beautiful. Or should I say, she’s more of a beautiful girl?
“I heard from Jack and Philene that you collapsed in the forest?” My mother asked.
Had those two already left?
The elf girl nodded.
“My name is Raquel. I left the elf village and have been traveling to various places, but I left the previous village without accounting for hunger…”
“Without accounting for hunger?”
What kind of mistake is that?
“Jack,” my father said.
“Elves have a different sense of time because of their long lives. Just as we sometimes lose track of hours, it’s natural for elves to lose track of days, even though their meal intervals are the same. That’s why it’s said that the leading cause of death among elves is starvation from forgetting to eat.”
Hearing only that makes them seem like a foolish race, but seeing how absent-minded Raquel is, it doesn’t seem entirely wrong.
“That’s why elves often marry humans to help manage themselves. Even if their spouse dies first due to a shorter lifespan, they never remarry. It’s romantic, isn’t it?”
My mother said dreamily, but isn’t it really hard for the human partner?
“Hey!”
Suddenly, Phil appeared on Raquel’s lap.
Looking, the chair she was sitting on was empty.
When did she…?
“Hey, stop that!” Mr. Posford scolded, but Phil wasn’t listening.
“You said you were traveling to various places, but why?”
“Why? …Why?”
“Yeah.”
Phil was asking about her purpose for the journey. Raquel tilted her head in confusion but soon seemed to understand.
“I don’t really have a purpose… If I had to say, it’s to collect spirit arts.”
“Collect spirit arts?”
Phil, the questioner, didn’t seem to get it at all, but my father raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh?”
I was also intrigued. Collecting spirit arts…?
“What does collecting spirit arts mean? If you don’t mind, could you explain?”
“Um… It’s faster to show you, I think.”
Raquel muttered this, raising her right hand with the palm up in front of her face.
“This is the spirit Aime’s [Dawn’s Light].”
Instantly, a small flame appeared on her palm.
The same [Dawn’s Light] that Anelli, the reincarnated maid, used.
Is this her spirit art?
“And this is…”
Raquel raised her left hand to the same height as her right.
Immediately, my father, mother, Mr. Posford, and I all exclaimed.
The cup in front of Raquel—
The water left in it was drawn to her left hand, forming a sphere.
“—The Spirit Focalor’s [Ocean Hand].”
A small flame flickered on her right hand while a sphere of water floated above her left hand.
She’s using two spirit arts… at the same time…?
“How are you doing that!?”
My father was startled and half-standing.
My mother widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.
They didn’t talk much about it, but I had heard that my father and mother were once well-known spirit magicians.
They didn’t try to teach me magic themselves because they were quite unconventional magicians.
So, they must be even more shocked than I am at the impossible sight of one person using multiple spirit arts.
“It’s my spirit art,” Raquel said calmly, extinguishing the flame on her right hand and returning the water to the cup.
After seeing this, my father sat back down, though he still seemed shaken, fiddling with his hands restlessly.
“What exactly is your spirit art?”
“The spirit of Sphax’s [Divine Mimicry].”
[Divine Mimicry]…?
The spirit Sphax governs theft. So, its spirit arts should involve drawing distant things to oneself or stealing them.
How does that work…?
“Could it be…?”
My father’s voice trembled a little.
“Can your [Divine Mimicry] steal other people’s spirit arts…!?”
“…Yes.”
Raquel nodded firmly.
She can steal other people’s spirit arts…!?
“Rather than ‘steal,’ it’s more like ‘mimic.’ It doesn’t prevent the original owner from using the art…
I can mimic other people’s spirit arts just by seeing them once. Although, I can only use two at a time.”
“I see… So, it’s like the ultimate version of a master telling their apprentice to ‘steal by watching’…”
That’s a cheat ability… Elves are supposed to be close to spirits and skilled in spirit arts, but to this extent?
“You mentioned collecting earlier. Are you traveling around mimicking spirit arts?”
“…Yes. I feel like I need a specific art.”
“How long have you been traveling?”
“Um…”
Raquel counted on her fingers.
“…About a hundred years.”
Whoa…
The scale of time is different…
“If you’ve been traveling that long, haven’t you already collected most of the spirit arts?”
“No… Even with the same spirit, the manifested arts vary greatly… And there are many rare ones I haven’t encountered yet, like the first-ranked Baal or the thirty-second-ranked Asmodeus.”
“I see… Well, that’s true. Hmm…”
My father began to think deeply.
“Sorry for all the questions…”
“It’s fine. The food was delicious, so ask as much as you like.”
“Glad to hear that… Raquel, do you have the spirit Andrealphus’ [Wings of Departure] in your collection?”
“…!”
I held my breath.
What is my father thinking?
Raquel touched her temple, deep in thought.
“…Yes, I have it. It’s the art that removes weight from oneself or things one touches, right?”
“That’s right. One more question: do you have any plans?”
Raquel tilted her head in confusion.
“…No. I don’t have plans or a destination…”
“Great!”
My father clapped his hands with a big smile.
…I see where he’s going with this.
“Raquel, how about staying at our house for a while?”
“Huh?”
Raquel blinked.
“I couldn’t possibly impose that much…”
“Don’t worry. We’ll compensate you properly. Teach my son spirit arts.”
…As I thought. He’d say that.
Raquel tilted her head and looked at me.
“…I think there are plenty of other teachers…”
“My son Jack is a so-called genius in spirit arts. Ordinary teachers can’t handle him. Ever since he manifested his art at eight months old, he’s been training like a hobby.”
“Oh! Eight months old…” Mr. Posford exclaimed.
Don’t call me weird, dad.
“Raquel, you wouldn’t have any problems. You’re skilled in spirit arts, you’re an elf, and you can use the same [Wings of Departure] as Jack.
And most importantly, your hundred years of experience. Teach my son not just spirit arts but everything you know.
Please, consider it. We’ll pay you.”
“Hmm…”
Raquel pondered.
I took this chance to speak up. It felt odd having the conversation move forward without me.
“Dad. Aren’t you going to ask my opinion?”
“What, you don’t like it? Any boy would be overjoyed to have a cute girl as a tutor.”
“…Dear?”
My mother smiled sweetly.
“N-no, I mean generally speaking…”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Y-yes…”
Dad’s weak…
I would prefer a cute girl over an old man with stubborn pride as a tutor.
But I have my pride too.
I’ve spent these six years using the intelligence I carried over from my previous life.
I won’t easily be outdone in spirit arts, even by an elf.
While I won’t refuse to learn from someone less skilled than I am, I’m skeptical about whether they can truly teach me properly.
After all, previous tutors couldn’t.
“Well then…”
Raquel looked up.
“I’d like to see your son’s abilities first. I’ll decide about being his tutor after that.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea. Jack, are you okay with that?”
“…Yes. Understood.”
I stood up, thinking about how to surprise this absent-minded elf.
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“Hmm… There’s a lot here.”
Raquel looked around the training ground, glancing in every direction.
Besides the sandbox, there was a rock mountain for climbing practice and a pond used for liquid floating exercises, among other things.
What caught Raquel’s eye was a long, narrow rock mountain.
It was about seven meters high, with a slope angle exceeding seventy degrees.
Pointing to the top, Raquel said to me:
“Use your magic to get up there. It’s fine if you just barely touch it with your foot. But, you mustn’t touch the rock mountain on the way.”
In other words, I needed to leap onto the top of the rock mountain in a single jump.
“Understood.”
I replied and walked up to the front of the rock mountain.
I looked up at the top, seven meters above, and then shifted my gaze to the rugged surface in front of me.
Uh…
“Um!”
I turned back to Raquel and said,
“Does ‘on the way’ mean it’s okay to touch it now?”
Raquel tilted her head quizzically.
“Well, it’s fine. You haven’t jumped yet.”
“Got it!”
Alright.
I smiled slightly and licked my lips.
This was starting to be fun, like playing a prank.
I touched the rock mountain with my right hand.
Then, I activated my spirit magic.
“…? What are you—”
What happened next was extremely simple.
I grabbed the protruding rock with my right hand—
—and pulled the entire rock mountain out of the ground.
“Oh, oh, ohhh!?”
“That’s amazing!”
Mr. Posford, who had come to observe, was flabbergasted, and Phil raised her hands in delight.
“No way… that huge rock mountain…”
I lightly tapped the bottom of the floating rock mountain.
Then, the seven-meter—nearly ten meters if you include the part that was buried—rock mountain rotated 180 degrees vertically.
Naturally, the top that I was supposed to reach was now in front of me.
I gently touched it with my toe.
“You said it was fine to just touch it with my foot, right?”
Raquel, perhaps listening or not, was staring blankly at the floating, upside-down rock mountain.
“Clearly, it’s more than 500 kilos… Could he be…”
“Yes. It seems he’s a ‘True Spirit Possessed Roost.'”
Father said.
Covering her mouth, Raquel said,
“I see… Roost… I’ve never seen Andrealphus, the Noble Separation,’ in person, but to think he has this much power…”
In that moment—my heart jumped.
All my previous teachers, when I did something like this, responded in one of three ways.
They either stood in shock.
Exploded in anger.
Or gave up in resignation.
But—Raquel’s reaction was different from any of those.
Behind her concealed hand.
Through the gaps in her fingers, her lips.
Those cherry-colored lips were—certainly.
Twisted into a smile.
“There’s potential to train here.”
There was a faint trace of joy in her murmured words.
In the end, I was the one surprised.
To think someone would smile and acknowledge my talent.
The unfair gift I was given by God.
Laughing and recognizing it—
“I will take him as my student.”
Raquel said clearly, and Father smiled happily.
“Is… that really okay?”
Still somewhat confused, I asked. It was hard to maintain formal language.
Raquel slightly raised the corners of her mouth,
“I’ve never disliked training others. Besides, it irritates me to see such talent not properly utilized.”
“Huh?”
Wait, did she just insult me?
“Maybe you think you’re the strongest or something, but—”
As she spoke, Raquel’s body floated lightly in the air.
“—you’re still too naive, little boy.”
What happened next was sudden.
Raquel’s body shot up like a rocket.
High in the air, she flipped her body upside down.
Then, with explosive force gathered in her bent knees—
—she kicked the air.
“Ah…!”
Raquel, turning sharply in mid-air with nothing to support her, flipped again using the same technique.
Then, again, and again, and again—
It was like an invisible box in the sky, with a superball bouncing around inside.
Raquel freely moved through the air—
Using multiple consecutive double jumps, something I could only manage up to three times.
“—You can’t do this, can you?”
“Whoa!”
Suddenly, a voice came from behind me.
Looking back, Raquel was no longer in the sky but had landed behind me.
As I tried to turn around, she hugged me from behind.
“Got you.”
Whispering in my ear sent a shiver down my spine.
The sweet scent from her long, bluish hair tickled my nose.
“Your output is great, but your control is completely lacking. That’s why you can’t use delicate magic like this.”
She seemed to be giving a lesson already, but that was the least of my worries.
Be-because…! Through my clothes, I can’t tell, but she’s definitely… big…
“Uh, um… please, let go…!”
“You can drop the formal language. Just call me Master. Got it?”
“Un-understood… I mean, got it! Got it, Master!”
“Good.”
Raquel—Master finally released me.
Phew… that was close!
At the age of seven, I was about to experience my second puberty…
“Once again… I am Raquel.”
Master slightly relaxed her cheeks and offered her hand to me.
“From today, I will be your master. Nice to meet you, Jack.”
I hesitantly took her hand.
And so, I gained a master in spirit magic.