NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21 - Side Story: Schlie Letziano
Side Story: Schlie Letziano
The study session with Meg continued. Next, we moved on to the unavoidable ritual of using nature magic. Even though I called it a ritual, what you had to do was simple. Call out to a spirit you liked and ask them to make a contract.
Of course, spirits had the right to refuse, so there was always a chance of being rejected. However, there were as many spirits as there were stars in the sky, so there was bound to be a spirit who’d accept a contract. Meg possessed a pure soul, so I imagined spirits would be clamoring to partner with her. A wry smile spread across my lips.
Those who wielded nature magic could, to a certain extent, sense the quality of a person’s soul. It was a vague sense, like knowing who was comfortable to be around and who wasn’t, based on how they affected your mood. However, you could immediately tell when someone’s soul was exceptionally tainted, and conversely, you could also sense when a soul was exceptionally beautiful.
I was in the guild when Gil brought this child back. I felt an inexplicable tug at my heartstrings and went outside. And then, I sensed the source of that unease approaching from the sky and waited for its arrival.
The cause was in the basket Gil was carrying. Juma, who happened to be near the entrance, and I peered into the basket, and both of us were captivated by the adorable sleeping face of the child.
Ah… her soul was so pure. I offered a silent prayer of gratitude to the spirit gods for allowing me to meet this child.
With Meg’s beautiful soul, it was inconceivable that she wouldn’t be able to form a contract with a spirit. However, only a spirit with enough strength to protect her, and one with a personality that didn’t pose any problems, would be acceptable. I had to keep a watchful eye until the ritual.
…I had to ask the spirits to calm down. It was amusing to see them so restless, usually wandering around carefree, now all aflutter at the prospect of contracting with Meg.
“The initial contract requires a considerable amount of magic power. The amount varies from person to person. The ritual involves transferring magic power to your limit. So, you’re a bit vulnerable at first.”
I continued teaching Meg while lost in my thoughts. Parallel thinking was one of my strengths.
Elves occasionally give birth to children with special abilities. Given that elves had a low birth rate to begin with, and this only happened occasionally, it was an exceptionally rare occurrence. Fortunately, I possessed parallel thinking as one of my special abilities.
However, since parallel thinking was so natural to me, I only discovered it was a special ability much later.
Even now, I was keeping Gil, who was currently out investigating, updated on Meg’s situation through shadows, while also planning out our next request.
“However, there’s no point if you can’t see spirits, right? So today, I’m going to cast a nature spell on Meg. It’s not an attack spell, so it won’t hurt. I’ll ask my contracted spirit to allow Meg to see spirits. It’s a safe spell that has no effect unless cast on someone capable of using nature magic.”
“I can see spiwwits!?”
Her reaction was so adorable. Normally, a parent or guardian would cast it on their child when they were young… However, I knew Meg had never had it cast on her because she hadn’t noticed any spirits yet. Her question confirmed it.
“Yes. Allow me to be your first teacher, Meg.”
The first nature spell was essentially a parent’s love. It was a gift from a parent, a very important ceremony. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was appropriate for me to be the one to perform it.
I was the only elf in this country. Taking Meg to the elven country would put her in danger, and it would be irresponsible to postpone the ritual any longer. It was already long overdue. I pulled myself together.
“…It’s a vewwy important thing, wight? Is it okay for you to be the first one to do it for me…?”
Meg’s question stunned me. It was true that I was unmarried, so this would be my first time performing this ritual as well. Meg must have picked up on that from our conversation.
She was asking if it was okay for me to perform this important first act on her (Meg), something I would ideally do for my own child in the future. It was a truly surprising question.
This child was so kind and considerate of others. And her mind was incredibly sharp. Her comprehension skills were exceptional. I wondered how she was raised. Even with natural talent, this level of understanding was difficult to achieve, even for adults. I was both excited and a little afraid of what her future held.
We had to protect this child, no matter what. Her heart. All of us at Ortus had to be vigilant.
“Fufu, you’re so kind, Meg. As I explained before, elves rarely have children. There’s no guarantee that I’ll ever have a child of my own. So, I’m actually incredibly grateful to Meg for giving me this precious opportunity.”
“But… but…”
“Besides, even if I do have children in the future, the experience I gain from this will be invaluable. Is it dishonorable to be used as a practice subject? Meg, are you unhappy with me being your teacher?”
Meg shook her head vigorously at my teasing question. Ah, you’ll mess up your hair if you shake it like that.
“No! Schlie-shan is good! I’m really happy! I really like being your practice subject!”
Her words, her voice, her smile. They spread through my heart, becoming a sweet symphony, making my whole body tremble. I didn’t want to let go of Meg. I felt it with all my heart.
I gently stroked her head, and she closed her eyes contentedly. Savoring that strange feeling of warmth spreading through my body, I lifted Meg from the chair, took her hand, and led her to the open space in the training grounds.
There were a few guild members scattered around, training. It couldn’t be helped, even though I chose a time when it wasn’t too crowded. The ones training seemed to be curious about us, but the rules of the training grounds stated that we weren’t to interfere with each other unless it was work-related. We would proceed, ignoring them.
“Well then, I’ll cast the spell to allow you to see spirits. Just relax and close your eyes. I’ll let you know when to open them slowly, okay?”
“Okii! Pwease take care of me!”
I chuckled at Meg, who stumbled over her words more than usual, perhaps out of excitement.
But I was getting nervous too. If Meg trusted me, the spell should work without a hitch… but that meant, conversely, if it didn’t work, it meant she didn’t. It would be a significant psychological blow. It was hard not to be nervous.
Had I ever felt this much trepidation about using magic before? Pushing aside my pounding heart, I mentally called out to my spirit.
I borrowed the power of my first spirit, the wind child, Harneflaaf, and a gentle breeze enveloped Meg. A faint light emanated from her body. After a while, it subsided… I must have finished casting the spell.
“…Meg, it’s okay now.”
I spoke softly. Meg slowly opened her eyelids. Ah, I was probably more nervous than Meg!
I prayed that the spell had worked. I waited anxiously for her reaction.