Chapter 9

Breathing slowly and deeply, I close my eyes and focus.

Sitting like a statue on a stone, I place my palms upward on my knees.

I release all the tension from my body, relaxing it, but my nerves are rather sharp.

I cannot hear the sounds around me; only a clear, ringing sound quietly resonates, filling my body with magic, which I can feel in every corner.

I gradually push the magic from my feet to my waist, from my abdomen to my chest.

Once I have pushed the magic up to my chest, I then push it into my arms.

The heightened magic resists and tries to push back, but I continue to push it, from my elbow to my forearm, and finally, it gathers only at my wrists.

I maintain this state.

If my concentration wavers even a little, the gathered magic will quickly return to its original state.

It is important to maintain this state for as long as possible.

Splash.

"Ah!?"

I let out a scream as cold water is suddenly poured on my back.

"Hahaha! Oh! Hahaha!"

"Mika, what are you doing?"

"Let's play."

The children were playing in the river, splashing around.

It has been a week since I got a clue on how to manipulate magic, and the month has changed.

The season is now turning to summer, and today I was invited by the village children to play in the river.

Lately, I have been practicing magic manipulation all the time and haven't played with the children.

Thinking it would be nice to play with them once in a while, I decided to join them.

(The temperature has risen recently.)

In a world without air conditioning, it's not that hot inside the house as long as the windows are open.

However, I had been cooped up in the house for a while, so I came out to get some vitamin D.

When I came to the river, I ended up practicing magic manipulation instead of playing with the children.

Sitting on a stone in the river, the cool water and the breeze felt good.

While I was sitting there, the children must have played a prank and poured water on me.

Being suddenly doused with cold water, it's only natural to let out a scream.

I gave up on magic manipulation, lowered my crossed legs, and immersed them in the river.

"Ahhh, it feels so good."

Immersing my bare feet in the cold river water, I feel the flow of the clear stream.

Combined with the sound of the river, I feel refreshed.

I count the number of children and check if they are all around.

The river is about 10 meters wide, and while it's not very deep, the current in the center is a bit faster.

I decide to keep an eye on the children to make sure they don't get swept away.

However, the river is a familiar playground for the children of Rish Village.

They all know that the center of the river is dangerous, so I just keep an eye on them.

I splash water on a nearby child, and in return, I get splashed with several times the amount of water.

Playing with the children, who are laughing and enjoying themselves, I think it's nice to do this once in a while.

But only once in a while.

I don't want to do it every day.

I don't think I could become a kindergarten teacher or a primary school teacher.

After spending the morning at the river, I eat bread and fruit for lunch at home, and in the afternoon, I practice magic manipulation.

At first, it was just about moving it, but this proved to be a bit difficult.

Especially in the morning, it was the most challenging.

While sleeping, I can't manipulate magic, so naturally, I wake up with my magic in a stable state.

Getting it to start fluctuating from this stable state is extremely difficult.

Once the magic starts to fluctuate, moving it back and forth like a pendulum is easy, but keeping it to one side or moving only a part of it is tricky.

Since the sensation is very faint, it takes a while to figure out if it's working.

However, after a few days, I was able to do these operations to some extent.

Next, I started practicing gathering magic.

This is the operation of gathering it in both hands, which I also did in the river.

At first, I could only do it in one hand at a time, but as I got used to it, I could gather it in both hands relatively easily.

This is because the sensation of magic has changed.

When I was just moving magic, there was no change in the sensation, but once I started this "gathering" operation, the sensation became much easier to feel.

Even from a stable state upon waking, I could move it more easily.

Perhaps the amount of magic inside me has increased, or its concentration has risen, so I am now actively performing this "gathering" operation.

Currently, I can only manipulate magic by concentrating, but I want to bring it to a level where I can do it without thinking, like blind typing on a keyboard.

"I want to use magic soon..."

There are many things I don't understand, like incantations and praying to gods, but I just want to use magic.

If there's a chance to use such a dream-like power, anyone would want to master it.

I'm not going to spare any effort to achieve this.

...If it's a matter that can be resolved with effort, that is.

In reality, although the sensation of magic has changed over the past few days, it's not clear if I've made any progress.

First, there's no way to measure the amount of magic.

When I was measured at the mayor's house, there were unknown men present, and the crystal used to measure magic was probably brought by them.

According to Rady, every spring, they go around all the villages to measure the magic of the children.

It's probably done by the government or the local officials.

If there's no other way to measure the amount of magic, there's no way to confirm if my efforts are meaningful.

The next measurement is at age 9.

If I don't meet the standard then, it means that what I'm doing now is meaningless.

I want to avoid going into the test unprepared.

I want some kind of standard or evidence to show that I'm growing.

The biggest problem is praying to the gods.

To be honest, I've never prayed before.

Of course, I've made wishes.

"I want this to happen."

"Please make this happen."

But I don't think that's the same as praying.

I don't even understand what praying means.

If I'm told to read and recite the church's scriptures, I can do that.

If I'm told to memorize hymns praising the gods, I can memorize them.

But is that really praying?

What is a prayer that reaches the gods?

I can't figure out what to do unless it's something tangible.

(Well, if I can infiltrate the academy, I can probably figure it out.)

Every year, they train newly selected children based on their potential, so there must be manuals and methods.

If I'm chosen in the 9-year-old measurement, I'm sure everything will work out.

It's about a year and a half away, but I think it's the most reliable path.

I want to avoid the route of being chosen in the 9-year-old measurement and learning from the church.

In my impression, they wake up before dawn to do cleaning and other services, and spend their days reading and writing thick scriptures.

I don't think my mental state could handle that.

Even as an indoor person, I would die of stress.

If I learn from the church, I might be able to use magic, but it's not just about being able to use it.

Magic is just a means; what's important is how to live an interesting and fun life with it.

I'm not sure if that can be achieved by going to the church.

I could learn and then leave the church, but I don't want to be ungrateful.

One of my favorite sayings is, "Give charity like water, but engrave received kindness on stone."

I can't act like a saint, but I try to keep this in mind.

By the way, there's also the saying "睚眦の怨" (yatzai no on), which refers to a prime minister in ancient China who would take revenge even for a mere glance of hatred.

He is said to have repaid even a single meal of kindness and a single glance of hatred.

While I don't want to be as harsh as that, I don't want to be the kind of person who easily forgets kindness.

Leaning back in the chair, I cross my arms and rest my chin on my hand.

(A way to confirm that my magic has increased... Is there any way? Rady might tell me if I ask.)

That "laughing Madonna" probably knows a lot, but I want to avoid her for now.

From the way she looked when I asked her for help the other day, she doesn't seem to think highly of what I'm doing.

She probably thinks I should just let nature take its course.

(Even if I let nature take its course, there's no basis to say that it's the right thing to do.)

A year and a half...

It's too long to spend idly, and too short to accomplish something.

With a clear goal but no clear means to achieve it, Mika felt a sense of frustration.

(...Weak, thin, like a thread.)

Rady's words from the other day suddenly came to mind.

(Did she say she was pushing it into my hand...?)

When Rady interfered with my magic, she just lightly placed her hand on mine.

Her palm didn't touch mine.

But the first place I felt the ripple was in my palm.

I look at my palm.

"Can magic be released outside...?"

Rady extended her magic like a thread, touched my palm, and pushed it in.

If I can increase the amount of magic I release outside, that could be evidence that my magic has increased.

It still relies on sensation, but it's a starting point.

If I practice releasing a certain amount, I can compare the number of times I can do it to measure the increase in magic.

Even if there's some error in the amount released each time, if I can do it 10 times, then 20 times, and 30 times, it's clear evidence that it has increased.

"This is it!"

I can't help but shout and make a fist.

It's just a hypothesis, but it's a ray of light in the midst of my confusion about what to do.

I decide to try it right away.

I sit on the chair like a statue, place my palms upward on my knees.

It's the same pose I always use to gather magic.

Lately, I've been practicing gathering it in both hands, but for now, one hand is enough.

I concentrate and gather the magic, starting from my feet and pushing it up.

From my right shoulder through my elbow, I feel a strong resistance but push it in anyway.

Once it's all gathered in my wrist, I look at my right hand.

I bring my right hand in front of me and focus on pushing the magic up onto my palm.

My entire right hand is enveloped in a faint bluish light.

(...It came out...!)

I'm surprised, but I keep my concentration to avoid losing it, and I push the bluish light further up.

When I imagine it forming a sphere, a ball about the size of a softball appears on my palm.

(It worked...!)

I didn't expect it to work on the first try, so I'm surprised by the result.

I exhale, and the ball of light dissipates silently.

Once I take a breath, my concentration to maintain it seems to have waned.

"It came out, it came out! Seriously! Can I see it with my eyes!?"

I didn't think magic would be visible.

If it's visible, it's easier to maintain a consistent release.

(Is it better to compare the size if it's visible rather than a fixed amount?)

The first one was about the size of a softball. How big can I make it if I push it to the limit?

Maybe as big as a bowling ball or a large watermelon?

Being able to see it opens up various comparison methods.

I take a deep breath and try to make it bigger.

I realize I'm a bit fatigued from the excitement.

"...Come to think of it, Rady said handling magic is tiring."

I remember what Rady said and stretch in the chair.

I still feel a bit sluggish, but my body feels more relaxed, and my motivation rises.

"It's no use if it's just a fluke. I need to practice a few times to get a feel for it."

I take the same pose and concentrate.

But this time, it's harder to gather the magic.

I might be mentally tired.

It's not gathering as I want it to.

My concentration seems to be lacking.

I take my time and carefully gather the magic, pushing it into my right hand.

When I imagine pushing it up, my right hand is enveloped in a bluish light, but it seems a bit weaker.

Has my concentration dropped, or has the amount of magic inside me decreased?

When I imagine forming a sphere, the magic forms as I imagine, but this time it's not as big as a softball.

It's about the size of a baseball.

(...Is it a concentration issue, or a magic issue?)

While I'm thinking about this, I suddenly feel something rising in my stomach.

"Ugh!?"

I jump off the chair, cover my mouth, and roll out the door.

I hear the chair fall with a loud thud, but I don't have time to worry about it.

I vomit everything in my stomach in the grass by the side of