Chapter 4

Five months.

"Huh? Magic?"

"Come to think of it, I can sense a faint presence of magic."

Elna and Nord exchanged glances.

I had let my curiosity get the better of me and tried to use magic in front of them, thinking it wouldn't be noticed.

I'm not sure if it's because of their sharp senses, or because I was being held by Elna, but it's probably normal to be noticed at such close range.

"Does that mean, Al?"

Elna peered into my eyes, as if asking a question.

"Uh?"

"I've heard that babies with a high aptitude for magic can use it unconsciously. Maybe Al is like that?"

"That would be wonderful. Al might become an excellent magician."

Elna and Nord smiled at each other warmly.

Alright, let's surprise them even more.

I wriggled in Elna's arms, signaling that I wanted to be put down on the floor.

"What's wrong, Al? Do you want to roll around?"

Elna was surprised by my sudden movement, as I had been so quiet just a moment ago.

No, that's not it. I'm not going to roll around!

I'm going to evolve further!

Elna gently and carefully placed me on the floor, showing how considerate she was.

Elna and Nord crouched down to observe me carefully.

I turned from my back to my stomach, as if doing a roll, then used my hands to lift my upper body and crawled forward using my hands and feet.

"Crawling!? Al, you can already do that!?"

"Even Elinora couldn't do it until she was seven and a half months old."

The two of them, who had been watching with bated breath, burst into joy.

"Al, you're amazing, even at just five months."

"Really, he is."

"He hardly ever cries and is so easy to take care of, which made me worry."

"We had a hard time with Elinora and Silvio. It's wonderful to see him grow so well."

They smiled at each other and shared a brief kiss.

They get along so well. I hope they continue to do so at night.

---

Now that I can crawl, I want to explore the mansion.

Elna has carried me around a few times, but it was just a casual look at the first-floor entrance and her bedroom.

I've only seen a bit of the garden, so I don't know what the rest of the scenery looks like.

Today, since I'm allowed to crawl, I'll explore more.

My guardian today is Elinora.

She has a brown ponytail and follows me closely, swaying her hair cutely.

"That way is not allowed."

I thought she would let me do more than Sara, but she's quite meticulous in her care.

When I peeked at the stairs on the first floor, I was blocked. I must look like a dog that's been put on hold.

"The first floor is not allowed!"

It seems I'm not supposed to go to the first floor at all.

On the second floor, there are Nord's room, Elna's room, Elinora's room, Silvio's room, and a playroom, among others. There's also my room, a living room, a spare room, and the study where I was found before. The second floor is designed to provide private spaces.

In that case, let's go to the study and have Elinora read me a book. If she can get the books for me, I can hold them and read them in my room.

"Arf!"

"Do you want to go into the book room? There's nothing in there but books."

"Arf!"

I knocked on the wooden door to show that I wanted to go in. I feel like a real dog.

"Sure, if you want."

As soon as the door opened, I went into the room and looked up at the bookshelf to find the books I wanted.

I was looking for books about magic, information about this world, and adventure stories or cookbooks.

There it is!

'Magic Textbook'

'Danfree's Adventure Record'

'Delicious Cooking Book'

'Servory's Daily Life'

Yes, yes, just as I expected. I knew there would be a magic book because Elna can use magic.

There are also adventure records and cookbooks.

That's great. I'm interested.

I'm particularly drawn to 'Servory's Daily Life.' Why is that?

Servory sounds like a slacker.

I need to check it out. It's intriguing.

Sure, I'll look into the others if I have time.

For now, I'll focus on the red magic book.

I narrowed my target to the magic book. It's on the middle shelf, and Elinora can reach it if she stands on a chair.

"Arf!"

I knocked on the shelf to show that I wanted to see the book.

"What's wrong, Al? Do you want to see a book?"

Elinora guessed from my behavior.

Yes! Yes!

"Arf!"

It's as if she understood me. Elinora doesn't seem to doubt my behavior. ...Probably safe.

"Which book?"

Elinora took a book from the lower shelf, which she could reach.

No, not 'Princess Marine and the Three Dragons.'

"Then this one?"

No, that's not it either.

I directed my gaze to the middle shelf.

"The book in the middle?"

After stretching, Elinora dragged a chair over to the shelf.

"Is it this one?"

Close! Just a little to the left!

"Is it this one?"

Elinora finally grabbed the magic book.

"Arf!"

Seeing my reaction to the magic book, Elinora pulled it out.

"Then I'll read it to you."

Great, just as I expected. She's reliable!

Elinora lay down next to me and opened the book.

"Magic is something that everyone possesses, and there is no one in this world without magic."

I know. I heard it from the god.

"Magic is a manifestation of each person's imagination and wishes. The incantations for magic vary slightly from person to person. It seems that the fewer incantations are needed as one becomes more familiar with imagination and magic manipulation, but the details are still under study. Non-incantation magic users are very rare."

I see, I didn't know that. It's educational.

Hey, Elinora, keep reading. I want to hear more.

"...I don't understand from here. My mother only read up to this point."

I see, that's why she was reading so smoothly.

Where did her previous intelligence and composure go...

I flipped through the pages casually.

Ah! There's water magic! I want to see that.

"Elinora, it's time to put Alfred to bed."

"Okay, Sara. I'll finish the book."

I won't let you take the book! I clung to it.

"It's over, you know?"

"What's wrong?"

"Al won't let go of the book."

"He might like it. Let's take the book with us. It's unusual for him to show interest in a book."

I managed to succeed. Now I can study magic. I'm getting bored of the light spell.