Chapter 5

At night, after pretending to be asleep and confirming that Elna had left the room, I opened the magic book by my bed.

Since there is no convenient electricity, I used the light magic as a substitute for lighting. Instead, there are magical devices for illumination. I discovered something like that in Father Nord's study the other day.

By the way, magical devices require not only magic arrays but also a magic stone as the core.

It seems that magic stones can be obtained by defeating monsters or mining in areas with high concentrations of magic power, but those places are inhabited by vicious monsters, making it difficult.

I absolutely don't want to go to such places. Monsters are too scary.

Well, let's get back to the story. I immediately opened the book and flipped through the pages.

The basic matters at the beginning are fine thanks to God and Elina. I flipped through them quickly.

There it is. It says "Basic Magic for Beginners."

"Magic includes [Fire Magic], [Water Magic], [Earth Magic], [Wind Magic], and [Void Magic].

In addition, there are [Ice Magic] derived from water, and [Lightning Magic], though the latter is extremely rare.

I sincerely hope that all of you who have picked up this book will become excellent magicians and be a source of strength for the Misfit Kingdom."

Julius Misfield

While mentally questioning where the Misfit Kingdom is, I marveled at the illustration on the title page.

Uncharacteristically, I felt my heart leap at the thought of learning new magic.

To give hope to a 27-year-old heart that has been worn out...

Even though I'm not even a year old here.

With a sense of excitement, I continued to flip through the pages.

Fire magic is dangerous because it can cause fires, so let's start with water.

There it is. Water magic!

"I seek thee, gather, pure water."

"Ae ha oo eru, i yo a ru ru, u izu yo, fu do e."

... I tried saying it out loud, but it became unclear even to myself.

It feels frustrating, like I can almost say it but can't quite manage. My tongue doesn't seem to work properly.

Maybe I should do some vocal exercises like in the drama club, in addition to regular exercises...

This time, I chanted it in my mind.

Then, water appeared in my palm as if I had scooped it up.

Wow! It worked! Now I can drink water anytime, anywhere! This is really important!

Of course, I won't use magic to drink water every time.

The water in the countryside is very delicious, so I think it would be tasteless to drink water created by magic.

The water where I lived in Japan was not very tasty because of the strong chlorine used for sterilization.

In contrast, the water in the countryside has less chlorine and is very delicious.

Strong chlorine sterilization can make the water taste bad.

However, some places in Tokyo have good purification processes and the water is quite tasty.

What about the water created by magic?

Lick.

... Well, it's just ordinary water? It's cold and good, but it can't match the natural water in Japan.

Next, let's try wind!

Maybe a spell to create a small breeze?

"I seek thee, gentle wind, floating in the air."

I chanted it in my mind, imagining the comfortable natural breeze I've felt before, not the wind from a fan.

Suddenly, the air began to flow softly.

The breeze felt refreshing. I haven't been able to go outside much, so I miss the wind.

I wondered if using more magic power would create a stronger wind.

Curious, I used the wind magic again.

Whoosh!

The unexpected strong wind made me close my eyes involuntarily.

Strong! Strong! Strong! Strong!

I immediately stopped the flow of magic power and canceled the spell.

Looking around the room, the curtains that were tied were now hanging down, but there was no problem.

... I'm glad there was nothing in this room.

If I used this magic at my office desk, it would probably create a chaotic scene...

That day, I was too scared to try fire magic.

---

A little over two years later.

I, Alphred, turned three.

My body has grown, and although I still trip easily, I can run.

The magic power increase training now takes longer to use up.

Recently, as my magic power has increased, the feeling of exhaustion when I run out of magic power seems to have become stronger.

Is this proportional?

"Here you are, lazing around again!"

What? This is my favorite plain!

This plain is about ten minutes' walk from the back door of the mansion.

The grass spreads out like a green carpet, just enough to not be bothersome.

Elina, my older sister, looked at me with a bewildered expression as I lay on the ground.

She has grown from six to nine years old, and her body has started to grow slender even though she is still a child.

Her chestnut ponytail, swaying in the breeze from the plain, has become longer and more vivid, and she is becoming more feminine day by day.

Her face has a slender line, and her brown eyes are sharp and strong.

"I'm just taking a break, so it's fine."

"You look dead, Al."

"No, I just woke up, so my eyes are a bit off."

Unfortunately, my appearance might be the worst in the family. Or rather, the rest of my family is just too good-looking.

I have short chestnut hair like my mother, and my slightly narrow eyes have brown irises.

This is my appearance.

It's hard to describe. The tired look in my eyes is just from running out of magic power, and I'll recover after resting.

Even when I'm not out of magic power, sometimes people ask if I'm tired because my eyes look dead, like a fish. I want to think it's a coincidence.

It's probably just the worn-out feeling from my previous life showing up at times.

I'm a lively three-year-old!

"Mom said to take you out once in a while, so I came."

Mom often worries about me because I don't cause much trouble.

Although I'm supposed to be a curious three-year-old, she must be worried when she sees me lying around in my room. In reality, I'm just using magic and collapsing.

Thanks to being recognized as a quick and smart child, I can spend my time relatively freely.

(Still feeling the fatigue) Seeing that I wasn't getting up, Elina frowned and pouted, showing her dissatisfaction.

"Hey, didn't you drag me to the river yesterday, sister?"

"That was a decision made by the kind and wise older sister, me."

Elina puffed out her nonexistent chest as if to say, "How about that!"

What a surprise! It turns out that my interrupted nap yesterday, the interrupted magic training the day before, and the rushed help that ended up with her eating my snacks, (unrelated) were all because of Elina!

"You look like a demon to me, Elina."

"Come on, let's go!"

Resistance seemed futile.

I was dragged along by Elina's soft, white hand, just as I am every day.