Chapter 5

When I returned from church, my father and mother were waiting for me.

"Can you use magic properly now?" they asked, so I replied that it was difficult to control.

"Control? What do you mean? Did your magic go out of control?"

"I don't think it went out of control. I just failed."

I explained that I had flooded the church and made the weeds grow to my height, and my parents turned pale.

They looked as if it were impossible.

Then they said, "Show us what you learned today," and took me to the field.

Standing next to the irrigation ditch, I was told to try to make water flow, so I did. There was no point in lying, so I let it out with a splash, honestly. The ditch overflowed in no time. Maybe I was too honest.

"O-Okay, I get it. That's enough. Alice, maybe you have an affinity for water."

"But I can make crops grow too?"

"Really? Then show us that too."

"Is it okay?"

My father pointed to a pumpkin field that was almost ready for harvest. In the church, it was weeds, but growing vegetables seemed fun.

"Grow big!"

I released my magic with a childish cheer, and huge pumpkins appeared all over the field! They were probably four to five times the normal size. My parents stared in shock, speechless. Maybe I overdid it. I should have made just one. I ended up imagining the whole field.

"Hey, Alice. You can't change these back, can you?"

"Um... I'm sorry. I haven't learned how to reverse it."

"I see..."

At that time, I simply thought that bigger was better for crops. After all, if you had a pumpkin five times the normal size, you could eat it for five days. But my father said these pumpkins couldn't be shipped. I was sad. Why?

That night, my father, mother, and I had a family meeting.

"We understand that Alice's magic is extraordinary. It's a wonderful thing, but it's also dangerous."

"Is it? Why?"

"Because the nobles will take notice. You might not understand yet, but being too outstanding can lead to being taken away."

"Nobles? There aren't any in this village, right?"

"Even if there aren't in this village, if we ship these giant pumpkins, they will surely investigate who grew them. Things with a lot of magic are valuable."

"I see..."

I wanted to make my parents happy, but instead, I made them worried. That's why they were confused at the church. I've only read about nobles in novels, but they might be arrogant and terrifying to commoners. Being taken away would be a problem. I want to live a peaceful life with my kind parents and brother. In this life.

"Actually, the priest asked me the other day if I would consider sending you to the capital's school. The priest apparently has a duty to inform the church's upper echelons about children with rare skills or a lot of magic. But you're only five, and it's too early to leave your parents. So I refused."

"Alice, the capital is a glamorous and wonderful place that young people often dream of. I used to dream of it too. When you're a bit older, I think it would be good to go there once. But it's too early now."

"If you ever want to seriously study magic, I won't stop you and will support you. But what do you want to do? Given your abilities, if the church reports you, they might send for you from the capital at any time."

"No way! I don't want to go to the capital! I want to live here with my father, mother, and Kyle forever! I want to help my father with magic!"

Suddenly, I was scared, and tears started to fall.

The thought of losing my parents again was unbearable.

I thought I could finally live a happy life with my family.

My father looked relieved and said, "I see, I see..." My mother hugged me tightly.

I won't give up this happiness!

"Then, can you promise me this? Don't use magic in front of people until you can control it properly. And if anyone asks about your storage skill, you don't have to tell the truth. It's better if no one knows about your special abilities. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand. I won't tell anyone, and I won't use magic in front of people."

"If anyone asks how much you can store, you should dodge the question. Just say you help carry a little bit of vegetables. Fortunately, our country isn't at war now, but people with large storage capacities are at risk of being drafted into the military. Remember that."

What should I do? Maybe wishing to be the best was a mistake.

I ended up with a huge secret to keep.

I got an amazing skill, but now I don't know how to use it.

I don't want to join the military.

And I don't want to go to a school for nobles in the capital.

What would happen if a farmer's daughter was thrown into such a place is obvious.

I might be noticed by dangerous nobles and become a slave.

I've only read about it in novels, but I think it's entirely possible.

Yeah. I'll seal my world-class storage until I grow up.

I can use it to store my private things secretly.

I want to try using magic for various things, but I can wait until I'm older.