Chapter 8

"Are you?"

"Yulia. What's your name?"

"I'm... Almus. Is that butterfly your friend?"

"Friend? Hmm, maybe."

"It's quite smart. It seemed to understand my words."

When I said that, Yulia's eyes widened in surprise.

Then she burst out laughing.

"W-What?"

"Hehe, butterflies don't have that kind of intelligence. I was just borrowing its body."

"Borrowing?"

"Isn't it a well-known story that high-ranking sorcerers can transfer their souls into animals?"

I don't know. Or rather, I don't understand sorcery at all.

"So, why did you call me?"

"I thought I'd like to hear your story. How did you win the griffin's favor? What kind of contract did you make?"

"I didn't make any contract. Rather, it was the griffin who asked me."

I explained to Yulia without revealing that I had been reincarnated.

Yulia looked surprised.

"Hmm... I was taught that entering the Romano Forest would result in being killed by griffins. In fact, when people tried to build a village in that forest, a plague spread as a curse. Why are they so kind to you?"

"Who knows? But even we might help a butterfly caught in a spider's web out of whims."

I deliberately avoided mentioning the territory.

If they overwhelmed us and took over the village, it would be a problem.

Besides, if they came in large numbers, the griffin might change its mind.

"Then why are you the leader?"

"I don't know. I guess I seemed suitable."

"Hmm."

Yulia looked a bit dissatisfied. Her doubts hadn't been resolved.

But soon the dissatisfied look disappeared from her face, and she took on a mischievous expression.

Yulia's right eye faintly glowed.

"I see. That makes sense, then?"

What did she do?

"Your turn to ask a question."

"Then what are you?"

"I'm Yulia."

I know that.

But you don't seem willing to tell. Oh well. Then...

"I want to learn about sorcery. From the beginning, please."

"Sure... It's simple. Using the power of the soul to do mysterious things. Healing wounds and hearts, or causing harm, predicting disasters."

"Can you start fires?"

"Yes, but it's difficult to directly harm a person's body with sorcery. Even for me, it's challenging."

Even for me...

Don't just casually show off like that.

Still, sorcery seems pretty mundane. Can't you recreate spells like *Meteo* or *Giga Drain*?

The name is sorcery, after all...

It gives me an image of curses and sinister, damp things.

Still, is this girl a sorcerer? Can she curse and kill people with such a cute face?

By the way, the griffin mentioned that the current famine might be caused by a curse.

Since we have an expert here, I might as well ask.

"What do you think is the cause of the current famine?"

"A curse, of course. Only a curse would target crops so precisely. It's relatively easy to kill plants that can't speak, compared to humans or animals."

Saying that, Yulia pulled up a weed from the ground.

When Yulia blew on the weed, it turned black and withered.

"Like this."

"Who did this? Did they do something to deserve being cursed?"

If there were no such curse, the children wouldn't have been abandoned.

While natural disasters are understandable, the idea of a malicious human action makes me irritated.

"Who? Rather, which country? Such a large-scale curse can't be done by an individual. I think it would require over a hundred sorcerers and multiple sacrifices. The affected areas are the small countries south of the Romano Forest, and the countries of King Domorgal and King Gilbert in the north. Considering that King Faldarm's country was completely unaffected, the mastermind is likely King Faldarm's country, but King Faldarm denies it. I think the true mastermind is a large country even further north."

King this and King that... I'm getting confused.

It's troublesome to keep saying "King's country." Why not just say "country"?

Is it a lack of imagination?

Or are they being considerate of other large countries? Or does the country name change with the king?

In ancient Japan, the capital was moved every time a new emperor ascended the throne, so maybe it's a similar feeling.

No, wait.

Maybe it's a family name. It probably is.

"Is that all you want to know?"

"Yeah, that's it. I'm done. I have to do some field work and other things tomorrow."

We shouldn't be chatting here.

"Okay. By the way, it's a full moon tonight. Will you come here again on the next full moon night?"

"Why? You've already seen my face, right?"

"I want to know more about you."

What's that supposed to mean?

Am I being flirted with?

A popularity boom after death!? I wish it had happened before I died...

"What's in it for me?"

"You can be friends with such a cute girl?"

"Hah, you're funny. What's a ten-year-old kid talking about?"

I'm not a lolicon.

Even if I were ten, I wouldn't be a lolicon, and I don't feel any sexual attraction to a child.

"Then what do you want?"

"How about teaching me sorcery?"

When I suggested that, Yulia frowned.

"Sorcery isn't something men do."

"Is that so?"

"There's a difference in the quality of souls between men and women. It's as strange for a man to learn sorcery as it is for a woman to learn swordsmanship."

I see...

I get it. That's why the ratio of boys to girls among the children was even.

Girls can use sorcery to some extent, so discarding them would be a loss to the state.

"But it's not impossible, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"Then teach me a bit. For self-defense."

I'm not uninterested in sorcery, but I don't want to learn it that much.

What concerns me is that we have no defense against curses.

The griffin said we were fine, but it's suspicious because it can be unreliable.

I've been teaching the boys martial arts like kendo and judo, but no matter how strong they are, they can be taken down by a curse.

I really want the girls to learn sorcery.

For now, I'll interact with this girl and see if she's trustworthy.

If I'm convinced she is, I'll ask her to train the girls.

...I can't rule out the possibility that she's trying to gain our trust to steal food, but from the fact that she hasn't attacked us despite knowing the village's location, the likelihood is extremely low.

"Then let's meet on the next full moon night."

"Sure. See you."

I parted ways with Yulia.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

"Hehe, he was interesting."

Yulia recalled Almus.

Despite being a child like herself, he had a somewhat mature air about him.

He was indeed a blessed one.

"Still, I had far more blessings than him."

Yulia recalled the blessings she had seen through her "Insight Blessing."

Yulia looked up at the full moon.

"I should head back to the country soon. Father will worry."

Yulia headed south and disappeared into the forest.

For now, that's the end of today's scheduled post...