Chapter 7

Giselle and I went to a quiet place away from the village.

Finding a suitable stump, we used it as a desk to lay out the oracle cards.

I tried practicing clairvoyance all day, but there were no results on the first day.

So, I decided to come to this place regularly.

To maximize my practice time, I woke up early, even before my father, and came home late, which got me scolded by him.

I have to admit, it's impressive that Giselle, without a clear purpose, accompanied me.

After two days, four days, and a week of coming here, I gradually started to grasp something.

I kept flipping the oracle cards and carved an othame as a break.

And so, a month passed.

"Jester, Red King, Red Rich Man..."

I said this while flipping three cards that were face down.

The first card was the Jester, the second was the Red King.

However, the third card was not the Red Rich Man, but the Black Devil.

Well, I failed again. My success rate is around 60%.

On the first day, I didn't get any right, but my success rate has been gradually improving... but I still feel like something is missing.

"Big brother, that's amazing! Two out of three cards were correct again!"

Hmm... I wish I could get it right all the time...

This is clairvoyance training, but it's not like I can actually see the images.

I can't see them, but if I concentrate, my intuition works. It's like being one step before clairvoyance.

Apparently, top-notch magicians can see specific visions in their minds.

"Big brother, what's wrong?"

"No, I was just thinking if I could improve my success rate a bit more."

"But, even father often misses, he says."

"I want to surpass Father."

To be honest, I think Father's magic level is low.

When it comes to making othames, I'm already better. I can say this with confidence.

In other words, in the basics of magic, Father, a six-year-old, is inferior to me.

I set Father as my goal.

But, it's a goal to surpass.

"Big brother..."

Giselle opened her mouth wide in surprise and looked at me.

I got carried away. In the Maaren tribe, magic ability is a status symbol, but when it comes to training and practice, there's a tendency to just get by, which makes me feel frustrated.

If she tells on me, I'll have an awkward relationship with my father.

"Keep it a secret from Father."

I pressed my index finger to Giselle's lips, adding, "It's our secret, okay?"

"Y-Yes! I understand, big brother!"

Giselle blushed and waved her arms excitedly.

Good, she's weak for this phrase.

From the looks of it, she won't slip up accidentally.

"Well, that's enough for today. Giselle, do you want to try some training?"

"Hmm, I..."

She doesn't seem very enthusiastic.

That's understandable.

The last time I let her try, she hardly got any right.

Giselle is only four and hasn't made an othame before. It's to be expected.

"Since we're here, let's play a bit before we go home."

"Sure! Let's do that! Let's do that!"

Giselle's face lit up with joy.

I feel bad for making her just watch my training while accompanying me in the forest.

"Want to play Old Maid?"

If we had more cards, we could play games like Big Two or Speed, but with this number, it's a bit lacking.

I've thought of various rules, but in the end, we always end up playing Old Maid.

If we had two sets, we could use them like a deck of cards, but our house only has one set.

We sat across from each other with the stump between us and played Old Maid.

"Right, right! I recommend right, big brother!"

"Then I'll go left."

"Aah!"

I placed the cards of the black and red sub-humans on the stump.

Now my hand is empty.

After winning three times in a row, I finally noticed.

Could it be that I'm unconsciously avoiding the Jester, which is treated as a Joker, using clairvoyance?

Giselle is easy to read, but even considering that, there's a bias.

Is my clairvoyance working subconsciously?

"Big brother, you're so strong..."

Giselle rested her cheek on the stump and looked up at me.

"No, no, it's just luck."

She might start to pout soon.

Next time, I'll try to deliberately draw the Jester.

However, this could also be part of my magic training.

Maybe I should try to predict the card before drawing it.

It's more fun than just flipping cards endlessly, and it will cheer Giselle up.

It's a win-win situation.

If Father could recognize card games as part of training and not get angry, that would be great.