Chapter 9
I lay down again and watched the clouds. It was beautiful as nothing obscured my sight. Everything was okay except for the hot weather. At that time, Idris, who was sitting still, approached me.
“Yes?”
He suddenly shaded me from the sun with his hands and said to me softly,
“I thought it would be too bright.”
“…Thanks, Idris.”
He’s a really nice child. I laughed and fiddled with his arm that was in front of me.
“It’s soft.”
When Liliel noticed us, she shook her head.
“Vianne, you’re doing that again? Idris, you should say something too. You’re being touched like a teddy bear.”
“It’s okay.”
“No way, do you like it?”
“It’s not bad.”
“…….”
Liliel glanced at him as if she couldn’t understand him.
I laughed and lay down next to Liliel. Then I tried to grab Liliel’s hand.
“Are your hands soft too, Liliel?”
“Oh my God, go away!”
Liliel shooed me away. Unlike usual, Idris couldn’t hold back his laughter.
In the end, Liliel also laughed and laid down next to me.
“I’m going to take a nap. Vianne, you should take a nap too. You look tired.”
“What about Idris?”
I looked up at Idris and asked.
“I won’t sleep.”
Idris said as if not to worry about him. I asked back curiously.
“Why?”
“Because I can’t sleep.”
“Aha. Okay.”
If that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do.
I was able to sleep better because of the pleasant weather and peaceful surroundings. I did the same thing as Liliel and closed my eyes.
Young children like us should take frequent naps.
***
Idris looked at Vianne, who was sleeping under the shade.
From time to time, he could only hear the chirping birds. The surroundings were peaceful even for the sensitive Idris.
Thanks to this, he could hear Vianne’s small breath clearly.
Idris looked at her and felt something strange.
He wanted to softly stroke Vianne’s disorganized black hair, but he was terrified that if he moved even a little bit, Vianne would wake up. As a result, he simply remained still.
He was completely oblivious to the fact that he was smiling a little.
He yawned unexpectedly after being motionless for some time. It was a lie when he said that he couldn’t sleep. In a cozy and comfortable atmosphere, Idris was also drowsy. However, no matter how safe it was, he was afraid to relax.
Idris decided to stay awake.
… He was trying to.
“…….”
But he was sleepy.
He watched Vianne, who was quietly sleeping and Liliel who was tossing and turning as his eyes closed on their own.
The sun was shining on them, and the temperature was pleasant.
He tried slapping his cheeks, but it was not enough to drive out the drowsiness.
Idris dozed a couple of times before falling asleep.
When the servant Kelly arrived at the garden to tell them to come inside, she could see the children sleeping on the mats.
It was a warm afternoon in their youth.
***
Liliel couldn’t come to my house today because she had a family schedule.
I took this opportunity to visit Idris.
His house was always quiet, at least it wasn’t dirty or messy because he was taking care of it.
“Idris!”
I went to the garden and shouted. Idris soon appeared in front of me as he came out from a corner of the garden.
What was he doing over there?
“Vianne, you came early.”
There were some flowers in his hand. I waved to him and greeted him lightly.
“I woke up early. But what is that in your hand?”
“Oh, this? I was trying to clean the abandoned flower fields, but there are some that are still blooming. I want to weave those flowers.”
“Weaving the flowers? It’s gonna be fun. Do you know how to do that?”
“See for yourself.”
He replied sarcastically as I stared at his wreath. Well, come to think of it, there’s really nothing he can’t do.
“Are you going to put it inside the house?”
“There is nowhere else to put it, so it should be there.”
“If it’s not particularly useful, can you give it to me?”
“Should I?”
Idris said it was a good idea and that he would make another one for me before I went home. I nodded happily in response.
“For now, shall we go to the back of the mountain?”
“Yes. Because it’s not crowded there. It should be perfect for practicing your magic.”
This is the reason why I came to see him today.
After a few months of reading magic books, it was time to start practicing what he had learned. He needed those skills to get rid of my mana.
“Let’s go.”
Idris temporarily put the flowers in a vase filled with water. He put it on a small table on one side of the garden and gestured at me.
I nodded my head and followed Idris as we headed to the mountain behind us.
If we go further back from the garden behind Idris’ house, we will find the road leading there.
But we had to climb up there. As time went by, the road became more and more steep. I was not in a good shape so I soon ran out of breath.
‘Who made the road to be this way!’
I don’t like it.
We would have to walk a long way to get to a place suitable for practicing magic. I’m going to die if I had to do this many times.
“Vianne. Are you okay?”
Realizing that I was falling behind, Idris halted and asked. I frowned as I breathed heavily.
“I hate the road so much!”
We decided to take a break. After waiting for my breathing to become stable, Idris stood up again.
“… Here, grab it.”
He reached out to me and I grabbed his cold hands.
He guided me. However, it was still difficult for me to walk. After a while, I was being dragged by him.
“Vianne, I can’t hold on.”
In the end, Idris seemed to have concluded that it would be best to stop for a while.
“I’m so sorry about that, just let me go.”
“It’s okay, I can’t let you fall down on this mountain.”
“I know… but it’s hard for me.”
I had to admit it. Because my head was throbbing.
I haven’t worked out for a long time. This body appeared to have less physical strength than my previous one, which was strange to me.
Of course, in my previous life, I had quite a good amount of stamina until my health deteriorated… Despite the fact that it was like so, I’m still quite young here! So I don’t know what to do if I’m already like this.
“Still… Wouldn’t it be okay if you just rest a bit?”
“I think I’ll be tired again even if I take a break.”
“Really…? Hmm.”
It was a little too much to be carried by a child who was a little taller than me. He will become a villain in the future, but he is still a weak child now.
Idris crouched with his back in front of me.
“Get up, Vianne.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
He turned his head and confirmed.
“Don’t worry.”
“Then take care of me a little bit…”
After I was on his back, he stood up slowly.
It was unexpected. Unexpectedly, he…… What should I say? Anyway, he was very strong.
If I knew this would happen, I should have been on his back from the very start. Wait, that’s too shameless.
I muttered inside, wrapped my arms around his neck, and leaned against his back. It was a little awkward and I felt something strange.
“When will we arrive?”
“I’ve been there alone a few times. If we go a little further from here, we’ll find a decent vacant lot.”
“I see.”
I just raised my head and replied, hugging him calmly to make it a little less difficult. Then I leaned my head on his back.
I felt this every time I got closer, but Idris smelled good. It wasn’t a particularly opulent scent. But it was gentle like the scent of a windy spring day.
Is this the comforting scent that people used to talk about?
It was amazing.
After a while, his footsteps came to a halt.
“We arrived.”
I almost fell asleep, then suddenly woke up.
There was a vacant lot of a suitable size in front of us. I quickly came down from his back.
“Don’t come near me. It’s dangerous.”
He let me stand in the corner of the vacant lot even though he’s going to practice harmless spells.
As he directed, I went near the large, thick tree on the edge of the vacant lot.
There was no reason why I followed him to practice today. I just want to watch his practice and keep an eye on how magic works.
In the future, Idris and I will have a lot to do with magic.
However, if I had to come to a place like this every time he practiced… I guess I’ll have to reconsider.
I’m going to die if I come here twice while walking.
I grunted to myself and saw Idris cast a spell.
His mana is small and white. As a non-mage, I couldn’t see the mana itself, but I could see the mana that came together and materialized.
Mana can be seen by anyone as Lesha said.
He created a relatively simple form of mana on his hand. After carefully floating it in the air, it detonated like a firecracker within minutes.
“Is it successful?”
“Yes. It’s a way to practice magic in the theory book.”
“How about creating a magic circle for practice?”
“It’s easy.”
“Ah…”
Idris pretended to pull something out. Or is it really the way to make the magic circle?
A sophisticated magic circle was seen in his hand. He made it look easy too. I admired his skills.
It’s a magic that the empire hate so much, but why is it so beautiful? That was what I thought.
After practicing a few more times, Idris approached me. Has it been 30 minutes since I came here? It was probably around that long.
“Let’s go back.”
“Have you tried everything you learned?”
“That’s all I could do here.”
“Great.”
“I think the mana is kind to me. I found a way to extract mana in an advanced theory book. Soon, I’ll be able to use that as well.”
“Thank you for trying so hard.”