I made a mess in my independent training, and now I donât know what I should do...
Can this mess be undone?
While I was busy thinking of various possibilities to solve the problem, suddenly thereâs someone calling out to me.
âLyra~ Are you sleeping?â
Clavis-niiâs voice!
Which means, Alt-nii is also coming home! He will definitely be able to help me make the ice disappear!!
After all, he is a [Void] user!!
âClavis-nii, Iâm at the second floorâs living room! Is Alt-nii with you?â
I can hear footsteps approaching the room Iâm in.
âNo, he had something he needed to do at school, and I didnât want to accompany him anyway, so he asked me to go back first and to play with you!â
Oh, right, both Alt-nii and Clavis-nii were finally admitted to special class!
(Actually, Alt-nii half-forced Clavis-nii to accompany him to study and such... Alt-nii is dead set on making Clavis his aide, eh?
Also... Clavis-nii seems to be quite smart that he can also get into the special class, through my brotherâs enforcementâor that he received one hell of Alt-niiâs pestering and tutoring?)
...Letâs get back at the current situation. Clavis-niiâs footsteps are getting closer.
âUh, uhm, Clavis-nii, wait a second, donât come hereââ
But my warning comes too late.
Clavis-nii finally climbed up all the stairs, and now heâs standing frozen in front of me, looking at the room in his confusion.
âUh, uhm, this...â
I... feel awkward looking at his confused expression. He notices that Iâm the source of this ice mess, and he looks at me, worried on what to do.
âCan... you help me... Clavis-nii?â I smiled awkwardly.
â...Uhhhhh... My attribute is [Neutral], so...â
â...â
â...â
We are both standing still, face-to-face, looking at each otherâs face, with puzzled expression.
âL, letâs move the ice into the trash bin!â He suggested.
âBut, what about the table, the glass, and other things that are covered in ice?â
â...â
We can definitely wait for it to melt by itself or melt until Altaire or Mom comes home, but the frozen big objects are the major contributor to the mess. Yup, definitely.
After the long silence...
â...I will bring in a wooden torch and we shall thaw them...?â He suggested, again.
âWhat if we start a fire and burn the whole house, instead?â
â...â
Uuuh, I appreciate his worries and his earnest thinking to help me, but... we are both stuck!
His tail is not wagging, itâs completely stiff. Both of his ears are also standing. If Iâm not wrong, itâs the sign that heâs also nervous.
Our expressions clearly stated this: â
âWait for them to naturally thaw....?â He asked.
âIt... might take quite a while, as they wonât thaw quickly in room temperature. Not to mention, winter is approaching so the air is colderâand... if it thaws naturally, it might create a mess of water...?â
I gave him my thoughts about his suggestionâwhich I have thought before he even mentioned it.
â...â
Finally, the long silence dragged on and on...
Perhaps wondering what was going on with the silence, Niina decided to go upstairs to take a look.
âClavis? Youâre here? Why are you and Lyra-sama being so quiet? Huh-â
She stopped talking when she saw what a mess weâre in.
Then, as soon as she realized whatâs going on, her expression turned to be a dreadful expression.
âForgive my rudeness, but... Lyra-sama?! What on earth did you do...?!â
I smiled as wide as I can, as a response.
Normal maids or workers would risk their chances of being fired if they were to say the remarks that she said just nowâif they were working in normal noblesâ house. Yes, my familyâs noble house canât be categorized as normal. Unlike the typically stiff attitude the maids and workers of other houses haveâin order to prevent anything from going bad that would lead them to stop working or considered to insult the nobilityâthe workers in my current house are really, really friendly, just like part of my family.
So, of course my response would turn out to be as friendly, and I would obey her as sheâs older than me. Okay, responding by honestly admitting your mistakes is not an easy feat to do.
âUhm, I was just practicing my magic... independently... and... I forgot I havenât learned how to thaw them myself... I... canât control my own magic... yet?â
I ended my sentence with a question mark because I wasnât very sure of what I thought of.
Now, there are one human and two beastmen standing still in silence, wondering what to do to get out of the mess.
âMe, Chloe, and Vince... all of us naturally couldnât thaw the magical ice... we had to resort to the traditional way of thawing ice, I guess? We have no choice but to clean up the mess afterwards,â Niina finally decided the course of action weâd take, rather than waiting and let more time to waste.
âS, sorry, Niina...,â I canât do anything but to apologize for troubling her.
âItâs alright... Maybe next time you can practice outside, Lyra-sama...?â She smiled to me, trying to give her suggestion which sounds good, to be honest.
I nodded.
âI will go down and prepare the wooden torch.â Niina then went downstairs.
But, shortly after that...
âI am finally homeeee~ Lyra, Clavis, letâs play~!â
Oh my, big brotherrrrrr!!
Big brotherrrr, thou art the most wondrous brother ever! Thanks for coming to my rescue!
âAlt-niiiiiiiiiiii---!â I quickly ran downstairs to welcome my big brother with open arms.
âAhahahaa, ahahahaha! Thatâs so funny, Lyraaa!!â Alt-nii couldnât stop laughing at my miscalculation after he helped to dispell all my ice magic to the void.
âUuuuhh, I didnât think that we could feel so disconnected to our magical creation like that! I thought I could just cancel the magic just fine!â I pouted.
âHaha, guess you should ask Mom to teach you that, so you can do independent studies at ease~,â he patted my head.
âI will still do the independent training outside from now on, though!â
Yes, no more indoor independent training until I am good enough at controlling magic!
In the end, Alt-nii and Niina told the whole story to Mom and Dad, who just laughed at what happened.
After that, I told them the full details of my findings regarding my affinities. Nobody is uttering anything, I wonder why?
Their bodies just went stiff, as if somebody paralyzed them. Altaireâs jaws slightly opened, and his eyes are widening. Mom and Dadâs eyes are now vacantâthey seem to be looking far away in the distance, but I wonder what are they looking at?
Without waiting, I proceeded to ask them the important question.
âWhy wonât everyone try the other magic elements one by one to find out their full affinity before the age of 6, if we can already use all of them just fine?â
At my question, finally, Mom snapped out of it and responded.
âThatâs because not everyone can really control the other magic just fine, Lyra... Some may exert too much energy to try the other affinity that they are not strong with, and trying such uncertainties may cause serious damage to them... And thatâs why, Lyra, I never give you any encouragement to try them one by one, and told you to focus on training your strong magic as we have practiced.â
Gehâso that can happen?!
I shuddered, thinking about what might happen if I failed in my attempt...
So, the reason everyone else was completely silent while I elaborated the details of my findings was because... they are having the cold sweat on my experiment?!
Mom sighed and shook her head lightly. Her glance now shows a hint of nostalgia, as if remembering something sheâd experienced from her past.
âI wonât scold you for that, all that matters is that youâre safe. ...oh well, I did the same thing as you did when I was a child, so thatâs why I canât be angry at you. But please, donât do it next time...,â Mom explained.
âT, thanks, Mom, and I will consult you every time I want to do something new... but I think you should have warned me...â
âThe book I gave you already had a warning written about it, and I told you to read the book carefully... Ah, you are just like me, arenât you? You skipped on the boring first page of training precautions, right? The first few points only detailed unimportant thing such as
and such, right?â
...Mom, you know me so well.
Yes, yes, I skipped the page after reading those tedious details!
â...like mother, like daughter,â Dad says, in his amazement.
â...Perhaps I should try writing a better magic guide book for children like you and me...,â Mom started to consider on writing a magic guide book on her own.
Yes, I fully support your decision, Mom!
âAh, but Lyra, she didnât experience any kind of difficulty in experimenting with her magic like that... could it be...?â Dad said.
âHmm?â
âOoh, youâre right, Cyan!â Mom agreed.
âThat means, your mana capacity is high enough, Lyra!â Alt-nii answered my question.
âI, is that so?!â I was surprised at the sudden revelation.
âYes, Lyra. We can be sure that your mana capacity will be superior than the majority... So, thatâs a good thing,â Mom smiled.
Is that so?
Thatâs great~!
â...wait a second, you said that you suspected yourself of being capable to use all magic within normal to strong range, with the exception of [Void]?!â Mom just realized that part of my explanation.
âUhhh, I am not sure, but it doesnât take me so long to chant them and Iâm not too tired... Itâs stated that using weak affinity magic would surely cause anyone to get tired more, right? So...â
âReally? Wow, I canât wait to find out the results of your second test~!â
Mom clapped her handsâher expression shows that of an excitement and nervousness at the same time. Dad shook his head lightly.
âThatâs absurd, nobody could have--...â
Dad seemed to murmur something, but I couldnât really hear what heâs saying clearly. He must be talking to himself. Mom looks very happy and excited to hear my answer, and Dadâs exasperated expression hasnât left his face just yet. I hope my family members wonât develop any muscle spasm on their faces... I think they had quite the same expression on their faces during when I developed my fluent reading skills at the age of 3, and how fluent my speaking got after that point.
Anyway... does that mean that being able to use all magic (except Void) without any weak affinity is really a rare thing to have?
I mean, I didnât pay any attention to magic and magic users in the past, I was way too consumed on swordmanships, so...
But when I think back on how my parents described their affinities and how they were considered great for their multiple affinitiesâI think I can safely deduct that what I found about my magical abilities is quite awesome?
Oooh, finally, is this the cheat God granted to me? I didnât ask for it, but...
If it is, then, it is a nice gift to be born with!
...only if I donât end up being too overpowered, though. Being overpowered equals to having lots of troubles!
But wait a second. I think I forgot to ask something else. Something... oh, right!
âMom, I didnât chant the spell in Spraec, but I managed to cast my magic just fine. Can we actually do that?â
âWait, you, what?â Mom is suddenly taken aback.
Her excitement seems to be increasing at a higher rate, but Mom... your face... you donât have any muscle spasm, right? Iâm worried that she would wrinkle quickly because of me, thatâs such a waste for a beauty like Mom. Her doll-like features would disappear if she were to contract chronic muscle spasmâor wait, would she catch a nerve disease because of the spasms?
âHuh, but how...?â Dad is also surprised.
âEh, Lyra can do it already, all on her own?â Alt-nii also looked at me in awe.
â...Yes?â
...I need some explanation, please.
What exactly happened? How is it possible? Has nobody else managed to accomplish such a feat?
Mom inhaled a deep, deep breath and exhaled it slowly. She then opened her mouth. Yup, your daughter is ready for the explanation!
âI have told you about voiced incantation and voiceless incantationâbasically chanted magic and chantless one, right?â
âYes, Mom.â
âThere are another two variations whose levels are in the middle of them. One is half incantation, in which someone can cast their magic with only reciting the shortened version of the incantation. The second variation is [Nonspraec Incantation]âthat you just managed to do.â
...Wait, I have ever heard of half incantation before in my previous life, I think.
I am not sure, as I only knew people who were capable of chanted magic back then. Nah, I didnât even pay any attention to whatever they chanted as I had no knowledge about it at all.
[Nonspraec Incantation]... such thing exists?
âItâs great for people who canât remember Spraec language!â I said in excitement.
âYes, but it still costs more mana. Therefore, I want you to try that after we have practiced a bit more, or after your second testâs done...,â Mom explained.
From her eyes, I can sense that sheâs thinking,
Seems like I would be trained to do either Nonspraec Incantation or Half Incantationâor both in the future.
âYes, Lyra~ The secret of [Nonspraec Incantation] is to imagine the effect of the magic plus the magic circle~ The more vivid they are, the better~,â Alt-nii chimed in.
...Magic circle? Itâs still my habit to recall the image of them whenever I practiced. Though the version that I remembered may not be the detailed version of the circle itself. Still, ...I fulfilled the requirements without even knowing.
âAltaireâs [Void] element is rare and there are not a lot of spells known, so heâs mastered the use of Nonspraec Incantation,â Mom explained.
âYup~!â Alt-nii smiled happily.
Ah, understandable. With many of its spells remain unknown, Altaire would have more benefits if he were to produce his magic without the needs to know the spells.
âThen... Lyraâs mana... can we safely assume that itâs more than 600, already?â Dad asked.
âYes,â Mom answered.
âEh, how do you know?â I asked, unable to wait for them anymore. Well, they have a habit of hanging me in the dark for the things that they might be familiar with, and would explain later on, after realizing that I have no clue about it.
âWell, only those with more than 600 mana capacity are capable of using half incantation and Nonspraec incantation, Lyra,â Mom said.
âHeee, there is such a parameter based on mana capacity?!â
That is... cool!
âYes. And only those with more than 800 mana capacity are capable of voiceless incantation,â Mom explained further.
Which means, Mom is definitely capable of voiceless incantation. No wonder, as expected as the Head of Magician. However...
I stared at Alt-nii.
The moment our eyes met, somehow, Alt-nii seemed to understand what I was thinking about. Could it be that I am too easy to read? I would like to consider myself not easy to read, though...
âAh, voiceless incantation is extremely tiring and hard to use, you know? Iâm still in practice,â Alt-nii puffed his cheek.
âHaha, yes. Being able to use it doesnât mean that they will be able to easily do so, Lyra. Practice is still needed, even more so to accomplish difficult things,â Mom patted Alt-niiâs head.
âBut still, Lyraâs discovered a lot of things in just a day. Thatâs awesome,â Dad lifted my body and put me on his lap. He then hugged me from behind and patted my head.
âWhat to do, our children are both so talented...,â Dad questioned it.
âWe are very lucky, indeed. I think we need to thank the God more, haha,â Mom answered.
âAh yeah, then... letâs close our eyes for a little while, clap our hands, and thanks Aion-sama for this amazing discovery,â Dad said.
...Yes, such a custom is normal. We canât claim ourselves as religious people, but we still believe in our God, after all. We have routinely prayed and gone to churches at times, but thatâs all part of the routine we have. Itâs not something special.
Aion-sama is the name of the god that most humans would worship. It is said that Aion-sama is the creator of all life, the beginning of everythingâthe
âand is often portrayed with the image of a pure, innocent child.
Alt-nii closed his eyes in an instant and clapped his hands.
âAion-sama, thank you for your blessings!â
âAion-sama, thanks for the blessings!â
Everyone recited it together.
In my past life, I was raised to put my faith in Aion-sama, too.
...The god that I have met doesnât seem to be Aion-sama, yes, I canât picture that little light as a being as divine and as gentle as Aion-sama is portrayed to be.
Aion-samaâour Godâs gender is unspecifiedâsome may address Aion-sama with â
while some may address Aion-sama with
Aion-sama can predict the future or see the possibilities of the future the world would have, and thus, Aion-sama will always pick the best route for the greater good, of the whole nature and all living beings. Aion-sama never made any mistake. Sometimes, we call His plan as [Fate].
...yup, that lightâthe one claiming itself to be
âis definitely not Aion-sama. It can be a different deity all along, or part of Aion-samaâs governance...?
Did that meeting with the light-sama shake my faith to Aion-sama? ...I believe that Aion-sama is out there, probably scolding the little light that I metâyup, that god I met, he is probably Aion-samaâs subordinate or what... As he meddled with someoneâs life and deathâwhich should fall under Aion-samaâs jurisdiction.
But anyway, I should also thank the god that forced me to reincarnate, since I believe it might be the little gift I received from the tiny spectre of light that I can still remember up until now.
I thought I didnât ask for anything, though.
Unbeknownst to them, a spectre of light is flying outside the window, then landed on the nearest treeâs branch.
Before long, the light disappeared and a transparant figure of a mischievous child could be seen in the place where the light was formerly at, smiling while observing the family who are giving their utmost gratitude towards their god.
âYouâre all very welcome.â