The Ultimate Technique
Hwia looked down at me, still holding me in her arms, as if she had never expected me to speak.
Her already large eyes had gone even wider. After our first meeting I had not said a single word, so the reaction was only natural.
H—wi—a—h
[Analyzing…]
[Generating meaningful word…]
[Generation complete]
——x————-h
Spell Cast: —-f/—
An unknown spell had been cast. Fortunately, it did not seem to be the offensive kind.
I also felt a considerable amount of mana draining from my body.
As long as it was not something strange, I would take it.
"H-huh?"
"Did you just say my name?"
Hwia was genuinely delighted. She cupped both my cheeks in her palms and stroked them as she spoke.
"You said my name before Oppa's? Hehe…"
Her eyes grew damp.
Honestly, I had not expected her to be this happy about it.
Plip. Plip.
Tears from Hwia's eyes—
No.
It was the window.
The weather had been so hot it could kill you, and yet rain was pouring from the sky and thunder was crashing down.
I slipped free of Hwia's arms and went to the window.
The sky that had been blue only moments ago had turned a heavy gray, and raindrops clung to the glass where the fierce sunlight had been shining.
Was what had just happened the magic I had used?
If so, it was probably weather magic—the kind that controlled climate—and I had created a rain cloud.
I had read in ancient documents that such magic existed, but I had never imagined it could actually be cast.
I was thrilled. That I had used a spell like this—if I could only learn to handle this power a little better…!
Startled by the sudden change in weather, Hwia, who had been looking outside with me, let out a cry and bolted.
"Ah, right—the laundry! I have to bring in the laundry!"
A little later she came back looking miserable, both hands full of soaking wet clothes.
W-well, I had not meant for that to happen, so it was not really my fault, right?
S-sorry…
"Hmm…"
Redrago ran a hand over his stubble, which had already grown rough again, and thought.
Who on earth had cast that large-scale search magic, and why?
KRA-KOOM—
Thunder rolled outside.
A sudden shower, was it?
The sky had seemed cloudless not long ago. Odd.
More than a week had already passed since he had begun hunting for the source of the search magic.
The only information he had managed to get was the capture of a suspicious girl.
Not long after entrusting her to Hugo, the young man had come swaggering back in to announce that he had learned her name.
The name was… Tiable, was it?
Tiable…
Just what was she hiding that she refused to speak?
Because this place was unfamiliar? Because they had treated her roughly at first? Because there was something she could not say?
And what was that something?
No—something about this was different.
Redrago's sharp instincts were steadily closing in on the truth.
Creeeak—
The door opened, and a soldier rushed in, soaked to the skin.
"L-Lord Redrago! We have found a trace related to the large-scale search magic incident!"
At the words "search magic," Redrago's body answered before his mind did.
Additional information after a full week…
His eyes burned.
"What kind of trace…?"
"W-well—"
They had walked a long way farther in the direction the girl had come from and found a small clearing. The grass and trees around it were all withered and dead, and even the lifeless things there felt hollowed out, as if something had been stolen from them. It was, quite literally, land without life.
"And the traces of the search magic remained there as well."
"Where is this place? We go at once."
"But Lord Redrago, it is raining… Would it not be better to leave tomorrow?"
The soldier flustered when Redrago insisted on going immediately.
"I cannot waste so much as a single day. Time is of the essence."
Redrago prepared in haste and stepped out through the door.
When they arrived at the place the soldier had described, there truly was a small clearing where every trace of life seemed to have vanished.
Unlike the land around it, only a dull brown remained—
and the steady rain only deepened the damp, oppressive air.
As they searched the area, faint remnants of the search magic turned up one after another, and every last one of them pointed back to this clearing as the origin.
Traces of search magic found in the direction the girl had come from—
The suspicious girl, Tiable, could not be said to have nothing to do with the search magic at all.
The possibility that Tiable herself had cast it?
A search spell that required several high-ranking mages and specialized tools—there was no way a girl with nothing had cast it alone.
Redrago forced himself to reject that one possibility.
If only she could talk…
After confirming that the search-magic incident was not entirely unconnected to the girl, Redrago returned to news that was actually worth celebrating.
The report that Tiable had spoken.
That she had said the name of Hugo's younger sister, Hwia.
And that she seemed to understand speech to some degree.
At this rate… a simple conversation might be possible.
"Tell Hugo to bring Tiable here."
A short while later, Hugo entered with Tiable.
She was watching Redrago warily from behind Hugo's back.
"L-Lord Redrago? If you look at her with such frightening eyes…"
Hugo spoke up. Tiable was clutching Hugo's hand as if she were scared.
"My apologies. I have been on edge lately because of the search-magic incident."
The burning look in Redrago's eyes eased a little.
"So, Tiable spoke, did she?"
"Yes! She called my sister Hwia by name."
"Nothing else?"
"Other than saying the name, she has not spoken a word."
"Even so, from the way she listens and acts on what we say, she seems to understand simple conversation. This child is remarkably clever."
Hugo stroked Tiable's hair and smiled as if he were happy.
There was no lie in his words.
He had been looking after Tiable as if he had gained another little sister, and Tiable, in turn, had followed him well.
"Tiable."
Redrago spoke in a gentle tone—so soft that even Hugo had never heard him sound like that before.
Hearing her name, Tiable slowly stepped out from behind Hugo.
Her white hair shone even brighter than when he had first seen her, and her clear black eyes were pure as night.
Even to Redrago, she looked adorable.
For a moment he thought it would be nice to have a daughter like this.
Still a little frightened, Tiable gripped the hem of her skirt with one hand and gazed up at him.
"Why were you in the forest?"
Redrago cut straight to the point. Soothing a young child with small talk was not his talent.
Redrago wanted to see me.
I had thought he had left me entirely in Hugo's care—so what was the problem this time?
I knew Redrago had a kind side, but being summoned like this was still frightening.
The thought of facing him again terrified me.
Hugo… stand between me and Redrago…!
I hid behind Hugo's back and peeked out at Redrago with only my head showing.
His eyes were burning much the way they had when he interrogated me.
"L-Lord Redrago? If you look at her with such frightening eyes…"
Well said, Hugo!
"My apologies. I have been on edge lately because of the search-magic incident."
Search magic? Was he talking about the search magic I had used?
So it really had been reverse-detected…
If the investigation went any further, it would only be a matter of time before they discovered I was the one who had cast it.
Redrago and Hugo talked about the fact that I had spoken.
"Even so, from the way she listens and acts on what we say, she seems to understand simple conversation. This child is remarkably clever."
Hugo stroked my hair gently as he said it.
"Tiable."
Along with the first soft voice I had ever heard from Redrago came a small gesture, as if asking me to step forward for a moment.
I walked out slowly and stood before him, and he spoke.
"Why were you in the forest?"
His eyes were burning again.
Terrifying.
Would it be all right… to answer…?
What I had learned so far was this—
One. When I tried to cast a spell I already knew, it would fire as the closest matching magic.
Two. Even if the sound meant nothing to me, the moment it left my mouth a spell would activate—even one I did not know.
When I had said Hwia's name, I had been unbelievably lucky that it was not an offensive spell.
But what if an attack spell went off this time?
Redrago I could almost accept—but Hugo, who had been so kind to me, might get caught in it as well.
In that case, there was only one way out of this situation.
I used my ultimate technique.
Tiable's black eyes grew steadily wetter, and then tears spilled down her cheeks in streams.
Her lips only trembled; she made no sound at all, swallowing her sobs as she cried.
"L-Lord Redrago, why would you make the child cry like that…"
"I only asked her what she was doing…"
"She never cried once during the interrogation, and now she suddenly…"
Tiable's body flinched for an instant, but no one noticed.
"M-may I take her out for now?"
Hugo patted Tiable's back as he spoke.
"Fine. Go calm her down a little."
Watching Hugo lead Tiable away, Redrago thought,
Am I really that frightening?
I only asked a question…
I had managed to get through it this time somehow.
I had to find a proper way to control my magic, and soon.
I would just have to experiment on my own…
It seemed the time had come to do the thing I had been putting off and putting off.
Nom.
First, I would think while I ate the skewer Hugo had bought to cheer me up.
I still did not know what kind of meat it was, but it was delicious.