Become My Teacher
Dolls hold more meaning for children than mere toys. They provide emotional stability when the child feels anxious, serve as projections for the child's feelings during the process of psychological independence from parents, and even foster social and cognitive development through role-playing.
I wasn't sure exactly what situation Veronica was in right now.
But just seeing an 11-year-old girl thrown into this forest in such a ragged state made it easy enough to grasp that her circumstances were far from normal.
So, perhaps Veronica was treating me like a doll to alleviate her anxiety and gain some comfort. If that was the case, letting her name me like this might turn me into her attachment doll for real.
"Fairy! Name! Diana!"
Of course, I had zero intention of accepting that kind of treatment, so I quickly recalled the nickname I'd set in my character creation screen and shouted it out.
"I-is that so…? You already… have a name…?"
Veronica's pupils shook violently after she froze with a dumbstruck expression for a moment.
"Naí! Fairy, name, Diana!"
I drove the point home once more, and Veronica, who deflated rapidly, quietly bowed her head. Her eyes glistened slightly, suggesting she'd been quite hurt.
Whatever. Not my problem.
"U-um, if it's not too rude… what's your second name—"shake shake. "Th-then, a nickname at least—"shake shake. "Hiiing…."
Even after that, Veronica kept glancing at me with lingering, dripping eyes, but eventually she slumped down dejectedly and planted the seeds. Watching her finally settle down, I quietly perched on the bamboo.
Soon, having planted all the sunflower seeds I'd given her, Veronica pulled a pendant from inside her clothes, one she'd worn around her neck.
She closed her eyes and extended both hands toward the ground. Then, she chanted the same spell she'd used on the wolves before.
"Takheía anáptyxi."
⟨ Rapid Growth ⟩
Pzzt—.
A thin purple line sank into the earth. And then.
Sprout.
The seeds broke through the soil and began sprouting, growing rapidly.
Having squeezed out every last drop of her remaining mana to barely coax the flowers into blooming, Veronica let out a small sigh.
The moment she'd been invited to the Fairy Realm, Veronica had harbored a faint hope that maybe, just like in the books, she could name the fairy and build a bond with her.
'…What do I do now.'
Unfortunately, it seemed someone had already named the fairy before Veronica got the chance.
Sadly, none of the books Veronica had read covered how to befriend a fairy that already had a name. It was the moment most of her plans, built on bonding with a fairy, came crumbling down.
Still, she couldn't very well say, "I see, you have a name, so I'll be on my way," and leave. So for now, she was diligently blooming flowers in the Fairy Realm as the fairy had asked.
'…But I can't win her favor with something this trivial.'
According to the texts, this was a minor task any mage could do. In contrast, the fairy had saved Veronica from certain death.
Her lifesaver. Blooming a few flowers was nowhere near enough repayment.
'To begin with, what could someone like me even do for her….'
—Nothing, probably. I shouldn't have expected anything from the start.Veronica herself was just a kid who could barely cast a bit of magic.
Even if the fairy hadn't had a name, there's no way she'd let an insignificant girl like Veronica name her. Veronica should just be grateful that the fairy had saved her life—
Sparkle sparkle. "Eh… Fairy?"
She should just stay quiet like a mouse and fade away.
As Veronica tried to steel her resolve, her vision caught the fairy sparkling with bright, expectant eyes.
An innocent, refreshing smile. The fairy seemed to be anticipating something from Veronica.
"Um, perhaps… you need the pendant—"shake shake. "Or maybe… my hand…?"shake shake.
Veronica tentatively guessed a few things while gauging the fairy's sudden reaction, but.
"Y-you want me to… leave the Fairy Realm right—""No! That!"
The more she did, the more cowed Veronica became, while the fairy's cheeks puffed up more and more.
Flustered, Veronica glanced at where the fairy was hovering—the spot for the next seeds she'd planted.
"Or maybe… using magic to grow the flowers was a mistake…."
Veronica had instinctively sprouted them just like when she secretly practiced magic alone in the palace. But perhaps the fairy wanted them to grow naturally, without magic.
As Veronica voiced her anxious guess carefully.
Sparkle. "Magic!"
The fairy exclaimed at the word "magic."
"R-right…? I shouldn't have used magic so carelessly—""Magic! Diana! Need! Magic!"
"Eh—you need it…?"
Watching the fairy excitedly repeat "magic" in her clumsy Elenika, Veronica's head tilted slightly to the side.
Legends said the Fairy Queen was proficient in magic.
And indeed, this fairy had used advanced magic beyond human capability to bring Veronica to the Fairy Realm.
So Veronica couldn't quite understand why she'd be interested in basic growth acceleration magic. Frowning, she pondered deeply and soon came up with a plausible reason.
"…Ah, maybe. You're going to teach me how to use magic more efficiently—"shake shake. "Diana, teach magic, Veronica, no."
But the fairy shook her head again, indicating she was wrong. As Veronica racked her brain for another reason.
"Veronica, teach magic, Diana."
"Eh… what?"
"Diana, teach magic, need!"
"You mean…… y-you're saying… right now, you want me to teach you magic…?"
Finally piecing together the fairy's intent from her words and actions, Veronica muttered in a dazed expression.
Nod nod. "Magic, need, Diana."
Seeing the fairy nod confidently, confirming her guess, Veronica felt her uneasy premonition had been spot on.
Veronica's face paled. Back at the palace, she was always the one learning, never teaching.
'How can the princess of the kingdom fail to master even this level of etiquette?'
'Stand straight! You can't let your posture slip after just four hours of dance!'
'The library? Forget etiquette for now and— What? From Her Highness herself? …Very well. It would be wise to acquire at least basic refinement for a good marriage match.'
Even then, she was a failing student who hadn't mastered a single thing properly.
Her magic was nothing more than clumsily self-taught from the royal library.
She was better than her peers, sure—but nowhere near good enough to teach others.
"Wha?! N-no, I c-can't do it!"
"Can't, no. Veronica has! Magic!"
"No, if it's magic, I should be the one learning from you—"shake shake.
Especially not to a fairy, a race called magical beings. Overwhelmed by the burden, Veronica immediately refused.
"Veronica, teach. Diana, magic, learn."
"But how could I possibly…."
"Magic! Learn!"
Watching the fairy fly right up to her and tug insistently on her sleeve, Veronica couldn't hide her bewilderment.
'Wh-what do I do…? How can I…. Ah!'
Her eyes darting as she gauged the fairy, Veronica suddenly thought of a clever idea.
"…If so, then… could I perhaps meet the one who named you, even just for a moment…?"
"…?"
Fairies treasure the one who named them above all. And according to legend, they try to fulfill that person's requests as much as possible.
So if she explained her situation well to that person, they might convince the fairy to stop making such unreasonable demands. And beyond that.
'…Maybe I could even gain their cooperation.'
If the namer was a kind person, they might help her return to the palace after hearing her plight.
"If you let me meet that person… sure. I'll positively consider teaching you magic."
"……."
As Veronica proposed after quick calculations, the fairy frowned slightly and released her sleeve.
She scratched her cheek for a moment, then flew right in front of Veronica's eyes. Extending her tiny finger.
"Diana, name, Diana, named."
"…?"
She pointed at herself with her index finger.
"Veronica, Diana, can meet. Veronica, Diana namer, can meet."
"Wh-what does that…?"
"Positive, consider. …Magic, learn, good?"
Watching the fairy tilt her head slightly as she asked, Veronica's mind raced again.
'So the one who named Diana… is Diana herself…? I-is that even possible?'
According to the fairy queen's records in the library.
In the "fairy realm" where fairies lived, the concept of names didn't really exist. Thus, any fairy with a name must have been named by someone else—that was the accepted theory.
"Um… so, am I… the first person to meet you, Diana…?"
Nod. "Positive!"
The legends of the kingdom's founder and the Fairy Queen were from hundreds of years ago. The Fairy Queen had declared that fairies, chasing only stimuli and novelty, would never change even after thousands of years.
'Yet the Fairy Queen herself walked a completely different path from other fairies.'
After such a long time, perhaps fairies had changed somehow. In that case.
'Maybe she's interested in human perspectives on magic theory and application….'
It might not be impossible for Veronica to teach Diana magic after all. Seeing Diana nod vigorously, the corners of Veronica's mouth twitched up faintly.
"…Alright. If someone like me is okay, I'll become your magic teacher, Diana."
"Teacher, good!"
Veronica recalled the basic magic formulas from the books one by one. Then, extending her index finger.
Scribble, scratch—
"Then, first—"
She began drawing a timeline of magic's origins on the ground when.
Grrrrumble….
A deep rumble echoing through the entire bamboo grove.
"……."
"……."
"Maybe hungry?"
What burst from Diana's mouth wasn't Elenika, but fairy tongue—though.
"…Yes."
Veronica, intuitively grasping the nuance, blushed faintly.