Chapter 6: A Very Special Gift!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 6: A Very Special Gift!
“Mana is like rain. It falls from the sky, flows into the valleys, becomes a river, then the sea, before rising back to the sky. You must keep it circulating, never letting it stop.”
The lesson was taking place in a training hall inside the Mage’s Association.
The project to make Mirabelle a Great Witch was now in full swing.
Colton, the head of Riveria’s Mage’s Association, had volunteered to be Mirabelle’s magic teacher. For the head of an entire city’s association to offer personal lessons…
My Mirabelle truly was the best.
For the record, the lessons were held at the same time every day, free of charge. This was because Colton stood to gain a great deal once Mirabelle became famous.
Our intentions were different, but our goals aligned. It was a win-win for both of us.
He’ll probably have a heart attack when he finds out the person he taught was actually a witch.
Well, that wasn’t my problem.
“That will be all for today’s lesson. Please come back tomorrow with your mana flow more refined.”
The lesson ended while I was waiting, slumped in a corner of the training hall. Mirabelle walked over to me with Colton.
“Is it over?”
“Yes.”
“How is Miss Mirabelle’s condition?”
“The measurement was indeed accurate. Her innate mana capacity, her skill in wielding it… it’s hard to believe she only recently began learning magic. However…”
“However?”
Colton trailed off. Why was this bastard being so ominous?
“Something is… different.”
“I have no idea what you mean by that.”
“It’s just as I said. Miss Mirabelle’s mana feels alien compared to ordinary mana, and I don’t know why. It may take her longer than expected to learn how to use magic.”
It’s because she’s a witch.
Being a complete novice in magic, I couldn’t feel the difference myself, but I knew the reason. The way witches and mages wielded mana was slightly different.
“I understand. In any case, I don’t know much about magic, so I’ll trust you completely, Association Head.”
“Haha, to think you’d place such faith in me. I’m so flattered, I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“Haha, don’t mention it.”
As if I’d actually trust him.
I needed to come up with a plan.
*
Since I didn’t have a house or run a shop, there were no chores for Mirabelle to do.
Even if there were, I would have been reluctant to make her do them.
I couldn’t have her trying to kill me after her liberation, screaming, ‘This is revenge for making me wash your underwear back then!’ It was a bizarre relationship where I, the master, was the subordinate, and Mirabelle, the slave, was the one in charge.
Still, I intended to have her do some basic errands. I didn’t want her to grow into a crazed witch who only knew how to use magic.
Of course, I’d rather die than give up the maid outfit.
Every man is born with something he holds more precious than his own life.
The task I had just given Mirabelle was to go shopping. I gave her some money and a list of things to buy.
It didn’t take long for Mirabelle to return to the inn. She placed the items she’d bought on the table one by one.
A handkerchief, insect-repellent incense, a portable magic stone lantern—all standard-issue adventuring supplies. And finally, she placed down a brown paper bag.
Inside were fritters.
Slime fritters, of all things.
“Good. You bought everything on the list.”
“Phew…”
Mirabelle let out a sigh of relief, her hand on her chest.
I wouldn’t have done anything even if she’d made a mistake, but she must have been nervous.
“You did well.”
I instinctively reached out to pat Mirabelle’s head, but she flinched, dodging my hand.
Tsk. I suppose I tried to close the distance too quickly. A misstep.
In that case, I’d have to give her a different reward. As it happened, I had something here she would like.
I took a slime fritter from the bag she’d brought and offered it to her.
“Have some.”
“For… me…?”
“Is there anyone else here besides you, Miss Mirabelle? Go on.”
Mirabelle, her eyes wide with surprise, stared at the slime fritter before cautiously taking it. Even then, she hesitated to eat, glancing at me.
I gave her a gentle smile and a shrug, and only then did she take a bite.
“How is it? Is it good?”
“……Yes.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
Slime fritters.
To me, a man from Earth, they were just bizarre food. But to Mirabelle, they meant something entirely different. It was a snack her mother used to make for her often.
You could think of it as being like the soybean paste soup her mother used to cook for her when she was alive.
And of course, no one knew that better than Mirabelle herself. Her indigo eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Tear-soaked slime fritters. It wasn’t exactly a picturesque scene, but it was a sight that tugged at one’s heartstrings.
“Why are you crying? Is it that delicious?”
“Yes… very.”
“Is that so? I’ve never tried it, so I wouldn’t know.”
I didn’t realize it then. What a huge mistake this would turn out to be.
“You’ve never tried it…?”
“No. I’m a bit of a picky eater.”
At my words, Mirabelle fumbled with the bag, took out another slime fritter, and held it out to me.
“P-Please, try one. It’s salty and delicious.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Ah…”
With a small sigh, Mirabelle’s hand, holding the fritter, dropped listlessly.
“But it’s… delicious.”
Why did she have to look so heartbroken? It made my chest ache. When you react like that, it makes me, the one who refused, feel like a total piece of trash.
I snatched the fritter from her hand. It’s just slime. Once it’s fried, it’s all the same, right? With that mindset, I popped it into my mouth and chewed.
Mirabelle’s eyes widened.
“Well, it’s not a bad taste. It’s salty enough to be a decent snack.”
“Right? It’s good on its own, but it’s even better with a glass of cold milk.”
Mirabelle began to rattle on, sharing a story only she knew. If it had been me, the reaction would have been, ‘What is that nerdy crap you’re talking about?’ but coming from a pretty girl like Mirabelle, it had a different feel.
To think she’d be this happy just from a little empathy. I should buy these for her often. And eat them with her… huh?
“Did something just squirm in my mouth?”
“Wow, you must have gotten a fresh one. That happens sometimes. You’re lucky.”
You son of a bitch.
Lucky my ass.
See if I ever eat this again.
I managed to swallow the slime fritter.
I couldn’t just spit out what was already in my mouth. Gulping down some water made it a little more bearable.
Mirabelle, on the other hand, seemed to have a real taste for them. Even after I finished mine, she kept pulling them out one by one and eating them. I had no idea how many she’d bought; it was like she had Doraemon’s pocket, they just kept coming out.
I was going to wait until she finished, but at this rate, we’d be up all night. Just listen while you eat.
“Association Head Colton said something today. That you’re different from other mages, Miss Mirabelle. That it will take you a long time to use magic. Do you have any idea why?”
“Ahem.”
Mirabelle let out a dry cough. As if the food had gone down the wrong pipe, she tapped her chest.
I offered her some water, which she accepted without hesitation, gulping it down. Only then did she seem to calm down, letting out a sigh.
“I-I’m not sure… I only started learning magic recently…”
“Is that so? Then I suppose you don’t know how to fix it either.”
It would take a long time for Mirabelle to learn magic. That was a rather troublesome issue for me.
The problem isn’t Mirabelle, it’s what comes next.
The timing of Mirabelle’s liberation wasn’t critical. As long as I successfully rescued her from the Slave Carnival, I could take my time.
But there were other slaves who weren’t so lucky.
Some heroines were already slaves, but others were fated to become slaves after certain events.
In the game, I could save a slave on the other side of the continent with a simple click, but this was reality. I had to go and rescue them with my own two feet.
If I messed up and missed one, it would be a disaster. One delay would lead to an endless cascade of them.
The easiest way would be to find a witch…
If her magic was different from what mages used, she could just learn directly from a witch. I knew the locations of one or two of them, though not all.
The reason I came to Riveria despite knowing this was that most witches were eccentric and difficult.
As I said before, Mirabelle was a supernova, the kind born once in a thousand years. That applied not only to mages but to witches as well.
She was a talent coveted even by other witches. If I took her to them, it would be like serving her up on a platter. Witches were uncontrollable.
So, finding a witch was out. By process of elimination, that left one other method. It was something I had anticipated, which was another reason I’d come to Riveria.
I stood up from my seat.
“If you’re done eating, Miss Mirabelle, you should get ready to leave too.”
“Oomf?”
“…Finish your food first.”
*
To raise a slave most efficiently, I had to make proper use of my game knowledge.
As time passed, variables would arise, and that knowledge might become useless, but that moment was not now.
If things get screwed up this early, forget about returning home. I’ll just find a cute beastkin and live happily ever after with her.
But I digress.
In TOS, there were various ways to develop a slave. You could feed them elixirs and equip them with gear, not just skills.
Elixirs were effective, but not something to use from the very beginning. They required long-term use and were very expensive—a long-term investment for veteran players.
What I could do for Mirabelle right now was gear. It was the method that would yield the best bang for my buck at this point in time.
And that was why I had come to Riveria.
“Hahahahahaha!”
In a deserted cemetery at dawn.
Dressed in a single-use invisibility robe I’d bought for two thousand points, I was in the middle of a joyous grave-digging session.
“M-Master! You can’t do this! It’s a capital offense if we’re caught! The gods will be angry!”
“Hahahaha, Miss Mirabelle. You speak the absolute truth. That’s right. It’s a capital offense if we’re caught. But to survive in this harsh world, you must know this one thing. Etch it into your mind.”
“W-What is it?”
“It’s not a crime if you don’t get caught.”
The principle of presumption of innocence.
Until a guilty verdict is rendered, you are innocent.
Which means, if there’s no trial, let alone a verdict, then of course you’re innocent!
Mirabelle shrieked, then hastily clamped a hand over her mouth, afraid someone might hear. Don’t you worry, little one. This invisibility robe from the shop may be expensive and single-use, but its performance is on par with a top-tier artifact.
Unless an Archmage cast a detection spell, there was absolutely no way we’d be discovered.
Clink.
As I kept digging, my shovel hit something. I cleared the dirt around it and lifted the object.
Even in the dark of dawn, a silver handle gleamed in the moonlight. At its tip was a brilliant crystal. It was a staff.
Three hundred years ago, a high elf who had fallen for the sage Arselia carved this staff from a branch of the World Tree as a gift for his lover.
The staff was passed down to ‘Inaxia,’ the half-elf son born to Arselia and the high elf, and he had lived out his days quietly here in Riveria. As a half-elf, his lifespan was shorter than that of a pure-blooded elf.
The half-elf was buried in the 7x7 plot of Riveria’s public cemetery. Dig there, and you’d find the Sage’s Staff.
[You have acquired the Heavenly Covenant.]
With this, I could dramatically boost Mirabelle’s magical abilities!
“Here, Miss Mirabelle. This is a very special gift, just for you!”
I joyfully handed the staff to Mirabelle. Her expression was… wow. Words couldn’t describe it.