"Your name is Yuto, right?"
As I looked down at the witch whose ugly face was blocking my entire view, I thought I could finally talk to her.
Actually, there were some things I wanted to ask her, like what the magic she was using was for. But since I didn't know what kind of reaction I'd get, I stayed as close to the witch as I could.
As someone who has watched dozens of anime, I knew that wizards were physically weak. My current physical strength was probably high enough to kill her with a sudden attack before she could react.
"What is your name?"
"My name? My name is Slphia. Of course, if you can't pronounce it, you can just call me Daddy."
Daddy? Tch... fucking bitch. She's actually got her eye on my mom.
[Congratulations, you have a new main mission (learn magic)
Mission content : learn magic
Term of office : 2 years
Quest reward : calculated according to how much magic you have learned (minimum reward : random, one-star sword technique)
Quest penalty : end of the path of magery
P.S. How about using the old elf in front of you for this mission. I think you should give it a shot.]
"Fuck."
"I didn't understand."
"I said, could you teach me magic?"
When I saw the punishment the system had given, I accidentally swore out loud. Luckily, they didn't understand me, because I had sworn in the language of my previous world and not in the language of this one.
To be honest, no matter how carelessly I acted, my life would be wasted if I couldn't learn something cool like magic. Since the opportunity was right in front of me, I decided to learn some magic from this woman, even if it was just something simple.
"Look at this kid. So you're interested in magic. If you're so interested, come back when you're five, and I'll teach you a simple healing spell."
"Ahh, please don't trouble yourself, granny pharmacist. My son can get quite spoiled sometimes, and I'm sure there's nothing about magic that really interests him."
Mom! Whose side are you on? Come to the dark side! And how can a person not be curious about magic?
"Please teach me magic, master."
"Ahaha, master? Aren't you being a bit hasty, little Yuto? Before I teach you how to be a magician, at least wait until you turn five."
"I don't wanna. I want to learn magic now. Please teach me how to do magic, master. No matter how hard it is, I can handle it."
"Son, please don't be in such a hurry. The art of magic is much more complicated than it seems."
"Please don't say that, Mrs. Elena. I've grown very old. If one day I go to the next world, I'd like to leave behind at least one healer who knows a simple healing spell."
She's standing on my side in a way that could be considered creepy. She's probably planning to use me to get close to my mom. Like I'd let something like that happen, you deceitful bitch.
"I'm sorry, granny pharmacist, but my son knows nothing about magic. Please tell him how magic is used before he makes a snap decision about his future. He'll probably give up on becoming a magician once he learns how magicians use magic."
What exactly are these women talking about? Is magic really an unpopular profession in this world?
But it shouldn't be. In an ancient world like this, there must be plenty of wars, and in wars, power is indispensable. My guess is that magecraft is a way for people to become stronger.
"I really want to be a magician, mom."
The old witch looked at my mother as if she were happy about my determination.
"There's nothing to be done. If you want to be a magician, then give it a try. But first, remember why we came here. After your examination, let the pharmacist granny give you some information about magic."
"Thank you, mom."
"You're so cute when you say thank you. I wish you'd say thank you more often, sweetie."
Meh... I think I did it somehow.
------- ( after 15 minutes )
This time, the examination was very different from the last one, and it did not involve any magic. I don't know why, but Slphia used her hands to check my body like a normal doctor.
At first, when I saw her examining me with her hands, I thought she had overstepped her boundaries and turned her perverted attention to me. But she examined me normally and told my mother that I was healthy.
After the examination was over, Slphia said she wanted to test my talent for magecraft and taught me a few simple math operations. Fortunately, these math operations were simple things like addition and subtraction from my previous life.
I didn't hesitate to pretend that I knew nothing about math before and to label myself a genius. When Slphia saw that I had learned addition and subtraction in just a few minutes, she told me, with a surprised look on her face, that I was a very talented child in wizardry.
Thanks to Slphia's words, my mother was also convinced that I should become a magician. After a short discussion, we decided that from now on, I would come here 4 days a week in the afternoons and train until the evening.
Since our house is quite close to here, my mother didn't object, and she said she would bring me herself 4 days a week.
"Yuto, could you wait outside for a bit? I'll be right back."
I didn't know how safe it was, but since my instincts told me there was no problem, I went outside and started waiting by the door. I didn't forget to swear that if this witch tried to do anything perverted again, this time my revenge would be merciless.
When Elena saw her son walk out without any trouble, she turned around, the smile wiped from her face.
"Granny pharmacist! Why didn't you just turn him down? Magic isn't something ordinary people like us can do. On top of that, he's only 3 years old, and I thought someone who hasn't turned 5 can't use magic. All this will do is affect my son's future personality in a bad way."
Slphia managed to put on a calming smile, perfectly imitating the expressions of an old woman, but inside she was beginning to feel worried.
"A mature woman like you, Elena, should be calmer, know how to trust the elders, leave herself in the arms of the elders, and enjoy life. He's still a young boy. He should feel what it's like to fail at something and plant the seeds of his own ambition starting today. Besides, I saw a different kind of fire in his eyes. Maybe he really could become a magician."
"Don't make fun of me, Slphia-sama. We're just ordinary villagers. How can the child of an ordinary villager like us succeed in magic, where knowledge is everything?"
"Letting him try won't hurt anyone. Let him struggle a little."
"What's the point of struggling at something he can't succeed at?"
Slphia suddenly lunged forward, grabbed Elena's shoulders, tilted her head, and asked a question in a calmer and heavier tone of voice.
"Elena, may I ask you a question?"
"I don't know why you've gotten so serious, but of course you can."
Elena suddenly saw the pharmacist granny, whom she had known for a long time and who was known as the oldest person in the village, acting worried about her. She was stunned for a moment and blushed, because Elena had always felt as comfortable as a child in front of the pharmacist granny.
But there was one thing Elena was completely wrong about. The only reason for the change in Slphia's tone of voice was that she was looking at the chest of Elena's dress and was having trouble concentrating, and she couldn't remember the sentences she had just decided to say. Of course, it is important to remember that Slphia is an elf who has lived for more than a thousand years. Thanks to her experience, she could at least come up with random words of motivation.
"You know that you're going to die one day, don't you?"
"Yes."
"You'd live a happier life if you forgot the fact that you're going to die one day, wouldn't you?"
"Ughmm."
"Why do you try so hard to live when you know you're going to die 100%? You don't have to answer... Let your son try a little to become a magician. Your son has a chance of succeeding, and he doesn't even know that he has a 99% chance of failing."
Well, maybe her experience wasn't enough, but I don't see a problem as long as Elena is the target.
Elena couldn't really make sense of the old woman's words, but she realized she had been far too harsh toward her son. She herself knew very well that it was effort that made a person human.
In the end, Slphia succeeded in convincing Elena.
------- extra
A few years later
"Master, didn't you use mathematics to measure my talent for magic? Then why are you now saying that talent for magic is nothing but an innate affinity for mana?"
"Ahh, ihhmm... This... is... because... of..."
"You said I have the skill of a master sorcerer just to be close to my mother, didn't you?"
"Actually, it was an aptitude test that no one in the world knows about except me."
"I don't know if you've ever noticed, but you're terrible at lying, master."
"Okay, that's enough of this break. Finish translating the spell book I gave you within one hour. I'm going to get some sleep."
What an amazing level of brazenness... I really hate this bitch.
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