„I believe that you were born with a high mental age and don't have a high magic aptitude."
I looked at him questioningly.
"Do you know about mana age?"
I nodded.
"It is rare but sometimes the mental age isn't defined by the magic aptitude, but the child is born with a higher mental age. You did not have the symptoms for a high magic aptitude, nor did you train excessive."
-I'm not sure if I'm lucky or out of luck. –
"What symptoms?"
"Normally when a child has a high magic aptitude then their body cannot manage the mana inside it, so the children get a fever.
"There are there methods to counter it. First excessive training to use the mana inside the body up that it cannot handle, the second would be a mana absorbing artifact which balances the mana inside the body. The last and uncommonest is to ask another person to deplete the mana inside one's body.
Because I suspect you to have been born with a higher mental age. That makes it impossible to test you in conventional way. This phenomenon is rather rare so there is not a defined method to accurately measure your mana age. The only possibility would be to regularly test you on your mental age, but that would be expensive."
-Hehe, I'm still not sure if I'm lucky or not. In reality I train a lot, but I also have a high magic aptitude so why didn't I fall sick? –
"I will inform your father about this. Farwell until next week."
"Thanks, farewell until next week." I made a curtsey.
-Could it be because of Accumulation? I did suspect it to be the cause that I didn't have any impurities. –
I closed my eyes and concentrated on Accumulation
-It takes the mana grains from the air then helps them course through my body. It takes them to every part of my body. Accumulation exchanges the new mana grains with the old ones which have a dimmer blue glow. Then it transports them out. Hmm my theory would be that Accumulation helps the mana get to everywhere in my body equally and exchange it with new mana grains when the old ones… Don't have enough energy left and absorbed impurities? Could this theory be legitimate? My body is rather mature for a soon to be three-year-old and I'm rather pretty. Could that be a side effect? I just hope that I don't grow into a giantess.
This theory of Mr. Cacklemi isn't too bad, but I now have a new problem. I do have great magical aptitude how should I explain that? I don't have to worry about a mental age test, but I now have to worry on how I should explain my magical talent without falling sick. I have one headache after the other.
I could ask Anthony about this, he knows about my magical talent already anyways. He should be around here somewhere. –
I started looking around.
-I'm not sure if I rely on him to much. He helps me with my dagger training and knows that I am talented with magic. I really wonder why he isn't freaked out by me. I'm good with daggers, am intelligent, and have a high magic aptitude. I probably should be wary of him but it's really helpful to have an ally. Maybe he thinks like me and wants a strong ally? The best way to get a strong ally is to help hardworking and talented individuals when thy are week, so that they repay/help you when they are strong. Hahhh overthinking doesn't get me anywhere and it's too late for regrets... Found him.
He's sparing with some man, probably a knight. I wonder if I'd annoy him if I would interrupt the sparing? Probably better to wait. Zero record his movements. Never miss an opportunity to collect data. –
[Start collecting data.]
I waited some distance away and watched their match.
[Anthony is quite good to hold his ground against a veteran. The knight is probably around 40 years old and most likely trained since he was 6, it's just a guess tough. But that would make 34 of sword fighting experience. Anthony has 10 years. He isn't praised as a weapon genius without reason.]
…
In the end Anthony lost. But it was obvious that the knight took him as a serious opponent he couldn't go easy on.
"You improved again, if you continue on like this then you'll defeat me soon."
"Don't make it sound easy to defeat you."
"Hahah, with your talent it's easy."
Anthony's face stiffened for a second.
-Ouch, that was his sour spot. Anthony trains like crazy. The only time he doesn't train is when he learns battle strategy or magic. And that's only in the evening. You really shouldn't measure ones skills only on ones talent. –
I walked over to him "Anthony you really improved your hand foot coordination."
"The exercise you told me helped a lot."
"And you are, little missy?"
I turned to him and made a curtsey." Naomi Agami. A pleasure to meet you Sire Frederik." I had Zero identify him.
He seemly became uncomfortable to not know the daughter of the house but for me to know him.
"Y.. Yes. Do you train in some weapon too?"
"Yes, I train with a dagger. I am unable to handle any bigger weapons for the time being."
"I see… If you need anything you can always aske me. I will leave then."
He walks away.
"Pfff, he even started to talk politely."
"It doesn't fit him."
"Anthony, I have a problem I need your help with."
I told him about Mr. Cacklemi's exercise and theory.
…
"I also think that you were born with a higher mental age, but you still have a high magic aptitude. It was a god move not to show him how good you really are, but it would be problematic if he keeps believing that you have a poor magic aptitude. How attentive is your tutor?"
"Hmmm, I don't think he pays close attention to me."
"Then it could work, follow me."
"Where are we going and what could work?"
"To my room. When I was little, I needed such an amulet to balance the mana in my body, I'll give it to you but if your tutor was an attentive person then he would notice that you didn't wear it before."
With that we walk to his room.
***
-His room reflects oddly accurate his personality. –
In his room where different weapons on the walls or in shelfs. He did have one bookshelf with mostly strategy books, at the bottom were some magic related books. The room was really tidy.
-I wonder if he has an obsession with cleaning? –
"Anthony why do you have books in your room when we have a library? –
"Because I specifically asked for them. –
"Why do you have so many weapons in your room? –
"Because I got them as presents, they're also a better quality as the ones at the storage."
-Whoa, that're some pretty daggers. –
I spotted a pair of light-blue daggers with black engravements. They had a curved blade. And the hilt was wrapped in black leather.
-Huh, I think they emit magic. –
I closed my eyes and tried to sense. I started feeling the man grains around me, and they were concentrated around the daggers.
Anthony noticed me staring at them and went behind me.
"I got them when I was a child. They are the best quality weapons I have. Sadly, I prefer to fight with a sword, so they are degraded to collecting dust and being admired."
I got startled when he suddenly started talking right behind me. I was way to focused on the daggers to have noticed him coming close.
"Anyway, I found for what I was looking."
"It'd be rather weird if you didn't find it in this tidy room."
"I don't keep it clean for no reason. Here put it on and try to not show it of too much, not that it gets found out that you only have it since today."
He gave me a delicate bracelet.
"Thanks. I'll try my best to not brag about it." I grinned at him.
"Why would you brag about an old second-hand bracelet?"
"Because it's the first thing my dear older brother gifted me."
"Maybe is should have gifted you something better for the first time?"
"It's already to late for regrets, but I'm plenty happy with this bracelet. It's beautiful and helps me with my problem."
He smiled at me.
"Alright, let's go back to the trainings ground, you don't have any more lessons for today, right?"
"Yes, are you implying that you'll teach me?"
He looked at me and walked to the trainings ground I followed him
"Sometimes I wonder how you now practical exercises to train specific aspects of swordplay but have problems with them yourself."
-I can't really tell him that I had Zero made them. –
"Um, I didn't had time to train with them."
-He probably didn't buy my excuse. –