Ryota explored regions with his magic and recorded information about some things.
As for Kotaro, it was not known what he was thinking. Sometimes they passed by some beggars who used the ruins as a place to sleep and to keep from the cold. Kotaro was watching them with an expressionless look as he continued walking, but among one of the groups a little girl caught his attention a little.
She was characterized by cute and soft features, and a gentle smile. The strange thing about her was the color of her gray hair, and it was a little short, and then she was wearing a simple and worn out dress, other than that she was distinguished by nothing else.
She was playing and jumping with her little brother while her parents leaned on the remains of an old house wall, watching them with a smile.
Happy moment for a simple family.
But what caught Kotaro's attention was not this, but that the girl unexpectedly belonged to the 50 percent of the people who could control mana. And Kotaro could feel it just like Cesar had done to them before. This meant that she would have the chance to be a mage in the future, but achieving that wasn't easy. Back in Kotaro, Akina and Ryota, had it not been for Uncle Cesar, not only would they know that they could control their mana but also none of them would have known about the existence of magic from the beginning.
This little girl may have an advantage over the three, which is that she was not born in the isolated Pace city and knows about magic and other things, but without a basis and reference to rely on, at most she will stop at the Higher D level, and that's only if she's lucky and can actually become a mage.
Kotaro continued his search and found that this girl is the only one in the area who can control mana. This was a rare occurrence.
"What should I do now?" Kotaro thought carefully and the more he did the more he became interested in this little girl and wanted to help her, but he didn't know how that would happen.
The option to take it with them was also not available. First, he would never cause a child to be separated from his mother, and secondly, he did not want to implicate her in his goal and what problems this would bring for her if she stayed with them.
"Akina! Ryota! Pause a bit. We'll stay here today." Kotaro stopped abruptly after an idea flashed through his mind.
"What's up Kotaro? Do you want to take a break?" Ryota was a little surprised, it wasn't Kotaro's custom to rest before nightfall.
"No, we will stay here tonight and continue tomorrow," Kotaro replied.
"But isn't it a little early? We still have more than 8 hours for sunset." Akina also found Kotaro's request strange.
"I know this. Find a place to sleep and I'll come to you. I'll do something and then come back." Kotaro left this sentence without explaining anything and left. His destination was the place where he glimpsed the little girl with her family.
Kotaro arrived and stood in front of the group and gently greeted them: "Hello!".
"....hey boy, can we help you with something?" The parents realized and were surprised by the unexpected sound, who is this strange person? Then the father got up and humbly greeted Kotaro.
"Yes, can I speak to you and your wife alone? Please," Kotaro asked.
"...", the parents were puzzled again. Where did this young man suddenly come from?
"Oh boy!You're not one of our group, are you? Looking at your clothes, it looks like you're one of the voyagers going to the city of magic."
"You're right, but will you please listen to me. It's about your daughter." Kotaro continued to speak, mentioning the girl on purpose to get the parents' attention more.
"Hmm?...come from here." Although the parents were aware that Kotaro might be deceiving them, hearing their daughter's name left them helpless and they decided to take the risk of listening to him.
"Uncle! Aunt! You seem to already know that I am a mage, so I won't make it any longer."
"You two are supposed to know about people who can control mana and who represent half of the world's population, and if a human is born with this trait, it means that he has a chance to become a mage in the future."
"Yes." The parents nodded and continued to listen.
"When I was just passing by with my friends in this area, I sensed something familiar to me or, more correctly, something familiar to any mage. It was someone who could control mana, and that person was that little girl, your daughter I think," Kotaro explained, pointing to the little girl, He added: "Your daughter has a chance to become a mage, but...it would be a little difficult without the guidance of another mage, so I want your permission to train her."
"I'll guide her for just one day, and then she'll have to go on on her own."
"Boy! What is this nonsense you are saying? How can my daughter be one of those who can control mana and all the generations of my family, past and present, we've never had any mage before?" Kotaro finished and immediately the father exploded in anger.
"Do you want to take my daughter to sell her in the slave market since you are going to the city of magic, or what? You really thought we would believe this trick" was the mother who spoke after that.
Kotaro remained silent while listening to the parents' accusations against him. He did not blame them, and they had the right to lie. In fact, he was expecting something like this so he prepared in case of such a reaction.
"Good! Since you two are done, will you allow me to speak too?" Kotaro rubbed his chin and still addressed the parents in a polite manner.
But suddenly his expression changed. The smiling face a while ago turned cold at once, his aura surged, not releasing his magic but his murderous intent engulfed the place and stifled the air. Kotaro raised his head and his eyes met like an abyss with the parents' eyes: "Then...how do you want to die?"
"...", Out of fear or not being able to speak, the parents stiffened in place and did not utter a word.
Are they really going to die that simple, just because someone wanted to? That was what the two of them thought at this moment.
"Now, are you telling me that I came all that way and wasted my time justifying my goal to you two even though I could crush you both here and now or anytime I want and take your daughter before you even know it?"
"Do you really think I need to do all this in my case?"
The father and mother looked at each other and each saw the fear and frown on the other's face.
Kotaro continued suppressing the parents for a few seconds before adjusting his aura. The two of them couldn't take it any longer.
"Hoooh…" The two let out a breath of relief, if Kotaro had taken it so long, they would have both wet themselves at that age.
"Don't worry, I'm not someone who relies on his strength to bully others. I'm really honest about your daughter's education...please" Kotaro did everything he could to convince the two of them, and if they don't agree this time, he'll back down.
"...what do we do, Kenta-kun?" The mother's thoughts were complicated and as a mother she was more sensitive than the father about her daughter's fate so she wanted to listen to her husband's thoughts.
"Frankly, I do not find fault with what this young man said, and as he mentioned, if he had a bad intention, he would have been able to kill everyone here without any effort, so I suggest that we agree to his request."
"Also, if what he said about Mira is true, wouldn't this be a chance for a better future, instead of ending up living a life of beggary like us. To become a mage, even if she is of a low level, she will at least find an acceptable job within Magic City without mentioning other advantages." The father looked optimistically at his wife.