LILIA HELSTEA
I was shopping with Mommy and Lady Alice and Ellie.
Ellie seemed a little
bit disappointed that her brother didn't want to join us, so I was holding her
hand to comfort her.
"Ellie, do you like your big brother that much?"
"Yes! But he's a meanie for not shopping with us. I wanted to dress him up
more," she pouted.
"Who do you like better, me or your big brother?"
After thinking for some time, she responded, "I like you both."
"What are you girls talking about?" my mom asked, pulling my other hand.
"Lilia, what do you think of Arthur?"
"He's a little scary. How is he so strong, Mommy? I thought kids like us
couldn't be mages until we're all grown up." It wasn't fair. I had always
dreamed of becoming a mage and making Mommy and Papa happy.
"I guess it's because he's a very gifted child," Mommy said. Then she looked
at Lady Alice, and seemed to forget about me. "Alice, do you really have no
problems with everything he told you? I don't mean to overstep, but doesn't
it seem just a little weird? You told me he was good at fighting even before
the bandit attack, but how did he get so powerful during the time he was
away?"
I saw Lady Alice shake her head. "Of course I know he's hiding a lot of things. He probably doesn't realize it, but it's pretty obvious when he's lying.
He tends to focus his gaze on one point and his voice turns monotone when
he lies. It's pretty cute, how he thinks he's being sneaky." She sighed.
"Tabitha, I know he's keeping things from us and so does Rey, but we agreed
to give him some space until he's comfortable enough to tell us himself. I
guess that's just what it means to be a parent. I know he doesn't mean any
harm, so all we can do is just support him until he's ready."
"Lying is bad," Ellie declared.
I agreed with her on that. "Yeah, Ellie. Lying is bad!"
ARTHUR LEYWIN
I start concentrating on my mana core, but I was distracted by a series of
inexplicable sneezes. I was getting impatient with my training. I was eager
reach the level I'd been at in my past life, but that wasn't happening as
quickly as I wanted it to.
The fight with Director Goodsky had made it all too real for me. I was too inexperienced and weak. It hadn't really affected me until now, but I wasn't
used to fighting the way mages fought in this world. The fact that there was nothing like conjurers in my previous world made fighting one a lot more
difficult.
My concentration wavered as my mind flashed back to my past life. The
scene on that foggy night when the head caretaker of the orphanage, the
closest thing to a mother figure I'd had, had been shot. I had been young, but
thinking back on it, that was probably the reason I had started training like a
madman. Headmaster Wilbeck had picked me off the streets, giving me a
steamed bun. After that, she took care of me, taught me how to read and
write, scolded me, and taught me basic manners. And then they had killed
her.
I hadn't wanted to become a king; I'd just wanted to be strong enough to kill
the ones responsible for the death of the person who had taken care of me—who had loved me. It was never as simple as that, though.
Eventually, I learned that the ones responsible for killing the headmaster were
agents from another
country, on a mission to find certain special individuals.
Several other headmasters were also murdered, becoming martyrs in a secret
war. Unfortunately, I wasn't to discover the truth of this until it was much too
late.
I had realized then that no matter how powerful an individual was, he was
still just one person. I needed authority along with my strength. Becoming
king, then, served that purpose. The first thing I had done when I was
appointed king was avenge Headmaster Wilbeck's death. I obliterated the
organization responsible and laid waste to the country that had sent them. I'd
bloodied my hands with the corpses of hundreds of thousands of soldiers—
millions all together. The cruel truth, though, was that no matter what kind of
revenge I took, it didn't change what had happened. Headmaster Wilbeck had
still died an unjust death. Worse, in my quest for vengeance, the blood of the
only people who'd still mattered to me had been spilt, leaving me alone in a
large and bleak world.
This life was going to be different. I wasn't going to let the ones I treasured
suffer.
Sylvie nudged me with her wet nose, her concerned gaze fixed on my eyes as
if to say, 'I'm here, feel better.'
Petting her head, I stirred myself out of my unpleasant memories.
I washed myself off, laughing at the crying Sylvie, who still hated getting
wet. I was glad I had her by my side. It wasn't healthy for me to be alone
with my thoughts for too long.
The ladies came back from their shopping trip just as I finished dressing. I
hopped down the stairs to greet them.
"Hmph! Brother is a meanie!" My sister just puckered her lower lip with her
arms crossed.
"Because I didn't go shopping with you, Ellie? I'm sorry."
I patted her turned head, and she tensed her face as she forced herself to keep from smiling.
"How was shopping, Mom, Lady Tabitha? Did you get a lot of stuff?" I
asked, my hand still on my sister's head.
"Not much, just a few new outfits for Ellie and Lilia," my mother responded.
I heard a storm of footsteps coming toward us.
Vincent arrived beside us, his
excitement obvious. His eyes were a little red and he couldn't contain the
smile on his face.
"You're finally here!" He picked up his daughter and kissed her cheek.
"Honey, why are you so flustered? Have you been crying? What is going
on?" Tabitha looked bewildered. I couldn't blame her for being confused and
worried; Vince did look a little crazy.
"You didn't tell them yet, Arthur?" He faced me, the goofy smile still pasted
on his face.
Shaking my head, I said, "I was about to. I just got down as well."
"Tell us what, baby?" My mother looked concerned. Mothers never liked not
knowing what was going on.
"Vincent and I were talking about teaching Ellie and Lilia mana
manipulation, starting today. Of course, only if Lady Tabitha is okay with it."
Tabitha shook her head, looking at her husband. "Wait. Is this some sort of
prank? If it is, it's not funny."
"No, ma'am. I know neither you nor Sir Vincent are mages, but it is possible
for Lilia to become one." I gave her a sincere look.
"I've never heard of a method for teaching someone mana manipulation. I've
been taught that it's up to the child's innate talent to awaken by itself. Why
haven't I heard of anyone else teaching children?"
It was hard to convince Tabitha that Lilia could become a mage; she was
more skeptical than Vincent had been. I didn't blame her, though. Vincent
hadn't even questioned me, which was surprising. The biggest worry for a
mother of a noble family was the future of her children, and in a society
where mages were the elites, the Helstea lineage, no matter how rich they were, would earn more than a few looks of pity.
"I've never heard of it either, Art. How do you plan on doing this?" my
mother asked quizzically.
"Mom, remember how I awakened at the age of three? Well, I can still
remember what happened and why it worked. So I'm going to do to them
what I did on myself. I'll have to test them before I can even start—but for
Ellie, I'm a hundred percent sure she'll be able awaken, and for Lilia, around
seventy percent," I answered. The probability was higher than that for Lilia,
but I didn't want to get their hopes up too much.
There was still a chance she
wouldn't be able to awaken.
"Heavens. This… this is… Give me a minute. I need to sit down." Tabitha's
knees were wobbling as she made her way to the couch.
"This isn't going to be an instant thing. It'll take a few years for them to
awaken on their own even after I teach them."
The Helstea parents just nodded at this, so I turned toward the confused faces
of Lilia and Ellie.
"Ellie, Lilia, can you go sit down on the floor over by the fireplace?" I
instructed, guiding them into the living room. "I want you both to sit in your
most comfortable position, back to back. Leave some space so I can sit in
between."
Ellie was still a little clueless as to what was going on, but Lilia had gotten
the gist of what was happening, and I could see the determined look on her
face. Ellie sat down with her legs stuck out in front of her, while Lilia sat in a
more ladylike position, her legs tucked to her left side.
"Now, before I do anything, I want you both to close your eyes and
concentrate. If you try really hard, you'll be able see some spots of light. Do
you see it?" I placed myself between them now. Tabitha, Vincent, and my
mother were all staring intently.
"No… I don't really see anything," I heard Lilia murmur. I had expected as
much, but I caught looks of panic on the adults' faces. Ignoring them, I turned to my sister and asked her the same thing. I was confident she would
be able to see the light, but wasn't sure she would recognize what to actually
look for.
But she replied, "Brother, I think I see a small pretty light!"
The next step involved something that only I was capable of doing. I had to
will the mana of all four elemental attributes into their bodies at once. By
doing this, they would be able to more clearly see the specks of mana
scattered throughout their bodies.
Because the mana in their bodies was in its
undeveloped form, not yet in a mana core, all four elements needed to be
delivered at the same intensity to trigger a response from the dormant mana
inside them.
"I'm going to start now. You may feel a little feverish, but I want you to
endure it and just focus on the specks of light." As I spoke, I placed a hand on
each girl's back and willed my quadra-elemental mana into them.
Lilia and Ellie both let out little yelps of surprise.
"I think I see the lights!" exclaimed Lilia. "They're so pretty."
"Wow! So many!" echoed my little sister.
"Now, this part is important. I'm going to help you, but your job is to try and
connect all of the little lights, all right? Do you understand, Ellie? Pretend
that all the little lights are friends and they need to be together.
Can you do
that for me, Ellie?" This was the trickiest and lengthiest part, and I had to
make sure they understood what to do.
"I think I get it," Lilia said, and Ellie added, "The lights are friends? Okay!"
I remained in my position for over an hour to trigger the dormant mana in
their bodies, at least to the point that the specks would be visible enough for
them to manipulate and gather.
Then, taking a deep breath, I removed my hands from their backs, instructing
them to continue gathering the little lights until the lights disappeared.
"How is it? Do you think Lilia will be able to become a mage?" Both Helstea
parents were a mess. They were clearly anxious, and Vincent was nervously chewing on a fingernail. I looked at my mother; even she had a hint of
uneasiness in her eyes.
I responded with a wide smile. "Don't worry. They should both awaken as
mages within a few years. My plan is to do this with them every day for the
few months that I'll be home. By then, they should be capable of training on
their own to form a mana c—"
Tabitha didn't even let me finish; she swept me up into a big hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! My baby will be able to learn magic! Oh, my
goodness—I was so worried what her future would be, since neither of us are
mages. Oh! Thank you so much, Arthur."
Tears were streaming down Vincent's face, and he kept his gaze on his
daughter as she meditated. My mother patted my head silently, giving me a
proud smile.
It wasn't as big a deal for Ellie to become a mage, since our whole family could use magic. The chances of her never awakening would have been slim
to none even if I hadn't done anything; I was just speeding up the process.
My thinking was, the faster she learned magic, the faster she'd be able to
protect herself.
The two girls lasted a few hours before the mana I had exerted dispersed
from their bodies. Surprisingly, Lilia lasted longer than Ellie. She had more
willpower than my four-year-old sister.
My father came home from the Guild Hall shortly thereafter and was ecstatic
that the Helstea family was going to have its first mage.
Picking up Eleanor and rubbing his beard on her cheek, my father cooed,
"My little baby is going to be strong like her older brother! But promise me
you won't be stronger than Father, okay? Or he'll be very sad."
My mother laughed at this and my sister just giggled, pushing Father's face
away. "Papa! Your beard tickles. Stop!"
We had a wonderful dinner party that night. Vincent and Tabitha went all out
on the delicacies, leaving my mouth watering. Sylv drooled right next to me.The night ended with everyone merry, Vincent going around offering drinks
to even the maids and butlers.
The following days consisted of me condensing my mana core and my
elemental skills, along with my dragon-will powers. This was a mind-
numbingly slow process, and I felt myself stagnating because of the lack of
stimulation.
I spent a few days during the week sparring with Father, but I could tell he
was afraid of hurting me, always holding back even when it was unnecessary.
Aside from my training, I spent a couple of hours every day watching over
my sister and Lilia while they continued on their journey to form their cores.
It was a strenuous process, and I could see that my sister was a bit more
impatient with the training, so I did my best to help her through it by making
games out of it.
I also tried talking to my mother about her abilities as an emitter. I asked how
she had learned it and trained in it when there were so few emitters, but she
only smiled at me mysteriously, saying a woman needed to have a few
secrets of her own.
I made a note to ask her again when she was feeling less secretive . Two weeks before my birthday and the start of my career as an adventurer, I
was startled one afternoon by loud, obnoxious knocks on the front door.
When I opened the door and saw the all-too-familiar faces on the step, I
couldn't hold back my smile.