" Hello? Is there someone in there?" I began hesitantly.
"I am a client... I want to buy something!" I said, raising my voice higher.
"Well, well, it looks like there is really no one." I better go now.
Ready to go, I walked out after letting back the dagger.
Since I couldn't buy it, I could only return later if the opportunity arose.
....
- So back to square one.
Should I visit the neighborhood now or after I receive my sword?
-Well… Just a quick stop then...
Around five minutes later, I had already hopped in the first carriage I could get.
Normally this world also had equivalents of mechanical transportation, but I liked taking medieval portages better; it's like finally living your childhood dream. It felt novel.
The neighborhood I was going into is located in the middle of the town, next to the capital city. It was only one hour by carriage from the Royal Academy.
Seeing the rural landscape, I felt oddly relaxed. The place had a lot of trees and flowers, sublimating its beauty. Moreover, you could see the happy folks of the town at their every-day activities: trading, shopping, and so on.
Entering the neighborhood, I hoped down, landing directly on the sidewalk.
Before me stood rows of beautiful aristocratic houses.
From time to time, you could hear the cheerful voices of the children playing with each other. Although it was a rich area, the people were surprisingly welcoming and down-to-earth.
"Hi~miss…" said a little girl around four or five years old, glancing up to me with our big doe eyes.
"Hello there! How are you?" I replied, gently patting her silky brown hair.
"You are so beautiful! Can you become my friend?"
" …well that's…huh…" I hesitated before panicking, seeing the child beginning to tear up.
"No, no, don't cry. Please!" I said panicking. "
Yes! I would like to be your friend very much! In fact, it would be my biggest honor!"
" Really?" She asked, wiping her tears with the back of her chubby hands.
"Yes really!"
"Yeah~ I finally have a pretty friend too... Emily will be green from jealousy when she finds out!" She said, spinning around, her arms spread wide open.
She then stopped, stared at me, and flashed a big, devilish (but cute) grin. "That means you are going to play with me, right?"
"…sure, yes… I have all the time in the world. Hahahaha ha ha." I laughed weakly, discouraged.
Now I could wave goodbye to my mission.
I could only resolve myself to come back on Monday and postpone my precious academic points. (Sniff sniff)
- There is no point in fighting; I always had a soft spot for children….
"So what do you want us to do first?" I asked before realizing I had forgotten something really important: I hadn't asked for her name yet. "Oh, and what's your name?"
"My name? I don't know, but... Everyone call me Mimi!"
"You don't know your name?"
"Nah, I do know my name. I just don't know if I am allowed to tell you," she replied, hesitant. She was now picking at her toes, wiggling uncomfortably.
"Oh, it's okay. Your parents must have told you so, right?"
" Y-yes…"
"It's alright, don't worry. It will be Mimi then, ok?
" Ok! What about you, then?"
" Me? I'm Gorgia, but you can call me Gege ! A special pass just for you." I said, patting her cute little head for one last time.
-it just so fluffy !?
"Nice to meet you, Gege!" She cheerfully acknowledged. "Would you like to go to the old sandbox with me, Gege? It's pretty fun there!"
" Yes. Lead the way."
A few minutes later, I found myself in an old abandoned construction field, the sandbox being a pile of old sand surrounded by bricks.
Calming my facial nerves and twitching crazily, I looked down at the little girl.
"This is the sandbox?"
"Yeah, do you like it? It's my favorite place to hang out with Emily."
"Oh really!? And where is Emily?"
"I don't know... Normally, she is always here waiting for me, but not today, I guess?"
"Oh, okay, "I said. "What do you want to do then? Will you teach me how to play with the…sandbox?"
"We could create a sandcastle? And then we could make it bigger with the help of magic and invite some friends to come over!"
"With magic? Do you know how to do magic?" I asked, surprised.
Normally, children only awaken their magic powers around eight years old, and only a few, the said genius, could muster them one or two years beforehand.
But the little girl looked to be only four.
"No! I definitely can't, but Emily can! She is a formidable mage! Just like you!"
" What!? How did you…"
" Oh! It's because I know a trick! Emily told me that only beautiful people were mage!"
" Ah…hahahaha…really!?" I laughed, amazed by her cute nonsense. "And how old is Emily ? Is she your big sister?"
"No, she isn't …I don't know how old she is; she never told me. But she is a little girl just like me!"
"A little girl, huh?" I uttered pensive.
The more I learned about her story, the more questions I had.
How could, I presume, a child not older than five do magic!? What kind of crazy monster was that?
Moreover, this story about inviting friends when she never talked to any other kids was weird. Because, if I understood correctly, this old field was only frequented by those two girls.
-But just to be sure, I'll ask her...
"And what about your other friends?"
"What other friends? I only have you and Emily."
"The ones you would invite into the big magic castle?"
" Oh! My mini friends? I don't know... They usually appear with the castle. They are magic creatures too!"
If before I wasn't sure about this, now I know that there is definitely something going on... Maybe this trip will lead me to some clues.
« Oh, look! She is here! » the little girl said, pointing something behind me.
I turned around and looked over. In the previously empty place, close to the bushes, stood a young child around Mimi's age.
She had beautiful blonde curls, pretty brown eyes, and pouty lips.
However, she was just a little bit thinner than average and somehow dirty.
She was the polar opposite of the other well-kept little girl.
Looking at 'Emily', my mother instinct instantly activated. I wanted to hug and comfort this visibly poor child. I could only imagine what she had to endure.
Containing my urges, I first walked to her, squatted down at her level, and said:
« Hi! How are you? I'm Gorgia, Mimi's new friend?"
"What!? You took her here?" The child said, shocked and angry. "I told you not to bring anyone here! What if they did-" before stopping.
The child had her guard up, afraid of something. She didn't seem to merely dislike the fact that her friend took another person into their secret hideout.
It was more like she was trying to hide something. Something that nobody else was supposed to know.
-So strange. I thought while standing up.
While I found her behavior suspect, I preferred not to pressure her. Moreover, she was only a child, so I couldn't go too far with her.
" Okay… I think I should go back now. It was a pleasure meeting you two."
"Wait, where do you think you are going? You aren't going out of here alive!"
-What?
Dodging her sneak attacks, I swiftly pulled an anti-poison potion and drank it before activating a protective shield.
The child was presently chanting simultaneously highly poisonous and corrosive spells, sparring no efforts to kill me.
"Tolle eam in unguibus!"
- Fuck!
I dodged again, counting on my stamina to keep me up.
If being a mage gave you a lot of advantages, the physical aspect was surely not one of them.
Fortunately, I had an assassin formation to back me up. I couldn't say I was a master in direct combat, but I wasn't a novice; I knew some tricks.
I ran to the right, doing a fast dance movement, and reached for her shoulder.
Touching her, I extracted a small dose of magic to immobilize her.
She fell, nose first.
"What are you on?"
" No! Don't hurt her." Panicked the other little girl, Mimi. "She was only trying to protect this place!" She cried, terrified.
Before giving my attention to the child, I first attached Emily and made sure she was still under the spell—you could never underestimate your opponent.
"Why would she do that? Is there something special here?"
"It's because... it's not a simple sandbox." Answered Emily at Mimi's place, this one visibly not knowing the reason herself.
"What is it, then?"
"It's a vortex—an ancient magic spell using the souls of living creatures to subsist."
" What!? And why didn't you report that to the blackfaction circle !?
"Don't kid me! There is no way I am going to let those people destroy it! It's my home!"
" What? Are you crazy! That's a vortex! You can't live there!"
"No… I can. As long as it's full enough, I don't fear anything."
"You …what have you done?" I said horrified.