60 58. ink






"I've been thinking... Are you sure?

"Are you sure about what?

Erna questioned me through the white bear.
It was just as Erna was finishing her story about Leo and the girl at Leo's birthday party. I was just getting tired of hearing her talk about how cool her brother was and how beautiful the daughter was.
She suddenly asked me if she was good or bad, and I asked her back. Then, although Erna had brought it up herself, she seemed uncomfortable saying it and muddled her words.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.

Yes, she is.

I don't know.

"What?

I'm not sure why I should be indignant if I just nodded to the fact. I'm not sure what to make of this. She doesn't seem to be satisfied with my reaction, but she won't give me a good reason.
Come to think of it, she was strange a while ago too. For a while, she came to see me, but used the chairman and Porgy as shields while she talked.
The chairperson had a complicated expression on his face, and Pome was moving around so freely that he was being chased by the others. Porgy was the only one who looked lively, like he was on a mission.
What was that all about? Was such a game in vogue? Flora was happily acting as a messenger, so maybe so.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

I'm not sure if she thought it would be a problem if she pointed it out, but she never mentioned the subject of her engagement. But now it seems to be bothering her. But what?

What are you trying to say?

I don't understand even if you say it in a distant way. I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you've.

I'm sure you're not the only one.

What are you talking about?

There isn't a servant in the Duchess of Ernst's household who doesn't care for her. If I answer immediately, Erna gets angry and says, "That's not true.

You'll be able to see that she's a beautiful girl.

You're a pretty girl, so you're pretty.

But if there were other beautiful girls on your sister's level!

"If you're a beautiful girl, you're beautiful too, but you're too bright.

"I don't want an Isak either!

I don't want to be an Isaac!

I'm not going to take any chances with you.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

What did this guy want?
You can find a lot of people who are looking for the best way to get the most out of their life. She still puts her brother first, and she still adores her daughter. She's the princess of this country, right?
Finally, Erna came to the conclusion that I was an idiot, and I spent the rest of the night being called an idiot.


The next day, since it was a holiday, I went to the orphanage of the Merkel Church.
Since it was the off-season and Annika had gone to Daniel's estate, Julian the dog didn't charge me when I stepped into the entrance. It's hot to be grabbed by the hairy Julian in the summer season, but I also feel lonely not to be greeted by his kind eyes.
I'm just a helper for Annika to teach her how to read and write, so I only check the progress of the orphanage children's assignments while she's away. It's a kind of homework for the summer vacation.
Annika gave each child an individual assignment: the younger ones were to write a few letters of the alphabet, and the older ones were to read books according to their literacy level. I admire the way she looks at each child.

"Zaku, what's this called?

"Oh, that's .......

When I told the meaning to a child who couldn't continue reading because he was bothered by a word he couldn't read, he nodded his head in understanding and started reading more. Another child read the book with a rough idea of the meaning, and later asked me to confirm the meaning. I learned that even the way you read a book can show your personality.
The priest of the church told me that donations from the nobility were increasing to the orphanages of other churches.
He said that they don't come to teach directly like Annika, but more and more people donate practical things like blackboards, chalk, and books. When I was invited to a tea party, Ok-sama also said that donations to charity were becoming popular, especially among the ladies. I guess Annika's activities have inspired others.
Father said he would be grateful if this were to continue and not be a temporary thing. I, too, would like to see people other than Annika continue.

By the way, I'd like to take some measurements, when are you free Father?

I thought it would be right after I turned thirteen, but May was the change of season and it was summer while I was replanting flower beds and pulling weeds to prepare for the summer season.
When I told the priest that I wanted to have my magic measured, he took out his pocket watch and checked the time. The pocket watch is provided to the church administrator and serves as proof. In the downtown area, I asked the priest who was in charge of the church to measure the magic power.
After confirming the time, the priest smiled.

Would you like to take the test now, since you're free?

Please.

I nodded, and the priest led me to the chapel of the church. In the chapel, a statue of the first king of the nation of Arbentroth, the founder of the church, stood at a height that overlooked the room. The Merkel Church is a small church in the downtown area, so there is only a podium at the same height as the rows of wooden couches. In a large church, there would be a platform high enough for a choir.
When I reached the podium right under the statue of the founder, the priest told me to wait and went to get something through the door in the corner. A few moments later, he was holding seven rolled up parchments under one arm and a few small items in the other hand.
The priest placed the items he had brought on the podium. The trinkets were a small bottle of ink, a quill, and a small box.



What is your aptitude, Isak?

Water.

"Then this is it.

When asked about his aptitude, the priest unfolded a piece of parchment.
The parchment, which seemed to be blank, had a magic circle about five centimeters in diameter drawn on the bottom center. Apparently, this magic circle was different for each aptitude attribute. There were seven parchments for measurement, meaning that I brought one each of fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, darkness, and light. It's rare to have a parchment with light attribute, but the priest is very disciplined to bring all the attributes.

Can you write your name here?

"Yes.

Write your full name at the bottom of the parchment that the priest assigned you. It feels like a test from a previous life. Perhaps I feel this way because the parchment is about the same size as a test answer sheet.
Most of the common people are not used to writing. And yet, if you tell them to write by themselves, this must be a necessary part of measuring their magical power. Come to think of it, the neighbor who took care of me when I was little boasted that he could write my name, and I think he was about my age now. At the time, it was difficult for me to even read it, so I thought it was purely amazing. Now I know that I learned how to write my own name when I was measuring.
As I carefully wrote my name, taking care not to blot the ink, the priest praised my handwriting, saying it was as beautiful as ever. I felt a little proud and smiled. After Annika had told me that there was nothing to be ashamed of, even if my handwriting was beautiful, I was honestly happy to be praised for it.
Now I know what the ink and pen are for. I wondered what the last little box was for, and I turned my gaze towards it. It seems to be a metal box about the size of a matchbox from a previous life, with a lid that opens to reveal the contents, like a game software case.
When the priest opened the box and took out the contents, he found a needle in his hand. The other end of the needle was not a hole, but a metal ornament that looked like a hook.

"Stick your index finger in, and when it bleeds a little, place your finger on this magic circle.

"Okay.

I nodded and took the needle from the priest.
When I pricked the belly of my index finger with the needle, it bled. I placed the tip of my finger on the parchment where the magic circle was.
Then, the ink of the magic circle bled, and it grew like a rapidly growing tree.

Don't let go until it stops.

Perhaps sensing my surprise, I was warned to keep my finger on the magic circle until the tree stopped growing. I did as I was told, keeping my finger there and following the movement of the ink tree with my eyes. The ink tree that grew from the magic circle grew freely in the parchment, unlike the normal blotting of ink. It was kind of interesting to watch.
After a while, the ink tree finished growing, and a shadow picture of a tree often seen on the street was created. It was barely half the length of the parchment. I guess that's how much magic I have.

"You can take your fingers off now.

As I removed my finger from the parchment, Father took out a small container of ointment from his pocket and applied it to my index finger. Father not only keeps a pocket watch, but also an ointment on hand. The children at the orphanage are healthy, so abrasions must be a common occurrence.
The priest lifted the parchment and looked at the ink tree, then rolled it up and retied the string that held it in place. Then he looked at me and smiled benevolently.

"Finally, can you show me what kind of magic you can do?

The priest adds, "Only if you can.
The common people have magic power, but they have very few opportunities to use it. Only wealthy merchants have expensive magic books, so most of them learn elementary magic by watching others who can use it. Basically, magic is useless to the common people because it has little magic power and drains quickly, and only a few people are interested in it or learn it in their spare time.
Therefore, there is a good chance that the common people do not learn magic even if they have magic power. That is the reason why the priest is adding this information.

"Let's see, .......

I'll think of a spell I can show you right here. If I tell you, you may change the location, but my aptitude is water, so unlike fire and lightning, there is no danger.
For now, I'll try to produce as much water as I can with my magic power and make it float in the air. A lump of water the size of a bowl of water floats a little higher than my head.

This is all I can do with my magic power. The rest, including some water, can be manipulated a bit. ......

As I say this, I turn the lump of water into a mist and move it along with the moisture in the air as I turn my finger. Then a small cloud formed, and another turn of the finger made a hole in the middle, forming a doughnut shape. You can see that water can be manipulated by changing the shape of the cloud.
Once the water magic was sufficient, I broke the spell and gathered the magic of the wind in my palm.

Wind birds can only be about this size, so they can't carry things, right?

I chuckle at the unreliability of a bird the size of a sparrow. It's a shame that wind magic can't even be used as a carrier pigeon to carry letters. It can only be used as a signal to a perceptive mother or Leo.

Even if you put up a membrane of darkness, it can only diminish their presence.

I don't need to fly the wind bird this time, so I'll just break it and switch to dark magic. I'm going to use it for the first time in public, but I wonder if it will work when I'm already exposed.

The fire only lasts for a few seconds, and the light only glows a little warmly when I try it.

If you're not sure what to do, you can always ask your doctor. Perhaps it's because my aptitude is the opposite of yours, but this is quite difficult to do. It's much more efficient to use flint.
It's so rare that I don't know what kind of light magic it is, so I tried to make it glow as the name implies, but I could only make it glow faintly like a firefly. It's a little warm, so you could call it a gentle light, but it's very useless.
Now that I've shown you all this, you'll notice that the rest of the attributes are not suitable for lightning.
I don't want to use lightning because it only gives me a momentary static electricity. Even if you know it's coming, you have to be ready for it. You can read the geology of soil, but you can only tell whether it's acidic or alkaline, and its aptitude is much less accurate than your father's.


In any case, the magic that can be used is too feeble to prove. I have an image that churches are places where lying is not allowed, so if you can't show it, can you just explain it?

"...... Father?

I looked at the priest, wondering what to do, and saw that his smile had disappeared and his mouth was half open. I tilted my head at the first expression I saw on the priest's face.

I tilted my head at the first expression I saw on the priest's face, "............, um, did you chant the spell?

Yes. I have a spirit to assist me, so I don't need to.

Have you tried to see if you can use other attributes ......?

Yes. I was wondering how much is less than aptitude.

When I answered him honestly and quietly, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. Then he looked at me straight in the eye.

I'm not sure what to make of that.

It's my duty to report to the Ministry of Magic, including confirmation of available magic," he said, smiling weakly. I don't think I've seen him this surprised since the first tea party with Ok-sama.
But the priest was kind enough to explain the reason without deceiving me.

"I understand.

So I nodded. It's not just you, but also Leo and Belle, who already know how to cast magic without magical power and use magic with attributes other than the proper ones. Belle even happily reports the results of her magic verification every time she sends flowers to the girl. I'm just a commoner, and the magic I can use is all pretty crappy, so it won't be much of a problem.
I decided to take my time and wait for the results.


The season is over, the ladies have returned from the duchy, and autumn has arrived.
The flowers that Leo sends to the ladies are now mainly autumn roses, I feel when I see that Belle, the messenger, is carrying them. Since we talked about the color of the flame, Belle has been doing most of the work of delivering the flowers on Leo's behalf.
Since then, Remius has come twice. Once in early spring and once last week. He came to report with a smug look on his face when the color of the fire he could produce changed to yellow and when it changed to white. In the spring, he used a fire spell before handing over the flowers, so he burned the flowers he was supposed to hand over and was scolded by the lady.
Regardless of the scolding, Remius, who is able to raise the temperature of the fire to the point where it changes color once every six months, seems to be making an effort worthy of his achievement. Belle, who doesn't often praise Remias, was impressed with his ability to control magic, something he's not very good at, so he must be doing pretty well. At this rate, he may come back in half a year with a different color and a different face.

Isn't Isak also bad at fire?

"Yeah. I don't want to use it too much because it's too hard.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. I've heard that Bell has been experimenting lately to see how well he can use magic with attributes other than his own.

I'm not sure if it's because I have a strong impression that Remius used it like an idiot.

Maybe.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it. I think so, but Bell seems to be frustrated by it and tries to find out the reason with a difficult expression (Kao).
I could tell that she really liked magic, and I laughed while I was talking to her.
When I looked next to her, I saw her sitting on a bench on the inner wall of the pavilion, staring at me with dissatisfaction.

...... Looks like you're having fun.

Was it boring?

Boring is ...... because we talk about things that only the two of us can understand.

I asked if the topic of Belle and I was boring to the young lady, but it wasn't that she wasn't interested in talking about witchcraft. I agree with the reason why the young lady is stripped. It seems that the lightning-attribute girl felt alienated because I talked about sensory things that can only be shared between people with the same aptitude.

I'm sorry I left you out.

When I apologized by stroking her pale blond hair, she blushed and peeled her cheeks further.

I'm sure you're not the only one who thinks that. ...... You're treating me like a child!

Yeah.

I thought I apologized in a normal way, but she got angry. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this. Girls who are starting to get older are difficult.
Thinking about how to apologize, I remembered something I had in the pocket of my winter jacket. I take it out and hold it out to the girl.

"I'm sorry.

"Is this a ...... rose?

The girl's pale blue eyes widen as she sees what looks like a large yellow rose.

I made it out of gingko leaves. I wasn't sure whether to give it to you or not because it doesn't last long. ......

Isak is very good with his hands.

I thought the falling gingko looked like petals, so I did it.

I thought the falling ginkgo looked like petals, so I did it.
When I was sweeping up the fallen leaves, I saw yellow leaves fluttering down from above, similar to the falling of cherry blossoms. So I gathered up the beautiful leaves and put them together like a flower, but since they were fallen leaves, they would wither and fade away after a while.
I kept it in my pocket, wondering if it would be a good idea to give her something that would decay.
I received it, but the young lady did not respond. When I looked into her face, she was frozen, staring at the gingko rose. I wonder if she's angry or disgusted.

"...... Why did you give this to me?

When he asked me why I gave it to him, I answered honestly.

"Because I like yellow roses.

Autumn roses tend to be darker and more subdued. That's why the autumn rose Leo gave to the young lady was also in the red family. As I like yellow roses, including their fragrance, I wanted to see a yellow rose. This may be the reason why I felt that the petals looked like falling gingko trees. I couldn't recreate the fragrance, but I think it turned out to be nice and rose-like.


A rose is not my style, so when I finished it, I thought of my daughter. I thought it would look good if she had it, and she did.
I thought it would look good on her, and it did. At my answer, she rolled her eyes and smiled at me.

So, give me something that Zaku likes: ......

I couldn't quite pick up her mumbling, but she seemed pleased. I patted her on the chest, relieved.

I'll take good care of it.

As she said this, I was puzzled as she carefully wrapped the gingko rose in her hands.

"But...

"But," she says, "all flowers fall. Why do you say that because the leaves wither?

I was surprised to see her asserting that this was no reason not to cherish it. It was something I made on the spur of the moment, but I'm so happy that she's taking good care of it.

"You're so cool, girl.

The girl raises her eyebrows in contrast to my sullen expression.

"Why are you like that, ......?

I can't figure it out," she wrote on her face. I remembered that she didn't like to be called "cool". But I don't know any better compliment than that.
I'm not sure I was able to make up for upsetting her, but she accepted my apology. But the misunderstanding that I treated her like a child has not been cleared up. Thinking about what to do, I remembered my promise.

"Miss, can I have a rainbow as a birthday present this year?

"Sure, but ......, what is it? Suddenly.

The girl, who was suddenly asked about the gift, looked dubious, but agreed.

You promised to show me the rainbow at night.

I wonder if she remembers that I promised to show it to her when she was older. It was a few years ago, so she might not remember. I said it because I thought it would be a good proof that I wasn't treating her like a child, but after I said it, I realized that I hadn't taken into account the possibility that she might have forgotten.
It was an unfounded fear. I see her pale blue eyes widen and glitter with anticipation.

"......

"What is the principle behind rainbows at night when there is little light source?

Before the young lady could say anything, Bell asked a curious question. Her eyes were shining and her interest was evident. She seems to want to be there.

"Me too, .......

No, sir.

No.

As I expected, the lady and I dismissed Bell's wish to sit in at about the same time. The lady seemed surprised that I had refused, unlike me who had anticipated it.

It's not good for Belle to be at Leo's fiancée's house so late at night.

Oh, ......, you're right.

When she remembered that Leo had given her an excuse to be here, she shushed him and apologized for her rashness. Bell has a habit of not caring about his surroundings when he gets heated. However, when she comes back to herself, she can't help but smile at the sight of her red hair wilting. He's not a bad guy, really.

You can't be the same. ......

At that time, I was dealing with Belle, who was begging me to at least tell her the principle, and I didn't notice her murmur.