Chapter 29: Disappointment from Mom
“Learning magic is no walk in the park, especially for someone like Yake whose talents aren’t exactly stellar. While someone like Aierjisi can master a spell in three minutes, it might take him three days of struggling just to grasp the basics.”
“Starting with such a complicated spell is not a good idea for you. Let’s work on something foundational like Physical Enhancement first.”
Watching Yake struggle with his feeble floating magic, Aierjisi could only advise him to begin with Physical Enhancement to lay a solid foundation before diving into more advanced spells.
Unfortunately, Yake had to follow Aierjisi’s carefully crafted training plan, mastering simple magic like body enhancement for now.
“I feel like just learning this Physical Enhancement is already enough for me.”
Waving his fists, Yake believed he was invincible now. Even if he could only choose between strength or speed for each enhancement, he was confident he could wipe out any thieves all by himself.
“Is that so? Well, you could also focus on maxing out your Physical Enhancement. It would definitely help you. I’ve seen mages who max out Physical Enhancement and then slice their foes to bits with a sword.”
It’s true that magic was the main weapon of mages, but there were always exceptions in this world. Aierjisi once witnessed a hybrid mage of a nightmare and a human, who, despite having profound magical abilities, preferred to pull out a sword from their staff and rush in to take out opponents in a flash.
“And, this is for you. It’s been modified.”
Aierjisi tossed Yake the sword she had retrieved from the ruins. Since it was an ancient artifact that might harbor a curse, she made some modifications, turning it into a Magic Device.
“Oh? It’s already modified? How do I use it?”
Yake swung the sword a couple of times; it felt just as light as before, leaving him puzzled about what Aierjisi had actually changed.
“Try pouring your magic power into it.”
“Oh…”
Following Aierjisi’s instructions, Yake gathered his magic power into his hand and infused it into the sword. As the magic flowed in, the blade began to glow.
“Good, that’s about enough. Now, swing the sword and see what happens.”
Seeing that the magic infusion was complete, Aierjisi quickly directed him to a stone-filled house and instructed him to swing the sword at it.
“Alright!”
Yake aimed at the pile of stones and swung the sword. A curved wave of energy shot out, demolishing the stones into smaller fragments.
“Whoa, this is amazing! Just infusing my magic creates such a powerful attack!”
Yake was shocked by the sheer power. If only he had gotten something like this sooner, he could have ranked higher in the Adventurers Guild!
“Hmm. It seems my modifications worked well, producing this kind of performance.”
Aierjisi looked at the pile of rubble, feeling satisfied that she had made good progress in training Yake. It was time to prepare to search for Harker in another city. Even if she couldn’t restore the glory of the Blood Clan, she was determined to make Harker, the traitor, pay dearly.
“Yake, if there’s nothing else, I’m heading back now. You can continue practicing here alone if you wish.”
“Eh? You’re heading back alone today? We usually go back together after I finish practicing.”
“Well, you’re capable of handling things on your own now, so there’s no need for me to stick around. Plus, I have some personal matters to deal with.”
“I see. I’ll practice a bit longer then. I’ll return before sunset.”
“Suit yourself. I’ll take my leave now.”
Leaving Yake behind in the wild, Aierjisi headed back to the small town alone.
“Well, if it isn’t little Aier! Why are you by yourself today? Where’s Yake?”
Upon returning to Yake’s home, Reina saw Aierjisi alone and was curious about Yake’s absence.
“Yake’s still out there practicing. He’s capable enough now to manage solo, so I came back first.”
Aierjisi explained Yake’s current situation to Reina.
“Yake really needs to get his act together. I’ll have a good chat with him later. By the way, little Aier, do you want something to eat? How about some grilled honey cakes?”
Reina made a perplexing comment and then asked Aierjisi if she wanted anything to eat.
“N-No… I’ll pass today. I need to go upstairs alone for some things I want to handle privately.”
“Alright… then make sure to rest well.”
As Aierjisi ascended the stairs, Reina reminded her to take care.
“Ugh…”
Back in the room she shared with Yake, Aierjisi lay on the bed, closed her eyes, and tried to enter her consciousness space. There was something she needed to address.
“What are these fragments of memories? Have I forgotten something really important?”
Gazing at the shattered memories, Aierjisi wore a pained expression. The fragmented memories were inaccessible, much like a corrupted storage card that couldn’t reveal its contents. To understand what these memories held, Aierjisi had to gather the broken pieces and reassemble them into a complete memory. Considering that they might be crucial, Aierjisi often ventured into her consciousness space while sleeping to search for fragments and piece them together.
However… at this rate, she had barely managed to collect less than a third. She had no idea how long it would take to complete, but Aierjisi could only push through. After all, memories were terribly important.
“I’m back! Xier, I brought back cake! Want some?”
After an undetermined amount of time, Yake returned home and waved a cake at Xier, who was reading in the living room.
“Just leave it on the table. But first, big brother, Mom is looking for you. You should go see her.”
Xier pointed to the study, allowing Yake to put down his things and head in to find Reina.
“Mom, what do you need?”
As Yake walked into the study, he felt an ominous vibe from Reina, who had been waiting for him.
“Yake, I’m very disappointed in you. It’s been almost a month that you’ve been with little Aier, and yet you haven’t made a move on her!”
“Huh? W-What are you talking about, Mom?”
Staring at Reina’s incomprehensible words, Yake gaped in confusion.
