I had intended to go buy clothes for the Little One today, but as it turned out, there was one fact I had greatly overlooked.
“What happens after one hour?”
“It explodes.”
“…”
The metal shackles binding the Little One.
I managed a little trickery there to extend the duration until I could come out.
But my ability had its limit, just one hour.
“How can I choose clothes within one hour!”
There wasn’t nearly enough time to buy clothes I liked.
“So what now? I did what I could.”
“Tsk!”
It took quite a while to soothe the sulking Little One.
“I’ll pick out clothes with style on my own. So let’s go somewhere other than the clothing store today.”
“…Alright.”
“Is there anywhere you want to go?”
“I don’t know much beyond what I’ve read in books.”
“What have you seen in books?”
“The sea, mountains, things like that.”
“Too bad.”
None of those are around here.
Even if they’re a few tens of minutes away, they’re uncertain places to return home from within an hour.
“Hah….”
Around this point, Epherna seemed to give up as well.
Seeing her like that made me throw out one idea.
“It’s not the sea, but there’s a lake nearby. Want to go?”
That seemed to hit the mark, as Epherna nodded confidently.
“Yeah!”
*****
If you were to choose the most famous tourist destination in Much-Sector, it would undoubtedly be the Magician’s Lake.
The mana abundant near the lake makes it an optimal environment for magicians and a habitat of enlightenment.
However, if it were for such reasons alone, the Magician’s Lake would not have become a famous tourist destination.
“Isn’t it beautiful? The lake shines even during the day.”
A huge lake emitting a subtle light rather than transparent light.
Even I, seeing this lake after so long, could feel its charm that would captivate an ordinary person’s heart.
And fortunately, our Little One was indeed an ordinary child.
“Wow…”
I said to the Little One.
“Try dipping your hand in it.”
“Yeah.”
The Little One’s eyes sparkled as she lifted her foot.
But soon, she stopped.
“Why? Is there something bothering you?”
“…There are too many people.”
“What?”
Upon wondering why, I realized the Little One was feeling uneasy around the people near the lake.
No, it wasn’t fear but rather an awkward feeling.
It could be described as fear of the unknown.
“…You stubborn little brat.”
I let out a chuckle.
I had thought of her as a cheeky girl, but I didn’t expect this cute side of her.
I picked the Little One up.
I put her on my shoulders and took a walk around the lake.
“Isn’t it less scary this way? Everyone’s under your gaze.”
“…I feel a bit relieved somehow.”
“I’ll drop you off in a bit. You can’t avoid being around people your whole life.”
“Okay.”
I walked around the lake with the Little One on my head.
The Little One gazed at the Magician’s Lake for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.
“You really can’t take your eyes off it. Is the lake that nice?”
“Have you spent fifteen years trapped in one house? Everything outside seems new.”
“Well, I haven’t had that experience~”
I teased, and the Little One pulled my hair.
“Ow ow ow!! That hurts!”
“Who said you could tease me?”
“But you shouldn’t pull hair. Do you know how old I am right now?”
Though I’m still in my mid-twenties, it’s an age where one should be careful with their hair.
“Do you want to see me go bald?”
“Hmm… I’d rather not.”
Only then did the Little One let go of my hair.
“I think I’d be embarrassed if you went bald.”
“That’s it.”
After circling around the lake, I let the Little One down.
“Alright. Now try walking on your own.”
“Yeah.”
After circling around once and becoming accustomed to the people, the Little One started walking without hesitation.
“Mister, hold my hand.”
But it seemed she still wasn’t comfortable, seeking warmth from my touch.
So I held her hand.
“Mister. I feel warm inside.”
“Oh. Didn’t expect you to say something so sentimental.”
“It’s not like that, it’s for real.”
“Alright, alright. I know you’re just a kid.”
Hehe, indeed still just a kid.
*****
Late at night.
After the Little One fell asleep and with the night light on in the small living room, I was investigating the metal shackles.
After roughly an hour of investigation, what I could ascertain was.
‘No answer.’
There seemed to be no way to unlock the mana code stored in the shackles.
It was akin to a door that required a password to open, but there was simply no method.
If the shackles had been crafted within the absolute laws of magic, it would have been easier, but this seemed to be a conditional format, making it even more difficult without knowing the password.
However, on the flip side, if the password were known, the shackles could be unlocked at will.
This meant finding the creator of these shackles was necessary.
‘But is that even possible?’
The Little One mentioned these shackles had been on since infancy.
How would we find the creator if she doesn’t remember the magician who made them?
“I could possibly extend it to three hours somehow…”
But to go beyond that, the Little One would have to give up much more.
It was a harsh condition for a child who desires freedom.
“…”
That’s when it happened.
Boooom!!
A tremendous explosion from upstairs in the late night.
Without hesitating, I rushed towards the second floor amidst the tremendous shockwave that instantly dispelled my drowsiness.
“Kid!”
“Ah, Mister…!!”
A broken door and a messed-up bed greeted me.
Around her, golden mana was swirling as if trying to protect her.
“Ah, ah, ah, Mister…!”
“Calm down. It’s just mana awakening erratically, so it’s unstable.”
Brushing off the dust, I approached the Little One.
The golden mana seemed to persist in protecting her, but given Little One’s current mental state, it was more of a hindrance than help.
“Disappear.”
Sizzle!
Blue currents burned away the golden mana.
Despite its efforts to resist, the golden mana succumbed and vanished.
“Mister… What happened…?”
The recent explosion must have been shocking; the Little One trembled.
Seeing her trying to act fine, I gently stroked her head.
“It’s okay.”
I needed to teach her magic.
My mind faintly smiled, filled with such thoughts.
The Little One, unable to control her mana at all.
Ting~
I had never felt such potent mana before.
Trying to overwhelm it with sheer force, I received a counterattack instead.
Perhaps that’s why my fingertips felt slightly burnt.
“Mister, are you hurt?”
“Hurt? Nah, just need a breather.”
“…”
“More importantly, congratulations. Mana like this isn’t common.”
The mana that manifested in the Little One was called ‘Mana of Will’.
Occasionally, mana’s nature reflects the owner’s personality, hence the name.
Extremely rare; only one in a thousand might possess it. Could it be Little One was one of those cases?
Looking back, it seemed the issue lay with the Magician’s Lake.
The dense mana environment of the lake must have awakened her latent potential.
The Little One seemed to possess remarkable talent.
“Close your eyes and take slow deep breaths. Feel the mana flowing through your body.”
I instructed the kid.
“Yesterday, your mind was unstable, causing a runaway. Just focus on keeping your mind steady.”
“I understand.”
It’s a lie.
No matter how much the Little One tries to steady her mind, the golden mana will eventually go wild.
The reason I lied was to firmly anchor the kid’s mental state.
‘As long as you keep your mind right, there shouldn’t be any issues.’
With this implication in mind, even if she were to go wild, it would be easier for her to control the mana.
‘Still, I’m relieved.’
Unlike yesterday, the golden mana seems to be following the Little One’s words relatively well.
Now, there shouldn’t be any runaway incidents unless something unexpected happens.
*****
The Little One’s room was a mess.
The bed and furniture were all broken and needed replacement.
Most items were purchased quickly, but not the bed.
“Mister, can I have that pillow?”
“This one’s mine.”
“But that one looks softer.”
And that’s how we ended up in this situation.
With nowhere else to go and no spare room prepared, and the guest room still lacking a bed, we found ourselves having to share a bed.
Thankfully, the Little One’s small size made it feasible. If she were a bit older, I’d probably have to sleep on the living room sofa.
“I’ll turn off the light.”
“Okay.”
Is there no guilt about sleeping in the same bed with an unmarried woman?
Nope.
The Little One is too young to evoke such emotions.
While it feels like sleeping with a late-born youngest daughter, there’s no deeper sentiment beyond that.
Our youngest daughter soon fell asleep.
Though she’s been eating well lately, her core energy still comes from good sleep.
“If you’re going to sleep, do it quietly.”
I pulled the blanket the Little One had kicked up to her shoulders.
To prevent the blanket from becoming a mess again, I held her close.
“Goodnight, Little One.”
*****
Occasionally, mana’s nature reflects the owner’s personality.
This phenomenon is referred to as Mana of Will.
That’s partly true, but also somewhat misleading.
Mana doesn’t necessarily mirror the owner’s personality.
Mana with willpower always lives and grows to engulf its owner.
Along the way, it gradually assimilates the owner’s characteristics.
“Do you want that man?”
“Hold my hand.”
“You can keep him by your side for life.”
Mana of Will is a power that may understand the owner better than anyone else, perhaps even becoming the owner themselves. It reproduces the owner’s desires in reality.
However…
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Mana of Will is merely a manifestation of ‘desire’. It doesn’t necessarily know everything about its owner.
“Mister, you already belong to me.”
That’s why.
“And it’s because of you that Mister got hurt.”
The reason why Mana of Will was shocked and had no choice but to take a step back.
“If I don’t want you to get hurt in the future, wouldn’t it be better to get rid of you here?”
Mana of Will hesitated for a moment.
Epherna’s resilient spirit itself was an unbreakable shackle for Mana of Will.
Grinning. The girl laughed.
And since then, her mana never went wild again.
