...

John said goodbye to the Zoe and Clair with a cheerful smile even when his clothes were in a deplorable state, several blade-like cuts could be seen in various parts of the suit, curiously, John was not injured in any part of his body.

Shaking my head at his optimistic demeanor of my smiling friend, I took the papers John had left behind as a result of Sophia's Checkup.

"Um... everything seems in order... it looks like the Nodes on his arms are a little more developed than normal, but nothing unusual..."

My gaze froze as I read a specific part of the document.

"... a large capacity for adsorption of Outer Mana can be noted as well as a large capacity for storage of Outer Mana. The large amount of Outer Mana in his body seems to be the main reason for the damage caused to his Eye Nodes, and therefore, the cause of his Blindness/Grey Eyes. Further observation is required for confirmation.

Note: I do not recommend teaching Sophia Magic until her body develops, this as a safety measure to both her physical and magical health as possessing such a high level of Outer Mana will almost certainly spiral out of control to a greater or lesser extent, at best, severely damaging her other Nodes, at worst, death..."

I unconsciously began to clench the Check documents tightly the more I read.

I felt my heart racing and a feeling of anger was born inside me before it dissipated in a helpless sigh.

The one thing she had asked me for so long and I can't show her...what a disaster of a Mother I am, I can't even keep a simple promise to my daughter. Zoe thought as she laughed with contempt.

"My lady..." Clair's voice snapped me out of my trance as guilt consumed my heart.

I took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart. "...Let's meet Sophia, I have... something important to tell her..."

"...understood..."

 

---

 

"..."

Sophia glared at the Mist.

"..."

The Mist stared at Sophia.

This strange scene was unfolding in the middle of a gigantic library, a young noblewoman and a little girl were staring at each other though with different looks on their faces.

The young noblewoman was looking at the little maid curiously while the little maid was looking at the young woman with stars in her eyes.

The two young ladies had been simply staring at each other for a good minute without lifting a finger.

If anyone was watching them from the outside they would think they were playing some kind of game.

How cute! I've never seen the Young Mistress since I was hired, she's super adorable!. Thought the little maid as she looked at Sophia with affection, ignoring the fact that Sophia's pearls seemed to want to swallow her soul. Should I inform the Mistress that the Young Mistress is here?.... or should I let her wander around the library?... no obviously I shouldn't let her wander around here... but I can't tell her to leave either, technically she is my boss even though she is younger than me....

Why is this Mist so... grey...?. Sophia thought as she tilted her head, almost making the Mist blink at the adorable gesture. It feels empty... no, rather, it feels incomplete... as if it is missing something fundamental but also optional... this feeling is... interesting.

Finally, Sophia was the first to break the awkward silence. "...Who are you?"

The maid blinked for a moment before giving a quick bow. "Ah, excuse my rashness!... I'm Anna I was hired a few months ago to be the caretaker of the library, it's an honor to finally meet you! Though if I may ask, what are you doing here Young Miss?"

Anna was dressed in a traditional maid's outfit, she had brown hair that reached her shoulders, a kind look that would make the sun itself smile, and small purple eyes decorated by small glasses. On her chest was a small pendant of a white cross and small roots around it.

Sophia had seen many maidservants over the years as there was always someone watching over her at all times, but Anna was undoubtedly the smallest of all the maidservants of House Flumin (141cm).

Sophia didn't even blink at the question as she continued speaking with her usual low tone, as if she was having a hard time forming words. "You don't have to be so formal, you can call me Sophia. I... well, I was in the middle of a Magic Checkup when suddenly the doctor claimed to have finished the Checkup before bolting out the door while yelling something about upsetting Mother..."

My God, she is the complete opposite of Flora. Anna thought as she looked into those terrifying Grey Eyes that seemed to consume everything in sight, though to Anna they had a sparkle full of life in them. Though her eyes are an abomination, for some reason they make her look more beautiful... no doubt she will be a beautiful lady.

"Oh I see, so is it correct to assume that the Lady will come for you?"

Sophia nodded. "Um, I think she'll be back in a while..." She started to look around as if searching for someone before tilting her head to the side. "...Since my Checkup is done, now I can watch Magic classes?"

Anna tilted her head in confusion for a moment as she put on a thoughtful look. "Magic?"

Sophia nodded, before realizing she needed to explain a bit more. "Ah, Mother had promised to teach me Magic after the Checkup..."

Anna raised an eyebrow before smiling at Sophia. "I see... well, if it was something My Lady said, then I don't see the problem. But I will warn you that the class will only be theoretical since I can't use Magic, you're lucky I like the whole Magic thing."

Sophia nodded with a small smile on her face that melted Anna's heart. "Thank you."

Even though she speaks with a monotone her smile is as vivid as Flora's... I can see why she wanted to make her smile constantly. Thought Anna with her own smile towards Sophia, taking the blind girl by the hand she helped her to sit on a nearby seat while looking for an old book.

Sitting down across from Sophia, Anna gently opened the book before asking Sophia a question. "Young Miss-"

Sophia raised her small hand silencing Anna. "I told you to just call me Sophia, please...it's a little awkward being called that..."

Anna tilted her head in confusion before slowly nodding. "Understood? Alright, tell me Sophia, what do you know about Magic?"

"Uh" Sophia paused for a moment looking up as if she was reading some sort of book on the ceiling. "I know that the Phenomenon called 'Magic' is generated through certain conditions, 'Mana' being its main energy for said phenomenon and 'Node' as the cable for said energy. I know there are Magic Elements like Water and Air, but I don't know if there are more of them."

Anna blinked in surprise at how fluent Sophia's explanation was, it was strange to see a 5 year old speaking so fluently and giving a precise and clear explanation.

I guess she listens to some of Flora's classes. Anna thought as she nodded toward Sophia. "Very good! For the most part what you said is correct, though I'm not entirely sure that's the right analogy to explain Magic and how it works."

Sophia simply shrugged. "It gets the point across, doesn't it?"

Anna laughed lightly at Sophia's gesture before opening the book and looking for a specific page. "As you said Magic is a phenomenon generated thanks to the 'Mana' and 'Nodes' of a person's body, but it is also generated thanks to a person's 'Desire' or 'Will'"

Sophia tilted her head. "The Desire?"

"How to explain this..." Anna sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "I don't think I'm the right person to answer that question, as I said before I can't use Magic. But from what I know, it's like commanding the Mana what to become based on the Will and Desire of the person in question."

Sophia just stared at Anna as if she had grown another head. "I don't understand."

"Look, let's say I'm in a freezing storm and I want to create Fire to warm myself, my Wish at that moment is to create Fire with Mana, but I have to have a strong enough Will to want to survive the snowstorm, otherwise, my Magic may not materialize as I want it to" Anna explained as she put a finger to her chin thoughtfully before looking back at Sophia with a smile. "Is that understandable?"

Sophia averted her gaze as a small bead of sweat trickled down her cheek. "...Sort of...well, not exactly."

Anna groaned as she patted her forehead. "Well, I guess starting with the Outer Mana was a bad idea."

Besides she's a kid still, so I shouldn't expect her to understand everything all at once... Anna thought as she shook her head.

"Outer Mana?"

"It's one of the two types of Mana, along with Inner Mana" Explained Anna as she read some parts of the book looking for something. She nodded in satisfaction when she found it. "Well, I found it. Let's start at the beginning. Mana is an ethereal energy found anywhere in the world, it can be people or animals, even in plants themselves, it is the energy that gives power to the very Universe and its Reality. There are two main types of Mana that humans can use, Outer Mana and Inner Mana."

At that moment it was as if a piece clicked into place inside Sophia's brain, which only said. "Oh."

"Yes, these two types of Mana although they are related to each other, they act in different ways when it comes to using them. Inner Mana is the most common and as the name suggests, this is found inside our body at all times. To make it simple, it works as an enhancer for our muscles making us stronger or faster."

Nodding and making notes in her brain, Sophia asked. "How can this Mana be used?"

"I don't know" Anna replied with a smirk. "I told you I can't use Magic."

Sophia closed her mouth with a pout on her face. "...Right."

Anna laughed at the grimace on Sophia's face. "Now the Outer Mana-"

At that precise moment, the library door opened to reveal Zoe and Clair, the latter appearing to be rapidly reading a series of papers with a frown on her face.

Turning her head to look for Sophia she found her sitting next to little Anna, Zoe approached them with a grim smile on her face. "Hello dear."

Sophia smiled as she heard her Mother's voice she turned her head to see the Head of House Flumin approaching them. "Hello again Mother."

Anna for her part quickly rose from her chair and bowed to her Mistress. "My Lady."

Zoe nodded towards Anna indicating her to stop, then looked at the book on the elegant table making her take a deep breath. "What were you teaching her Anna?"

Anna quickly explained sensing her Mistress was not in a good mood. "Sophia asked me to teach her about Magic, I was giving her a brief explanation of the two main Mana Types-"

Zoe held her breath... only to let out a relieved sigh when she heard the following.

"-I had just explained to her what Inner Mana is, I was about to tell her about Outer Mana-"

Phew... then I just explain to him about that Useless Mana. Zoe looked Anna in the eyes making the latter shudder as she looked into Zoe's cold eyes. "Well, thank you very much for helping Flora understand the Inner Mana, retire now."

Anna quickly left the room ignoring Sophia's confused look.

Now... how am I supposed to say this... Thought Zoe gritting her teeth remorsefully.

...