Chapter 10:
Ambition

 

Paul

 

There was something new in Lumi’s eyes. If anything, I think I’m the only one who noticed it. A glint of… longing. I’ve seen those eyes many times before, come to think of it. That’s right, I saw those eyes on Zenith many many times. But that was to be expected—she was only fifteen when I first met her, so of course she’d be conflicted about her status as a runaway. Now, I’m not in any place to be talking, but someone as young as her would’ve been scared running away from home like that, but not Zenith. She was the most resourceful person from Milis I’d ever met, and that was saying a lot.

So then why did Lumi have that look in her eyes? That was something I was wondering until she said she was hoping to attend the Ranoa University of Magic. 

Ahh… now I get it. I thought when she laid down her proposal like some businesswoman. She was without a doubt feeling like she was lacking in her own ability. While the concept of my daughter becoming a scholar at such an age was certainly pleasing, I had to bring my head down from the clouds and face reality. 

Lumina was still young. Like me, she’d make mistakes if she rushed through life. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to her because she wanted to grow up as fast as possible. I still remember the days when I neglected my obligations because I wanted to improve with the sword. Would Lumi do something like that?

No, not her. She’s Zenith’s child, too. She’s much smarter than I ever was at her age, what with her love for magic and how far she goes to tutor her best friend. I don’t think I could have done something like that back in Ars. She’s by all means an amazing daughter. Sometimes I even wonder if she’s genuinely my child… but Zenith isn’t the type to be disloyal. 

But even still, I needed to keep her in one place for a while. It’s the least I could do as a father. But what to do…

Lumina was way too smart for her own good. She was already considering leaving home before she turned ten years old! Even I only started thinking that way when I turned about eleven. But now that I knew that she was frustrated with her own lack of ability, I suddenly got an idea.

I’ll give her a few months… And then I’ll give her something worth staying here for. Someone strong enough to take her on. I’ll be someone who can provide that sense of growth, like my teachers did once for me. 

 

Lumina

I was sitting on one of the dinner table chairs. No one was home aside from the babies, Lilia, and I. Lilia was sitting in front of me, with her hands on her lap. 

“Mistress Lumina, I suppose it’s the time for this discussion. I apologize in advance for any discomfort you may experience.” I raised an eyebrow. What discussion?

“As every person does, you have reproductive organs. People call them all sorts of things, but for the sake of this discussion, I’ll be referring to them as ‘private parts.’” 

This discussion??? I widened my eyes. Was this really happening? I mean, I guess this would have to happen someday, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this soon!

“If anyone ever tries to touch you down there, or asks to see your private parts, tell me or your parents as quickly as possible, since you could be hurt,” Lilia explained. My face flushed red, as hearing such a discussion coming from the calm and collected face of Lilia was completely unexpected. 

“However, there will come a time when you’re older, and you meet someone you fall in love with. If you believe they are trustworthy, and won’t do anything rash like abandon you or hurt you, you can choose to engage in intercourse with them. Please, make sure you fully trust this person, as many bad people use this method to hurt women.” Lilia continued. 

Despite none of this being anything new to me, I was thinking. This world wasn’t nearly as safe as Japan in terms of law enforcement, and things that happen in the dark here usually don’t come to light unless someone has undeniable proof. Back in my old world, that proof was not hard to come by. Surveillance footage, witnesses, etc. But here, most of those methods were not present. If I wasn’t careful, I could be assaulted, or worse. 

I needed to play the act of an uneducated child, so I decided to inquire further. “Lilia, what does intercourse mean?” I said, in the most innocent tone I could.

Lilia averted her eyes and hesitantly began. “...Intercourse is when two people come together and become one in their passion. It’s a somewhat sacred act, so you shouldn’t be going around doing it anytime soon. It’s important to treasure your body, especially while you're young.” Lilia nodded her head to her own words. 

I pressed further. “Why do people do it if you said it could hurt me?” I was even getting embarrassed by how awkward these questions were. 

“Well, intercourse usually causes both people intense pleasure, but sometimes people focus on the pleasure aspect of intercourse, and if it’s done too often, one person could end up being hurt instead of pleased.” I nodded and decided to stop with the questions.

“If you ever have any more questions, and you’re too embarrassed to ask your parents, please come to me.” Lilia finished. 

I nodded, and said, “Thanks, Lilia.” I guess this meant I could rely on her. But why had she decided to pick now of all times to tell me all of this? It was kind of funny, but I appreciated it at the very least. 

Lilia rose to her feet and bowed. She went off to continue her duties as a maid and left me alone in the dining room. 

That was… something. I giggled to myself and decided to go back to my room.

---

I decided it was time to present Sylphie’s wand to her. She had recently turned 7, so I wanted this to be something like a birthday present. People sometimes gave people smaller gifts for the annual birthdays, so that would work in my favor. 

Currently, the two of us were poised for sparring. It was cold out, but we would get sweaty, so we decided to forgo any jackets. I could cure any potential colds or fevers, and I could heal even severed arms, so we were fine.

Today was going to be special. I felt like it'd be a little anticlimactic to simply gift my present to her as is, so I came up with a small plan. I'd put up a good fight against her, but I'd end up lying on the ground regardless. Be it by her hand or my own, I'd either pretend to be passed out, or I'd actually be passed out. 

This might be a bit counterproductive—it might make her think she's stronger than she is. But I’m pretty sure Sylphie isn’t the type to get a big head. I took a deep breath.

“And… Start!” I blasted off of the ground with a Wind Blast. Sylphie raced towards me and attempted to hinder me with Wind Bind. I dodged it and cast a wind slice to cut her off. She stumbled back to dodge it. I used the opportunity to try to keep her in one place by freezing the ground with ice. 

“I’ve got you now!” I exclaimed, as I released a Wind Bind and attempted to catch her legs. She dodged at the last second, propelling herself to the right by casting a blast. She grunted in frustration and sent a Water Cannon in my direction. I couldn’t dodge this, and I needed to do something to avoid being blown off my feet. I cast Burn in Place to cover the air surrounding me in flames, evaporating the water around me. 

When I dispelled it, Sylphie was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, I heard a groan from above. Tons of large chunks of ice were dropping all around me. I cast a flamethrower so I could try to melt the ice, but my arm was caught by a shard. I yelped in pain, and aimed a sonic blast at the sky, blowing away any ice chunks still in the air. 

Before I could heal my arm, an earth wall began to materialize under my feet. Sylphie was grinning, and she yelled, “Bet you weren’t expecting that!” I wasn’t, but I also wasn’t caught off guard. While she was speaking, I had healed my arm, so I was free to cast a spell. The way I wanted to win this spar required me not to be seen by Sylphie. 

I cast a dust storm to conceal myself. While she was busy covering her face, I would sneak up behind her. I jumped off the pillar and skulked through the dust. I was casting wind magic around my eyes so I wouldn’t be blinded. When I got to the area where she was before the dust, I couldn’t find her. Welp, there went my plan.
I dispelled the dust storm, and I was about to search for Sylphie when my vision went black—All according to plan.

 

Sylphiette

Lumi was lying on the ground. I had shot a stone cannon at her to knock her down, but I think I put a little too much force into it. She wasn’t dead, right? 

Lumi wouldn’t die that easily. I thought, hesitantly squatting by her side.

“Psst! Lumi! Wake up!” I poked at her face. I made sure that she was breathing. I bonked her on the head. “Lumi! Lu! Lumina!” She wasn’t waking up. I knew what needed to be done. She had told me to do this if this situation ever happened, but I had never beaten her in a sparring match before. I was supposed to cast a Water Ball at her face. But, I decided to keep her like this for a little longer.

She wouldn’t wake up no matter how loud I was, right? Maybe I could prank her, or something. Hehe. 

Hmm. Maybe I could… I grabbed her hair and started caressing it. She always did this to me, so I wondered what the deal was. Lumi’s hair was a light tan, almost blonde but not quite. It was made into a ponytail. It was soft and felt nice to the touch. She was still not waking up. 

“Uhh…” I still wasn’t satisfied. I crouched down and began looking at her face close up. She had an odd mole just under her left eye. I touched it, and it felt a little strange. I remember her insisting it was called “A beauty mark.” I don’t know where she got that name from, but it was funny. In doing so, I brought my face even closer. The sight of her lips so close to mine reminded me of what my parents did every time they were feeling happy.

I had asked what it was, and they explained it was a “kiss”, and should only be done with someone you really like. Well, I really liked Lumi, but I was just too embarrassed to bring it up. My face flushed. But before my embarrassing thoughts could continue, Lumi suddenly woke up. What a startle it gave me!

“Sylphie, what are you doing?” I reflexively stumbled backward and cast a waterball at Lumi’s face. I was extremely embarrassed. Lumi coughed a bunch and wiped off her face with her hand. After she shook her hand dry, she peered back at me with an unimpressed expression.

“You’re supposed to cast a waterball at me when I’m out cold, remember?” she scolded. 

“I’m really sorry.” I timidly said. I hope she didn’t see what I was about to do. 

“It’s fine, Phi. Anyways, if I was out cold, that means you finally won a match against me!” She raced towards me and pulled me into a hug. 

“I’m so proud of you!” Her words felt so warm like they were wrapping me in another embrace. I had sparred against her many times, but I was always beaten. Lumi was just too strong!

“Okay, Phi. I have a surprise for you, so wait here.” Hmm? A surprise? She ran off before I could ask anything. 

She came back before long with a box in hand. “What is that?” I asked gingerly. 

“Well, it’s a gift. For you!” she exclaimed, a cheerful smile forming on her flustered face. A gift?

 “Really? What is it?” She thrust it in front of me. I hesitantly took it from her, handling it with care so I didn’t drop it. I opened it, and inside of it was a shimmering wand. It was something I’d been wanting for a long while, too…!

“This is… For me?” I looked up and looked at Lumi. 

She grinned, and said, “Of course it is!” I picked up the wand and held it. It had a rough design and had a magic stone that was the same shade of color as my hair. 

“Thank you, Lumi! I’ll cherish it for as long as I live!” I threw my arms around her and gave her a tight hug. Lumi is so amazing… 

 

Lumina

A few months passed, and spring was reaching its end. My siblings finally learned how to crawl, yet were not willing to stray any more than ten feet away from my parents willingly. Honestly, they should be exploring the house more! It’s an interesting place with tons of nooks and crannies. Well… I might just be biased because I had nothing else to do for five years.

In other news, I was completely done with my etiquette education. It had been nearly two and a half years since Lilia began to teach me, and thus the lessons had finally come to a close. It shouldn’t have taken this long, but I was really bad at learning the intricacies. But…! I pulled through. 

  I brought out my diary. I hadn’t been writing in it much, just smaller logs about Sylphie’s improvements and my day-to-day life. It had been around a year since I started it, so I wanted to start a yearly tradition. Every year, I wanted to write down my magical progress. I wonder how long it’s going to be until I forget a year.

I began to write. 

K414 - Late Spring. Age 7: Skill log. 

Swordplay - No skill, along with no Touki

Offensive Magic - Fire: Advanced; Water: Advanced; Wind: Saint; Earth: Advanced (All Incantationless)

Recovery Magic - Healing: Advanced. Detoxification: Advanced. (All Incantationless up until Advanced tier)

My mother was no longer teaching me any further healing magic because she didn’t know any other spells than the ones she had taught me. I’d recently become an official helper at my mother’s clinic, and I was being paid a salary. It was pretty hefty, being 5 large copper coins per week. My mother said a majority of it had come from tips since the clinic had boosted its sales of various medical-based products ever since I began working there. It stroked my ego a little, honestly. 

Sylphie had reached advanced tier in everything other than fire magic, and I had begun to teach her a bit of Healing magic on the side, too. My lesson planning suggested that she was on track to graduate sometime three or so years from now. That was if I didn’t learn anymore. 

I tried not to think about my plateau with my magic, because it always put in me in a bit of a mood. I loved this village, but the University of Magic was growing ever more enticing by the day. I could picture it already! Wearing brand new uniforms, studying for exams with my cute crush, and slowly growing closer over our first year there… until we finally sealed the deal at the end of the school term.

Okay, maybe I was looking forward to it a bit too much. But I had to have something to daydream about, right?

---

One day, My father had offered to spar with me. We moved out to a somewhat empty field. 

“Lumi, one day you might seriously be in danger up against a swordsman. I want to prepare you for that day. So, give me all you’ve got!” he said, looking extremely enthusiastic about this.

I sighed. Even though he had a point, I hesitated. “You sure? I won’t hold back.” 

Paul chuckled and grinned at me. “Go crazy, sweetie.” 

Alright, let’s get serious. With my sparring sessions with Sylphie, I had to always make sure to dial back my attacks to make sure I didn’t blow her torso or head clean off with a boulder. But Paul was strong. I was certain he could tank five of the hits that would most certainly kill someone defenseless. 

This was going to be a test. A test of how far I’d come. 

To start the dual, I covered the direct route between Paul and me with Magma Gush. Immediately after, I stepped backward and created a massive stone wall, further separating us. If what little I knew about swordsmanship was right, I couldn’t let him near me at all costs.

“Eh?” I whipped my head around towards the wall. What was that sound I just heard? The very second after I finished that thought, Paul’s sword protruded from the wall. I was in for it now. My plan to make him take the long route was squashed. Paul was running towards me at a ludicrous speed. With a quick earth pillar spell, I propelled myself onto the wall. 

“Huh? No way!” I exclaimed, now peeking over the wall. He was climbing up the wall with his sword snatched in his mouth. I shot several rapidly spinning wind spells to try to knock him off while I jumped to the other side of the wall. 

I broke my fall with a wind spell. I had no time to think, I could only act. I turned around to see Paul on all fours, racing at me. What a horrifying sight, I thought to myself. I raised a field of spikes from the ground, and Paul collided with one of them. He got up on two feet and used his sword to hack through them all. He was heading towards a specific spot, so I wanted to chuck a stone cannon at it. I concentrated on making it as powerful as possible, and released it from my wand with a fwam! 

It struck a spike, completely blowing it away and a few others around it. But now, Paul had a direct route to me. If I didn’t do anything about that, I’d—

In the blink of an eye, Paul appeared right in front of me and knocked me to the ground. What was that last move? I need to learn how to do that!

“That was a great effort. You really made me grasp at straws with some of those moves you pulled. You did good, Lumi,” he said, beaming at me with pride.

 Paul was a lot stronger than he let on. Sure, I had acknowledged him as particularly tough, but it wasn’t until now that I realized that he was this skilled. 

“Well, father. I’ll make it a point of growing strong enough to beat you in a fight one day,” I promised him, rising from the ground and brushing off the dirt on my clothes.

 He nodded. “I’ll look forward to it, then. Work hard, alright?” He patted my head. 

And so, I gained a new sparring partner and something to work for. Maybe with this, I won’t have to worry so much about my magical progress or my lack of growth. Having set a clear goal for the first time, I moved past vague ambitions like getting stronger or learning more; now, a solid wall stood in front of me, beckoning me to tackle it head-on. 

A wall that I was going to make sure I one day scaled, no matter what.

End of Volume One.