Chapter 20

Flare

A week had gone by since then, and over a month had passed since the incident occurred. My mother had made a full recovery from her injuries and had started doing household chores again.

We all gathered in the living room to have a discussion. I hadn’t told my mother about the magic or the goblin yet because I didn’t want to overwhelm her while she’s still resting. Her recovery had been remarkable, and there’s hardly any scars left. She seemed just as energetic as before.

“So, what’s the story?” she asked with a soft smile.

“Well, actually…” we began to explain the details, just as we had told our father before. It’s the exact same content.

When we finished, Mother said, “Oh my, I don’t really understand it, but you can do as you like. And thank you, Theon, I don’t remember it very well, but you’ve helped me. You’re my pride and joy.”

My mother’s gentle smile made me feel grateful for her open-mindedness. It’s rare to find such kind parents.

“But from now on, If anything happens in the future, don’t hesitate to let me or your father know. We’re here to support you in any way we can, and sometimes talking things out is all it takes.”

“Okay, I’ll do that from now on. I promised.”

“That’s great to hear. Keep up the good work,” Mother said with a smile.

Feeling a bit confused, we all looked at our mother’s smiling face.

Since my parents are both incredibly kind, I have the freedom to pursue my goals. With immense gratitude and respect, I’ve decided to throw away all my worries. Starting today, I’m committed to dedicating myself even more to my magic research. I’ll do my best.

●○●○

After a while, the house repairs were completely finished and things settled down. It’s a good time to start practicing swordsmanship again. The trio, Maron, Red, and Rose, gathered, while I just ran around the perimeter.

I wanted to study magic, but my father said that it’s also important to train my body, so I continued to work on physical conditioning. I reasoned that even if I could use magic, it would be useless if my body couldn’t move properly. We didn’t know what might happen, and more monsters could come back. So, I forced myself to accept that there’s a point to training.

Since the goblin attack, I hadn’t seen any of the three of them. We were all busy, so they might have been preoccupied. Everyone in the village thanked us and expressed concern. Rose, Maron, and Red were no exception.

My father and the others were practicing in the courtyard, while I was running around the perimeter and thinking about magic research in my head. However, Maron and Rose frequently looked at me. I suppose that’s natural. I was the one who defeated the goblin and gave instructions on how to heal my mother. They didn’t say anything out loud, but I couldn’t help but wonder what they were thinking.

I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t. Maybe that’s just how it is. My father probably didn’t explain everything to the villagers. There’s no way to explain it, and telling the truth would only cause confusion. He just told us not to talk about it.

The villagers are kind, but I doubt they’re all completely silent. Nonetheless, there haven’t been any problems so far.

During swordsmanship practice, I felt two pairs of eyes on me frequently. Rose’s gaze, in particular, was obvious and made me feel uncomfortable. But in the end, they didn’t ask me anything that day. Maron and Rose never asked me about it afterward.

“Okay, that’s it for today’s practice!” my father said.

With his voice, the training ended. We cleaned up and the three went home. No one said anything. It wasn’t the usual routine, but they seemed to be trying to act normally.

If they didn’t say anything today, they probably wouldn’t say anything in the future. It’s frustrating, but they’re probably stronger than me. I wiped off the sweat, put away the wooden swords, and tried to go back inside.

But Marie was still in the courtyard, continuing her solo practice, just like every day. Since that day, my sister changed. She’s normal most of the time, but when it comes to swordsmanship, she’s become quite obsessive.

“Marie, that’s enough for today.”

“…I’m still okay. I’ll be back for dinner.”

“But…”

“Dad also said that practicing a lot will make you stronger, right?”

“He did, but there’s a limit to everything.”

I felt like my sister was pushing herself too hard, to the point where even our father was cautioning her. I agreed with him this time.

“Marie, Dad’s saying you should stop soon.”

When I spoke up, my sister stopped her movements. I thought she understood, but then she glared at me. It was the first time I’d ever seen her look like that, and I was taken aback. It’s shocking to see anger from someone I was always close to and got along with.

I was so shaken that my heart began to race.

“Okay, I get it. I’ll stop because Theon said so.”

She only glared at me for a moment before looking down and heading inside. I didn’t say anything in response to her reaction; I just stood there, feeling uneasy. Then I felt a tap on my head. It was my father.

“Don’t worry about it. Marie’s just a little worked up.”

“Right…”

A lot had happened, and we’d been through some scary situations. It wouldn’t be normal to act like everything was okay. Even though my parents seemed fine after the goblin attack, they must have been feeling a lot of things internally. Since then, I’ve had the idea to use magic to protect myself and my family from monsters.

Marie had faced monsters head-on and was injured while protecting our mother. It would be impossible not to be affected by that experience.

Maybe she started to hate me because of it. I was terrified when I thought that. My sister’s presence had become so important to me.

My father and I returned home together. The day ended awkwardly with a sense of unease hanging over us.

●○●○

Although it’s still in the experimental phase, I had given a name to the fire-based magic spell: Flare. It’s not a full-fledged spell, but rather a prototype. When cast, the magical energy that reacted with fire rose up into the sky. Therefore, it’s not useful as an attack method or for any practical purpose.

The first condition of the spell was that it had to fly straight. While its firepower was weak, it could become as strong as a will-o’-the-wisp, but this required an even stronger desire imbued into the magic. In other words, the command was to “emit magical energy straight from your right hand.” This process involved transitioning from a state of magic-gathering to releasing about 60% of it outside the body.

I’d noticed that when conveying intentions or commands to magical energy, the amount of energy that could be manipulated decreased. Additionally, although I couldn’t feel it, it may have been that each command consumed a certain amount of magical energy.

To test this hypothesis, I experimented by releasing the maximum amount of magical energy outside my body both nearby and far away, to see if the amount of magical energy was the same. As a result, the energy was slightly less when I released it farther away, which meant that the firepower weakened the farther away it got.

At the moment, the maximum number of times I could cast this spell in one day was thirty times while in magic aura state.

Although it wasn’t specifically intended for any purpose, I believed that this ball of fire that flew straight was quite a formidable weapon. If goblins or other monsters attacked again, it could be useful. I had also tried using it on objects. It didn’t have much effect on hard materials like rocks, but it was effective on combustible materials like wood, which could be ignited from a distance. However, it didn’t explode or stick to the target like other fire-based spells. It just burned upon contact.

Despite its limitations, it’s still a powerful attack method, which I could use up to thirty times a day. I couldn’t help but feel that this spell had the potential to be quite strong, but for then my main job had already been decided.

“Theon, can you light the fire?”

My father asked me to light the firewood. The temperature was starting to drop and we needed the fireplace to keep warm. Lighting the fire manually takes time and effort, so it’s a bit of a hassle. That’s why it’s always me who lights the fire.

I struck my portable flint and used Flare to light the firewood.

“Thanks, you saved me. The blue flame is a bit strange though.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of plain.”

“What are you talking about? Being able to use magic is something that only you can do, Theon. I think it’s amazing.”

It’s a fine line between being praised and being used, but it’s better than being useless. It’s not exactly what I imagined, but it’s not bad either.

However, I was stuck again wondering what to do next. I needed a source of ignition for my fire magic. Magic power was a combustible gas and oxygen supply was not a problem. However, the flint for ignition was essential. Without it, I couldn’t light my magic.

I wished I could use my magic without anything, just like using a wand or something similar. That’s my ideal, but carrying a flint all the time seemed a bit awkward.

I mean, I already felt like I was pretty good at using magic, but my goal was still further ahead. I wanted to be able to use something like a big magic spell. I didn’t know if it was possible or not, but I wanted to keep dreaming.

Regardless, I was determined to discover a means of utilizing my magic without the aid of any tools. I was at a loss, and I might have needed to try a different approach if I wanted to make any progress. That’s my way of doing things.

Anyway, I put my research on the Flare on hold and moved on to the next one.