4 Years Old: Chapter 10: Different Image
TL: Krrizis
Editor: Nahct
In the end, I"ve since persisted through trial and error, repeating the germination process, yet not a single bud grew. Incidentally, the number of attempts exceeded my mental age, as expected it was so pitiful that Gilles-san said let"s go home to me.
Grown accustomed to stuffing the seeds away into the bag..... Ah, this new seed was slightly large and it couldn"t fit inside, so I concluded that the bag was filled to the brim.
It"s not like I had any intention to throw the towel and give up. My concentration was at it"s limit, therefore it was time to take a break. Still, there was no sense of fatigue what-so-ever. This was the blessing of inheriting my parents’ abundance of magical power.
「Liz-sama, as you"ve only just started, it"ll be alright」
「That"s what I’d like to believe too.....」
Though I had practiced desperately, the end result was still the same. Having the hypothesis was important, in this case, the result was the basis. Moreover, with my said apt.i.tude, the problem had to be how I handled it. The me who got carried away was embarra.s.sing.
For now, upon returning, I intend to shut myself in the study and mull over the problem. If this keeps up, I feel that today"s results will surely repeat tomorrow.
「Aren"t you exhausted, Liz-sama?」
「No, I"m fine. I can still continue..... Well, at this rate of loss, it might be better to return and think on it」
Gilles-san hardened and was at a loss when I lowered my head lightly and thanked him for his concern. He probably wanted to say that it was strange to apologise thoughtlessly.....
「Liz-sama has changed. Lowering your head to someone like me.....」
「Saying something like someone like me..... Aren"t I studying under you? Furthermore, isn"t Gilles-san not of a lower social position?」
「Tsk」
「You would have to be as least a n.o.ble, as generally n.o.bles are well suited for magic. Furthermore, to the extent that even Father requested your service」
It"s not as though Father was the type of person who discriminates between the commoners and the n.o.bles. Rather than comprehension, it was an emphasis on a person"s abilities. Still, for me to be paired with a tutor, it would be better if I was paired with a child of good standing.
There were expectations for a future friends.h.i.+p to be fostered. So that I could profit from it, Father had chosen someone without hesitation. Also, perhaps if a child whose outward appearance was close to my age had been selected, there would be unnecessary concerns.
「Besides, even if you were a n.o.ble, commoner or even a slave, my manners will not change. It is natural to be grateful when receiving favours from others」
Gilles-san held his breath and stared at me, but before long the strained expression he had changed into a bitter smile. To be seen through, for a child to declare such things was perplexing.
Well, both parties gave off that feeling. Unbecoming of his age, Gilles-san gave a bitter smile on his face.
「..... What to do」
「Either way, it"s fine. I don"t intend to pry afterall」
There were no advantages in it for me. Investigating into a person"s past and weaknesses wasn"t a hobby I was fond of. I have a guilty conscience after all.
「..... Shall we return, Liz-sama」
「I suppose」
In some respects, keeping our distance, we returned home.
「..... Hmm, there doesn"t seem to be any problem with the method though」
Upon returning and bidding farewell to Gilles-san, I shut myself in the study as declared to review the probable cause with the sorcery book that I had dragged out. As far as I checked, the method that Gilles-san taught me wasn"t the problem. That in which an image is materialised through magical equation is a process of sorcery. The difference in every sorcery can"t be found here.
There are a few exceptions. For example, when somebody is extremely familiar and when it"s a super large scale destruction sorcery that only requires the perfected input of magical equations to activate. In either case, those exceptions were inapplicable to this situation.
Then would the problem lie with me? There was no problem with memorising the magical equation. The quant.i.ty of magic powers I had could be guaranteed based on the touchstone incident. That being the case, then the problem must lie with the image. Unaccustomed to using my magical powers, I couldn"t form a clear image as a basis for sorcery. Is that what I was lacking?
However, if that"s case, it"s strange that I haven"t improved from my failures. The number of multiplied seeds produced from my attempts have already entered the thousands. Multiplication?
Well, with these I would be able to grow a flower garden, completely dyeing the garden pink with the Ris.h.i.+a flowers.
..... A flower garden?
「Ah, so that"s it」
I see! This was where I had made a mistake. It certainly was a problem with the image. That"s right, the effort I expended to bring the image and reality into fruition wasn"t enough.
Understanding that, I can begin the necessary preparations. If I start now, I should be able to make it by sunset. Would this be able to make Mother and Gilles-san surprised? However, that"s if my hypothesis is correct.....
「Mother. Gilles-san. Would both of you come to the back yard for just a moment?」
I called out to Mother who was in midst of preparing the evening meal - Ah, Mother usually prepares it instead of leaving it to the maid - and Gilles-san who was in the living room. Mother walked up to me, curiously staring at my hand in amazement.
「I thought you were shut up in the study..... Why are you covered in dirt?」
「There are some circ.u.mstances behind it. Ah, would you come with us together to the rear garden, Gilles-san?」
「..... I don"t think there"s a problem with that but.....」
「Then, let"s go」
Leading the confused duo, I ran to the rear garden as I guided them.
「Would you both please stand here? Ah, please keep still, okay」
Bringing them to the designated spot, both of them came to a halt. Surrounding them was a circle drawn in the earth with a different coloured soil. Yes, I used a scoop but it was considerably difficult to use with a child"s body. Including the practice of sorcery, I was exhausted. Whether the results corresponds with the hards.h.i.+ps faced, it would depend purely on my ability.
The two people looked perplexed at my strange behaviour, but I returned a sweet smile with a smiling face.
「Then, please take a close look」
Falling two steps behind the circle of the different coloured soil, I sat on my knees. It was like a crouching start pose. Ready, go!
Jokes aside, I quickly sucked in a deep breath. Both thumbs on my fingers pressed firmly onto the ground, coming in contact with the earth. I used the magic 『Green Thumb』as Gilles-san taught me. The literal translation was green thumb. It meant that a person who loves nature is a person who can raise plants.
And my greatest mistake was, wanting to show a great spectacle to Mother. That was the answer.
Using my thumbs which touched the earth as an intermediary, I poured my magical powers into the earth, spilling it into the nearby surrounding different colored soil. It wasn"t clear if it would succeed. However, I still wanted to show it to her, a gift from your daughter.
「Bloom.....」
My head trembled as I put my powers into the magical equation. From my lips, I mumbled the words 『Green Thumb』.
「This is.....」
The dazzling burning light reflected into my eyes which I shut reflexively. In a daze, Gille-san murmured so I slowly opened my eyes..... and began to smile broadly.
Before my very eyes, Mother was surrounded by a blossoming field of pale pink flowers.
「It"s a success, isn"t it.....」
Yup, my hypothesis was proven.
Why did I fail before?
That"s because the image I had drawn compared to the image Gilles-san had practiced were completely different. Gilles-san had instructed me to make a flower bloom. And when I practiced, it failed..... Rather, due to my unconscious preparations to execute my desires, it had caused me to fail.
I wanted to show Mother a flower garden. Therefore, just one flower blooming wasn"t sufficient. With that said, why did the seeds multiply? Perhaps the seeds were necessary for the sake of achieving that goal, so it multiplied. It"s multiplication was the first step to achieve my goals. The final step was to bury them and apply sorcery to make them bloom.
Even if I say so myself, this was an excellent deduction. As for the objective, I managed to make a flower garden in the end.
「This..... was Liz’s doing?」
「How was it? I did pretty well, didn"t I? I wanted to show Mother"s favourite flower blooming」
Puffing my chest for giving an excellent performance, Gilles-san and Mother exchanged glances with a troubled look. Eh, they don"t look so pleased.
「Was it..... useless? If it isn"t enough, I can add more seeds to it.....」
「That"s not true. It was a pleasant surprise beyond my expectations however.....」
「Until now, you had trouble with it. How did you.....」
「I seriously pondered on it」
Honestly, good job me! Due to a sudden terrible feeling, I started to become dizzy. Or rather, my vision became blurry.....
「Liz!?」
Huh, Mother looks visibly warped...... Like an octopus. When did you became a mollusc.....?
Limply gazing at Mother"s and Gilles-san’s fl.u.s.tered faces, feeling satisfied, I lost consciousness.