FIDA 18

Chapter 18

“Out in the marketplace and you can’t even buy your little sister a candy? Pretty lousy, huh?”

The street vendor this time turned his attention to Jayna.

“Tell your brother to buy you one of these candies. It tastes even better once you try it yourself.”

The vendor grinned widely.

“Go on, nag him a little—‘Big brother, buy this for me!’”

“Keuhk, kuhk!”

Mikhail, who had only been clearing his throat, suddenly seemed to choke for real, coughing violently.

As his coughing worsened, Jayna patted his back with her tiny hand.

Slap, slap!

It came only from pure concern for Mikhail. Not even the slightest bit of her usual feelings were mixed in.

“Are you all right, Lord Mikhail?”

“‘Lord Mikhail’? Isn’t he your brother?”

The vendor’s voice was puzzled.

“Guess I shouldn’t have said anything. You two must be a little awkward with each other. You were laughing together, so I thought you were close…”

Jayna just let the words wash over her without thinking much of them. But once his coughing died down, Mikhail suddenly flared up.

“Of course I’m her brother! Who said otherwise?”

“No need to get so worked up… Anyway, my bad. I’m sorry, really.”

The vendor seemed to realize that Mikhail was a prickly, bothersome type and tried to back off.

But Mikhail clearly wasn’t about to let it drop. His mood was twisted out of shape.

He’s not about to cause some mess worse than Datrish earlier, is he?

Was he really going to slit the man’s throat? And here they were, finally enjoying a rare outing at the market.

It’s because he thinks the vendor was mocking him, right?

What if she tried diverting his attention? Something outrageous enough that he’d think, That kid’s finally lost her mind.

After a moment of thought, Jayna decided to sacrifice herself.

She tugged at Mikhail’s sleeve and smiled brightly.

“Brother, buy this for me!”

It happened in that instant.

Mikhail’s eyes blinked in confusion—then filled with shock.

“W-w-w-what?”

His face turned red in an instant—so quickly it was almost horrifying.

And it wasn’t only Mikhail who was startled. Jayna herself froze at his extreme reaction, doubting her eyes.

Why is he acting like this?

At least her plan had worked.

Mikhail, dazed to the point of losing his senses, had erased all hostility toward the vendor. More than that—he seemed to have erased the man’s existence entirely from his mind.

“Wh-why all of a sudden…”

Mikhail started stammering nonsense. Jayna smoothed over her baffled expression; pointing out his current state would only backfire.

Forget it. At least the plan worked.

Avoiding his gaze as best she could, Jayna spoke as calmly as possible.

“I’m a dragonkin, so I eat a lot. Please buy me two.”

I never thought he’d actually do it.

Jayna was walking along with both hands full of candy, still a little dazed.

Yes, she had asked him to buy her some.

And yes, she’d said she ate a lot.

But she had clearly specified “two.” So why…

“You know you can’t eat it all in a single day just because I bought you a lot, right?”

Not only had he bought from that vendor, he’d gone around buying candy from every shop nearby.

“…Thank you for the candy.”

She hadn’t needed a mountain of it.

But while Jayna was bewildered, Mikhail looked quite pleased with himself.

Grinning, he said,

“If you’re grateful, then show me a trick or something.”

From the way he was talking, it seemed he’d returned to his usual rude, arrogant self.

Jayna actually preferred it this way—it was easier to deal with.

“Come on, show me something amazing.”

She ignored him, but he just scowled crookedly.

“I’ll give you one a day. Any more and your teeth will rot.”

He’s not worried about my teeth. He’s just happy to have a way to control me.

“Can’t I have three?”

“…Hmm. If you beg me that earnestly, I might consider two.”

Success.

Jayna conceded easily. That had been her true goal—to raise the daily limit from one candy to two.

They were big, colorful lollipops, large enough to fill her small mouth entirely.

Each shop had sold a different flavor.

If she had two a day, how long would it take to try them all?

I can’t wait for tomorrow.

Even this kind of thing could be called happiness. Jayna smiled softly.

Mikhail, still oddly excited, spoke up.

“You said earlier you can’t use magic, right? Then how about I teach you a little?”

“…What?”

“What’s with that look? Do you think I’m lying?”

“No, it’s just…”

For a mage, teaching magic was no small matter.

It meant sharing their research and spending their precious time—things mages hated more than anything. So even close friends rarely taught each other.

It was such a well-known rule that even non-mages knew it. And yet…

This man, who would one day become the right hand of the final boss, was offering to teach Jayna magic right now.

Is this for real?

It seemed unbelievable, but his tone suggested he wasn’t joking.

They soon found a clearing nearby.

“I doubt you’ll be able to move people around like I did earlier, but watch closely.”

The moment he finished speaking, Mikhail’s hair whipped in the wind.

The mana within his body resonated with the mana around them.

With a confident look, he stretched a hand into the air. The still air suddenly turned chilly.

“Since it’s you, I’ll start with the basics of the basics.”

Whoosh!

Wind burst from Mikhail’s hand. At first it was faint, but the more mana he poured in, the stronger it grew.

“Every mage has an affinity. It’s hard to use magic outside your own element. Still, give it a try—maybe wind will suit you.”

He then taught Jayna a few simple incantations.

Wuuuumm.

Jayna reached out hesitantly into the air, her eyes fixed on Mikhail. She felt a cool current spreading outward.

“Like this?”

“Yeah. Since you’re from the Clan of Black Night, you may only handle dark magic… Wait—what?!”

Whoooosh!

The wind that formed in Jayna’s hand suddenly swelled, becoming a storm in an instant.

Mikhail’s vision was filled with the wind she had summoned. He could clearly see the strands of mana woven within it.

This kind of mana affinity… Is this just what dragons are like?

But something felt different. It didn’t seem like a racial trait.

Then, a familiar aura drifted to him.

Mikhail’s head snapped up.

If it wasn’t her race, then perhaps…

Because she’s the Tower Master’s daughter?

As he was lost in thought—

“Huh?”

Mikhail lifted his head at a strange sensation.

Whiiish!

Up in the blue sky, Jayna shot off like an arrow.

All she had done was lower her hand slightly, almost by accident.

And suddenly her body had been flung skyward.

I never imagined I’d fly like this.

The sky was a deep blue today. She had flown before as a dragon, but never like this in her human form.

It was moving, in a way—but there was no time for sentiment.

If she fell wrong, she could be badly injured—or even killed.

I’m not even seventeen yet. To die from falling, not at the hands of my kin, but because of a magic mishap…

Her panic lasted only a moment. She quickly focused.

In an emergency, staying calm was key.

She concentrated on controlling the wind she had summoned.

Whooosh!

But it was her first time, and the gale was too strong. Control was difficult.

Worse, the more mana she poured in, the more the wind seemed to resist her.

Is it because I’m from the Clan of Black Night, like Mikhail said?

“Hey! Relax your body! And let it flow slowly into the air!”

Mikhail’s voice shouted from below.

Jayna followed his instructions, slowly relaxing her body and letting the wind leak out into the sky.

“Huff… huff…”

The gale began to dissipate, its strength weakening.

Now I just need to land safely.

But as she looked down, her body suddenly plummeted.

“What do I do now?!”

“Shoot the wind downward!”

She gathered the remaining gale and blasted it beneath her, trying to cushion the fall.

It slowed her descent—but she lost her balance and slammed into the ground anyway.

Boom!

“Ugh…”

Luckily, she’d instinctively wrapped herself in wind before impact, avoiding lethal injury. Even so, the crash gouged a deep crater in the earth.

“Did someone just fall from the sky?”

“Was it a mage?”

“Look, I think she crashed into that kid over there…”

She hit someone?

Jayna, barely managing to stand, looked around.

As the dust cleared, the ruined scene of the marketplace came into view.

She had landed in an open space, so there was little damage—except for one boy collapsed a few steps away.

Don’t tell me… is he dead?

Had she just killed someone by accident?