Ch.136Growth (6)

I told Sylvia exactly what had happened just moments ago.

Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to reveal to her that I could disappear whenever I wanted.

Given how extremely fearful Sylvia was of my absence, knowing that I… no, that Pia had such an ability might make her anxious.

But I couldn’t hide it.

If I had returned empty-handed, I might have been able to make up some excuse, but coming back with a blanket left no room for explanation.

This thick, large blanket with its luxurious embroidery was clearly not something that could be found in the forest.

Unable to hide my anxiety, I clutched the blanket I had brought tightly, while Sylvia listened quietly to my explanation.

Finally, when I finished explaining everything, Sylvia slowly nodded.

“You said you’d show me.”

“…Huh?”

“Spirit magic. You said you’d show me. That you’d show me first, so I could believe.”

“Ah… yes.”

Sylvia slowly stroked the blanket I had brought as she continued.

“You said that just this morning, but I didn’t expect you’d show me like this today.”

“I… guess so.”

“I’m happy.”

“What?”

Sylvia smiled slightly and stroked my head as she spoke.

“Teleportation magic has many restrictions that make it cumbersome to use. You can’t move while wearing clothes or holding objects, and if there’s something at the destination, it can pierce through your body and kill you. That’s why even Maria could only move in a very limited way, from one designated room to another.”

“…”

“But in Ash’s case, there don’t seem to be such restrictions. Is that because it’s spirit magic?”

Indeed, Sylvia was right.

The magic of teleportation had power befitting its difficulty.

Being able to instantly move anywhere in the world meant that troops could be deployed without consuming resources, making it difficult to judge advantages based solely on numbers. It could also instill fear in opponents, knowing someone could invade their front yard at any moment.

However, teleportation also had many limitations.

While one could move anywhere in the world, if there was any object at the destination, it would pierce right through the body. This meant only clean, empty rooms or plazas could be used as destinations.

The rumor of a renowned magician who happened to teleport to a location with a tree, resulting in it piercing through his abdomen and killing him, was already a famous cautionary tale among those studying magic.

Even fluttering clothes could pierce through the skin, so one basically had to move while naked.

But spirit magic had no such side effects.

This wasn’t teleportation—it was Pia carrying me to that place.

Unlike teleportation magic, I could only move to places I had been before, and among those, only to places that had left a deep impression on me. But the advantage of having fewer restrictions easily outweighed this drawback.

Sylvia spoke with a satisfied voice.

“Going all the way home just to bring back a blanket, hehe… It’s a bit silly, but it perfectly proves your point.”

“…Proves?”

“Yes, proof that Ash can use spirit magic. This is the blanket you used to sleep under, isn’t it?”

“Yes… how did you know?”

In response to my question, Sylvia giggled, picked up the edge of the blanket, lifted it, and covered her face with it, taking a deep breath.

With her face still buried in the blanket, she said:

“Because it still has a faint scent of Ash.”

“…”

“Though it is quite dusty.”

Sylvia put down the blanket and coughed lightly.

She got up and took the blanket from me, lifting it.

“I’ll go outside and dust it off. From tonight, we’ll sleep under this blanket.”

Sylvia rolled up the blanket, tucked it under her arm, and started to head outside.

I found her attitude somewhat puzzling.

I had thought that the Sylvia I knew would be wary of the fact that I now had the power to escape anywhere, but contrary to my expectations, she was remarkably calm.

No, she even seemed a little happy about it.

Unable to contain myself, I asked her:

“Are you… okay with this?”

“Hmm? With what?”

“That I can teleport. Are you okay with that, Sylvia?”

Sylvia seemed to catch what I was trying to say, her eyebrows twitching slightly.

She looked down at me for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“What, is that what you were thinking about?”

“I was worried… that you might get anxious again.”

“What do you take me for… Ah, no, I suppose it’s reasonable to think that way… considering what I’ve done until now.”

Sylvia nodded, then turned around and headed out, saying:

“I’m not anxious anymore.”

“…”

“Because I believe Ash would never leave me.”

Sylvia walked out the door.

Just before the door closed, letting in a cold breeze, she whispered softly:

“And I’m happy… knowing that Ash can escape whenever there’s danger.”

*

“Ash.”

Right after Sylvia left, Pia called out to me.

Lost in thought about Sylvia’s words, I slowly turned my head toward the voice.

“Ash, I need more.”

“…Huh?”

“Need more, Ash’s things.”

Pia suddenly started saying things I couldn’t understand.

Looking closely, Pia’s appearance seemed somewhat strange.

Her hair was sticking up as if charged with static electricity, and her expression was uncomfortable, as if she was grimacing.

“Pi…a? What’s wrong, what’s happening!”

“Ash, I need things. Ash’s things…”

Pia just kept repeating those words.

Had something gone wrong with the spirit magic that normally couldn’t be used again for hours?

Unable to hide my confusion, I asked like a fool:

“Things?”

“Yes… things.”

I felt around my body and looked around.

Unlike my room, this cabin didn’t have anything that could be called my possession.

To be precise, there was nothing that could be called a “thing.”

Just in case, I offered her some firewood, but Pia shook her head.

Come to think of it, considering the items Pia had chosen to consume in my room, it was clear that by “things,” she meant objects I was attached to.

“Wait, there must be something. Just wait a bit, Pia.”

“Ugh.”

“I’ll find something quickly! Just a moment!”

I hurriedly got up and searched inside my clothes.

There was the dagger Sylvia had given me some time ago.

But this dagger was my only weapon and a useful tool in many ways, so it was something I couldn’t do without.

I kept the dagger tucked away and started looking around again.

On the crude desk pushed into the corner, I saw the mask I had made from the branch that the green woman had dropped.

I hastily grabbed the mask and held it out to Pia.

“Will this do?”

Pia shook her head.

“No… this is the Queen of Spirits’ body… not compatible with Pia…”

Pia curled up, breaking into a cold sweat.

Seeing her like that, cold sweat ran down my back as well.

I tossed the mask aside and stood up.

“…Damn it, there must be something. Just a moment…!”

My lips felt parched from the sudden situation.

I wiped away the cold sweat and looked around.

Just as I was about to go outside to see if there was anything there,

Something caught my eye.

It was a leather armor quietly laid out in the corner of the room.

“…”

It was the armor I had made for Sylvia.

An armor that was impossible to wear, or even if worn, couldn’t function properly as protective gear. It was stiff due to poor tanning and even emitted a foul odor.

Sylvia had awkwardly suggested throwing it away, and Sister Alice had lightly scolded me after seeing it once. It was truly a white elephant.

Though it was useless and smelly, deserving to be thrown away, I couldn’t bring myself to discard it because I had put so much effort into making it with my limited knowledge.

I picked it up and brought it to Pia.

“How about… this?”

“…”

Pia stared at the armor for a moment, then reached out with her small hand and grabbed it.

At the same time, Pia’s body gradually began to brighten.

“Pia?”

A silver flash burst forth from Pia’s body, which was glowing white.

Not understanding what was happening, I reached out toward Pia in concern.

But at that moment, the light grew even brighter, and I had to cover my eyes with both arms and turn away from the intense radiance that threatened to burn my eyes.

“Ugh, Pia! What’s happening! Are you okay?”

“…”

“Pia!”

With my left arm covering my eyes, I reached out with my right arm, feeling for the spot where Pia had been curled up.

At that moment, I heard Pia’s voice.

“I’m fine.”

“Pia?”

“You can open your eyes now.”

I felt something was off.

It was definitely Pia’s voice, but strangely, her pronunciation was more articulate and her speech pattern seemed more refined.

Worried about what had happened, I lowered my left arm and slightly opened my eyes.

“…Pia?”

“…”

Pia was wearing the leather armor I had given her.

The armor was originally made to fit Sylvia’s body, so it shouldn’t have fit Pia, but although it was a bit large, she was wearing it without much trouble.

Wondering if the armor had shrunk, I looked closer and saw that it had indeed become smaller.

More precisely, it hadn’t just shrunk—it had been altered, with pieces cut out and reattached in various places.

“That outfit… did you do that, Pia?”

Pia shook her head.

It was clear that if the armor had remained as I had made it, she wouldn’t have been able to move while wearing it. Had it somehow been naturally altered during that mysterious flash of light?

The alterations were quite extensive, making it look more like a leather jacket than armor.

In my confusion at the sudden, incomprehensible situation, I had failed to notice the biggest change until now.

Pia looked at me with disdain.

Only then did I finally notice the transformation that had occurred in Pia before my eyes.

“No, wait a second.”

“Haah…”

“…What is this?”

It was true that the clothes had shrunk and the design had changed.

But Pia had also grown.

“Ash is really an idiot.”

“…Pia?”

“Shouldn’t you say I look pretty first?”

To about twelve years old.