Chapter 13 : The Second Girl (5)

Lisette was breathing heavily, standing precariously as if about to collapse at any moment.

Her face was pale, and her entire body was trembling faintly.

“Ha…!”

The child, while glancing at me, took a stance to prepare for using magic.

“O whispers of the stars that shine upon the sky…”

She brought her hands together in front, closed her eyes, and began muttering some incomprehensible incantation.

I watched her with great interest.

Finally, I was about to witness magic from this world firsthand.

What kind of spectacle would unfold?

“By the power of the sun, I command you!”

I could feel the air around Lisette subtly stirring.

It was faint, but clearly, something was changing.

An invisible force seemed to be gathering around the child’s small body.

As she continued chanting, beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

Lisette, fully concentrating, furrowed her brows tightly.

“Let there be light!”

And finally, when the child gently parted her hands that had been gathered, it happened.

Puff.

A very small, faint speck of light appeared above Lisette’s palm.

It was a weak, fragile light, just a little brighter than a firefly.

It flickered as if it might go out at any moment.

‘Huh?’

“Ha… Ha…”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

Is this magic? This wasn’t what I expected.

Just this tiny speck of light?

To be honest, I was disappointed.

But soon, I began to look at this phenomenon from a different perspective.

Although weak, it was clearly the result of creating ‘something’ from ‘nothing.’

Without any tools or materials, she had created light with only her will and some mysterious power.

‘How did she do it?’

Curiosity began to rise again.

Where could that light have come from?

Had she drawn energy from within her own body? I observed Lisette closely.

Even after creating just that small speck of light, the child seemed to have drained all her strength and was swaying as if about to collapse.

Her face was even paler than before, and she was sweating profusely, like it was raining.

‘Hmm, seems like she’s using up too much energy?’

With that level of power, the energy consumption seemed extremely inefficient.

I started to wonder if magic wasn’t as impressive as I had imagined.

“Uh… How is it?!”

Sori, who had been watching, opened her eyes wide and looked at the flickering light on Lisette’s hand in amazement.

Despite struggling to maintain it, Lisette asked Sori with a proud look on her face.

“It’s amazing..! It’s shining! How did you do it?”

However, Sori’s expression contained not awe or reverence for magic, but simply pure curiosity.

It seemed that magic was a new phenomenon even for Sori.

“Ah!?”

As Sori expressed her amazement, Lisette, just as she was about to feel proud, watched the tiny light flicker for a few more seconds before it suddenly lost its strength and vanished.

It disappeared like a firefly that had used up its last bit of energy.

“Heh… Heh…”

“Ah… it went out…”

As the light disappeared, Lisette seemed to collapse, her legs giving way, and she fell to the ground.

Sori looked at her with a sympathetic gaze.

Lisette was breathing heavily, looking at me with slightly frightened eyes, watching for my reaction.

It was clear that she was afraid I might get angry or laugh at her for showing such a weak magic.

I looked down at Lisette and thought again about the phenomenon of magic.

Though the power was disappointing, I was still fascinated by its principles and possibilities.

I asked Lisette.

“That… is magic?”

Lisette flinched at my question and nodded slightly.

I fell silent for a moment.

Then I asked again.

“Is that… all?”

My question was out of pure curiosity—whether that was all she could do with magic or if that was the extent of its power—but it might have sounded different to Lisette.

It might have sounded like I was mocking or reproaching her, as if asking, “Is that all you have?”

Lisette’s face turned pale again.

“No… ugh…”

The child seemed to want to make an excuse, but she couldn’t say anything and hung her head low.

She looked like she was about to burst into tears again.

I wanted to tell her not to cry and that I didn’t mean to make her feel bad, but I still felt that a little fear towards me was a good thing, so I held it in.

I stared at Lisette, lost in thought for a moment.

‘As expected… even magic relies on physical stamina.’

Seeing her collapse after casting just one spell, it seemed that if her stamina increased, she could cast stronger magic.

No matter what magic it was, a strong body came first.

With such weak stamina, she wouldn’t be able to properly use magic.

I steeled myself.

It was time to activate my ‘Tiger Instructor’ mode again.

“Training… continue.”

At the sound of my firm voice, Lisette’s shoulders trembled as she bowed her head.

With that level of weak light magic, she wouldn’t even be able to scare away a wolf.

In the end, my belief that only a strong body can be relied upon became even stronger.

“I’m a magician… huhu.”

‘Seems like she still has the energy to speak.’

Lisette swallowed her tears and, with her trembling limbs, took up the push-up position again, starting her training.

Sori, on the other hand, had already started running, circling around the cave.

‘…What should we have for lunch?’

After such intense training, proper nutrition was essential.

Especially since Lisette must have completely drained her energy from using magic.

I felt that something nourishing should be given to her. If not, she’d suffer from body aches the next day, and we’d have to skip training, so recovery was a necessary element.

The ‘deer’ meat that Sori had been eating so well at the beginning.

After eating that, Sori’s stamina seemed to improve noticeably… Yes, let’s hunt another one.

And although Sori doesn’t like the sound very much, it’d probably be good to add some vegetables too.

“…Time to prepare lunch.”

I had told the two kids beforehand that I’d be stepping out for a bit after the training was over.

Lisette still looked at me with frightened eyes, while Sori simply nodded calmly.

At last, the long and harsh morning training came to an end.

Sori finished with a fair amount of ease, but Lisette was completely worn out, collapsed on the ground, barely catching her breath.

Leaving the two behind, I stepped out of the cave.

‘Should I look for vegetables first?’

I wandered around the edge of the forest, looking for edible grasses or roots.

Then I spotted a familiar-looking plant.

Only a few ordinary-looking leaves stuck out of the ground, but I already knew that there was a lumpy, oddly shaped root hidden beneath the soil.

I’d collected and eaten it a few times before.

The taste… well, it’s not exactly good, but it’s edible enough.

Carefully, I dug out the surrounding dirt with my front paw and grabbed the thick root.

Then I pulled it out with all my strength.

“KYAAAAAAH! PLEEAAASEEE LET MEEEE GOOOOOO—!”

Just as I expected, the moment the root was pulled out, it let out a horrible scream that sounded somewhere between a crying human baby and a sharp shriek.

The first time I heard it, I was startled too, but now I was used to it.

‘Noisy thing.’

I frowned and gave the still-squirming root plant a light flick on the head to knock it out, brushed off the dirt, and packed it up.

Next was the meat.

I went deeper into the forest to find that “deer” Sori especially liked.

Strangely, that type of deer was always fairly easy to find around here.

Today was no different.

Before long, I found one peacefully grazing in a small clearing in the forest.

It looked a little smaller than the last one, but it still had that shiny fur and mysterious aura.

I didn’t hesitate.

I closed the distance in a flash and cleanly ended its life without giving it a chance to resist.

Hunting had become quite familiar by now.

Carrying the root vegetable and the fresh deer carcass, I returned to the cave.

Inside, Sori had already come back, and Lisette was still sprawled out on the floor.

When I set down what I’d brought near the cooking spot, Lisette lifted her head and looked at them.

And the next moment, her face filled with horror.

“Eeeek!”

Lisette let out a near-scream and shrank back.

Her eyes were fixed directly on the root vegetable I brought.

She began trembling like a leaf, as if she had just seen the most horrifying thing in the world.

Her pupils were shaking with fear.

‘…What’s with her?’

I didn’t understand Lisette’s reaction.

That root vegetable might be noisy, but there’s nothing wrong with eating it.

Nothing bad happened when I ate it before.

Even Sori, though she didn’t like it at first, ate it without a word once I roasted it.

So why is Lisette so terrified of it?

‘Could it be… she absolutely hates vegetables?’

I looked between the root vegetable and the deer carcass.

Then back at Lisette’s pale face and trembling hands.

She was clearly scared out of her mind, but also seemed to be desperately looking for something.

‘What’s she searching for?’

I followed her gaze.

She was anxiously scanning the flat stone we used as a dining table on the cave floor.

‘Ah!’

Suddenly, a thought popped into my head.

‘Could it be… she’s scared because there are no eating utensils?’

Yeah, that had to be it!

She even complained about not having a fork at breakfast.

Now, in front of her, there’s a noisy root vegetable and a freshly hunted animal carcass, just lying there with nothing to eat them with.

Surely, the thought of having to pick them up and eat with her bare hands was a massive shock for a noble girl.

‘Well… I guess she’s not used to tearing meat with her hands and chewing on raw roots.’

Understanding the true cause of Lisette’s extreme fear, I nodded to myself.

Still, it’s good she doesn’t dislike vegetables.

In fact, Sori even seemed to sparkle a little when she saw the deer meat I brought.

Told you she liked that meat.

I decided I should try to ease Lisette’s anxiety at least a little.

Of course, I couldn’t make a fork or knife right this second, but…

‘Hmm, maybe I should try crafting something fork-like later.’

With that in mind, I began preparing lunch.

I cleaned the root vegetable and tossed it whole into the fire.

I carefully grilled the same cut of deer meat Sori had enjoyed last time.

Inside the cave, the strange smell of the roasting root vegetable and the scent of grilled meat began to spread and mingle.

I hoped this meal would suit Lisette’s taste, too, and did my best to manage the fire, even if I was a bit clumsy.

Lisette was still trembling in the corner, but maybe she’d smile like Sori once she ate!