The Targeted Children
I finally learned Heal and obtained Light Sorcery After spending ten days training.
It felt like a long ti but, ten days were astonishingly quick based on common senses. It really wasn’t a normal speed when the one doing it was a kid learning from zero.
However, it was worth it. My rank increased from zero to one. Your rank was based on the level of your highest level elental sorcery or combat skill. With this I had cleared the minimum requirent to join the adventurer guild, but I had no intention to join imdiately. Because if I didn’t obtain a level 1 close quarter combat skill at minimum, a child like might imdiately beco a prey of the other adventurers.
I was continuing with my close quarter combat training, but I still hadn’t learned the skill. Should I continue with the combat training more, or should I investigate the aning of Heal’s spell and raised my sorcery’s precision……. I also wanted to learn the other spell Cure, but my supplies would decrease to dangerous level soon, so I made up my mind to go to the town after so long.
Originally I planned to gather things that could be sold for money before I went to the town next ti, but I was occupied with my sorcery training and couldn’t gather too much. The old man of the general store told to bring him rabbit, but I would eat the rabbit myself if I managed to hunt one, and my dismantling was also still unskillful, so I didn’t think that I would be able to get a skin in a state that could be sold.
「……Can’t be helped.」
I was bringing the unique wild grasses that I found during my life in the forest for these three weeks. I wouldn’t be paid even if I brought detoxifying herb that was growing anywhere and used as household dicine or bug repellant grass that could be found relatively easily. It wasn’t like that they didn’t have any worth at all, but I would only get several bronze coins for a jute bag that was stuffed full with those grasses. It wasn’t worth it.
I was reading the handwritten dicinal herb book that woman stole from her teacher. At first I couldn’t read it unless I drew out vocabulary from my knowledge like searching a dictionary, but now I had beco able to read if I was doing it slowly.
I managed to find a 『magical fragrant fruit』 by relying on that knowledge. This was a fruit that grew from a shrubbery that lived in a region with few magic particles. The flesh was only two or three milliter thick and it was astringent, so it wasn’t suited for eating, but this fruit had the trait of storing magic particles in its seed in order to survive in a harsh environnt.
Using this seed, 『magic potion』 to recover magic power could be created. The dicinal herb book also had the basic of alchemy written in it. I myself planned to start studying alchemy one day but right now I couldn’t do anything.
It was a stroke of fortune that I could find this magical fragrant fruit. There was only one tree of that type growing on a mountain’s cliff and it only had a few of the fruits that could be taken. But it would be better for to sell them rather than just keeping them like this. Only the seed of this fruit had any use so I could keep them preserved for a long ti, but it would be seen as a fresh product if the fruit part was still there and it could be sold with higher price.
.
I finished eating before departing. The dried vegetables and dried at that I bought before were almost gone completely already. I used the last remaining scraps of the dried vegetables and dried at to make a soup that was seasoned with only salt and drank it up.
The bowl and pot were sothing that I got from hardening clay with the daily life magic Hard and then burning it. It wasn’t good enough to be sold, but during these several weeks I beca able to create sothing that was quite usable. The soup I created wasn’t delicious, but I felt like vitality was slightly welling up inside when sothing warm entered my stomach, and in the first place I had resistance against frugal al.
After that I took off my clothes at my base that was located at the upper stream of the small river and washed my body. An appearance that was completely like a street urchin wasn’t desirable. The other party would take advantage of if they sized up based on appearance, and street urchin that didn’t receive protection from the feudal lord was an easy target for robbery. That was why sotis I would also wash my clothes, but perhaps I should buy new clothes soon?
My outfit was old clothes with relatively good quality, but it was getting frayed from my life in the forest. Furthermore due to my growing magic power, my body was also rapidly growing. My clothes that only reached until above the knees had beco too short for . It now only reached until halfway of my thighs. It wasn’t like it bothered even if it got seen, but the troubles might increase if I got found out as a girl. I didn’t really understand why that would happen, but the “knowledge” told that was how it was, so I should be careful.
Now then, let’s depart. When the sun was starting to set, I shouldered my bag and left the campsite. With my social status right now, the soldiers patrolling the road were the most troubleso factor for . It would be troubling if they took into custody because I was just a child, and I had no confidence that I would be able to run away if the soldiers turned out to be evil. However if it was night, I had night vision skill even if it was just at level 1, so I thought that I would be able to manage sohow.
It was an ability that I obtained by seeing color in magic particles, but its precision was definitely increasing through my life in the forest for these three weeks. The soldiers were troubleso but, they were also removing dangerous creatures like wolf for , so night was safer for .
I used body strengthening and started walking on the road without making any sound. I trained to match my magic particle with the surrounding to erase my presence while also training to move without any sound at the sa ti. What I learned from trying it out was that in order to erase sound, it wasn’t enough to just move slowly and quietly. I noticed that muscle strength was also important. If I used the muscle in my legs and my whole body to soften the impact, then the sound I created from moving would naturally get smaller. And then if I moved by matching the flow of magic particles around , I would blend to the surrounding even more.
I used the body strengthening not to speed up, but to erase my sound by suppressing the impact from walking while walking through the path heading to the town faster than usual.
.
「……fuu」
A normal carriage would take half a day to travel from that campsite until the town. By walking you could reach the town at night if you left the campsite at early morning.
The first ti I headed to the town, I left at morning and arrived at the town late at night the next day when it was nearing dawn. This ti thanks to my increasing magic power, I beca able to maintain my body strengthening. Perhaps it was thanks to that I was able to arrive to the town in around the sa ti with the first ti though I left at night.
Even so I got really tired, so I slept until morning in the surrounding forest to recover my magic power and stamina. I should be able to beco able to move imdiately if I used Heal, but Feld said that it would beco harder for my stamina to grow if I used magic to recover, so it would be better to not use it as much as possible during my training.
I slept on a tree and woke up when the bell rang out three tis. It was eight o’clock in the morning. I infiltrated into the slum quarters from the usual place. I erased my presence by matching myself with the surrounding magic particles and also erased my walking sound with a way of walking that didn’t use my heels.
Thanks to obtaining stealth skill and search skill, fewer residents of slum quarters noticed . But despite the “knowledge” that I had, I had few actual experiences so it would be better if I didn’t let my guard down.
「…………」
I felt sothing……a presence. What was this……I didn’t really understand. It wasn’t a presence that was easy to sense like Feld’s surging aura. To be more accurate this was a bit different from presence……should I call it an out of place feeling instead?
It wasn’t that there was sothing, this out of place feeling, it was like sothing that was always there wasn’t there now.
……Was it just my imagination? Even while thinking that, I fastened my pace a little and got out of the slum quarters. It didn’t feel really good, so let’s imdiately left from this town after I finished shopping.
「So you’re here again huh……”ash sared”.」
「…………」
When I passed the general store’s door, the old shop owner glared at .
「Preserved food again?」
「Yes, do you have……sothing nutritious that can be kept for a long ti?」
「Nutritious? You know about strange word even though you’re just a brat. I don’t know any food like that, but if you want sothing that can make you feel full then I have nuts.」
The owner scowled with irritation, even so he still went to the back of the shop and brought a smallish jute bag.
「It’s filled with so nuts. Five bronze coins.」
「……They are charred.」
The nuts were already roasted to make them lasted longer, but quite a lot of them were charred or cracked.
「I told you this is that kind of shop. Go to a proper shop if you want proper things.」
Perhaps this was leftovers that were gathered from stall or cart. Their appearance was bad and the taste was also bad. That was why they couldn’t be sold to custor but rather than throwing them away, it would be better to sell them even if the price was dirt cheap. Also there was also people like who would buy even sothing like this as long as they were cheap.
「……Give so extra.」
「I’ll give you extra if you buy a bit more. Got any more order?」
「Can you buy this kind of thing?」
I took out the magical fragrant fruits that I had from the bag I shouldered. The old shop owner’s eyes slightly widened, then he glared at again.
「……Where did you get them from?」
「I picked them from inside the forest. I can’t explain where because there is no landmark.」
「……I see.」
What he saw from seed to convince him. After the shop owner understood that I wasn’t stealing them, he stared fixedly at the fruits before making a thinking gesture for a bit.
「Do you know what they are?」
「Of course.」
「……」
「……They aren’t that bad but they are uneven. And it looks like it has been so ti since you picked them, so they are starting to spoil already. Taking into consideration of the ti I’ll need to search for a buyer……I won’t be able to buy them with the regular price y’know?」
「No problem. This shop is that kind of shop after all.」
When I said that, the shop owner grandpa smiled slightly.
「There are six of them huh. Then I’ll buy them all with three silver coins. If you don’t like it then go to sowhere else.」
「I’m fine with that.」
I obediently nodded at the grandpa’s words. Perhaps it was half the price of the regular price. Most likely, even if I brought them to other shop, the chance was high that they would also size up and reduced the price. Besides this grandpa, despite his fierce glare and curt attitude, I could feel his sincerity for business even when he was just facing a kid like .
I also bought beans, dried at, and also salt and sugar crystals even though they were slightly expensive. Perhaps buying dried vegetables would be cheaper from a street stall, but as I was thinking about what I should do, the door behind opened and small silhouettes rushed in.
「You brats, don’t make a noise-!」
The two silhouettes that rushed in cowered from the grandpa’s angry yell. Children? As I turned around in puzzlent, one of them raised her voice before I could confirm their identity.
「Ah! Aria-!」
It was those siblings. The little sister Shuri yelled my na and hugged . She had completely forgotten that they had gotten yelled at just now. The big brother Gil was looking alternately at and Shuri and the shop owner in fluster. Then his gaze settled on to run away from the grandpa’s sharp gaze.
「A-Aria, just where have you been huh-」
「Outside, why?」
It wasn’t like they were my comrade, and we also weren’t friend. I pushed away Shuri from while casually answering him. Gil closed his mouth with a flinch before he suddenly rembered sothing and took out a sack.
「Even I can go outside-. I co here to sell the rabbit that I hunted outside yeah-」
「……Won’t it be better to eat it yourself?」
It looked like he had hunted rabbit outside the town, but perhaps it had taken him more effort than expected. The rabbit’s skin was ragged and its blood hadn’t even been drained out. When I calmly turned my gaze to the shop owner, the grandpa was sighing in irritation seeing the rabbit’s condition.
「Aria, have you grown taller?」
Shuri who was watching the exchange between Gil and interrupted. I noticed it because of the increase of my magic power and the “growing pains”, but Shuri noticed because her eye level that was about the sa with when we t for the first ti was lower now.
「By the way, why were you two in a rush like that just now?」
It would be a pain to explain it, so I changed the topic. That made Gil recalled what happened just now and clung on that topic.
「That’s right-! There is this strange uncle outside! He was sighing after staring hard at Shuri and . It was unpleasant so we ran away here.」
「Hee……」
A strange uncle? Was it Feld? While I was thinking of such rude thing, the shop owner grandpa who seed to be listening to our talk raised his voice.
「I heard recently there is an unfamiliar man hanging around in this area. From the way he is dressed and his stature, there is a rumor that he might be a thief. You brats, don’t get yourself kidnapped out there.」
「……Yes.」
Thief huh……troubleso. For right now, such opponent would be several levels more troubleso than so unskillful soldier. Thief wasn’t just a re robber or thug, they had Skill for the sake of stealing. Perhaps they also had so way to fight. They were managed by a criminal organization called Thief Guild that was like mafia. They wouldn’t do anything flashy that could cause the country to take action, but in the end they were people who only moved for the sake of money, so it couldn’t be predicted what kind of act they might perpetrate.
The feeling that felt like “presence” that I sensed when coming here might be that man. If that wasn’t just my imagination and he was really there, I felt that he was soone with skill that was far beyond the reach of the like of .
……Let’s leave this town right away.
My shopping was only half finished, but I shouldn’t risk the danger, so I imdiately headed toward the hole in the wall surrounding the town as soon as I left the shop. I used my stealth to shake off the siblings who were trying to follow again and arrived in front of the exit. There I noticed the “presence” that I felt when I just arrived here.
To be more accurate it wasn’t a presence. But there was just sothing that was too conspicuous in its nonexistence that I felt sothing was out of place. If I assud that 『the skilled thief』 was there, then perhaps this was 《stealth skill》 at work. My mind made that kind of connection.
When I quietly moved my gaze around, I noticed there were magic particles with unnatural “color”. If I tried to sense the magic particles, I wouldn’t notice because this out of place feeling was blending with the surrounding. But that strange magic particle color looked like “human shape”. When my gaze stopped there, that human shaped magic particle suddenly swelled up.
(Body strengthening!?)
I wouldn’t understand if I hadn’t directly felt Feld’s body strengthening before. No, it was mostly just a coincidence that I could arrive at such thought. The mont I thought that, I had leaped to the side almost unconsciously. A mont later, an iron blade stabbed the spot where I was standing on just now.
「Hoo……」
A man appeared with his human presence registering in my senses. It seed that his stealth had been removed. The man threw a manly smirk at who had just dodged his throwing knife.
「Looks like I’ll be able to enjoy this a little.」
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