Chapter 004

「Magic and Birth」

Translator: Silver

“…Change.”

“Ai!”

I started learning magic from Abel in earnest.

Right now, I was performing the fundamental elemental change.

It was a technique that imbued my mana with fire or water properties.

Spells such as fireballs and water bullets worked by transforming one’s mana into those substances and manifesting them in the real world.

Even if people possess mana, and it is abundant in nature, magic didn’t originate from this world.

It’s was a form of energy that originated from 『The Other Side』, where the likes of gods, spirits, and ghosts were from.

To manifest that energy, it first had to be converted into something from this world.

The most fundamental and relatively easiest elements for conversion were fire and water. In contrast, artificial items, like processed metals, were the most difficult subjects of transformation.

Just releasing mana without converting it was considered wasteful.

Otherworldly energy tended to dissipate quickly when exposed to this world’s environment.

Of course, raw mana doesn’t contain much raw power and had little influence on the world. Therefore, it was basically impossible to efficiently use mana without converting it.

However, there was an exception. That was when the amount of magic was huge.

A large enough quantity of mana wouldn’t disappear immediately, and it could even warp reality. The fuel economy was so bad it made little sense.

(That was why I initially became exhausted moving a feather…)

Heavy luggage can be moved with enough strength, but it was impossible to move it by breathing.

The conversion acted as the brawn in this situation. The absurdity of this was only compounded when you think of raw mana as the breath.

That was what I seemed to be doing.

“…Your basic magic training is fine as is. Believe it or not, you already have a handle on 『The Root of All Magic』, Al.”

It seemed that using raw mana is too strenuous and taxing on the mind and body.

However, under the right circumstances, manipulating raw mana was the best way to increase one’s mana reserves. Was it something like carrying a weight on you back while exercising?

In any case, Abel’s guidance was incredibly accurate. Even I, who knew nothing of other magicians, could tell she was an excellent teacher.

Thanks to that, my magic repertoire has increased dramatically.

Now I could control the long-desired fire, water, and light.

Of course, it became publicly known that I could use magic.

The training was done in the garden. So, it was impossible for the servants not to notice. There was simply no way to hide this. Of course, the Bielefeld’s knew of my abilities as well. However, they had no choice but to accept this as a trade-off. The study of magic was an absolute necessity.

As a result, my worries have also increased.

Because I could read, write, and do basic arithmetic, I was already evaluated as a 『Genius』or 『Prodigy』. Now magic was through into the mix.

No matter how you look it, a child capable of all this would be considered an extraordinary genius. It would be strange if people weren’t vigilant about my growth.

Excellent (Seemingly) children of mistreated mistresses tended to be the seeds of conflict since time immemorial. I sincerely hope my worries were superfluous.

When the proper heir of the Bielefeld family was born, they would be compared to me for the rest of their lives. My very existence would become a source of trouble.

(I didn’t want a child to hold a grudge against me, but…)

There was already another child on the way.

My father’s official wife, Afasta, was pregnant.

There was a big fuss over there, with people hoping the child would be even more of a genius than me.

Despite the short time since the announcement, several private tutors had already been hired.

While I felt sorry for that child with those expectations forced upon them, I am grateful that less of the blowback was directed my way.

Still, there were now two pregnant women on the estate.

However, there was a slight problem with my mother.

Her stomach was steadily bulging, but occasionally she would experience server pain.

Her face would distort into a agonized visage, and she rubbed her stomach to ease the pain.

After his long absence, my blue-faced father returned with a doctor to care for her. Worry could be seen in the brows of the expressionless Abel.

“…It must be unpleasant.”

One day, Abel muttered that.

“What’s wrong?”

Little by little, I became more fluent in speaking, so I often asked questions.

Elves were often to the subject of my curiously. Therefore, it was difficult to understand various things.

“…Lucia’s stomach. The baby is probably the cause.”

“What?”

Abel seemed to know the source of the painful outburst.

When I asked, she mentioned seeing similar cases before.

“…The baby’s mana is too strong. The fetus is unconsciously releasing high concentrations of mana. As they grow, they will infect greater amounts of harm.”

“What’s gonna happen to mother?”

“…In such cases, both the mother and child will die. I’ve never seen a break from this pattern.”

“…!”

No.

I vigorously shook my head.

“……It’s simply painful right now. But it’s only a matter of time before the internal bleeding begins. Then the internal organs will breakdown until the mother’s body can no longer endure the swell of mana and ends up exploding.”

“I… won’t… let… it… happen?!”

“……I’ve never heard of anyone surviving.”

Abel became mortified as she spoke.

“Why is this happening…?”

“…Lucia isn’t a magician. However, she seems to have an extraordinary talent as a 『Mother of Sorcerers』. Giving birth to you would’ve destroyed a normal person’s body. This power is simply beyond the realm of men.”

I could stand still no longer and run to my mother’s side.

“Oh, Al-chan. What’s wrong?”

My mother, who didn’t know the importance of the magic-induced pain, was happily reading a book in her rocking chair.

How didn’t you comfort a person who didn’t know what was happening to their body?

“Maーma, body?!”

“Are you alright? What? Are you worried about me? Mama is so happy.”

I approached my smiling mother without hesitation as she began stroking her stomach.

It was like holding an irremovable bomb.

“Do you care about the baby? Well, they are your younger sibling. I hope you’re born healthy.”

I couldn’t watch her lovingly stroke her stomach any longer.

(Abel said that I have a deep understanding of magic’s roots. So, what does it look like inside?)

I closed my eyes and extended my sixth sense towards my mother.

“…What?!”

Astonishing.

It was dense.

I was thrown into a vortex of multi-layered and power mana head first.

The ripples of mana continued to swell. It was too large to fit within my mother’s stomach.

(Mother, why were you okay with something like this inside you?!)

No, she wasn’t okay. She was slowly dying.

I thought I could suppress the power, but that was clearly impossible.

It was like trying to hold by a tsunami with a single door.

“…I’m saying it’s impossible. Even if you manage to temporarily suppress the power, it won’t solve anything. The mana will still leak out. So long as the source remains, the vessel will be destroyed.”

“Oh, Abel. You’re here too? Fufufu. Are you interested in my children?”

Before I knew it, an elf girl appeared behind me. Mother was proudly boasting with a smile on her face.

But Abel and I weren’t laughing.

Once again, I extended my senses into my mother’s body.

There had to be something there I could do to help her.

(Hold on… What were Abel’s origins…?)

All of a sudden I was at the center of the magical vortex.

My entire consciousness had been sent here.

“…!”

Then I saw it.

It was staring right at me.

The fetus’s consciousness was here.

(They’re just staring at me. But, it’s not unpleasant…)

I cautiously extended my mana towards them.

Then the consciousness grasped “Me” tightly.

(We’re connected…!)

A surge of overwhelming mana flew into me. I shuddered.

(Hey, hey, hey! What is this! One slip up and this mana would destroy me?!)

At the same time, emotions that were not mine accompanied the mana.

Fear.

Loneliness.

Want.

“Help me.”

That ply managed to ground me.

The consciousness was also afraid of their mana. It instinctively knew it was a danger to its life.

This was the first time I felt anything toward “This Child”.

Until now, I was only thinking about saving my mother, but “This Child” was my younger sibling.

Then, I had to help them.

Fortunately, “This Child” was directing their mana into me.

It was clinging to me. So, it was a direct link. A straight line.

(Maybe I could siphon off some of their mana though this connection.)

And that’s what I did.

Instead of blocking the mana, I lead it into my body.

If I can drain it out, the mana should disperse once exposed to the outside world.

Could my body safely handle such an amount of mana, though?

Honestly, I was afraid.

But, this was worth a try.

(It’s like this?!)

It was just a matter of finding the correct pathway.

While it was a terrifying amount of mana, leading it wasn’t that difficult.

It was similar to my own power.

Perhaps it was because we were immediate family members. The quality of our mana was so similar it was unbelievable.

Thanks to that, I could freely control this power with little to no harm to my body.

The unnecessary mana flew through my body and into the room.

“…Impossible.”

Behind me, Abel couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Speaking of which, couldn’t she also sense mana? So she should know what I was doing.

The elf girl held up her hand and began dispersing the mana leaking from my body.

Usually, the power would disappear on its own. However, the rate of dispersal was dependent on the amount present.

It was the same as ice in the scorching sun.

Something small, like shaved ice, melted instantly. But, what about a massive icicle?

Those could last for days or even weeks without melting, even kill someone if they were unlucky.

Mana worked under the same principle.

Though I could decide the path, there was nothing I could do about the emissions.

My mother would be put in danger if exposed to the run-off.

Knowing that Abel cleansed the surrounding area.

I lacked the power to get rid of such a massive mass of mana. Without Abel, this rescue mission would’ve failed halfway. I thanked Abel from the bottom of my heart.

My mother and younger sibling could be saved thanks to her.

It was a weight off my shoulder.

Only the collaboration between Abel, my sibling, and I made this possible.

“Oh? Why does my body suddenly feel lighter?”

Mother, who didn’t know anything, became more relaxed.

That’s a good sign. She was pregnant, and I didn’t want her to have any unnecessary worries. Maybe, Abel felt the same way.

Over the next few months, this operation was repeated numerous times.

Since we knew what to do and how to do it, the process was incredibly easy after the first attempt.

Then, the child was born.

It was a girl two years younger than me.

She was my darling sister.

Our family was whole.

She was a tiny baby with extraordinary large mana reserves.

Her name was Phelia Cranput.

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