Since When Did You Have The Illusion That You Don’t Have Magical Powers?!

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Aurora Steinfeld, daughter of the Duke of Bloomfield

I was only thinking about using magic to quickly kill the magical beasts, and I had forgotten that there were small settlements and villages under that tornado. I had protected only ourselves with barrier magic and let the tornado run rampant. I later realised this and paled, but it seems my luck did its job and fortunately the tornadoes avoided the inhabited areas.

However, I’m sure they were quite frightened by the huge tornado, so I promised myself that I would do my best to help with the recovery.

First, we headed for the Morris village, which is the nearest place to the magical beast forest. This village was originally founded by a group of adventurers, and many of them were familiar with magical beasts and had taken all the necessary countermeasures. However, this did not seem to last long in the face of an unexpected outbreak of magical beasts. Morris village, which had suffered extensive damage, could not be rebuilt, and needed a place to shelter from the wind and rain and food to eat, no matter what.

Percival had spoken to the margrave in advance and lent us five soldiers, including a medic, so we transferred to Morris village with them and food for support.

“Everyone, please repair the fences and the houses. Medics, please treat the injured.”

While Percival gives orders briskly, I assemble a stove with stones. I’m fully aware that I’m hopelessly powerless, so I’ll leave the repairs to them completely.

Even if I strengthen my body with magic, it doesn’t mean that I can become strong. It is only through a medium such as a wand that I become effective. It’s just like you can’t cut meat with your bare hands, no matter how powerful you are. If I wanted, I could carry a log on the tip of a wand, but that would be inefficient. If I do it poorly and injure myself, you’ll be dragging their legs. I’ve told them that if they want to carry a lot of heavy things, transfers are useful and I’ll help them then.

So my job is to cook. I used to cook out a lot when I was an adventurer. Urla was a war orphan, and when she saw hungry children, she couldn’t leave them alone. Even the most listless children would smile when their bellies were full.

I quickly made a stove and threw the vegetables and dried meat I had prepared with the help of the head chef into the two large pots I had brought with me. The children, who had been watching me from afar, began to gather around. When I magically lit the wood in the pot, the children’s eyes lit up in surprise.

“Is Onee-chan a magician?”

“Not Onee-chan1, it’s Onii-chan2. That’s right, I am a magician.”

“Eh! You’re not Onee-chan?”

“Are you really Onii-chan?”

The children who had gathered in a crowd were more interested in the fact that I was an Onii-chan rather than in the fact that I was a magician. That’s not the main point.

There’s still time for the contents of the pot to boil, so I show the children some magic. It’s a little spectacle of light, water and flowers. Despite the circumstances, the children were delighted by my magic. Yes, yes, if the children are happy, this village will be fine.

I performed my magic as the children asked me to, and I made my special soup with a lot of ingredients. I gave out the soup and bread to the villagers who were attracted by the smell of the soup.

“There is enough for second helpings, so please eat as much as you can.”

Tired-looking people looked relieved when they received the soup. Knowing that you have support will give you a little peace of mind. Besides, since we will be able to obtain a lot of materials from the magical beasts, we should be able to pay enough money for the aid.

Now that the soup has gone to the people gathered here, I’ll go and tell the villagers who haven’t come that we’re serving soup.

The sturdy-looking fence that protects the village from magical beasts has been breached in several places, and it is nothing short of a miracle that this village was not wiped out in these circumstances.

“Really, I don’t know how it didn’t vanish.”

It must be almost a miracle that anyone survived in these conditions. The way we did it was rough, but it was the right decision to get rid of the magical beasts as quickly as possible. If we had been half a day late, this village would not have existed.

But anyway, what exactly is the cause of this outbreak of magical beasts? It’s quite similar to the time when Insania Metus’ magical energy caused the outbreak of magical beasts, but I definitely killed that black flame dragon. I don’t think there are that many of those things in this world.

At the moment, the only places where there are unusual outbreaks of magical beasts are the royal capital and here in Oriens. Or is it happening in other territories and countries as well?

Let’s ask Aurora when we return to the royal capital. His Excellency the Duke may have some information.

“……Uuu, hiccup……”

“Hmm? Somewhere there’s a child crying……”

When I followed the voice and looked around, I saw a small boy crying in front of a half-destroyed house and a woman who looked like a mother sitting down with a drooping head.

“Are you all right? We’re having a soup kitchen over there now.”

“It’s okay. Leave us alone……because he’s gone and we’re left with nothing…….”

Oh. This person has lost her husband. The house is destroyed, the child is still young, and if the breadwinner is gone, there will be despair. But the child is different. He is crying because he is sad that his father has died, but he is not in despair.

It was Evan who said that unlike adults, small children don’t despair because they don’t have much experience and don’t imagine bad things. That’s why he was so enthusiastic about the importance of letting children experience failure and defeat, success and triumph, so that they can develop a strong heart that won’t be defeated by setbacks.

This painful experience will be his food for thought one day. He is going to live from now on, and we mustn’t let him get caught up in his mother’s despair.

I picked up the crying boy.

“Was your father strong?”

“Ye-yeah. Fa-father was the strongest man in the village……bu-but he protected my mother and I and was eaten by a lot of magical beasts……”

The boy stammered and said this, and his mother burst into tears.

“I don’t have any words to say to her. No words of comfort will ever reach her grief-stricken heart.”

“……What’s your name?”

“Cl……Cleo.”

“Cleo’s father was a strong and honourable man, wasn’t he?”

“Ye-yes……fa-father was strong and kind……an-and then,”

I rub Cleo’s small back as she sobs.

“Don’t hold back, you can cry a lot. But first you have to eat a lot. If you’re hungry and you don’t have strength, you won’t be able to cry. There is soup with meat in it over there, so I’ll go with you and get some. And of course, your mother’s share too.”

“……Yeah.”

I take Cleo, who nodded, to the soup kitchen. Even crying takes strength. Without strength, you can’t grieve properly. You have to fill up your stomach, build up your strength, cry and cry until you’re exhausted enough to give up, and then figure out what to do. From my experience, once the hunger is satisfied, some of the sadness will go away on its own. Strangely enough, it makes me want to try again. It’s even better when you’re filled with delicious food.

“It smells good……”

Cleo sniffs.

“It’s soup. There’s plenty to go around, so you can eat as much as you like.”

“Really?”

“Yeap.”

Cleo, who had been crying earlier, smiled. See? As expected, good food is the source of smiles.

When I returned to the kitchen, Percival was guarding the stove.

“Sapphiras, this kid is?”

“He was with his mother over there. He lost his father, and his mother is very upset. When he’s full, I’m going to take his mother’s share as well.”

“……I see.”

Percival casually lifted Cleo from my arms. The weight suddenly disappears from my arms. To be honest, I was kind of at my limit, so I was saved. My arms, freed from the weight, are trembling, but I pour the soup into a bowl with a casual face so as not to make them realise it. It’s too uncool to have your arms tremble just by carrying a boy for a while.

Percival sat Cleo down on a pile of logs and handed him the soup and bread.

“Don’t eat in a hurry or you’ll choke. The soup won’t run away from you, so eat slowly.”

“Mm.”

He replied, but he probably wasn’t listening. Cleo is eating the soup with a passion. I knew he was hungry. No matter how sad it is, that’s how children are.

After finishing the soup, Percival and I take Cleo back to his mother’s place. I’m worried about leaving her alone for too long.

“Yes. Take care of it carefully.”

When we came near Cleo’s house, I handed her a bowl of soup that I had been carrying, in case I spilled it.

“For the time being, the uncle soldiers will be here, so if you’re in trouble, call them. They’ll do something about it.”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

Cleo received the bowl and was on his way to his mother’s place when he stopped and turned around.

“Hey, Onee-chan, will you come back?”

“I’ll be back. And I’m not Onee-chan, I’m Onii-chan.”

“Eh? Onee-chan is Onii-chan?”

Cleo rolled his eyes and looked at me. If you don’t believe me that much, I can strip and show you. Apparently, the children in this village want me to be their Onee-chan.

“Yes. Onii-chan. Now, hurry up and take the soup to your mother.”

Cleo nodded and walked slowly to his mother, concentrating on the bowl at hand so as not to spill the soup.

His mother was still lying face down, but when Cleo called out to her, she looked up and accepted the bowl.

What has been lost will never come back, no matter how much you mourn. Sadness never disappears from the heart. But tomorrow will come, no matter how sad or painful it is, and you have to go on living. I hope that person stands up for Cleo, even if it takes a long time.

“……Sapphiras, let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

A few days later. When I visited Morris village again, I found children running around energetically in the village, which was being restored. Among them is a smiling Cleo.

And Cleo’s mother was helping with the soup kitchen amongst the village ladies. She must have decided to get up and move on, despite her despair.