Short Story
Short Story – Childhood Memories
I am Abel, a magician who has been reincarnated in a world two hundred years in the future.
In the previous world where I lived, my amber eyes were a symbol of discrimination. Even during the subjugation of the demon king, I was subjected to prejudice, discrimination, and various forms of persecution.
It’s easy to silence them with force, but that method, similar to a reign of terror, doesn’t solve the problem. That’s why I reincarnated in this world two hundred years later, with the goal of living in peace without being persecuted for the color of my eyes.
Well, life after reincarnation is, for the most part, peaceful. However, it’s impossible to lead a trouble-free life, no matter how much I desire peace. Recently, there has been an annoying guy sticking to me.
“Abel! Let’s play!”
A boy with burnt amber blonde hair and a slightly round face, Ted, bursts into the room with bandages and splints wrapped around his foot. He fell off the roof and got injured. To be honest, I’m partly to blame for the cause of his injury. I used magic to heal him, so he should be able to walk by now. However, his doctor forbade him from strenuous exercise and wrapped his foot with bandages and splints.
“Fine with me. What are we going to do today?”
It would probably clear Ted’s mind a little if he moved his body a bit. And I was thinking of doing some light exercise anyway.
“Oh, I know! Let’s go to the forest behind the mansion today!”
Hmm, the forest. I have never been there before. I’ve been surprised by many unknown cultures since coming to this world, and I haven’t had the opportunity to explore outside the town.
“Okay. Let’s go there.”
“Yay! Let’s get moving then!”
Haa. This guy has completely forgotten that the doctor told him to rest. Although I healed his injury, he still doesn’t listen to others.
“Abel-sama. I think it’s best not to go into the forest today.”
As she says that, Lilith, a beautiful woman with long silver hair, enters the room. She’s the owner of this house and a demon. She wanted to repay me for helping her two hundred years ago, so she has been waiting for me.
“…Any reason for that?”
“There was a report last night that a magical beast appeared in the forest.”
I see. Magical beasts, huh? So even after two hundred years, magical beasts exist in this peaceful era.
“W-What!? A magical beast has appeared!? That’s amazing! I want to see it!”
For some reason, when Ted heard the word ‘magical beast’, his eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Why do you want to see a magical beast?”
“Eh!? Because the magical beasts look so cool!”
They look cool, huh?
When I tilted my head, Lilith cleared her throat and explained.
“Most of the magical beasts were defeated by the heroes a long time ago. Therefore, their numbers have been drastically reduced, and their emergence itself is rare nowadays.”
I see. So that is how it is. Maybe it was because I defeated many of them before my reincarnation. These magical beasts lived in abundance two hundred years ago, but nowadays, they seem to have become a rarity.
“And that’s why, please don’t go outside today. The same goes for Ted-sama.”
“Ehhh. If Lilith says so, it can’t be helped.”
said Ted with a reluctant look on his face and left.
After Lilith closed the door, I spoke up.
“But why am I not allowed to go outside, too? Do you think that I would lose to a magical beast?”
I asked in a low voice.
If that were the case, even though I had taken on a younger form, I would be offended.
“I swear that’s not the case, Abel-sama. Currently, in this world, there are very few people who can defeat magical beasts.”
I nodded in understanding.
The quality of magicians in this world has somehow declined tremendously.
Maybe it is because there are no more wars with the demons, or maybe it is because the technology of magic tools has developed, but for some reason, most of the magic records of the world I was in before have been lost.
Anyway, the level of magic in this world is at its lowest. But magic is effective against the magical beasts.
I see. So that is why it must be hard for people to deal with magical beasts nowadays.
“In short, if I defeat the magical beasts, I’ll stand out too much, won’t I?”
“That’s right. The soldiers from the Royal Capital will arrive tonight, and they will start repelling the magical beasts from tomorrow.”
Repel? Not subjugation, but to repel?
I sighed at the level of the magicians who could only do that.
“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to fight a magical beast, too.”
“I would have loved to see Abel-sama’s majestic figure, but let’s wait and see what happens this time.”
said Lilith with a smile on her face.
Yeah, I might as well.
I nodded and looked out the window towards the ridge line.
～～～～～～～～～～～～
On that night, Langobalt’s territory was a little lively.
It wasn’t the kind of liveliness that you would expect on a festival day, but rather a sense of excitement that comes before a battle, which I know all too well.
Through the window, I could see soldiers making camps. They seem restless and are chatting with their comrades.
To me, most of the magical beasts are not worth mentioning. However, in this world, they are a considerable threat.
They engage in meaningless conversations to hide their fear and tension of possibly losing their lives in battle.
Soldiers from any era are the same.
While feeling nostalgic, I let out a sigh.
The magical beast that appeared today is Kamui, a bear-type magical beast. It is a low-level magical beast that is extremely weak against fire and will flee quickly when fire magic is cast. Even today’s magicians could repel it without much difficulty.
As I started to feel thirsty, I moved to the first floor.
Lilith is not at home today. She is personally guarding people in the town to prevent any harm from coming to them. She has always been too kind-hearted.
While I was brewing tea, someone knocked on the door. I wonder who it could be.
“I’m sorry. Could you open the door?”
I recognize the low voice of the man. I furrow my brows before opening the door.
“Is Lilith here?”
A muscular, stern-looking middle-aged man with a burnt amber-colored beard that resembles a lion’s, a pair of stunningly beautiful burning eyes that sparkle like polished jewels, and high-quality clothes befitting that of a noble appeared.
He is Ted’s father and the lord of Langobalt’s territory, Evans.
“Lilith is currently outside.”
“I see, Abel-sama. Sorry to bother you, but have you seen Ted?”
Hmm. He looks troubled. After the incident with Ted’s older brother, Bass, I have been treated well by Evans.
“No, I haven’t seen him. May I know what happened?”
Evans nodded with shortness of breath.
“Ted is not in the mansion.”
“Could it be…?”
“Yeah. Ted might have gone to see the magical beast. If Lilith isn’t here, there’s nothing we can do. I’ll request reinforcements from the soldiers.”
Evans bowed and closed the door.
Ted went to see the magical beast, huh? He did seem interested in it. But the magical beast is a wild beast. A child like him could get killed.
I went back to the second floor.
Even without him, I will be just fine. In fact, he’s been bothering me every day and cutting into my reading time, but… Well, losing a convenient workout partner would be to my detriment.
And if the lord’s son were killed, that would be troublesome, too.
After putting on my coat and wrapping a muffler around my neck, I opened the second-floor window and activated body strengthening magic.
This allowed even a young body to gain extraordinary physical strength. I then leaped toward the ironically beautiful starry sky.
Standing on the roof of a house, I looked at the forest. Every time the wind blew, the night forest rippled like the sea.
～～～～～～～～～～～～
Rejecting even the moonlight, the night forest was engulfed in darkness like spilled ink.
That said, there was no need to wander around the forest aimlessly.
Body strengthening magic has different applications. It is strengthened by concentrating magic power on specific parts of the body. For example, by concentrating magic power in the eyes, it is possible to enhance one’s vision like binoculars.
<<Body Strengthening Magic ―― Vision Enhancement, Night Vision>>
If the enhancement is further refined, it is possible to detect hidden magical beasts and humans through their body heat.
I found a small heat source. It belongs to Ted. There is another large heat source nearby. It probably belongs to the magical beast. I deactivated my vision enhancement and jumped into the forest.
“Ted.”
“A-Abel!”
Ted was squatting and crying. He looked a little depressed.
I see. He must have gotten lost, not knowing where to go after injuring his leg from a fall. There were scratches but no traces of being attacked by a magical beast.
“For now, let’s go back.”
“Okay.”
Ted wiped away his tears as he stood up. At the same time, the sound of broken trees was heard.
Good grief. It has to show up at the worst possible timing.
In an instant, the monster known as Kamui, resembling a pure white bear, broke through the trees.
The biggest difference between it and a normal bear was the third arm on its back, which looked like a scorpion’s tail. Although it’s not poisonous, that long arm has enough strength to blow away an adult easily.
“Wow! I-It’s a magical beast!”
“Don’t shout too much. It will get agitated.”
Well, it’s already agitated.
Kamui lay down on all fours and charged straight ahead at us.
I held Ted and jumped to the side, narrowly dodging Kamui’s third arm.
“A-Amazing! That’s so amazing!!”
“Ted, please be quiet for a moment.”
Kamui stood up and thrashed around with its strong arm, causing the ground to be gouged and trees to fall from their roots. Of course, its slow attack would never hit me.
I then circled behind Kamui.
“Double・Fireball!”
I deliberately aim my attack to the left and right of Kamui. With its surrounding area lit up, I could tell that Kamui flinched in fear.
“Let’s stop here. If we continue fighting, I’ll have to eliminate you seriously.”
Kamui’s eyes met mine.
It is impossible for a wild beast to understand words, even if it is a magical beast. However, because it is a beast, it should be able to tell the difference in our strength.
Kamui then growled in response.
Hmm. This is a little surprising. Is it still going to fight? As a beast, its own life should be the most important.
I observed Kamui and discovered something. An arrow was stuck in it. A fox hunting arrow with a decoration attached was lodged in its thick hind leg. I see. So that’s why it was so agitated.
I let go of Ted and slowly approached Kamui. It was making threatening noises, but I didn’t avert my gaze because a beast might do something unexpected when you look away.
“It’s okay. I am not going to eliminate you. I just need to get a little closer.”
I slowly approached Kamui.
“A-Abel!”
Ted’s voice made Kamui flinch. I sent a look to Kamui, assuring it that there was nothing to fear.
“Ted, just stay right there and be quiet.”
I touched Kamui’s body, and it continued to growl. Normally, I would have been bitten at any moment. Well, even if I were bitten, I don’t think it could break my body strengthening magic.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I’ll apply healing magic now.”
The magic syntax flows into Kamui’s body. Then, I numb the leg where the arrow was pierced and remove the arrow. Blood flowed out, but I immediately stopped the bleeding with healing magic. The treatment was finished in a matter of seconds.
“How’s that? It doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”
Well, the result is somewhat apparent. Kamui stopped growling. Instead, it rubbed its nose against me.
“Is this your way of thanking me? You don’t have to worry about it.”
I lightly stroked its forehead. Kamui let out a small voice, then got up and slowly entered the forest’s depths.
After seeing it off, I turned to Ted.
“All right. Let’s go back, Ted.”
Ted looks at me with his mouth open in a daze. Seriously, what is wrong with him?
With these thoughts in mind, I carried Ted on my back and descended the mountain.
～～～～～～～～～～～～
The next day after the incident with the magical beast, I met with Lilith and Evans after coming down from the mountain.
After explaining the situation, Evans widened his eyes in surprise and suggested we hold a commendation ceremony in the town. However, I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself and explained that to Evans. He agreed, saying that they would handle the aftermath properly.
I closed my book while yawning. I was feeling a bit sleepy today. Perhaps my young body didn’t have enough magic power. After all, activating healing magic consumes quite a bit of magic power. I used a lot of magic power to heal Kamui, whose body is twice as big as a human’s.
Suddenly, the door was opened with great force again today. Honestly, I wish he would open it quietly. However, Ted looked different than usual today.
“Hey, Abel. About yesterday… thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I only acted based on my own convenience.”
As I shifted my gaze back to the pages of my book, Ted leaned over and looked at me with a smug smile.
“Hey! Abel! As a reward for yesterday, I’ll let you teach me magic personally!”
“Hmm?”
What is he talking about? Why do I have to teach Ted magic? I don’t see any merits for myself. It seems like a punishment to me.
“No thanks. It’s too much trouble.”
“Whaaaat? W-Why not!? I’m personally asking you to teach me, you know!?”
“I don’t want to. If you understand, then go somewhere else.”
I kicked Ted out of my room and locked the door quickly.
“Wait, Abel. Wait a minute! Teach me magic, pleaseeeee!!”
From that day on, Ted started begging me to teach him magic. At first, I refused, but eventually, I got tired of saying no and found myself teaching him magic without realizing it.
And that’s how Ted ended up becoming my apprentice, although that’s a story for another day.
