Episode 4 The Sorcerer's Apprentice

As if lightning had fallen, the sound of explosions rang out in the forest

　Startled birds and animals begin to move in a hurry to get away from the sound.

Hmmm..., it looks like the flow of magic is slowly returning to normal. But it still doesn't feel right.

　I watch the rock in front of me, spitting smoke, charred and cracked black.

    I still feel like I'm behind in my initial response to magic. The power is also not as powerful as it was in its heyday.

  Even though the power is being reduced, I'm still shocked that the beginner-level Thunderbolt can't even shatter a rock of this level.

I'm not sure if my instincts have been dulled since I've been away from battle... Or is it just a physical problem...

  It's been six years since I woke up after a thousand years and Kuro is taking care of me ever since.

　My mental age is now 27.... but it seems that my body regressed to 4 years old when I woke up, so my actual age is now 10.

　My life with Kuro went along quite smoothly and peacefully.

　Occasionally, she would disappear for some days or return home with a few injuries, but she is a vampire, one of the most powerful creatures on the planet, so I'm not worried in the slightest.

　Rather, I'm more worried about my body being made to stay at home alone all this time. From a nutritional standpoint.

　The first few months after I woke up, I couldn't even stand up properly, so I got into the habit of letting Kuro take care of me, and I thought to myself  "Gil... Have you regressed to a an infantile state of mind?"

　As expected, I was too humiliated by that comment, so I've been working hard at rehabilitating myself every day to get my magic back to its full potential, and at the same time, I was able to relieve my stress by moving my body

　And another thing that has become a part of my daily routine is...

"Hey, Gil!　I'm here again today!"

　A girl with silky blond hair and ribbons worn like a headband comes near the rock with a smiling face when she spots me.

"You don't get tired of it, Yuffie."

'I won't get tired of it! Then today too, please, Master!

I can't help but look away from Yuffie, who's eyes are twinkling with curiosity.

　The curiosity of a young child is too dazzling...!

　Yuffie is a kid from Tsukumo Village, which is pretty close to the treehouse.

　Every once in a while, Kuro is there to help me with a deal or something.

    We're the same age (and I'm not talking about 27), and she happened to see me using magic in the forest, and since then she's been urging me to teach her magic. And after losing patience I had no choice but to teach her magic.

　Well, it's not like I have anything else to do, and it's still a great way to pass the time.

　However, there was something a bit odd about this era. Yuffie says that there is no one in the village who can use magic. There are some doctors, but their treatment seems to be limited to the simple use of magic tools rather than the use of healing magic.

　At least in my time, there were more people who could use magic, and even if there weren't, there were a few people who could learn at least the bare minimum of magic (such as magic to light a fire) on their own by reading books on magic.

　Well, not that it matters.

　Maybe magic is not so much in demand in a world that has become peaceful.

''So, what are we doing today!

"Hmmm, today... what did we do yesterday?"

"I practiced letting the water out of my hands yesterday! I extinguished the fire!"

　Yuffie speaks with great excitement.

　Yuffie had a talent for magic. Unlike the people in the village, Yuffie was the only one who was naturally gifted with the ability to sense magic.

　That's why she was able to find traces of me using magic and steal a glimpse at me using magic.

''Ah, that's right. Well, let's try to increase the distance today.

Yes, sir!

　Yuffie smiles as she salutes.

　The innocent smile washes over me.

　--No, I'm not a lolicon or anything, okay?　It's a natural phenomenon that makes pretty things pretty, you know?　Really?

　I excuse myself in my mind and draw a line about ten meters away from Yuffie's feet.

''Okay, for now, if It can fly this far today, then it's a success."

"Eh~, not that far~. Even yesterday, It could only fly about one meter...."

"Magic is a different experience than studying, just because you couldn't do it yesterday dosent mean you can't do it today, you can do something that you couldn't do yesterday and suddenly become good at it the next day. It's the same as with exercise - it's hard to get it right, but once you get it right, you grow up fast.

"Hmmm... Well, if Gil says I can do it, that means I can. I trust you!"

"No, It doesn't matter if you trust me or not, either way... it's Yuffie who's doing her best."

"I trust you!"

　Puffing up her cheeks a little, Yuffie placed the small pouch she had slung over her shoulder on a nearby rock.

"Alright, here we go."

　Yuffie thrusts her right hand out to raise it in front of her.

　A magic circle has been drawn on the back of her right hand in ink.

　I'm sure she properly re-drew it  before coming today.

    The magic circle is the one I first drew for Yuffie.

　It's a very simple but it's designed to be able to activate water-releasing magic.

　I said that chanting was fine, but she complained that it was too embarrassing to chant in front of me and wanted to do it another way, so I decided to draw the magic circle directly on the back of her hand, even though it was a little awkward.

　Honestly, you could activate magic with it, but that wouldn't be very applicable. Eventually, the best thing to do is to use no chanting but... that's a world where talent is very important. It would be foolish to prepare so many different magic circles in battle, and if you're going to fight with a tool that depicts a magic circle, you should make an original magic circle that's more applicable.

　---- In all likelihood, Yuffie will never use her magic in battle, and right now she's just enjoying being able to use magic and having fun with it, so this is fine.

　In the meantime, the magic power begins to gather in Yuffie's hands.

　As I thought, the activation of magic is still too slow, If it takes this much time, the enemy - and it's a bad habit to assume a battle every single time.

　Magic power gathers in the palm of Yuffie's raised hand.

　And when the converged power is released, a line of water is released from Yuffie's hand like a water pistol.

　It extends forward in a parabolic fashion.

　I quickly draw a line at the point of arrival.

"--roughly six meters, I guess."

"Eh~, Thats it.... I wonder if I have any talent."

"No, no, no, it's a great accomplishment to be able to fly six meters out of nowhere. As I said before, if you have a chance in magic, you can make it all happen in one fell swoop."

　Yuffie was a litten sullen, but when she head that, she smiled cheerfully.

"Ehehe, I guess so. Alright, I'll practice more and become the best magician in the village!　Oh, except for Gil."

"Haha, I'm not from the village. I mean, there aren't any magicians in the village."

'Yes thats why, I'm going to be the first one to have the ability to say 'I'm the magician of this village!'  with pride"'

　Yuffie returns to the starting point with her chest puffed out and motivated.

　I can't say she's very talented, but... motivation is an irreplaceable talent.

Okay, let's keep going.

◇ ◇ ◇

　The sun is already starting to set.

"Well, it's getting late. Yuffie, I have to go home. I'll take you home.

Yeah, thanks. So--cah!

　I heard Yuffie's short scream and turned around in a hurry.

"Oh my, are you practicing magic with Yuffie again? Don't get sick."

"Miss Claudia!"

　Yuffie happily hugs Kuro.

　Kuro also smiles kindly and gently pats Yuffie's head.

"Don't scare me, Kuro"

"Fufufu, I didn't want to interfere with your date."

　The gentle smile she had earlier turned into a suspicious smile.

''Don't be silly,''

"Oh My, that's not how you talk to your foster parents!"

"That's right, Gil!  You can't just say something stupid to your parents."

"Mhm."

"Mhm" what!  sigh... so what are you doing here?"

　Kuro sets Yuffie down on the ground.

"I just got a lot of food. I've already talked to Yuffie's mother, so let's have dinner at home today.

"Wow!　Miss Claudia's cooking!"

　Ugh, here we go again....

　Kuro has been trying to invite Yuffie over to our house for dinner every chance she gets.

　I'm not sure if it's because she's my only friend (or maybe it's just because she's my apprentice) or if it's because she's trying to get me to stay close to her.

　--Well, maybe Black, who doesn't understand the human mind, is trying her best to maintain the connections she made while we were left alone in the future

"Come on, Gil, let's go home. Let's have a party!"

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