136 – Growth (6)

＊

I told Sylvia exactly what had happened a moment ago.

It might not be a good idea to reveal to her that I could disappear at any time if I wanted to.

As Sylvia is extremely afraid of my absence, it might make her uneasy that I… no, more precisely, Pia has such an ability.

But, I couldn’t hide it.

If I had come back empty-handed, I could have made excuses somehow, but since I had brought a blanket, there was no room for excuses.

This quilt was thick, large, and luxuriously embroidered, something you couldn’t possibly find in the forest.

Unable to hide my anxious feelings, I tightly held onto the blanket I had brought, and Sylvia quietly listened to me.

Finally, when the explanation was over, Sylvia slowly nodded.

“I told you I would show you.”

“… huh?”

“You said you’d show me the spirit magic. You said you’d show it to me first so I could believe you.”

“Ah… yeah,”

Sylvia continued speaking, slowly stroking the blanket I had brought.

“I said that this morning, but I didn’t know you’d show it to me like this today.”

“I know,”

“I’m happy,”

“uh?”

Sylvia smiled faintly and said, patting my head.

“Teleportation magic has many restrictions and is cumbersome to use. You can’t move while wearing clothes or holding objects, and if there are objects in the place you’re trying to move to, they often penetrate your body and kill you. That’s why Maria can only move very limitedly from one room to another.”

“…”

“But, in Ash’s case, there doesn’t seem to be any such restrictions. Is it because of the spirit magic?”

Certainly, it was as Sylvia said.

The magic called teleportation has power that matches its difficulty.

Being able to move anywhere in the world in an instant means that troops do not have to expend supplies to move, and it also makes it difficult to judge the advantages and disadvantages of troops based solely on their number. It also gives opponents the fear that someone could invade their front yard at any time.

However, teleportation also had many limitations.

You can move anywhere in the world, but if there is an object in the place you are moving to, the object will pass through your body, so you can only use a large, clean room or plaza as your destination.

The rumor that a certain famous wizard had used a teleportation spell to a tree location and died with his abdomen pierced was already a famous story among those who study magic.

There were even many cases where fluttering clothes would penetrate the skin, so you basically had to move around naked.

However, spirit magic did not have such side effects.

This wasn’t teleportation, Pia was carrying me there.

Unlike teleportation magic, it has the limitation that I can only travel to places I have personally been to, especially places that are deeply engraved in my heart, but the advantage of having fewer restrictions easily outweighs the disadvantage.

Sylvia said in a satisfied voice.

“Going all the way home to get a blanket, haha… It may sound a little stupid, but it proves the point perfectly.”

“… Proof?”

“Yeah, proof that Ash uses spirit magic. This is the blanket that Ash used to cover himself with.”

“Yeah… how did you know?”

Sylvia, who had been giggling at my question, picked up the end of the blanket, lifted it, and covered it over her face as if she was pouring it over herself. She then took a deep breath.

She said this with her face buried in the blanket.

“Because the faint scent of ash lingers.”

“…”

“Of course, the dust is severe.”

Sylvia let out a small groan as she threw down the blanket.

She sat up and snatched the blanket from me.

“I’ll go outside and dust off a bit. From today on, I’ll sleep under the blanket.”

Sylvia rolled up the blanket and tucked it under her arm as she tried to go out.

I found her attitude a little strange.

I thought that the Sylvia I knew would be wary of me developing the power to run away anywhere, but she was surprisingly calm.

No, rather, he seemed a little happy.

I couldn’t stand it anymore and asked her.

“are you okay…?”

“Huh? What?”

“I can teleport. Is Sylvia okay?”

Sylvia seemed to sense what I was trying to say and wiggled her eyebrows slightly.

She looked down at me for a moment, then soon began to laugh out loud.

“What, you were thinking about that?”

“I was worried… that Sylvia would feel uneasy again.”

“What does Ash think of me as… Oh, no, I guess he certainly thinks so… after all the things I’ve done.”

Sylvia nodded and then turned around and left.

“I’m not anxious anymore.”

“…”

“Because I believe Ash would never leave me.”

Sylvia just walked out the door.

Just before the door closed, blowing in a cold wind, she whispered softly.

“And, I’m glad that I learned that Ash can always run away when he’s in danger.”

＊

“Ash.”

Right after Sylvia left, Pia came up to me and spoke to me.

I was absentmindedly mulling over Sylvia’s words when I slowly turned my head in the direction where the voice was coming from.

“Ash, I need a little more.”

“…uh?”

“I need it, Ash’s stuff.”

Pia suddenly started making strange noises.

When I looked closely, Pia’s appearance seemed a little strange.

Her hair was sticking out as if it was electrified, and her expression was frowning as if she was uncomfortable.

“Blood… Ah? What’s wrong, what’s going on!”

“Ash, I need something. Ash’s stuff…”

Pia just repeated those words.

Did something go wrong by forcing myself to use a spirit spell that would take hours to be used again?

I asked back like an idiot, unable to hide my embarrassment.

“thing?”

“Yeah… stuff,”

I felt my body and looked around.

Unlike my room, there wasn’t anything in this cabin that I could really call my own.

To be exact, there was nothing that could be called an object.

I offered her some firewood just in case, but Pia shook her head.

Well, when I think back to the things Pia had picked out and swallowed in my room, it was clear that the things she was talking about were things I was attached to.

“Wait a minute, something’s going to happen. Pia, just wait a minute.”

“Ugh,”

“I’ll find it quickly! Just a moment!”

I quickly got up and searched through my bosom.

There was a dagger that Sylvia gave me one day.

However, this dagger was my only weapon and a useful tool in many ways, so it was an indispensable item.

I started looking around again, with the dagger still in my bosom.

On a shabby desk pushed into a corner, I saw a mask made from a branch that the green woman had dropped.

I hurriedly picked up the mask and handed it to Pia.

“Is this okay?”

Pia shook her head.

“No… This is the Spirit Queen’s body… It doesn’t fit with Pia…”

Pia crouched down, sweating coldly.

I too broke out in a cold sweat when I saw that kind of piano.

I stood up, throwing off my mask.

“…Damn, there has to be something. Just a moment…!”

I felt my lips go dry in the sudden situation.

I looked around, wiping away the cold sweat.

At that moment, when I was about to go outside, wondering if there was anything outside the cabin,

Something caught my eye.

It was a leather armor that was quietly spread out in the corner of the room.

“…”

It was the armor I made for Sylvia.

Armor that is absolutely impossible to wear, or even if worn, cannot function properly as defensive equipment, and is rough and hard due to poor tanning, and also has a foul odor.

Sylvia had laughed awkwardly and said to throw it away, and even Alice had lightly scolded him after seeing it once.

It was useless and gave off a bad smell, so it should have been thrown away, but I still had an attachment to this armor that I had made with all my heart and soul using my limited knowledge, so I couldn’t throw it away.

I picked it up and brought it to Pia.

“How about this?”

“…”

Pia looked at the armor for a moment, then reached out her tiny hand and grabbed it.

At the same time, Pia’s body began to slowly brighten.

“Pia?”

A silvery flash of light emitted from Pia’s body, which had been glowing white.

Not knowing what was going on, I reached out to Pia with a worried heart.

But at that moment, the light poured out even brighter, and I had no choice but to turn my head and cover my eyes with both arms from the intense light that seemed to burn my eyes.

“Hey, Pia! What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“…”

“Pia!”

I covered my eyes with my left arm and reached out with my right arm to feel for the spot where Pia had been crouching.

At that moment, Pia’s voice was heard.

“are you okay.”

“Pia?”

“You can open your eyes.”

I felt uncomfortable.

Pia’s voice was unmistakable, but strangely her pronunciation seemed more even and her speech more refined.

Worried about what was happening, I lowered my left arm and opened my eyes slightly.

“… Pia?”

“…”

Pia was wearing the leather armor I gave her.

The armor was originally made to fit Sylvia’s body, so it wouldn’t fit Pia, but it was a little big, but she was able to wear it without any problems.

I looked at it to see if the armor had shrunk a little, and it had indeed shrunk.

To be exact, it wasn’t reduced, but it was repaired by cutting and adding pieces here and there.

“Those clothes… did Pia do it?”

Pia shook her head.

Perhaps it was because I made it exactly as it was, and it probably wouldn’t have moved when I put it on, so maybe it was naturally mended while that unknown light was shining on it?

The repairs were a bit excessive, though, so it ended up feeling more like a leather jacket than armor.

I was so flustered by the sudden situation that I couldn’t understand at all that I didn’t even notice the biggest change until now.

Pia looked at me with pity.

Only after seeing those sharp eyes did I suddenly notice the change in Pia who appeared in front of me.

“No, no, wait a minute.”

“ha…”

“… What is… this.”

It was clear that clothes had shrunk and designs had changed.

But, Pia had also grown

“Ash is such an idiot.”

“… Pia?”

“Shouldn’t you say it’s pretty first?”

Around twelve years old.

.