Card Concealment
Yesterday, it seems I fell asleep while talking with the guildmasters, and when I woke up, I was already tucked into bed.
Didn't I sleep a bit too long?
I slept soundly until morning without even eating dinner—how much sleep do I need?
“Ohh, Vio, mornin'. Looks like ya slept real good. Bet yer tummy’s rumblin', huh?”
And what's more, I remember crying yesterday too. I must’ve fallen asleep from the relief of being hugged by Dad. Pretty much cried myself to sleep...
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I peeked into the living room, and Dad noticed me right away and lifted me onto a chair. Like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Aren’t you gonna say anything about what happened yesterday?
But Dad was just the same as always.
While cooking, he even used Clean magic to wash my face for me, just like usual.
His plate was piled high with food, while mine had a regular serving—again, just like always.
"“Let’s eat.”"
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“Dad, I’m sorry for crying yesterday. I even fell asleep right in the middle of our talk.”
It was all just too normal, so I took the chance after breakfast to apologize myself.
Dad looked a little confused at first, but then he smiled and gently patted my head.
“Vio, ya know, yer way too grown-up for a five-year-old. It's okay to lean on us more. Missin' yer Ma and cryin' 'bout it is only natural. They say cryin' helps melt away the heaviness in yer heart, bit by bit. I ain't sayin' ya gotta cry, but ya don’t need to force yerself to be strong neither.”
Is that...what feelin’ "longing" is like?
Yesterday, what weighed heavy on me wasn’t just loneliness—it was more the regret that if I hadn’t been around, Mom might've lived longer.
To be honest, ever since I almost drowned in that river, I feel like I’ve been nothing but spoiled by Dad...
“Well now, just speak yer wishes plain, don't ya hold back. Course, there’ll be things I can’t do, but if it’s within my power, I wanna make 'em come true for ya.”
Dad, you’re way too good of a person.
The difference compared to that damn bald fat old man is just unreal.
I’m really glad I floated down that river. Thank you so much.
“Oh right, after ya fell asleep yesterday, I had another talk with the Guildmaster and the Vice-Guildmaster…”
After I fell asleep, the three of them checked the map and figured out where I’d been.
Apparently, it was a human supremacist country up north, and if my attribute had been exposed there, I would've definitely been locked up either in the castle or the temple.
Just having the Holy attribute alone would have made me a target for confinement, but with all attributes, they probably would've made me a research subject too—that’s terrifying!
As for the magic tool that changes colors, it seems Vice-Guildmaster has a friend at the Magic Academy, and he asked them to look into it.
Because the country is surrounded by mines and it's hard to travel abroad except by sea, there's always been a lot of reclusive scholars.
Thanks to the monsters in the mountains and the abundant mine resources, there was no shortage of materials, and magic tools and magic research flourished.
The school founded by a king long ago grew bigger every year, and now lots of students from across the continent come to study there.
The children of nobles attend the academy from ages twelve to sixteen, and after graduating, the boys go on to their own country’s higher education for another two years.
The girls, on the other hand, either marry right after graduating or go into bridal training.
Isn’t that wild? Sixteen’s like high school age, right?
That’s the time when you're supposed to feel invincible, like nothing could ever beat you, isn't it?
“Also, ya see, there's a couple of human lecturers at the academy. The one who's gonna teach ya magic, Ariana, she’s gonna teach water, wood, and a bit of holy magic.
And me, well, my best magic's wood, too.
We figured we’d have yer guild card show wood, water, fire, and wind as yer main magic attributes, and have holy magic listed as just a little bit usable, by hiding the rest...”
Ohh, so there are humans there too!
Even if they're not as strong with the Holy attribute as Mom was, there are folks who can use it a little bit.
If I can learn how to use it, then maybe I can train myself up too!
“Yeah, thank you. How do you do the concealment thing?”
Seems Dad had been worried about making decisions on his own, but since I don't know the common sense of this world yet, I’m grateful to have adults guide me on what's acceptable.
When I told him that, he looked surprised at first, then smiled and patted my head again.
Dad taught me how to put the concealment magic on my guild card.
It didn’t require any fancy magic—just flow your mana into the card and strongly imagine the info you want displayed, or the info you don't want displayed.
You can’t make up fake information, and once something’s printed on the front side, you can’t erase it.
The front side shows your name, age, rank, party name, and whether you have any prizes or punishments.
The back side holds your best attributes, titles, dungeon clear information, and so on.
If you add more info, the text shrinks; if you have less, it gets bigger.
It’s more high-tech than I thought—pretty surprising!
Right now, my card only shows attribute information, so I’ll have it display only wood, water, fire, and wind.
Like with the Guildmaster’s Dark attribute or the Vice-Guildmaster’s Holy attribute, it seems if an attribute isn't your specialty, it often doesn't get listed.
So my Holy attribute will also be marked as "usable but not a specialty."
“Done!”
“Yep, ya really did a fine job. Shows ya’ve been trainin' with yer mana real good.”
Dad checked for me and gave his approval.
Seems once it’s set, it can’t be altered just by someone else touching it with mana—you’d need a special magic tool like the one Mr. Taki used at the guild to add any new info.
“Oh yeah, remember that bag ya had when we found ya?”
Oh, you mean that rag sack.
Despite how dirty it looked, there weren’t any tears, and you could tell it was made to look dirty on purpose, especially with how it contrasted against the whiteness of the dress.
“Yeah, there was nothing inside it, so I just kept it on me.”
“That there might just be a magic bag.”
Wha!?
A magic bag?!
Like, the kind you absolutely need in adventurer novels?!
A handy tool like the blue cat-shaped tanuki's four-dimensional pocket!?
“... But Dad, there wasn’t anything inside, you know?”
I was about to get excited, but before jumping into the river, I checked inside thinking anything inside might get soaked—and it was empty, so I just dove in.
“Magic bags won't work unless ya pour mana into 'em. That bag’s probably got owner registration too. When I checked it, I couldn’t get any mana to flow through it.”
Mana!
Ohh, that makes sense.
If anybody could use it, people would just mug magic bag owners and steal everything inside!
What do you think about this chapter?
