Side Story Part 5

Aishela suddenly stood up from her chair and clung onto Aubest’s arm as he was about to activate the spell that he has already envisioned.

Because of her, the image of magic disappeared from Aubest’s mind in an instant as he lost his concentration.

「What do you think you’re doing? 」

Aubest was upset and looked at Aishela condescendingly. He thought that his guess that she would do nothing of her own will was a correct one, but was he wrong to assume that after all?

However, Aishela also looked surprised. She doesn’t seem to understand what she did due to how sudden it all was.

「Why did you stop me? 」

When Aubest asked, Aishela lowered her face to avoid his gaze.

「I saw the incoming disaster, so… 」

By the 「incoming disaster」, she probably meant the convergence of Chaos due to the spell that Aubest was preparing.

Aubest tried to cast a spell, and she thought it would harm the small figure, who turned out to be a boy who looked like a resident of the slums, so she acted reflexively.

She has called herself the child of a Sea God, and her role was probably to sense the Chaos during sea voyages so that the crew of the ship he happened to be on could avoid coming head-first into Chaos Disasters, but Aubest couldn’t guess if she was also experienced with diffusing the Chaos that has already converged. That was probably the important role that she was playing back in her homeland. Aubest remembered hearing that sailors with the ability to sense Chaos are welcomed pretty much in every port city, not only the ones in the Far East.

(Does this mean that she’ll do nothing for herself, but she’s fine with doing things for others?)

Aubest decided to revise his understanding of this girl based on that hypothesis.

「If you steal someone else’s things, you will be punished. Do you know why? 」

When Aubest asked,Aishela shook her head while keeping it down the entire time.

「It’s easier to get something by stealing than to make it or buy it yourself. When people get something easily, they lose their diligence and sense of value. And once you know that you can have something without working hard to get it, you’ll become lazy. At its essence, Theft is a crime that corrupts the very foundation of human life. 」

Aubest said, but he doesn’t think that Aishela, who is still young, would be able to understand any of that, but there was no way for him to explain what he meant more clearly than that. 」

「I’ll punish you when we get back to the dormitory. 」

Aubest declared as such. Then he paid the bill and grabbed the rest of his luggage. What was stolen from him were items necessary for Aishela to live in the dormitory.

It was already time for stores to close, so he has no choice but to buy it all over again tomorrow.

Aubest returned to the dormitories of the Magic Academy with Aishela, where he punished her, exactly like he said he’d do. He gave her 10 slaps on the butt with his magic wand, but while she was receiving her punishment, Aishela didn’t utter a single word or made a single sound.

「Just because you’ve been punished doesn’t erase the crime you’ve committed. What’s important is to never forget who committed the crime and never repeat it. 」

Aubest explained that to Aishela in his usual, emotionless voice.

However, this girl seemed to at least know that much. Moreover, if she were to find herself in the same situation, she would definitely do the same thing again.

「There’s nothing wrong with being deeply emotional. But you shouldn’t get carried away by your emotions and lose the ability to make rational decisions because of them. 」

Aubest argued, but the girl didn’t answer. She kept her head down in silence, enduring the pain of her punishment. Aubest simply told the girl that he would be back tomorrow and left the room. Then he visited her school superintendent’s room again, and reported everything that’s happened ever since they were away.

Servia calmly listened to his story. When she finished listening, she let out a small sigh.

「You were able to understand that girl very well in a short amount of time that you spend with her. 」

「Because she was so clear in her actions. If she was more capricious and unpredictable, then I don’t know if I could’ve handled her. 」

「That’s how all children should be. 」

Servia smiled bitterly. However, she soon returned to her usual, stern expression.

「However, after hearing her current report, I no longer believe that she will fit in at the Magic Academy or the dormitories. Please be prepared for the worst-case scenario. 」

「I understand. 」
Aubest nodded his head slowly.

「All I can do is try to get her to open up to me, as time permits. 」

「Do your best. 」
Servia said that and put her hand on Aubest’s shoulder.

「If you manage to succeed, then I have a feeling that it’s going to be good both for you and for her. 」

* * *

The next day, Aubest visited the dormitory again and took Aishela out to the city.

This was to repurchase the things that have been stolen from him yesterday.

He made Aishela wear different clothes than yesterday. He was perfectly aware that he himself had no sense of fashion, so everything he chose for Aishela today was chosen based on his observation what Marine, the daughter of the Archduke Mathias Kraische, was usually wearing.

Although these things were all expensive, Aubest had to admit that they all suited her quite well. When she walked down the street, people were turning their heads around to look back at her. It was thanks to the fact that the straight black hair that she had were quite a rare sight even in Elam, a place where all kinds of different people from all across the entire continent were converging.

Even though Aubest was holding her hand as they walked, she remained silent the entire day. Aubest didn’t mind that and simply talked about the history of Elam ever since the time of Extreme Chaos and the circumstances surrounding the establishment and development of the Mages’ Association.

「…Mages have saved many people in this way. And they continue to strive to end the Age of Chaos and bring about an Age of Order even as we speak. 」

Aubest concluded his talk with this statement.

Since Aishela did something of her own volition yesterday to try and save the boy who stole from Aubest from having magic used on him, Aubest assumed that she must have a strong sense of justice and duty, so he tried to appeal to that with his words.

Although the reality of the Association as he portrayed it to her may not be true in some ways, the philosophy remains the same as before. And the Meletes family takes a position of being loyal to the Association no matter what.

Aishela didn’t respond to any of his words, but she could hear him, so Aubest hoped that at least something of what he said just now would reach her heart and influence her in a positive way.

After finishing their shopping, Aubest decided to have lunch at the same restaurant they were eating yesterday. This time, he was carefully watching over their luggage and paid attention to their surroundings.

「We’ll go back to the dormitory, put your things down, and then we’re going to head out into town again. 」

When the meal was finished, he called out to Aishela. This time, he was planning to hire a horse-drawn carriage and take her on a tour of various parts of Elam.

Aubest then proceeded to take Aishela to a coin factory, the workshops of various professional guilds, and Magic University, showing her the routine of the young Mages and their training with handling magic.

By stimulating her curiosity about these things, he was hoping that she would eventually take an interest in them. However, no matter where he took her or what he showed her, Aishela was completely unresponsive to all of it.

(Why?)

As expected, Aubest started feeling impatient. The emotions that he usually held back were starting to swell and he felt like they were about to overflow. His breathing became more intense and faster.

(If this continues, I feel that I might just collapse on the spot…)

When I thought about that, I got even more confused than he already was.

(Emotions are the same as Chaos to order. They shake reason and disrupt judgment. I musn’t allow myself to get swept away by them… )

He repeated these words like a prayer in his heart to calm your mind.