Trial

Toward evening, Ivette returned to the manor with Rosaline in her arms, both of them covered in dust.

Today's expedition had gone terribly badly. Ivette had never expected that a giant Mechanical Aberration would be lying in ambush within the seemingly peaceful Factory District.

As she and Rosaline flew over the ruins of a factory at the edge of the district, a massive Mechanical Turtle partially covered in red flesh shot out of the rubble, kicking up a cloud of dust hundreds of meters high and nearly swallowing the two of them out of the sky in a single bite.

Fortunately, Ivette was an excellent skateboarder. With an extreme drift, she slipped past the edge of its jaws and used Wind Control to accelerate away. Otherwise, she would probably have been reincarnated for the second time by now, staring at a new ceiling.

After having Rosaline go wash up in the bathroom, Ivette summoned a simple water spell to clean her face. As she silently recalled the appearance of that Mechanical Giant Turtle, she gradually formed a guess.

It had probably been a mechanical beast of burden belonging to some circus or theater troupe centuries ago. During holiday celebrations, it would pull a stage through the streets for performances, and when it was not needed, it would be stored away in a warehouse on the outskirts. Then the apocalypse came, and it instantly turned into a regional boss...

What rotten luck. It had been dangerous enough already, and I even lost all my dignity in front of the little blonde. So much for looking like an expert... Sigh, I must have wanted too badly to show off in front of a child. Life has been too peaceful lately, and I've lost the caution I once had... I can't be like this anymore. I'm nowhere near powerful enough yet. I need to maintain a sense of awe toward this world...

After reflecting deeply on herself, Ivette waited for Rosaline to finish bathing before soaking herself in the hot water of the tub. Only when her snow-white skin had turned rosy did she put on a comfortable white robe and step outside.

The moment she opened the door, she saw Rosaline standing at the stairway, her little face tense and her gaze incomparably solemn.

"Witch Sister!" she said seriously.

"W-what is it..." Ivette immediately thought of what had happened today and felt somewhat guilty, suspecting that the little girl had come to tell her not to be so reckless in the future.

But it turned out that she had overthought things. Rosaline took a deep breath and voiced the words she had been brewing for a long time. "Can I... learn magic from you?"

"You want to learn magic?" Ivette asked, not particularly surprised.

She had actually anticipated this request for a long time. Whenever she dealt with Mutants, Rosaline would watch from the side without blinking, clearly fascinated by magic.

But because the little girl had never brought it up herself, Ivette had pretended not to notice.

"Yes, I want to learn... but I have nothing to offer you. Can you teach me?" Rosaline lowered her head awkwardly and looked at her slippers.

Ivette said nothing. She simply watched her quietly, neither agreeing at once nor refusing.

She had considered this matter long ago. One major question was—why should she take on an apprentice? What benefit would it bring her?

In terms of being kind and charitable, she had taken in this little blonde, fed her, protected her from Mutants, and only accepted some unremarkable bits of common knowledge from another world in return. That already demonstrated her benevolence quite well.

But taking on an apprentice was another matter. It involved the vast legacy of knowledge from the Origin Civilization stored in her mind. Could such a priceless treasure be casually handed over to someone from another world?

In ancient times, master-disciple relationships as close as father and son were often investments in one's old age. But Ivette did not need anyone to care for her in her later years. And if the Aurora appeared again, this little blonde would return home, making every bit of investment go down the drain. It might even benefit other people from that world... Besides, for safety reasons, Ivette had no plans to travel to another world for at least several centuries...

Looking at it that way, she seemed unable to find any reason to give away all the rune knowledge she possessed for free.

Just as she had never considered teaching Rosaline the Black Tide Language.

During the long silence, Rosaline, still hanging her head, felt her suspended heart slowly sink to the bottom of the water.

As the well-brought-up daughter of a noble family, she understood one thing deeply—receiving something required giving something in return. There was no such thing as a free lunch.

The kingdom's court mages occasionally took noble children as apprentices, but they usually charged exorbitant tuition fees. The church offered free opportunities, but the price was becoming a member of the church for life and serving it until one's final breath.

And she, a little girl with nothing at all—what right did she have to make a powerful Witch who had lived who knew how many years accept her as an apprentice?

That was far too presumptuous, Rosaline. What are you even saying? You should already be grateful just to receive Witch Sister's protection. How could you shamelessly ask for even more... Gradually, regret surfaced in her heart.

But just as she was about to withdraw her request, Ivette suddenly said, "...It's not impossible."

Not impossible? Did that mean it was possible?

Rosaline raised her head in delight, then heard Ivette continue, "...But I'll need to give you a little test."

"A test?"

"Yes, a small test." Ivette said, "Do you know what a Meditation Method is?"

"No..." Rosaline shook her head. As the daughter of an earl, she had once had an opportunity to study under a kingdom mage. Unfortunately, there had only been one spot. After much consideration, her father had given it to her older brother.

She had no complaints about that. After all, she would not be going to war, while her older brother truly had to risk his life fighting the Demon race.

"A Meditation Method is the foundation of magical cultivation and the primary means of acquiring magic power," Ivette said. "First, meditate with me for three years. If, after three years, the total amount of magic power you possess satisfies me, I'll formally accept you as my apprentice."

As someone with mediocre talent, Ivette's magic power had increased by only around two points a year when she had first begun meditating. The speed had been extraordinarily slow.

If Rosaline was a genius girl whose talent far surpassed ordinary people, then she could grow quickly and become Ivette's right-hand woman in this dangerous world, increasing their ability to withstand the risks of survival.

That was the reason she had found for herself to take on an apprentice.

Of course, an apprentice's character was important as well... But the little girl had performed quite well so far. She was obedient, sensible, well-read, and only ten years old. Her values had not yet fully solidified. If her character went wrong in the future, then the one who should be held accountable would instead be Ivette, her teacher...

Three years? Rosaline's heart skipped a beat, but she did not hesitate in the slightest. "All right, Witch Sister!" She nodded vigorously, her eyes firm.

After receiving instruction in the Meditation Method, Rosaline's enthusiasm for "expeditions" visibly cooled over the following days. Most of the time, she obediently stayed in the second-floor bedroom, seriously sitting in meditation.

As a result, Ivette's life became much more peaceful.

In the mornings, she could finally finish reading Fundamentals of Magitech Engineering in peace. In the afternoons, she leisurely did some gardening around the manor, trimming the flowers and plants. Before evening, she would stroll to another city park several kilometers away to clear the land, considering whether to sow some wheat seeds there when spring arrived next year.

Then, the next morning, as she looked at the flowerbeds she had trimmed yesterday and found them a complete mess today, Ivette's expression darkened. When it came to farming, wild animals seemed to pose a far greater threat than Mutants.

Should I unlock the Electric Net branch of the tech tree first? It could protect the fruits of my labor while greatly improving the manor's security.

But to unlock the Electric Net, she would first have to unlock a more powerful energy storage device. This sent Ivette back into the ruins frequently, excavating them in search of professional books on energy storage...

And so, amid this tranquil wasteland reclamation, an entire year quietly slipped away before they knew it.