That Damn Girl

Sylphy's talent for magic was unexpectedly good.

Rudeus lacked anyone to compare her to, but while teaching Sylphy, he never ran into the kind of situation where she just couldn't understand no matter how he explained it. Even with more complicated concepts, she could grasp them as long as he demonstrated a few more times.

It even made Rudeus wonder if his own talent was really as exaggerated as Roxy had said.

Could this be that unique power-scaling bloat from fantasy novels, where something that seemed lofty and impressive early on turned out to be everywhere later, and even NPCs' strength skyrocketed in place right along with the protagonist?

A once-in-a-century genius, and three of them showed up this year.jpg

Still, Rudeus taught her with all his heart.

Hilde had previously said Sylphy seemed more like his lackey than his friend, but Rudeus couldn't agree with that. Thinking about it carefully, simply stepping in to protect Sylphy every time really wasn't the best option. As the saying went, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.

Wouldn't it be fine as long as Sylphy became stronger herself?

If Sylphy could use magic too, then naturally, there was no way those people could keep bullying her.

It was another cool afternoon.

After finishing sword practice in the morning, he had the afternoon free.

Today's weather was rarely this nice. The sun was neither too hot nor too cold, and the sunlight falling on their bodies was warm and cozy, giving a comfortable feeling like being wrapped in soft cotton.

Rudeus and Sylphy were learning magic beneath a tree.

Sylphy studied very seriously.

In this world, ordinary people generally had no chance to come into contact with magic.

That was because if one wanted to learn magic, first one had to be able to read and write, know characters, and do arithmetic. For ordinary commoners, there was no opportunity to systematically study in school. Even through self-study, at most they could only learn enough to get by.

Not every family could afford the cost of sending a child to school.

Moreover, books related to magic were not something ordinary people could afford, either.

As for Hilde, she was lying on a branch above the two of them, enjoying this wonderful leisure time.

"All right, you've already learned beginner magic. From here on, when you use magic, don't chant."

"Don't chant?"

"That's right. You remembered the feeling of mana flowing through your body just now, didn't you? Like blood. Now reproduce it by feel..."

Rudeus taught her with great care.

He had summarized a set of principles for chantless magic.

Simply put, it involved remembering the sensation of mana flowing from within the body, then reproducing it exactly as it was. That would allow one to use chantless magic. Though it sounded simple, most people, including Roxy, seemed unable to do it.

In a certain sense, he was also the intuitive type.

But Hilde could do it. He wondered whether Sylphy could succeed too.

If Sylphy could as well, then perhaps it meant that as long as people began training from childhood, anyone could learn chantless casting...

This was a major discovery that could change magic textbooks.

Suddenly, Hilde's voice came from overhead.

"Hey, looks like it's about to rain."

"Huh?"

Rudeus and Sylphy looked up.

There really was a dark cloud drifting over from the distance at the edge of the sky, just happening to block the sunlight.

Hilde was a little annoyed. It was rare for her to enjoy an afternoon's sunlight, only for it to be ruined by this inconsiderate cloud.

"Hey, Rudeus, use your magic to scatter that cloud."

"Huh? You can do something like that too?"

Sylphy was greatly surprised.

"Hmph, hmph. For me, doing something like that is a piece of cake," Rudeus said with a smile.

But soon he shook his head again. "But Teacher Roxy said that casually controlling the weather might have a serious effect on the climate, and could even cause crop yields to fall, so it's better not to do that."

"I see." Sylphy nodded in confusion. "Rudy, you're amazing."

"Then why are you two still wasting time here?"

Hilde jumped down from the tree. "Hurry home and bring in the laundry!"

Rudeus nodded. "True enough. Then let's stop here for today, Sylphy."

"Mm..."

Sylphy nodded.

The three of them were just about to each head home as they spoke, but unexpectedly, before they had even taken a step, raindrops fell from the sky.

In less than five seconds, the originally drizzling rain turned into a torrential downpour.

The three of them instantly became drenched like drowned rats.

"Isn't this rain coming down way too hard?"

"Wait, you can't hide under a tree when it's raining!"

"Run!"

"You idiot, Hilde, couldn't you have said that sooner?"

"You actually dared call me an idiot? Have you been getting a little cocky lately, kid? Besides, I was clearly asleep. You two should've noticed before me, right?"

"W-wait, don't fight..."

"Sylphy, your house is too far away. Come take shelter at my place first!"

"Huh? Is that okay?"

There was no time to think.

The three of them broke into a mad dash, finally making it back to the Greyrat house before they were soaked from head to toe.

Lilia had already been waiting at the door for quite a while, and only let out a sigh of relief when she saw Rudeus and the others come running back.

What she hadn't expected, though, was that Sylphy had come along too.

"Lilia, can we take a bath now?"

Rudeus looked at Hilde and Sylphy. They both looked utterly miserable.

"Yes. The hot water is already prepared." Lilia had expected the children to get caught in the rain, so she had prepared hot water and changes of clothes in advance.

"Then let's all bathe together."

Rudeus suggested it on the spot.

Lilia froze at his words, and Sylphy also went still.

Hilde's pretty brows furrowed slightly.

Bathing together...

If it was Rudeus, then she didn't really mind. They usually bathed together anyway.

But she didn't want any other boy seeing her body. Even if he was just a five- or six-year-old brat, it was still a hard mental hurdle to get over.

"I'll pass."

Hilde said, "You two wash first. I'll go in after you're done."

"Fine." Rudeus shrugged, then grabbed Sylphy in one swift motion.

"U-um, wai—"

Before Sylphy could speak, Rudeus dragged her straight into the bathroom.

"Ugh, what a pain."

Hilde sighed.

Just as she was about to find a place to give herself a quick rinse with water magic first, a scream suddenly came from the bathroom.

After a while.

Rudeus came out of the bathroom with his head drooping, sighing nonstop.

"What's wrong? Is his bigger than yours?" Hilde asked in confusion.

"No. She doesn't have one at all."

Rudeus's smile looked uglier than if he were crying.

Hilde was shocked.

"So he's actually a femboy with no dick?"

"She's a fucking girl!"

"Damn, why didn't you say so earlier!"