Little Garden

"Did you hear? That kid Aibo built himself a house on the east riverbank."

"Seriously? How did a little kid build a house?"

"I went to see it. It's real. He made it with Mold Magic. Kids these days are something else."

"Hahaha! The guild master said the kid learned it after glancing at a magic book twice. That's ridiculous."

"Let me count. Little Aibo can use Telepathy Magic, three kinds of elemental magic—fire, earth, and wood—plus Mold Magic and Crush Magic. Good grief, what kind of little monster is he?"

"He's only been in our guild a little over half a month, right? Anyone want to bet on how many kinds of magic he'll know a month from now?"

"Count me in! I say ten!" "I'm in too! Twelve!" "Me too!"

"..."

Gray listened to the adults' heated discussion, growing more bewildered by the second.

What happened while I was busy practicing my new magic? When did Aibo get so good? Hasn't he been running around playing with Cana every day?

"Oi! Where's Aibo?"

"The kid took the day off. He's probably holed up at home studying magic."

"Where's his house?"

"In the eastern forest near the riverbank. There's a house that sticks out like a sore thumb. You'll spot it right away... Hey, Gray, where are you going?"

"I'm going to spar with Aibo!"

"At least put some clothes on—"

Gray jogged out of town and soon spotted the house.

It was hard to miss. The place looked like a watchtower, as if Aibo had planned to build a single-story house, realized it wasn't big enough, then shoved two extra floors underneath to lift the original house into the air.

Gray went closer and circled the "watchtower."

Wait. Where's the door?

The ground floor didn't even have a door. All it had was a sign on the wall that read "Little Garden—Aibo's Home."

Gray stepped back and looked up. Only the second and third floors had doors.

But where are the stairs?

This house made no sense.

"Hey! Aibo! Are you home?"

A little blue-haired head poked out of a third-floor window.

"Oh, it's Gray! Aibo, Gray's here to see you~"

"Levy? Oi! Aibo, why doesn't your house have any stairs?"

Aibo poked his head out of the window too.

"Hi, Gray! Hold on a second. I'll be right down."

Gray watched Aibo raise a hand and snap his fingers. The stone pavement around the "watchtower" began to ripple, bricks rising one after another to form a staircase that wound around the tower and ended right at the third-floor door.

"Cool~"

Gray climbed to the third floor. Inside, Cana lay sprawled on a carpet that covered the floor, lazily flipping through a magazine. Levy sat on the sofa by the coffee table, pouring tea, while Aibo sorted through a set of... cards?

A huge bookcase occupied the entire wall opposite the entrance. It wasn't full, but it held plenty of books. A long sofa sat beneath the window on the left, a desk beneath the one on the right, and a coffee table stood in the middle of a plush rug.

The room was small but cozy, a lot nicer than Gray's dump of a dorm room.

Wait a second. Wasn't he supposed to be studying magic at home? What are they doing? How can they be this lazy?

"Gray, perfect timing. Want to play Fight the Landlord?"

"Fight the Landlord? What's that?"

"A card game little Aibo taught us."

"Play... No, wait! I came to fight Aibo! I heard you've learned a lot of powerful magic, Aibo. Let's have a match!"

"..."

The room fell silent. All three stared at Gray strangely.

Cana tossed her magazine at him in annoyance.

"What's wrong with you? Aibo's only six! Are you trying to bully my little brother?"

"Uh, everyone at the guild says Aibo's already strong! This is a fight between us guys, Cana. Stay out of it!"

"Hah!? Come here, brat. I'll spar with you—eek! Aibo, stop that!"

Aibo hurried to stop Cana as she bristled at Gray, then invited him to sit down.

"It's your first time at my house, Gray. Have a seat and some tea."

Looking at Aibo, who was a head shorter than him, Gray felt as if he really was picking on a little kid. Embarrassed, he glanced around the room.

"Um, nice house, Aibo. It's pretty... pretty nice."

"Don't remind me. I only realized it was too small after I finished it. There wasn't even room for the girls to sit when they came over, so I had to remodel it and move the bedroom and bathroom downstairs."

Cana shook her head.

"I say this house still needs a major overhaul. You'll freeze to death in winter without a fireplace. There's no kitchen, either, and no room for me. You should've asked your big sister before you built it!"

Levy laughed.

"Haha, Aibo's already done a great job. He can improve it bit by bit. It's nice as it is, really. Once I bring all my books over, this can be our secret base."

Gray picked up a little cake and took a bite.

"Why'd you move out of the dorm, Aibo? Isn't it inconvenient out here? And you're far from the guild. Without guards patrolling, thieves could easily come by."

Aibo's mouth twitched as he remembered his days in the dorm. Compared to that misery, he could put up with any inconvenience.

"Well... it makes practicing magic easier. We're on the edge of town, so nobody cares how much noise I make. As for the other problems... I'll sort them out eventually."

Aibo showed no interest in sparring. Gray wasn't unreasonable or especially eager to start trouble, so they sat down and chatted instead.

"Oh, right. Everyone at the guild says you've learned Mold Magic, Aibo. What about Ice Magic?"

"Not yet. I can only use some really basic magic right now, so I'm not much of a fighter. Crush Magic is the only one with much destructive power, and I can't control it properly. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to move out here on my own."

It was true. Aibo had learned a flashy assortment of magic, but nearly all of it was at LV1. He had barely gotten the hang of any of it.

His strongest ability was calling the guild master for help with Telepathy Magic. He could hardly claim to have much fighting strength.

For now, he was still laying the groundwork, not looking to get himself beaten up.

Cana stepped behind Aibo and pinched his cheeks, smiling as she tried to comfort him.

"Little Aibo's already amazing! I hadn't even started learning magic when I was your age. Only a shameless jerk like Gray would come here to bully a little kid."

"Hey! I wasn't!"

"Since you're here, come play cards with us. The game Aibo taught us is pretty fun."

Aibo quickly slipped away from Cana and sat down at the desk.

"You guys play. I have a few things to work through."

He really did need to think carefully about what to focus on next, especially his plan to grow stronger.

Now that his novel was being serialized and he'd built his own house, Aibo wasn't particularly short of money.

He could put earning money aside for now. Next, he needed to find a way to get stronger as quickly as possible.

After all, if he hadn't found the dorm unbearable, Aibo wouldn't have been in such a hurry to move out.

He didn't feel all that safe, and this world wasn't exactly safe either. There were powerful magic beasts and dark guilds, and he'd even heard there were Demons.

If he hadn't trusted his ability to call for help quickly, Aibo would never have dared to live out here alone.

In the end, strength ruled this world. Even the nobility didn't dare provoke wizards lightly. Getting stronger as soon as possible could only help him.

As for how to do that... Guild Master Makarov had taught him the basics. First, he needed to learn a powerful magic suited to him. Then he had to increase his magic power as much as possible. Beyond that, he needed combat experience.

Right now, Aibo was stuck on the first step. He still hadn't found the right magic for himself.

He had learned quite a few kinds of magic, and Crush Magic was powerful, but it didn't really suit him.

As Aibo understood it, the magic best suited to him would be the one that gained experience fastest when he learned it.

So far, he'd learned Requip Magic fastest, but it didn't look particularly suited to combat...

Next, then, Aibo would try to learn as many kinds of magic as he could, find the one that suited him best, and devote himself to building experience with it.

So... everyone at the guild, I'm counting on you to teach me!