Sylphie was delighted for quite a while before she finally looked up at Rudeus, her eyes sparkling.
"Rudeus, you flew here through the sky just now, didn't you? Can you teach me that flying magic too?"
"I want to fly in the sky and touch the clouds!"
Rudeus's heart skipped a beat, and the smile on his face stiffened slightly.
There seemed to be little recorded about Levitation, or Basic Flight Magic, in this world.
In the original story, Sylphie was caught in a magical turbulence during the teleportation incident and transported into the sky.
Fortunately, her will to survive was strong, and she used every trick she had to barely stay alive despite depleted mana and broken ribs.
Then she met Princess Ariel and began her own legendary life.
If he taught her Levitation now, given her talent, she would master it in less than a month.
But if he taught Sylphie strange and unusual magic this early, there was no telling what harmful effects it might have on her.
For instance, she might attract the attention of nobles or royalty, who would keep sending people to kidnap her in secret.
Or she might be so outstanding that Ariel would egg her on to stage a coup.
No matter how strong a person was, how far could they grow in a short time? Could they stand against an entire country?
Besides, she wasn't the one with a cheat.
He couldn't protect the people around him every moment of every day, either.
But looking at her expectant eyes, as though filled with starlight, how could Rudeus bear to refuse her outright?
He had already upset her once just now. If he refused her again, the little girl would surely be sad for a long time.
Rudeus quickly ran through his options and soon came up with an idea.
He could teach her an "inferior" version of Levitation, deliberately making the mana circulation route extremely complicated and sending the mana on seven or eight unnecessary detours through her body.
That would make it consume more than ten times as much mana as the normal method, so if she cast Levitation while allowing enough room to slow down, she would surely come close to exhausting her mana.
That way, he could grant her wish to learn it without letting her become too dependent on such techniques.
After all, if he really taught her all sorts of strange magic and some scheming villain in the royal palace took notice before she had grown strong enough to reach Emperor Rank, she would be done for.
When the time was right, it wouldn't be too late to tell her the correct method.
His mind made up, Rudeus acted as though nothing were amiss and nodded with a smile.
"Of course I can, but Flight Magic is a hundred times harder than the Invisibility Technique, and it uses up a ton of mana."
"If you get so tired you pass out halfway through, I won't look after you~"
"I won't pass out!"
"I'm not afraid of getting tired. I'll practice hard!"
Seeing how serious she was, Rudeus felt a small pang of guilt, but he quickly suppressed it with the thought that it was for her own good.
In the end, he carefully taught her several times.
Sylphie listened with particular attention, committing every word he said to memory.
She also followed Rudeus's movements, tracing them out on her own body several times, afraid she might remember a step wrong.
"Mm! I've remembered it all! Can I try it now?"
"Sure. Take it slowly. I'll be right beside you to catch you, and I definitely won't let you fall."
Rudeus stood half a step behind her and held out his arms, ready to catch her at any moment.
Sylphie took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to draw on the mana inside her.
Following Rudeus's instructions, the mana went round and round inside her as though navigating a maze.
Rudeus could clearly feel that Sylphie's mana was being consumed at an astonishing rate.
In just a few seconds, she had already used up nearly a third of it.
After a while, her feet rose slightly off the ground, floating about two or three centimeters up.
Before I could speak, her body swayed, and she nearly fell onto her bottom.
Rudeus hurried forward and caught her.
"Ah!" Sylphie cried softly, looking at Rudeus with some disappointment.
"I failed..."
"No, no, you were amazing!"
Rudeus quickly helped her up, widening his eyes in feigned surprise.
"When I first practiced this, I couldn't even get off the ground!"
"You managed to float on your first try. You're a genius! This spell uses a lot of mana to begin with, and you did really well."
At his praise, Sylphie's disappointment vanished in an instant, and her fighting spirit flared up again.
"Really? Then I'll try again! I'm sure I can float even higher this time!"
"All right, but stop immediately if you feel like you're running low on mana, okay? You'll pass out if you overdraw it."
Sylphie nodded, closed her eyes again, and practiced.
This time, she floated about five centimeters up, but dropped back down after less than three seconds. Her forehead was covered in sweat, her breathing grew hurried, and her little face turned bright red.
"Whew... I'm so tired... My mana ran out in no time..."
Holding on to Rudeus's arm, she gasped for breath, her chest rising and falling slightly.
"See? I told you it used a lot of mana."
Rudeus used earth and water magic to make a cup of water and handed it to her.
"That's enough for today, or your body won't be able to take it."
Sylphie drank a few sips of water and leaned against him to rest, muttering quietly,
"So flying is this hard... Rudeus, you're amazing. You can fly so fast and so high."
Rudeus stroked her soft green hair and comforted her gently.
"When you have more mana, you'll definitely fly even higher than me. Just take it slowly for now. There's no rush."
The sun gradually sank toward the west, staining the horizon with the orange-red glow of sunset. A breeze carried the coolness of evening and the fresh scent of the wheat fields.
Sylphie looked up, her eyes a little red and her voice tinged with grievance.
"I still can't fly... Am I too stupid?"
"How could that be? Our Sylphie is the smartest little magician in the whole world."
Rudeus quickly pulled her into his arms and gently patted her back as he comforted her.
"This spell takes a lot of mana to begin with. You're still little, so it's normal not to have enough."
"When you're a little older and have more mana, you'll definitely be able to fly very, very high."
"Really?"
"Of course. When have I ever lied to you?"
Sylphie finally smiled through her tears and reached out her little hands to wrap them around Rudeus's neck.
"Rudeus, my legs are weak. I can't walk anymore..."
"All right, I'll carry you home."
Rudeus smiled, turned around, and crouched down so she could climb onto his back.
Sylphie obediently climbed on, wrapped both arms tightly around Rudeus's neck, and pressed her face against his back. She was soft and warm.
Rudeus stood up and slowly carried her toward the village.
The setting sun stretched their shadows out long, and two sets of footprints of varying depths were left in the grass.
Sylphie lay on my back, softly humming a tuneless nursery rhyme, her voice gentle.
"Rudeus..."
She suddenly spoke.
"Will you come teach me magic again tomorrow?"
"Of course!"
Rudeus smiled and said,
"Tomorrow I'll teach you a fun water spell that can blow lots of bubbles."
"Yay!"
Sylphie happily snuggled against Rudeus's back.
"Rudeus, you're the best!"
Before long, the two arrived at Sylphie's front door.
Rudeus put her down and helped straighten her messy hair and wrinkled clothes.
"Go on inside, or your mom and dad will worry."
Sylphie nodded and looked up at Rudeus. Then she suddenly rose on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Rudeus froze. Before his brain could catch up, he had only just looked up-
Sylphie had already darted into the house like a rabbit.
He stood there, touching the cheek she had kissed, and remained rooted to the spot for a long time.
The last rays of the setting sun fell warmly on him, and his heart was warm too, as though he were carrying a little blazing sun inside it.
He turned and headed home, his steps light and his heart full of anticipation.
Tomorrow, he would see that soft little elf again.