Episode 55: Boy Of The Plateau (4)
Kaiton recalled Muriel as he looked at the pale, shimmering snowfield under the moonlight.
Muriel, who scooped up snow in her mouth with a bright red face, looked especially pretty. He didn’t know why thought that way. She always said mean things with her chubby face. Maybe she wasn’t taking care of her hair, but at first glance, it seemed like he was facing a snow monster…
Still, when he thought of her stubbornly emptying her bowl of food which was spicy enough to make her hiccup, he couldn’t help but let his laughter leak.
She shed tears, too…
Kaiton remembered Muriel’s eyelashes, adorned with teardrops. If Muriel hadn’t been surprised by his touch on her cheek, maybe he would have gently stroked her eyes.
“It’s not strange to find fools cute….”
He had seen her eyes countless times.
But now, her eyes looked different. When he looked into her eyes, he remembered Muriel, who would fill her mouth with snow with tears in her eyes.
Kaiton, who’d been staring blankly at the snowfield, suddenly turned his gaze back to the book he was reading. It was because he felt as if the bright moonlight had caught his feelings.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Muriel stared at the red soup and lifted up her spoon resolutely like a general going to war.
Kaiton had previously misunderstood that she was like this because she was forcing herself to eat food she didn’t like. But now he knew that she was just afraid of spicy food.
Kaiton suppressed the urge to laugh out loud and quietly watched Muriel swallow the soup.
“…It’s delicious!”
Muriel exclaimed in astonishment.
“It’s really tasty, Auntie Sophie.”
“See? Actually, Kaiton…”
“Seems like the training paid off! It’s not that spicy anymore! I can even eat ten bowls! Look, Auntie, now I can eat spicy food without even blinking!”
“Uh-huh…. Yes, I’m proud of you, Mure.”
The Ur family secretly removed the spicy spices that had been placed on the table with a perplexed expression.
None of the dishes on the table contained any spicy spices. It was Kaiton’s idea that if each person put in as much spices as they wanted to their meals, Muriel could enjoy it as well.
So, the food that Muriel was proud to eat, saying it was refreshingly spicy, was not spicy at all.
But now, seeing how proud she was of being able to eat spicy food like the Urs, they couldn’t bring themselves to tell her the truth.
“Shh.”
Charlie joyfully held up a finger in front of his mouth and slurped down the soup without any spice.
Kaiton also followed his father and drank the soup. Without the familiar spiciness, the soup wasn’t delicious, only greasy and bland.
But none of the Urs looked bothered. They just smiled and lovingly watched Muriel enjoy her meal.
“I’ll prepare some sweet juice for you next time.”
“Thank you, Kaiton. Then I can eat something even hotter than this.”
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“Mure, come out for a moment.”
Kaiton called out to Muriel, who was sprawled in front of the fireplace after finishing their meal.
“It’s cold….”
Kaiton held Muriel’s wrist, muttering as if it was bothersome, and cast a warming spell. Father had said not to use magic freely, but Muriel could be considered an exception.
She must already in pain because of the curse. If she caught a cold in the cold of the plateau, it would all be Kaiton’s responsibility.
“Is it better now?”
“Yeah. Aren’t you going to do it for yourself?”
“I’m fine. I was born in the plateau, so I don’t really feel the cold.”
Muriel, not feeling cold even in thin clothing, started rolling in the snow as if it was fascinating.
“I’m telling you, Kaiton, it’s not that cold anymore! It’s amazing!”
“What do you mean by that? That’s no big deal. The real wonder starts now.”
Kaiton led Muriel into a small cave. There, prepared since early morning to avoid his Father’s gaze, was a gift.
“Do you have a familiar?”
“A familiar? No, I can’t do magic.”
“Here. I’ll give you this. It’s the Frost Spirit I contracted with. My first familiar.”
It was his way of giving a reward.
A token of appreciation for her truly enjoying the times she ate with his family.
“For now, I can sign a contract with a weak one like this, but next time, I’ll sign a stronger spirit.”
“…This is a frost spirit? The one that sticks to the grass like white hair in the morning?”
“Yeah… Do you not like it because it’s too weak?”
Kaiton looked anxiously at Muriel, who was looking at the frost spirit. The frost spirit was so weak that it was a low-level spirit suitable for beginners in magic and contractors for practice.
Was she disappointed at this when she thought he was a genius?
He should have practiced more and given her a better familiar as a gift…
He regretted making the decision so impulsively because he wanted to give her a gift related to snow. It felt like a good gift when he stayed up all night and watched the dawn break over the plateau…
But when he saw the frost spirit fluttering and flying silently, his choice felt pathetic.
“If you don’t like it, I can change it to a different familiar. After all, frost spirits only last a day or two… I just prepared it for you to enjoy watching…”
“No! I like this one! I don’t need another one.”
Before Kaiton could finish speaking, Muriel shrieked, her face brightened with joy.
“It’s cute. Amazing. I’ve never seen a spirit before. I’ve seen a lot of demons in my dreams, but I’m new to spirits.”
“Do you like it?”
“Of course! This cute thing is mine! I hope it understands what we’re saying. It’s not scared of us, is it?”
Muriel followed behind the frost spirit, her feet making a stamping sound. Even though Kaiton assured her it was okay to touch it, she hesitated, afraid it might melt, and only followed it with her eyes.
Watching Muriel’s delight, Kaiton couldn’t bring himself to say that the frost spirit was too low-level to understand their words.
However, Kaiton, too, said it was cute. Although it was unclear who he was referring to as cute, since his words were vague and ambiguous, Muriel, who was mesmerized by the frost spirit, didn’t recognize the unspoken confession.
The frost spirit lost its energy day by day.
It was because it was true to its nature as a frost spirit that disappears when the sun rises.
Its lively flying, like a fruit fly, had become so feeble that it stuck to the ground, and it became transparent as if it would disappear without a trace at any moment.
Muriel spent the whole day in the cave, worried about the frost spirit. The cave was better than the house when it came to extending the life of the spirit even by a little, since it wasn’t warm nor saw the sun.
“Now you have to let it go. If you keep holding onto it, it might turn into a monster.”
Kaiton pretended to read a book and declined going to the cave, saying he wouldn’t forget his duty, but eventually followed along reluctantly.
This was because the empty seat next to him, which he was used to before, now felt so unfamiliar that it was difficult to bear.
“I’ll make you another familiar. Next time, one that lives longer.”
“…It’s okay. I don’t need another one.”
“Then should I send it away now?”
“…Yes.”
“Don’t cry.”
“…I’m not crying.”
“You were about to cry.”
“I haven’t cried yet.”
“It’s just one frost spirit disappearing. Why do you care so much?!”
“I don’t want our memories to disappear.”
“….”
“It’s the first gift you gave me.”
“…I’ll find a way. Just wait a little bit longer.”
“I heard if you drag it out, it’ll become a monster. I don’t want that. It’s pitiful. Just end the contract.”
“I don’t want that either. I won’t let our memories disappear.”
Kaiton found a solution by spending day and night in search of it. He didn’t have time to delve into countless magic books, he devised an original magical formula.
Muriel stayed by his side without returning home. It was the first time they stayed together until late in the evening instead of going home.
“Won’t people at your home worry?”
“Not really. I’m just… It’s like I don’t exist at our house.”
“….”
“It’s more comfortable here.”
“…Aren’t you cold?”
“No. You cast a warming spell on me, remember?”
Ironically, it was Kaiton whose hands now trembled in the cold. The nights in the cave were harsh, and Kaiton often had to thaw his frozen hands with his breath while working.
He was still influenced by his father’s words not to use magic carelessly. The only time he used magic when it involved Muriel.
As if she knew what Kaiton felt, Muriel leaned her back against his, sharing her body heat.
“My mom said she always wanted a daughter.”
Kaiton focused on the warmth of the transmitted body temperature. It wasn’t easy for him to speak about such sentimental things, but he didn’t want to leave Muriel feeling cold like that either. Muriel was sensitive to the cold.
“My dad always cleans the fireplace before you come. He said we need a strong fire because you’re not used to the cold.”
“Yeah.”
“In our house, you’re… always a precious and welcome person.”
“…Yeah.”
I also wait for the moment you come.
Instead of delivering those words, Kaiton refocused on creating the magical formula.
The frost spirit shared a bit of Kaiton’s pacio. It was the easiest way to transfer his magical power to the spirit.
Kaiton broke numerous promises to give new life to the fragile frost spirit.
He broke the promise to never use black magic again, the promise to not use magic carelessly, and his pledge not to touch his pacio directly.
But he had no hesitation whatsoever.
He was frighteningly fearless in committing forbidden taboos.
Still…
“I shared my magical power with it. This little fellow will live forever until I become a demon.”
“…It won’t disappear?”
“It won’t disappear.”
“…That’s amazing.”
Still…
It was because he wanted to see this face.
Kaiton looked at Muriel, who was smiling happily with tears hanging from her eyes.
Muriel really looked at him as if he could become something. It was incredibly satisfying to see her eyes filled with pure admiration.
If it meant he could continue to see those eyes, Kaiton felt like he could do anything for Muriel. He even thought it was probably because of Muriel that he would become the best wizard in the kingdom. He wanted Muriel to keep looking at him like this, so he believed that eventually, by working hard, he would become the greatest wizard, an extraordinary person worthy of her.
All for her.
“I can change its appearance as I please. Do you want it to be cute?”
He thought it would be nice to make it into a small, adorable butterfly. It would be fun to see it flutter around Muriel.
“Please do something cool. Strong and majestic. It survived, after all. It’s amazing and brave, so I want it to have the strongest and coolest form.”
“…You mean like a bear? Or maybe a wolf…”
“Yes, wolf! Fenrir would be good. The legendary creature. If it takes the form of Fenrir, there won’t be any frost spirits like it in the world.”
The frost spirit, as small as a fingernail, transformed into the massive form of Fenrir as Muriel desired. He looked fierce enough that it seemed like it could tear limbs apart just by approaching him, but Muriel embraced Fenrir with joy.
Since Fenrir was taller and bigger than Muriel, it seemed as if she was hanging onto him.
“The fur is cold. It feels nice.”
“Because it’s originally a frost spirit. Even if the appearance changes, the essence remains the same.”
Muriel nodded and continuously stroked the translucent white fur. Fenrir, as if knowing that his life had been extended thanks to her, incessantly wagged his tail and licked Muriel.
His personality seems to have turned into that of a dog…
Well, he’d never seen Fenrir before, so there was nothing he could do.
“We’d better decide on a new name. It’s better if this guy isn’t revealed as a frost spirit.”
“How about Fen? Short for Fenrir, Fen.”
“Sounds good. Fen.”
-Crrr
“Did you hear that? Fen responded. He must understand us! Fen… Don’t leave our side from now.”
