Riot Grasper

2nd Volume, 12th Chapter 【The Small Confession】 1st Part

「――I, too…?」

When Lim tilted her head in puzzlement, her cat ears softly wavered.

She could already be seen in her outfit, but Arnold-san who was lying in the bed could be seen in his pyjamas.

――After passing the exam, I returned to Feeder Pops' and visited the room Lim [and Arnold-san] were staying in.

This was in order to convey Marita's message that she was to turn up at the lord's mansion.

By the way, regarding Arnold-san still lying unconscious, he hadn't been exposed due to quaffing heavily.

Earlier, he revealed at drink that he would stay by Lim's side in the night, for she still got nightmares.

Today, too, did he not sleep until early morning and stayed by the bed? It's alright… I understand.

「guoooo……gugaaaa……――」

「………」

「………」

…I couldn't take Lim without permission, but I would feel bad if I woke him up.

In the end, we left a message with Flower-san, who was on the first floor, and left for the lord's mansion.

We could travel downtown on Rook, too. However, because there was pedestrian traffic, it wouldn't be able to pick up speed, so we decided to go on foot.

「――Upon looking up close, it really is magnificent~」

「It's beautiful, isn't it?」

Constructed close by the centre of the town was the lord's white mansion. Numerous pillars of chalk, like those in a palace, assumed the appearance of a gate.

On either side of the large door at the entranceway, silhouettes of the guards could be seen. When we approached with a slightly tensed expression, we were expectedly called to a halt.

When we mentioned the name of Marita, one of the guards retreated inside the mansion for verification.

After we waited for a while… the one who appeared was the butler from before――Logins-san…

「Please come in.」

Under his guidance, we advanced down the mansion.

As you would expect, the house the lord lived in was amazing.

Carpet was laid out on top of the floor made of… polished marble? Through the apertures in the corridor, expensive looking paintings could be glimpsed. The ornaments infused with fine craftsmanship could be seen.

If I cut the marble via Earth Magic and carried a few ornaments home, how much could I get…? Such an imprudent idea didn't occur to me because it was a magnificent space…

The guards could be seen patrolling inside the mansion, too. Considerable effort seemed to be put in the defense.

After we finally arrived outside a room, Logins-san greeted the person standing by the door before we went inside.

Earlier, I remarked that she was a living France [French] doll… The color of the furnishings, the variety of the furniture, and the finesse of the articles in the room were befitting a beautiful doll…

When I looked toward the window where the wind was blowing in from, I caught sight of a girl reading a book in a small chair before a soothing brown desk.

「――Ara, you're here earlier than I thought you would be. I heard you were in the midst of an examination.」

Marita shut the book she was reading close, turned around, and spoke.

「Yes, I came here as soon as the exam was over.」

「…And then, did you fail?」

「Although it ended quickly this time, I successfully passed. However, I'm still a Rank C-.」

「Eeh, congratulations. By the way… Do you know why I called you today?」

Of course… I knew…

Because I could see a pendant giving off a rainbow hue around Marita's chest.

Aah… As to why there was no contact for days, I was able to guess she would call me for the words of invocation when the jewellery was ready.

「Well then… Should I have you teach me? I like this lovely rainbow color, so it's fine as it is.」

「Marita sama, it wouldn't be able to be used for self defense in that case.」

「…I get it…」

Since I was inadvertently thorough in this regard, I decided to obediently teach her the words of invocation.

I was feeling really embarrassed. In this world where magic exists, am I the only who feels embarrassed?

「Doesn't it sound a bit odd? Sympho――――」

「You don't have to say it.」

「…Would it invoke even if i didn't say it? Unless I chant to invoke it…」

「No, there's no such meaning to it.」

I forcibly interrupted the words that were about to come out of Marita's mouth.

「Umm, what kind of magic is this?」

「I… can use Origin Magic… You can think of it as an offensive magic that I use.」

Upon hearing it, the two were speechless――not. They nodded in an 「I see…」 manner.

Huh…? Their reaction was weaker than I expected…

Shouldn't it be a bit more?

「Don't misunderstand, I'm quite surprised. Those who can use Origin Magic are rare. Rare even amongst those who hold aptitude for magic. However, I have heard that it takes more time to improve Origin Magic compared to other magic owing to creating composite elements. Therefore…」

Worried that I would be feeling dejected, Logins-san cut in and followed up.

「Therefore, how much power do you reckon is inside? To shatter the White Magic Crystal processed into the hair ornament, the strength of magic was indeed great. However…」

Marita held the pendant up and asked while peeking inside.

To be exact… The magic I loaded into the hair ornament was 《Light of Healing (Light Healing)》…

「It has… reasonable power…」

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this rainbow light-ball was comparable to a Lv3 magic in itself.

That aside…

I had to tell Marita something. Something very important.

「Err, yeah. There's one thing I want to say.」

「What is it?」

「The White Magic Crystal in that hair ornament 『didn't break』――――I 『broke』 it.」

「…………」

「…………」