“So Ristia, ya actually can make enchantments, can’cha?”
“Uh-huh, that I can.”
I knew it! Eindebelle internally exclaimed in excitement. If she was just capable of making enchantments and really just that, then this would simply end with her being a gifted child and nothing more. Then again, what if? What if Ristia were at a level where she could use the catalysts stacked up in front of them both?
“Would’ja mind showin’ me an item you’ve enchanted, Ristia, Dear?” Eindebelle asked, trying to play it cool while her heart was beating out of her chest.
Ristia, on the other hand, suspected nothing and smiled, replying, “Sure thing~”
What kind of fantastic enchanted item does she have in store for me? Eindebelle wondered, her pulse instantly shooting up. Much to her dismay, what Ristia pulled out was a white mass of metal.
“An’ that is...?”
“This is platinum. I was planning on making a brooch.”
“...Planning? Are you sayin’ you’re gonna make a brooch right now?” That was a process that could take several weeks. She had wanted Ristia to show her an already-completed enchantment, if possible, but she found herself unable to finish that thought aloud.
That was because her eyes caught a glimpse of the unbelievably elaborate magic circle which popped up around Ristia’s body.
“What in the...? Is that a...”
Regarding the magic in this world, one would need to draw a magic circle out of mana to act as a circuit, which would allow you to insert your own magical force and pull out whatever effect you so desired. Level One magic acted as the foundation, composed of just one magic circle. Level Two magic added another circle with a different effect to the first. Level Three magic added two circles with different effects to the first, and so on and so forth. The more you climbed in levels, the more intricate the layout of the circle became.
The complex magic circle that Ristia had drawn with little effort contained seven magic circles within it. Which meant...
“This is... Level Eight Magic.”
Impossible. Inconceivable.
Mankind had only managed to reach up to Level Four. There were tales of there being sorcerers who had reached Level Five, but those were basically fairytales. There was no possible way that a human being could use Level-Eight magic. No, that impossibility didn’t just stop at humans. Even the rulers of the fabled eras of the past, the True Bloods, were said to have reached their limit at Level Seven. There shouldn’t have been a lifeform on this planet that was capable of a Level Eight spell. Even though there shouldn’t have been, there stood Ristia, casting her spell right before Eindebelle’s eyes. The metal she called “platinum” took the form of an asymmetrical open heart. Its center held a magic stone shining all the colors of the rainbow.
“I can tone it down with the enchantment; just nullifying any bodily ailments will do. Give this the protection to wipe away any and all dangerous elements... Enchant.”
Nullifying bodily ailments is already Artifact territory, Girl! That comment barely raised above a raspy whisper before...
“Ehehe, all done~” Ristia proclaimed with an innocent grin, unaware that Eindebelle was gripped with shock and awe. In her palm sat the open-heart jeweled brooch. The stone that it contained could fetch an outrageous price just as a piece of jewelry alone. Eindebelle gazed at it, completely awestruck.
“You said this’ll nullify bodily ailments?”
“Uh-huh, it will nullify any and all physical ailments.”
“...Any and all? Y’mind if I give it a little test run?”
“Sure, be my guest~” Casually, Ristia presented her with the work of art, which Eindebelle took with hesitant and shaky hands.
“Erm, so... all I gotta do is put my own mana in this?”
“Nope, since you’re using a magic stone, all you have to do is hold it, and it will activate.”
“Ah, y-ya don’t say.”
Typical enchantments were disposable, or they would require the user to provide their own magical essence to help power them. However, that rule didn’t apply for high-power magic stones. It was possible to make them activate automatically by using up the stone’s own mana supply as opposed to periodically charging them. Eindebelle had experience handling magic stones before, albeit none with this ridiculous level of power. It was common knowledge that enchanted items that carried magic stones did not require the user to provide mana to activate it. Apparently, she was so shaken up about this that she blanked on that very basic fact.
“R-Right, here goes nothin’.” Eindebelle pulled a potion with a numbing agent from the shelves and took a tiny sip of it while holding the brooch. Normally, she would have felt a tingling sensation in her mouth, but... she felt nothing of the sort, and instead, the brooch emitted a small rainbow-colored flash.
After Eindebelle swallowed the bit of potion, she proceeded to boldly chug the rest of it down. Despite that, the feelings of numbness or paralysis never set in, and the brooch in her hand glowed once more. Eindebelle was now convinced that the brooch had eliminated the effects of the numbing agent.
The truth was, she was also fully capable of creating an enchantment to negate the effects of a numbing agent, but not only would she have needed to put in a lot of work to create it, its effects wouldn’t have been as fast-acting as this. It also helped nullify all bodily ailments, not just some. Creating such a broad-spectrum enchantment was out of her reach. While she didn’t test for other ailments, if the item canceled out the effects of the numbing potion she had randomly picked, then it was a safe bet that it would get rid of pretty much anything. That meant that the brooch was basically an Artifact, and its creator, Ristia, was a walking legend.
—Who in the world are you?
The same suspicion from earlier resurfaced in Eindebelle’s mind, but she didn’t speak those words out of consideration for Ristia and her insistence on being a normal girl. Instead, she asked a different question.
“Lemme ask: What is it you’re here for?” With powers like these, Ristia was capable of ruling this city—no, the entire continent as she saw fit.
But instead, Ristia replied, “I want to help children in need, which is why I need money to sustain myself. So it would sure help me out if you were to buy that brooch off of me...”
The answer that Ristia produced with that untainted smile completely subverted Eindebelle’s expectations. Her answer was so unexpected that Eindebelle just stood there, blinking in surprise.
“Do ya really mean what yer sayin’?”
“Mm-hmm! I super mean it!” Ristia’s big crimson eyes were clear and pure. It didn’t seem to Eindebelle that the girl was lying to her, at the very least. And even if Ristia were plotting something, Eindebelle—no, humanity had no means of stopping her and her Level Eight magic. Putting that into consideration, there was no reason for Ristia to lie. And more importantly, Ristia had no intention of hurting Nanami, so Eindebelle was willing to let the matter slide.
That was when Rick, who was supposed to be en route to the guild, rushed into the shop.
“Mom, are you okay?!”
“What’re ya bargin’ in like that for?”
“First, get away from that girl. On the way to the guild, I started asking Nanami for some info about her, and she is clearly not normal. That’s why I rushed back home.”
“...Huh?” Ristia was shocked at the assertion that she wasn’t normal.
There’s gotta be a reason why she’s so fixated on bein’ normal, right? Eindebelle pondered.
“Are you listening, Mom?!”
“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m a-listenin’. Mind explainin’ what ya mean by this girl not bein’ normal?”
“She apparently slayed a dragon when she saved Nanami. It was five meters tall and wiped out the recon team, but she beat it in one shot.”
“Huh... Boy, that’s something else.”
It was rare to see a dragon in real life in these times. Sure, hearing that there was a dragon living there to begin with was a shock, but it wasn’t unreasonable for a dragon to wipe out that reconnaissance team. And it definitely wasn’t a shock that Ristia defeated said dragon. Seeing as how Ristia could use Level Eight magic, she would make quick work of a simple dragon.
“Mom! This is no time to be singing praises. She one-shotted a freaking dragon!”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh, I get the picture. So, what did Nanami say? Did she say that Lil’ Ristia here is a dangerous monster?”
“Uh, no... Nanami said she’s not dangerous. In fact, she said she was an... angel.” Rick looked like he was at a loss. He was a doting stepbrother, so he wanted to believe what Nanami told him, but he was most likely conflicted over the whole ‘angel’ assertion. Even so, Eindebelle thought the phrase fit the girl perfectly.