I can hear the kids’ playful voices as they splash around in the water downstream. From this distance I can see fully naked children throwing handfuls of water at each other. The boy is having fun with them, too.
Oh, he has a pretty nice face without all the dirt and grime. Actually, I kinda remember that face from somewhere… Gives me a weird sense of déjà vu.
Meh. I’ll let him know I brought clothes for now and watch over them until they’re done playing.
“Boy! I’ve brought clothes and towels to dry off with!” I call out.
The boy looks over his shoulder and cries “Hey! Why?!” when our eyes meet. He quickly crouches down until his shoulders are under the water.
Oh my, what’s wrong with him? Is there some strange critter wandering around? I sweep my eyes over the area, but there’s nothing of note here.
“What’s wrong, boy?”
“You don’t know?! I’m…naked…! Don’t ya stare at me! I mean, please do not look,” he pleads, switching from casual to formal speech with cheeks redder than a tomato.
Oh, I get it now. He’s embarrassed to be seen naked. Just like a grown-up! How silly. He’s still just a kid who hasn’t even hit the double digits yet.
“Don’t be shy. It means nothing to me if I see a child’s body. When do you turn ten, boy?”
He’s tinier and more slender than my petite size, and my character was a legit loli in the manga. Actually, he’s too skinny to be healthy!
“E-Excuse me, Lady Elle, you should know that he is…” Marie shows up behind me fumbling over her words.
“I’m…years old,” I hear a low voice growl.
It’s the boy who spoke. Failing to catch what he said, I look at him and cock my head. “Come again?”
“I told you…I’m sixteen!” he shouts.
HUH?!
“Wha? No way. Sixteen?!”
“Yeah… Yes, ma’am,” the boy sullenly affirms, covering his chest with his arms.
I’m in shock.
“It’s not unusual for this to happen to children in Gaea with food shortages becoming the norm these days,” Marie explains hesitantly. “They just stop growing. But once they get proper food in them, they will grow up strong and looking like their actual age. Even Canna, who is two years older than you, Lady Elle, looked like a small child in comparison at first. Don’t you remember?”
“Did she?”
Now that she mentions it, Canna was pretty tiny when I kidnapped her… Since when did she grow up to look like an adult? Her chest has gotten way bigger than mine, and her body is looking more feminine by the day…
Uh, if that’s the case, then I just checked out the naked body of a teenage boy my age? For that matter, isn’t this the first time I’ve ever seen a naked man in the flesh?
Studying anatomical models and drawings of the human body was a part of the Demon Lord Institute’s education, so I know how they look and work. But I think this is my first time seeing the real thing…
Just thinking about it is making me embarrassed. The small, obscured glimpse I caught of the boy’s— Stop right there, Elle! You mustn’t finish that picture!
“Um…uh, it’s okay!” I blurt to stop my thoughts from going down the gutter. “I got used to seeing pictures of the naked human body during my anatomy studies! A-All that’s different is the dangly bits, right?! No biggie! Don’t give it a second thought! B-Bu-But…I’ll take my leave for the day! Take care of the kiddos for me! Marie, you’re coming, too!” I rattle off and flee from the riverside.
My feet swiftly carry me deeper into the forest.
They don’t need a babysitter with a sixteen-year-old around. He’s the same age as me, making me even more unneeded. Staying there would make me nothing more than a Peeping Tom…
Oh my gosh! My face feels like it’s burning up. H-How do I cool off? I-It’s not my fault I saw just a tiny, wee glimpse of it…
So that boy is the same age as me. Sixteen is a bona fide adult in Gaea, making him the only adult male and the village’s chief, I guess. Checks out in my books. And his name is Laurent.
…Laurent? Where have I heard that before?
“Ah!”
A foreboding feeling stops me in my tracks.
Those looks, and the name Laurent! Could he be the genius sorcerer and legit shota Laurent?!
I finally understand where the déjà vu is coming from. That boy is a member of Saint Aela’s party in the manga!
If my past memory serves me right, Laurent’s village is overrun with an unrelenting plague, causing him to leave for the big city in search of a cure, which leads him to Saint Aela. Seen as a dangerous plague-bearer, he’s chased down and nearly killed by the city people when Saint Aela saves him.
They have a touching scene, and then she heads to his village to cure the plague with her holy powers, but the villagers have already died by the time they arrive. Embittered with deep sorrow and regret, Laurent is saved by her tender words and becomes her devoted follower afterward.
In the process, he awakens to his hidden magical talent…
Laurent is a formidable sorcerer within the manga. Aela has a palm-sized fairy named Lylish who teaches her how to use her saintly powers and happens to teach Laurent about magic on the side. This makes for a super-shocking section later on where readers are treated to a scene of him showing off an insane talent for magic.
In fact, in the manga, there were many enemies in the Demon Lord’s Army that could only be defeated because he was there. Yes, for example, Elle of the Four Grand Magi… The saint’s power alone couldn’t have overcome Elle. She’s defeated only after being tossed around by Laurent’s magic.
That boy is the genius sorcerer Laurent capable of striking me down someday. To think such a prime prize has fallen right into my hands…
Whoa! Bad villainess. Don’t go there. I accidentally started thinking like an evil general in the Demon Lord’s Army!
I’m not plotting anything sinister, nor do I plan to become like manga Elle, but with the main cast of characters from the manga world gathering around me like this, I can’t disregard that Saint Aela must be out there somewhere, too.
I’m seriously scared. Will I end up being defeated by Saint Aela just like in the manga? I don’t want that. I wanna continue living my way with everyone in Elle Village.
Worst of all, it’s getting close to that time. Close to when a mere village girl named Aela is called to the capital as a saint and sets out on a journey to save a ravaged Gaea. No, her journey could’ve started by now.
She might already be nearby…
“Elle, is this where you’ve been? I was looking for you.”
“Gyah!” A high-pitched squeak is scared right out of me. I whip my head to the side to find Julius. “Wh-Wh-Wha? Julius?!”
“What’s wrong? You’re overly jittery.”
I have every right to be! I was just scaring myself about Saint Aela sneaking up on me! Ugh, my heart leaped out of my chest and I’m gasping for air because he had to ambush me like that.
Julius gives my reaction a puzzled look and cuts straight to the point. “I need to talk. Do you have a minute?”
I manage to get my rampaging heartbeat and shortness of breath under control and take a good look at his face.
Huh, what’s up with him? He’s awfully serious. That reminds me—he’s had this pensive expression ever since I used magic on Laurent’s village.
“I have time… What’s up?”
“Elle, what kind of trick did you use with that spell you cast on the village?”
“No trick. I just directed my magic into the magic circle to create mist—”
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” he interrupts, then clarifies, “You amplified and expanded the magic healing properties the DemiOracle imbued in that liquid. Since when have you been capable of doing that?”
“Since when? I never paid attention. I’ve been able to do it as long as I’ve tried?” I shrug. “Can’t you do the same thing, Julius? Like when you increase water capacity with Water Magic. Isn’t that the same thing?”
“It’s completely different. In that example, magic is used to increase the volume of matter. The more you increase the water and manipulate it, the more magic is consumed. You, however, did something very different. In your case, you used just a small portion of your own magic to massively multiply the amount of available magic—and it was someone else’s magic you were amplifying. There’s no other explanation for it. You increased the healing magi the DemiOracle stored in that liquid.”
Huh? I don’t get it.
“Sorry, what? Isn’t that normal?”
“Like hell it’s normal!” Julius shouts.
Wow, he’s on edge!
“Wh-Why are you mad? You don’t have to raise your voice at me!” I huff, shocked by his outburst.