Thus Yui’s new life began, but from the very first day, everything was unfamiliar to her. Sherina fit right back into the life she’d once led, but for Yui, things as simple as meals were a struggle. At the O’Brian residence, the servants did everything from preparing their food to setting the table, but here, the family couldn’t eat if they didn’t make their own meals.
Yui had never cooked before, so she wasn’t allowed to use a knife. Instead, she was taught how to set the table and perform various simple chores. It was a wonder to watch her mother and grandmother happily preparing their meals together in the kitchen.
Sherina had become visibly more lively ever since returning home. Given her commoner upbringing, she didn’t have a noble patron besides her husband. However, her relationship with Arthur had been incredibly poor, and even the servants had treated her differently. This was the case for Yui too, but she had at least been able to go outside, and her brothers and El had stood by her for emotional support. Sherina had been all alone. Yui couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been for her.
Seeing how happy her mother looked now that she could finally live peacefully, Yui knew that leaving had been the right decision. She could only say that about her mother, however, as she herself worried whether she would be able to make it in her new environment.
“Mother?” Yui said.
“Yui, it isn’t ‘mother,’” replied Sherina.
“Um, mama?”
“Yes?”
Yui didn’t think that how she addressed her mother was all that important, but none of the other children in the commoner district said “mother,” so she had to do as they did, lest she be seen as an outsider. She had also been told not to greet others the way nobles did, but if she wasn’t careful, the words would slip out. She still had much to get used to.
“Where will I go to school?” Yui asked. Now that she was a commoner, it would be impossible for her to return to a school for nobles.
“Ah, that’s right. I have to get that done too.”
“Will I fit in?”
“It’ll be okay. There’s no need to worry.”
“But I’m a Liefe.”
She hadn’t said anything about it to her mother, but at her old school, she had been bullied for being a Liefe. All the other students there had insulted her for her inability to use anything but nonelemental magic, and she was afraid she would be bullied for the same reason at her new school too.
“Liefe” was the term given to those unable to use the four basic elements: fire, wind, water, and earth. They could only use nonelemental magic, which was often referred to as “support magic.” However, nonelemental magic was quite difficult to control, and hardly anyone went out of their way to use magic that even adults would give up on in frustration. It would be a different story if nonelemental magic were necessary, but nobody was inconvenienced by not being able to use it. That was why just about anyone saw Liefes as useless.
Liefes were so mistreated because they looked different from those around them. Their hair and eye color were distinctively faint, and Yui’s were no different. Her hair was a light brown, almost blonde, and her eyes were a pale blue. Combined with her slim figure, she gave off an ephemeral impression, which made her appear weak. This, along with that fact that she was a Liefe, had led to an endless number of people picking fights with her.
The bullying at her old school had mostly consisted of malicious gossip, but that hadn’t had any effect on Yui, who devoted all of her free time to immersing herself in the world of books. There were some who became so irritated by her persistent disregard that they resorted to physical violence; however, when they found themselves on the receiving end of Yui’s reprisal, they no longer bothered her. But just as things had begun to settle down since turning the tables on her would-be tormentors, Yui was pulled from that school. She didn’t know what the school for commoners would be like, but the thought of having to start all over irritated her.
Yui wasn’t the type of person to take bullying lying down, but very few people knew that about her. Even her mother thought of her as a quiet, polite girl. This was the inevitable result of her never bringing friends home and instead spending all her time holed up in the house’s library. Not wanting to worry her mother, Yui had stayed quiet about the bullying at school, so naturally, her mother wasn’t aware of the violent retaliation Yui visited on her bullies.
Sherina kindly attempted to reassure her. “No one will care about a silly thing like that. A friend of mine who lives in the neighborhood has a child the same age as you. She’s coming to see me tomorrow, so you two can get to know each other then. He’s a boy, but I hear he’s quite popular and has a lot of friends, so I’m sure he’ll help you out.”
Yui believed her mother, only to be sorely disappointed the next day.
“Oh man, she’s a Liefe,” the boy said, pointing at Yui and laughing. He displayed the typical straightforwardness and occasional cruelty of a child his age. His name was Keanu. He was a lively boy with striking red hair, and though he and Yui were the same age, he towered over her small frame.
Keanu’s mother swiftly hit him. “I do apologize,” she said. “My son can be a bit of an idiot.”
“No, I don’t mind,” Yui replied. She was used to this kind of reception, but at the same time, her impression of Keanu couldn’t have sunk any lower.
Having accumulated numerous things to catch up on over the years, the mothers soon became engrossed in conversation, and the children were left out.
I’d rather be reading in my room, Yui thought. She turned around to leave, but Keanu grabbed her by the arm. His grip was so painfully tight that she wasn’t strong enough to brush him off. Her gaze grew harsh. “What?”
“Come with me,” Keanu said.
“I don’t wanna.”
She wasn’t simply going to give in to such an arrogant attitude, especially considering her fresh dislike for him. However, taking advantage of his larger build, Keanu began to drag Yui away.
“Hey, stop it!” Yui said.
“Just come with me!”
The two mothers finally noticed what was happening and broke off their conversation.
“Hey, Keanu, what are you doing? Haven’t I told you to treat girls with respect?!” Keanu’s mother said.
Trembling in fear, he responded in a small voice. “I’m going to introduce her to my friends.”
I didn’t ask for that, Yui thought. She looked to Sherina for help, but her plea was rejected with a happy smile.
“Oh, how wonderful. Ever since we got here, she’s been cooped up at home, reading books all day. Yui, go out and make plenty of friends.”
Yui had always loved to read and preferred staying indoors if at all possible. She had initially begun reading in an attempt to figure out how to use nonelemental spells, but in an unexpected development, she had found that her curiosity was greatly stimulated by magic. Over time, as she had gradually learned to apply her technical knowledge, her studies had begun to take on a more scientific bent. By this point, her knowledge rivaled that of many scholars. This was in part thanks to the countless magic books in the O’Brian home’s library, but also because, for some reason, the attic of her commoner grandparents’ house was full of expensive magic books, which she had been staying home to fervently read. Sherina, who knew none of this, simply thought her daughter was a typical bookworm.
So, struck by misfortune, the heavyhearted Yui was dragged to an empty lot where a number of children around her age were playing games. When they saw Keanu coming, they gathered around him, their eyes sparkling. Sherina hadn’t been wrong in saying he was popular. Yui had no clue why such an overbearing boy was so well-liked, but the other children seemed overjoyed at his arrival.
“Keanu, let’s play tag!” one child said.
“No, let’s have a mud fight!” another exclaimed.
The noisy children soon noticed that Keanu had brought Yui along with him.
“Hey, who’s she?”
“She’s the grandkid of the old man from the bakery,” Keanu said.
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” one boy replied. “The grown-ups said his daughter got kicked out by a nobleman and came back home.”
The boy’s comment annoyed Yui. It felt like he was insulting her mother. The conversation continued without anyone noticing her irritation.
“Wait, so she’s a noble?”
“Not anymore. She was kicked out. And she’s a Liefe. Is that why her dad got rid of her?”
“What’s a Liefe?”
“I know! A Liefe is a failure. They can only use nonelemental magic.”
“Really? They can’t use anything else?”
“Yeah. That must be why her dad ditched her.”
“Whoa, how sad.”