Chapter 16: I’m… a little bit afraid.

Well, it seems like I don’t know the value of money.
Because, when I gave that pouch to Reis, I mistakenly gave him… well, some years’ worth of income.
Five years worth of income…

I know I wanted to be generous, but I didn’t know they won only that much…

But then, if what I gave him was worth that much for them, wouldn’t that make me… filthy rich?
Well, I mean, I know I was rich, but I didn’t know how much richer than normal people I was…
Or are just the people generally very poor?
I mean, I wasn’t planning on giving “that much”…

Of course, Gramps wanted to give the money back.
But it’s not like he could…
I mean, I wouldn’t have mind, but some nobles may have taken it as an insult, like “I don’t wan’t your filthy money!”
Some people were even executed because of that…

…
Assholes.

But well, because of that, Reis don’t have to work with Gramps anymore.
Because they bought magic tools to help them attend their field.
One was something akin to a rototiller, and the other was a combine harvester.
Both worked with magic as fuel.

I only learned about them in my books treating of agricultural development and land managing, but I had yet to see one.

Reis showed it to me, overflowing with pride.
Having a magic tool like that was extremely rare for people who earned as much as they did.
So he was rea~lly proud of it.
And he was even more when I asked him if I could see how it was made.

I can’t say I wasn’t surprised.
It was a very complex mechanic, with lots of gears and even a piston!
It worked thanks to a Mana Stone of the Wind attribute.
Reis explained it was designed to fire off [Wind Bullet] spells in a certain direction, that direction being inside the piston, which then activated the machinery.
It’s sad I couldn’t have a look at the Mana Stone, since it was totally enclosed in metal, but I sure as hell will have to look into it! It will certainly be useful to make some new inventions!

And with that, Reis’ help in the field became unneeded.
So Gramps sent him to school.
“Great!” Was what I thought.
But, not that much it seems.
…
Reis didn’t want to go in a school were he would be the only child from a poor family.
Because apparently that kind of students gets ostracised.
They were having quite the argument about it apparently.
So Reis often came to play with us to let off some steam.

Well, since we’re attending lessons, he waited for our pauses.
At first.
Then, he started to listen to what we were studying.
He may not know how to read or how to write, but he sure knows how to listen.

And with that, Reis started to come every day.

And thus his arguments with Gramps were settled.

He would come to study with us, and then we would play together during our free time.

Of course, it was hard for him.
Very hard.
Unlike Suzy or I, it wasn’t easy for him to study. He didn’t have any facility toward studying, unlike us.
Well, I say that, but in my case I already went through most of it, and Suzy sucked up a lot of my knowledge when we “collided” it seems.
Plus, we love to study.
And he had never gone to school before.

So it should be more accurate to say that,… well, Reis is just a normal child.
A very hard working, normal child.

Since he couldn’t read, I made Suzy read the books for him.

…
Her “nya” that pops out from time to time are just too cute!
My little sister… She can be this cute!
It was annoying at first, because it made her unable to talk…
But now… It’s just too cu~te!!!
She’s like a little kitten!
…

Ahem, I mean, this way, she could work on her speech and at the same time he could follow with us.
Yeah, that’s it.
I didn’t make her read to hear her say “nya”.
Not at all.

Ah, since he also came during the week ends, I taught him how to read and write.
Well, I say that as if it was easy, but it took us several months…

During that time, he’d also took part in our other trainings.

He was stronger than us. That was sure.
I mean, we’re still young, even for vampires.
And he used to work in the fields, so he certainly didn’t lack muscles…
But we were on par in terms of speed. We could keep up with him, and we often organised contests and races to see how much we were progressing.

Of course, he started the magic training too.
It was hard at first, but he became accustomed to it.
He was far behind us. And would always be.

I’m not boasting here! It’s just a mere fact!
If he was able to keep up with us, that would be very strange, wouldn’t it? We’re pretty much monsters when it comes to magic, so…
But well, with the training we’re giving him, he might become a great mage if my calculations are correct.
Well, maybe not, but at least he would have a huge Mana Pool compared to other human mages.

But enough of that! Now, to the interesting part!

Us three spent a lot of time together.
We played a lot too.
He taught us games that were popular amongst children in his village.
Also, he showed us how to properly dress to look like normal girls.
The clothes looked a bit plain compared to what I was used to wear until now, and they were a bit itchy, but they allowed to move a lot more freely, and since they were cheap and easy to wash, we could play with them on without fear of dirtying them or making tears in the fabric.

So, of course, we had to test them.
I mean, it would be pretty stupid to have those clothes for naught’, wouldn’t it?

Yeah, we HAD to test them!

That’s why we went with Reis to play with the other children in his village from time to time.
The most popular game was a game that looked a bit like dodge ball.
But when you’ve got sneaky bast… lil’ children attacking from the rooftops and the entire village’s the playground, it’s on another level than regular dodge ball.

We didn’t use any magic of course, or else it would have been like cheating.

I was designed as the chief of our team. I had the other children explain us the general outline of the village, the best hiding locations, where were the best places to make an ambush, what were the strengths of the adverse team…

We lost.
Well, even though I am a sore loser, I have to say it was pretty funny.
But next time won’t be the same, for I will train, and train again, to vanquish those miserable mortals who dared to challenge me!
Ufufufu…
Mouahahahahahahaahaa!

Suzana’s POV

…
Onee-sama is scary sometimes.
…
[…]

Abigaelle’s POV

Today is Suzy’s « fifth » birthday…
Well, even though she just turned two technically.

I gave her my handmade telescope.
It was good enough considering it was handmade, but since I worked very hard and only finished it today, I couldn’t test it at nigh-time.
But I was confident it would work.
At least, it would make a very good substitute for a spyglass.

And starting from tomorrow, we would start to have sparring lessons.
We would start tomorrow with a lesson presenting different kinds of weapons and how to fight with them, then we would train with a personal tutor with the type of weapon we choose.

But well, that’s for tomorrow.
Right now, we’re celebrating…

Lucrezia’s POV

Aby and Suzy seems to enjoy themselves.
It’s good.

I was so afraid at first.
They’re pretty much monsters… Once they learn magic, they could pretty much level a city.
How will they use that power?
I don’t want to think about it.
And it’s not like I can do anything about it.
I just have to be a good mother, and put them back in the right path if they try to take dangerous shortcuts.

But looking at Suzy… What a strange familly I have!
An immensely clever daughter with a Mana Pool as big as Tepes-sama, but a thousand years younger, and her summoned servant, who doesn’t act like a servant, and with nearly as much cleverness and power!
And they’re both so cute!
Even though Suzy isn’t our daughter… It’s like she is now!

Dark Spirit-sama, what did I ever do to have such clever and cute children?
Suzy even has cat ears!
I always wanted a cat, but since I’m allergic to them, I couldn’t…
But I’m perfectly fine with Suzy!

Of course, I couldn’t act too recklessly in broad moonlight, so I restrained myself.
But once they’re sleeping and the maids aren’t looking, I can pet her ears and tail as much as I want!
And Aby’s hair… They’re so silky!
I’ve been blessed with two wonderful children!

I just have to wait now… They’ll soon be both tired and go to sleep…

But right now, they’re installing a strange device in the garden.

“Abigaelle, what is that thing exactly?”

I’m very curious about it. It looks like a long tube, and has glass pane on each end.
I’ve seen her put it to her eyes. Is there some sort of animal inside?

“It’s something I created, okā-san. It’s called a telescope. It’s used to watch the stars.”

Oh, come on, drop the “okā-san” stuff! Just call me “mama” or “mommy”!

“Another invention? You sure are a genius. But what do you mean by watching the stars? We can already see them, can’t we?”

I mean, the sky tonight is clear and we can see the stars in the sky very clearly.
Oh, Suzy’s trying to look inside it…

“Ah, well, it’s hard to explain, I’ll just let you have a look after Suzy if you want.”
“Thank you, I’d love to.”
“But first, let me test it.”

With that, she started to put her right eye against one of side of the device, the other one aiming at the stars.
But after a few seconds, her hand clenched against the device, and she started to shake a little bit.

“What’s going on Abygaelle? Is everything alright?”

She turned to face me, letting the device rest on its tripod.

“Ah, yes, ah no, I mean, it’s not working properly, so I’m quite upset…

As she was saying that, Suzy started to sneak up to the device, down on all fours.
You know, it’s useless. It’s not working.
Aaah, but she looks so much like a real cat!
Let’s make a diversion for her!

“So you couldn’t see anything?”

“Mmh~, yes, nothing. Only black…”

Ah, Suzy got the “Telescope”. She’s trying it now.

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Nobody’s perfect after all, so it’s normal if something fails. You’ll just have to work har…”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Suddenly, Suzy jumped from the device and lightly crashed against the wall behind her.
She’s cowering against it, crying and shaking as if she just saw a devil!
She sat on the ground and hid her head between her knees, and hugged herself.

Wh-what happened?

“Suzana, are you okay?”

*cry*

“Suzy? What did you do? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” (Aby)

Aby jumped next Suzy and started to hug her.
But why is she like that?
Was it because of that “Telescope”? What did she saw?

What is she so afraid of ?!?

I took the device, and put it in the right position.
I have to have a look…

…

“Aaaah! No, okā-san, stop it!!!” (Aby)

Abigaelle’s POV

Why did it came to that?
All I wanted was to make a telescope to let Suzy have a look at the stars, and start an Astronomy lesson…

But instead, I got THAT!
Suzy wouldn’t go somewhere without a roof for a full week, and I had to stay with her.
I succeeded in getting her out of the house, and now she’s a bit better.

Okā-san fared a bit better than Suzy, but she’s still shaken down to the core.

But, well, it’s normal.
Even I was dead afraid when I looked in my telescope.
I clenched it so hard it was painful…

But, I want to know WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE THINGS DOING IN SPACE!!!!

Huge monsters. Huge monsters everywhere.
Some were small, some were enormous, and, I guess, even bigger than planets!
Glowing, full of eyes or tentacles, swarming aimlessly…

You bet we were afraid!

Well, can’t do anything about it…
It’s not like I’d be able to one-punch them into oblivion if they suddenly sought that Earth looked like an appetizing midnight snack…

But there is still something I can do! I’ll try to study them, and see if Suzy wants to help me.

But now is not the time.
Now, it’s time for …

Autor-san note: Hello everybody! (⌐■_■) Long time no see! Did you have good holidays? I spent half of mines being sick sadly X) Well, I’m fine now so … ^^ By the way, I’ll post chapter 16.5 right away, and a new drawing next week 😉 I’ve also started to write chapter 17! I’ll try to write more frequently to see if I can have two chapters a month just for you all 😉 Well, thanks as always for reading my story!

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