Once the carriage wheels started rolling, with Ginger taking the reins, I finally got to sit in the back. First, I gave a brief overview of what healing magic was used for and how the different types of magic were categorized, before moving on to mana and how magic actually worked. Since we obviously didn't have any magic textbooks on hand, everything relied entirely on my memory. Thankfully, I didn't misremember any of the fundamental principles. However, sitting through a theoretical lecture proved rather boring, and Aisha didn't seem particularly interested. Even though she sat there listening, it was blatantly obvious she was busy calculating which route would be the fastest to take.
To be fair, I could understand why she was acting that way.
It seemed Aisha already knew everything I was saying. Every now and then, when I accidentally misspoke, she would be the one to correct me. It was a bit embarrassing, but since I already had some teaching experience, admitting my mistakes was just part of the job, so it wasn't a big deal. Honestly, I had no idea where she had learned all this stuff—maybe from reading books?
"I read a magic book back home when I was two," Aisha explained, examining the map to plan the carriage's next move. She then pointed toward where Ginger was sitting. "Take the right turn coming up, Miss Ginger. It's a faster route and we can dodge the toll booth too."
"Understood."
Ginger nodded and actually steered the carriage exactly as Aisha suggested.
Meanwhile, I couldn't help but wonder if my red-haired cousin was a bit *too* much of a "genius." Well… me and Rudeus also learned magic around that time too, but since she's not a reincarnator so it's completely something else. A genuine genius truly was something beyond the comprehension of an ordinary person like me.
On the other hand, Norn had taken out some paper and was taking notes with extreme seriousness. Seeing that, I kept rambling on about magical theory as if I were lecturing an entire auditorium, even though I only had exactly one attentive listener.
"Umm... If mana is real…" Norn asked right when I was getting into the definition of mana. "Then why can't I see it?"
"Good question. Why would something exist in this world if you can't even see it, right? Sounds absurd, doesn't it?" I nodded with an amused smile before starting my explanation. "In this regard, mana is quite similar to air."
"Air?" Norn repeated.
"Yeah, air," I nodded. "All around us, there exists something we can't see called air. So, just because you can't see something doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
"Like ghosts?" Aisha chimed in, her face completely deadpan.
"Gh... ghosts?" Meanwhile, Norn's face turned pale. "Ghosts are real!?"
"Well, that really depends on what your definition of a ghost is," I started to explain. "There are monsters shaped like the ghosts or spirits we usually hear about, like Wraiths, but since they're monsters, they don't count as ghosts... though I guess it depends."
"So... ghosts are real!?" After hearing my explanation, Norn asked again, her eyes wide with clear terror.
In the end, the lesson had to be paused so I could coax the girl, assuring her that ghosts weren't real and that they were just monsters meant to scare people.
"There are skeleton monsters inside labyrinths, Big Sister Norn. They're the corpses of dead adventurers that turned into monsters."
Aisha, on the other hand, seemed to thoroughly enjoy teasing Norn about this. Sometimes I really didn't know if, as the adult, I should interfere with their interactions or not.
Well, I'd better stop them. If Norn burst into tears, it would be a massive headache.
…
The early theoretical lessons wrapped up soon enough. I skipped over the principles of magic circles because, as Isolde had pointed out, literally no one else in this world used them except for me.
But what can I say, I had to find *something* in this field that I was better at than anyone else.
Anyway, it was time for the practical lesson to begin.
"Alright, first off, we're going to learn how to use the most basic of the basic healing magic: Healing!"
I pulled out a short dagger, much to Norn's curiosity. At this point, Aisha finally started paying more attention since we had reached a topic she hadn't learned yet.
"Like I mentioned, magic is divided into seven different tiers, alright? Healing is only Elementary-tier healing magic, but it's still incredibly useful." As I explained, I lightly dragged the blade across my left palm. "Let me demonstrate how it works for you girls."
Blood started oozing out. It stung a little, but probably because I was used to it, I didn't react much. Meanwhile, my two younger cousins watched curiously to see what I was going to do next.
"Healing magic only works when you physically touch the wound, okay? That's a very important detail."
Neither of them had to wait long. After setting the dagger down on the seat, I pressed my index finger directly against the cut. I then began chanting the spell, as clearly and slowly as possible so they could hear every word.
"Divine power is rich and nourishing. It offers the strength to rise again to those who have lost their strength. Healing."
A green glow began emanating from my index finger, quickly enveloping the open wound. I kept sliding my finger along the cut, closing it up slowly like a zipper. Before long, the wound had sealed entirely, looking completely brand new.
"Ta-da!"
I threw my hands up. Absolutely no one cheered. To save myself from further embarrassment, I immediately switched back to serious mode and continued my explanation.
"As you two can see, the way to use magic is simply to recite the chant and control the mana. Which means practically anyone can learn magic as long as they know the necessary incantation." I pulled out two slips of paper with the Healing chant pre-written on them and handed them to my cousins before continuing. "Memorize this first, and tomorrow we'll practice... on me. I'll make a small cut on myself for you two to practice on, so please don't go hurting yourselves. Now, go back to studying math with Isolde!"
"Understood!" Aisha grinned brightly.
"Yes...!" Norn nodded as well.
And with that, I had successfully completed my very first teaching session.
…
The following lessons also went quite well.
Perhaps because I had previously experienced teaching someone as stubborn as Eris, teaching Norn and Aisha went much smoother than I had anticipated. Whatever I said, both of them would just reply with "yes, master" and follow instructions without any complaints or objections. Their ability to absorb information far exceeded Eris's as well, making this teaching gig surprisingly easy (sorry, Eris).
Aisha, in particular—naturally—only needed an hour to memorize the incantation and was able to cast Healing comfortably after just the first day. Thanks to that, I could test my theory on "increasing mana capacity" through exhaustion.
The result: after casting Healing 16 times on the first day, the number bumped up to 20 on the second day. That meant a massive 25% increase! An absolutely terrifying number. The following days also hover around that number. Sometimes Aisha mana's increasing rate hit a whooping 40%!
More importantly, to be absolutely certain, I still needed Norn's results.
Finally, after two days of relentless effort, Norn was also able to use Healing to patch me up.
"Healing...! Ah!!! I did it! I actually did it!"
"Amazing!" I grabbed both of Norn's hands, bouncing around the carriage and spinning her in circles.
"Ah... I'm getting dizzy!"
"Sorry. I got a bit too excited."
That was simply the joy of a teacher who had successfully taught his student. Please don't judge. Especially you, Isolde.
"Now that you can use it, try your best to remember that feeling of a successful cast. That way, later on when you chant the spell, recalling that sensation will make casting and controlling the magic much easier." I resumed my lecture. "The next goal for both of you is this: instead of using your whole palm, let's try focusing Healing solely on the tip of your index finger!"
"Yes!" Both of them nodded immediately. It was clear that their spirits had soared significantly after successfully casting magic.
At this point, I really couldn't understand why that hag of an instructor had called Norn incompetent. To be fair, my blonde cousin definitely didn't fall into the "genius" category like the red-haired kid did, but she was far from slow. Her biggest issue was simply lacking the confidence needed to put in the effort. The fact that she could cast Healing after just two days was already vastly superior to my past self.
And learning faster than me wasn't the only thing Norn surpassed me in.
A few days after Norn became comfortable casting Healing, her growth rate sat at around 10% per day, moving from 10 casts to 11. Still a very impressive figure.
So the experiment regarding increasing mana capacity limits through childhood training was real. At least, it proved true for these two girls who weren't reincarnators like Rudeus and me.
Then why didn't Eris's mana capacity increase back then?
If I recall correctly, she started learning magic when she was around nine. But Norn and Aisha were only eight. That meant the hypothesis Rudeus and I had come up with years ago about a nine-year-old cutoff limit was actually true. That was a pretty massive breakthrough in researching the true nature of magic.
It also seemed that the rate of mana growth varied from person to person. I didn't know what the standard growth rate for an ordinary person in this world was, so I decided to set those numbers aside and calculate them later.
Of course, compared to what Rudeus had told me—about his mana multiplying several times over during his first few days—Aisha and Norn's numbers were basically nothing compared to him. However, when compared to my pitiful 1% per day, this really felt like some crazy magic trick.
Seriously, what the hell is my problem? Was it because of this body?
I had asked myself that question many times. And slowly, the conclusion seemed to lean toward that very realization. Even though I had been studying magic and training to increase my limit ever since I was three, if I did the exact math, after just one year of training, Norn might actually surpass my limit, or even leave me in the dust entirely.
And Aisha's numbers would undoubtedly be even more terrifying.
I couldn't understand it at all. I felt like I was cursed by something. If my growth rate had been 5%, or even just 2%, I probably would have reached Saint-tier magic by now. This seriously sucks!
But complaining about something I couldn't change was pointless. Next time, I would absolutely ask the Man-God why I was stuck in this miserable state.
For now, our carriage kept rolling north, and the lessons continued.
…
As we kept moving and time passed, we eventually reached another crossroads. If we went straight, we would continue our journey north, staying right on schedule to return to Asura in about a month or two. However, Isolde—who had barely voiced any opinions throughout the entire trip—spoke up.
"If you guys don't mind, um... could we make a stop at Wyrm?"
"Wyrm?" I asked. "Why?"
"The capital of the King Dragon Kingdom. I have an errand my Master assigned me there," Isolde replied. "It's on the route we're taking anyway, so you don't have a problem with it, right?"
"I have no problem with it."
As Isolde said, Wyrn was on our way to Asura regardless. Stopping by for a few days to shop and rest a bit wasn't a bad idea at all. Besides, arriving at a major city meant discovering new and exotic foods, so why not? I heard they have sour hot pot with a lot of seafood too!
"You're drooling. It's gross."
"What can I say? This is just what happens when I think about food."
But the main mission was still escorting Norn and Aisha. Perhaps I should ask the kids for their opinion.
"Stopping by for a few days is fine," Aisha answered with a bright grin before I could even ask. "You were going to ask how I knew you were going to ask, weren't you?"
"How did you know- Huh!? How the hell!?" But I figured I already knew the answer, so I looked over at the source. "Was it you, Isolde? But I haven't seen you teaching her swordsmanship?"
"Yeah, I taught Aisha 'reading,' though just the basics about the principles and how it works. She learned the rest on her own. I really didn't expect her to master it this fast," Isolde admitted, completely deadpan, as if it weren't a big deal at all.
On the way to West Port, I had noticed Isolde getting quite close to both Norn and Aisha. It was clear my girlfriend was surprisingly good at taking care of kids. She'd definitely make a great mother.
But wait a second...
"Haven't you only known Aisha for a little over a month? Don't tell me..."
"Yeah. Aisha learned to use 'reading' in just one month."
"Holy crap! That normally takes two whole years!"
I immediately backed a few steps away from the monster named Aisha. Sure, the kid was adorable. Sure, she was a fast learner. And sure, she learns magic faster than most people. But to be able to learn swordsmanship faster than normal people too?
"Tell me the truth, Aisha. Are you actually a reincarnated deity just messing with us mere mortals? What is your title? Technique God?"
Aisha looked at me, tilted her head slightly, and flashed another massive grin. "What are you talking about? I'm just a normal, talented, cute little maid!"
"No, no, no. Someone like you is definitely not normal. Absolutely not." I scratched my forehead.
"Hey, Atur. Didn't you also only take a month to learn 'reading'?" Isolde frowned. "Why are you reacting so strongly?"
"I'm different. I'm special."
"Now you're just starting to sound a bit too arrogant," Isolde nudged my shoulder. "There are still plenty of geniuses like you out there. Don't just get too full of yourself."
That wasn't what I meant. I was a reincarnator, and even though my first few years of life had been somewhat mentally and physically unstable, I was still vastly more rational than other children. Furthermore, the key to grasping a complex skill like "reading" lay in communicating and understanding the emotions of others. In other words, it was all about life experience; whether you were a genius or not didn't really matter much.
Though... maybe Aisha really was special. She had been able to speak since she was incredibly young, after all. And over the past few days, she had clearly demonstrated a capacity for logical reasoning, self-study, and absorbing new knowledge that far exceeded normal standards. Back in the day, Rudeus and I had suspected she was a reincarnator, but every test we ran proved otherwise.
Knowing she was a genius was one thing, but she just kept surprising me nonstop.
"This must be why Master told me to teach her swordsmanship too," I rubbed my forehead.
"Master told you to teach Aisha swordsmanship?" Isolde asked, her eyes wide round.
"Yeah," I nodded. "In her letter, Master mentioned that she saw great potential in Aisha."
Though I had the sneaking suspicion that the Water God would say that about literally any quick-witted kid. Back when I was as weak as a twig, I nearly got crowned Water King just because she thought it would be fun.
But putting that aside for a moment. It seemed we had been stopped on the side of the road for a bit too long.
"Um, Norn," I turned to the blonde girl sitting quietly in the corner by herself. "Do you want to stop by Wyrm for a few days?"
"..." Norn seemed to have lost her thought for a while as she looked at me. But after that, she nodded. "That's fine too."
That reaction... it actually hurt to see. Even though I didn't know why, Norn seemed sad. Was it because I had done something wrong again? Or maybe because she still hadn't managed to cast magic with just her finger?
Well, there was no rush. She'd get it eventually.
…
A few days later, we arrived at Wyrm, the Royal Capital of the King Dragon Kingdom.
This was the first major city we had encountered since leaving East Port. Wyrm's architecture felt somewhat... Asian, with tiled roofs arranged in gentle slopes. Occasionally, important structures like temples or administrative buildings even featured dragon motifs carved everywhere, from the walls to the edges of the roofs.
Perhaps this was the result of any civilization that developed alongside rice farming? Or maybe this style was simply suited to the local climate? Even though I was a bit curious, I didn't have a shred of cultural history expertise in either of my lives, so I could only guess. But with the meager knowledge of someone who had studied architecture for a few days before dropping out, I could spot a lot of interesting structural design choices in Wyrm's architecture.
It truly is amazing how having a little knowledge can open up your mind.
"Do you want to come with me to meet the Death God?" Isolde asked.
"Let's go! I definitely want to meet him! It's the Death God! Rank five of the Seven Great World Powers! Of course I want to meet him!"
I nodded frantically. Right now, I probably looked exactly like a hardcore fanboy.
"I thought I was the one aiming for a spot in the Seven Great World Powers, not you. Why are you reacting so strongly?" Isolde burst into laughter for some reason. "But hehe. Seeing you act so childish is honestly really cute."
I didn't mind being called cute by my girlfriend, but doing it in front of two cousins who were half my age was definitely a bit embarrassing. Ah wait, if I count my previous life, they were only a fifth of my age. People always say men never actually grow up, they just get bigger. Guess it's true, huh?
Although, I used to have the goal of becoming the number one ranked member of the Seven Great World Powers too. It was just that that goal came with...
"..."
Well, never mind.
Isolde probably realized immediately what I was thinking about. However, acting as the incredibly perceptive girl she always was, my girlfriend didn't say anything and simply gave me a light karate chop on the head.
"Stop overthinking things. Let's go."
"Yeah."
And so, after renting a room at an inn and leaving Ginger to look after Aisha and Norn, Isolde and I headed over to the main dojo of the North God Style. Or in other words, their theoretical main headquarters in this world if you don't count Necross Fortress.
It was a building surrounded by a stone fence, roughly over twenty meters wide, with a fountain out front. Inside, there was a small courtyard bustling with numerous swordsmen walking back and forth, and even a few people dressed as knights.
The noteworthy part was that from the moment we walked in, absolutely no one bothered to stop us, check our papers, or ask why we were there. The doors were left wide open, with no guards or anyone managing the flow of people coming in and out.
When I reached the inner courtyard, I noticed something quite bizarre.
It wasn't just sword training dojos; there were also smaller buildings scattered along the path serving purposes entirely unrelated to swordsmanship. Things like blacksmithing, magic, cooking, tailoring, and even tea brewing.
Yeah, they literally had a whole pavilion where people were just sitting around brewing tea together. Talk about weird.
"No matter how you look at it, this place feels more like a festival fair than a dojo," I commented.
"Yeah," Isolde agreed. "But it's North God Style, we should expect it."
Well, what can you do? Typical North God Style, am I right?
After wandering around for a bit, we finally found the people in charge. It was a literal reception room, looking exactly like something out of an administrative building, complete with waiting chairs and a metal grate separating the receptionist from the visitors. I had no idea what had happened to make them design the place like this, but something utterly ridiculous must have occurred.
And like I said, once again, typical North God Style.
After we stated our information and purpose, the receptionist—a knight wearing full plate armor except for his helmet—nodded.
"Ah, so you've come seeking Lord Randolph? It's a shame, but he seems to have declined all duels recently to focus on matters within the Royal Palace." Despite his rather intimidating appearance, the knight spoke much more softly and professionally than I had anticipated.
"So we won't be able to meet him?" Isolde asked.
"We can certainly try to contact him for you," the knight replied calmly with a smile. "In the meantime, could you leave the address of where you'll be staying? We will get back to you as soon as possible."
"Understood," Isolde nodded. "But what's the longest we might have to wait?"
"No more than seven days. That's the time it will take us to find an appropriate moment to inform him and pass on the message. As for Lord Randolph, if he doesn't wish to draw his sword, he will surely refuse outright, so please don't get your hopes up too high."
"We understand."
Isolde then wrote down the information for the inn we were staying at and left a few spare coins for the knight. You could say it was a form of a bribe, maybe? Though I figured receiving such polite and professional service definitely warranted a little tip.
Long story short, we were forced to return to the inn and wait.
During that time, I took advantage of the location and free time to continue teaching magic to Aisha and Norn. Ever since we started our stay in Wyrm, our magic training had taken a massive leap forward.
"I did it! Voiceless magic, just like you said!"
"Great job, Aisha!"
Just as you can see, Aisha could actually use magic without incantations now. Even though my explanations probably weren't very effective, Aisha eventually managed to figure out how to do it. And just like that, after a single month, my red-haired cousin added yet another achievement to her list of things that not just any kid in this world could pull off.
Because of that, she started enjoying magic training a lot more, especially elementary spells like Fireball or Water Ball.
The reason for that? Because it would make chores a lot easier.
Like how you wouldn't need to walk all the way to the well to fetch water if you could just use a Water Ball to pull water from the air. Or how you wouldn't need to struggle to keep the kitchen stove lit if you could just conjure a Fireball whenever you wanted. When it came to creativity and practical application, Aisha really was incredibly sharp.
"By the way, using a Water Ball to pull water from the air is a neat trick. But well water is actually cleaner. So if you want to drink it, you still need to boil it to be safe," I explained.
"Understood!"
"Alright! To celebrate, let's go eat at a restaurant or something today!"
"Only if you're paying, Brother Atur!" Aisha threw both her hands in the air.
"Leave it to me!"
Honestly, aside from the times when she acted like she knew more about the world than most adults, she really was cute when she acted obedient like this.
Seeing scenes like this honestly made me want to have kids.
"Pervert."
And every time that happened, Isolde would playfully scold me. But then, when night came, she would be the one pinning me to the bed. My girlfriend sure is adorable and a bit lewd, isn't she?
…
On the morning of our final day in Wyrn, someone did indeed come to inform us that the Death God had accepted the challenge. Honestly, even though my initial excitement had died down a bit, knowing I was going to meet the fifth strongest person in the world soon still made me feel incredibly nervous.
However, since the Death God was busy in the morning, our meeting was scheduled for noon. So after breakfast, we went about our day as usual.
For the past few days, my two cousins would study magic on the outskirts of the city in the morning, and then take classes with Isolde in the afternoon. Come evening, since Aisha would get bored of practicing magic too much, she'd demand that I teach her swordsmanship too. I only agreed to teach her to kill time, but Aisha took it surprisingly seriously.
The result?
In just a few days, having already grasped 'Reading,' Aisha mastered the basic stances and became a Beginner in the Water God Style. Compared to the speed at which Isolde and I learned back in the day, it was roughly the same, but seeing it happen was still beyond impressive.
And because she progressed so quickly, she constantly demanded to be taught new things every single day.
"Teach me Intermediate-tier magic today, Brother Atur!"
The very first thing after finishing our meal, she was already in the inn's backyard, eagerly demanding it from me with sparkling eyes, looking exactly like a cat begging for food. But unfortunately, I had to refuse. I was already used to dealing with four-legged creatures that meowed, after all.
"No can do, everything has to go in order. Haste makes waste, you know that saying, right?" I raised a finger, waving it back and forth.
"But I've been waiting for almost a week since I'm out of new things to learn!" Aisha puffed out her cheeks. "I've already mastered the Elementary magic of all four offensive schools! I even know how to use silent incantation, and I still have to wait? Shooting water balls every single day like this is super boring!"
She wasn't wrong. She had already mastered everything a Beginner mage could learn. Well, except for summoning magic, since I didn't actually know the chant for that.
"I told you, Aisha. One of the most important traits of a mage is patience. Patience, you hear me? Rushing to achieve results will only lead to you getting hurt."
Personal experience talking right there. I genuinely wanted these two girls to grasp the absolute basics as solidly as possible. It would be far more beneficial for them in the future, both in terms of skills and character.
But unfortunately, Aisha didn't see it that way.
"It's just because you want to wait for Sister Norn to catch up, isn't it?" The girl's face clearly displayed her dissatisfaction, followed by a heavy sigh. "You want us to be equal even though you know it won't be the case anyway."
"Hey now, don't say that." I crossed my arms, trying to look strict. "It's true that you're a genius, but this arrogant attitude of yours won't do. And do you realize how upset Norn would be if she heard you talking like that?"
"Tch, it's not like you actually care whether I'm happy or not anyway." She shrugged. "What's the point of talking about it? But whatever, I'm just the child of a concubine anyway. Unlike Sister Norn, who doesn't even have to try and always gets whatever she wants."
Since when did this kid get so difficult and bratty? And who taught her to talk in such a passive-aggressive tone? If I wasn't mistaken, just a few days ago she was sweet and obedient, but now she had suddenly become so hostile. Is eight years old already the age of rebellion? If so, that is way too early.
"Don't say things like that. You're both my cousins, there's no favoritism here."
"Then why won't you teach me? You're always forcing me to stay at the same level as Sister Norn. It's always like this. You adults only know how to play favorites!"
"I told you, you—"
"Um…!"
Before I could even finish my sentence, Norn—who had been standing outside the fence for who knows how long—let out a sob. The moment she realized Aisha and I had spotted her, she turned around and bolted into the increasingly crowded street.
"Tch. When did she even go outside..." I sighed, turning back to the completely unapologetic Aisha.
*Smack!* I lightly flicked her on the forehead.
"Ouch! You hit me!"
"That was me holding back," I replied, quickly adjusting my shoes before leaping over the fence. "I'll deal with your punishment when I get back. For now, take some time to reflect on what you just said."
And with that, I chased after Norn before I lost sight of her completely.