“Mum! Are you okay!?”

  My newest discovery, this pink life essence, just slipped through my magical grasp and into my mum!

  “Uh…I-I think so. W-what exactly was that, Akari?”

  While speaking, she quickly puts the hen back down.Yeah, sure, of course she’s scared by a strange, pink stream of light flying into her hand.After this, I am finished handling unknown magic so near to people!

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to! I just couldn’t seem to hold onto it!”

  “A-Akari, I’m not mad. I simply want to know what that magic may do.”

  Right, an apology won’t help her calm down.

  “Um, I, I hadn’t yet shaped it to do anything. As I said before, I think this pink one is pure life essence. So without any direction, it should, hopefully, only cause someone to become more…lively? I’m sorry, I don’t really know!”

  “Sis, it won’t affect her in the way that dust did to me, will it?”

  “I don’t know, Talia!”

  Only a short time ago, I didn’t even realize this type of energy existed!How should I know what effects increasing the amount in a human will cause!?

  Mum begins moving her affected hand and arm, apparently attempting to sense any changes.

  “Well, I feel okay… Hmm, thinking about it, I feel better than usual, honestly. Oh! Aki, look here!”

  She holds out her hand for me to examine, but I’m unable to spot anything unusual.

  “What is it, Mum? I don’t see anything.”

  “That’s just it! I had several scratches from harvesting some thorny pnts this morning, but now they’re gone as if it never happened. Also, my elbow no longer aches as it has been doing for some time now.”

  Could this energy act as a healing essence?Considering both nature and this life essence are present in people and animals, at least the very few I’ve come into contact with recently, I suppose it’s possible that either of them could be used to heal.Though likely in different ways.Hopefully, there’s no unintentional effects from using the wrong type.Yet, the results of both this and what I did with Emira seem quite simir to what I’ve heard healing magic can do.It’s a pity I haven’t seen a healing mage personally.Although, maybe Mum…

  “I don’t suppose you happen to know what type of magic it is that mages use for healing?”

  “I’m sorry dear, other than the fact that healing mages exist, I don’t know anything for certain about magical healers. Except that they can miraculously heal injuries, of course. Marson has been wanting one to move here ever since Emira was born, but with as little trouble as our vilge has, it’s seemingly difficult to convince them. Although, he may get his wish soon in another way if the actions of a few particur children are any indication.”

  Well, she seems to be calming down and, for now, appears perfectly normal.Perhaps I’ve gotten lucky?A little bit of healing can’t be bad for her, right?Yet, I certainly won’t attempt this again in the future.While that pink essence may be useful for healing, it is clearly outside of the magic fairies are able to properly wield, and without any control over it, I’m not certain that it’s any safer than a potion.And I’ve heard horror stories about soldiers stealing powerful mending potions and using them incorrectly.Therefore, if I need to heal someone, I likely ought to rely on nature magic.

  Talia is, understandably, still quite concerned about her.

  “You don’t feel, um, weird, or, uh, oddly happy or anything simir to that, do you?”

  “No, I don’t believe so. Though I’ll leave it up to you to tell me if I begin acting strange.”

  “*Phew* That’s good…But, you know, with how you already are, it may be difficult to notice odd behavior, hehe.”

  “Heh, well, you’ll just have to watch closely I suppose.”

  It seems Talia has also calmed enough for her typical jests again.As for Nibi, she has been entirely content watching us from her perch on Talia’s shoulder.Although this time, she wasn’t chuckling at my poor magic skills.Perhaps she didn’t know what would happen either?

  Mum soon turns her attention back to the chicken on the floor.

  “Well, for now at least, I seem to be fine. But Aki, I don’t want this bird to go to waste unless absolutely necessary. Do you suppose anything you did made it inedible?”

  “No, Mum. From what I can tell, it should be safe for you to handle as usual.”

  “Well then, Talia, would you prefer to pluck or cook?”

  She ponders for a moment before a look of excitement crosses her face, but only for an instant before she replies.

  “I’ll take care of everything tonight, Mum. Don’t worry about dinner.”

  Then she takes the hen and one of Mum’s small gathering sacks, asks Nibi to return to me, and leaves the house.Mum simply watches her till she disappears out the door, then she turns to me.

  “Did I miss something while I was away? Your sister hates plucking chickens st time I checked.”

  If I had to guess, Talia probably wants to surprise Mum with produce from her garden, the sweetice fruit in particur.Yet, she needs a way to shoo her out of the common room.Ciming to do everything herself is likely just that.For now, I see no reason for me to spoil my sister’s fun.

  “Maybe she thinks you should rest this evening, just in case.”

  At that, Mum narrows her eyes at me, but doesn’t speak about it further.Instead, she changes the topic to another matter.Our all-too-fancy table and how we should cover it, to be precise.

  While we have several small sacks, as well as Mum’s personal pack, we don’t have an abundance of cloth.Most of what we have is made of cheap burp and patch-worked animal skins, with only a few woolen sheets in the house.One of which covers the straw sacks that form the interior of my bed, which as Mum points out, I’m no longer using.And since it was my fault that we need a tablecloth, I suppose that it only makes sense to utilize something of mine.Hence, I follow her into my room and proceed to nd on top of my drawers while she begins removing the heavy bnket from the bed.However, as I do so, my legs suddenly catch on something, causing me to stumble to my hands and knees!

  A quick gnce is all it takes to identify the shimmering culprit.Who, of course, I begin yelling at.

  “Argh, would you stop doing this! It’s quite rude of you to keep getting in my way!”

  In reply, I only get a sensation of abandonment.

  “Yeah, sure, I gave you away for a time, but it would’ve been only for a short while!”

  “Ahem. Aki, are you talking to a needle? And didn’t you give that one to Garen?”

  Uh…Needless to say, I immediately picked up this silver needle after it tripped me, but for a moment, it didn’t feel like an object.No, it felt almost like a person, or perhaps an animal.Something more than just a bit of metal.So I naturally vented my frustrations at it.I even got a response.At least, I think I did.But how do I expin that to Mum when I can hardly understand it myself?Perhaps it’s best if I focus on her second question.

  “Er, um, yes, this is the same one I gave away to find out what it’s made of, but as I said, it tends to simply appear near me. Or more accurately, in my path! Although, I think it may be getting as clingy as this fairy-”

  I point to Nibi who is standing beside me.

  “-as I never even thought of needing a needle this time.”

  Argh, it returned so soon that it’s likely Garen didn’t even have the opportunity to show it to anyone yet!

  “A magically moving needle… *Sigh* why not.”

  Is it bad that she simply believes whatever impossible thing I say now?Yet, as I’m pcing the needle back in my drawer, she continues.

  “I suppose there is an equally magical reason why this sheet is now blue?”

  What?Looking at the sheet now revealed from under the thick bnket, I can see that a rge portion of the formerly grey cloth is a brilliant blue.One that is quite familiar, although I’m not fully certain how it became this color.Yet, I’m starting to have my suspicions.That was where I hid after I returned home from the incident with Emira.

  “Most likely. But you wanted it for the table, right? It should match the flowers perfectly.”

  “Aki… Well, I suppose it’s easy enough to say that it was a gift from someone. I’ll just need to cut off the edges.”

  Soon, she takes the shears that she had borrowed yesterday and trims the sheet so only the blue portion remains.It feels a little sad watching her repurpose something that was quite useful to me for a long time, but at my size, I no longer have any need of it.It’s for the best if it can be put to some use.Once she finishes, she pces it over our table, which it fits nicely.From a low enough viewpoint, the flowers can still be seen, but for the most part, everything is covered.

  *knock knock*Just in time, it would seem, as we apparently are about to receive guests.