Chapter 26

“Mom, why am I like this?” I was but a small child back then. A cursed child. My mother was the only one that cared about me. Despite the worries of others, she didn’t distance herself. Even the maids and servants of our home were reluctant to deal with me, but my mother did not.

“Hmm? What are you talking about, Dear?” She asked in her soft voice. Her voice soothes all my worries. I felt peace standing by her side. But, the frown of the maid behind her reminded me of the truth. I’m an unwanted child. Without waiting for permission from my mother, that maid left. That’s how much they hated me.

“Why can’t I use magic?”

When I hear your stories from your world, I don’t get it. What’s so exciting about magic? You have everything I wanted. Your heaters and lighters allow you to create fire without magic. Your smartphone allows you to communicate without telepathy. Your weapons could fire multiple times without the need for mana. Magic is pointless. The thing you call technology would destroy it.

Sorry, I got distracted. But… if magic doesn’t exist… if none of us could spat out some words and have fire appear out of our hands… I probably wouldn’t suffer as much.

There are many uncertain things about magic. Most people have a limited understanding of how they work. They just remember the spells and what they did. As long as they could pronounce it correctly, they could use it. For the average person, there’s no need to study it.

But… that lack of understanding… Everytime something bad happened, it was blamed on me. Things like ‘Oh, it’s the cursed child’s fault.’ or ‘If the cursed child isn’t here, this wouldn’t happen.’

I didn’t want to live there after that. There’s no reason for me to stay in that town. Seeing the villagers' faces as I left is sickening. They looked with smiles on their faces. As if they’re happy to see me. That’s all a lie. Still… where am I even supposed to go? Most jobs required a use of magic. Even common jobs like farming and taking care of animals required some use of nature magic. For me, my options are limited, even more limited by the fact that I was still a child.

My mother must have understood that. She gently touched my cheeks and said, “Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Not being able to use magic doesn’t make you any worse of a person.”

I recalled her expression clearly. She’s the only person that cares about me.

“You’ll find your own strengths. When that happens, you’ll be able to be like your father.”

“... Dad?”

It had been several months since we last saw him. I couldn’t remember anything about him. Even the picture of his face was hazy in my mind. He had so little effect in my life that I doubt I even had a father.

“You see… this town didn’t start as a large town. When your dad is trusted to run the region, many believed he would fail.”

Apparently, the town used to be a hiding place for criminals. Due to some misunderstandings set-up by his rivals, he was trusted to lead this region.

“Your dad has a kind heart. He could understand the feelings of those who were outcasted here. Thanks to your dad’s efforts, many of them were reformed, and they brought prosperity to this town.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Oh, why do you believe so?”

Mom… she must be brainwashed. Yes, that’s the only explanation. If she told those stories about some other man, then maybe I could believe it. But my father? The same man that didn’t even care about my existence? Who always distanced himself away from me? Him? Yeah, no, I’m not buying that.

“One day I’ll free you from dad’s curse, Mom.”

Mom let out a chuckle. “Sure. Maybe by then, you’ll discover some truths on your own.”

The rest of my childhood was training by myself to prepare for the tough journey. No one is willing to take me as their pupil, so I looked for books and used them to study. Even getting those books was a struggle. The shopkeepers refused to serve me. I was forced to pay extra, hiring some back alley kids to get me them. I remember beating one up because I paid them, but they refused to give me the book.

You could tell who was blamed by that.

The second I was ready, I set off. If only… If only I knew what would happen next…

My… My mother died protecting the town when the monsters attacked. She sacrificed herself so the other townsfolk could escape.

I wish they were the ones that died instead.

•••

“Not really an interesting story, is it?” Elerina said with a wry smile. While ‘uninteresting’ isn't the word I would attach to it, calling it interesting feels wrong as well.

“It's all in the past, though, so you don't have to worry about it.”

Even knowing that, it felt terrible knowing I’m unable to prevent that from happening.

“If only I was there…”

“You would probably shun me like them.”

“No, I wouldn't.”

“You sound so sure? You need to remember that this is my world we're talking about.”

On Earth, that would be the equivalent of knowing someone couldn't count things as simple as one plus one. That said, I genuinely believe that I wouldn't judge her.

“I don't believe it's right to judge people, just because they're not capable of doing something.”

Everyone had their own strengths. There's many things I could do that others couldn't. Contrary to that, there's many things that I couldn't do that others would be able to do easily.

“In my university, my specialty is 2D drawings. They’re like the drawings that I showed you. Drawings on a flat piece of something. But there are people who struggle to draw a circle. My friend, Frederick, almost didn't pass the basic drawing exam.”

His only hope of passing the basic drawing tests are by tracing, and that’s banned. It’s much easier for him to cheat rather than studying how to draw. I remember noticing Frederick doing exactly that. His drawings were terrible, no, worse than that. He couldn't even draw a stickman properly.

“But… once he touched a 3D software, that’s something that allows you to make a shape… Like… Ah, like tempering a sword. He can make swords.”

“I thought your world doesn’t use swords?”

“He makes them for plays and stuff.”

“Ah…” Elerina looked intrigued. I took my phone and opened up my chat with Frederick. Luckily, he showed me one of the swords he made recently. I show that screenshot to Elerina.

“It’s that?”

“Yes… you could call that magic that allows you to create objects, to put it simply, he's a master at it.”

Despite not being able to draw, he could create wonders with 3D modeling. Dragons, beasts, highly-detailed rendition of anime girls, anything you want. Just give him some references and he'll get it done.

“At the end of the day, magic is just a tool. Just because you can't use one tool in the toolbox, doesn't mean all your tools are unavailable.”

She had been doing just fine so far, without the use of magic. If the other townsfolk couldn't see her worth, that's their problem.

“And I have just the right tool for you.”

The perfect weapon that would push her strengths to the limit.