Small Progress

Four months had passed. Besides the magic lessons, I managed to make satisfactory progress. Especially the arithmetic lesson. My favorite topic was about currencies and how they compare to other countries' currencies. Soon, I would be smarter on this matter, more than Rosch.

In writing subjects, I memorized every alphabet and could make sentences. I did my best, especially in an ancient language that was used for incantations.

There were other subjects, Farida said, that were quite important, such as writing poems, official letters, and compliments for nobles. For the latter, I had no idea where the urgency lay.

Then for the reading subject, it was just a matter of recognizing the ancient language commonly used for magic circles and its implementation. She didn't teach this earlier, because the magic subject halted.

Right. I was faltering. My progress in manipulating the Mana Coating found a dead end. Since my body was unable to produce a proportional Mana Coating naturally, Ms Farida said that I should be able to do it by force.

"Are you still practicing, sweetheart?" Mom came into my room. She came over and sat next to me.

" I am, Mama."

She chuckled, then hugged me, and landed a warm peck on my forehead. "My son is a hard worker."

I grinned. I could say that her smile was my pride.

If anyone had questions about why I never gave up, it was this woman. She gave me huge emotional support. Although sometimes she became terrible if I broke my curfew.

I smelled the familiar scent of my mother's body. This odor made all the restlessness lose its meaning. In comfort, my eyes soon caught a scratch on her right arm.

"Mama, let me heal this scar."

"Are you allowed to use magic?"

"She forbids all magic except healing magic, Mama."

Mom released her embrace, and then looked into my eyes. "Alright. Let's see how far my little mage has come."

The smirk painted on her face made me smile again. It bewitched me.

Satisfied with her gracious smile, I took a deep breath, focused, and cast a spell.

A prayer to the Lord of the universe, the Owner of the majesty, and the Restorer of life. Allow me to use your blessings to restore strength and life, "Healing!"

A faint light flashed and the scars on the right arm disappeared.

"I'm good, aren't I, Mama?"

Mom was late in responding. It was an unusual thing to happen. When I looked up, her eyes were wide open; her jaw refused to close.

"Mama?"

Her arms wrapped around me once again. I was confused. Perhaps she was stunned that I hadn't cast the entire incantations with my voice?

My brain tried to find an answer, but I was distracted by another scar on her neck. I asked her permission to heal it. Mom nodded and I casted the spell.

When I pulled my body, I saw another scar around her face and immediately cast the same spell. One by one, scars on her body disappeared.

I never thought that her beautiful face had so many scratches. Could it be that she got all these while working in the fields? Or while collecting firewood?

I wish I was old enough, so mom wouldn't have to do that menial work anymore. However, I couldn't show a look of regret in front of her. What I needed to paint on this face was an expression full of happiness and seriousness. So, I put on a proud smile and waited for her to treat me as usual.

Yet, Mom pinched my cheek. "Eh? Why did you pinch me?"

She laughed and refused to give a reason. As her left hand reached for my cheek once again, I could see another scar on her palm. It extended to the wrist like a stitched wound. I had seen this before.

"Mama, I will heal this too."

Without waiting for a reply from Mom, I immediately cast a healing spell. But, nothing changed. The scar was still there. I tried again and got the same result.

My forehead wrinkled. Could it be that Healing magic didn't work on old wounds? That was my current hypothesis.

"Sorry, Mama. Damna will learn high-level healing magic to help you."

Mom hugged me tightly for the second time. I could feel tightness.

"Damna dear," she whispered. "It's fine. This wound is proof of love. So you don't need to heal it."

"A proof of love?"

She released her hug and kissed my forehead. "Yeah. It's proof of love."

I didn't understand. Could it be a wound from when Rosch and Mother met? A wound that bound them into marriage? It was romantic, but it didn't seem possible.

Well, I shouldn't overthink it. Most importantly, our family was happy enough.

***

I told yesterday's situation to Ms Farida, who had just returned from Mona City.

"That's right," she said. "Old wounds are difficult to heal, but that doesn't mean it's impossible."

"Can a high-level magic be able to heal it?"

My teacher who was checking my exam results put down her quill. "Most of it is indeed determined by how strong the type of healing magic used is. However, the other part is determined by the cause."

"Eh?"

"If the wound was caused by a certain mythical creature, a heavy curse, or Divine-class magic, then it is impossible to recover."

Hmm... Was it possible that Mom's wound was caused by a mythical beast attack? But, only that wound was different. When we bathed together, I never saw any other wounds on her body.

Suddenly, Ms Farida hit the table along with my exam papers.

"Damna...Why are you never serious about writing compliments for the noble?"

I saw her furrowed brows, gleaming canines, as well as the red devil aura that emerged from her back.

Ouch, she was mad.

"S-sorry, Ms Farida. I don't understand."

Ms Farida couldn't express her irritation to me because it was an inappropriate thing to do. For that reason, she preferred to remain silent and took a deep breath.

"Could it be that there are nobles who upset you to the point that the sentences you write contain only satire?"

"Satire? What does that mean, ma'am?"

Ah, I could see her forehead swelling. Of course, I understood what satire means. And just as she suspected, My brain forced me to remember that bearded man. Yep, the bearded aristocrat who dressed like a circus clown.

My teacher exhaled another long breath, like train steam. "You have to redo it and submit it next week. I will give you a whole week to think. No more faking it, Damna."

"All right, Ms Farida."

Hearing my answer, Ms Farida quickly swapped the thick book on the table with the one in her bag. She also opened a map.

"Are we going to study geography again?"

"That's right. This book is one of those general summaries of the continent. Something you'll be studying for a long time."

Aside from magic, I was excited about this subject. Learning about geography, culture, and flora was something that a child would love. The book came with beautiful illustrations and had color in it.

Anyway, Ms Farida explained about my village today.

The village's name was Millah. My village is found in the eastern part of the Main Continent. It was under the protection of the Abbas Kingdom, although the village was part of the Eastern Trade Alliance.

The cause of these strange circumstances was their weak military power. The Eastern Trade Alliance was a collection of many merchant families and two small kingdoms which never waged war.

Eventually, cooperation between the Abbas Kingdom and the Eastern Trade Alliance took place. It resulted in agreements including the protection of the village where I lived.

To the north, the forests lined up with the icy mountains. The nearest settlement, Winter Robe, required five to ten days of traveling by horse.

Then to the West is the City of Shuyana, which is called the Continent Roundabout. The name came because it was located on the border of four nations. Anyone who wanted to go to another nation had to take a detour. The reason behind this strange custom was the region in the center. It was called Hell's Gate.

According to Ms Farida, Hell's Gate was the abyss in the world and dangerous creatures lived. Anyone who fell to the bottom never came back. Despite the danger, the place provided many resources and new types of flora that had never been discovered.

"So that's why adventurers gather there," I concluded.

"That's right. Many nations made a lot of requests with high rewards for new objects they can find. In short, Hell's Gate is the fastest way to acquire wealth."

"High risk, high reward."

She smiled. "Nonetheless, in recent months, the place has been banned from entry. The reason is still unknown. Hence, adventurers have begun to move away to find work in other cities. While those who stayed there, some of them changed professions until the ban was lifted."

I believed adventurers are just like freelancers, working when they want. Without having to force ourselves. It turned out to be not as easy as I thought.

"Then where is Mona City?"

"Here." Her finger pointed to the map, then slightly downwards. "South of this village. About a day's journey by horse."

Rosch often went there, so I was quite curious about the distance.

"Mona Town is a small and neutral town. Adventurers from different countries get equal rights without discrimination. The best trait of the town was their reputable postal services," she explained.

I also asked about Redwall City, the capital of the Eastern Trade Alliance. This city, Ms Farida said, had the fastest access to the Eastern Continent. The Eastern Continent is also known as the Sibil Continent. A place where humans would find it difficult to live because of the extreme weather and ferocious creatures.

My teacher argued that the cause of the extreme weather and a large number of dangerous beasts was a side effect of the creation of magic and a large flow of mana. Of course, this was her hypothesis.

The geography lesson closed with a little explanation about ecosystem-destroying creatures called monsters. Monsters exist for a variety of reasons and could pose a danger to other living things. There is no definition of what and who can become a monster. Therefore, humans could also become monsters themselves.

Based on that definition, on earth, humans could be said to be the real monsters that destroy the world's ecosystems.

Ms Farida also wanted to talk about the Elves, Beastkin, and Demon Race. But, my eyes were no longer able to open. She understood that and let me take a nap.

Night fell and I was currently in her room.

Ms Farida was no longer sleeping in my room. Since spring had arrived, Rosch made a room for her, although it wasn't as beautiful as the others. At least it protected her from the heat and cold.

Three times a week, I let her examine my body. Of course, not in any other sense. She was just doing it for research on the New Year's Eve curse.

In addition, she ordered me to do several things including Mana Coating, Battle Aura and using my Spiritual Eyes. The rest were a bunch of questions about how I felt during the Mana Coating training.

"Teacher, is it true that the first developer of magic was a cursed child?"

Ms Farida turned her chair around and faced me. "Whether it's true or not, I can't be sure. However, it is one of the popular myths in the magic institutions in the Abbas Kingdom. The theory is supported by the truth that only the cursed child can see the flow of mana coming out of their body."

"If it's just that, can it be used as a reference?"

"It's our job as researchers to prove whether the myth is true or not, right?"

I nodded, agreeing with her opinion. Seeing a woman like this working diligently and using her wits, reminded me of Milena, my junior when I lived on earth. Yet, until my death came, I didn't hear any news from her.

After thirty minutes, the examination was over. I hurried back to my room. Before I closed the door, something came to my brain.

"Ms Farida?"

"Yes?"

"Did you know about the chair?"

Ms Farida was in a daze. She pointed to the chair that was in use. "This one?"

I shook my head and bid her goodnight.

The teacher didn't know about the chair. So, what exactly did I see before my ability to use magic awakened?

Maybe it was all a dream, but the sensation was too real. It was useless to push myself when my toddler's brain was too small to solve this.

Overcome by drowsiness, I quickly threw myself onto the bed and enjoyed the night under the warm blanket.

Not knowing what disturbed my sleep, I woke up in the middle of the night. Seeing the candlelight still burning in the living room, I intended to put it out. However, I heard something. I slowly opened the door and saw two women having a discussion. Mom and Farida. Their voices were so faint that I couldn't hear what they were talking about.

Mom burst into tears. I instinctively forced myself to open the door. "Mama?"

Both of them were surprised. Mom wiped away the tears and hurried to take me in her arms. Her fingers stroked gently through my hair.

"Sweetheart, you had a bad dream, didn't you?" Then her attention returns to the other woman. "Farida, we'll talk about this another time."

"Okay, Mrs Rosch."

With that, they finished their conversation and returned to their respective rooms. My eyes briefly glanced at Farida. I felt nothing but a look of concern and sadness in her eyes. That brought both relief and a question mark to my mind.

"Damna, will you sleep with Mama tonight?" she asked, then kissed my forehead while hugging me tightly.

I nodded and rested my head on her chest.

The morning came. I wanted to ask why she cried last night. But every time I got the chance, my feet went cold and not a word came out of my mouth.

It was a secret that was never known until that moment.