The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

"Ruruk-sama, thank you so much."

As soon as we returned to the mansion, Rina bowed her head deeply.

In the end, Rina and the others couldn't do their shopping. I knew my outing would eventually be discovered by my father, but I was prepared to be scolded from the start. More importantly, saving Lilith from danger was the best outcome.

It seemed Rina felt the same way. As soon as we got off the carriage and entered the mansion, she grasped my hand and gazed at my childish form with intense eyes.

"I have been foolish until now."

"Um... Rina-san?"

"I've been avoiding Ruruk-sama, always watching the master's mood. I even held Lilith back from visiting Ruruk-sama in the study. Even when we met in the mansion, I didn't speak to you. Honestly, I think my attitude was disrespectful. And yet, Ruruk-sama protected Lilith with such determination. I... I truly don't know how to apologize enough. I'm deeply moved by Ruruk-sama's kindness and brave heart."

"Uh, Rina-san?"

"Therefore, I... no, my daughter and I will serve Ruruk-sama from now on, no matter what the master says."

Wait, this is too sudden, I can't keep up with the conversation.

Even if you say "serve," we're still part of the same duke's family, right?

"No. There's a difference in status between Ruruk-sama, the first wife's son, and myself, the third wife, and my daughter Lilith. Lilith is essentially a political tool, meant to be married off to a suitable noble family for the duke's house. The reason the master married me and had me bear a daughter was to create such a political means."

"Eh, really? Isn't there any... ahem, isn't there any love involved?"

"Even if there was, it's certain that we're seen as tools. Ruruk-sama is in a position to use those tools. Despite bearing the burden of being an unwanted child, Ruruk-sama has shown even greater strength and courage. From now on, as a mother, I, Rina Muuteru, pledge my loyalty to Ruruk-sama."

Loyalty, huh.

Even though she's Lilith's mother, being told this by a petite beauty makes me feel both happy and embarrassed.

However, I don't have a habit of keeping my sister's mother at my beck and call, so I politely decline.

"I helped Lilith because I wanted to. There's no need for you to feel indebted, Rina-san. Please treat me casually from now on."

"But I can't possibly-"

"Besides, Lilith is my sister. I don't want loyalty or service; I want my sister to act like a sister. And I want you to act like a mother, Rina-san."

"...A mother, you say?"

"Yes. Is that not okay?"

Hearing this, Rina seemed to read deeper into my words, and she clapped her hands together.

"I understand. Ruruk-sama... no, my boy."

"Whoa!?"

Wait a minute. I was suddenly embraced!

Madam, this is not allowed! I'm telling you, it's not allowed! We can't do this! Don't you have a husband? Well, he's my father, but still!

And it's so soft... and smells nice. If I didn't have any self-control, I would've hugged her back without hesitation.

"Ruruk-sama never knew what it was like to have a mother, did you? I understand now. I will be Ruruk-sama's mother. You can be as spoiled as you like."

"Eh? No, that's not what I-"

"My cute, cute little boy. You are truly a wonderful son."

"No, I mean-"

With the strength of a 5-year-old, I couldn't escape and was helplessly embraced.

My mind is still very much in puberty.

To be honest, I was so embarrassed I thought I might go crazy.

"Come over here for a bit, young master Ruruk."

Seemingly satisfied after thoroughly doting on me, Rina left the entrance lobby humming a tune.

Man, that was quite an ordeal. Even when I called her Rina-san, she wouldn't let go, so after much internal struggle, I finally called her "mother" and was released. Ah, my face is still hot.

Verugana said "Follow me" while dragging me along as I tried to cool down my body temperature. She silently led me to her private room.

Once in the room, Verugana pulled a book from a small bookshelf and tossed it to me. It was an old, thin book. When I say thin book, I don't mean one full of skin-colored illustrations, okay? The cover only had text.

The book was covered in thick dust, as if it hadn't been touched for a while. I brushed off the dust near the window and read the title that appeared.

"'The Basics of Mystic Arts'... Is this...?"

"It's a beginner's guide. I got it when I was a child, so the text might be a bit faded."

"Is it okay to give me something so important? Also, Verugana, you practiced Mystic Arts too?"

"I had a bit of aptitude, but unfortunately not enough to master it. Young master Ruruk, you should be able to make something of it. Besides, books are valuable when they're read. It's better than sleeping on a bookshelf."

"I see. Thank you very much."

"Mystic Arts have their first hurdle right at the beginning. That's where I stumbled and gave up. ... There's plenty of time until dinner, so it's perfect. I'll give you some advice, so try reading it here."

Verugana sat in a chair with a thin smile. It feels like she's plotting something evil... but oh well. I can't turn on the lights in my room anyway, so I wouldn't be able to read for long there. Here, I can read as much as I want until mealtime.

As encouraged, I opened the book and started reading.

The beginning of the book explained what Mystic Arts are.

To put it simply, Mystic Arts is a technique that uses "spirit elements," one of the three major elements that fill this world. The other two are "physical elements" and "magical elements," used in rational arts and magical arts respectively.

These three are called the three major techniques, and Mystic Arts were once treated on par with rational arts and magical arts.

However, with the spread of magical arts, the popularity of Mystic Arts declined, and coupled with the difficulty of mastering it, the number of users steadily decreased. Currently (probably during Verugana's childhood), statistics show that Mystic Arts users make up only 0.001% of the world's population... that is, only one in 100,000 people.

If I remember correctly, this town's population is about 10,000, so there probably isn't anyone here who can use it.

The background of Mystic Arts' decline seems to be related to the convenience of magical arts.

With magical arts, as long as you have magical power, you can immediately use the attribute that suits you. Moreover, you can control the output for any situation with incantations and imagination.

For example, with fire magic, you can not only light firewood, but also change cold water to hot water, control room temperature, and so on. Because the effects are not fixed and can be adjusted, magical arts spread to respond to all kinds of situations.

In contrast, Mystic Arts don't have attributes like magical arts. What Mystic Arts can do is broadly classified into three categories - "summoning," "information rewriting," and "materialization." Because it can't incorporate attribute information, it was a technique more suited for researchers, almost useless in daily life.

Therefore, while the number of users decreased, it never increased.

However, Mystic Arts have a big advantage that magical arts don't have.

It's the method of using spirit elements itself.

Magical arts require the prerequisite of converting magical elements into magical power within the body, and magical arts consume magical power. This means that the types and number of spells that can be used change depending on the amount of magical power in the body. Moreover, when magical power is depleted, it has the disadvantage of reducing vital activities and hindering actions.

But Mystic Arts use spirit elements as they are.

Spirit elements are abundant in the atmosphere, so they don't run out like magical power. As long as you don't mishandle the manipulation of spirit elements, you can use them without limit, and unlike magical arts, once you learn a Mystic Art, you can activate all of them as skills without the need for incantation. In other words, it's risk-free and can be used as much as you want.

However, since "skills" themselves are fixed forms of technique effects, they can't be used as flexibly as magical arts, and their application depends on the user's ingenuity, which is a disadvantage.

"Hmm... So if we compare it to toys, magical arts are like clay that can be shaped and used in different ways, while Mystic Arts are like Lego blocks where you just stack existing pieces?"

That's the kind of image I got.

Anyway, the important thing is how to use Mystic Arts.

Spirit elements seem to be everywhere, just like magical elements, but...

"Let's see, 'The first step to being able to use Mystic Arts is to be able to visualize spirit elements.' Well, that makes sense. You can't manipulate what you can't see... So, is the method on the next page?"

I flip the page.

What was written there was "Next, once you can see spirit elements, the method of manipulating them is--"

...

......Huh?

Did I skip a page?

I thought so and tried flipping back, but there was nothing in between.

"...Verugana! This book is defective!"

"Hahaha, that's the difficult part."

She's laughing.

Is this one of those things where you have to figure out how to visualize spirit elements completely on your own...?

"I trained for 3 years and couldn't do it. That's why I only studied magical arts."

"3 years? Does it take that long?"

"According to my teacher, it usually takes about 2 years, or 1 year for quick learners. Given the nature of spirit elements, they're not something humans can naturally perceive in the first place."

"Ugh... no wonder it fell out of use."

My newly discovered talent, gone just like that.

I doubt I could keep at it for even a month, let alone 2 years. I tend to get bored quickly with anything that's not my hobby.

I furrow my brows and ask just in case.

"By the way, what did you do for training?"

"Just constant meditation. Spirit elements are said to leak from the roots of the World Tree - the spirit veins. My teacher said it's easier to sense these spirit veins than to see the spirit elements themselves."

"...Huh, the World Tree? That exists too?"

"Of course it does. Hm? Young master Ruruk, didn't you read the Tale of the Three Sages?"

Verugana tilts her head as if it's the most natural thing in the world.

Could it be that the Tale of the Three Sages is actually all non-fiction!?

"Well, it might be a bit exaggerated, but most of it is probably true."

"Seriously?"

As expected of another world. To think even the stories of fighting dragons and disaster-level monsters were true.

...Alright, I should carefully reread it later. Come to think of it, if the Three Sages story is true, then maybe the hero stories are true too? In that case, I guess it's a no-go to apply the [※This story is fiction and any resemblance to...] disclaimer that's common on Earth.

This story is very much related to existing organizations and individuals, so please be careful.

Well, that's something to think about later.

Right now, the most important issue is how to sense spirit elements.

"Spirit veins, huh."

"Young master Ruruk, your Mystic Arts proficiency is already over 1000 from the start. You might be able to do it in less than half a year."

That grinning face doesn't really believe what she's saying. Damn, for all her talk, Verugana is a demon instructor who enjoys watching me struggle... She's enjoying the sight of me suffering. I feel like I understand Gavin's feelings a little bit now.

Still, not trying isn't an option. Let's give it a shot for now.

I sit in a meditation pose and close my eyes.

Concentrate, concentrate...

"..."

What floated in my pitch-black field of vision were sushi, curry, omelet rice... Ah, damn it. This isn't something you should do when you're hungry. Scenes of food I can't eat in this world keep popping up.

Calm down, my appetite.

But meditation is indeed a good method. It's not just for searching for spirit elements; I feel like my head, which is usually full of unnecessary thoughts, is becoming calmer.

What, you say I'm not calming down at all? No, no, these thoughts aren't useless. What lies beyond stripping away extraneous thoughts is my true, natural state.

Look, floating there is a pure white me... just me, purely lying down with a book spread out in the study, in my degenerate form.

"Begone, worldly desires!"

This isn't working. Meditation is tough.

No, no, that's not it. This meditation isn't meant to clear my mind, but to sense spirit elements, right? Then whether I have worldly desires or not doesn't matter. If it's about stripping away unnecessary things, what's really important is the selection and discarding of information.

The fact that Verugana's teacher said to sense it through meditation means that while spirit elements need to be visualized for manipulation, you don't need to rely on sight to sense their existence.

Which means...

"...Verugana, do you have any earplugs?"

"Earplugs? What for?"

"To plug my ears, of course."

"...I don't know what you're thinking, but I'll lend you some."

"Thanks a bunch."

Why meditation?

It's to close your eyes, right? I heard somewhere that humans use vision the most for obtaining information. I think it was about 80% or so. That means that much interfering information is coming in. Hence the need for meditation.

So what's next? It's hearing, of course. Then touch, smell, taste... but I'm sitting still and the room is odorless, so those aren't a problem.

If I plug my ears, I'll be alone in a world of darkness.

Now, here's the question.

These spirit elements that can be sensed if you have the aptitude. This world is said to be filled with physical elements, magical elements, and spirit elements... but I have a constitution that can't sense magical elements. And Earth had physical elements, but no magical or spirit elements.

So what I need to do is simple. I don't need to actively search for spirit elements. Trying to reach out and grasp something of unknown form and identity would be like trying to scoop up soy sauce spilled in a pool. That would take an incredibly long time.

So, what I'm going to do is reverse my thinking.

Look for an unfamiliar sensation that wasn't present in my previous life within my narrowly focused senses.

That unfamiliar sensation is probably spirit elements.

Just as 100-99=1, what I'm using here is subtraction, not addition. Instead of adding spirit elements to my perception, I'm subtracting my previous life from the current world, and what remains are spirit elements.

Concentrate---...

A hallucination of being swallowed by darkness, without light or sound.

Then, a faint scent. Verugana's scent, the smell of wood and fabric.

The feeling of the floor I'm sitting on. The flow of air touching my skin.

The weight of my clothes, and then---

...Something touched my skin.

That's what it felt like.

What could it be? A ripple of emotion-like sensations caresses my body. It was something very small. Something I've never felt before, bursting, sticking, separating... Something akin to the straightforward emotional expressions of a young child was there. Something without words laughs, gets angry, cries, and speaks to me as if testing me.

--Let's play--

--Hey, let's play--

As I became more aware of this presence that approached and retreated in such a way,

I opened my eyes without hesitation.

"...Oh, I can see them..."

It was a strange feeling.

Sparkling fragments of light that I couldn't see at all until just now were dancing everywhere. No, it's not a physical phenomenon of light... it just appears that way.

They were flying around everywhere like children. If you don't pay attention to them, you won't notice, but if you try to see them, you can clearly perceive them. In fact, since they're not physical light, I can see them even with my eyes closed. This is amazing.

"Spirit elements... wow, this is incredible. I can even touch them."

It's certainly a sensation that's hard to put into words.

I can see something that shouldn't be visible. If I touch them with my hand, they stick to me innocently like children - just like Lilith. When I trace these fine particles with my fingertips, for some reason they form a line and follow me.

Haha, this is interesting. It's similar to the feeling I had as a kid when I played with magnetic sand at the local science museum for children.

"...You don't mean you can actually see them?"

"Yes. So these are spirit elements, huh?"

As I played with the spirit elements, arranging them in mid-air unaffected by gravity, Verugana let out a big sigh.

"To think my three years would be reduced to a few minutes for young master Ruruk..."

"Oh~? What happened to that smug face from earlier~?"

"Honestly, the troublemakers in our house have such good qualities."

I make sure to get back at her for her earlier teasing.

Don't call me childish - I am still a child after all.

"But well, thank you, Verugana. Thanks to you, I've cleared the first hurdle."

"No need for thanks. Instead, I should give you a reward."

"Really!? What are you giving me? Is it pocket money?"

"I'll add to your training menu for tomorrow."

"Jesus!"

This damn instructor!

Verugana grinned mischievously as if getting revenge for my revenge, and remained in high spirits until the end of the next day's training.

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Author Notes:

  [The Three Major Techniques and Their Aptitudes

Rational Arts:

> Techniques that work based on physical elements, essentially scientific technology.

>> Those with talent in Rational Arts -> Often excel in "chemistry and physics"

Magical Arts:

> Techniques that work based on magical elements.

>> Those with talent in Magical Arts -> Often excel in "language and art" etc.

Mystic Arts:

> Techniques that work based on spirit elements.

>> Those with talent in Mystic Arts -> Often excel in "mathematics and history" etc.]

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