The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

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Author Notes:

  [Today's first of two updates. 1/2

  Second update planned for around 12 noon]

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"Mm, satisfied."

Ruruk and Elenora, having eaten until full, were patting their stomachs and taking a breather.

I had intended to make too much for two children, but Elenora ate about twice as much as me, and we managed to finish it all. For such a small body, she was surprisingly good at eating.

"Elenora, did you like the food?"

"Mm. Make it again tomorrow."

"Alright, understood."

A request for tomorrow came right away.

I nodded with a wry smile.

"Was it that delicious?"

"Mm... the best so far."

"Really?"

Roze was surprised. I'm glad she liked it so much.

I wouldn't say I'm particularly skilled, but I had been living mostly alone when I was in Japan.

Since coming here, I'd been eating food prepared by first-class chefs of the nobility, which greatly helped me learn the tastes of this world.

"Ruruk, you're talented in many areas besides magic, aren't you?"

"Not really. Besides, Elenora is still young. Once she gains more experience eating delicious foods, she'll probably realize my cooking is just average."

"Oh my, Elenora is actually quite a bit older than you, you know?"

"...Pardon?"

A bombshell statement came out of nowhere.

I took another look at Elenora.

Her height, childish face, and body type all looked like that of a 7 or 8-year-old.

Even accounting for slow growth, she looked at most to be around my age...

"Mm. I'm 18 years old."

"Gah!?"

A strange sound escaped me.

Seeing my contorted face, Roze burst into laughter.

"Hahaha... The sheep-folk are a long-lived race, you see. They can live up to 200 years. And no matter how much they grow, their appearance doesn't change much, so it's hard for other races to judge their age by looks alone."

"Mm. Want to grow bigger."

Man, that really surprised me. Come to think of it, beast-folk being long-lived is a common setting in games and manga, isn't it?

But still.

I calmly reassessed our group sitting around the table.

A beautiful girl who has lived for thousands of years, a shota with the mental age of over twenty, and a sheep girl who doesn't grow... This is satisfying too many niche demands. I'm full already.

"Ruruk, sheep-folk are considered adults at 25, so in about 7 years, you could marry Elenora."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Oh~ I wonder why~"

Stop grinning like that.

But having an adult appearance like this seems like it could cause all sorts of problems.

As I thought this, Roze nodded as well.

"Because of that, a long time ago, there were frequent raids and kidnappings of sheep-folk villages. There were many incidents of them being enslaved or bought by noblemen with perverse tastes under the pretext of marriage... They're a race with abundant magical power, and their racial skill is recovery-based, so they're highly valued. Because of that, international law prohibits all servitude contracts for sheep-folk, except for criminal slaves. Even human races, which are overwhelmingly more numerous, aren't excluded from servitude targets. Isn't that strange?"

An incredibly dark topic came up.

Indeed, if they maintain this appearance even as adults, there would surely be perverts who'd want them as pets.

I can understand the feeling, but I don't have a hobby of adoring unwilling partners, so I'm not a pervert. Just a gentleman.

Elenora looked down sadly.

"Mm. Still targeted sometimes."

"The black market is still a problem, you see. Mermaids and sheep-folk fetch extremely high prices. Even without that, beastfolk face discrimination around here... They're often treated like objects."

"Mm... hate humans."

Elenora must have had many unpleasant experiences too.

Even towards me, her fellow apprentice, I could see glimpses of fear in her emotions. It's natural since we just met, but it seems like it'll take some effort to become friends.

"As your master, I don't intend to let Elenora be kidnapped so easily, and even if she were taken, I plan to make her strong enough to escape on her own... But in exchange, I'm not going to try to mediate your relationship. You two will have to figure that out yourselves."

"Yes, I'll do my best."

"Mm."

"Now then, it's unfair to only talk about Elenora, so I'll tell you about Ruruk too."

Saying that, Roze began to explain my background and upbringing to Elenora.

She must have done her research beforehand. She seemed to know about me being a pariah, spending the last four years in seclusion training, and even about my sister Lilith.

I also learned for the first time about Ruruk before he reincarnated as Nanairo Gaku. Apparently, the original Ruruk had a polite but introverted personality. Even when speaking, he would mumble quietly.

No wonder everyone was surprised and kept their distance when they thought he had come back to life like this. 

"Mm... Ruruk, pariah?"

After hearing the story, what caught Elenora's attention was my inability to use magic.

We're going to be party members from now on. I shouldn't keep secrets.

"Yes. I have magic deficiency syndrome, so I can't absorb mana into my body. To be precise, I only absorb the toxic parts of mana while the rest passes through. Because of that, I can't convert it into magical power, so I naturally have a constitution that can't use magic. Of course, I can't use magical devices or sense mana either. That's why I've been living confined as a pariah all this time."

"Mm, poor thing."

"Well, at first it was unpleasant. But instead, I was able to focus intensely on studying mystical arts, and I gained the trust of my sister and stepmother. It's inconvenient, but it's not all bad."

"So that's why Ruruk is a specialist in mystical arts. It's the opposite of Elenora, in a way. Elenora, I know this is after the fact, but I want you to go to the Adventurers' Guild tomorrow to register. Then, you'll train as an adventurer in a party with Ruruk. This is an order from your master, so it's absolute."

Me, without talent for magic, hidden from others' gazes.

Elenora, blessed with magical talent, constantly exposed to others' gazes.

Perhaps the reason Roze wants us to be party members is because of these opposite circumstances.

"Mm. Understood."

"So, with that settled, I'll share both of your statuses."

Roze took out two pieces of paper from her item box and performed "Threshold Compilation." Letters began to appear on the blank papers.

We showed each other the papers with our respective statuses.

――――――――――

[Name] Elenora

[Race] Sheep-person

[Level] 16

[Health] 344(+570)

[Mana] 1040(+4800)

[Strength] 87(+99)

[Endurance] 220(+345)

[Agility] 95(+90)

[Intelligence] 310(+890)

[Luck] 777

[Physical Arts Proficiency] 140

[Magic Arts Proficiency] 2950

[Mystic Arts Proficiency] 30

[Possessed Skills]

≪Passive≫

"All Magic Aptitude"

"Magic Resistance (Minor)"

"Charm Nullification"

"Paralysis Nullification"

"Petrification Nullification"

≪Active≫

"Healing Breath"

"Song of Flora"

"Sage's Ear"

――――――――――

Wow, her level is already 16.

As expected, with that level, her other added values are reasonably high, but her magic power is exceptionally high. Her proficiency is high too, so it makes sense why Roze would want her as an apprentice.

Her intelligence and luck also seem quite high for her level.

"By the way, luck values don't change from birth until death."

"Is that so? Then Elenora is quite lucky, isn't she?"

"Mm, why?"

Elenora tilted her head.

Well, if an unchanging luck value is triple sevens, that means she's lucky--

As I was about to continue with that thought, I remembered.

Elenora's hometown was attacked by monsters, and everyone except her was wiped out.

Calling that lucky seemed extremely insensitive.

It's the kind of slip-up that could make her resent me for life...

"No, I'm sorry. It was my misunderstanding."

I nearly made a fatal mistake on the first day of forming our party.

"Well, you two can check each other's skills later. It's getting dark, so I'm going to my room now. The bedroom on the left is mine, so you two use the other bedroom."

"Huh?"

"Mm. Good night."

Roze stifled a yawn and quickly retreated to her room.

"Mm, Ruruk, strange face."

"It's nothing..."

Don't put a boy and a girl in a bedroom with only one bed.

Well, we both look like children, so she probably doesn't think anything of it. I'm not at an age to be conscious of it either, and if Elenora isn't aware, I won't say anything.

It's a bit embarrassing that I'm the only one conscious of it.

"Now then, let's refocus and check our skills."

"Mm."

"Let's start with my skills. This 'Calm and Collected' skill--"

Until late into the night when sleepiness overtook us, Elenora and I continued to explain our skills to each other.