Chapter 21 - Chapter 20: Mika's Disposition 1
One week had passed since the fire at the textile factory.
It turned out the building that burned down was actually a spinning mill.
Loretta told Mika this several days after the fire, but for Mika, it was information that didn't matter at all.
In truth, things had been quite difficult even after that incident.
Even after Amalia fainted, Loretta didn't notice Mika right away, and it took some time for her to calm down.
And since the building was still burning, if left alone, there was a high possibility it would spread to the adjacent wing.
So, it was decided to attempt extinguishing the fire while everyone watched.
Everyone learns in school that a chemical reaction called combustion requires three things: "fuel," "oxygen," and "heat."
In other words, to extinguish a fire, one only needs to remove any one of those three.
The methods are as follows―――.
・Remove the "fuel"
・Suffocate by removing "oxygen"
・Cool by stealing "heat"
These are known as the three elements of fire extinguishment.
Doing all three is best, but if even one is established, extinguishment is possible.
However, even if the fire can be put out temporarily, one must continue until it is completely extinguished, otherwise it may flare up again, so caution is necessary.
Fire is truly a terrifying thing.
Facing the burning building, Mika considered how to extinguish it.
Thanks to being able to gather mana from the atmosphere, he was almost free from worries about mana supply.
The reason for "almost" is that he cannot measure the amount of mana in the atmosphere.
Should he think it wells up endlessly like an oil field, or is it more like having acquired a large tank?
For now, he cannot make a judgment.
Should he spray a massive amount of water like using a fire hose?
Should he create a massive amount of carbon dioxide to envelop the building and remove the oxygen?
Removing the fuel is impossible since the building itself is fuel, isn't it?
And so on, he thought of various things.
Spraying a massive amount of water might cause the building to collapse due to the impact and weight.
Since it had burned this much, it could collapse at any moment, so perhaps collapsing it would be safer in the long run, but collapsing it while it is still on fire is dangerous.
So, water was rejected.
Filling the area with carbon dioxide to remove oxygen.
This seemed like a good idea, but there were too many people around. If he couldn't control it and a massive amount of carbon dioxide leaked out, it could cause human casualties.
He had suddenly gained a massive amount of mana, but without practice, he couldn't handle it. It wasn't a problem of mana quantity, but of his proficiency, so this was also rejected.
Alright, let's cool it down.
Taking all that into account, he decided to steal the heat using cold air.
Probably, in terms of efficiency, this method is very poor.
Still, considering the viewpoint of giving as little impact as possible to the building and suppressing influence on the surroundings, this would be the better option.
Although stealing heat with cold air, if he were to spray Ice Breath and freeze the entire building, it would be a disaster.
After all, the factory was very large.
Even moving to the optimal spot at each moment, if he sprayed forcefully, it might still lead to collapse.
So, he applied Thousand Edge and Ice Javelin.
First, divide the entire building into about ten zones, or blocks.
Then, for each block, wrap the inside of the building in mana, just like when making a hole in a wall.
Instead of creating wind blades like Thousand Edge, he would create ice there.
One shot per spot wouldn't be enough, but he would repeat it several times and move to the next block.
In this way, he would roughly freeze the entire building.
Even if some heat sources remained inside the wood, the surrounding ice would melt and extinguish the fire.
It would take some time and effort, but he felt this was a reliable and safe method of fire extinguishment.
The remaining problem was whether he could extend his mana that far.
In his practice with Thousand Edge, he could barely extend it to a radius of a few meters.
Now, the problem of mana quantity was almost cleared. It was a matter of control.
But, he was able to do it more easily than he thought.
Perhaps it was thanks to the abundant mana, but extending it within his visible range wasn't too much of a struggle.
First, cool roughly by block units, and handle difficult areas like parts outside his field of vision individually.
In this way, he succeeded in extinguishing the factory fire.
Was there a better method?
Well, since the objective was achieved, let's call it okay.
With that, the fire extinguishment ended, and they returned home, but things were still difficult after that.
First, Amalia was bedridden for two days.
Even while sleeping, she was often tormented by nightmares, jumping up to search for Mika.
Knowing without any room for argument that the fault was hers, he tried to stay close to Amalia as much as possible.
He held her hand so she could feel a little reassured, and he stayed by her side constantly so she wouldn't feel anxious when she woke up.
As a result, Amalia gradually regained her strength and is now doing housework normally.
However, she had not yet returned to work.
Loretta had regained a fair amount of composure by the time they got home.
However, like Amalia, Loretta seemed anxious when Mika wasn't by her side, so she ended up staying by his side constantly.
In other words, the three members of the Noisheim family were in a state of being together almost all the time.
Still, Loretta, who had a strong sense of responsibility, understood that if she didn't do the housework herself while Amalia was bedridden, the household would collapse.
Therefore, reluctantly, she did the housework away from Mika.
Once that was done, she would immediately return and stick to Mika like glue.
And Loretta had not yet returned to work either.
...If this continues, the Noisheim household will definitely collapse, won't it?
On Loretta's lap, Mika groaned, "Muu..." while worrying his head off.
Recently, Mika hadn't been able to sit in his own seat very often.
Only during meal times.
Except for that, he was made to sit on Amalia's or Loretta's lap.
Right now, Amalia was going to wash the dishes, so it was Loretta's turn.
This might be called a state of dependency...? I'm not an expert in psychology, but I feel like it's definitely heading towards destruction.
He was aware that the cause was his own fault, so he couldn't say anything too strong.
But it seemed certain that if things continued like this, something bad would happen.
While thinking such things, Amalia returned from washing the dishes.
Her expression was quite dark.
"Mother, is something wrong?"
Loretta, noticing Amalia's state, spoke up.
She was clearly shaken by Loretta's voice but only answered, "Yes..."
Loretta took Mika down from her lap and took the dishes, immediately putting them away in the cupboard.
When the two sat down, Amalia's lap became Mika's seat.
"............The Village Head said he wants to talk tomorrow......."
Amalia opened her heavy mouth.
She didn't say "about what," but nine times out of ten, it would be about Mika.
It might be more than that, but there was no way Mika's name wouldn't come up.
A village child who suddenly showed off "magic."
This time, he used it to save the villagers, but such overwhelming power is a target of fear in itself.
It wouldn't be strange if they were ostracized.
However, Mika was still struggling to gauge the position of "magic" in this world.
Since the country is cultivating it on a national scale, he probably wouldn't be treated like a monster right away, but judging from the villagers' reactions while he was extinguishing the fire, it didn't seem like they were cheering him on wholeheartedly.
Just by looking at Amalia and Loretta's expressions, it doesn't look like tomorrow will bring good news.
Mika, sitting on Amalia's lap, thought such things.
■■■■■■
The next morning, at the appointed time, he went to the Village Head's house and was taken to the Meeting Hall.
It seemed the Village Head's talk would be held in the Meeting Hall.
The Village Head, looking somewhat grumpy, walked ahead, with Amalia and Loretta holding Mika's hands.
Both of them were silent and had dark expressions.
Just from that, one could imagine that the discussion to be held would not be a pleasant one.
Did Grey feel this way when he was taken away by the FBI?
An image of a small alien being escorted by two men floated into his mind.
Although, it seems that image has been confirmed as a fake.
While Mika was thinking such silly thoughts, they arrived at the Meeting Hall quickly.
Upon entering, there were about ten people there: Kifrod, Radi, Diego, Ninetiana, Horatio, Nanzaro, Methtelte, and a few others Mika didn't know.
A great gathering of people Mika knew, but every face looked more serious than he had ever seen before.
Among the arranged tables, three seats were left empty, and the Village Head told them to sit there.
Mika sat in the middle, with Amalia and Loretta on either side.
Amalia held Mika's hand under the table.
Well, what kind of talk will this be?
Compared to the people in the Meeting Hall, Mika lacked seriousness, but that was unavoidable.
Mika, in the first place, had the thought, "Why is being able to use magic such a problem?"
Since he didn't know what the problem was, he couldn't take it seriously.
"Well then, let's begin. Everyone, I apologize for gathering you so early in the morning. It has been a week since then. I would like to finish the discussion by today if possible."
Saying that, the Village Head looked at the gathered crowd.
Perhaps the Village Head had intended to hold such a gathering much earlier.
It must have been postponed for some reason.
"There are several things to confirm, but first, we must confirm this before we can even begin the discussion. ...Mika-kun."
When the Village Head called out to Mika, the gathered people turned their faces toward him.
Amalia's hand, which he was holding, tightened.
"...You can use [God's Miracle], can't you?"
The gathered people held their breath at the Village Head's question, but Mika looked bewildered.
...[God's Miracle]?
At the Village Head's unexpected question, Mika didn't understand what he meant for a moment.
...Oh right, in this world, magic is [God's Miracle], isn't it? I completely forgot.
Mika also had the recognition that Radi's Heal was [God's Miracle].
But he had never thought that the magic he used was [God's Miracle].
After all, it has nothing to do with God.
Mika used magic for the first time by accident.
In fact, he didn't even intend to use it.
He wanted to use it, but when he imagined a mass of water, it came out.
To call that [God's Miracle] seems a bit unreasonable, doesn't it?
Certainly, if you say so, it might be [God's Miracle], but it might also be something else.
While he was struggling with how to explain what to do, the Village Head seemed to take it as "trying to hide it."
"Look, everyone is watching! You using [God's Miracle]. I saw it with my own eyes. Won't you tell the truth?"
Even when told to be honest, the way the question was phrased was bad in this case.
Why limit it to [God's Miracle]?
If he inappropriately affirmed it, and Mika's magic turned out to be something separate from [God's Miracle], it could cause trouble again. He absolutely wanted to avoid that.
Then, should he make a firm claim here so there is no misunderstanding?
No... that would be dangerous too.
If it's not [God's Miracle], then what exactly is it?
Since he didn't know how the other party would interpret it, he couldn't make a hasty claim.
If it was a situation with no way back, he should make some claim one way or another, but the discussion had just begun.
For now, he wanted to gather as much information as possible without making a hasty claim.
When Mika didn't answer, the Village Head shouted impatiently.
"Mika-kun! Why don't you try to answer anything―――."
"Now, wait. Even if you interrogate a child like that, nothing will come of it. First, we must confirm the facts properly."
Interrupting the Village Head's words, Kifrod stepped in.
"That is why, I am here―――."
"Village Head, I understand your position, but please calm down a bit more. It won't go badly. The church also promises to cooperate as much as possible."
When Kifrod asked Radi, "Is that okay?", Radi nodded with a solemn expression.
Huh? Is this a story related to the Village Head's position? Because of my magic? Why?
Something was happening that Mika didn't quite understand.
He didn't know the reason, but it seemed the Village Head was caught in the crossfire too.
The grumpiness since meeting at the Village Head's house in the morning seemed to have a reason for it.
Kifrod looked straight at Mika with his usual kindly old man atmosphere.
"Listen, Mika. The people here now have gathered for your sake. It has become a bit of a troublesome situation. To try to fix that, they have gathered like this."
Saying that, Kifrod looked at the gathered people, and each one nodded firmly.
Amalia whispered, "Priest-sama...", and Loretta was wiping away tears.
It seemed a truly serious situation was unfolding.
While Mika couldn't grasp the situation, Kifrod asked him one by one to confirm.
"First, Mika. You made a mass of water, didn't you? Before jumping into the fire. And inside, you sprayed a massive amount of water to put out the fire. Those left inside saw this. ...Is that correct?"
At Kifrod's question, Mika nodded honestly.
It was so clearly witnessed that there was no way to deceive it.
Denying it would mean losing trust with no other meaning.
Nanzaro and Methtelte were looking at Mika with solemn faces.
"And, you froze the building where the fire occurred and stopped the fire, didn't you?"
Mika nodded honestly at this as well.
It could be said that everyone in the village saw it. There was no point in denying it.
Seeing Mika nod, Kifrod showed a clear smile.
"Hmm. Thanks to that, many lives were saved. Thank you, Mika. Your actions are not something anyone can do; they are splendid actions. ...Though a bit too reckless."
At Kifrod's words, Diego and Ninetiana nodded vigorously.
Radi was making a gesture of a brief prayer.
...Come to think of it, this might be the first time I've been thanked for this incident?
Such a thought suddenly floated up.
For this past week, Mika hadn't stepped out of the house even once. He couldn't leave Amalia, and afterwards, the two wouldn't let him go.
And Loretta had handled all visitors. Even after Amalia was able to get up, one of the two handled it, and Mika hadn't met them.
While thinking such things, Kifrod continued the conversation.
"But, there are some questions here. When did you become able to do such a thing?"
It seemed the real show was starting from here.
Kifrod was still the same kindly old man, but Mika could feel the atmosphere tighten in an instant around him.
Amalia's hand trembled slightly.
Well, how should I answer this? ...Factually, it was about a month and a half ago, but is this answer good or bad? In the end, I don't know what the problem is, so I can't judge.
However, it wouldn't be a good strategy to lose the trust of the people who gathered "for Mika's sake" by telling a lie.
He decided to speak honestly.
"...About a month ago."
It was a struggle, but he answered vaguely.
This allowed him to potentially argue strongly if he needed to shift the timing slightly later.
Hearing Mika's reply, the gathered people started to buzz all at once.
"A month? Then―――."
"How could that be...."
"No, but without evidence―――."
It seemed that regarding the current problem, the "timing" was extremely important.
Amalia and Loretta were looking at Kifrod anxiously.
Kifrod was talking with Radi, who was sitting next to him.
The others were also saying various things. Fragmentarily, words like "evidence" and "proof" could be heard, but Mika couldn't think of a way to prove when he became able to use magic.
I was practicing in secret. If I had honestly consulted Radi about magic, this might not have become a big issue. It was a failure.
He had deliberately avoided Radi because he thought if it was revealed he could use magic, it would be forbidden.
Even now, he felt a bit of regret that if he had talked to Radi at that time...
"Ah... can everyone quiet down? First, I want to ask everyone. Who can prove that Mika has been able to use [God's Miracle] for a month? Testimony is fine."
At Kifrod's words, everyone closed their mouths.
It seemed that even within Kifrod, Mika's magic was confirmed as [God's Miracle].
...I never said that even once.
Mika struggled in his heart.
Even if Mika's magic was something separate from [God's Miracle], he could claim he never said it was [God's Miracle].
Well, if such logic would pass, that is.
"Hmm... Then, we can only indirectly confirm the situation. Village Head."
Kifrod called out to the Village Head.
"The records of the mana measurement conducted in spring. Do you still have them?"
"Yes, of course. Even if we don't have them here, they should be in Kotontesse, so there is no problem."
At the Village Head's reply, Kifrod nodded firmly.
"The church also performed a ritual. About two months ago. We have kept detailed logs of that time. Yes, Radi."
"Yes."
Radi nodded firmly as well.
"Also, Mika's results at that time were somewhat special. I sent a letter to the Bishop of the diocese separately from the normal report, based on Radi's judgment."
"Oh~..." the gathered people murmured a little.
Mika was curious about what Kifrod meant by "special results," but it was skipped over.
"Based on these, we cannot be optimistic, but we should be able to clear the suspicion of Mika 'evading the academy.' I will also ask the Bishop for assistance. ...Really, how many years has it been since I wrote a letter?"
Kifrod was muttering complaints like, "Of course, I can't have someone else write this for me."
But noticing the dazed state of Amalia and Loretta, he made a smile and spoke gently.
"Amalia, and Loretta. You don't need to worry so much. It seems we can manage this. No, we will definitely manage it. It will be alright."
"Priest-sama! ...Thank you. ............Thank you."
"Mika!"
Loretta stood up as if she had been shot and hugged Mika.
Amalia thanked Kifrod repeatedly and hugged Mika and Loretta.
Both were crying tears of joy.
The gathered people, completely changed from their tense state until just now, let out sighs of relief.
They all smiled, saying "It's good, it's good," but Mika was left behind in this situation alone.
No, no, no, I don't get it. What is this air of everything being resolved? Leaving me behind alone!?
He barked in his heart, Someone tell me~~~!
It wasn't really an atmosphere where he could say such things.
For a while, everyone celebrated together, but it seemed the story wasn't over yet.
"Ah... well, then, the next problem. What shall we do, Village Head? Can I proceed as is?"
"Yes, please."
The Village Head's grumpiness from when the discussion started was gone, and he willingly yielded the proceedings to Kifrod.
It seemed the Village Head's position had become secure.
"Then... Mika. There is one more thing I want to ask you."
When Kifrod said that, the previously relaxed atmosphere changed instantly, becoming tense again.
"Who taught you [God's Miracle]?"
"Huh? I wasn't taught."
At Kifrod's question, Mika answered without thinking.
Of course, regarding this, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't deceive it.
If he tried to blame someone randomly, it could turn into something like a witch hunt.
Torture until the person confesses based on a single piece of false testimony.
Since that would be terrible, he had no choice but to tell the truth.
"Again, you are saying something random like that―――."
"Now, wait a moment."
The Village Head tried to interject, but Kifrod cut him off.
It seemed Mika had become thoroughly disliked by the Village Head.
"............There are some important things required to handle [God's Miracle]."
Kifrod said that to use [God's Miracle], "Faith," "Mana," and "Chanting" were indispensable.
"Well, if I list them in detail, there are others, but broadly speaking, it means one needs aptitude. Conversely, if one has aptitude, Faith and Mana can be managed by the person's own effort."
Mika could understand that part.
If it were simple physical problems like arm strength, there would be a wall that children and adults could never cross no matter how they struggled.
However, age had nothing to do with Faith.
In cases where deep thinking and flashes of insight decide the outcome, like Shogi or Go, it often happens that children surpass adults.
Mature thinking requires experience, but it doesn't mean children cannot reach that level.
It shouldn't be that children cannot have as much Faith as adults just because they are children.
There were many doubts about the theory that "Magic = [God's Miracle]" or that "[God's Miracle] requires Faith."
Kifrod continued explaining various things about chanting, but Mika was engrossed in his own thoughts.
If I showed off even one magic spell here, I could prove that I don't need chanting. ...But is that the best move?
An image of performing magic in front of everyone like a water acrobat flashed in his mind for a moment, but whether that would improve the situation was dubious.
Rather, wouldn't it be bad if he was thought to be using something other than [God's Miracle]?
But the fact that he didn't need chanting was also true, so he was in trouble when asked who taught him.
Or rather, hadn't he noticed that he didn't chant during the building fire extinguishment?
Mika looked at Kifrod, and Kifrod was looking at Mika.
It wasn't just Kifrod. Everyone there was waiting for Mika's answer.
Next, he looked at Radi.
Radi had her hands clasped in front of her chest, looking at Mika with concern.
Kifrod, Radi... Can I trust these two?
Mika asked himself.
Until now, his interactions with the two hadn't been that frequent.
Radi was the one who saved his life, and Kifrod was actively trying to save Mika in this situation.
But, could he trust them completely?
Honestly, he couldn't have confidence.
Amalia and Loretta were looking at Mika anxiously.
Everyone gathered in this place was watching Mika, holding their breath.
............Well, there's no choice but this.
In the silence where no one spoke, the sound of Mika getting down from his chair echoed strangely loudly.