Chapter 7 - Chapter 6: First Time with Magic Power 1
【Loretta's Perspective】
Loretta extended both her hands, and Nunzia placed her own hands over them.
Nunzia seemed a little nervous.
Loretta deliberately made a smile to relieve the tension.
"Take a slow, deep breath. Exhale. There is no pain, no fear. Calm your mind."
As instructed, Nunzia slowly inhaled deeply, then exhaled.
Once Loretta confirmed that Nunzia had calmed down, she too focused her consciousness.
This "Rite of Secret Perception" is one of the "Consecrations."
A second-best measure devised by the Church, which had the state seize control of the most important element when handling the [God's Miracle] known as "Magic Power."
But it went surprisingly well.
Among the children selected this way, some showed extremely high potential for magic power growth, and Loretta herself was one of those children.
Loretta felt magic power gathering in her own two hands.
She gathered a large amount of magic power, but that power remained within Loretta.
She sent only a tiny fraction of that gathered magic power to Nunzia.
Normally, when performing a [God's Miracle], one does not use magic power this way.
When magic power is gathered, it is offered to the gods as is.
Therefore, only users of [God's Miracle] who have accumulated experience and training are permitted to perform this ritual.
Only those who have mastered the special training of magic power manipulation.
Mostly, it seems one learns basic magic power manipulation techniques at the Academy.
Even so, they probably wouldn't do something like manipulating such weak and fragile magic power with delicate control, which is usually not handled.
Loretta never went to the Academy and entered the convent as a child, so she learned such arts from an elderly nun.
She extended magic power from her palm like a thin thread, touching Nunzia's palm.
But there was no reaction from Nunzia.
She slowly advanced that thin thread so it would enter Nunzia's hand.
In reality, even if it tried to enter, it would be immediately interfered with by Nunzia's magic power and dissipate.
While sending the thread in, she gradually thickened the thread.
To increase the amount of magic power interfering with each other.
By determining at what point this interference is noticed, they check sensitivity to magic power.
Of course, there are children who don't notice at all.
In such cases, they stop at a certain point.
After continuing the interference for a while, just as she began to think about stopping soon, Nunzia's hand twitched slightly.
A small whisper was heard: "Ah...".
"What's wrong?"
"............."
Nunzia did not answer, looking as if she were hesitating.
She probably didn't quite understand the "something" she faintly felt.
Whether this was magic power, or just a trick of the mind.
Since Nunzia kept her hands stacked, Loretta smiled and waited for her to answer.
"It feels ticklish... like wind is blowing on it."
"I see. I understand."
Saying that, Loretta took out a small bottle containing candy from her pocket.
"Thank you for today. You can go home now."
Saying that, she put the candy into Nunzia's mouth.
It seemed Nunzia hadn't expected a reward, as she happily went home.
They conduct the test, but they do not convey pass or fail results here.
If the person is curious, they might tell them later, but they try not to convey it on the spot.
Regardless of talent, until the measurement at age nine, it is the same either way.
Only if they miss the measurement will they be given a "choice" if they have talent.
Mostly, talent has nothing to do with entering the Church.
Anyone can enter, and once inside, anyone is guaranteed a livelihood.
But it is a fact that there is some preferential treatment if one can use [God's Miracle].
Of course, they are asked to provide service commensurate with that.
Loretta saw Nunzia off, then stood before Mika.
Mika clearly looked nervous.
"Well then, Mika-kun, shall we try?"
Loretta extended both her hands just as before.
Before Loretta told him, Mika took a deep breath himself and placed his hand over hers.
"You don't need to be so nervous. Calm your mind. If you feel anything, please tell me."
Saying that, Loretta began to concentrate.
She gathered magic power in both hands and pushed it out like a thread, just as before.
The moment that thread touched Mika's palm, Mika pulled his hand away in a flash.
"What's wrong?"
"............There was a sound... and ripples...?"
Mika stared intently at his own two hands, then looked at his own body.
As if searching for some change in his body.
His reaction was too fast, so Loretta was at a loss as to how to interpret it.
She decided to wait for Mika to calm down and try again.
"Is it okay to try one more time? If you feel anything again, please tell me."
Saying that, Loretta extended her hands.
Mika, with a cautious expression, stacked his hands over hers just as before.
His hands seemed to tremble slightly.
Mika closed his eyes and concentrated.
Loretta also concentrated again, gathering magic power in both hands.
But this time, she tried with only one hand instead of both.
(First, the right hand.)
She extended only the magic power from her right hand and touched Mika's hand.
Then Mika answered immediately.
"...I feel it in my left hand. Something feels like it's spreading from there to my whole body."
Loretta was surprised, her eyes wide open.
She had never heard of a child reacting this quickly before.
She tried extending the magic power from her left hand as a test.
Then, just like before, he reacted immediately: "I feel it in my right hand."
Loretta was so surprised that her thinking completely stopped.
■■■■■■
Nunzia, who had stayed behind, happily went home after receiving the candy.
(Pray, don't leave me behind... Hey, I want to go home too, seriously.)
Watching Nunzia leave, Mika, left alone, secretly let out a sigh.
He wondered why he had to be dragged into this, but he didn't have the courage to actually say it.
(Anyway, what was the result?)
Loretta said nothing, and Nunzia asked nothing.
He thought it was strange to test and not tell the results, but perhaps it was consideration not to announce the results openly in front of others.
Mika's heart continued to beat rapidly, and his stomach felt tight.
(Nervous over something like this? I'm pretty weak-willed myself.)
He was aware that he was nervous.
Mostly, he could consciously act recklessly, so he wasn't too troubled by it.
"Well then, Mika-kun, shall we try?"
Loretta extended both her hands with a smile.
Looking at those hands, he resigned himself to doing it.
He took a deep breath, one, two, and stacked his hand over Loretta's.
Her hands were cold and chilly.
(Does she have poor circulation?)
As he wondered if this counted as feeling something, Loretta spoke to him.
"You don't need to be so nervous. Calm your mind. If you feel anything, please tell me."
He replied "Yeah" in his heart and nodded silently without speaking.
Then, a clear sound like "Kiiiii...n" was faintly heard.
It was like putting water in a glass cup and tapping it with a stick, making it ring like an instrument.
That kind of clear sound was heard.
And something lightly touched the center of his palm, spreading from there.
It spread through Mika's body like ripples formed when a single drop of water falls on a quiet water surface.
Mika involuntarily pulled his hand back and stared intently at his own two hands.
The ripples continued to spread inside his body, rebounding, and resonating like echoes as waves interfered with each other.
He focused his consciousness to follow those ripples as they gradually weakened.
"What's wrong?"
Loretta asked.
Mika didn't know what to say; he couldn't express this first-time experience well.
"............There was a sound... and ripples...?"
It was not an unpleasant sensation.
One could even say it was fun, or pleasant.
But that sound had already disappeared, and he could no longer feel the ripple-like sensation.
Mika realized he was unusually excited within himself.
He could say he was excited by an unknown sensation he had never felt before.
To the point of shivering.
"Is it okay to try one more time? If you feel anything again, please tell me."
Loretta also seemed a little confused, but she extended both her hands to Mika again.
Mika, while calming his excited mood, carefully stacked his hand over hers.
Suppressing the trembling of his hands.
Closing his eyes, he focused all his consciousness on his ears and hands.
Not letting the previous sound and ripples escape.
The clear sound like "Kiiiii...n" was heard immediately.
But the ripples came only from the left hand, unlike before.
It traveled from the left arm to the left shoulder, spreading from there to the torso, and then to the whole body.
Since it was only the left hand, the spread and rebound were weaker than before, and he hardly felt the echo-like resonance.
He conveyed this to Loretta, feeling a bit regretful.
"...I feel it in my left hand. Something feels like it's spreading from there to my whole body."
Then the ripples from the left hand stopped, and he began to feel ripples from the right hand.
Just like what he felt in the left hand, there was no initial resonance.
"I feel it in my right hand."
Mika conveyed that, but Loretta had no reaction.
The ripples coming from the right hand also stopped, and although he waited a while, there was no reaction from Loretta.
Slowly opening his eyes and looking up at Loretta, he found her frozen with a surprised expression.
(Huh? Did something go wrong? Or rather, I've never seen this person look so stunned before. She always looks so composed.)
He pulled his hand back and called out, "Sister Loretta?", and Loretta seemed to snap out of it.
"...Ah, ah, sorry. Thank you, Mika-kun. You can go home now."
"What's the result?"
As Loretta hurriedly tried to take out candy from the bottle, Mika asked.
(Leaving me behind specifically just not to tell me the result? That's not right, Loretta?)
At Mika's question, Loretta made a difficult face.
She seemed to be struggling with how to convey it.
"Mika-kun, this is just a trial, and----."
"Yes. But you wouldn't test without any basis or standard, right?"
"...Yes. That's right."
"It's confirmed only after the measurement at age nine. I know that too. Even so, I want to hear Sister Loretta's opinion."
When Mika continued speaking, Loretta held her breath and then exhaled deeply.
"As for me, I felt great potential."
"Potential...?"
"Yes. Even if you don't meet the country's standards, I think there is a possibility that if Mika-kun enters the Church, you will be able to use [God's Miracle]."
"God's Miracle...."
He muttered involuntarily.
Hearing that he could use that mysterious phenomenon himself, Mika's mind went blank.
(...Can I use it? Me... that thing?)
A mysterious power that heals injuries in the blink of an eye.
If one could use something like that, wouldn't dreams expand endlessly?
Could I become a so-called "Cleric" or "Paladin" as seen in games?
He had no particular attachment to the clergy, but his heart fluttered at the fantasy of himself using magic and being active in a fantasy world.
"There is a possibility I can use it!? For me too, [God's Miracle]!!!"
"E-yes. If you train properly and continue praying to the gods, those prayers will reach the gods. At that time, surely you will be able to use [God's Miracle], Mika-kun."
"...Pray?"
Like suddenly being splashed with cold water, the excitement within Mika subsided.
(...Pray? To God? Pray, and then what happens?)
His head cooled down rapidly.
(Chants? Loretta chanted them too, right? Isn't it activated by that?)
It seems it is not chanting a spell and consuming magic power to activate magic.
How does one make prayers reach the gods? What should one do?
"Um, Sister Loretta, you were chanting something, right? What was that?"
"Chanting is also one of the prayers to the gods. It makes it easier to imagine, so the prayers reach more easily."
"Imagine...."
It seems the chanting itself doesn't have much meaning.
It seems chanting exists to make it easier to imagine the content of the prayer.
"...Can I also be taught chanting?"
"Teaching chanting recklessly is strictly forbidden. This is not only the Church, but the Academy is the same."
With an apologetic look, Loretta squatted to meet Mika's eyes and gently conveyed it as if advising him.
He didn't know what other [God's Miracles] existed besides [Heal], but it seemed they couldn't teach everyone.
If villains knew magic with high killing power, the damage would be immense.
Considering that, it was a natural response.
However, if that were the case, it seemed Mika would have to wait a long time before being taught magic.
Moreover, unless one is deemed to have "talent," even that would not be possible.
According to Loretta's assessment, for now, there seems to be at least a possibility.
(...Imagination is important, and chanting is for that. So, if the imagination is solid enough, isn't chanting necessarily required...?)
After that, it's just about getting the prayers to reach the gods----.
(Believe, believe. Or rather, I believe. So, God, Buddha, please grant me magic!)
Mika's quick change of attitude was less flexible adaptation and more like an insult to faith.
Naturally, [God's Miracle] could not be handled just by that, and that day ended with him being sent home.
■■■■■■
Mika, back at home, kept thinking about what Loretta had said.
She had said it was important to feel the magic power within himself, but was that ripple-like sensation or clear sound he felt then actually magic power?
He felt an excitement that made him shiver, but that sensation was already gone.
He tried to focus his consciousness to get the same sensation again, but he couldn't feel anything at all.
(To put it bluntly, Loretta forcibly interfered with my magic power back then, right? I didn't do anything with my own will.)
Because he was interfered with and shaken, Mika was able to feel it.
In a stable state, it is no different from usual, so perhaps it is natural that he cannot feel magic power no matter how much he focuses his consciousness.
If the sensation can be perceived to that extent, it wouldn't be strange if he had noticed it himself before Loretta tested him.
He tried imitating zazen and putting his hands together like in a certain manga saying "circulation is important," but it wouldn't work that way, and eventually, Amalia and Loretta became worried seeing him groaning in pain.
For now, when he told the two about what happened in the morning, they understood with "Ah, that."
Not only Loretta, but Amalia also remembered it.
Both said that when they were tested at the Church, a priest was dispatched from Kotontesse.
It seems Loretta was still training at the convent and not in the village when Loretta was seven years old.
It seems the Church has been conducting this test for children every year for quite some time.
Thinking about such things, he watched Amalia and Loretta moving busily around the house.
Today, both seemed to be off, doing housework they couldn't usually do.
He hated housework like cleaning and laundry, to put it mildly, and didn't think even a little bit about doing it voluntarily, but the two were happily doing housework.
(I've lived alone for over ten years. To me, who even found automatic washing machines troublesome, it's hard to believe, but there were indeed people who liked housework...)
Looking back at his original life, there were convenient machines like washing machines and vacuum cleaners, but housework was still troublesome.
But he knew that there were a few people whose hobby was housework.
His former boss, the Bald Department Head, was one of them. It might be rude to say it was unexpected, but he said his hobby was cooking.
He said that on weekends, he did laborious and time-consuming cooking that he couldn't do on weekdays, and drinking after dinner while eating it was his reason for living.
Even if it wasn't a hobby, he felt there were quite a few people who found cooking and cleaning enjoyable.
He thought it would be bad to just watch while the two did housework, so he tried to help, but was gently refused.
Searching through Mika Noisheim's memories, it seemed Mika usually didn't help with housework.
In this world, the idea that "housework is for women" was prevalent, and it seemed Mika had once tried to help but only got in the way and increased the workload.
What was amazing was that even so, the two didn't scold Mika and happily cleaned up afterwards.
If he grew up like this, wouldn't young Mika grow up to be a terrible failure in life?
(Is this normal? Or are these two spoiling Mika too much? I don't know the standards in this world... But in the original world, this level of spoiling could be called toxic parenting?)
He didn't have memories of being scolded, but the love these two had for Mika was excessive.
Every day he strongly told himself not to get used to this.
Actually, once every few days, they wipe his body with hot water, but not only did they prepare it, they even tried to wipe his body themselves.
It seems they usually did it together, but he declined saying it was too much, but they wouldn't listen.
They seemed to take it that he disliked being wiped clean, so he was hugged tightly, unable to move, and wiped all over.
No matter how much he said "I'll do it myself!", they didn't trust him at all.
It seems young Mika always said that to get out of it easily.
"That's how you always run away. Mom, I'll catch him, so wipe him."
"Yes, Mika. It'll be quick. Loretta, lift your arm a bit."
"Yes-hi-tee...! Really, I'll do it myself!"
"Yes, yes. Next time it's this arm."
He struggled and flailed, but was easily handled by Loretta.
No matter the gender difference, a six-year age gap at this age was a hopeless gap.
It seems he must start by gaining their trust to escape this female body hell.
Thinking so, he has been wiping his body every day before bed recently.
Thanks to the weather getting warmer, wiping his body with water isn't that cold.
Even if he thoroughly wipes with hot water once every few days, wiping with water every day prevents dirt from accumulating too much.
If he shows that he wipes his body regularly, he will be allowed to do it himself even when the three of them wipe together.
Eventually, he will be able to do it alone after the two finish.
Believing that, he decided to make a steady appeal for now.
After dinner, the female body hell ended, and the family gathered for a chat.
Amalia was making rags, and Loretta was mending the worn parts of Mika's clothes.
He concentrated his consciousness, trying to see if he could feel magic power.
"You're very quiet today."
"You seem a bit down lately, is something wrong?"
It seems to Loretta, since he and young Mika switched places, he seems less energetic than before.
No matter how careful he is, it's impossible to ask him to mimic the liveliness of a seven-year-old.
"There's nothing."
"Is that so?"
Although he didn't seem fully satisfied with his answer, Loretta seemed to concentrate on mending the clothes.
He concentrated his consciousness again, trying to see if he could feel magic power.
He tried hard for a while, but as expected, he couldn't do anything.
He had been concentrating his consciousness and thinking about various things all afternoon, so he was tired.
Slumping onto the table, exhausted, Amalia chuckled.
"Did you feel the magic power?"
"Nnn... impossible."
He answered weakly to Amalia.
"People who can use [God's Miracle] are really rare. Even after trying, not many people can feel even a little bit of magic power."
"I couldn't feel it either."
Loretta, having finished mending, joined the conversation while cleaning up.
"But there are people who say it was ticklish or a little warm."
"That's right. When Mom was tested, everyone felt nothing, but Mika must have felt something, right?"
Mika nodded, and Amalia smiled, looking at him with gentle eyes.
(This is exactly the eyes of parents watching a child who says "I want to be a pro baseball player." It must be that difficult.)
At the lack of response, a sigh involuntarily escaped.
"Don't rush, take your time. Now, let's go to bed soon. We have work tomorrow. Loretta, get ready too."
"Yes," she replied, and Loretta headed for the bedroom.
She would probably arrange the bed.
Watching Loretta off, he felt more depressed on top of the fatigue.
Secretly, he let out a sigh larger than before.
The Noisheim family has a bedroom.
But there are only two beds.
One is used by Amalia, and the other by Loretta.
So where does he sleep?
Of course, in the bed.
Every day, he intrudes on Amalia and Loretta's beds on alternate days.
Naturally, he resisted. He resisted desperately.
He pleaded that the floor was fine.
But these two who doted on Mika would never allow that.
Even if he resisted, he was just a seven-year-old child; he couldn't win.
On their part, they couldn't hurt him by resisting so hard, so they had to hold back.
As a result, he was dragged into the bed in no time.
And the more he struggled, the tighter he was hugged.
In the end, complying without resistance was the most peaceful way.
Today was his turn to sleep in Amalia's bed.
Amalia hugged Mika and kissed his forehead.
"Good night, Mika."
"...Good night."
Thus, Mika's day came to an end.