8 Coming Out
"She has the spirits' blessing, as seen on her status. She can converse in it through her mind. It's not possible to voice it out because she's a newborn, though."
"Hmm, I see. But she can understand our conversation right now?"
"Since we are speaking in the spirits' language, yes. But if you want her to reply, you'll have to build a telepathy like me."
"Ehh, how rude of you, intruding on a little girl's thoughts~!" Minerva teased Heine playfully.
"You-! Ugh, just try and see what you can do with her."
"Yes, yes."
"First of all, nice to meet you, Estelle~ Take a look at my stats, won't you?" Minerva swiped her hands in the air and made another window appear in front of Estelle.
Minerva Eire | Half Human, Half Elf
HP: 172.000/172.000
Title:
- [ Experimental Magician ]
- [ Knowledgeable One ]
- [ Librarian ]
- [ Crimson Witch ]
Core Purity: 82%
Mana: 32.000/32.000
Affinity: [ Fire ] [ Wind ]
Unique Magic: [ Light Magic ]
Unique Skill: [ Researcher ]
Estelle looked over it and memorized everything. The first thing she noticed was that her HP seemed normal, but her other stats were still absurd.
"Ah, don't go thinking your HP is normal because you're comparing yourself to a fae king and a witch." Like she already knew what Estelle would think, Minerva immediately added.
[...] There goes my last chance at being normal.
"Now, now. It's not like you have to be normal, do you? In front of you are two completely abnormal people, so just get used to getting your common sense ruined, 'kay?" Minerva brightly smiled.
"I plan on instilling common sense to her, don't just suddenly decide like that!"
"Ehh? I mean, there's no way that's possible, you know? I mean, if we're going to be her teacher, the least she could do is destroy a whole city?" Minerva shrugged, as if her words were completely normal.
"How irresponsible." Heine facepalmed.
[...You're also irresponsible for fighting in front of an infant.]
"She started it! Okay, maybe I got too hot headed. Anyways, Minerva will be helping you to use and discover your magic. If she can't do it, then no one could."
Although Heine and Minerva seemed to always pit against each other, he trusted Minerva fully in terms of abilities.
"Actually... My newest magic might be the perfect solution to this... How convenient! I have to make some tweaks here and there though, I'm guessing 3 days would be enough. Let's meet by then," Minerva waved and went back inside the space rift.
"I will be going back to see how things are going, but you can always contact us anytime with the telepathy. Got something you need?"
[Do you have a body fortification skill or something?]
"I do, but for what?" Heine raised his fingers and poked Estelle's forehead in an instant, directly bestowing the skill.
[You'll see.]
Another day passed, and Heine once again came to visit.
"How many days since you were born?"
[3 days.]
"I know you're monstrous, but don't all human bones work the same way?"
Heine, who now learned that he would be spending a lot of time with Estelle brought a whole tea set with him to enjoy, and was now sipping on the said tea while questioning Estelle.
[Body fortification. Training. Bones got strong. The rest is practice.] Estelle explained in a short and simple manner.
"I must say, you are the first one to make me triple check someone's race. You're really human, right?"
Compared to the first time Heine seemed to be more used to Estelle's out-of-the-world perks, so the reaction dulled down.
[It's just logic. I kept the magic for 3 days nonstop, it shouldn't be a surprise that I can walk now. Although it'll be a bit wonky.] Estelle held onto the crib's rails, showing off that she could stand up now.
"Whatever. Did Minerva come?"
[She did. She talked with my mom in the humans' language so I couldn't understand. After that, she gave me a book that contained the humans' language and made it transparent to others, so I can understand it now. Still can't talk though, I have no teeth.]
"You know my skill [Bestow]?"
[The one you used on me for Holy Magic and Truth Magic?]
"Yeah, I can bestow you the humans' language as a knowledge with that skill."
Estelle looked at Heine as if he was trash for not telling her earlier, but suddenly changed her expression afterwards.
[Minerva's book probably contains more knowledge than you have, so it's fine.]
"You cheeky-" Heine was about to scold Estelle before a familiar space rift appeared.
"Hi hi~" Minerva's cheery voice could be heard. She nonchalantly stepped out and sat down on one of the nearby chairs, leaving the space rift in an opened state.
"I told you to close the space rifts after using them! You could trigger this place's-" Heine must have sensed an incoming presence, since he immediately grabbed Minerva's hand and disappeared into the air.
Clack!
The door was being opened in a very slow motion. The door handle twisted downwards.
Two figures entered the room side by side. Their muttered to each other in a low voice, making Estelle unable to comprehend their words.
Only after they drew nearer, did Estelle finally be able to distinguish their faces and understand what they were saying.
It was this body's parents, Duke and Duchess Clareste.
"Estelle is fast asleep... I feel bad for not visiting her these days," Sheila softly spoke, as if she was terribly afraid of waking the baby up.
"You had to undergo compulsory treatment after the incident. We can make it up from now on," Alan held Sheila's hands in an attempt to comfort her.
"You're right... But I still have nightmares haunting me every single day. If, that day, instead of targeting me, they targeted Estelle..."
"...It's best not to think of it. We have strengthened the security around her, I would like to see them try to harm our family again,"
"Alan..." Sheila leaned into Alan's embrace as tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.
Being sentimental is great, but not when you had to watch them as a full-fledged adult inside a newborn infant's body.
"Uwaaah!" Estelle made a cry just to attract their attention and stop them from going overboard in front of her. Alan had already placed a kiss on top of Sheila's forehead. If she left them alone, who knows to what point this two could escalate their advances up to.
[God, what is with all of these adults showing no restraint in front of a baby? Aren't they scared that they will pollute the damn baby's eyes?]
Estelle was quickly lifted up and had her hair caressed in an attempt to console her. She looked to see Sheila's red rimmed eyes at a loss on how to proceed.
[...I don't think that's what you should be doing to a crying baby, but I'll play along. I'm tired of crying anyways.] Estelle's cry slowly started to slow down. Not long after, only small sobs and sniffles were present.
"My... Isn't she cute?" Sheila pinched Estelle's puffy cheeks that had long turned red from crying.
"...Indeed, she is quite adorable," The usually stone-faced Alan, who had never shown another set of expression other than anger and disgust, finally showed Estelle a slight smile.
[This feeling is not that bad.]
The feeling of familial love and bonds. As Reina, she attended quite a few funerals where she would see their relatives break down into tears.
She never understood why others would cry when someone died. No one could live forever. They would eventually die one by one, so why couldn't they accept that a family member was gone and continue their life?
As a member of the Kirisaki family, there was not a single second of her life in which she considered them her family. She was only grateful to them who adopted and raised her before she bravely took a step into the business world.
It seemed like she was bound to form a lot of questions in this life. There was already a new one popping inside her mind.
[..I would be glad if I could selectively choose the emotions I want, though.]
Alan and Sheila did not leave until it was nearing night time. In between the hours, Estelle had fallen asleep multiple times, but she would always wake up to see her parents' faces gently looking at her while talking to each other.
It was a very peaceful night, albeit the soreness she had to face the next morning due to Sheila carrying her in the wrong postures.
Alan and Sheila's visits continued even after everything stabilized.
Simply by sitting still and hearing them talk, she was able to gather quite a bit of information.
First of all, the Clareste Dukedom was one of the highest ranked nobles in terms of status. There were plenty of people who supported them, but the ones that opposed them were equal in number.
Assassination was not a normal thing, but it was not like it never happened. However, the recent case involved the use of Black Magic, which had already been established as forbidden long ago.
The culprit was not caught, but whoever it was, they definitely raised the awareness of an entire Dukedom, so props to them.
