Could you be a mage

Today was another day.

I was walking in the city together with Ivy, one of my personal maids. Market stalls lined the route as many people were shouting around. Housewives were rounding the stores, trying to bargain for the price of nuts, powdered spices, or other imported merchandise.

First mission of the day: getting rid of Ivy.

Ivy is a nice person. She's in her forties, possibly her fifties. Since she doesn't have any children, she acts very motherly toward me. I like her a lot, but I can't always have someone watching over me.

"Young mistress, how about a snack?" Ivy asked, as she pointed her finger towards one of the stalls selling nuts and dried fruits.

"Sure!" I nodded.

Ivy gently smiled at me before approaching the vendor. On the side of the road, I noticed a young boy sitting, intensely looking in my way. Usually, people would avert their eyes when meeting mine, but the boy didn't. He never broke the eye contact. Hm. Potential friend? No… Too young, he looked maybe half my age.

As Ivy came back with a bag full of snacks, she followed my gaze and her eyes fell upon the boy, still looking at me.

"Oh… An orphan? He must be a beggar," she spoke.

I approached the boy.

"Hey there," I spoke, crouching down in front of him.

Since I received no reply, I continued. "Are you hungry? Want some?" I showed him a dried persimmon that Ivy just bought.

The boy shyly nodded as he took the fruit. He slowly ate it, his face lighting up each time he took a bite. Once he was done, he looked up at me, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Thank you, big sister," he said, giving me a sudden hug.

The boy waved happily at me and disappeared into an alley.

"The young mistress really is a nice person!" Ivy chuckled, after witnessing the scene.

I shrugged. "No one asked to be an orphan; the poor boy was just unlucky."

As we were about to continue loitering around, I noticed something was missing. I slowly raised my hand to touch my neck, but I couldn't feel anything. It's gone. The necklace mother gave me for my first birthday, it's gone. I never took it off and always wore it, yet it was missing.

"Haha… Of course… Damn brat," I muttered. "And to think I was trying to be nice…"

"Young mistress? Is something wrong?" Ivy asked.

"Ivy. Wait for me, I'll be right back."

Before giving her a chance to answer, I ran after the boy. I could hear her shouting something behind me. Her job was to watch over me, so if I disappeared like that, she was going to have troubles, I knew that. Sorry, Ivy, but I can't let the kid get away. I'll make sure to make up later. Following his path, it didn't take long before I caught up with the boy. When he noticed me, he flinched in surprise.

"What? Already here?!" he spoke.

He tried to speed up, but I didn't give him the chance.

"Bind."

His legs were tied by an invisible force, causing him to fall. Since there was no longer a need to run, I simply walked to his side, as he desperately tried to get away.

"You tripped? You're quite clumsy for a thief," I said, feigning ignorance.

"I didn't trip! There is something preventing me from moving!" he answered.

"Is that so? How unfortunate." I presented my hand in front of me. "Now give it back, what you just stole from me."

"Humph! No way!"

"I'm not leaving you a choice, you know? You're not in a position to negotiate. Give it back before I call the guards. You may be a kid, but they will be merciless with a thief."

He clenched his fists, looking at me with eyes full of anger. "Y-You! Aren't you a noble?! It's just a necklace anyway; you could probably afford more!"

"That's not the problem. This necklace was a gift, I care about it. Besides, it's not of high quality. You wouldn't get much if you sold it."

"Liar!" he retorted. "Isn't it a magic item? That's worth a lot!"

… He can tell? Over the years, I infused my mana into it to modify its attributes, so it can't be considered an ordinary ring anymore.

"I won't give it back!" the boy insisted. "I need that money for my sister's medicine!"

I sighed. So his sister is sick. Well, I guess it's quite a common story in a world like this. I've been sick myself, so I can't ignore this. I crouched down in front of him.

"I'll give you some money, so give the necklace back," I told him.

As I said this, the boy widened his eyes. "R-Really…?" he asked, not convinced.

"Yeah, here."

I placed a pouch full of coins in front of him. The boy looked at it in astonishment for a few seconds. After a while, he finally returned his gaze to me.

"Big sis… I can't tell if you're really nice or just stupid…" he said.

"Shut up. Are you going to take it or not?" I asked, slightly irritated.

"I-I'm taking it!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"Good. 'Release.'"

With the sudden pressure gone, the boy got up, a bit confused. He looked up at me, narrowing his eyes and frowning his forehead.

"Sis… Could you be… A mage…?"

"Yeah, something like that, I guess. Does it matter?"

"No…" He shook his head. "Thank you very much… I'll remember you."

The boy deeply bowed down in front of me. After giving me back the necklace, he picked up the pouch and left in a hurry. And just like that, a couple of gold coins disappeared. Well, not like it matters anyway. The Whiteheart family is one of the richest families around, besides, that was my allowance. I'm free to do whatever I want with it. It's not like they were watching my every move, right? Looking around me, I noticed that I was now alone.

… Hm? Isn't this my chance? Ivy is not here, and there is no one to keep an eye on me. I'm absolutely all alone in an unknown place. Shouldn't I take advantage of the situation? I feel a little bad for Ivy, since I did tell her I'd be back soon, but as long as I don't take too much time, it should be fine.

Second mission of the day: explore the city and seek out information.

Being sheltered all the time is not the best thing in the world to keep oneself informed. My tutors are pretty good. They teach me a lot, but in the end, it's still all theoretical. There is no better thing than seeing the world yourself and listening to people's gossip to learn some interesting things.

I ventured deep into the town. It was a maze of narrow, winding streets, but all paths eventually converged and unveiled the plaza. The architecture of every building was different, which made the city pretty unique. Without my attendant, it was easier to blend in the crowd. People were still a little intimidated by my looks, but at least they weren't avoiding me anymore.

As I kept wandering around the city, my eyes eventually rested on a particular building. The building wasn't especially unique compared to the others; in fact, it was pretty common. But it sported a sign displaying a sword and an axe over a shield. It was flooded by people wearing various kinds of equipment: swords, bows, leather armors, iron plates… That's right. It is "this," right? That's definitely "this."

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Note: Thanks Saif_Allah_Amhed for the 3 power stones, that six in total that he has contributed so far, big brother Amhed is so awesome, and so are all you beautiful readers( ⚈̥̥̥̥̥́⌢⚈̥̥̥̥̥̀)