Quiet Days

For several weeks now, my day began at dawn, when the suns of the islands above Prag started to shine again, when people began to walk the streets, and when the merchants started preparing to open their businesses.

During those weeks, I learned a few things about Prag. Prag was the 'city of the future,' or at least that's what the proud citizens called it. It was the capital of the eponymous kingdom and had several hundred thousand inhabitants of different intelligent races. Humans made up the majority, accounting for 4/7 of the population, followed by demi-humans at 2/7, then elves at 1/14, and finally, the remaining races made up the rest. Prag was considered the 'city of the future' not only because of its multi-ethnicity but also for its approach to magic—an area usually reserved for nobility in most kingdoms, but in Prag, it was public knowledge. Anyone in Prag, if they had the talent, could become a mage or a magical engineer. Of course, there were abuses by the wealthier classes towards the less fortunate, but compared to other kingdoms, they were considered isolated cases.

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I woke up in a soft bed, now in a bedroom in Rasha's apartment. Ever since I started working at her bar, I had been sleeping in her home, and though it troubled me at first, I had grown accustomed to it.

As usual, after washing my face in the bathroom, I dressed in my work clothes: a cream linen shirt, long black trousers held up by a burgundy leather belt, and thin brownish faux leather shoes with ochre-yellow laces and slightly raised dark brown soles.

After dressing and getting ready for the day ahead, I made my way to the living room of Rasha's apartment. As often happened, I paused for a moment in the living room to gaze at a very detailed drawing depicting Rasha a few years younger and a young girl who resembled her a lot, except for her slightly darker complexion, slightly pointed ears, and reptile-like pupils.

'Today... I'd like to ask her who she is... however... I'm a little afraid to ask...' I had a theory about who the girl might be—that she was Rasha's daughter. Yet, I had never seen her at the bar, not even once in the weeks I had worked there. This made me worry: 'What if... she's... dead?'

I gathered my courage and went down to the bar area. The opening would take place in about an hour, giving me time to talk to Rasha.

Like every morning, as I approached the bar area, a delightful smell of coffee hit me. I smiled. 'She made it today too...' Rasha would always prepare two cups of café au lait in the morning, one for her and one for me, accompanied by jam-covered biscuits that she always made.

"Good morning, Umut!" Rasha greeted me with her usual enthusiasm.

Rasha was busy pouring slightly frothed warm milk into the cups where coffee was already present.

"G-good morning..." Her splendid figure still captivated me at times.

"Come, I've prepared breakfast," she invited me to the bar counter with a smile.

Between sips of coffee and bites of biscuits, we chatted about various trivial things. We talked about my becoming a full-fledged citizen of Prag, the weather, and the upcoming festivities.

Finally, amidst our conversation, I gathered my courage and asked her about that drawing in the living room.

"Rasha... uh... it's been a while now that I've been living here, and every day, passing through the living room of your apartment, I pause at a drawing... in that drawing, you're not alone."

"Eeeh? Are you interested in my daughter?" she asked, drawing out the words, a little smile on her face.

"Uh..." the way she said it made me a bit embarrassed, but at the same time reassured me. 'She talks about her like this... she must not be dead...' I let out a sigh of relief.

"So, is she really your daughter? I've never seen her around here," I asked.

"Well... of course you haven't seen her, after all, my daughter lives and studies at the Prag Academy of Magic! In that photo you saw, she was twelve, but now she's fifteen... just one year older than you, actually," she said with a hint of pride.

'So, she's a year older than me... mmh, a magic academy... mmh... I've heard about it, actually... many people I've talked to while working depict it as the pride of the city...'

"You know, my daughter... Raya is really talented in magic... I believe it's thanks to her father," she added.

Her words pierced my heart like an arrow.

'Right... Rasha must have a husband then... or something like that...' I thought with a hint of disappointment.

"Who is her father...?" I asked weakly.

"He was..." Rasha replied. As soon as she said it, her face darkened. "Leiman... half-human and half-dragonborn... he died in the war when I was still pregnant with Raya."

After saying this, Rasha fell silent, her gaze saddened.

'So he's dead...' Oddly, this made me somewhat happy. 'Ah... what's wrong with me... I should be sad... but...' I took a breath and looked at Rasha. I was curious to know more about Raya's father, but her sad expression made me change my mind. 'For now, maybe it's better not to ask...'

'Anyway... a dragonborn... they say they're humanoid descendants of dragons... known for their strong constitution and high mana affinity... however...' I observed Rasha, focusing on the faint aura around her. 'Doesn't Rasha know she's quite mana-affine herself? In fact, I thought she was a mage too... but... she's not?'

"Rasha... you're not a mage?" I asked to be sure.

Rasha's sad face now looked confused.

"No no... I've never studied magic... I wouldn't be capable of it," she replied.

Now I was the one confused.

"Mmh... however... you have a quite visible aura," I told her.

In the days I had worked at the bar, I had observed both mages and regular people, and over time, I had learned to distinguish them precisely because of how visible their auras were. Rasha's aura was visible enough for me to think she was at least a beginner mage... but she wasn't?!

Rasha looked at me curiously. I explained what I meant.

"Umut... you're a mage?!" she asked in surprise.

"Well... kind of, I suppose..."

Rasha's eyes widened in surprise.

"Anyway... I'm pretty sure you have talent... you know, one of my specialties is judging... uh... others' talents..." 'I suppose...'

"N-no... you must be mistaken," Rasha said with a weak voice.

'Mmh... her husband... I mean, ex-husband... I mean... whatever... never noticed? Yet... for me, it's so obvious... maybe because I'm mana-bound and thus have better sight... mmh...'

"How do you know you don't have talent?" I asked, curious to know how a person's talent is judged.