Chapter 4 A Girl Without Limits (Patreon)

「...So this is the rumored girl which help Alicia ojou-sama right? She looks so small 」

In the reception room of Goudenbert family.

A muscular man wearing full body armor is staring straight at Ferris.

「 S, sorry...」

Ferris shrinks her body and apologies.

She felt that she has to apologize for being so small even though this is something that she has no control over. She did not know what she did wrongly but felt that she needs to ask for forgiveness.

And Alicia father - Robert Goudenbert - a man wearing a gorgeous robe and has a mustache growing above his lips, made a dry cough.

「 Head Guard-dono. Please do not make that child so scared. That child saved Alicia... so she is also considered my benefactor 」

「 I am not really going to say anything scary 」

The guard man wearing his armor said it shrewdly.

To reduce the amount of intimidation she is feeling, Ferris tried to shrink her body even more, but the guard man with his muscular body and rough facial feature render her effort ineffective.

Ferris felt that the guard is actually not a bad person. However, such a huge man is scary nevertheless. Hiding behind Alicia, Ferris took a peek at the head guard.

「 No, problem desu... I am not afraid... T, then, question to ask me, what is it...?」

She told the head guard.

「 What I would like to hear is, the matter of the two hooligan that tried to assault Alicia ojou-sama. Alicia ojou-sama did not see their faces, and you did not see their face too, right?」

「 Y, yes... wearing a hood, face covered by cloth...」

「 Hmm... is there any features which can be used to identify them? For example, a crest of their organization, the unique spell they used or their accent?」

「 I can't remember... sorry...」

Ferris became extremely dejected.

Alicia followed up and tried to defend Ferris.

「 We do not have the time to notice such a thing during the assault. Since they are committing a crime, it is also unlikely for them to give clues regarding their identity 」

「...That's true 」

The head guard nodded but still continue staring at Ferris.

「 Next question. Why did you appear at the scene of the crime? Are you an orphan from downtown that has wandered into this neighborhood?」

「 N, no, this...coming to this city, my first time...」

「 So you are someone that came from another place. Where did you come from?」

「 T, that... somewhere far away 」

Ferris mumbled her words.

The head guard lean his body towards Ferris and a frown could be seen after hearing Ferris reply.

「 It is really suspicious... You, are hiding something. You smell of someone guilty and hiding some secret that you do not want to let other people know 」

「 There is but... I cannot tell you...」

Ferris shoulder trembled slightly.

「 Maybe, you are a companion of the attacker? You coincidentally appear on the scene, and fake an act to help Alicia ojou-sama...?」

「 Please wait a moment, Head Guard-sama!? This is definitely impossible!?」

「 No, I am not wrong. I apprehended numerous criminal. I could immediately sniff out someone trying to hide a secret. Speak, what are you hiding?」

The head guard slowly approaches Ferris.

「 Ferris, please just tell him. I hate it when my important benefactor is being wrongly suspected 」

Alicia pleads with Ferris.

「 B, but, I might be brought back to that place...」

「 That place...?」

「 Hate it desu! I NEVER WANT TO RETURN TO THAT PLACE desu! I HATE IT desu!」

Alicia gently held the hand of Ferris.

「 It's alright. I do not know where that place is, but I will absolutely never bring you there. Hence, please tell me, alright?」

「 Y, yes...」

Ferris took in a deep breath. Just why, being held by Alicia, she felt that all her fears are dispelled.

She hesitated slightly but decided to speak.

「 I, am a slave of a mine desu... However, my master said some cruel thing about me, so I escaped...」

「 A mine slave? Which mine?」

The head guard raised his eyebrow and inquiry further.

Ferris continue speaking while trying to avoid the sharp gaze from the eye of the head guard.

「 I do not know the location, but... it is a mine that collect magic stone. I enter the mine to dig for magic stone, and my masters polish them desu 」

「 Haaha」

The head guard laughed amusingly.

「 You heard that right, Robert? This fellow has no credibility at all. Please tell a better lie next time 」

「 A magic stone mine? ...」

Robert showed a bitter expression.

「 Ferris... that, did you mix it up with other rare materials? Hey, for example Orichalcum ore...」

Alicia also showed a similar troubled expression.

「 E...to, what is wrong, everyone...?」

Towards the reaction everyone showed, Ferris did not know what is wrong. She worried that she just said something weird.

The head guard sighed exaggeratedly.

「 Listen properly, little girl. The thing called magic stone is something that contain a dense amount of magic power. With a stone the size of my fist and without any processing, it will seriously poison a human body. And do you know what will happen to someone entering a mine full of such magic stone?」

「 It will, you make feel...unwell?」

「 It will be great if it only makes you unwell! You will die! You will collapse onto the ground if you get close to a mountain producing magic stone! Hence, magic stone mine is something that does not exist! Such a place will only be sealed up and nobody will be allowed to get close!」

「 B, but, I really work in a magic stone mine! My masters will absolutely not approach the cave...」

So that is the reason. Ferris felt that she finally understood something. The worker that feel sick after approaching too close to the mine Ferris is working must be caused by the poison emitted from the magic stone.

「 Hmph, then why can you stay in a magic stone mine? Are you implying that you are someone special?」

「 That's not it, although it's not that, but...」

「 If that is the case, then you must be lying. Do you know that it is a crime trying to falsify an evidence...?」

The guard look down upon Ferris look like a demon to her. His huge shadow slowly covers the whole of Ferris small body.

「 Hii...!?」

Ferris is trembling uncontrollably. Because I did a bad thing, I will be beaten or even put to death. She felt terror.

Alicia however intervened immediately.

「...Wait a moment. What she just said is all true 」

「...What do you mean by that?」

Robert's pursuit with an inquiry

「 When that child is helping me from the hooligans... she used summoning magic 」

「 Summoning magic!?」

「 Even Alicia ojou-sama is starting to lie! You are just trying to cover her!」

The head guard is now trembling in anger.

「 That is not a lie but the truth. I saw it with my own eyes. Hence... this child is special. Possessing the resistance towards magic stone... is also not that strange 」

「 Hmm...」

Robert rubbed his chin and started thinking.

「 Robert, you surely would not believe all the childish lies these children are telling! It is summoning magic, something that only happen in folktales or legends... such a brat would never be able to use!」

That is right, summoning magic could be considered the 「Ultimate 」 among magic. By summoning a creature from another dimension, a huge amount of magic power is required. Even those master magicians mentioned in the folktales would usually lose their lives as a compensation casting summon magic.

And in this modern era, using summoning magic is only view as a joke or a childish subject, since even the method to use are unknown. If the ability to use summoning magic is known, it will surely a topic that would shake the world.

「...Should we test it? There is a magic measurement tool to measure the magic ability of magician. By using that topic to check, we will easily be able to know the truth and whether that girl is lying 」

Robert rang a bell and ordered a maid to get the magic measurement tool.

————————————————————————————————————————–

And the magic measurement tool is now placed on the table.

The tool has a weird appearance due to combining a crystal ball onto some kind of gear and rod. Despite its appearance, reliability of the tool is extremely high.

This tool is mainly used to measure the magic power of apprentice magician. All someone has to do is to hold the rod and the value of that person magic power will be displayed onto the crystal.

Alicia occasionally uses this tool to measure her magic power. Speaking of which, an ordinary magician would have an average magic power, magic attack and magic resistance of 100.

If your ability is lower than that, it indicates that you do not have the talent to be a magician. For someone with any ability of above 200 (which is twice that of ordinary magician), that person would be considered a genius and future will be secured.

Under the watch of Alicia's father - Robert and the head of the guard, Alicia gave a request to Ferris.

「 Well then... Ferris. Could you hold on to the gold-colored rod?」

「 Y, yes...」

Ferris swallowed her saliva and held onto the tool.

The other three people in the room stared into the crystal ball.

After Ferris held onto the rod... silver particles within the crystal ball started moving around and began to form numbers.

The shiny fragments inside the crystal ball seems as if they are dancing.

In response to being touched by Ferris, the crystal produced a value:

Magic power: 15000

Magic attack: 28000

... No matter how you look at it, it is a number that would cause disturbance to the country's high ranking magician. If she is thrown into a battlefield, she could destroy an entire army, destroy a whole city. It almost approaches the realm of god.

However, what made everyone even more disbelief is the other value showed:

Magic resistance: ∞

This sign indicates infinite value.

This meaning of this is... the crystal ball could not show the value of magic resistance Ferris possess. This of course explain why the poisoning from the magic stone did not affect her.

The head guard's shoulder trembled.

「 Im, impossible! The measurement tool must be faulty! This orphan does not even have the qualification to be a magician apprentice. How could she have such a talent in magic...!」

Robert however shake his head.

「 No... there should not be any problem with this tool. Alicia also measured her magic power just yesterday, and it is still working fine then 」

「 If that is the case, show me some magic! Show me a magic that would lead me to believe you!」

The head guard approaches Ferris.

「 Eh...eh... such thing as magic, how, do I use...?」

「 Magician would usually cast by cheating incantation. As for what to use... right, let's just use a magic to cast light! Try chanting the spell (Bright)!」

「(Bright)...?」

The moment Ferris said it in a small voice.

A strange color dwell within her eyes.

Her eyes became so dead and emotionless.

And from within her palm, a ball of light is produced.

The ball of light then expands with frightening speed.

The table that came into contact with the light crumbles.

The flooring began to vanish.

A whirlwind of light formed.

Books on the bookshelf got sucked into the whirlwind and cracks start appearing on the wall. Everything that came into contact is eaten by the light.

「 Eh, wh, what, is this...」

Ferris started to panic after being surrounded by the light, and she lightly floats up.

Her hair and skin all started to glow as eye-glaring as the sun.

The light then reaches before Alicia and first consumed her leather shoe.

Alicia groaned painfully and tried to evade it.

「... this is bad!!」

Robert immediately took the small bottle that is hanging on his neck and threw it towards Ferris.

The bottle cracked and red colored liquid spread onto the surrounding and contains the light from expanding. The ball of light then started to regress slowly into the size of a bean and vanishes with a loud sound.

「 Haaaa...」

Alicia collapsed on the floor, her heart beating very rapidly.

They have never seen such a strong magic. It is only supposed to be a illumination spell and even the chant follow that spell, but it is already enough to nearly destroy the whole house.

Alicia's father and the head guard's face felt as if all blood has been drained.

Ferris on the other hand is at a lost.

「 T, that...I, did I properly use magic....?」

「 Ah, ah... I finally understand, that you did not lie... I am sorry 」

The head guard lower his head.

「 N, nono! This is also my first time using things such as magic! I am also extremely surprise!」

「 Your first time, this is...」

Looking at the panicking Ferris, the head guard has an eye that seem like he is looking at a monster.

「 I am sorry but..., could you first return to Alicia's room? The few of us have something to discuss 」

「 I, understand! Please excuse me!」

Ferris run out of that room almost like a rabbit trying to escape.

Looking at such a Ferris, she has a figure of any other ordinary girl. Looking at her trip on nothing and panicking to get up and run out, Alicia felt that all the frightening magic she just witnessed is a dream.

———————————————————————————————————————————-

「 I did not expect... to meet a monster which appears only in legend. I must immediately report it to the king...」

Cold sweat is forming on the head guard's forehead.

Robert put his hand on the desk and frowned.

「 No... I hope you don't report whatever you just witnessed today 」

「 Why? If I did not report a person with such ability, I would definitely receive heavy punishment from my superior if they found out later 」

「 That may be the case. However, our country has been embroiled in war with neighboring country for a long time and is finally starting to move towards peace. If during such a time, what do you think will happen if others know our country hold such an enormous war potential?」

「 Again... another war will start, right...」

Alicia squeezed a coarse voice.

「 That's right. This time the battle that occur will be irreversible. The extremist faction will try to eliminate the moderate faction and expand the territory using Ferris. The king and all the citizen will face danger 」

「 That is... something we must avoid at all cost 」

The head guard clench his hand tightly.

「 Hence... regarding the matter of Ferris, do not tell anyone. Even not to Ferris 」

「 Why?」

Alicia is still thinking of telling Ferris. Towards the current Ferris, it would serve to increase her self-confidence. She works as a slave up until now and suffered many abuses, so confidence is something she needs 」

However, Robert immediately explain

「 You know the legend regarding... the black rain which right?」

「 One thousand year ago, a criminal with tremendous magic power that spread disaster to the whole world 」

「 Ah. She is also extremely young, and magician girl which possess extraordinary power. However, because she is so young, she is unable to control her desire and feelings... and self-destructed. She got drown in being the strongest and got destroyed 」

「 Whether Ferris will become like her... I don’t know. However, Ferris is still so young. When she knew there is no one stronger than her in this world... It will be hard to imagine how that would influence her heart 」

That is a very logical statement.

Alicia would also be unable to predict what she would do if she obtains the strongest power in the world. She is already 12-year-old and is going to be an adult soon. However, even if she became an adult, she felt that it would be hard to resist the temptation of power.

「... I understand. I would not tell this to Ferris 」

「 Me too. I would keep the matter today in my heart 」

「 I am depending on the two of you. For the sake of Ferris, for the sake of this world... this is an extremely important matter 」

Robert then sighed deeply.

And stared into Alicia's eye.

「 Alicia. Your age is quite close to Ferris. Please protect her. Including the evil intention that would try to surround her 」

「...Of course 」

Alicia clenched her fist.

Even if her father did not tell her, she would not allow her benefactor to meet such a misfortune.