Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 194 - Lucy and Sylphie

A few months after Cliff's wedding, I received a letter.

[To my dear friend Rudeus Greyrat,

My child has been born. I would very much like to come to Ranoa Kingdom right away to introduce them to you, but Lize Dedoldia's body hasn't fully recovered yet, so please wait a few more months. Once she's back on her feet, I'll come to Ranoa Kingdom at once.

Your friend, Cliff Grimoire]

-------

Morning in the courtyard.

Last night I'd spent with Eris, so she was still sleeping. Roxy and Sylphie, well, my two lovely wives had always been fond of sleeping in.

BOOM!

The sound shattered the quiet.

I turned toward it.

Lucy's side. Her spell had failed. She was crouching where she stood, expression drooping with something close to defeat.

I walked over.

"What's wrong?"

"My magic... I couldn't control it..."

"Looks like it. How about you try once more so Papa can watch?"

Lucy listened and tried again.

It failed again.

Hmm. Too much output, it seemed. She was still young, and I hadn't gotten around to teaching her how to regulate it yet. Lara had never been taught either, but Lara had taken it upon herself to manage her output almost instinctively.

I was still turning over how to explain it in a way Lucy would understand when she murmured softly:

"Papa... am I really stupid?"

I froze for a second.

Then I dropped into a crouch, bringing myself level with her eyes.

"Not at all. How could Lucy ever be stupid?"

"...Papa gave me special attention. You even wrote magic notes just for me... and I still keep failing..."

"Why does Lucy think Papa gave her special attention?"

"The theory notes... and Papa secretly comes to watch me practice every day too... and Papa tells the Mamas all the practice tips, so they can teach me again themselves..."

I smiled.

"That's just what a father is supposed to do for his daughter."

"But... Papa didn't write notes for Big Sis Lara. I showed her the notes and she understood everything in them right away. Not like me — I always need Mama to explain it. And Big Sis Lara only has to see the Mamas cast something once and she's already learned it. I need so many times... so many times..."

Lucy's eyes were going glassy with tears.

Truthfully, I'd expected something like this for a while.

Lara was just that kind of genius. Even I hadn't picked up magic that fast as a kid.

But still.

Lucy was impressive too. She was four years old, nearly five. At four, she'd already mastered more spells than any child her age I could name. Aside from Lara, I was certain there wasn't a second kid who could match her. The problem was that Lucy hadn't seen enough of the world yet. She probably thought Lara was normal.

I reached out and patted her head.

"Because Lucy is still learning."

Lucy held the tears back, but only just.

"That's exactly why it hurts... because I can't learn fast enough. And I know... the notes Papa wrote were because Papa was worried I wouldn't manage on my own... and even with all of that, I still can't do it... I'm just... too stupid. I'm Papa's daughter and I'm still..."

My hand kept moving, slow and gentle, across the top of her head.

From the day the children were born, I'd made up my mind: let them do what they want, and leave what they don't. My only real requirement was that they learn to read.

But children look up to their parents. They push themselves hard. And sometimes, in the middle of that effort, they start to realize their talent might just be ordinary.

That was always going to happen.

"You know," I said, still stroking her hair, "when Papa was little, I didn't learn as fast as Lucy does."

Lucy blinked up at me.

"But there was always a teacher looking after me."

She tilted her head up slowly. "Someone who could actually teach Papa...?"

"Of course. Your Mama Blue."

Lucy looked at me, then the corner of her mouth twitched. "So Mama Blue was already Papa's teacher back then...?"

"She was. Because of her, Papa got to where he is today. So Lucy should lean on Mama Blue as much as she needs. Of course—"

"What about Mama Red...?"

Lucy glanced toward Eris, who was swinging her sword not far off.

I followed her gaze.

"Well... your Mama Red, when it comes to magic, is really only interested in setting things on fire."

--------

The whole morning slipped by like that, the two of us in the courtyard while Lucy practiced.

In the afternoon I settled into the study to keep adding to my magic notes, filling in my own observations between the lines. Sylphie sat beside me with a magic text open in her lap, reading quietly.

The room was still. Just the scratch of my pen and the soft sound of a turning page.

After a while, Sylphie said, "Lucy told me today that Papa is very gentle."

"Hmm? I've always been gentle with my daughters."

"That's true. But Lucy was really happy when she said it."

"Is that so."

Sylphie set her book down and didn't say anything else. She rested her chin on her hand and just watched me write.

Some time passed.

"Rudy, I think you wrote this character wrong."

I looked it over carefully. "Where?"

Sylphie smiled and pressed the tip of her finger to the spot.

I stared at her hand.

It was beautiful. Not in any strange way, I'm not a pervert, it was just, how to put this... such a graceful hand, and yet at night it felt entirely different. Paired with that soft, gentle face of hers.

The contrast was something.

"What are you looking at?"

"Sylphie's hand," I answered, before I'd even thought about it.

A beat of silence.

Sylphie gave a quiet cough, cheeks flushing pink, and slipped her hand beneath the table.

I made no complaints. I settled in and enjoyed what followed.

"Honestly, Rudy — you never change."

The study had been quiet and warm before. Now it held something else entirely.

➤ Next: Lara and Roxy