NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 3: Touching Grass
After pestering my oldest brother and failing, I turned to magic. I knew for sure that I had dark magic. Books about beginner magic were sold in every bookstore. The books said that dark magic specialized in illusions, debuffs, curses, and shadows. A more specialized version could also tamper with the mind, but it was illegal and did nothing more than light suggestion or hypnotize.
How did I know that I had talents in dark magic? I could use every spell in the beginner's book with a single try. The beginner spellbook in our library consisted of only three bits: Shadow Tentacle, Dark Illusion, and Slow. I had high hopes that I could change my menacing eyes with Dark Illusion; however, it was a major disappointment. Dark Illusion cast magic on the opponent's eye or brain, making them see things. It didn't bend light to create Fata Morgana or a mirage. That kind of illusion belonged to light magic. So, I could not change how I looked except for the person I cast my spells on.
"This sucks…" I muttered. Dark magic was the most unpopular among all six other elements. Well, at least I could act as a mana battery for feystones. That would guarantee my livelihood even as the second daughter of a count. Wait, I am a girl. Women of nobility in this age mainly worked for fun, not for pay. Even a farmer's wife usually only cooked at home and worked hard as a good housewife. I was getting too used to the way modern people worked.
Blessing of the Killing Star (Level 1)
Fearlessness
Intimidation
Improved Strength
Improved Agility
Beast Instinct
Dark Magic
Well, I am getting the hang of how to use my skills. When I reminisce about what happened during my match with Brother Zach, it's easy to find a switch to turn my power on and off. The power-up feels substantial and borderline inhuman. For example, my strength increased from picking up ten books in a study to lifting a desk. However, I could not sustain it for long. My breathing became ragged in an instant, and I could even black out or fall unconscious in mere moments.
"Hello, mister, can I help you?" I said to the chef. This is my method of getting friendlier. I will try to make friends in the mansion. Eli was not known to be harsh on commoners in the novels, but she never had any commoner friends either. I never had close friends in my previous life due to staying in the hospital often. So, I want to make lots of friends here. Even commoners are fine. And friends help each other. I am sure that my reputation will rise when the employees know I helped them with their jobs.
"Um... please sit here, young miss. Your words are more than enough for us," the chef and maids gave stiff smiles when I entered the kitchen. Hmm... I had heard that our county was poor, but I guess we were not that poor. The food was still good, and the chef and maids seemed to be well-paid. I had never heard them gossip about anything terrible done to them. They mostly gossiped about my creepy eyes, the fat greedy merchant, monsters in the forest, and rumors about a war brewing with a neighboring kingdom.
I wondered if I could do something about those rumors. I was a shut-in nerd with no friends in both this world and the previous one. Well, maybe when I was older, around 15 years old, I would do something about it. I hadn't even gone to school yet.
As I sat on the chair prepared by them, my eyes wandered around the kitchen and locked onto the maid who was peeling a potato with a knife. The way the small knife moved to peel the potato excited me as I continued to stare at the deft hands the maid had. The blade cut just right at the corner of the potato and peeled away the skin. The skin, with a modicum of flesh sticking to it, formed a beautiful ribbon before it fell into the trash bin, marking the end of a single potato being peeled.
I noticed there were several other knives on a knife stand. My body moved on its own, and I looked at the knives there. There were five unused knives there: two large knives, two cleavers, and a filleting knife. There were no other small paring knives like the one the maid used, so I grabbed a filleting knife and moved on to grab a potato. A filleting knife is longer and a lot thinner than a paring knife. It might feel good to stab something with this knife. The thin knife was sure to enter the flesh easily. I liked the way the tip of the knife was sharp, unlike the steak knife with a rounded tip that we used yesterday.
I started working by watching the maids do it. At first, I wasted a bit of potato by cutting too deep. But on my third potato, I seemed to cut as well as the maids who helped the chef. I liked how sharp the knife was. I didn't even need to move the blade, just rolled the potato, and it peeled on its own.
"... Miss Eli…," the chef held my hand as I tried to grab another potato. "We already have enough peeled potatoes. We are extremely grateful for your help."
"Ah, you are welcome. Is there anything else I could do?"
"I'm sure our gardener has something for you. Or you could go into the city and do some shopping. It must be boring staying at the mansion all day," the chef shooed me away with polite words. I had never thought about going outside the mansion. Maybe it was because I still had the hospital mentality? I am healthy now, right? I can play outside! Yippee!!
"Thank you! I will do so!" I bowed down to the chef and scurried away. When I told my nanny the idea, she assigned a guard and a maid to accompany me.
County Shadowstep consisted of a town and three villages around it. Its size was on the smaller side if we discounted the massive jungle that is between this empire and the neighboring kingdom, but our country garrisoned over three hundred soldiers here. From the gossip of our maids, I heard it was due to monsters and bandits. I walked around our town, and my eyes locked on a blacksmith store. This is a fantasy, right? Of course, it has a blacksmith store. I bet they would have lots of cool armor or swords.
"Miss, wouldn't a clothing store be more appropriate?" Laura, my personal maid, spoke with a stiff smile.
"Well, I want to see what sword Brother Zach usually used. This is a good store, right?"
"Yes, this is the most famous blacksmith store in our county. By the way, they don't just make weapons; they also make jewelry."
"Ehh? Jewelry is also made here? Isn't the jewelry store two streets back?" I said while tilting my head.
"Well, the metal parts for silver and gold jewelry are made here," Laura answered.
*Clang *Clang
A loud bell rang before I entered the blacksmith store. Most people merely stared at the gate and then continued their daily life. However, the soldiers became restless as they scrambled to reach our gate.
"Is it a monster attack?" I asked Bob, one of our commoner soldiers, who nodded.
"No need to fear, my lady. Our knight order can handle it. It's just a random monster wandering around our gate. An arrow or two will handle it just fine," or so he said. I was giddy with excitement at his words.
"Can we watch? I want to see Brother Zach killing the demons!"
"Absolutely not. It's dangerous, my lady," a maid said, but the soldier refuted her.
"Hmm… if we watch from the top of a tower, I believe we would be fine," Bob replied.
"Yes! Yes! I wanna see."
And so, I shall witness the first fantasy battle in this world.