Chapter 9: Chapter 8 - Learning
"Umm, son, how did you cast that spell?"
It feels like I'm being interrogated.
'Well, father, I just wrote down the word for 'light' on some paper and channeled my mana into it.'
I obviously can't tell them the truth!
Nobody in this world should be able to read english in the first place.
So, what should I tell them?
I can't seem to think of anything else but to claim it was a coincidence, because there shouldn't have been a way for me to find out about it elsewhere.
Okay, here goes nothing.
"I... I just wrote down some runes and started playing around."
Abraham looks at me sternly and starts scolding me,
"Don't you know it's dangerous? Who knows what kind of spell you could've ended up casting back then. What if you hurt yourself? What would your mother think then?"
After being hit by a barrage of his questions, I was momentarily taken aback, but after mulling over them for a while everything clicked.
Of course they wouldn't suspect anything. It's common sense in this world that nobody knows how to read runes. Let alone a three-year-old.
No, what they were truly thinking about is my well-being. It could very well be the case that people have hurt themselves in the pursuit of knowledge regarding rune words.
And what if I didn't reincarnate and was a native of this world? What if I'd ended up casting something that ended up hurting me. My mother would probably feel guilty, like it was her fault.
I look at Clarissa and see her looking me over with worried eyes, making sure I'm alright.
I've been so stupid.
I neglected to think of my family, even when I said to myself that I didn't want to lose them.
Perhaps it was the realization of how I failed them or how much they loved me, because before I knew it I was sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry" I cried, as the tears kept falling from my eyes.
I shouldn't have taken you guys for granted.
Seeing me like that, Clarissa also started tearing up while Abraham's cold stare turned into a warm smile.
He pulled me into a hug and reassured me.
"It's okay. Luckily you're alright."
Not long after releasing me, Clarissa came and snatched me up into another, wrapping her arms around me so tight I could barely breathe.
When she was done I went up to Annette and gave her one too. Even though she wore the same expressionless face, she went no easier on me than Clarissa did.
I shouldn't have made them worry.
Once we were done, Clarissa asked me, still sniffling from the previous tears,
"Do you remember what you wrote to cast that spell Cain?"
It should be fine to answer them.
Thinking at it from their perspective, they would never assume that I know how to read runes, and I assume no normal person would think I was a reincarnator because of what I'd just done.
Plus, I would prefer not to lie to them.
I wordlessly nod my head and grab a sheet from the stack of paper still on the desk, and the quill that had been sitting in the inkpot.
I do my best to write it as cleanly as I can before passing the sheet of paper over to Clarissa, the word 'LIGHT' written in large capital letters on its front.
"This doesn't look like the one you normally use, does it darling?", Abraham asks her in a curious tone. "But the effect looked the same."
"You're right", she answers him with a surprised voice.
"The one we use looks like this."
Beckoning me to pass her a new sheet of paper and the quill, she takes them and writes the word 'SHINE'.
'Huh, so that works too'
"Does that mean our son just discovered a new rune word?", Abraham continues to ask.
"It's too soon to tell. We'll get it checked tomorrow when we go to the magic association to get Cain's mana sea measured."
Nodding in understanding, my father takes a sigh of relief and makes his way to leave.
"Remember not to do this again, alright son? We might not be so lucky next time."
Shooing him away, Clarissa turns to look at me and tells me, "Your father is right you know. Now did you memorise all the letters?"
Seeing me nod, she gives me her signature motherly smile and pulls me into another hug.
"Good job Cain."
'I promise, I won't let you cry ever again mother.'
"Now let's clean this mess up."
Ah, right.
Annette had been carrying tea and snacks before entering. And they were now lying on the floor.
Seeing Clarissa and I move to help pick up the broken pottery and food remains, Annette quickly refused us,
"Wait Mistress, Young Master, let me handle that."
"Don't worry about it Annette. Let us help you. And there's no need for you to continue to act like that when it's just us."
I nod in agreement. I think of Annette like a second mother. It would be best if she could be less formal around me.
"How could I?", Annette responds in a flustered tone, but somehow I can tell that she's secretly happy.
She resigns to let us help, and soon the floor is left with only a pool of liquid. Agreeing to let her handle cleaning up the spilt tea, Clarissa and I leave her to do her work.
I head to my room and shut the door behind me.
"Phew"
I can't help but lie on the floor and stare up at the ceiling. I'm both physically and emotionally exhausted.
What a hectic day.
But I found out a lot.
In terms of swordsmanship, runes and myself.
Thinking back on the events, I pondered.
'Is the runic language really just english?'
Then, why are there only 18 letters?
"No wait, hold on. Just because they only discovered 18 letters doesn't mean that only those exist right?"
Sigh.
It seems I've limited myself to this world's way of thinking.
'Next time I get the chance, I'll try out a word using letters that weren't described in the book.'
But what word should I use?
'LIGHT' was good in terms of safety, but it will be extremely noticeable if someone sees a bright light shining from under the doorway or from outside through the window.
"How about something like 'WIND'?"
To my surprise, as the word 'WIND' comes out of my mouth, I feel my mana resonating.
I begin channeling it, cutting it off at an appropriate point, and as soon as I do a small breeze blows through the room.
I see.
So not only does writing the words let you perform magic, but speaking them does too?
And it looks like I was right after all.
The people of this world don't know the entire alphabet.
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I spent the rest of the day experimenting with magic, only this time being careful not to be discovered.
I went outside, though not before telling my parents.
It seems since I barely left the house a lot of the guards didn't know what I looked like, so to avoid unnecessary troubles Abraham introduced me to them.
They were apparently friends of his from the warrior academy he attended. They had no noble status but they mutually trusted each other and had even gone out on some mission together to fight Orcs.
Perhaps humans and demons don't get along very well after all.
In any case, after promising not to leave the protection of the walls, I headed to the training area and sat beneath the tree Abraham had cut earlier this morning.
At least nobody will find it strange for wind to be blowing outside.
"'WIND'"
Once more, the feeling of mana resonating. I followed the feeling and channeled my mana, a familiar breeze blew through my hair.
'How comfortable'
'This time let's try shape it into a blade'
I got up and faced towards the tree, imagined the wind like a revolving sickle and let loose.
*SWISH*
It landed perfectly on the cut that Abraham had left earlier, but upon inspection it looked identical to how it was before.
'Did I not channel enough mana?'
I tried again, channeling as much as it would let me, stopping just before I ran dry as I didn't want to black out.
That was definitely enough, as when I went to check it out the cut looked a centimetre deeper.
However I had come upon a more important discovery.
'Is there no limit to the mana channeled when chanting?'
I distinctly remembered there being a limit when casting 'LIGHT' using paper earlier, but I must have channeled more than four times as much mana into that spell.
Unfortunately, much to my dismay, as I had just used up all of my mana there was no way for me to continue experimenting.
And so I returned home, mulling over the new discovery I had just made.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone