บท 45: Crimson Witch

One of her earliest memories is a hazy recollection of how she attempted to hug a flaring blaze in the fireplace. What happened next was all dark and blurry in her mind; she only remembered her mother's scolds afterward, telling her to stop doing anything dangerous if she didn't want to get yelled at by her father.

The following memories of her childhood were clearer.

There was that one time her older brother stole and ate her birthday gift and she could do nothing but scream at the top of her lungs; the other time when she was caught by her cruel brother and tickled until she cried; or that one time when her brother hit his head on a pillar while playing with her and got a permanent scar on his forehead.

One of her favorite hobbies was playing with fire. When they'd go out on a picnic, she'd insist on sticking a long wooden branch inside the fire and watching it burn in her hands. When they were at home, she'd throw various stuff in the fireplace, watching them turn to ashes with delight. She'd start small fires in the yard and test her different ideas. Fire was such a wonderful thing!

This much was natural for a young and curious child, but that wasn't all. Doris would start begging her brother from time to time, asking him to take her to some random locations, places with nothing interesting to see. Insisting that she could feel a huge fire near those places, Doris wouldn't stop bugging her brother until he took her out.

Dorian agreed to her at first, saying that she was coming up with some creative excuses to bother him all the time, but he couldn't help but be horrified when fires actually broke out in the mentioned locations. It was as if his little sister's words were ominous predictions. It didn't take long until nasty rumors broke out in the town regarding the young girl. Their father didn't allow his two children to go out on their own afterward.

Aside from playing with fire, Doris enjoyed her mother's company at home. Every evening, her mother would sit next to her and read books and poems, telling her to memorize them if she liked. Even though, in their hometown, women weren't allowed to be educated more than the basics of reading and writing, her mother kept herself busy with books all her life, thus she was pretty knowledgeable compared to the others.

One of the things her mother taught her was the necessity of independence. She'd make an example of herself, telling Doris that this kind of pitiful life awaited her if she didn't have a job and proper education.

The little girl didn't want such a future; confined inside a house, not allowed to do anything without her husband's permission, having all ties with her family cut off by her man, living with a person whose mental state was never stable, a drunkard, someone who saw himself as a king inside the house; being beaten up at night and cursed in the mornings, and having no courage to run away.

No. Doris's future would be different from her mom's. Maybe, once she became a big and pretty lady, she could even rescue her mother from this house!

Gradually, that became a goal in her life.

Just as her childhood memories began with a blurry recollection of her and fire, they also ended with a similar one. In that hazy dreamlike memory, her mother hugged her while surrounded by flames. She didn't know what exactly happened. The ceiling and the walls of their house were on fire. They were incapable of going out; not because of the fire but out of fear of how the house's king would react if they left 'home'.

At the ending point of the memory, the girl was thrown outside the window while her mother stayed inside, still too scared of that man to step out. She was ordered to always stay inside, after all.

The townsmen pointed their fingers at Doris, calling her a murderer who burned her mother. Except for a few of her relatives, the rest began to cast her out. Even her father agreed with them, making her the new target to vent his frustration on after his wife passed away.

But Dorian would tell her that it wasn't her fault. He told Doris that their mother's injuries weren't that dangerous and that she could be treated if she was taken to a doctor. It was their father who refused to allow her wife to be touched by another man. Dorian would always repeat the same sentence, that this man killed their mother.

One night, he grabbed his little sister's hand, telling her to accompany him. Her older brother was different from her. He was never restricted by the traditions of the town that the women faced. He was educated, he was smart, and unlike Doris and their mother, he was courageous enough to flee. He couldn't bear living with a murderer under the same roof. He said that the two of them were old enough to run. Doris was a teenager and her brother was a young adult. They could throw aside this scumbag father of theirs and finally enjoy their life.

Dorian's expression when he heard his sister's refusal was a scene that would never leave the little girl's memories.

She had her reasons.

Despite being different people, Dorian was still the son of that father. How would he treat Doris once they were free? Would he also lock her inside a house to 'protect' her? Maybe Doris would become a hindrance on his path to success. Maybe she'd be thrown away once they left this town.

No no, they were all excuses. She refused because she simply didn't want to run away with her brother. She'd seen the outcome of depending on others; the outcome of depending on men.

Doris had a plan. She would find a job and save money, her own money. She'd learn how to live on her own, step by step. Even if she had to pretend to be naive and timid, even if she needed to endure her father's mistreatment, she'd do it all. She'd find ways to sneak out, and she'd run away on her own.

She didn't want to be a jobless and weak woman. She didn't want to be saved, she wanted to save herself. She might need to ask for others' help from time to time, but she wouldn't wholly depend on anyone or give them the reins of her life like her mother did. After that, she could find a job, earn her own money, continue her education, and become someone who could lead a life without her father or brother's help.

That was the plan...

Yet...

"You mean I'm a rare genius seen once in a century? With a natural affinity? Someone who can soar to become a great mage? Me? Me?"

"Yes. Yes. Yes. You. You."

"...."

She was told something strange as soon as she finally reached her goal.

"...What does that supposed to mean?"

The cloaked man helplessly covered his face with both hands.

"Oh god..."

Was it because this place was far away from any major city? A small town with nothing special or famous about it? This girl didn't have the slightest idea about her abilities! Ian had no other choice. He got up and began giving a thorough explanation.

"Look, you know about holy power, right? And you also know about mages, like this Alaric here. Mages use mana to cast their spells. It's like how saints use holy power to do various stuff."

As Ian explained while pacing around, not only Doris but also his companions listened to him with full attention.

"Mana in mages isn't as simple as a mere energy they can manipulate. It has different types. In some people, the mana their body can contain has a special affinity. This affinity can be related to natural elements, such as fire, water, earth, and such.

"This is different from being blessed by Nature. The people who are blessed by nature can directly control an element, while mages with an affinity need to cast special spells to control the element. They can cast all types of magic spells, but they'll do insanely better if they practice the types related to their blessing."

In some cases, these mages could do even better than those blessed by that very same natural element.

"And you here have an affinity with fire. How do we know that? A single glance at your appearance is enough. Mana is such energy that leaves traces of itself on people with close ties to it. In your case, it's the crimson shades of your eyes and hair. In addition to that, there was that elemental you saw today. It asked you for a contract, didn't it? A fire elemental can only have a contract with someone naturally blessed by fire."

Ian clapped his hand.

"So, in conclusion, you are a mage blessed by fire."

He pulled up the hems of his cloak and sat down at the edge of his bed as soon as he was done.

"..............."

Blink Blink Blink

"Wha..."

The teenager- no, the young lady couldn't be more baffled. She lowered her head to stare at her palms, muttering "Am I really that special?", under her lips.

"Wow! Sir Ian surely has great knowledge despite being a slave... Um... Mmm...." Eleen closed her mouth shut upon seeing Raven suddenly unsheathe his sword.

-Weird Alaric, weird Alaric! listen to me and say if I did well or not. Master said I did a great job, but he always praises me even if I don't do a great job; so I don't trust him!

The wolf pup had no care about the topic of discussion. He hopped on Alaric's lap and began narrating his epic battle with the fierce elemental. While listening to him go on, Alaric couldn't help but shiver under his dear friend's intense gaze.

'No, this, this doesn't make me upset. Nope. Not at all! What? I'm not a kid!'

Ian couldn't take his eyes off the adorable child and that scumbag good-for-nothing golden-haired thief bastard.

"Um, erm, sir, I'm sorry!"

Doris's raised hand was what forced Ian to look away from that useless nobleman.

"If, um, if I am blessed with this fire thing or whatever, does that mean I can randomly start a fire?" The young lady intertwined her fingers. "I mean, something like starting a fire by only thinking and imagining it..."

He could see where the girl's question was coming from. Ian let out a chuckle.

"I told you before. One can only directly control elements when they are blessed by Nature. In a mage's case, they can do nothing without casting a spell. You might feel very comfortable around that specific element or sense it's upcoming, but it's got nothing to do with you."

"Uh... Thanks." Doris suddenly got up and bowed her back towards Ian. "Thank you for enlightening me. I would've been clueless about this fact till the end of my life if you didn't tell me about it."

"Hmm..."

To live a clueless life about her blessing... That could also be one of her possible outcomes in Ian's previous lives.

If she survived all this ordeal and fled this city, she'd probably find a quiet corner and live a peaceful life. Now that Ian thought of that possibility... was informing this girl about her gift the proper thing to do? He likely stole her chance of having a normal life. Even if she now decided not to follow the path of a mage, she'd probably live while feeling regrets about her choices later on.

"Instead of thanking me, try to use your gift to its best. Don't waste it."

Ian could only give her a short piece of advice.

"Y-yes!" The girl bowed even more.

"Come on, Doris, sit back down. You're making Sir Ian feel embarrassed. Ah, why is the young master sweating so much? Are you sick?"

"Uh? Huh? No! No, I'm totally fine!"

"Mmm... Okay. Sooooo what do you want to do from now on, Doris?"

"I'm not sure... How can I learn magic?"

"You don't need to worry about such stuff. I'm also a mage; I can lend my books to you. You can just self-study like I do!"

The reddish-black pupils studied Alaric from head to toe before the girl's brows frowned a tiny bit, "I'm not as well educated as you. I can barely read."

"Hmm... Then you can first self-study to increase your literacy and then self-study magic."

"Is that even possible?"

-....

Looking between the three people conversing, the wolf pup's ears gradually drooped.

"Hey, bastard!" Ian shut up to his feet as if hit by a thunderbolt. "Don't ignore others' precious child's epic tale! How can you converse with others when he was at the peak of the story? Huh?? Huhh????"

Alaric's collar was grabbed by Ian. Chaos broke out. No one knew what the fight was about but everyone jumped in. After a few seconds of struggle, three people, including Ian himself, were trying to drag the swordsman away from Alaric, whose life was seriously in danger. When did Raven jump between the two boys? No one even noticed.

"Hey Doris, why don't you become a mercenary just like us? It's so much fun! You can join our group if you want!"

"Miss Eleen please don't invite others without discussing it with us. I won't allow any additional members to join. Even my master Alaric here is an extra."

"Hey!"

Doris watched the group of four idiots as she silently backed away. They did indeed look like good people but...

. . . . . . . . . . .

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, it's the perfect nickname for me."

The girl grabbed her identification card and held it up in the sunlight. Her nickname was noted next to the mercenary guild's symbol.

"So Miss Crimson Witch, I am Eleen, as you know, the doctor of the group. That dude over there is Raven, the swordsman. That young master is Dark Magician UwU, MyDearKI'mSorryICouldn'tPullYouBeforeWakinUpHere, Man throwing the table emoticon AAaAaaAAA New life here I come; our mage. And this is Sir Asterum. He's... umm... just someone."

"Um... You didn't need to recite my whole nickname, you know..."