CH 9

Chapter 9 : The Grumpy Old Man

The grumpy old man (maybe not?) approached us, he looked so angry.

Part of his hair was grey; he looked old but his body was still in a solid posture.

When she saw the old man, Nicola immediately moved behind me as if she was there from the beginning.

『Onii-chan, I can always fake crying. You can leave it to me in case of emergency』

Said Nicola using telepathy.

So I could leave it to Nicola’s fake crying in case when we need it.

But first, I had to talk to this old man.

「Oi! You brats! So you’re the one who vandalized my place, huhー!?」

Hiiee!

Damn it! He’s so scary.

I didn’t think this grumpy old man would scold five-year-old children this hard.

No, wait. This is the world of violence and freedom.

So, perhaps this is the way the adults scold children in this world.

「I, I did it. But my sister has nothing to do with this. She just came along today……… Forgive me sir!」

I lowered my head and bowed deeply.

If it didn’t work, I had no choice but to dogeza.

For now, I keep my bowing posture and see what will happen.

But… no reaction?

I glanced at the old man.

He was quivering and looked troubled while looking at my……butt?

No. To be exact, he was looking at Nicola behind me.

Looked at by the old man, Nicola folded her hands together, put it on her lips, and made an abandoned puppy eyes.

Oi, oi. She activated that forbidden skill already?

「I, I’m sowwy…」

「A, Ahh… N, No…. Uhmm…… W, Well… Recently, a pile of sand appeared all of a sudden, and it increased every day. So I’m just thinking that something strange happened. And…..」

Nicola showed her teary eyes even more.

「A, Ahh, wait! Don’t cry! I, I’ll bring you a delicious treat! Wait」

The grumpy old man immediately ran in a hurry.

「Hmph! He’s so easyー」

Said Nicola with a smug face while brushing her hair with her hand.

That time, I was a little afraid of Nicola.

♦♦♦

After a while, the old man came back; and then we told him what actually happened here.

「I see. So you’re practicing magic here, huh?」

「Yes. It’s earth magic, so I made those piles of sand. I’m sorry for the trouble, sir」

I apologized one more time while eating a mysterious treat made by baking a flour dough and sandwiching apples inside it; it was neither an apple pie nor an apple crepe, I’ve never seen a treat like this.

Though it was my first time eating it, it tasted really good.

「I thought some brats were pranking me. But it wasn’t the case, huh. If you’re not pranking or anything, it’s fine then. More importantly, if you don’t need those piles of sand, can you give them to me?」

「I don’t mind. What are you going to do with it?」

「The soil made by magic is special. Plants can grow really well on it. It’s a waste to leave this vacant lot like this, so I was thinking about making something like a little field here」

「Heee. I see. I didn’t know that. If that’s the case, I’ll give you today’s pile as well」

I took out the pile of sand for today’s practice from the item box.

It was a really thick pile.

「Boy. Are you an item box user!?」

「That’s riー」

「Onii-chan’s item box is really small and only fits a little though」

Nicola interrupted me all of a sudden.

『Onii-chan! You want to brag, didn’t you? Your item box is the type that expands depending on mana capacity. For other people, your item box is a really valuable treasure. You shouldn’t show off too much for now!」

I see. That was close.

Wait. Even though I used it many times, why did Nicola just warn me now?

『Sorry. Always forgot to tell you』

Eh?

We could only talk using telepathy, but couldn’t read mind, right?

But why did she answer me as if she read my mind?

「Gahaha! I see, it’s a small box, huh? Even so, don’t show it off too much to people you don’t know. If you do that, the kidnappers would kidnap you!」

The old man warned me while spreading his arms like a bear that was about to attack me.

He seemed to be a kind old man.

After that, the old man was watching me producing sand using magic for a while.

And he said I could continue to use this place for practice.

If he banned me for coming to this place, I had no choice but to practice at home using the item box.

It wasn’t that different from practicing indoor or outdoor, but my parents would be worried if I stayed home all the time, and also, if the sand was spilled to the floor, cleaning the room could be a pain.

「You’re going to continue practice here, right? Well, boy, if you’re practicing earth magic, why not make a field while practicing?」

Making a field using magic, huh?

I’ve been practicing by depleting my mana all the time pointlessly, but if I had a task while practicing, it would be really interesting.

「I want to do it. But I just started practicing a while ago, so I can’t make the field quickly. Are you okay with it?」

「I don’t mind. You can take your time. I can only use my mana to activate a magic tool, so from my perspective, you’re really a talented boy for using magic at this young age. Lately, I’ve been leaving the store to my son, so I have a lot of free time. I usually use my time to walk around here, so you don’t need to hurry, I’ll enjoy it little by little. For now, how about digging up the ground using your earth magic?」

「I’ll try」

I put my hands on the ground and started to imagine the soil rising up.

And then I could feel the soil starting to rise.

I stopped releasing my mana, grabbed the soil, and lifted it up.

The soil was really soft.

The old man was amazed and squinted.

「Hooー You did it boy! I’m counting on you, but don’t push yourself too hard, okay? If I come here tomorrow, I’ll bring you another treat」

After saying that, the old man left.

I was the son of the inn owner, so I fed enough food, but if it’s for a treat, my stomach always had an extra room.

I would take the old man’s treat as a reward for doing this.

Oh right, I didn’t even know the old man’s name.

I would ask him and also introduce myself tomorrow.