“Eh? Baby? I’m not a baby, I’m already seven years old, you know?”
Unexpectedly, Semilis looked at Hulim seriously, as if wondering what on earth this person was talking about.
“Seven years old? That’s just a little baby still in the cradle, isn’t it?”
“…Who’s still lying in a cradle at seven years old?!”
“Sigh! Don’t you think so? But, but, seven years old…”
Actually, Semilis’s big misunderstanding came from the huge difference in perception between them.
As the world’s first fairy, Semilis could be considered one of the oldest living beings on earth.
Her long lifespan made her extremely insensitive to the life cycles of short-lived species.
Moreover, since she spent most of her time in Tiramsyuin, where most beings are long-lived, even when she occasionally visited the Lower World, she spent most of her time playing.
She had no concrete concept of the changes in life spans in this world.
After Hulim’s reminder, Semilis reluctantly accepted that the other wasn’t a baby just crawling out of a cradle, but in her understanding, seven years was far too short a span to truly grasp, and it made her feel awkward inside.
“Ahem, ahem, alright, let’s put the age topic aside for now and get down to business.”
Semilis cleared her throat and suddenly became serious, a change that made Hulim feel a bit uncomfortable.
“Now then, chosen lucky one, under the protection of the Mother Goddess, allow me, the Fairy King, to bestow upon you a blessing.”
“Blessing? What’s that?”
A question mark popped up over Hulim’s head again.
Come to think of it, Semilis had been talking about a chosen one from the start.
Was she talking about me?
Lucky…Am I really lucky?
“Sigh… You don’t even know that? Then why did you call me?”
Semilis was dumbfounded again, encountering such a situation for the first time.
“I called you?”
Hulim tilted her head, clearly not understanding what this fairy was saying.
For a moment, the human and the fairy just stared at each other awkwardly in silence.
“…Well, yeah, if you don’t even know what a fairy is, then how could you know about the Fairy King’s blessing?”
Semilis’s mouth twitched slightly.
Suddenly, she realized that this person didn’t even know what a fairy was—maybe she really had accidentally triggered the summoning conditions.
“Ah, well, there’s no helping it. Since you’ve already been chosen, there’s no changing it now…”
Semilis sighed wearily, then began to explain the origin of the Fairy King’s blessing to Hulim.……That was in the distant past.
Tens of thousands of years ago, in Hymlir, civilization was like a flickering candle in the wind, unstable and uncertain, with no clear future in sight.
At that time, the Earth Mother Goddess Teraya felt the loneliness and desolation of the land and resolved to help the people develop.
Thus, she dispatched the Fairy King to the Lower World to find a destined person and bestow a blessing upon them.
Those who received the blessing gained great power, leading people through countless difficulties and gradually establishing the earliest Magic Kingdom.
Magic civilization flourished and grew strong.
Since then, every few hundred years, the Fairy King would descend to the Lower World to find a destined person and bestow a blessing.
Those blessed could bring about great changes in the world.
As for how the Fairy King found the destined ones, every five hundred years, she would listen to the sounds from the water’s surface.
When a pure-hearted person cast a stone alone into a lake, that sound would reach her ears, and she would respond to the call.
“So I was the one who summoned you?”
Hulim finally realized.
“After all that talking, that’s your reaction…”
Looking at Hulim’s suddenly enlightened face, Semilis couldn’t help but comment.
“Hmm… but this story isn’t very interesting.”
“So I’m not telling you any more stories…”
Semilis gave up on teasing and quickly changed the subject.
“All right, now that you know what’s going on, let’s move on. What’s your name?”
“Hulim,” Hulim answered, then thought for a moment and added, “Hulim Hayelar!”
“I see, Hulim Hayelar.”
Semilis repeated the name while raising her hands toward Hulim, gradually releasing a gentle glow.
“Huh? Hayelar…”
A flicker of doubt flashed in Semilis’s eyes.
“What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with my name?”
Curious, Hulim stared at the glowing hands and asked.
Interrupted, Semilis shook her head.
“No, nothing wrong.”
“Oh, right, I’m about to give you the blessing, so focus.”
Semilis said.
“What does the blessing look like?”
Hulim asked again.
Semilis explained casually, “You know about the Seven Basic Magic Elements of Hymlir, right? Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, Light, Dark, and None.”
Hulim nodded, “I know.”
“The so-called blessing,” Semilis continued, “is the supreme affinity with one of these seven elements.
I call them the Blessing of Wind, Blessing of Fire, Blessing of Water, Blessing of Earth, and likewise Blessings of Light, Dark, and None.
You will receive one of these blessings, and any one of them can elevate your magical skill in that element to the peak of the world in the future.
”Hulim nodded, half understanding, then suddenly looked up and asked, “Can I only get one blessing?”
“Of course, what else do you expect?”
“Can’t I have them all?”
“You want all of them…? Pfft! What did you just say?!”
Semilis shuddered, the light in her hands flickering.
“You little rascal, where do you get the nerve to say such shameless things?!”
“Sigh, no?”
“Definitely no…”The light faded, and Semilis lowered her hands, determined to teach this human a lesson today as she loudly declared, “Do I even need to say it? Of course not!”Hulim puffed out her cheeks.
“Why not? Since there are seven blessings, and each one is possible, then having all seven should be okay, right?”
“Huh…”
Why is this little one sharp about such a strange thing?
Semilis internally sighed and quickly explained, “No, no, you see, since you know about magical elemental attributes, don’t you know everyone is born with their own magic affinity?”
People in this world have limited magical affinities—most have just one element, a rare few have two, and having more than two is even rarer.
As far as I know, the highest magical affinity today is a four-element mage.
Without the matching affinity, you can’t just get any blessing you want.
Essentially, the blessing is a kind of ascension based on your natural affinity.
“If you forcibly give someone a blessing mismatched to their affinity, it puts immense strain on the soul, and you might even lose your life…I’ve said all this—do you understand?”
“…”
Hulim tilted her head, only catching the words affinity, blessing, and ascension.
“So, I have no affinity?”
“Ha, what are you talking about all of a sudden? You’ll naturally know after you get the blessing.”
“Hmm… so can I get all seven blessings?”
Hulim held up a small hand.
Totally not understanding at all!
Semilis felt a wave of frustration and black lines appeared on her forehead.
“So, didn’t I say no?”
“Sigh, Semilis is so stingy.”
Hulim muttered.
“This isn’t about stinginess!”
“Then… Semilis can’t do it?”
“I—”Semilis’s tone faltered, veins twitching on her forehead as she comforted herself inwardly: She’s still a little baby, I won’t hold it against her, won’t hold it against her…Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind.
“Eh, Hulim~ You really want all seven blessings that badly?”
“Yeah.”
Hulim nodded.
“Wanting all of them isn’t impossible…”Hulim’s eyes lit up.
“Really?”
“But!” Semilis’s tone shifted, and she smiled mischievously, “There’s one condition.”
“Condition?”
“Yes, if you can master the basics of all seven elemental magics within one month, then I will grant you all seven blessings, how about that~?”Facing Semilis’s intense gaze, Hulim thought it over.
Meanwhile, Semilis started to gloat.
“Sigh, of course, mastering seven elemental magics is too difficult. After all, you’re just a little baby. Magic is something you can’t possibly learn! Honestly, you might as well give up now.”
“If you give up now, you can still get one blessing, and you’ll still be able to reach the world’s peak someday. After all, there’s no real difference between one blessing and seven, right? No difference at all…”
Hulim was very displeased with Semilis’s wild provocation.
“Hulim is not a little baby! Seven basic magics are nothing to Lady Hulim the Witch!”
“Sigh~ How scary~ Lady Witch Hulim, huh~! Pfft~ Pfft~ You actually called yourself that—surely a little baby after all~ Pfft~”Faced with Semilis’s teasing, Hulim’s cheeks flushed red.
“Well then—”
“Will you accept?”
Semilis suddenly stepped close to Hulim.
“Lady Witch Hulim~”Hulim couldn’t help but take a step back, then stood her ground again.
“Of, of course, Hul… I will learn all seven magics. Just wait and see, Semilis!”
“Sigh, I’m looking forward to it~”Semilis laughed while floating and lying down in the air, drifting back and forth.
“Then, the contract is sealed—!”