Chapter 1-2 : The Girl, The Cat, And The Farewell
As usual, Elle went to the mine that Moritz dug using magic a long time ago to collect magic ores.
She wasn’t alone today, Yoyo, the cat fairy, was with her.
He sometimes followed Elle when she went to the mine because he was worried about her.
The reason why he followed Elle today was because it was a bit late for her to go to the mine. She usually went there in the morning, but she went in the afternoon today.
After collecting ores for a while, the blue sky started to turn orange.
「Elle, it’s getting dark and the wolves will appear soon. We should go home now. Besides, the air in this cave is bad, so it’s best if you don’t stay here for a long time.」(Yoyo)
「I know, but let me collect a bit more.」(Elle)
「You said the same thing earlier…」(Yoyo)
Yoyo was a fairy in the form of a cat that was called Li Ilves.
The characteristics that differentiate Li Ilves from ordinary cats are that Li Ilves are a bit bigger than normal cats. They have rounded ears, black and white striped patterns on their foreheads, and spotted patterns from their necks to their backs. Besides that, their limbs are shorter and their fur is thicker than normal cats’. At first glance, they look fat, but most of it is thick fluffy fur covering their bodies.
「Yoyo, you can go home first. I want to stay a bit longer.」(Elle)
「No, it’s dangerous! You’re going home with me!」(Yoyo)
「Then please wait a bit longer.」(Elle)
「Alright…」(Yoyo)
Mining magic ores is not an easy job.
First, you have to search for it using a special magic lamp that can detect magic ores. The light coming from the lamp will tell you the location of magic ores.
If the surface of a rock that was illuminated by the magic lamp sparkles, that means there are some magic ores in it.
After that, you need to hit the rock with a hammer to break it apart and collect the ores inside.
Elle collected the magic ores and put them in her work bag that was made by Moritz. It looked like an ordinary leather shoulder bag, but it was actually a magic bag that had been enchanted with Space Magic.
Although it was called a magic bag, it wasn’t that she could put an infinite amount of items in it. There was a limit, but Elle could store a huge amount of items enough to fill a huge wagon.
Her magic bag eliminated the weight of the items she put in, so it wasn’t heavy at all. She felt like she wasn’t carrying anything.
Elle stored a lot of things, such as magic stones she created, some tools for work, spellbooks, the money she got from Moritz, and many other things.
「Alright. I think I’ve collected enough magic ores for today.」(Elle)
「Oh! Are we going home now?」(Yoyo)
「Yeah. Let’s go!」(Elle)
「Yaay~!」(Yoyo)
Yoyo jumped up, expressing his joy. The two of them then headed home to Moritz’s house.
As soon as they arrived, Elle washed her hands with the water produced using a water magic stone.
She used the handmade bar soap she made herself. It had a good scent because she used wild roses to make it. Of course, she learned how to make it from Moritz.
After she finished washing her hands, Elle took out a comb from her bag and started combing Yoyo’s thick fur.
「Found any?」(Yoyo)
「Nope. There’s no fleas today.」(Elle)
「That’s great!」(Yoyo)
Yoyo’s fur was thick, so Elle would normally check if he had any fleas in his fur every time they returned from the forest.
After they were done cleaning themselves, they went inside the house.
「Master, I’m home!」(Elle)
「…….」(Moritz)
Moritz, who was lying down in his bed, opened his eyes as soon as he heard Elle’s voice.
It had been years since he took Elle as his disciple. Even though he was a great sage, he was still a human who could never win against senility.
He was so weak that he didn’t even have the energy to reply to his disciple.
Elle learned recovery magic from him, but it was completely useless since Moritz was not suffering from sickness but aging.
She could only watch her master grow weaker day by day.
「Master, I made a fire magic stone today. I think this one is the best fire magic stone I’ve ever made.」(Elle)
「…….」(Moritz)
Moritz could only reply to Elle with a weak blink.
Normally, it would be extremely difficult to understand what he tried to say, but Elle somehow knew that her master was trying to say, “Good job”.
Moritz would usually appraise the magic stones Elle made every day back in the day.
He was a strict master. So strict that he sometimes said harsh words to Elle. There were days when Elle shed tears because of his harsh words.
However, his strictness was the reason why Elle was able to grow and become a strong girl.
Mortiz had stopped appraising Elle’s magic stones ever since he was bedridden.
It made Elle want to shed tears sometimes. She even thought that crying because Moritz scolded her was a hundred times better than crying because of watching him grow weaker day by day.
After showing her master the fire magic stones she made today, Elle went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Today’s dinner was a thin slice of bread, wild vegetable soup, and a few tiny pieces of dried meat.
「Elle, you should eat more meat.」(Yoyo)
「Is it not enough?」(Elle)
Saying that, Elle showed the small pieces of dried meat on her plate to Yoyo.
「I mean, you should eat something like freshly roasted meat dripping with meat juices. Something with a lot of nutrition for your body.」(Yoyo)
「Ah… No, I’m good. I don’t have much appetite.」(Elle)
「Geez…」(Yoyo)
Ever since Moritz rarely ate anymore, Elle has only eaten a small amount of food.
Even when Yoyo hunted wild rabbits for her, she ended up using them as preserved food.
「You’re still growing. You should eat a lot. I don’t want you to end up like Moritz.」(Yoyo)
「But…」(Elle)
「Imagine what your father would feel when he returns and sees his daughter’s skinny, weak body.」(Yoyo)
「That’s… He would be very sad…」(Elle)
「Right? If you show me some appetite, I will prepare meat for you!」(Yoyo)
「Umm… No. Maybe next time… After seeing Master’s condition, I really don’t have much appetite today… Thank you, Yoyo.」(Elle)
「Hahh… What a stubborn girl…」(Yoyo)
Moritz hasn’t eaten properly for three days now. He has only been drinking tea and water.
Elle and Yoyo persuaded him to eat but he always weakly shook his head in response.
Elle didn’t have much appetite because she felt that the time to part with her master was drawing near.
Her father, Hugo, was her only biological family, and he hasn’t been home in more than two years. Meanwhile, her master who has been taking care of her was approaching his final moments. There was no way she could enjoy delicious food now.
This kind of reality was too painful for a twelve-year-old girl.
「Yoyo, I want to check my house after dinner. You want to accompany me?」(Elle)
「Of course. It’s getting dark, so I should go with you.」(Yoyo)
「Thank you.」(Elle)
Every day, Elle went to her house to check if his father had returned home or not, so after she finished her meal, she went there with Yoyo.
However, as usual, nobody was there.
Elle knew she wouldn’t see her father’s face today, but still, she couldn’t hide her frustration. She bite her lip and looked down on the floor with a sad face.
After cleaning the house a little, she decided to take the stuffed rabbit that she got from her father as her ninth birthday present back to Moritz’s house.
The sky was gradually getting dark as Elle and Yoyo headed home through the forest, and the sun had completely set when the two arrived home.
「Yo… Yoyo…」(Elle)
「No way…」(Yoyo)
When they were about to enter the house, they suddenly had a very bad feeling.
The reason was that they could barely feel Moritz’s mana.
As soon as Elle opened the door, she threw her stuffed rabbit onto the chair in the living room and rushed to Moritz’s room with Yoyo.
「Master!」(Elle)
「Moritz!!」(Yoyo)
Moritz was still alive when they entered his room, but his mana was melting into the air, disappearing little by little.
Elle panickedly held up the magic stick she got from Moritz and started casting a recovery spell.
「Master, hang in there! Hnnghhー!!」(Elle)
Elle used as much mana as she could. She desperately kept casting a recovery spell, hoping that Moritz would get better.
However, it was completely pointless.
「Elle, stop it! You’re just wasting your mana!」(Yoyo)
「But!」(Elle)
「Elle… Moritz has suffered enough… We should let him go.」(Yoyo)
「ー!!」(Elle)
Continuing to live was not easy for Moritz.
He should have died years ago, but after he met Elle and took her as his disciple, he decided to live a bit longer despite his old, weak body.
Elle realized that, so she slowly lowered her magic stick and stopped casting the recovery spell.
Hearing Elle sobbing next to him, Moritz opened his eyes, glanced at his disciple, and smiled.
He then used all his remaining strength to talk slowly.
「Elle… Ellenestine…」(Moritz)
「I’m here! Master, I’m here!」(Elle)
Elle grabbed Moritz’s hand and looked at him with teary eyes.
「Elle… Oh, my proud disciple… Thank you for being by my side in my last moment… Don’t ever forget everything I have taught you… Let there be light… in your life…」(Moritz)
Moritz breathed his last breath right after he said that.
At that moment, Elle couldn’t help but scream while Yoyo sighed deeply.
「NOOOO!! Master! Please! Please, don’t leave me alone!! Master!!」(Elle)
「Elle… He’s gone… Rest in peace, my friend…」(Yoyo)
「Nooo… No… Master… Hiks…」(Elle)
When the two were mourning in sorrow, suddenly, a miracle occurred.
Moritz’s body floated in the air and turned into a ball of light all of a sudden.
The dark room that just had the moonlight as its light source suddenly became as bright as noon.
「Wh… What is happening…!?」(Elle)
「Moritz… ーElle, open the window!」(Yoyo)
「Eh?」(Elle)
「Open the window now! Hurry up!」(Yoyo)
Elle was still confused, but she quickly approached the window and opened it as Yoyo asked.
Soon after, the ball of light, which was Moritz’s body, flew outside through the window and went up into the night sky, aiming for the moon.
Elle was stunned by the incredible sight.
「It’s a miracle… Elle, it’s a miracle!」(Yoyo)
「Yoyo, you know what just happened?」(Elle)
「It’s called ‘spiritization’!」(Yoyo)
「Spiritization? What does that mean? What happened to Master?」(Elle)
「Sometimes, humans can become a spirit when they die. Their body and soul will ascend to heaven and absorb the mana from the moon. After that, they will return to earth as a spirit! It’s an extremely rare occasion!」(Yoyo)
「Wait… Does that mean I can see Master again?」(Elle)
「Perhaps, but he will look completely different the next time you see him.」(Yoyo)
「I see… So… I can see him again… I see… Thank god!!」(Elle)
「Ghh…!! I can’t… breath!!」(Yoyo)
Unable to hold her joy after crying so hard, Elle hugged Yoyo tightly.
On that day, a ray of light shone in Elle’s life.
The light that was called… hope.
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