The Sleeping Devil

"Sheriel, are you okay? What happened?"

How should I explain... Is it okay to talk about Noah?

"What\'s going on? There are traces of tremendous magic power! Did Miss Sheriel do this? Could it be that she performed the baptism ritual alone?"

The sight of a massive muscle-bound figure charging towards me was nothing but terrifying. I stumbled back and ended up falling on my rear.

"Well, I couldn\'t sleep, so I went for a walk..."

It was a feeble excuse.

"Oh, Sheriel was crying. Was the failure of the ritual that shocking? Poor thing."

Didier gently lifted me up, hiding me from Marcel.

Even though I should have grown up, I felt secure, without any wobbling. Didier seemed to be stronger than he appeared.

My energy was already depleted, and as soon as I was enveloped in his warm arms, my eyelids grew heavy.

While listening to Marcel\'s voice through Didier\'s back, I fell asleep, comforted by the gentle swaying.

The next morning, when I woke up, my face felt unusually heavy...

"Are you awake? Shall I cool your eyes a bit?"

It was Mary, who seemed to be by my bedside, holding a damp cloth.

Ah, my eyes must be swollen from crying so much yesterday. Speaking of which, what happened after that?

As I pondered while the cloth rested on my face, someone entered the room.

"Oh? Sheriel\'s alive?"

"Good morning, dear brother."

I removed the cloth and slowly sat up, only to find adults other than Dior gathered by the bedside.

"Oh, even Marcel-sama?! Um, I\'m not ready yet..."

"This is not the time for that! Tell us what happened yesterday!"

"Hey, don\'t scare my granddaughter."

Hermes grabbed me by the collar and pulled me back, while Didier took a seat on the bed. He covered my eyes with his palm and started chanting something.

"How is it? The swelling in your eyes seems to have subsided."

"Wow! My eyes feel so refreshed. Thank you, dear brother."

This was my first time receiving healing magic from Didier. My heavy and puffy eyelids suddenly felt surprisingly light.

"Well, it seems like you\'re fine now. The light last night was indeed your blessing."

"That\'s right. Without the blessing, you would have been suffering from splitting headaches, nosebleeds, and vomiting by now."

Wait, what?

"Dear brother, were you trying to confirm the blessing...?"

"You\'re fine now, so it\'s all good, right?"

What would he have done if I hadn\'t received the blessing? Honestly!

By the way, it seems that I did receive the blessing after all. It feels like everything was taken away from me in that last moment of turmoil.

"Oh, Sheriel, try the spell I taught you yesterday! Test it for us!"

There was no consideration for a seven-year-old who had just woken up.

However, my dear brother is doing quite well, so the image is perfect. I extended my palm and focused my concentration. Then, just like I felt during the ritual last night, something wriggled within me, bubbling up from the depths of my abdomen.

Is this magic power?

"Draw!"

With a sudden flicker in the air in front of me, water splashed onto the bed as if a bucket had been overturned.

"Oh no! I\'m sorry, Mary!"

I quickly looked around for Mary and found the adults standing by the bedside, frozen in silence.

Well, it\'s understandable. They probably didn\'t expect me to do it right on the bed. I didn\'t think about the fact that it would be on the bed because I didn\'t expect it to succeed... I\'m completely soaked.

"No way, this is impossible... Why is there so much water?"

Marcel had sweat on his forehead and was staring at me while shaking Sergio.

"It was my first time using it. I couldn\'t control it."

Wait a minute. Is this going to be my first experience using magic? I don\'t really like it.

"That\'s not the issue here! Besides, how did you manipulate the magic power?"

"Well, well, sometimes things like this happen. It\'s because she\'s a Beriard."

"Don\'t use Beriard as an excuse for everything!"

Once I finished preparing myself, I would be questioned about the situation, so the adults left for the time being. Mary cried tears of joy over the blessing, and I felt sorry for causing trouble. I was scolded a little for sneaking out of the room in the middle of the night, though.

When I entered the guest room, Sergio was being interrogated by Marcel with an exasperated expression.

"Here she is. I\'m not good at this kind of thing, so ask her directly."

"Oh, there you are! Sheri... Uh!"

Hermes grabbed Marcel\'s collar as he was about to jump out of his seat.

"Sheriel, happy birthday. Whatever happened, it\'s something to be happy about."

"Thank you, grandfather."

I once again realized that it was my birthday and that I had received a blessing. Everyone congratulated me one by one, and I felt both proud and a little embarrassed, causing my cheeks to grow warm.

"But seriously, why did you do it alone? I went through the trouble of training you to divide your attributes, but I couldn\'t be there."

"I\'m sorry, dear brother. I didn\'t expect it to turn out like that."

I truly felt sorry for this. I wanted to explain properly, but I didn\'t know how to express it.

"Sheriel, can you tell us what happened last night?"

"Well, I don\'t really understand either. I was sad about the failure of the baptism, and then my friend told me what to do, so I did as I was told, and then... Boom! Something happened, and when I realized it, everyone was there..."

Hmm, even I think it\'s incoherent. Sergio seems to have lost interest. He nods with his eyes lowered.

"So, about your friend..."

"It\'s a cat."

"...A cat."

Well, I understand it sounds nonsensical. But it\'s the truth, grandfather!

"It\'s an amazing cat. When I stroke its tail, sparkling particles of light fall, and it can teleport me. So, I think it\'s a special cat with incredible power, and it must have helped me when I was feeling sad."

I\'ll keep the fact that it can transform into a human a secret. I don\'t want it to be exposed, especially since it kept itself hidden for two years for my sake. I can\'t just talk about it without permission, even though I\'ve already revealed almost everything. But it\'s beyond my control.

"Hmm, it doesn\'t seem like you\'re lying."

"Maybe Sheriel just dreamt it? And she believes it as it is? She has a history of dreaming, after all."

Now that it\'s mentioned, it does seem possible. I cried myself to sleep and then had a realistic ceremony in my dream that resulted in a blessing?

No, that can\'t be it. I was actually found outside, and I did receive the blessing.

"For now, let\'s just assume it was a dream."

Sergio suddenly spoke up and summarized the discussion. It seems like he\'s already tired of this topic. Dior also slowly placed her teacup down and started preparing to leave the room.

"Oh come on, Sergio, that\'s unreasonable! Let the Mage Guild investigate. Otherwise, the Guild Master will definitely come here! If that happens, the Mage Guild will be finished! It would trouble you too, right? Isn\'t that right?"

"Well, that would indeed be troublesome. In that case, please negotiate directly with Sheriel. If you want to investigate within Beriard Castle, I don\'t mind."

Wait, Father? He was so against it yesterday, so why the sudden change? Could it be that now that I have received the blessing, he has lost interest in me since there\'s no longer a need for me to learn swordsmanship?

"Sheriel, is that alright?"

"Oh, Sheriel, let\'s schedule the swordsmanship practice for the morning. You can do as you please during your free time."

"Father, please at least wait until my vacation is over for swordsmanship practice."

"Yes, I understand. I see."

"Marcel, it seems I\'m short on time. I apologize."

"T-That\'s... Just a little bit would be enough. I promise not to conduct an excessive investigation. Just a little bit!"

Hmm, it\'s troublesome to be investigated all the time, and I don\'t think he\'s a bad person. And what kind of person is this Guild Master that Sergio is so concerned about?

"Well then, let me think about it and give you an answer tomorrow."

"Oh! Take your time to think! By the way, if you have the time, I can teach you magic instead! Sergio, you haven\'t decided on a teacher yet, right?"

Wait, what?

Indeed, the magic teacher hasn\'t been decided yet. I still have reservations about having a magic teacher, and we haven\'t hired a history teacher either.

"But what about your work?"

"Marcel, that\'s a good idea. We can offset the salary with Sheriel\'s research, right?"

"Of course, that\'s fine! I\'m not suited for office work anyway. Instead, I have the role of reigning in the Guild Master! This is just one of those roles! Fuahaha!"

The conversation is progressing according to the adults\' whims. This might be a bit problematic.

"Um, um! It\'s a very generous offer, but please wait until tomorrow!"

Being taught magic directly by the Vice Chief of the Kingdom\'s Mage Guild is something I couldn\'t have imagined as of yesterday.

Anyway, I need to ask Noah about the attributes tonight...