Two years had passed, and Flamme was now walking and talking – not entirely clearly, but still. For a five-year-old child, this was already an unprecedented achievement. And her little hands, they had grown quite strong and now grabbed with even greater force. Usually that's good, very good indeed, but not now, not at this moment.
— Flamme, let go of my horns, it's dangerous. — Sefi spoke, looking at Flamme's grinning face. The little girl was currently hanging, holding onto her head horns like a pull-up bar, and looking at her face. The red-haired one first wanted to see something, but the demoness refused, and then the child first asked her to bend down a little, jumped up sharply and grabbed onto the horns. Now she's hanging like on a pull-up bar. — This is very inappropriate behavior, too much.
— Nuh-uh! I won't let go until you show me magic! — That was the condition, a strict condition from the little one. However, the horned one wasn't born yesterday, she also had some aces up her sleeve. First of all, Sefi put her hands under her armpits and lifted her so she wouldn't put pressure on herself. Only after that did she make a stern face. At least she furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes – sternly enough.
— I'll decrease my trust in you if you continue this. — The girl gasped, and it seemed like she agreed, but no such luck! She also repeated her gesture and...
— I'll decrease my trust in you too, Sefi! 'Cause you're a greedy thing! — She repeated the words, what an outrage. How come... why are little children like this?
Frieren did this, and now Flamme. Why is the childish mind so manipulative? Where did the evolution of the entire human race go wrong? Because why do children talk about such things, but not adults?
Neither the parents of this bundle of joy, nor even Miss Serie talked about it, but their little copies... or, more accurately, little imps — just from one refusal they act like geniuses of manipulation and try to bargain with her. Alright, better to answer than to think about them:
— I'll get offended at you. — Yes, simple. But who would want that? For this little one, the falling system isn't scary, because she doesn't understand that system and its effort, but simple words – how powerful they are. Probably. It worked last time.
This girl has a terrible adaptation to everything, because when she mentioned the system for the first time, she backed off, but now she doesn't care. A monster of social relations.
— Booooh!!! You're so greedy!!! I'll get offended too!!! — She grumbled, crossing her arms, puffing out her cheeks and turning her head up. — Hmph!
Monster
— Fine... fine, I'll show you, don't be offended. — Why is she so easily persuaded? Does she have no character, or what...
How do you refuse properly? She doesn't want trust to fall either, but excess is also bad. Where is that fine line? She needs to develop her speech... because this little devil girl is destroying her completely.
Difficult. Very. Need to think and act, but for now she should let the little one down to the ground.
— And also, Sefiii! Teach me to talk with my mouth closed, I want to too! — She whispered, as soon as she got down to the ground. And then Sefi... tilted her head, she was now sitting on one knee and was level with the girl's height. — Is this your feature? Is it because of these horns? Can I have them too?!
— Mmm... this... I speak using magic, because... I can't speak with my mouth. — She said quietly. Flamme quieted down and just looked with uncomprehending eyes. Seraphima touched her neck and lowered the fabric of her turtleneck, pointing to the choker on her neck. — I speak with its help, and the sound comes from it.
— WAAAAH! What cool magic! How does it work?! — Dazzling joy. The girl's eyes, and the girl herself, fixated on this choker, examining it from all sides.
Ever since her mom showed her magic... ugh, this interest grows every day. And you can't say it's bad, simply because this little one already knows how to cast spells, she can definitely make a field of flowers.
And there's little interesting here in general, it's clear why she always wants something new and unusual, and she has plenty of energy, because there are no other children. They're not in a village or a city, a separate house somewhere far away. The interesting things here, probably, are chasing butterflies and watching the forest. This child can't contain herself, and it's a wonder she didn't go into the forest and... ugh... bad.
Flamme carefully touched the choker and hummed, the demoness allowed her to do this and thought... about the girl's life.
The Middle Ages, or whatever time this is, interesting times: there are no normal kinds of entertainment, and life is harsh... And she saw this harshness when Flamme's parents called their daughter and said to help with something. Seems understandable, but... the help consisted of plucking feathers from killed birds. Not the most pleasant sight for a child, probably... and not at her age.
At this remark, the child's parents looked at her and laughed, as did the girl herself:
— I'm strong Sefi! Do you think I can't handle this?
— That's right! My girl is strong just like me!
— This isn't the hardest work, not difficult, nothing to worry about Sefi.
The responses of the daughter, father and mother shifted her views from the normal course. It's not that she didn't help her parents as a child... hmm... did she have parents? She probably should have, otherwise who would she help with the garden? She remembers helping them, working with a small hoe, watering the tomatoes with a watering can, but not... such a thing. Wait, when did she have a childhood, and where did the garden come from?
Hmm... parents, huh? Why doesn't Sefi remember them? Strange, these should be important parts of life, and you can't forget them... strange.
Nevertheless, this little one, who is now examining the choker, is brighter than the sun, despite these adversities of life. Should Sefi compensate for this? Shouldn't children be... children? Somehow unclear, strange.
Usually there is some clear plan that she followed, but here you can't say that to Flamme's parents either, because for their time it's normal, but the girl shouldn't be like this... she wants to sit on two chairs. That's what uncertainty means... hmm...
— Sefi, why do you need this? Don't you have a mouth? I saw you eat, so why don't you speak... well, with your mouth? — Flamme asked her a question, and it's unclear how to answer her.
Should she tell the truth? Say that she has no tongue because of the elves' tricks and... make her hear a bad story... Sefi has no tongue... sounds, taste and something else... emptiness inside her mouth as a reminder of this.
Or a lie?
A lie? Tempting... too much. Something burns inside. Blazes. Her body thrills... probably, it's shame... yes, it must be, because with shame the body behaves like this, not like joy. What to say? Hmm... hmm...
— I can speak, but I don't want to because I'm lazy.
Meh... not the best, but the look of Flamme's open eyes and mouth, that surprised little face... such joy... she believed it. Yes, she believed this lie without a shadow of doubt. How pleasant... how pleasant...
— You're... too lazy to speak? Whaaaaat!!!!
***
The unexpected happened. At some point, Flamme complained to her mom, stomped her feet, resolutely grabbed the basket and turned away from them. Yes, turned away, nothing more.
Because they were in the forest, picking berries, Flamme managed to gather only a small pile, to which her mom said it was too little and she was a lazybones... and she...
— SEFI IS EVEN TOO LAZY TO SPEAK! WHY AM I A LAZYBONES??? — She shouted and... got offended. Yeah, the consequences of lies. Frau looks at her as if she wants to say something, but can't.
Finally the woman approached and bent down to her ear and whispered:
— Why did you say that? I'm not accusing... just... I don't understand. — Indeed, from her voice you can't tell that Frau is angry at you, just worried about all this.
Sefi lowered the volume of the choker, fortunately she learned, because constantly speaking loudly is bad, and in response she also whispered:
— I just didn't want to tell Flamme about something bad, it's not the kind of thing children need to hear, they shouldn't worry about this. — She said quietly, and Frau, biting her lip, nodded and hugged her. Only a certain sound of breaths could be heard... The woman is crying? Why?
— You're so... caring, thank you... Sefi...
***
Flamme came home gloomy and locked herself in her room, didn't respond to her mother's pleas... Both women were now sitting in the kitchen, scratching their heads.
Frau wanted to talk and discuss, come up with a reason why she had such laziness... digging the hole deeper, however Sefi had a different idea. She went, Frau followed, like a little kitten trailing behind someone like a tail.
The demoness stood in front of the mirror... well, not really a mirror, it was a piece of metal that they had polished very hard, so much so that it shines and shows a reflection. Not perfectly well, but a lot can be seen.
Sefi can create a mirror, however... its quality for some reason is no better. The glass is excessively fragile and completely... cloudy. Should work on this in the future, but for now...
— I a-pol-o-gize. — She spoke syllable by syllable and at the same time moved her mouth. Her idea is that along with the sound, she also moves her mouth, creating the illusion that she's speaking with her mouth, not just keeping it closed.
Yes, this puts more strain on the brain than expected. Just speaking with her magic was difficult, and now adding a new element, even if it's just moving the mouth... although no, it's not simple movement. You need to move correctly so as not to confuse the person, because when you say "O", the mouth takes that shape, so if you don't follow such formalities... it will probably make Flamme even more distrustful and anger her.
Seeing her efforts, Frau standing behind... just let out a small giggle, and then hugged her from behind. She put her head on her shoulder, Sefi didn't move, just rehearsed.
— I... so... don't know... thank you Seraphima. — The woman simply said and pressed closer, closing her eyes.
***
Several hours passed, there were successes but they were small. Nevertheless, there were also problems and there were more of them than successes:
First: For the most part, the mouth movements were either slower than the sound or too fast, resulting in a picture where the mouth moved and the words had already ended, or the mouth didn't move while the sound came out.
Second: Mismatch of words or more precisely letters. She said for example: "Bye", but the mouth movements didn't match the word "Bye" at all, more like just "B", as Frau explained to her... well, she tried, that's very appreciated. Thank her.
Third: Very uncomfortable, headache. Thinking wasn't usually a problem, but here you need to: think, do, think again and do even more while doing it correctly, not just anyhow off the cuff. Sefi feels like her brain... is deforming in her head, no other way to describe it... pressure there. Probably became more liquid or is melting in there.
Fourth, well... it changes the timbre of the voice. Due to different tasks, producing the same voice is difficult, and this causes distortion, well, or a little... horror. A broken, creaky, quiet voice sounds like the sounds of a monster. If you speak with such a voice, it's better to be mute altogether.
The success was only one. Sefi managed once to say a whole sentence of six words: "I apologize to you, Flamme." Without any flaws. The success was so resounding that Frau applauded her.
At that very moment, their training was interrupted by Mari. The man came in, glanced, and saw both ladies. He grunted. Turned around and moved back, not interfering with their business. Hmm...
— Mari, please come here. — Said Seraphima. The guy froze, but after a second obeyed and approached them. — I can speak now. Surprising, isn't it?
At first he didn't understand, but after a second he noticed that she was speaking while opening her mouth. That's when he freaked out, grabbed his head and stepped back a pace.
— When?! Did your tongue grow back again?! How?! Ah... never mind, this is good though! Let me catch some game today and we'll have a feast! — Mari was surprised, but Sefi proudly puffed up.
— I deceived you! There was no tongue.
— What?
After a minute, they explained the whole situation to him. Hearing the story, Mari, like his wife, teared up, grabbed Sefi by the shoulders and said:
— I'm glad you care about my daughter! — After which he put aside all his affairs, of which there were already few, and also started helping. Unlike his wife, his knowledge of this kind of thing was... little, but he could demonstrate by example.
The guy stood up and muttered something, without sound, just opening his mouth. Syllable by syllable.
I'll he-lp
That's what he said. However, his further words – no, sentences – were longer and spoken quickly. Interesting, how did he learn this? Did he study this art or something? Quick and clear, just... excellent lip-reading.
— When I was little, there was little entertainment, had to do many things, so with the boys we came up with this, to speak without sounds. Because back then it seemed cool to us. — He admitted, scratching his head. — Well, and also who wouldn't want that? We even invented our own language there, a secret one, to speak among ourselves, while no one understood us.
It turns out Mari really had... an interesting childhood. What was Sefi's like? Hmm... she doesn't remember. Never mind. The main thing is to work on this, we'll see later.
***
Evening came. Flamme didn't come out of her room. Entering the room became a problem: breaking down the door is possible, but it's unethical. Completely. Slip something through and open it? Noticeable, and also unethical.
Best to persuade
— Flamme, I want to talk, can you open the door? Please. — Said Sefi, knocking. The patter of little feet was heard, which stopped in front of the door.
— No! Go away! I don't want to talk. — The girl shouted offendedly from the other side. The demoness didn't stop, knocked again. — Sefi!!! I don't want to talk to anyone! I don't want to!
The horned woman stopped knocking. Now she needed to think of something else, what to do now. Unclear. Diplomacy, offer a trade or what... Yes, that's needed.
— Flamme, I apologize, but I wanted to show you magic. I think you were bored there. — And then again the patter of little feet, faster than before. Once more... She shifted from foot to foot, waited for the moment and slowly opened the door. Just a little, only a line was visible.
— And where's the magic? — She asked through the crack. Sefi quickly conjured fire on her hand, right on her palm. Before, if she showed anything, it was safe spells and only for a brief moment, but not fire. The flame sharply raised interest, and she flung the door open wide, stared at her hand. — Won't it burn you? It's fire!
— No, it's safe fire. Want to touch? — Sefi spoke, kneeling down, right at the eye level of the little sun. She extended her hand towards her. Flamme carefully reached out her palms, still not daring to touch, reaching out then pulling back. — Don't be afraid, just touch.
Flamme did just that, touched the hand, after which she intertwined her fingers. Eyes delighted by the sight. A joyful squeal.
— Waaaa! How is this?! It's warm, but not hot! How is that even possible?! — And then... the little one noticed something, looked at the demoness's face. — Sefi, say something.
— Hmm? What? — And then Flamme pulled her hand away, jumped back a step and pointed at her in shock. — YOU'RE SPEAKING!!! YOU OPENED YOUR MOUTH! YOU'RE NOT LAZY!
— Well... yes... I'm not lazy.
***
Six years passed. Flamme had become quite big. She received a huge burst of energy, power and desire for everything. A restless young woman, whose fiery nature drove the demoness crazy, who now traipsed after her, trying to keep the person from everything suicidal, hammering common sense into the little one's head, which immediately leaked out at the sight of something interesting.
Strong, fast, and most importantly, the talented little one reached her mother's level in magic at just eleven years old, which is quite... terrifying. If there's a graph, Flamme's growth is a mountain that literally appeared from nowhere. In a second.
Along with this came problems: what to teach if she has surpassed you? Well, that's why magic teaching was foisted onto poor Seraphima, who knows nothing about such matters, having learned from others and mostly engaged in self-analysis of data and arranging them into some kind of logical chain that would work. Nevertheless, there was something to teach:
Mana control – that was the first thing she taught Flamme. As seen from Sefi's mistakes in the past, mana is a huge source of red, looming over them. Both animals and, for the most part, many living beings sense it. Concealment will allow her to go unnoticed, hunt and pursue a target.
Teaching this, there was a stake inside... so hot, as if what she was teaching the girl was a huge taboo. Such a burning sensation... that for the first time she felt anger. Nothing less than anger – she wanted to strangle herself for such a deed. However, after an hour it passed. The bitter aftertaste of it still remains, but nothing more. Strange... there's no tongue, but bitterness is there.
The second thing was how to make something else from mana. A spell, to put it simply. She explained the concept... and Flamme repeated it, even doing it better. How? Unclear.
A small wall of earth appeared before the girl. She poured mana into the ground and gained control. The difference from Sefi was in two things: higher control, less mana expenditure.
Peerless. And when asked in response, Seraphima got:
— You did it, Sefi! So I can too! I watched you and thought, no, understood that I could do it too!
Sefi doesn't know what to feel. Seems... good, but also envious. Never mind. The main thing is she managed. Now the girl was actively accumulating mana, more precisely, increasing the amount of her own capacity. Of course, Sefi taught her this. But here's where the problem arose...
If Sefi's growth was in small centimeters every day... or weeks, well if lucky, she'd even reach five in a day, then with Flamme...
— Impressive. — Seraphima's hand trembled. The only working hand that wasn't a prosthetic. Trembled uncontrollably. If Sefi has centimeters, then Flamme has... meters. Literally. Three meters of growth. — You managed to do this so... quickly, not even two days passed.
Flamme reached a third of Sefi's mana in two days... And she spent how many years on this? How much practice... Mmm... never mind... Envious. How could a human achieve this in such a time?
It seems impossible, yet it is possible. Horrifying. Despite this... the lessons... ended. Like her mother, Sefi has nothing more to teach her. The rest is in her hands.
And those hands are currently busy with...
— Waaa! You're so soft, Sefi. — The girl was now playing with her face. Squeezing her face, making it gloomy, or making her smile. Mostly the girl just played and braided her hair into a braid or other hairstyles. An anti-stress for Flamme. That's her fate.
— I'll take that as a compliment. — Sefi murmured carefreely, being in doll mode. The redhead achieved this mode through persistent effort.
— And still, three days of work for three hours of play!! This is robbery! — Gloomily, Flamme pinched the woman's cheek, not hard. Then patted her head. Overall, she was completely enjoying herself.
They were both now in a field, the green expanses of the world, trees nearby. The house is within sight. The mighty walls were further strengthened by Flamme, who used barrier magic on them for practice, making them even stronger.
After three hours they went home. Along the way, the fire-haired one, of course, latched onto her back. She had to carry her. Along the way they talked about various things: questions and answers, funny and not-so-funny jokes, discussing beauty.
— You're back! Sefi, I apologize, but could you gather some mushrooms in the forest? I understand... — Frau came out to meet them with a basket in her hands. The guilty expression on her face and words were interrupted by the energetic voice of her daughter.
— We'll do it, mama!!! — The little one snatched the basket from her mother's hands, made a circle, jumped and landed, spinning. After which she spread her arms and ran around Sefi. — Let's gooo!!
— I haven't agreed to work yet... — Sefi began to open her mouth, but then Flamme grinned and, rising on her tiptoes, pressed a finger to Sefi's lips, making her fall silent.
— But you would have agreed, right? — At this question, the demoness reluctantly looked away and nodded. The redhead happily clapped her hands, grabbed her hand and dragged her into the forest. — Let's gooo!!!
***
The first reason they went out to gather mushrooms was the recent rain. It's unclear, but Mari and Frau mainly collect these capped ones after rain, explaining that after rain... they grow very quickly and emerge from the ground. Doubtful, of course, but it's not for her to judge.
The only problem is the damp forest: the smell is pleasant, but the ground is not. Sometimes there are stones that, due to water droplets, have become slippery. Game is also a problem, but not for mages.
— Flamme, be careful, don't step on the ground so carelessly. — The horned one could barely keep up with the energetic girl, who instantly reached the target, that is the mushrooms, and with the help of a knife cut them, collecting them into one large basket.
Dressed appropriately, especially boots. Cloaks protecting them from dampness are also there. Warm clothes on Sefi, lighter on Flamme, nevertheless she didn't feel the cold. Fire boiled inside her.
— Sefiii, I know! Don't worry about me! — Flamme rushed off again, fortunately without incident, grabbed a mushroom and stuffed it into the basket. The demoness could only shake her head.
— Caution is never superfluous. — She murmured, approaching her and looking at the entire harvest. Almost a full basket. — And you... have become faster and better. I think my share in this... basket is less than half.
— Oooo! What do you mean, Sefi! Don't be like that. — The girl hissed and proudly raised her snoot. The horned one just looked at her. — The main thing is that we did it together!
— I see, then I understand. — And so their little trip ended. As usual, Flamme walked ahead, strides wide. Over so much time, they had made a path into the forest, returning the same way. Flamme with a basket full of mushrooms, and with energy that cannot be gathered in any basket in the world, too much, never tires.
Sefi – a little behind, watching how the daughter's red ponytail bobbed in time with her steps. Sometimes she hopped a little and giggled, apart from that, the path was quiet.
The forest gradually thinned. Through the branches, the familiar silhouette of the house with reinforced walls, on which Flamme herself had worked, was already visible. About ten minutes of leisurely walking remained to the homestead.
— Sefi! — the girl suddenly called out ringingly, sharply turning on the spot and almost dropping the basket. — When are we going somewhere? Dad promised me we'd go for a walk and even visit the village.
The demoness tilted her head slightly, recalling Mari's words, unfortunately she wouldn't be able to go, nevertheless the woman nodded at this statement.
— I'm very glad, interacting with other children will increase your social skills... I'll take care of the dress, what color do you want?
— Waaaa! Thank you!!! — Flamme took a few steps back, drawing level with Sefi, and looked up into her face. — Mmm... I want... green! Like my eyes, you said they were beautiful!
Seraphima smiled barely perceptibly at the corners of her lips, which Flamme valued most. She had long noticed that over the years, synchronizing mouth movement with sound had become easier. Her voice no longer creaked or broke like in the first days of training. Now it sounded even, melodious, so good that an outsider would never guess that this voice was not born in the mouth, but in the artifact on her neck. Time polishes everything. The unspoken truth.
— Green, understood, I'll work on it in a day. — Sefi replied, already thinking about what to use as dye. Definitely not tree leaves, if crushed, the color would be darker, needs a light green... hmm, there was a green brooch at home, bought recently. She could integrate its color, and it would be... good, the main thing is not to ruin it.
Flamme thought for a moment, and then a smile appeared on her face. Soft, gentle. The girl, while walking, leaned against the woman's waist, warm... cheerful... pleasant.
— If only this could last forever.
— You think? — Sefi carefully touched the top of the redhead's head and stroked her hair. After which she repeated these movements.
— Yep! — Flamme jumped up, almost hitting a low-hanging branch of a small tree with her basket, which they had planted near the path. In time, it should grow, and then they would build a treehouse, that's what Flamme said. Time passes, and this mighty plant is still growing.
Sefi gently held her by the shoulder, steering her away from the edge of the path.
Silence
It's so... beautiful
They emerged into the open space. The house was now very close... In conversation with the sunshine, she hadn't noticed, but the house had become too bright, something was reflecting, hmm, something was glittering from the sun, too bright. What the... unclear, what is...
Seraphima moved Flamme behind her back
Part of the wall was covered in gold, no, not part... but the entire front, like part of the roof
— So... someone changed the future...