Crackle.
The firewood in the hearth kept spitting sparks as it burned, but each spark died into ash before it could reach the floor.
Shulim had been staring at the flames for days now.
"Where exactly are the fire particles?"
"Lilia said different environments have different concentrations of elements. This place should have the most fire particles of anywhere in the house, so why can’t I see them?"
While Shulim crouched motionless in front of the hearth, Amon approached from behind with a hesitant look on his face.
"So... Shulim."
"What is it, Amon?"
Shulim turned to look at him.
"Well... could you maybe stop using the fireplace in weather like this? It’s hot. Seriously, it’s really hot."
Thunk.
A huge fist came down on Amon’s head.
"Oww."
Amon dropped to the floor clutching his head.
Behind him stood Razelian, one fist still clenched and a fierce look on his face.
"What was that for?"
"And you’ve got the nerve to ask? I haven’t said a word, and here you are already complaining."
"It’s rare enough that Shulim is working this hard. As the older one here, the least you could do is set a good example. Why are you making trouble instead?"
"How am I the bad example here?"
Amon looked deeply wronged, then muttered under his breath, "Besides, it’s completely normal for a beginner to spend half a year just getting started with magic. Wouldn’t it be fine to take it slow? What good is rushing going to do..."
"Huh?"
That one sentence hit Shulim like a bolt from the blue.
Half a year... just to get started?
For a moment, the world seemed to spin around her, and she could not help remembering Semirys rolling around laughing by the lake.
I got played...
Shulim suddenly realized that Semirys had probably tricked her.
There was no way Semirys did not know how hard it was to get started with magic, or how long it usually took.
Seeing that Shulim’s expression had taken a sharp turn for the worse, Razelian shot Amon a vicious glare.
"You keep your mouth shut."
Then he turned back to Shulim and deliberately softened his tone.
"Don’t mind what he said. He loves talking nonsense. More importantly, forget the fireplace for a second. As it happens, I’ve been craving grilled meat lately too. Want to guess what someone sent over today?"
"It’s a huge slab of Holbiviro steak."
"Really?"
Amon lit up at once, forgetting the lump on his head for the moment.
Shulim’s attention was pulled away too, at least for the time being, and she stopped dwelling on magic.
...
In the yard, Lorenz had already set up a picnic table.
Shulim sat there with the rest of the family gathered around it.
Off to one side stood a brazier full of charcoal with a grill set over it. Slices of steak lay across the grate while Jessica worked the tongs nonstop, turning the meat as it browned. Fat kept dripping from the seared surface onto the coals below, letting out a steady hiss and filling the whole yard with a mouthwatering smell.
"Sorry for the wait."
Not long after, Jessica set the first round of grilled meat on the table.
Lilia immediately portioned it out onto everyone’s plates.
"All right, dig in."
Razelian said it with a broad grin.
"The pasture in the village on our fief has been doing especially well this year, so there’s plenty of meat today."
At present, House Hayeral held three village fiefs.
One village produced a large amount of fruit, and the wine made from it brought in a respectable income every year. Another village mostly grew ordinary grain crops, but it still supplied the Hayerals with plenty of fresh food.
The third village, though, was the real foundation of the family’s income.
That village had a wide pastureland where large numbers of Holbiviro were raised. They were a domesticated herbivorous beast, and one of the main sources of meat in everyday life.
By selling Holbiviro, House Hayeral earned a solid income every year. It was enough that, even with a meager fief of only three villages, they could still maintain the bare minimum appearance expected of nobility.
Originally, their ancestor Orubet Hayeral, who had earned a hereditary honorary knighthood as a defender of the realm, had possessed lands on the scale of a count’s domain.
Unfortunately, in this world, it was never easy for a noble house to hold on to everything it had.
Unlike Orubet, who had stood at the peak of Rank A, his descendants had never inherited that same talent. In the three hundred years of House Hayeral’s history, only a handful had ever barely reached Rank B, briefly giving the family some breathing room in certain generations. Most had been ordinary Rank C at best.
By a few decades ago, the family had fallen so far that they were nearly unable to hold on even to their last manor.
At that point, the head of House Hayeral at the time, Razelian’s grandfather, made a decisive choice. He abandoned everything that had become a burden and petitioned the Empire to join a frontier development effort.
That decision turned out to be the one that saved the family again.
The development of the Mente mining district went smoothly, as did the founding of the new settlements around it. Because of their contribution, House Hayeral was granted one village there as a fief.
After that, through the efforts of Razelian’s father and then Razelian himself across two generations, the family’s holdings gradually increased to three villages.
Compared to the glory of their ancestor’s era, it was almost painful to look at.
Even so, this was the chance House Hayeral had found in the depths of desperation, the chance to begin again. Plenty of noble houses, even some founded by heroes of the realm, had simply vanished into history without ever getting that kind of second chance.
"Whoa."
At Razelian’s words, the children of House Hayeral burst into cheers.
Then they wasted no time going after the grilled meat on their plates with knife and fork.
"So good."
"This is amazing."
"Jessica, your cooking is incredible."
"Heh."
Jessica rubbed her nose proudly at the praise, then rolled up her sleeves.
"Of course it is. I grew up in an inn, remember? This is easy. Leave the rest to me. I’ll grill you the best Holbiviro steaks you’ve ever had."
Brimming with confidence, Jessica launched straight into the second round.
Shulim carefully cut off a small piece of steak and placed it in her mouth.
"Mmm."
A blissful expression immediately spread across her face.
"It’s so good."
"It feels like it’s dancing on my tongue. I feel all floaty."
The delicious food swept away every trace of the blow she had taken earlier. For the first time in a while, Shulim felt completely, perfectly relaxed.
She cut off another piece and slipped it into her mouth, savoring the mix of lingering fire-char and the meat’s tender texture. Her eyes narrowed happily.
"This is incredible. It feels like the whole world is in a good mood."
So overwhelmed was Shulim by how good it tasted that the world around her seemed to change.
Everything looked brighter. More alive. Even the flames in the brazier seemed to leap higher than before, their red light dancing wildly...
Dancing?
Shulim stared at the brazier, then rubbed her eyes hard.
"Ah..."
"I can see them."
At last, Shulim saw the true form of mana particles.