Chapter 16: It’s Super Effective

“You know, when Ro-chan was telling the potatoes to come out, this really big bird came zooming down and went ‘gaaah!’”

“According to what I heard, the bird-type magical beast appeared at the church just as the sisters and children were digging up sweet potatoes in the field.”

“H-hiiiee…”

“The sister said, ‘Everyone, hurry inside,’ and Ro-chan was running, but then he fell down.”

“She was carrying even younger children in both arms, and she regretted that she couldn’t reach Lowell in time.”

“Awaaa…”

“And then the bird grabbed Ro-chan’s hand like, gsh!”

“The beast probably tried to seize the fallen Lowell with its feet, and its sharp talons scraped the back of his hand.”

“Nngyaaah!
R-R-Ro-chan!”

The day after the magical beast attacked the town of Diudo.
At the temporarily closed Lycoris Tavern.

Sitting on my lap, Lowell excitedly tells me about what happened yesterday.

Barrow’s young lord, who came to visit Lowell, fills in the gaps in Lowell’s explanation, but just listening to the two of them makes my lifespan feel like it’s being shaved away.
Dan and Hanna, listening nearby, are also growing paler by the minute.

“So Ro-chan told the bird to go away, and then the bird went thump and fell asleep.”

“Th-thump…?”

“And Ro-chan got sleepy too, so I went to sleep, and then when I opened my eyes, Mama was there!”

Lowell breaks into a huge smile.

“I-I’m so glad you opened your eyes, I really am!”

I can’t help but pull Lowell into a tight hug on my lap.

Lowell happily hugs me back, saying, “Ro-chan hugs Mama too!”

Ahh, seriously, he’s so cute.
So soft.
So warm.

When I rub my cheek against the top of Lowell’s head, that unbearably cute scent is there again today.

I might have lost this warmth forever.
Just imagining it makes my whole body tremble.

After that incident, Jake the adventurer escorted us, and I carried the newly awakened Lowell back to the Lycoris Tavern.

There wasn’t a single trace of injury from the magical beast, and his right arm, which had been blackened by poison, was completely back to normal.
Lowell’s mood was the same as ever.

Even so, I couldn’t shake my anxiety, so I kept a careful watch over him through the night.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and only then was I finally able to accept that the wounds and poison were truly gone and let out a sigh of relief.

Although his body had recovered, he had gone through something terrifying, so I worried about his mental state.
Fortunately, Lowell seems to have no memory of the pain from the poison.

He’s completely fine.
If anything, he’s even more energetic than usual, excitedly talking about the “big bird.”

Because of that, even though he normally hides behind me the moment the young lord appears, today he’s chatting cheerfully right in front of him.

That’s why, with the young lord adding explanations, we’re going over what happened again, but there was something in the story that didn’t quite add up.

“Um… when Lowell told the bird to go away and it fell asleep, that part is…?”

I look to the young lord for clarification.

“About that…
Lowell has magical power, right?
Ice attribute?”

“Ah, yes.
That seems to be the case, but…?”

“I thought so.”

The young lord nods, looking satisfied.

“This is something I heard from the sister who was there, but right after the beast attacked Lowell, a localized blizzard-like phenomenon occurred, centered on Lowell.”

“A b-blizzard…!?”

“The moment that blizzard enveloped the beast, it fell to the ground and stopped moving.
When our defense force arrived, the bird-type magical beast looked as if it were simply sleeping.”

“Like it got so cold it went into hibernation or something…?”

“That’s probably close enough.
There were no other ice magic users at the scene, so I think it’s safe to say Lowell used ice magic.”

“Eeh…?”

I knit my brows in confusion.

Given the circumstances, that conclusion makes sense, but it’s still hard to believe.

I’m no expert on ice magic, but generating a blizzard strong enough to immobilize a large magical beast should be an advanced spell.

For an untrained two-year-old to use something like that on instinct…

“Hey, Ro-chan, did you use ice magic on the bird?”

When I ask, Lowell tilts his head.

“Hm?
Dunno.
Ro-chan just said go away.”

“…Being unconscious of it makes this all the more terrifying.”

The young lord mutters.

“Our defense force only delivered the finishing blow to an immobile beast.
In effect, Lowell was the one who defeated it.”

“Eh, that’s amazing…!”

I recall the grotesque, ominous body of the beast, which inspired fear even after it had been slain.

To render that thing combat-ineffective in a single blow…
Isn’t my kid seriously a genius!?

“Thank you, Lowell.
You saved us.”

The young lord smiles gently and pats Lowell’s head.

Lowell blinks a few times, then seems to realize he’s being praised.
“Yoo welcom!” he says with a big grin, bouncing happily on my lap.

“And learning the weakness of bird-type magical beasts was a big gain too.
Up until now, we’d been building our attacks around fire magic, but to think ice magic would be this effective.”

“Super effective.”

I see.
Flying types are super weak to ice magic, huh.

“Lightning magic and rock magic are probably super effective too.”

“…What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing.
Just a hunch.”

Yes, just a hunch.
Purely a hunch.

The young lord looked suspicious, but I smiled brightly and brushed it off.

“Still, I thought Lowell would definitely be fire-aligned like you, Logy.”

“Ah… actually, it seems he has fire as well…”

“Hah!?”

The young lord’s voice cracks, and his pale blue eyes go wide.

He’s usually wearing that suave, theatrical smile, but today his expressions are unusually varied.
Maybe this is what he’s really like.

“So that means two attributes…”

“Yeah.
And his magical power seems really strong too, so I was thinking it might be better for him to get proper instruction.
Young lord, do you happen to know a good teacher?”

“A teacher, huh…
I’d like to say a private tutor at age two is too early, but you’re right, it might be better for Lowell to learn magical control as soon as possible.
Alright, I’ll ask around.”

“Thank you so much!
I really appreciate it!”

Alright.
That’s a load off my mind.
If it’s the young lord, I’m sure he’ll find a good teacher.

“Still, two attributes…
That’s incredible…”

The young lord murmurs thoughtfully and looks closely at Lowell again.

“Ro-chan matches Mama and Papa!”

Lowell says happily.
For a split second, I feel like the young lord’s eyes glinted.

“Oh?
So Lowell’s ice attribute comes from his father.”

Guh.
This is heading in a bad direction.

“You said it was a relationship across social classes, so I figured he was a noble, but an ice-attribute noble, huh.
I wonder who that could be…”

“No comment.”

“Ro-chan’s Papa is strong and cool!”

Nooo, Ro-chan…!

“Hoho.
A strong, cool, ice-attribute noble, huh…”

“I said no comment!”

I cross my index fingers in front of my lips.
No more information will leak!

The young lord keeps studying me with a probing look, but eventually shrugs.

“Well, I’ll let it rest for today.
There’s something even more interesting on my mind right now.”

I relax for a split second, but then the young lord fixes me with an even sharper gaze.

“Logy…
Just who are you, really?”