Chapter 2
A Genius
We walked together hands holding one another. Her skin was smooth without any blemishes, and I could feel the warmth of her slender fingers wrapping around mine. Our steps were slow yet steady, leisurely taking our time navigating through the mansion that you might as well as call a castle. Somehow I wished this moment would last forever, but I knew that no matter how much I hope for it anything that exist in this world will have to end, sooner or later. That was a lesson I learned during my past life.
"We have arrived."
I never took it well, that pesky lesson. Or to be exact I never took the experience well. Maybe it was because of my self-centered way of thought, or maybe it was my self-serving action. Anything will have to end someday, but that doesn't mean I won't try my damnedest to prolong it for as long as I can.
But for now, my hand separated from her own.
I heard a small creaking that was staple of wooden doors, and raised my eyes to see Sonya opening the said door for me. No matter what I feel about her, she is in the end a servant of the Sitri while I'm the heir of said clan. I entered the door while trying to hide my emotions.
Someday.
It has been a while since I last saw my father. We never held a good relationship since the moment I was born. It's not like he was cold to me, if anything it was the exact opposite. He paid so much attention to me and Sona that he has to sacrifice sleep and work at night loads of time just because he wished to spend time with the two of us.
What I'm saying is it's not him, it's me.
...Huh, never thought I'd say that line out of context, or even in context. As a reclusive person I never even thought of dating anybody, forget about breaking up.
"Ah, so you're here." The voice was kind and pleasant to the ears. My eyes swerved to locate the origin of the sound. It was a man who seems to be in his late thirties or maybe early forties, with spiky green hair and cozy brown eyes. He is my father, and the current head of the Sitri clan. Sometimes I still can't believe some people I've met have already lived their life for centuries.
He sat on a luxurious looking chair which was probably worth a fortune. Serafall was beside him, sitting on a sofa that I know must've had a tag price just as exorbitant. In fact I think it would be much faster if I were to mention all the things that aren't precious rather than those that are. To be fair, that statement would also apply to most other clans that still exist right now. We're devil, showing off our wealth and power to one another is just one of our quirk.
"Hyaaa~ It's been a while, Fari-kun~~"
No it wasn't. The last time she visited me was last night. Hell, it wasn't even been twenty four hours yet since then, but if she wants to think like so then so be it. I had long since considered Serafall Leviathan as a [Crazy: Do not touch] label with legs within my brain. Oh yeah, I better answer her greetings before she gets moody and shake me like a soda can. Because yes, I am sure she would be delighted to shake one, if just for the lolz. Strangely enough I have no difficulty bonding with her. I suppose it is because she lives her life the same way I does, the YOLO style.
"It has been a while, Otou-sama, Aneue." I bowed slightly to show my respect. "May I know the reason you called me for?"
Quiet, lazy and antisocial. That was me described in three words. Making conversation is an act that goes against all three part of my holy trinity. Or is it unholy trinity? You know, because I'm a devil and all that jazz. Either way, it got my father to show a tiny frown. Sorry, but I have a strict amount of words per day diet so I can't partake in idle chatters or anything like that. I hate beating around the bushes anyway so let's just get to the important part quickly yeah?
"Sonya, sorry to trouble you, but please bring a cup of water here." Damn it, he's ignoring me. Or maybe the reason is so important he can't even tell his peerage member about it. I would rather not get my hands involved into troublesome stuff though. Maybe I can fake childishness as a [get out of jail free] card from whatever father intends to drag me into.
"As for you, my son… I heard that you can use magic already?"
I nodded to say yes instead of speaking, as it is important to have a stable diet. I wasn't surprised that he knew such informations. I expected Sonya to have told him as much. Sonya watches over me all the time so I didn't even bother trying to hide it from her. They are my family, so I didn't intend to hide much from them, except for the fact that I was reincarnated, and even that I intend to reveal to them someday, if a fitting chance ever come.
In my past life my family was fractured for all kinds of reason, and that ended up changing my life for good, so I don't intend to keep secrets from my family in this second chance of mine. Then again I suppose it is too late to say such words at this point.
A strange tension came throughout the room as all three of us went quiet. The large room felt more substantial with all three of us acting like gnomes.
"Can I leave n-" I flinched as I felt a pair of arms wrapping around me, interrupting my words. It was Serafall, hugging me from the back. This wasn't an unfamiliar sensation to me. I had long since lost count of how many times she glomped over me like so.
"Your legs are shaking." She whispered to me. I looked down to see exactly what she said. I was shaking in nervousness.
...Calm down Farith. Deep breath. Deep breath.
In
Out
In
Out
Okay, okay. Everything's fine, there's nothing to worry about, it's not like anyone died or anythi-
It wasn't. It was my fault, it was my fault, itwasmyfaultitwasmyfaultitwasmyfa-
I felt the hands hugging me shaking.
No.
No.
You can't let her cry.
"...It's fine, I'm okay now." I barely managed to grit those words out of my teeth. Slowly, Serafall loosened her hand, until I was completely free from her hug. My body stopped shaking. It was as if the nightmare never happened in the first place. I wonder how many time have this happened by now? I never bothered to count after the first ten times.
"Sir, your water." Before I realized it Sonya was already back within the room. She placed the cup of water on the table, before moving back a few steps and stood still.
"So, yeah, I can use magic." I'm not sure whether I managed to say that in my casual voice. Considering the fact that they are quiet they either didn't notice or didn't want to bring it up right now. "I can manipulate water. Right now that's the only thing I've learned."
I would have loved to learn other type of magic, but with how long it took me to learn the most basic of a magic that I have affinity with, I fear it would take me decades before I learn anything useful from other magic skill tree. Therefore I decided to just go with what works for me, which I'm betting are also things that worked for all my ancestors.
From my research throughout our family tree I figured out some information about all the people within the Sitri clan up to three generations ago. From there I tracked their abilities and saw that most of the strong devils in our clan were the one that overspecialized in water element magic. Therefore I decided to ignore any other magic and concentrated working on only water magic.
"...Why don't you try it out."
Roger that, Sire.
I've already read through few dozens of books about magic, so I gained enough confidence on how to manipulate water by now. Being a baby is really lovely, I can remember books I've read just about instantly.
"Then Aneue, Could you make five layer of walls out of your ice? Just stack them together like pancakes, but sideways. Please make each one of them about as strong and thick as a tree trunk." Five tree, that was the limit I came up for myself.
"Sure~"
In a fraction of a second, five walls stacked sideways appeared within the room... I really need to up my games. In the first place, the only reason I went out of my way and trained my magic was to protect everyone from the perils to come, and how am I supposed to do that if I am weaker than those I want to protect.
Ah well, for now I need to prove myself and surpass my father's expectation. There's no good in holding back now, so I need to go full throttle right off the bat. Here I go!
First off, from Ajuka's [Elemental Magic]; Condensation: Draw out water from the surrounding air and add amplification factor.
Secondly, from great grandpa Edward's [Power of Water]; Compression: Compress the water into a small, sharp and aerodynamic form.
After that was great grandpa Evan's [Offensive Water Magic]; Rotation: Add spinning factor.
Finally, grandma Azelia's [Echoes of Water]; Multiplication: Add echoing factor.
The final result; Half a dozen water bullets ready within 3 second.
The thing about these water bullets I made, I compressed a large amount of water to a smaller volume. Therefore the water is currently trying to break out, and if I let go of my control then they'll instantly explode out in all direction.
That is actually also a project I'm currently doing by the way, making hand grenade grenades through compressing water to the utmost limit. The result were rather lackluster though. Maybe it'll turn out better after I learn a bit about ice magic to make a shell to cover it.
Well, I got a bit distracted, but here's the thing about these bullets. Do you all still remember Newton's third law? For every action there has to be an equal and opposite reaction. So if I let go of my control only around the butt of the bullet, what do you think would happen?
The back of the bullet would explode, and the bullet would accelerate forward with a strong momentum. Combined with the spinning factor it should be more than good enough to-
"..."
"..."
"..."
...It didn't even pierce through the end of the second layer.
Shit, am I really that weak?!
"Oh~~~ Nice try!" Said Serafall. Shut up sis, don't look at me with that [I am extremely amused] kind of look!
"Well, that was good enough. Sonya, please lead my son back to his room." Oi, old man, I can see you shaking! Don't even try to hide it!
Following father's order, she took my hand and- Hey, the hell is that shaky grin!? Don't look like you can't decide whether make a deadpan or grinning expression!
Like thus, I was brought back to my room.
Shit, just you wait, my magic will be able to pierce through 10 trees by next year!
Side B
Today was a good day. I finished all my paperworks early and had enough time to play with lovely little Sona. Very cheerful, that tiny devil. I can't have her sleeping too late into the night though so I wasn't able to spend as much time with her as I wished to.
As for her fraternal twins... He is still trying to avoid me. I intend to let it be and have him accept himself for now, though I got Sonya to be his personal maid since few months ago. I got one of the servants to take care of Sona separately since Sonya will have to put her entire attention to little Farith.
Right, now that I think about it, I received a message from Sonya saying my son can already use Sitri's bloodline magic.
...To be honest, it's an unbelievable claim. As a person who had trained in using said trait, I know what kind of effort is needed to utilize it from personal experience. But even so I won't dismiss what Sonya said simply because of my disbelief, I trust her just as much as I trust myself. Therefore I had told Sonya to get Farith to come here. Being able to use one's bloodline trait is a great milestone for a devil.
I heard the creaking of the door opening. I suppose it's about time we add oil to the doors again. The person who came was Serafall Leviathan, one of the new satans and my dearest first daughter. I wonder why she's here.
"Ehehe, you're going to call Fari-tan here right? I wanna see his magic too!" ...Ah, so she knew. She always seems so simple and cheerful, sometimes I forgot she was a Satan for a reason. Or maybe I just can't take her seriously because I know her since she was a baby. How I miss those days when her eyes would turn into stars whenever I gave her a lollipop.
I merely nodded to say that I understood her words, and we both took a seat and relaxed. I wonder if Sonya can bring Farith here. She is the only one he would truly listen to among the whole clan. If she cannot bring him here then we would be stuck in a rather troublesome dilemma. As he is still a child I do not want to force him to do anything he don't want too as it might give him a trauma.
After being worried for a while, I managed to hear two pair of footsteps, one light akin to that of a child while the other one was quiet like one of a professional assassin.
Thank the satans Sonya was able to do it. I once again heard the sound of the door creaking, opening up to reveal the sight of Farith and Sonya.
"Ah, so you're here." I spoke in the nicest way I could without sounding endearing. He seems to hate it when others treat him like they would a child. He took a look around the room. His expression afterwards told me enough of what he thinks about it.
"Hyaaa~ It's been a while, Fari-kun~~" Said my first daughter. She really loves the twins a lot.
"It has been a while, Otou-sama, Aneue." He bowed slightly. He was always very polite whenever he needs to be. I just hope he'd be a little more childish. It's like I'm seeing a kid drinking coffee when he act like this. I let out a frown. I just want him to live his life the way it should be lived; full of enjoyable moments. "May I know the reason you called me for?"
"...Sonya, sorry to trouble you, but please bring a cup of water here." We would need it to test whether he can really manipulate water already. And I want to see what kind of reaction doing this would get out of my dear son. "As for you, my son... I heard you can use magic already?"
...It's no good, he started shaking the moment Sonya left the room. I was still in the process of deciding what should I do, but my first daughter beat me to the punch. She hugged Farith tightly from the back, whispering some words into his ear. What should I do? Did I rush things too fast?
...
"...It's fine, I'm okay now." I barely managed to hear his words over the sound of him continuously grinding his teeth. Slowly, Serafall looked at me, as if asking whether she should let him go. I nodded, and Serafall hesitantly pulled her hands back.
Farith has finally stopped shaking. If one were to see this from the wrong perspective they would conclude Serafall has calmed him down, but those in the known would only sigh in distress. The moment he stopped shaking was the exact moment Sonya came back to the room.
"Sir, your water." She leaned forward to place the cup of water on the table, before moving back a few steps and stood still.
My reason for ordering Sonya to do that was twofold. One was just as I've said, to bring some water here as to be used for checking whether Farith can manipulate water or not. The second was to test whether Farith could cope without Sonya or not. It seems that he is still unable to accept it yet.
"So, yeah, I can use magic. I can manipulate water. Right now that's the only thing I've learned." His voice was shaky. I could see he was pushing himself, in fact I am sure that everyone here could see it. He was still affected by his panic attack. Yet none of us opened our mouth, letting it pass by without a notice.
He spoke as if it was nothing special, but I know how grand of a feat it was to utilize the Sitri clan's power at such a young age. If he was truly able to do so, then he would be a genius. He might not become comparable to the likes of Serafall as she was forged through the cruelty of war, but a genius than can shook the underworld regardless.
"...Why don't you try it." I gestured towards the cup of water.
"Then Aneue, Could you make 5 layer of walls out of your ice? Just stack them together like pancakes, but sideways. Please make each one of them about as strong and thick as a tree trunk." ...I cannot see what he is intending to do. Is he misunderstanding something?
"Sure~" And this first daughter of mine did so without any ounce of hesitation. She really pamper them too much. Though it was to be expected, considering her loss... Ah, this is not good, I shan't dwell too much on the past. The present is what important.
Before I was able to say anything more to Farith, he used a spell I was familiar with. Condensation. I couldn't believe my eyes, he was drawing water from the air. It was truly condensation, a technique one would usually learn only after becoming middle-class devil. And what he did next almost shocked me to death.
Compression, Rotation and Multiplication. High level techniques, all combined to create splendid water bullets. He launched the attack towards the walls if ice. There was no way those ice walls merely as strong as a tree bark would hold on against such attacks.
Then I saw the attack piercing through one of the wall before disappearing
...How did it not pierce through the rest?
"Oh~~~ Nice try!" Oh, I see. Serafall must've done something with the ice. Well, that was a surprisingly sneaky act my daughter did right there. As I knnow that was enough of a display, I told Sonya to get Farith back to his own room as I know he still needs her.
"So?"
"...So?"
"How strong was the ice?" My children can't ever seem to stop surprising me. No matter how I look at it them, those ice walls didn't have much magical energy on them. To think she could hide their strength like that.
She smiled. "The outside was only as strong as a tree just like what he wanted, but I made the core of the ice to be as strong as cast iron, Tehepero!" She knocked her head with a fist in a lovely manner. I don't get it. Is it one of those Japanese culture thing like anime, or am I just too old to understand kids these days? Ah well, she can do whatever she wants, she's always cute to me no matter how she acts. "I did that so he won't get overconfident, but to think he managed to pierce through it anyway... He's a genius."
Cast iron. Farith can create an attack that can cut through a cast iron, within three seconds, at the young age of six.
What a terrifying talent.
Now if only he didn't fault himself for something that was out of his control.
AN: Welp, that's the second chapter done. Shees, why the hell am I doing this late at night. I'm supposed to go to go on a test marathon for the next two weeks, So I wanted get this one out before everyone's interest dies out. As of the time I'm submitting this chapter the story already have 4 reviews, 21 favorites, 33 followers and 506 views. You don't know how delighted I am by those act of yours.
I don't have time to edit this though(once again, have to go through friggin test marathon), so sorry if there's a lot of mistake.
Edit: To hell with studying, it's giving me headaches. I'd rather start writing the third chapter already.