CH 7

In Atsuka village, very few people use umbrellas.

In the town of Ibouro, some people use umbrellas, but in the village, only the village chief does.

Umbrellas are still expensive items.

On rainy days, villagers either wear a stiff, sap-waterproofed raincoat or a tightly woven straw hat.

That might be fine for their heads and bodies, but not for their feet.

The town of Ibouro was paved with earth magic, but most of the roads in Atsuka village were unpaved, so if the rainfall increased, they would become wet and muddy.

We catkins basically don’t wear shoes.

Wooden shoes, leather shoes, and sandals are sold, but our bare feet perform better.

It’s like… don’t look down on our paws and claws.

Since I don’t wear shoes, I don’t want to go out on rainy days when the roads are muddy.

I don’t wear shoes and my body is a normal cat, so I don’t want my fur to get wet.

That’s why I don’t work on rainy days.

I put a little of the money I earn from collecting medicinal herbs and catching Forest Mouse into the house, so I think it’s fine to laze around on rainy days, but my parents told me to go to school.

They never say a word about that when I’m working. Adults are unfair in any world.

“Soo… [Umbrella]. And [Step] too.” (Nyango)

If I don’t have an umbrella, why don’t I make one? If the path is bad, why don’t I just make [Step] over it?

Using the magic of void attribute, I create a domed roof and a foothold with [Step] to avoid stepping on the muddy ground.

Unlike an actual umbrella, I don’t have to hold a handle, and the visibility is much better than a vinyl umbrella.

[Step] has been modified to make the formerly slippery surface rougher and less slippery.

Although it doesn’t prevent my fur from getting damp from the humidity, I’m not afraid of rain or mud.

As long as my mana doesn’t run out, I’ll do it as training.

“Eeeee… Nyango, what’s happening?” (Ines)

“Hey, Ines. No, don’t hit me… oh dear.” (Nyango)

“I’m sorry…” (Ines)

Similar to my age, the sheepkin Ines, whom I met on the way to school, rushed at me and shattered my Umbrella without a second thought.

Things made with the void attribute have strong resistance against magic attacks, but they are still weak against physical force.

Thanks to that, even though I’m a black cat, I’ve become a wet mouse.

“[Umbrella].” (Nyango)

“Is that this magic’s chant?” (Ines)

“Well, something like that.” (Nyango)

This time, I made a slightly larger dome so that Inez could share it with me.

The position I made the [Step] was also higher, and I walked shoulder to shoulder with Ines.

“I’m still practicing, so don’t hit it.” (Nyango)

“Yeah, okay. But I like it. …This way we won’t get wet in the rain.” (Ines)

Currently, the magic [Umbrella] is that it is more like a glass umbrella than a vinyl umbrella.

So far, I have only been thinking about making it stronger and harder, but it would be better to make it flexible and stretchable depending on the situation.

I have taught myself to void magic so far, but basically, if I have a clear image, it often works well.

When expanding the area of effect, I imagined it like expanding a picnic blanket, and when increasing the strength, I imagined it like compressing air that has once been solidified.

In this case, I feel that if I can clearly imagine the elasticity of vinyl or rubber, it will work well.

In addition, even if I compress it to increase its strength, if I imagine adding flexibility, the fragility of the [Knife] may be eliminated.

“I’m sorry I broke your magic umbrella earlier.” (Ines)

“No, thanks to Ines breaking it, I came up with a new idea, so don’t worry about it.” (Nyango)

“I’m glad. I’m sorry I broke the magic umbrella earlier. I heard that if you have the void attribute, people are usually disappointed and don’t try to make anything with it.” (Ines)

“Maybe so, but it’s fun to try things.” (Nyango)

“I see, maybe I should practice water attribute magic too…” (Ines)

Except for a few people who aspire to become knights or adventurers and those involved in construction work, there are fewer people practicing attribute magic these days.

The reason is that magic tools are becoming more developed and widespread.

Fire, Water, and Wind magic can also be invoked by engraving magic on a magic circle.

Fire magic tools such as the lighter obtained from blowgun stalls, water supply equipment, and fans are becoming more affordable.

Attribute magic will not activate properly without a clear image, and it will not activate consistently without practice.

For example, when Miguel uses fire magic, the fireball of about fifty centimeters in diameter that he activated at the “Nest Leaving Ceremony” is being activated by brute force.

A fireball with a diameter of 50 cm is too large to be used as a fire starter, although it can easily be activated by brute force.

It takes practice to focus the magic power to the right size and use it consistently, and if you fail, the fire may be too powerful, a strong gust of wind may blow in, or the surroundings may be flooded with water.

On the other hand, a magic tool is activated with stable output just by pouring in magic power.

Even if you try to pour in excessive magic power, there is a limit to the amount of magic power that can be poured in due to its structure, and situations where the output is too large and troublesome things in magic basically do not occur.

Magic tools are easier to use, and above all, it’s convenient because you can use magic other than the attributes you originally have.

The school in Atsuka village is located next to the village chief’s house.

There are at most six students per grade, some grades have only one student, and the total number of students in the school is 21, but only a few students come to the school every day.

The school is more like a temple school than a formal school, with no separate classrooms for each grade, and the attendance varies so widely that there is too much of a gap in academic ability.

There are three teachers, and the students are divided into three groups: the capable, the ordinary, and the troublemaker, and naturally, I am in the troublemaker group.

Of the children born in Atsuka village, most of the eldest sons and daughters are raised in the village and spend their entire lives there.

It is not unusual for some of them to leave the village only once, during the “Nest Leaving Ceremony”.

So, such people do not feel the need to study much.

In contrast, there is a group of people who study diligently.

The second and third sons of farmers are eventually forced to leave home to find jobs.

Even if they leave home, there have limited work opportunities in the village, and they need to be educated to be able to go to town and find work.

I am the third son of a farmer, so I need to leave home eventually, but to be frank, classes are boring.

I learned to read and write from my grandma Carisa, the apothecary, and I have memories of my previous life about mathematics.

I am interested in the general information, but the information is newer from peddlers than from the classes, and I have zero interest in the history of the royal family.

I’d rather hone my magic skills than my academic skills, and I’d like to work as an adventurer as soon as possible.

I would gladly listen to a class on magic if there was one, but it seems that knowledge of magic is only taught at a higher school for learning or at the Magic Academy in the Royal Capital.

In other words, I’m eager to go home as soon as I get to school.

Since it can’t be helped, I decided to pretend to listen to class and practice magic instead.

The challenge is adding flexibility, which came to mind this morning.

I solidify the air into a plank shaped like a ruler, about fifteen centimeters long.

The way I had been doing it so far, I compressed it as hard as I could to make it stronger, and when I applied force to it by holding both ends, it snapped and fizzled out.

This time, I tried to solidify the air into a plate of the same shape, as if it were a rubber board.

When I held both ends and applied force, it bent but did not break, but the resisting force was so weak that it remained bent.

It looked more like a flat rubber sheet than a thick rubber board.

When I tried it, I held both ends and pulled it, and it stretched out taut and did not break.

It became far more fun than taking class, and I immersed myself in making materials with different flexibility and resilience.

As a result, I was able to make materials like resin board (hard), resin board (soft), rubber board (hard), rubber board (soft), vinyl sheet, and rubber string.

If I use these materials, I think I can make a strong blade or protective armor.

From now on, I will review the materials every time I use magic.

The school day ends in the morning.

As I was thinking of going home while practicing magic again, I saw Miguel and Dalles discussing something in a whisper at the entrance.

As I watched to see what they were up to, one of the students got his foot caught in Dalles’ and was knocked to the ground in the mud.

The student, covered in mud up to his face, not to mention his raincoat, was a black-and-white catkin, my second brother Fawkes.

As he tried to get up with his hands in the mud, Miguel stomped on his back and plunged his face back into the mud.

“Hmph, don’t crawl in there, get out of my way!” (Miguel)

Miguel kicked my older brother who had a frustrated expression on his face.

Something snapped in my head as I saw my brother roll in the mud.

The solidified air is three centimeters wide, thirty centimeters long, three millimeters thick, and made of rubber string.

I set one end in front of Miguel’s nose, who was looking down at my brother, and pulled the other end.

Sixty centimeters, ninety centimeters, one hundred and fifty centimeters, two hundred fifty centimeters… Fire!

“Ugyaaaaaa!” (Miguel)

Smack! Miguel fell over with a tremendous thud.

It was probably not my imagination that his nose seemed to have turned bright red.

I immediately hit Dalles in the nose as well.

“Ouch!” (Dalles)

Seeing the two of them covered in mud and writhing in pain, my brother’s eyes widened and looked at me in surprise.

With my palms up, I gestured to tell him I didn’t know, but he didn’t seem to believe me.

My brother, who is usually so fussy about everything, grinned at me.