Children Reward the Showers of Love Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

Oz: Vox Nox.

The second he raised his staff, the herd of magic beasts before us let out cries of pain as they evaporated. 

The sunlight poured into the creepy Church ruins, as if returning it to its once saintly atmosphere. 

Oz: Sage, I’ve dealt with the beasts we were tasked with. 

Akira: Thank you, Oz. Now we just wait for the others, I guess.

Thank you too, Sakitty, for protecting me. 

I hugged the Sakitty that was floating in front of me as my shield. 

This was once a village a few hundred years ago, in the borders of Central Country. 

We had received a report that magic beasts were roaming around the village ruins, so we came to deal with them as the Sage’s wizards.

Akira: It sounded like it was going to be a pretty dangerous mission, but they weren’t much of a threat at all. 

Oz: These kinds of pests are nothing. 

Akira: (That’s our Oz…! He did just execute a whole pack of monsters by himself.)

(Then everyone else should be doing okay too. The Northern wizards probably see it as a chore though…)

Murr: Ahaha! Over here’s slick and clean too!

Arthur: Master Sage, Lord Oz. We have cleaned up the beasts in the western ward. 

Shylock: Mitile performed excellently. He was very heroic on his broom luring the beasts with Prince Arthur.

Mitile: Heehee. They were tiny, but even I beat a few! 

Akira: Wonderful work, everyone! Welcome back!

Oz: Arthur, there’s a leaf in your hair.

Arthur: Oh, you’re right. I did ride my broom into a tree, so it’s likely from then. 

Thank you for taking it off for me! 

I couldn’t help but smile seeing Oz remove a leaf from Arthur’s hair like he’d done this many times before. 

Oz is Arthur’s foster parent. 

He may be called a Demon Lord by the public, but it always warms my heart thinking about the countless occasions he doted on Arthur like this. 

Watching over them warmly, the Northern wizards arrived with the annoyed expressions I thought they’d have. 

Bradley: Hey, ya gotta be joking. That was it? 

That was a walk in the park for a mission that was supposed to be crazy dangerous.
Mithra: Exactly. I came expecting a good time only to see a bunch of weaklings. 

Owen: Did you call us out here for pest extermination because you underestimate our strength? 

Akira: I, I’m sorry! The report said that vicious beasts had gathered, so…

Arthur: It’s amazing how you three managed to subdue all those beasts this quickly, and with a larger area than the rest of us too. 

As expected of our Northern wizards. Don’t you think so, Lord Oz? 

Oz: …

That is true.

Bradley: Yeah right, your face doesn’t say so. 

Owen: His face is saying that he alone was enough.

Mithra: I’m mad now. I’m going to kill you.

Oz: Only in your dreams could you turn me into stone. 

Mithra: …

Akira: G-Guys, we’ve already finished the mission, so why don’t we cool our heads…!

Shylock: Now now, we should be grateful that we completed the mission with everyone safe and sound. 

Though it is a shame that Chloe made these new outfits for us, only to wear it for such a short time. 

Murr: I like this fit, so I wanna wear it for longer!

Arthur: How about we leave going home for later and wander around the area for a bit? 

Mitile: I like that idea. Then we should have a picnic!

Akira: Woo, sounds fun! 

Mitile: Right! I actually have this basket of food from Mister Nero since he thought we’d return late. 

Owen: Ooh. Any sweets in that basket? 

Bradley: I know there’s fried chicken in there.

Mithra: I want a meatball.

Mitile: Of course! Mister Nero made everyone’s favourites! 

Mithra, Owen, & Bradley: Yay.

We went on a stroll around the area while searching for a picnic spot. 

The trees of this abandoned village had grown so thick and leafy they were practically its own forest. Here and there we also spotted relics of the past.  

While everyone strolled off where they wanted, before me Arthur stopped in his tracks. 

Akira: Arthur?

Arthur: This tree…

What Arthur’s eyes were fixed on was an ancient tree. 

There was a hole by its base that a small child could fit inside.

Shylock: Is that a tree hollow?

Arthur: Yeah. When Lord Oz picked me up it was also under a tree like this one. 

He found me curled up in the hollow of that tree during a snowstorm. 

Eyelids slightly closed on those blue eyes that looked to be reminiscing cherished memories. 

The place where Arthur was picked up by Oz, was also the place that he was abandoned. 

That he can speak of it like a precious treasure to him is a measure as to how meaningful that meeting was to him. 

Shylock: …My.

Akira: Shylock?

Shylock: I can sense faint magic from within this tree hollow. It does not feel malevolent however…

Arthur: …You’re right. Let’s look. Please stand back just in case, Master Sage.

Akira: A-Alright. I understand.

I took some distance from the hollow, holding Sakitty in my arms. Mithra and Oz also appeared to have noticed, approaching the hollow from other directions. 

Mithra: Something fun in there?

Oz: This presence is…

They leaned their bodies towards the inside of the hollow after Shylock and Arthur. 

And then–

???: Kyahaha.

Akira: (Huh, a kid?)

I was startled by the sound of a child’s voice coming from the tree hollow.

Arthur promptly reached his hand inside the hollow. What appeared was…

Oz: Of course, a Siofra…

Akira: Siofra?

What Arthur scooped out from the hollow was a strange being the size of a three or four year old with long hair. 

At a first glance they resembled a human child, but their unusual skin colour and hair told me they were of a different species. 

Nestled in Arthur’s arms, they looked like both a spoiled child and a feeble one. 

Arthur: Are you okay? You seem very weak.

Why were you all alone…where did your friends go?

Oz: …

Mithra: I don’t really care, but this one stopped moving after it laughed. Is it dead? 

Akira: Eh!?
Shylock: No, they still breathe. Shall we take this child and move to a wider space?

Calling everyone else around us, we made our way back to the church ruins. 

The being that Arthur had carried was laid on a stone bench that was still standing. 

Arthur: Pernoctant Nixzo! 

This is sugar. You’ll feel better if you eat it.

Mitile: I have my water bottle. Here, have some. 

Arthur and Mitile tried to get them to eat the sugar and drink the water. 

Except all the siofra did was silently stare, like they didn’t know what the two were doing. 

Oz: This one still does not understand that sugar and water are to be consumed. 

You should show them that by ingesting it first. 

At Oz’s suggestion, the two young wizards ate the sugar and sipped water. Once they confirmed that the siofra saw them, they brought out the sugar and water again. 

After a pause, the siofra copied their actions and took them both. When they did, I could see their expression brighten up.

Arthur: Want some more? Pernoctant Nixzo! 

Their tiny mouth gobbled up the sugar that flowed towards their mouth. 

Akira: (Good. They look okay now…)

Bradley: Wow, you picked up somethin’ interesting.

Owen: They sure did. I’m surprised this thing eats sugar. 

Akira: (Do they know something about the siofra?)

(Anyways, it’s not just their appearance. Their movements are like that of a human child. It’s sorta uncanny…)

Big eyes as innocent as a baby looked up at us. They were so adorable I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

The siofra had grey skin, covered by clothes made from leaves, and long hair like the branches of trees.

Mitile: This kid…looks like they were born from a tree.

They’re not human, right? Does anyone know what they are?

Murr: A siofra! There used to be a lot in this region, but you’ll rarely find them these days. They’re a strange fairy species. 

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