Steel and Mana

Chapter 15 – Merlin

Arriving at the mines, I was already fired up, wanting to meet my, I mean, our second witch! I was curious as to whether her skills would be different than Sasha's or if she had more affinity towards spells! Who knows! When we arrived, the people there already surrounded a very nervous and trembling kid who barely reached up to my waist. Damn… he was short… and young…

"There she is!" Sasha said with excitement, explaining everything again, but I wasn't listening.

My eyes were scanning the kid's features. The long, black hair that was gleaming unnaturally. The intelligent, dark-brown eyes and the almost perfect, doll-like body. Yet there was a problem. My senses were not tingling. Not like when I first looked at Sasha… this one was not a witch. But a warlock!

"Hey, Sasha… Why did you say there was a witch here?"

"Because…" She stopped in her steps, looking at me, getting confused, and now multiple heads were turning back and forth between me and the evidently little boy before me. 

"Have you asked his name?" 

"Mernin!" She replied at once.

"Merlin…" The small boy murmured, correcting her and making me almost choke on my saliva.

"That is what I said!" Sasha protested, not finding the errors in her words.

What… the… fuck? Is he like me? Or… is this some kind of cosmic coincidence? Is it the joke of a laughing god or something? What the hell was going on?! I had to test it, so I spat out something that he would have surely heard about if he was from the same place as me.

"KFC."

"..."

"..."

"What is that?" Sasha questioned me, just as lost as everybody else, but I only waved my hand. I already got my answer… which was nothing. I was looking at him without blinking, and he wasn't faking it. He was from this world, so the name he was blessed with had to be something… local. Heh… Maybe transmigration works both ways? Who knows!

"Forget it!" I clapped, smiling, "Merlin is a boy's name, my little dummy!" I knocked on the head of Sasha, who started pouting and discontent with how I spoke to her before everyone at the scene.

"I am a boy…" Merlin nodded, reinforcing my conjecture, and to show proof, he simply pulled down his trousers.

"STOP IT?! NOW!" Sasha cried, rushing forth, pulling it up on him, scaring the kid.

"Haaah…" 

While everyone laughed, I rubbed my forehead because this was NOT what I expected. Don't get me wrong… I am glad that there is a second witch, I mean, wizard… warlock, whatever, in my group, but… I don't want to raise a kid, not yet!

"Where are your parents?" I asked before doing anything else, and the boy looked around as if he was searching for them.

"I don't see mom and dad. We came together, but they are not here."

"They are probably at the other construction!" Sasha interjected at once.

"I hope so." I added, glancing at Sasha, "Okay, okay! We will get to the bottom of this, but first, Merlin, can you walk to the magic circle?"

"Yes."

He was surprisingly obedient and didn't look afraid at all. He was either a chill little guy or simply didn't comprehend anything yet. My guess was the latter option. Watching, I couldn't help but smile as the moment he got close, the formations came to life without him doing anything. Didn't have to concentrate or think about it… it just happened. This, in turn, told me he had more tremendous potential than Sasha... or controlling its output had to be learned by anyone magical and wasn't something innate! They presumably can't handle it at first, which is how they get discovered! I think she also thought about Merlin being stronger than her as she began to shuffle around with a bit more nervous look, playing with her hair.

"Okay!" I walked forward, bringing the kid away, "Let's go and find your parents!" I smiled at him, gently stroking his head, and he was quickly at ease, smiling back at me, holding my hand while I instructed everybody to get back to work.

…

….

……

It took me a day to finally find his parents as they were at the construction of my city. They were clearly worried themselves sick when they were separated when we split the group, but they were too afraid to go and find their kid or ask for help… They never even dared to look me in the eye when I appeared with their son. When I told them he was magical, the mother fainted, which was… unexpected. But I can understand it as usually, that meant the kid would be brought away, never to be seen again. Well, not anymore!

I spend hours to calm them down, tell them things are changing and that I won't take him away… but he will be under my supervision! I had to put it into terms that they would understand easily and not think it would be me who would take him away in place of the church or something. So… I made him my first squire. A knight in training, to be more precise. Hearing that, their panic and fear turned into ecstatic happiness while Merlin tried to make sense of everything happening around him, turning his little head back and forth.

In the meanwhile, Oleg also arrived, bringing me the information about the parents, and I learned that the mother was, well, a mother. The father was registered as a leather worker, but he has been out of work for a long time, and they were in a horrible condition as a family. No wonder they applied… Going by the fact my workers received a place to live and food was already better than their current situation. After nobody wanted to look after little Merlin, they brought him along just to get separated right at the start. Lucky? Yeah, I think I am! Very much so!

"Okay… here is the deal!" I sat down with the family once I made my plans, "You three will now stay in a permanent location near the mine! I need little Merlin there so he can operate the magic formations during the day and study at night! That frees my Sasha up, and she can help here, at the city's construction, without being forced to go back and forth!"

"Study?" They asked, seemingly lost.

"Sasha will visit every night and teach you, and I mean you, the parents, and Merlin, how to read!"

"I will?!" Sasha flinched, sitting next to me. Until now, she was lost in her thoughts, and I bet she was extremely nervous as her face was way too gloomy. Was she fearing I would replace her as the mage I fuss about? That I would pay more attention to Merlin now as he showed more incredible talent? I will be honest.… she was kind of cute when worried.

"Duh!" I flicked her forehead, "You can already read, write, and count! I have too many things to focus on, so I can't babysit everybody! You are needed in the city to help out with its building! But you can travel to the mine at night and teach Merlin and the parents for an hour or two!"

"We-" The parents wanted to say something, but I shot them down with a wave.

"I don't care about excuses! Public Education will be mandatory, so I don't want to hear justifications for why I should not care about you! I don't need people who can't write down their own names! You will learn, or you will go home! Without Merlin, of course!"

"..."

"Good." I nodded, not giving them a chance to argue… not that they would dare go against me, I think. "Merlin, you will be a good boy and learn under Sasha-chan, yes?"

"Chan?" Merlin and Sasha asked, and I flinched because I was letting my idiotic brain blurt out something stupid!

"It means… Lady! In the magical language!" I lied, and they simply nodded, believing me without questions…… Good for you, Sasha, that I am a proper gentleman and don't abuse my power by giving you some idiotic title! "Anyway, that is not important! What is important is that you focus on things you can do, which is studying! How old are you, Merlin?"

"Um…" He looked at his parents before the mother finally answered. 

"Five, My Lord."

"Mhm. I see! Well, kids have to be kids, so let him play around until we need him to study or turn the formations on and off! I am not here to rob someone from his childhood!" I ended the meeting with a clap and stretching. 

While leaving, the parents couldn't stop thanking me for the incredible generosity, and I won't lie, it was getting a little bit tiring, so I left them to Oleg to escort them back. Haah… it was already dark, so I gave up ascending the mountain and overseeing the works on enlarging the entrance to the underground river.

"You were surprisingly kind." 

"Hm? Was I?" I asked with a smile, looking at Sasha, who walked up next to me with a gentle and warm smile.

"The thing you said… about being a kid… I… I really liked the sound of it… Something I wish I heard when I was at the age of Merlin."

"Huh, I think it's how it should be! In the future, kids won't have to work, not until at least 16! Later on, maybe even 18!"

"Yeah? Then what about me? Or you?"

"Not everyone can be that lucky!" I laughed, hugging her waist, pulling her close, and she wasn't protesting. Instead, she went really silent. 

"Hey… Leon… Am I useless?"

"Huh? Why do you ask that?"

"You know why…" She shrugged, looking at me with worried eyes, "I can do nothing… that is how I feel! I can't cast spells or… come up with things you do! I can only… memorize stuff and do what you say, turning things on and off… but I don't make those things! I never even came up with anything unique!"

"Dummy!" 

"Yeah- Nyauh?! Don't pinch my butt…" She complained with teary eyes, but I just laughed, continuing to knead her bottom.

"You are worrying too much! Yes, Merlin showcased today the clear evidence that he has mana! He has special powers! Maybe even a lot of it! But you, too, don't forget that!"

"But he is better at it…"

"Is he?" I grinned, watching her look at me while holding onto me and ignoring my hand on her buttocks, waiting for me to continue. "Or it's the effect of your life?"

"Huh?"

"Think! You were told not to use it, then you escaped and lived for years, suppressing your powers to not get caught! Of course, his mana displays itself differently! He was never told or taught to hide it! Your experiences are totally different, my dear Sasha! So don't worry… You are not worse, not even by a longshot!"

"Really…?"

"Really!" I leaned in, kissing her cheeks, which turned her bright red, and finally, she realized where I was continuously touching her, so she quickly broke free from my holding.

She was cute when embarrassed. She was a bit chaotic… She didn't mind it when it happened, but the moment her mind switched into overdrive and met with a new impulse… or she was reminded of her position, she immediately turned bashful once again. But I didn't mind. This weird duality of her was the product of her life… She wanted to appear strong and somebody who could do anything. Who can survive… then when she got lax, she suddenly switched into a young girl, someone bashful. Somebody who was still innocent.

"I will… teach him right!" She mumbled, playing with her hair and scratching her cheeks.

"That is what I expect from you! I can't be everywhere at any time, so I need capable people! You are one of my first trusted subordinates, Sasha! I am counting on you!"

"Um! I will… do my best!"

"Thank you~!" I walked past her, patting her shoulder before heading to find Oleg, as I had to talk to him about Merlin and his family. I was happy about them, but I wasn't naive. What if they are moles? Agents who keep an eye on the territories for the Empire? The chances for it were low, of course… but not zero. So I wanted trusty people who I knew I could count on to keep an eye on them at all times.

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