Chapter 10 | The Assassin Learns Dia’s Skills
We returned to Tuatha Dé from the royal capital.
“Ahhh, it’s good to be home,” Dia said, stretching after we entered the estate. “Hey, Lugh, what are you laughing about?”
“Sorry. I’m not teasing you or anything. It just made me happy to see what a real Tuatha Dé you’ve become… I’m sure you two are tired from the long carriage ride. You should rest until lunch. We’ll use the appraisal sheets this afternoon,” I replied.
“I’m so nervous. I really hope I have great skills,” responded Dia.
“Yes, strong skills will enable us to be of greater help to Lord Lugh,” agreed Tarte.
That had been all we could talk about on the ride home.
I decided to return to my room. There was something I wanted to take care of before things got hectic.
We enjoyed a delicious lunch my mother prepared and then gathered on the training ground. I passed what appeared to be blank pieces of white paper to both Tarte and Dia. They were appraisal sheets.
“We have exactly three of them,” remarked Tarte.
“We’ll use them on the count of three,” suggested Dia.
“I’ll abstain,” I said.
“Huh? Why?”
“I’ve used one before, so I already know my skills.”
Technically, I knew my skills because the goddess had let me select them before I was reincarnated. I couldn’t tell them that, however, so I just said that I’d used an appraisal sheet.
“Aww, no fair. But if you don’t need one, then why did you get three?” asked Dia.
“These are normally impossible to obtain, so I thought I’d pick up an extra as a spare.”
My assassination team consisted of four people: myself, Tarte, Dia, and Maha. Maha wasn’t part of the field team, so there wasn’t much need to know her skills. However, there was always a chance I might add another member in the future, even if I didn’t have any plans to do so at the moment.
“Hmm, so you think someone new could join. If the next one is also a cute girl, I’m going to start suspecting that you’re doing it on purpose,” Dia remarked accusingly.
“There is a chance it could be a girl. I prioritize personality and talent when it comes to teammates. I don’t make any decisions based on gender. I haven’t yet, and I never will,” I responded.
It had been a coincidence that my father hired Dia as my magic teacher. Similarly, happenstance led me to find Tarte after searching the entire Tuatha Dé domain for someone who possessed mana. The same went for meeting Maha at the orphanage in Milteu.
I had never once specifically searched for a girl to join my team.
“I know that, Lugh. You don’t have to get so worked up. You were so innocent when you were little. I remember how you used to always follow me around saying ‘big sis, big sis!’”
That never happened. Dia was completely making that up.
“Anyway, go ahead and use your appraisal sheets. All you have to do is direct your thoughts toward them,” I instructed.
“It’s finally time… What will I do if I don’t have any…?” Dia muttered anxiously.
“I’m not confident about this. I’m not good at anything,” admitted Tarte.
“You’re great at cooking, Tarte,” Dia assured.
Tarte cast her eyes to the ground. “I would be really disappointed if my skills are only related to cooking…”
The girls had been brimming with excitement earlier, but now that it was time to use the sheets, they both looked anxious. Still, they seemed to have high expectations as they gripped the pieces of paper and filled them with their thoughts.
Their skills then appeared on the papers, along with an explanation for each one.
How these appraisal sheets worked was not something that could be explained with the laws of physics, magic theory, or any scientific workings. It could only be described as a miracle.
The number of people who could make the invaluable things was low, and those who could were closely guarded. There was even a rumor that they weren’t human.
Seeing appraisal sheets activate with my own eyes convinced me that such a theory might hold some weight. There was no way an ordinary person could craft items so wondrous. Even if the creator was human, they must have had the help of some supernatural power.
“Phew, the paper isn’t blank. That means I have skills. There are three on here,” Dia said with evident relief.
“I also have three,” declared Tarte.
Dia and Tarte both rushed over with their papers in hand.
“Let’s take a look at them over there,” I stated. I spread the sheets out on a desk placed on the training ground.
I looked at Dia’s sheet first, immediately noticing that the skills she had gained from My Loyal Knights were not listed.
“I always trusted that I was good at magic, but I never knew I had this kind of skill. Also, look, I have one called Genius. Hmm-hmm, it turns out I’m truly brilliant!”
“These skills do explain some things. Your control of magic has always been otherworldly…”
Dia had one A-Rank skill, one B-Rank, and one D-Rank.
Only one in a million people possessed an A-Rank skill. That alone made Dia a special person. That she also had a B-Rank skill, something one in every ten thousand people were born with, was a statistical marvel.
Rainbow Sorcerer (A): Increases control of mana and mana output. It also grants the user the ability to change their elemental affinity at will. The change is performed by chanting a spell of the desired elemental affinity. The user will be unable to change their elemental affinity for one hour after use.
Genius (B): The user becomes a genius with superior computational skills, thinking ability, memory, and creativity.
Resistance to Aging (D): Rate of aging is slowed after the development of secondary sex characteristics.
Rainbow Sorcerer was clearly the most significant of these skills.
Dia’s magic precision and force were higher than normal, and she could willingly change her elemental affinity.
While I could call upon the four basic elements, I couldn’t use the rare ones—light and dark. This skill would seemingly allow Dia to employ them, however.
“This is amazing. All of Lady Dia’s skills seem really strong and useful!” exclaimed Tarte.
“I feel kind of like I’ve been wasting my talents until now, though. I had no idea I could change my elemental affinity. I’ve never even thought to use a spell for an elemental affinity I didn’t have,” Dia lamented.
Genius was an incredibly versatile skill. I had waffled between it and Limitless Growth when deciding on skills before my reincarnation.
“…Truthfully, I’m a little conflicted. I always thought it was hard work that made me a great mage. Yet now I know it was only thanks to my skills.”
“That’s not true. All this means is that you have natural ability. No matter how much talent you possess, it’s useless if you can’t figure out how to develop it. You are who you are today because of the effort you put in. I admire you for that,” I reassured her.
Some people were born with ability, but they never figured out how to use it and achieved nothing. I’d seen many like that. Realizing how to put your talents to good use was challenging, and only a few managed it.
Dia raised an eyebrow at me. “You say the corniest things sometimes, Lugh.”
“…I’m aware of that,” I said sheepishly.
“Thanks. I’m pleased about this. I want to try changing elemental affinities right away. I guess I should go for light or dark first. We’ve used the other elements plenty between the two of us.”
Dia and I had created new spells by analyzing existing ones, deducing the rules, and then designing new formulas. We had divided our efforts to focus on two elements each, and we had learned nearly every spell for the four basic elemental affinities to use as material for our analysis.
However, we hadn’t touched the rare affinities of light and dark. By having Dia switch to one of them and perform repeated incantations to learn new spells, we would discover new rules for creating more magic.
“I happen to have an acquaintance who can use light magic. I’ll write them a letter and ask them to send me their spell formulas,” I stated.
“Wow, I can’t believe you actually know someone who can use light magic,” said Dia.
“I only met them recently.”
It had been just the other day, in fact. It was Nevan, the daughter of Duke Romalung. Her ability to use the rare light affinity had earned her the nickname Daughter of Light.
As Dia and I chatted excitedly, Tarte stared at the other girl’s final skill.
“I’m jealous of your Resistance to Aging skill. You’ll be pretty forever. I am sure that will make Lord Lugh happier than I ever could,” she said dejectedly.
“Putting aside whether or not it’ll make me happy, nobody wants to get old. That’s an amazing skill… I wonder if it’s passed down among women in the Viekone family. My mother undoubtedly has that skill, too.”
She was over forty years old, but she could easily pass for under twenty. I had heard before that skills could become hereditary. If that was the case, it would explain my mother’s unusually youthful appearance.
“I can’t deny that all the women in my family look very young. I don’t want this skill, though. It’s definitely the reason I look like this! I’m short, and my boobs won’t get any bigger! I don’t know what secondary sex characteristics are, but not aging means not growing. I might’ve looked like Tarte if I didn’t have this skill,” Dia bemoaned, looking reproachfully at Tarte’s chest and her own appraisal sheet.
Secondary sex characteristics continued to develop into one’s late teenage years. The skill shouldn’t have affected her yet, not that I was eager to volunteer that information.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha, but a big chest comes with its own problems,” remarked Tarte.
“…That’s what everyone with big boobs says. Anyway, that’s it for me. Let’s look at Tarte’s!”
“Here is my appraisal sheet! I’m so happy. I also have an A-Rank skill!”
Tarte possessed an A-Rank, a C-Rank, and a D-Rank skill.
Dia and Tarte both had A-Rank skills. That couldn’t have been a coincidence. Perhaps this was the result of the goddess’s meddling.
Suspicious though I was, I couldn’t deny feeling thankful that both girls had A-Rank skills.
Tarte’s were powerful and…interesting. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself at how much her skills suited her.
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