"Eh? Baby? I'm not one, I'm already seven years old!"
Unexpectedly, Silvius looked at Velira seriously, as if wondering what this person was talking about.
"Seven years old, isn't that just a little baby in a cradle?"
"...Who would still be lying in a cradle at seven years old?!"
"Eh! They wouldn't? But, but, seven years old..."
Actually, Silvius's great misunderstanding was caused by the vast difference in perception between them.
As the world's first fairy, Silvius could indeed be called one of the world's most ancient beings. Her long life made her extremely insensitive to the life cycles of short-lived species. Moreover, having spent most of her time living in Moonkienade among generally long-lived beings, even when occasionally visiting the lower world, she spent most of her time playing around and truly had no concrete concept of the life cycle changes in this world.
After Velira's reminder, Silvius reluctantly accepted the fact that the other party hadn't crawled out of a cradle, but seven years was still far too brief in her understanding, and she couldn't immediately correct this deep-seated perception, making her feel awkward all over.
"Ahem, well, let's put the age topic aside and get down to business."
Silvius coughed and suddenly became serious, but this sudden change made Velira feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Then, fortunate chosen one, under the protection of the Mother Goddess, let me, the Fairy King, bestow my blessing upon you."
"Blessing? What's that?"
Another question mark appeared above Velira's head. Come to think of it, Silvius had been talking about "chosen ones" from the beginning.
Is she talking about me?
Lucky...
Am I lucky?
"Sigh... you don't even know that, so why did you summon me?"
Silvius was confused again, encountering this situation for the first time.
"I summoned you?"
Velira tilted her head, looking completely bewildered by what this person was saying.
For a moment, the human and fairy stared at each other in awkward silence.
"...Right, if she doesn't even know about fairies, how could she possibly know about the Fairy King's blessing?"
Silvius's mouth twitched slightly as she suddenly remembered that this person didn't even know what fairies were, so she might have really triggered the summoning conditions by accident.
"Sigh—, there's no helping it. Since you've already been chosen, it can't be changed..."
Silvius sighed wearily, then explained the origins of the Fairy King's blessing to Velira.
...
That was in the distant past.
Tens of thousands of years ago in Nakielos, civilization was still like a candle flickering in the wind, unstable and without visible future.
At that time, the Earth Mother Goddess Teraya felt compassion for the loneliness and desolation of the earthly realm and decided to help the people below develop. So she dispatched the Fairy King to the lower world to find a destined person and bestow a blessing upon them.
The person who received the blessing gained powerful strength, led people through one crisis after another, and gradually established the first magical kingdoms.
Magical civilization was able to flourish and grow.
After that, every few hundred years, the Fairy King would descend to find a destined person and bestow a blessing upon them, and those who received the blessing could all bring great changes to the world.
As for the Fairy King's method of finding destined people, every five hundred years, she would listen for voices from the water's surface.
When a person with a pure heart threw a stone into a lake while alone, that voice would reach her ears, and she would respond to the summons.
"So I was the one who summoned you?"
Velira finally understood.
"After listening for so long, that's your only reaction..."
Seeing Velira's look of sudden realization, Silvius couldn't help but complain.
"Hmm... but this story isn't very interesting."
"I wasn't telling you a story..."
Silvius no longer wanted to complain and quickly changed the subject.
"Well, now that you know the situation, let's proceed to the next step. What's your name?"
"Velira," Velira answered, then thought for a moment and added: "Velira Kayestal!"
"I see, Velira Kayestal."
Silvius said while raising both hands toward Velira, her hands gradually beginning to emit a gentle glow.
"Huh? Kayestal..."
A hint of doubt flashed in Silvius's eyes.
"Is there something wrong? Is there something strange about my name?"
Velira stared curiously at Silvius's hands while asking.
Silvius, whose thoughts were interrupted by the question, shook her head: "Nothing's wrong."
"Ah, right, I'm about to bestow the blessing, so you need to concentrate."
Silvius said.
"What's the blessing like?"
Velira asked again.
Silvius casually explained: "You know that Nakielos has seven basic magical elements, right? They are wind, fire, water, earth, light, darkness, and void."
Velira nodded: "I know."
"The so-called blessing," Silvius continued explaining, "is the supreme affinity with these seven elements. I call them the Blessing of Wind, Blessing of Fire, Blessing of Water, Blessing of Earth, as well as the Blessing of Light, Blessing of Darkness, and Blessing of Void. You will receive one of these blessings, and any of these blessings will enable you to reach the pinnacle of the world in that attribute's magical achievements."
Velira nodded with partial understanding, then suddenly looked up and asked:
"Can I only get one blessing?"
"Of course, what else did you expect?"
"Can't I have them all?"
"You want them all... pfft! What did you say?!"
Silvius trembled all over, and the light in her hands flickered.
"You little thing, which mouth of yours spoke such shameless words!"
"Eh, is that not allowed?"
"Not allowed..."
The light disappeared as Silvius lowered her hands, determined to properly educate this human today, and loudly complained: "Do you even need to ask? Of course not!"
Velira puffed out her cheeks.
"Why not? Since there are seven blessings, and any one of them is possible to receive, then getting all seven together should be possible too, right?"
"Uh..."
Why is this little thing so sharp in strange ways?
Silvius complained inwardly while quickly explaining: "No way! Since you know about magical element attributes, don't you know that everyone is born with their own magical aptitudes? People in this world have limited magical aptitudes. Most people only have aptitude for a single magical attribute, very few can possess two magical aptitudes, and having more than two is even rarer. As far as I know, the person with the highest magical aptitude currently existing in the world is a four-element mage.
Without the corresponding aptitude, you can't just receive that type of blessing. Fundamentally, blessings are a kind of sublimation based on existing aptitudes. If you forcibly bestow an incompatible elemental blessing, it will put enormous pressure on the soul and could risk losing your life...
Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"..."
Velira tilted her head. She only heard aptitude, blessing, and sublimation.
"I don't have aptitude?"
"Hah, what are you suddenly talking about? You'll naturally know your aptitude after receiving the blessing."
"Hmm... then give me all seven blessings?"
Velira extended her small hand.
This little thing didn't understand at all!
Black lines appeared on Silvius's forehead.
"So, didn't I already say no?!"
"Eh, Silvius is stingy."
Velira grumbled.
"This isn't about being stingy or not!"
"Then... Silvius can't do it?"
"I—"
Silvius's words caught in her throat, veins throbbing on her forehead as she comforted herself inwardly: the other party is still a little baby, don't argue with her, don't argue with her...
Her eyes rolled as a sudden idea popped into her mind.
"Eh, Velira~, do you really want all seven blessings that much?"
"Mm-hmm."
Velira nodded.
"Wanting them all isn't impossible..."
Velira's eyes couldn't help but light up.
"Really?"
"But!" Silvius's tone shifted as she revealed a mischievous smile, "there's one condition."
"Condition?"
"That's right. As long as you can master the basic magic of all seven magical systems within one month, then I'll give you all seven blessings. How about it~?"
Faced with Silvius's pressing gaze, Velira began to think.
On the other side, Silvius started to gloat.
"Sigh, as expected, seven-system magic is too difficult after all. She's just a little baby, so how could she possibly learn magic! If you ask me, she should just give up. If she gives up now, she can still get one blessing, and she'll still be able to reach the world's pinnacle in the future. After all, whether it's seven or one, both can reach the world's pinnacle, so is there really a big difference? No difference at all..."
Velira felt very displeased with Silvius's crazy provocation.
"Velira is not a little baby! Mere seven basic magics are nothing for Lady Velira who will become a witch!"
"Oh~, so scary~! Lady Witch Velira~! snicker~! snicker~! Actually referring to herself by name, she really is a little baby~, snicker~!"
Faced with Silvius's mockery, Velira's cheeks couldn't help but turn red.
"Then—"
"Will you accept?"
Silvius suddenly moved close to Velira's face.
"Lady Witch Velira~"
Velira couldn't help but step back, then stood her ground again.
"Of, of course! Ve-... I will learn all seven magics! Just you wait and see, Silvius!"
"Oh my, I'll be waiting~"
Silvius held her stomach while floating around in the air sideways.
"Then, the contract is established—!"