Silverfish and Master's Gross-Tasting Tea

And so began my days of training as the disciple of Grandpa, er, I mean, Master!

The season is early winter!

The autumn leaves that were once so vividly colored have completely withered into brown, becoming a blanket that covers the ground.

<Emi! Please concentrate! You're going to fall again!>

Yeah, I got it, it's fine, it's fine.

Carefully lift the right foot, take one step, and stick it again......

Which is to say, yes, I am currently walking on the wall.

I'm in the middle of training for 【Silverfish】.

Some of you might be surprised, like, “Wait, she can already walk on walls!?” but this is a world with magic power!

Once you understand the principle, wall-walking isn't actually that impossible of a technique!

<No, even if you understand the principle, ordinary people don't master it this quickly, you know? Just as I thought, Emi: you have an aptitude, or rather a talent, for techniques involving magic power manipulation.>

Fufun~! What's this, Omake-sama! Flattery won't get you anything, you know~?

<......If you keep getting carried away like that......>

In the next instant, my left foot, which had been sticking to the wall and supporting my body, lost its suction, and I plummeted to the floor. Ouch (sob).

<I told you to concentrate, didn't I?>

Omake-sama lets out a sigh.

Yes, sorry......

This wall-walking technique, 【Silverfish】.

As for how this ninja-like skill is achieved, the most important part is using magic power to “stick” the soles of the feet to the wall.

That first night when Master taught me 【Silverfish】.

As Master walked on the walls and ceiling, my 【Magic Perception】 had caught the same kind of magic power flow in his soles as in 【Water Collection】 and 【Solidification】.

In other words, 【Silverfish】 works by repeating one bit of magic power manipulation: stick your soles to the wall, release, stick, release!

<Though, easier said than done, wasn't it?>

Exactly.

This is ridiculously difficult.

On top of how hard the magic power manipulation is, “standing and walking” up a wall against gravity takes some serious body control.

It's not a technique that can be acquired overnight.

But, when you become able to do something you couldn't do before, it's incredibly rewarding.

I often get so absorbed in my training that I don't notice it's become night.

<You can't thank Master enough, can you? He makes your meals without saying a word.>

Yeah, really......

He's taciturn and hardly says anything, and he always looks like he's angry, but Master is truly kind.

Or rather, he's pretty soft on me.

So as not to waste his kindness, I'm hard at my training again today.

And before I know it, it's time to sleep.

That was about 1 week after I started training.

◇ ◇ ◇

A bit more time has passed, and it's getting colder and colder outside.

Master goes hunting less often now and spends more time doing handiwork in the house.

Well, when I peeked in the other day, there was a whole lot of dried meat stockpiled in the storeroom.

I guess he's well stocked for winter.

And then, fufun! I got a present from Master!

It's the clothes I'm wearing right now!

He handed it over in silence as usual, so there was no detailed explanation, but I think this is made from the fur of the Grim Wolf that was chasing me the day I met Master.

The pitch-black fur is coarse and stiff, but it's warm and cool!

Thank you, Master!

Dressed in this pitch-black fur outfit, I'm now scuttling all over the room's walls and ceiling, kasakoso.

Yeah, I realized something.

It's hard because I'm trying to stick to the wall on just 2 feet.

I mean, the name of this technique is 【Silverfish】, right?

Following the original, I figured I should just use my whole body to increase the surface area and stick to the wall!

<The original? Huh? Did I ever tell Emi about the Great Beast Silverfish?>

No, I don't know, I don't know...... I've never heard of a Great Beast...... All I know is the unpleasant pest from my previous life...... Those things used to hang out on the walls of my room a lot.

Well, anyway.

And I was right: more surface area against the wall means more area for magic power manipulation, which makes it easier to stick.

Furthermore, this posture makes it easier to control my body.

Now, I can scuttle across the walls and ceiling at considerable speed!

So I scuttle around, kasakoso kasakoso, in the corner of the ceiling where Master can see me while he does his handiwork, showing off what I can do!

......Master glanced at me and shook his head.

Apparently, it's no good unless I do it while standing properly on two feet......

That was about 2 weeks after I started training.

◇ ◇ ◇

And now!

It's been about 1 month since I started training.

As for where I'm at now: I can walk around on the walls and ceiling pretty freely, standing up! Pachipachi!

Right now, I'm dozing off on the ceiling, taking a nap.

......Man, a world with magic is seriously amazing.

To think just 1 month of training would let me pull off fantasy moves this easily......!

<Now, Emi, you make it sound easy, but what you're doing is probably extremely difficult, you know? Anyone but you, and I think some people couldn't manage it even after 1 year.>

No, no, Omake-sama, you're praising me way too much, aren't you?

But, hmm, honestly, since I've never had proper social interactions with anyone other than Master, I have no idea what the average person in this world is like or what kind of abilities they have......

One thing's clear, though: if someone at Master's level seriously tried to kill me, I couldn't even run, and I'd be dead in under 3 seconds.

I'm still weak.

I mean, Master hasn't taught me 【Mantis】 or other techniques that seem useful for combat yet......

<That man is quite an outlier. You mustn't use him as your benchmark......>

Hm? While I was chatting with Omake-sama like that, Master entered the room.

In his hands, he held two cups emitting warm, cozy steam.

It seems he brewed some tea.

......Yes, and though I'm hardly worthy of it, Master doesn't just cook for me, he even brews me tea.

Seriously, that's too much!

Little 6-year-old or not, I can't make my master serve the tea too!

So I tried to do it myself, but Master flat-out refuses to give up his post as tea-server.

Worse, when I opened the shelf with the tea leaves on my own to brew some, he blasted me with intense 【Intimidation】.

I thought I was going to pee myself.

......Is brewing tea his hobby?

But for all that, the tea Master brews is gross......

It's bitter, so bitter, a gross-tasting tea that leaves me nauseous after I drink it.

I can't exactly complain when he's the one brewing it for me, so I drink it in silence.

Anyway, I can't keep Master waiting, so I spin around as I descend from the ceiling.

And a perfect landing!

Cool, right?

<At first, you failed and fell on your head many times, though. Why do you add the extra spinning?>

It's fine!

I have 【Body Strengthening】, so I won't get hurt!

This kind of acrobatics is all about the romance!

Well, practicing these, um, useless moves? is also a nice break from the same-old days of training.

I trot over to Master, sit facing him on the floor, and we drink tea together.

Yep, Master's tea is gross today too.

But it doesn't smell, so it's better than a Naked Awful-tasting Mouse.

“............Are you feeling unwell?”

For once, Master spoke to me.

Well, honestly, I'm not feeling great because the tea is too gross, but I've gotten quite used to it compared to the beginning.

There's no problem.

I nodded in response.

We continued to drink tea in silence.

Even though there's a fire lit inside, it's a dilapidated house with noisy drafts.

The warm tea soaks into my chilled body.

Waiting until I'd emptied my cup, Master spoke again.

“............【Silverfish】, well done.”

......Eh!? Sudden words of praise!? Thank you very much!?

“............Next.”

With that, Master turned his back on me, still startled at how sudden it all was, used 【Silverfish】 to climb the wall, and stood upside down on the ceiling.

Then, he bent his knees just like that, gained momentum, and leaped toward the floor!

Wait, Master!?

Are you planning to dive headfirst into the floor!?

But despite my worry, Master twisted around in midair and landed neatly on the floor.

It was truly magnificent.

He'd come down with all that momentum, yet the floor, which creaks mishi mishi whenever you walk on it, didn't have a single scratch, let alone a hole.

Or rather.

There was no sound.

As if a bird's feather had fluttered down lightly.

Without generating any impact whatsoever.

Master had descended to the floor.

“......Once you can do this, you may practice 【Grasshopper】.”

Having said only that, Master left the room again.

I was left stunned by the suddenness.

From outside the hut, the sound of Master splitting firewood echoed.

Anyway, as for me.

It seems I've been given a new task.