Chapter 151: Grandma Felica

Since she looked far too young for “Grandma Felicinka” to feel natural, I decided to call her Felica, just as she had instructed.

I waited for Felica to finish her work, but when I visited her workplace, I was surprised—it was a glass studio.

No wonder all sorts of glass ornaments were displayed in the windows.

Even to an amateur like me, the shelves were clearly filled with exquisite ornaments, decorative plates, and glasses of exceptional quality. But in a settlement deep in the forest… perhaps they transported the goods to town in Magic Pouches.

As I watched, thinking how hot glasswork must be, I noticed a familiar presence inside the furnace used to melt the glass.

So one of the presences I had sensed earlier must have been a flame spirit. But what kind of magic or skill was it associated with? The other was surely related to crafting or processing, though I knew little about that field.

She seemed to have only one assistant. I hadn’t noticed because of his head covering, but he was a catfolk.

When I looked at Felica, she gave me a sly grin. Since the man had been carrying and trimming charcoal, feeding it into the furnace, and working the bellows, I had assumed he was merely an employee.

“At least introduce him—your adorable grandson is here!”

I thought.

Once the work was finished, Felica used [Clean!] to remove the grime from both of them. I rewarded them with [Refresh!], a spell I hadn’t used in ages.

She then formally introduced Grandpa Odyuroi, whom she called Roy. Compared with Felica, a full-blooded elf, the full-blooded catfolk Grandpa Roy couldn’t hide his age.

I placed on the table the three baskets of food, tea leaves, sweets, five fine bolts of cloth, and the letter entrusted to me by Mother.

Then I added ten bottles of wine I had taken from Viscount Valenzai, and both their eyes lit up.

Remembering the meat as well, I served Golden Goat and Sham, and we settled in for a long conversation—mostly an update on Mother’s life.

Grandpa Roy became noticeably ill-tempered whenever Father came up. He still resented having his only daughter taken away.

They drank wine over large ice cubes in beautiful glasses. While reading Mother’s letter, Felica said, “It says Leon is adored by many spirits.”

“That. I already knew several spirit presences were attached to me. When I visited Faranka, the elders taught me about spirits and took me to the circle. That was when their number increased.”

“It says you’re connected to many spirits and receive their help?”

“Many spirits? Felica has two, and even that’s considered a lot. You have more than that? Yet I can’t sense any spirits around you.”

“Grandpa Roy, can you use Presence Sense?”

“Yes. I knew spirits had attached themselves to Felica, and I could sense them helping with her work.”

“Roy was the one who told me the spirits seemed to be helping with my work. Leon, call your spirits out.”

Mother had already told them, so there was no reason to hide anything. I called the spirits, and both of them froze in astonishment.

“The letter said many spirits adored you, but this is beyond anything I imagined. Those granted magic or skills pray in a circle at least once, yet spirits very rarely follow them away.”

“You have a circle in Helnenka too?”

“Nearby, only Helnenka and Faranka have circles. Apparently, there are no other elf settlements in this area.”

“Felica, can you tell that the spirits are helping you?”

“Not exactly. Around the time I apprenticed at the workshop and my crafting improved, people other than Roy also told me that spirits seemed to be helping me.”

“Have you ever seen them?”

“I was told they would appear if called, but they’ve never answered me. Leon’s spirits are so colorful and beautiful.”

“Calling them all out makes the lights flicker so much that my eyes hurt, though. Shall I show you how to summon yours?”

“You mean you can identify the spirits attached to me?”

“Someone with especially keen Presence Sense can.”

“Then Leon can use Presence Sense too—and is highly skilled at it.”

“I sensed a spirit in the furnace just now.”

“That’s what puzzles me. There was no presence before, yet the moment the spirit appeared, I sensed something extremely strong.”

“Once you connect with them, you can see them. But that would cause trouble, so I ask them to hide, and their presences vanish as well.”

I asked the spirits to hide. They disappeared all at once, and so did their presences.

“Their presences vanished with them. So that’s why I can’t sense the spirits of people said to be connected to them.”

“The Faranka elders taught me that a spirit becomes visible once you speak to it and receive an answer—or, more precisely, once you ask it to show itself. Since leaving them visible would cause a commotion, I ask them to hide again. When they hide, their presences disappear too.”

“So calling a spirit means asking it to show itself?”

“Yes, but simply calling doesn’t mean it’ll answer.”

“Then how do you call them?”

“Grandpa Roy can tell where the spirits are, right?”

“Yes. Even now, they move around Felica’s shoulders and back. Their presences sometimes vanish and reappear.”

“Grandpa Roy, point to wherever a presence appears. Felica, focus on that spot and ask the spirit in your mind to show itself. If it understands, a form—or a light like my spirits—should appear.”

“That’s all?”

“That simple step is exactly what most people can’t do. Even when a spirit is attached to someone, they can’t connect unless it answers. Calling it offers no guarantee.”

“It’s still worth trying.”

Felica called toward the places Grandpa Roy indicated, but nothing answered.

The spirit I had seen in the furnace should have belonged to Felica, so there was no reason connection should be impossible.

Remembering what had happened with my sister, I advised her, “Felica, don’t concentrate too hard. Relax and simply call because you want to see it.” On her third attempt, a faint, flame-like light appeared.

“I see it!”

“So this is the spirit attached to me?”

“It’s faintly red, so I think it’s the one that was inside the furnace. Try calling the other spirit too.”

Felica stared where Grandpa Roy pointed and muttered to herself. This time, she succeeded on the fourth attempt, though the spirit’s color was impossible to make out.

“Felica, what magic or skills were you granted?”

“The only skill I have is the Crafting Skill.”

“Then the reddish spirit must be associated with [Flame!] or Fire Magic.”

“And the colorless one is tied to the Crafting Skill?”

“Not exactly sure. Let me show with my spirits.”

I dimmed the room again and called out my Wind Magic, Healing Magic, Potion Compounding, and Water Magic spirits, arranging them side by side.

“This transparent, flickering spirit belongs to Wind Magic. The pale gold one is Healing Magic, the light yellow-green one is Potion Compounding, and this other transparent one belongs to Water Magic.”

“Simply dimming the room makes far more of them visible.”

“There are many transparent ones. Can you identify any?”

“I can distinguish Wind Magic and Water Magic…”

“Then what about the pale gold and light green spirits?”

“The pale gold one must be Healing Magic.”

“Must be? But Wind Magic is the only magic you possess, is it not?”

“When Father struck me on the head, it appeared and eased the pain. It even prevented a bump from forming, so I’m certain.”

“Then why do you believe the light green one belongs to Potion Compounding?”

“My sister Belinda was granted Water Magic and the Potion Compounding Skill. A transparent, water-like spirit and another identical to this one are attached to her.”

“Two of Betty’s children became magic users?”

“Yes. Belinda was granted Water Magic and Potion Compounding, so she became an apothecary. She can use Water Magic well enough for her work, which is probably why that spirit is attached to her.”

“Apart from Wind and Water Magic, what’s this pale, crystalline spirit?”

“Probably Ice Magic…”

“There are simply too many transparent spirits for you to tell?”

“I think the nearly transparent ones are probably associated with skills. Magic spirits tend to have recognizable colors, but there’s no easy way to confirm a skill spirit’s identity…”

“A skill spirit… True, I can’t imagine a skill having a color. But could you not use Appraisal? Though these are hardly things one can show to other people casually.”

Grandpa Roy, brilliant! Why had I never thought of something as simple as appraising the spirits?

“Wait a moment.”

I appraised Felica’s colorless spirit, searching for the magic or skill to which it belonged.

“Confirmed. It’s a Crafting Skill spirit.”

“Did you just use Appraisal?”

“I practiced it for herb gathering. I wondered whether it would work on a spirit, tried it, and succeeded.”

“What magic and skill were you granted at the Blessing Ceremony?”

“I was told that the skill I wanted would depend on practice. I trained Appraisal because it would help with herb gathering, and eventually I became able to use it.”

“Remarkable. I don’t like that man, but he did give me a fine grandson.”

“Grandpa Roy, Father isn’t dead yet.”

“Harold took away my only daughter. I still resent him for it.”

Probably best not to mention that Mother and Father were still hopelessly in love.

The next day, Felica went to meet the elders, leaving Grandpa Roy and me to watch the house.

With nothing else to do, I wandered around admiring Felica’s work and considered how I might obtain one of the glasses I liked.