Now… She’s done it…
I hear the sound of the crystal and the magic clashing, along with a high-pitched cracking noise, and lower my head in resignation. All I can see is zeni sprouting wings and flying away.
I hope coral crystals still cost the same they did back then, but I know the price of all magic stones has soared… just how much are they going to make me pay?
I raise my head fearfully, knowing full well what I’m going to see, and sure enough, there it is. The only difference is that there are a few magic circles protecting the students from the shards.
The flying shards were caught by the walls activated by Miss Esmeralda, and were sent to the ground by gravity.
…I’m glad no one got hurt. I guess Miss Esmeralda is still in top form, to activate multiple walls so quickly.
“Wawah… Awawawah…!”
Ririi falls on her backside in front of the crystal, before her staff falls to the ground.
“R-Ririh broke it…?”
She says as she turns her pale face to the shards. She has tears welling up in her eyes, probably because that scared her. I want to run over to her right now, but I can’t.
Everything’s quiet, like the kids around us know they’ve just come across something incredible. I think they know coral crystals are precious.
You might not think so, but kids are surprisingly good at sensing danger. Everyone’s quiet, and restlessly looking between Ririi and the crystal.
“Uu… Uuh…”
“…”
Ririi can’t handle the silence, and tears start streaming down her face. I almost reflexively kick the ground and run, but my power of reasoning stops me somehow. The teacher is the only one who can handle this.
I start looking around in a panic to see where she is, and see her walking over and bending down near Ririi.
“Ririi, that was incredible.”
She pats her head, and speaks to her with a gentle tone of voice. Ririi tries to wipe away her tears with both hands, but they just keep coming out. Come on, make her smile already!
“This crystal can’t be broken unless it’s hit with really strong magic energy. Even I couldn’t break it if I really tried. If you can break it, that means you have incredible talent.”
“…Uu… Sniff… Talent…?”
“Yes. You have the talent to become a great sorcerer.”
“…But… Ririh… Broke it…”
“That’s fine. Actually, Weiss broke one too, but let’s keep that between us.”
“Daddy…?”
“Yes, so don’t worry about it. You should be proud.”
“Uguh… All right…”
Miss Esmeralda wipes the tears from Ririi’s cheeks. It looks like knowing I broke one too finally made her stop crying.
She rubs her eyes, and gets up.
“Don’t forget this.”
“Ririh forgot!”
Miss Esmeralda picks up the staff and hands it to Ririi. Her eyes are red and swollen, but there’s a smile on her face.
…Is it over…
I leave the training room, and as I pass by her on the way out, I notice Lain’s face is a little twisted.
◆
“…D-daddy…?”
I’m relaxing on the sofa, when Ririi comes home and walks over to me, looking kind of reserved. Her expression is sullen.
“What do we say when we come back?”
“I’m home!”
“Yes, welcome home.”
She responded brightly out of habit, but her expression clearly isn’t a happy one.
I take off her hat and her backpack, and hold her on my lap. Her body temperature is high, so it feels nice and warm when I hold her.
“Daddy, listen…”
She starts squirming and turns around to face me. I hug her, and she buries her face in my chest while letting out a pleased sound.
“What is it?”
I know what she wants to say. She wants to say she’s sorry for destroying school equipment, that crystal. I actually want to congratulate her for that, but that wouldn’t be good from an educational point of view.
“Today… In class, we were using magic, and… Ririh… Broke a big rock…”
“Broke? Did you get hurt?”
“No…”
“That’s good. And what did the teacher say?”
“That Ririh has talent…”
“So she complimented you. Nice going.”
No no. In the end I really am complimenting her.
But it’s not her fault. She was told it wouldn’t break. She shouldn’t have to worry about it. It’s not like she tried to destroy it like I did.
“Yes… And then Miss Esmeralda told Ririh to give you this…”
She says as she takes an envelope from her pocket. I take it and open it.
“We are billing you the cost of the coral crystal. Sorry Weiss.
Fifty million zeni.”
…She really went all out on it, probably because she thinks I can afford it.
I feel like I shouldn’t have to pay for an accident, but I’d feel bad if they accused her of being negligent.
It’s not like I can’t pay, and it doesn’t seem that bad if I think of it as a bribe for letting me continue to sneak into classes.
“Daddy, what does it say?”
“Your daughter is brilliant, it says. That’s the Ririi I know.”
“Daddy that tickles!”
I pat her head, and she finally shows me a smile. Kids really should smile.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
Thanks for the chapter Hidamarisou! Oof haha.