I Became the Sea Guardian’s Adopted Daughter

Sir Rottier came a little closer to my room ever since I spoke to him on that day.

He really came a little closer to me, as if the distance between us would reflect the distance of our relationship.

Now, when I opened the door of my room, I could now see his back profile instead of just the hem of his clothes peeking out from behind the wall. 

Yet at the same time, he never once looked at me. He merely stood there like a statue.

But I wanted to see those pretty magic eyes again.

“Does Sir Rottier not take any breaks?”

Azelta shook her head at my words.

“He takes breaks from time to time. Shall I call for another knight if you don’t like Sir Rottier?”

She must’ve interpreted my words as wanting to get rid of him. I shook my head vigorously.

“No, I like his pretty eyes.”

As a mage, you can’t help but be instinctively drawn to such pure magic eyes.

Had it not been for the situation where I had to hide the mana surrounding my heart, I would’ve already tugged at the hem of his robe to come closer and play with me.

And if I do it, it’s okay, since I’m just a little girl!

Whenever I look in the mirror, even I think I look cute, so no matter how much of a heart of steel Sir Rottier has, if I just pull at the hem of his robe, even he won’t be able to bear it.

If only my heart was in a good condition… 

I stared at Sir Rottier’s back with regretful eyes. 

Above all, I had become curious. To think that there’d be a family that would naturally inherit magic eyes!

Although it seemed as if the people here didn’t seem to like magic eyes very much, it would be an even stranger occurrence for a mage like me not to take an interest in such a family.

I already thought this place was rather strange, with mana fog filling the streets of this neighbourhood, but to think that were even families that were born with magic eyes?

It was a town that became more and more charming the more layers you peeled off of it, like an onion.

“As long as you like it.”

Azelta laughed at my words. Unlike Marie, she didn’t seem to have any prejudice in her eyes.

Does Marie just hate magic? I tilted my head slightly.

“Do you need me to get anything?”

Azelta leaned over and asked me. I nodded my head right away.

There were so many things I didn’t know. So first of all, I need to understand more about this world.

I needed to know exactly what sort of world I had fallen into in order for me to decide where I would escape to later.

Although it was rather heartbreaking to think of leaving this golden paradise of a land, perhaps there was another one out there. Just judging by the fact that there were no mages here, it was clear that there was definitely someplace better.

“I want to read a book.”

Bring me a book about the climate and vegetation of every continent in this world… I couldn’t just say that, so I slightly modified my words.

“One with a lot of pictures and words! Pretty pictures! A picture of a tree! A picture of the sky!”

It would be rather bothersome if they only gave me picture books, so I spoke in circles.

“So you wanted to read books!”

Azelta clapped one and beckoned Marie outside. 

When she asked Marie to bring me some books, she also brought a small toy box, thinking I’d be bored while waiting.

Inside it was a cute hamster-shaped stress ball that looked good to squeeze, as well as a necklace with several large gems. It also seemed quite shiny.

Is this real? 

I picked up the necklace with a blue jewel attached to the gold string. 

It was when I was contemplating whether to bite it or not.

“Here it is.”

It was a book that broke a rather emotional moment.

I’m sure the jewels weren’t going to go anywhere anytime soon anyways… so I turned my attention to the book I was planning to use for my escape from the mansion. 

[A look around the continent with Ms. Fairy.]

…It seemed like it was a book for a kid, but there was nothing I could do about it. 

I happily took the huge book and opened it. 

—Thud.

The sound of the huge hardcover book hitting the floor resounded clearly. The book I had thought I wouldn’t be able to fully hold, even with my arms wide open, was lighter than I expected.

“Ooft.”

With a small exclamation, I flipped the book to the front page. And when I saw the first line in the very first book I read, I came to a complete stop.

[Portrait of His Majesty, Milian I, who first banned magic]

You banned what? I opened my eyes wide in astonishment.

Banned magic…? 

There could be some places that banned it.

Yes, that must be it. Just one or two places on this vast continent… 

I continued turning the pages of the book, trying to stop my foreboding thoughts.

Now that I think of it, it was rather weird. I had never seen a mage in this vast mansion.

It was a strange situation. There were no mages in this land where monsters often appear.

No, aside from there being monsters here, you’re telling me there are no mages in such a place where there is this much mana fog, where elixir herbs grow so abundantly?

—Flip. 

I tried not to seem too panicked or urgent and hurriedly scanned the bookshelf. The next page of the book had a little more text than the one before.

And in that article were things I never wanted to see.

[His Majesty, Milian I, could not tolerate the tyranny of the mages for any longer and banned the use of magic on the continent.]

[There were some mages who said, “We should only ban magic that is harmful to people!”, but His Majesty completely banned the use of magic~]

I wanted to hit the fairy who was drawn with a bright and happy face.

Oh no, the use of magic is banned? Why?

Then what happens when you use magic?

[Since then, all those who use magic have been put to death.]

Is it even alright for a sentence like ‘death penalty’ to be written so cheerfully in a children’s book?

I felt the blood drain from my face in an instant. 

[There are also bad mages who use magic in secret! Such people will definitely be found and defeated by the imperial family! So, children, don’t worry~]

The chapter ended with content that was not reassuring at all.

I couldn’t contain myself in shock. 

Do you get executed just for being a mage?

Thankfully I hid the fact that I had mana.

I didn’t want to be taken advantage of as a mage like I had in my previous life, so my plan was to simply hide my mana until I found out why the Duke had purposely brought me into his household.

But if it was like this, then I’d have to totally revise my plan.

It looked like I just had to hide it for the rest of my life!

If I had unknowingly bragged about my magic, then I would’ve been executed in a bright and happy way!

I barely endured the pain of my tightening heart. 

That was when it happened.

—Crash! 

It felt as if something had fallen apart in some corner of my head. 

To be more precise, it was the feeling of someone touching the string attached somewhere on my body.

This was talking about someone going inside that huge clam.

In other words, someone might have discovered my magic. 

My face turned blue. 

In addition, the barrier was pierced with a fairly powerful force.

“Argh…!”

It was like the force of a horse in iron armor had crashed into a solid wooden door. That sort of feeling had been transmitted to me intensely over and over again.

However, all the maids were watching me, and I couldn’t run away without reading the books.

Furthermore, even if I didn’t know who my opponent was, if they really discovered my magic, what would happen if they found out?

Before I could even enjoy YOLOing, I’d meet the end to my early life on the execution grounds!

I gulped thickly.

.

.

.

The impact the book had on my senses was too impressive. But I can’t show that, of course.

“I feel tired after reading. I want to sleep.”

That’s how I easily got time for a nap.

And after the maids all cautiously left after saying good night, only then did I slowly reopen my eyes.

“I almost fell asleep.”

You can’t give me such a soft pillow and blanket! I pushed my star-shaped pillow aside and clenched my fists.

Wake up, wake up! 

Then I glanced outside.

“Rottier…”

At the end of the hallway was Sir Rottier, still standing there, as still as a statue.

“Ha, let’s go get something to eat! It’s driving me crazy!”

Although someone broke into the large clam a while ago, nothing has happened so far, so the opponent may not have discovered the magic circle, nor reported that there was a mage somewhere.

Therefore, it’d be best to erase any trace of the magic circle which was drawn on the clamshell as soon as possible.

In order to do so, I’d have to sneak out like last time, but of all things, there just so happened to be someone who possessed magic eyes here.

It’d be useless to try and use invisibility magic and try to sneak past them since they’ll be able to see right through it.

Then there was only one way left. 

After repeatedly confirming that no one was in the room, I reached out to the window. 

—Creak…

Just as my hand brushed the window, I pushed it to one side. There was a small sound that came from the window opening, as the cold wind from outside swept into the room in an instant.

‘I’m just going to go and erase the magic circle!’

Having strengthened my resolve, I accepted the mana fog that was coming from outside.

The eyes of someone who possesses magic eyes looks distinctly different, so if there was someone else like Sir Rottier outside, then leaving and returning just as I was would be the end of the story.

But if not, then I’ll use invisibility and levitation magic to get out before erasing the magic circle! 

All of a sudden, my body came to mind. At the same time, I quickly started to run out of breath.

“Urk…!”

Hang on, just a bit longer! 

My body floated out of the window quickly. 

My heart still tightened despite the fact that I used the mana fog instead of the mana surrounding my heart to cast the magic.

I couldn’t fly for too long. 

I jumped out of the window and quickly fell to the floor. 

As I had leapt out rather urgently, the speed of my descent was rather quick, but it wasn’t enough for me to get injured.

—Tip tap.

My footsteps were also a bit loud. 

I froze, spooked, but fortunately enough for me, no one seemed to come find me.

As I inhaled deeply, I felt my chaotic heart start to calm down. After exhaling a bit, I got up once again.

“Okay…”

I muttered in a barely audible whisper and kept moving.

Anyway, since a lot of people had seen the huge clam last time, I had given up on my dream of using it as a hideout.

However, it’d be rather troublesome if I were to get executed because of a hideout or something.

Let’s just quickly erase the magic circle! 

As I started to make such a resolution over and over again and walked towards the large clam at a fairly brisk pace, I was then suddenly flustered by two facts.

“…!”

One was the fact that there were still unwelcome guests inside the clamshell.

The other was due to the fact that the unwelcome guest was Duke Ether. 

*** 

pls do not share this anywhere or the transmigration gods will transport u into boku no pico !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

What did I want when I was little?

It was a thought that Duke Ether had been thinking about frequently lately. 

It was a rather out of character concern for him, but there was no helping it since it kept popping into his mind.

“…”

Recalling the story of that huge candy that he had heard of, Duke Ether silently kneaded his temple.

She had crushed it with a hammer and shattered it into eight pieces, then given it out to the maids and knights.

For some reason, the gift he had given her was not given to his daughter, nor to himself either, but rather to other people.

Strangely concerned, he shook his head.

Rather, what bothered him even more was that his daughter probably didn’t even like his gift very much.

Above all, seeing as she had vomited after eating the candy, it was clear that her body may not have been able to accept and digest it yet.

“…”

Then as expected, it would be better to get her something else other than things to eat. 

Ain brushed away his stray thoughts and picked up a few documents that were cluttering the table. 

It was something he always had to deal with around this time of year.

[Fog Movement and Route Tracing Report] 

Just like previous years, the moving fog would soon envelop the entire mansion. 

And when that time came, monsters would always crawl up from the sea of ​​fog. 

He was well aware of the fear that came with having your entire self being obscured by the mist, the only sound audible being the sound of breaking through water.

And of all things, apparently this time, the place Nassia had been discovered was near that sea of fog.

There was said to be an abnormally large clam nearby.

The knights had reported that they were unaware of ushc a large clam existing, but it was a place he was well aware of too.

It was the place where he had first witnessed monsters as a child. 

So he knew just how firm and solid that clam was. 

His little daughter didn’t know it yet, but if you looked closely at the clam after it shut again, you’d be able to see countless numbers of rough gashes on its shell.

The monsters in the sea of fog who disguised themselves as humans were the ones responsible for the claw marks left behind as they approached him countless times in order to harm him.

The young him had trembled with fear inside that closed clamshell.

 That, too, was just around this time as well.

“I hid the sword you wanted there.”

He had thought that his older brother who laughed at him like that, seemed to be especially friendly that day.

None of the knights or servants, who laughed slyly next to him, had told him that he wasn’t supposed to go there.

Of course, all those who had done that, with the exception of his older brother, were now in the next world.

“…”

Ain got up as he gripped my sword. 

Of all things, it was actually that clam.

How did Nassia know how to get there? Just what caught your attention?

He thought he needed to know that. He looked back over his desk before leaving the room.

Reports from those who had been investigating how Nassia had been treated in the Barony had all piled up.

All of them were according to his expectations. The Barony had not treated Nassia like a human being.

Simply because she was sick. 

The doctor who had first diagnosed Nassia had said that she’d be able to be cured with just a few medicinal herbs. 

However, like idiots, none of the servants in the Lebouire Barony could remember the name of that herb.

“…”

After reading that report, Ain clearly felt the ticklish feeling he always felt whenever he thought of Nassia split into one of anger.

However, other than anger, his heart still slightly tickles whenever he thinks of that child.

Just what is this?

He wanted to hold onto and lead that little hand a bit more, and give her whatever she wanted… More than anything else, he wanted to see that small little face smiling brightly.

He thought he could— he thought he could watch that sight forever.

He didn’t know what this strange feeling was, this feeling of wanting to hug her tight, as hard as he could, even though he knew he wouldn’t even be able to exert any strength from his fingertips in fear of crushing her.

“…it would be better to wait for the results of Delphiro’s medical examination first.”

Having made up his mind, Ain left the room. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t think of going directly to Nassia and asking what happened with the clam.

However, she was a child who had grabbed her heart in surprise. It might sound more like an interrogation to a child with a weak heart.

Moreover, she was still a child who was extremely wary of her surroundings, like a hedgehog.

In the end, the only way was to find out for himself.

“Hedgehog…”

She really resembled a hedgehog. A child who was curled up with their thorns bristled.

It was only a small and fragile thorn that didn’t even have the ability to scratch him, but he still had not even the slightest intention of breaking that thorn, or even of grabbing her.

He hurried towards the sea of ​​fog. 

. 

. 

. 

The clam remained the same as it was before. Just like how he remembered it in his childhood.

Even the dried out adductor muscle, as well as the slight illuminating light that appears when the shell is closed.

This was what he had hung up as a child. Picking up strangely sparkling things around him and hanging them up.

Oddly enough, they were still hanging from the roof of the shell, not having dimmed even the slightest.

He hit the adductor muscle again. Then, the clam opened its mouth once again.

The damp air from outside flooded in once again.

“Just why did Nassia come here?”

Why did she come here when there were so many other more fascinating places around here?

Perhaps this clam had the power to lead children towards it.

Come to think of it, even when he was young, he too, wanted to get out of the house and have his own room somewhere else. 

Then it really might have the power to lead a child like that… 

It was when he was trying to understand Nassia and stepped forward.

—Crunch. 

There was the sound of something being stepped on under his feet. 

After removing his shoes, he found that there were mounds of pure white sand piled there. In one corner was a bundle of weeds that had clearly been gathered by someone too. It was as if they were collecting a treasure.

“…?”

He leaned over and touched the grass. The grass, which had already lost its vitality and dried up, was staying in place without being blown away thanks to the strange force which was surrounding the clam.

“…”

This strange occurrence was rather common around here.

If it were a mage, they’d be able to tell you about how this huge clam had come into existence, and why the wind can’t seem to blow the grass away. However, he had no intention of committing a crime out of mere curiosity.

It was a crime to use magic.

Although he was accustomed to taking lives with his sword, he still hated the mages who tried to wreak havoc on the world arbitrarily and wrung the magic out of people’s bodies without feeling any sense of guilt. 

—Tip tap tip tap! 

That was when he heard it. 

A small figure was approaching from far away. The sound of the measured footsteps was getting closer and closer.

However, the approach was rather slow, considering the fact that the sound of their footsteps was rather quick.

That meant that it was a child with a small stride.

And there was only one person around here who could walk like that. 

He turned toward the sound.

“Nassia?”

The sound of footsteps stopped abruptly.