He pretended to be all grown up, but he was still just a child.

I gently patted his back.

Once Rory calmed down, he relayed Brussel’s message to me.

After listening to the explanation, I looked at my small hands.

They had grown much since I was three, but they were still small and chubby.

“So now I can use magic freely?”

Was it really a coincidence that I dreamed of receiving magical power from Adan?

I imagined a strawberry cake, just as Ribe had done.

And sure enough, a plate with a strawberry cake appeared on my hands.

A messy, squashed cake.

Golden powder scattered around like dust.

Whoa.

It really worked?

“Wow.”

As I exclaimed and placed the plate on the bed, Rory’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How did you do that?”

“I just imagined it, and it worked. Want to try it?”

When I imagined a fork, a wooden skewer appeared instead.

I cut the cake and stabbed it, then offered it to Rory.

Still bewildered, he blinked his eyes and opened his mouth.

I popped the cake into his mouth.

Rory cautiously chewed.

“Is it good? Does it really taste like cake?”

“Yes. It’s delicious.”

At Rory’s response, I smiled brightly.

To think everything I imagined could come true.

I was excited to see what else I could do.

Magic was such a fun and amazing thing.

I couldn’t understand why the original Merchen, who had this precious ability, used it for dangerous dark magic and ended up dying.

Was the dream I had today really a prophetic dream about magic?

I was simply grateful for the magical power that had come to me years earlier than expected.

***

“Merchen, I was worried about you.”

Sprout hugged me with his enormous body.

I stumbled and fell on my backside, pushing him away in annoyance.

“Do you still think you’re a child? Hugging me like that is heavy.”

“Then how about this?”

He lifted me up with one arm.

My view suddenly rose, and I felt like a giant.

I imagined flying through the sky just like that.

And then, my small body floated like a paper doll in the wind.

“Ahhh!”

I never imagined such a dangerous flight!

Terrified, I thought of a parachute.

Pop!

A parachute appeared on my shoulders, and I began to float gently downward.

I let out a sigh of relief and imagined changing the direction of the wind.

The direction did change, but the wind was so fast that I struggled several times to control it.

As I drifted down from the sky, Sprout, who had been staring blankly up at me, reached out his hands to catch me.

“Whew. I’m never doing that again.”

I clutched my pounding heart.

When Sprout set me down on the ground, my legs wobbled, and I collapsed onto the ground.

“Mel!”

Rory, who had been learning swordsmanship from Brussel, came running over in a hurry, probably having seen me flying through the sky.

He checked me over worriedly, then reached out to help me up.

Brussel, who had followed Rory, shook his head.

“How can you wield magic so recklessly? You must practice step by step.”

“Oh, is that how it works?”

“Yes, that’s how it works. Even skilled practitioners can find magic dangerous if not handled properly.”

“How do you, a fairy, know so much about this?”

“There’s no rule saying only humans can use magic.”

“You’re already skilled in swordsmanship, and now you’re good at magic too? That’s cheating.”

“Life is inherently unfair.”

A little while later, Brussel handed me a few books.

They were about the basics of magic and simple exercises for beginners to practice controlling magical power.

I was reading the section about how to easily sense the flow of magic within my body when I grabbed Rory’s hand, who was peeking at the book beside me.

“Rory, can you help me?”

Rory nodded obediently.

I held both of his hands and intertwined our fingers.

“Close your eyes, Rory.”

“Yes.”

The book said it was easier to practice magic with a partner than alone.

The exercise involved awakening your senses by letting the magical energy flow through your body, travel into the other person’s body through your connected hands, scan them, and then return.

I closed my eyes and focused on my body.

I gripped his hands tightly and imagined the movement of the magical energy.

When Rory’s hand flinched, I opened my eyes and looked at him.

His face was flushed, likely from feeling hot, which probably meant I had succeeded.

The book mentioned that the recipient of magical energy might feel some warmth or heat at first.

“Rory, how is it? Do you feel anything?”

“Well, something…”

“Like a ticklish or warm sensation. Something like that.”

“I think so. It feels ticklish and warm.”

“Really? Then let me try again.”

I closed my eyes and concentrated once more.

Rory’s hands kept twitching, and I could feel his pulse quickening, which made me think it was working.

But why couldn’t I feel anything?

I had followed the instructions in the book exactly, yet Rory seemed to be the only one reacting while I felt nothing.

The book said that if it worked correctly, I should feel drained of energy, but I felt as lively as I had before practicing.

“Hmm. Something’s off. I’ll have to ask Brussel about this. Thanks for helping, Rory.”

“No problem. Is there anything else I can help with?”

“I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

I let go of Rory’s hands and jotted down my questions in the notebook I’d left open next to the book.

Other than creating a strawberry cake, I was struggling with every other form of magic.

When I tried making a chocolate cake, it came out as a lump of mud, leaving me utterly dumbfounded.

Why could I make a strawberry cake but not a chocolate one?

That night, I had another dream.

***

“Ribe, here’s a gift for you.”

Adan held out a large bouquet of roses to me.

The red roses were lush and beautiful, but I pushed them away with a dissatisfied expression.

Once again, it wasn’t my will at play.

I was merely an observer trapped in Ribe’s body.

However, I could feel Ribe’s emotions vividly.

“I don’t like roses.”

“Then what kind of flowers do you like?”

“I don’t like any.”

“What about jewelry?”

“I don’t like jewelry either.”

“A woman who doesn’t like flowers or jewelry? Unbelievable.”

“Stop being annoying.”

Adan leaned his weight on me playfully, and I grunted as I pushed him off.

But his heavy body kept pressing against me persistently.

I was trying to read a book in the garden on a rare sunny day, and his antics were starting to irritate me.

“What about food? There must be something you like.”

“Nope. I hate everything.”

“Come on, Ribe. Give me a hint.”

“Why should I? I don’t do things that don’t benefit me. Move.”

I stood up from the chair, shoved him aside, and walked away.

I was annoyed by his uninvited attempts at physical contact.

But Adan didn’t give up and followed me.

“Ribe, you’re making this game too unfair for me. Just tell me one thing. I want to know what you like.”

“What I like is for you to stop touching me.”

“Oh, that’s a bit difficult. But I’ll try. So, cheer up, okay?”

Adan whispered sweetly and flashed a charming smile.

He was handsome, no doubt about it.