Strongest Noble's Daughter Uses Water Magic

Life with a Harpy

Harpies are creatures of the wind, monsters who are said to control the skies. It was said that once a harpy claims a territory as their own, any and all trespassers of their land were met with gruesome fates, with exception of their kin. Due to their dominance in the sky, unless if one was a skilled archer, fighting against this creature is a death sentence. Their speed is immeasurable, one cannot ever hope to escape from them even with the fastest horse.

Who would have ever thought the girl Edward and I helped out was one of those dangerous monsters?

A whimpering voice reached my eyes, and I snapped out of my stupor to see the guest looking at me, fear in her eyes and ears(?) drooping. One look, and I was reminded that even if she truly was a monster, if she had wanted to kill me, or even hurt me, she would have done so already.

Taking in a calming breath, I approached her. “Here's your water. It's way better than the bath water. Believe me,” I said.

It seemed she did not expect me to say that, as her whimpers stopped and her ears(?) twitched slightly. Slowly, the bird girl reached for the cup and took it out of my hands. As she drank from it, I went back to the bathing essentials and took out the natural oils and soap. 

“I'll do your hair while you do your body. Okay?” I offered.

After downing the drinking water, the girl was even more surprised to hear me offer to help her wash. Despite that, she hesitantly nodded.

******

After the bath, I lent the girl a light green, sleeveless dress to wear and got to work on making lunch. Considering how thin she was, I thought of making some nice ham and apple salad. I was thinking of making some chicken soup, but I was not sure if harpies would eat anything that is bird. As I made lunch, the harpy girl stood by my side, staring at me as I work. Whether she wanted to make sure I was not going to put anything funny or because she was bored, I did not know, but I did not mind the company.

“Can you help me set the table?” I asked her.

She stared at me for a few seconds, before finally nodding in confirmation.

“That's great! There are plates in the upper cabinet over there, where the stool is. And forks are in the drawer where the sink is.”

The girl nodded once more before leaving to retrieve the tableware and utensils.

Soon enough, the two of us sat at the dining table, enjoying the salad. The bird girl especially was devouring her meal like no tomorrow. Watching her stuff her face like so, it made me wonder how long she was made a slave, as well as what sort of horrible things her former masters had done to her.

“Is it good?” I asked.

“Mmm! It'sh good!” she answered with her mouth full.

“There's more if you still want any. Also...” I stood up from my seat and made my way to the fridge. I took out a jar from there and returned to my seat. “Try it with this. Just a spoonful, though.”

The girl did as told and removed the lid. She scooped up a spoonful of the contents and spread it out all over what was left of her salad. Once she took a bite of it, her ears fluttered, and I could have sworn her eyes glowed brighter with sparkles. 

“Delicious!” she said happily, stuffing her face with more of the salad.

“I'm glad the salad dressing suit your taste,” I said.

In this world of fantasy, things like salad dressings don't exist either. Fortunately, working as a waitress and having to provide for myself in my previous life, I had observed and learned how to make some handmade sauce.

“Um... Can I... really have more?” the harpy then asked, staring from her now-clean plate to the big bowl of salad between us.

“I can't finish all that by myself. Have as much as you like,” I answered.

A smile spread out across her face, and the harpy scooped up more salad on her plate, along with some of the dressing, all while her ears flapped lightly.

'Is her ears flapping the same as a dog wagging its tail?' I wondered.

******

Once lunch was over, I cleaned up the plates, while the harpy girl was resting on the couch. As I washed the tableware, I wondered how to keep moving forward with my new roommate. As far as I could tell, she was not like the harpies written in books. If anything, she was just a scared little child with bird parts. 

Even if I am mentally an adult, it did not change the fact that I knew nothing about caring for kids, especially not a monster child. Even if I did ask Celis for books on harpies, or just monsters in general, I doubt there would be a book on how to care for them. Likewise, I highly doubt taking care of a monster would be the same as taking care of a pet.

Whimpers reached my ears, and I turned to see the girl sleeping with a saddened expression on her face. 

“M-... Mama... Papa...” she muttered out.

Hearing those cries, I approached the poor child and gently petted her head, hoping it would help calm her down, even if just a bit. It seemed to have worked, as the expression she wore had relaxed some.

As I was petting her head, I began staring at her ears. The long, feathery ears, as well as the feathers on her arms. Both may not be fur, but they sure do look soft and smooth to touch. Slowly, I move my hand to one of her feathery ears and gave it a good, soft rub.

I felt my heart stop as I felt how soft the ears were. I had petted dogs in the past, and this? These feathers are just as soft as those doggies' fur! Not only that, but the harpy girl fluttered her little ears as she slept, practically slapping my hand with her soft, fluffy feathers. 

'No matter what world or what creature it is... My weakness against fluffy things remains the same, dammit!' I mentally shouted.

I then started scratching her behind the ear like one would do to a dog, and lo and behold, the harpy turned over and rubbed her head closer to my hand. I placed my hand over my mouth and trembled slightly, wanting to squeal at how adorable this small child was, but not at the cost of waking her.

My effort seemed futile either way, as the harpy girl slowly opened her eyes and stared right at me. 

“... Hi there,” I simply said.

Instantly, the harpy shot off the couch with a shriek and hid from me.

The way she acted made me feel uneasy. After she had opened up to me, even just a bit, it pained me to see her look at me like one of those traders.

“I'm going to go train for a bit. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask,” I could only tell her, as I grabbed my cloak and walked out to the lake.

Once I was outside, I glanced at the lake before me. Like the previous times, my mind went back to my death at the sight of it. That feeling of drowning, the air leaving my lungs, the water pulling me away from the surface...

I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying hard to forget that time, and focused my attention to my mana flowing through me. Slowly opening my eyes, I slowly had a droplet form in between my hands, as I had done the previous times. Suppressing my fear towards water, I looked over to a target I had set up nearby and pointed my magic at it. I tried to envision the droplet shooting towards it, pushing my mana to my hands to make the water fly. But like the previous times, the droplet only grew bigger, and my mind blanked over to my death. 

I jumped back at the mental image, falling on my butt as I did. My hands slowly made their way to my neck as I tried to calm my breathing, and remind myself that I was not in that situation again. However, with how strongly my passing had affected me, as well as the terrible irony of my magic affinity having some connection to my death, it was hard to not think of the possibility of it happening again. I may not know how one's magic affinity would affect them, nor have I ever heard of one's magic backfiring on them in any way, but the thought that it would be possible frightened me. 

It was not that I was being paranoid, or maybe I was, but it was more that whenever I conjured up my magic, the mana flowing through my arms felt similar to water, no matter how much I tried to tighten my muscles. That feeling, combined with the sight of the droplet getting bigger... I could not help but be frightened by the possibility of getting drowned by my own power.

“Um...” I heard a voice call for me and looked over to see the harpy looking at me from the window.

“O-Oh! Sorry. Did I disturb you in any way?” I asked.

The harpy only shook her head no. 

“Then... Is there anything you need?”

She shook her head once more.

“You know, I can't do anything for you if you don't tell me what's wrong,” I told her.

The girl looked down, her ears drooping. I could tell she still was not used to me, most likely because of my race and her previous experience with my race, but even so, it still hurt that she went back to being silent like she was.

“... doing it...” she softly muttered out.

“Hm? What was that?” I asked.

“Y-You're doing it wrong...” the harpy said. “Your muscles are... t-t-too tense... It disrupts the mana flowing...”

“Huh? They do?”

The harpy nodded at my question. “Mana is suppose to flow easily throughout one's body, especially as a spell is being cast. However, depending on one's muscles, the flow can be disrupted, and the spell can backfire in some way.”

I raised a brow at this piece of information, as it was not told in any magic tutorial books I had read. 

“Are you sure it isn't just for harpies, or monsters in general?” I asked her. “It could be different for you, especially considering your affinity.”

The girl tilted her head in confusion. “Um... What does my affinity have to do with mana flow?”

“Well, your affinity is wind, right? Maybe the thing with muscles is only for wind users. Me? ... There are no books for my affinity, so I can't say for sure if I'm even doing it right.”

“But... muscle control is the most basic and important thing to using any element.” I looked at her confused when she said that. “If they're tense, you would use up more mana than necessary, oftentimes even lose control of it. If they're too loose, not much mana would be used, and whatever spell that has been casted would not be as effective as it should be. This is especially true to humans, since compared to other races, they have the lowest amount of mana.”

That one piece of information then intrigued me. The way she said it made it sound like even monsters can use magic. Even more so, she made it sound like all affinities are the same. But... that couldn't be, could it?

“Can you come out for a moment?” I asked.

The harpy's ears drooped at the question, and she slightly hid herself under the window.

“I'm not going to hurt you, if that's what you're assuming. I just need a bit of support,” I reasoned.

The girl hesitated for a moment, her lips pursed together. I did not want her to keep seeing me as some bad guy, or gal, and thought of a way that would make her comfortable around me, even if it was only temporary. 

“If you give me support, I'll make something delicious for tonight,” I bribed.

Her ears perked up at the offer, before drooping down again.

Seeing that I got somewhere with her, I then asked, “Do you want to make a request instead? Or is there something harpies don't eat?”

“Why...?” she asked instead. “Why are you being nice to me? You know I'm a harpy, that I'm... a monster... to you humans..."

“If you are a monster, you sure don't act like one,” I pointed out. “I imagine monsters as creatures who would attack people without reason, aside from taking pleasure in seeing people's pain or death. Either that or creatures who would eat people alive. ... You don't do either of that, do you?”

“No! Of course not!” the harpy answered strongly as she shook her head. Upon realizing she answered with a raised voice, she covered her mouth. “S-S-Sorry... But I really don't do that. No harpies I know of do.”

I nodded slightly to her words and recalled one thing I read about harpies in a book. “So you don't kill anyone who trespasses into your home?”

The harpy shook her head no to that question. “There have been people or animal that walk into our territory, but those people are usually lost or exhausted. We harpies tried to bring them to our nest to help them recover and bring them back to their home. But for some reason, while animals are more calm and willing to have our assistance, humans instantly panic the moment we pick them up, or even when they see us.”

I sweat dropped at the explanation, realizing that whoever wrote those information about harpies completely got the wrong idea about them. Assuming if this girl was telling the truth, that is.

“Well, so long as we are in agreement that you won't do anything to harm me, I don't see why I shouldn't be nice to you,” I told her.

The harpy stayed silent and continued to stare at me. She then jumped out the window and landed gently on the ground, warily approaching until she stood right next to me.

“W-What do you want me to do?” she asked nervously.

“Just put your hand on my shoulder. That's all I'm asking you to do,” I answered, hoping that having the presence of another could at least somewhat lessen my panic attack as I use my magic.

Thankfully, the harpy did not question my request and just placed her hand on my shoulder, as I asked. I took in some calming breaths to ease myself and my muscles. As soon as I relaxed, I carefully conjured up the water ball once more. Like before, however, my mind had gone back to my death in my previous life, and my mana flowing in me started to feel like the water that kept me drowning me in the ocean. I started gasping for breaths, and I felt my magic slowly losing control.

“-ilad-... mila-... Milady!” a voice shouted in my ear, and my mind snapped back to the present. My knees felt weak and buckled down, relief washing over me as I took in some calm breaths.

“Um... What happened?” the harpy hesitantly asked. “I've... never seen anyone act the way you did. Not even first-timers reacted that way.”

I was unsure how to answer that. Even if I told her the truth of my fear for water, there was no way she would believe in reincarnation. Although... I could twist the truth a bit. 

“A few years back, before my affinity was realized, I was playing by a pond and accidentally fell in. Because I didn’t awaken to my element at the time, much less have much training in magic, I almost drowned. Since then, whenever I see a body of water close by, I get this panic attack. Same thing happened when I tried to use my magic... the flow was quite similar to that of water flowing through me. I just couldn't help but go into a panic...”

A whimper caught my ears, and I looked up to see, to my surprise, a teary-eyed, whimpering, ears-drooping, trembling harpy. “S-S-... Sorry... I'm so sorry for making you remember something so terrible...” she stuttered, causing me to go into a panic at how pure this child was.

“N-No! It's not your fault, really!” I told her. “Besides... It's better to talk things out rather than keep it in, wouldn't you say?”

“But...”

I placed a hand on her head. “Like I said, don't worry about it. All this training is making me a bit hungry. I'm going to get started on that dinner. Is there anything you can't have?”

The harpy shook her head in response.

“Okay. Then tonight is pizza toast! Got a bunch of extra groceries today from the market owners as birthday gifts, and the ice magic stone isn't going to keep them fresh or preserved for long. It saddens me how similar it is to a refrigerator, and yet is less effective than it...”

“'Pizza toast'? 'Refrigerator'?” the harpy repeated in a questioned tone.

“Ah! Don't worry about it. I'm just mumbling to myself.” As I walked back to our home, I realized something. “Oh yeah, we never got each other's names, do we? My name is Levi. What's your name?”

For some reason, instead of answering, she looked down with another saddened expression on her face. “... I don't remember... I've been a slave for so long...”

I was shocked to hear that, feeling even more disgusted at those slave traders, and wondering just at what age was this child taken from her family. “Nameless, huh... Well, we can't have that. Let's see... what name fits a harpy...”

“Y-You don't need to give me a name! I'm fine being nameless,” she told me.

“No way. Every living thing needs to have a name to be referred to. And I am not just going to keep calling you 'You' or 'Hey'. And just calling you 'Harpy' or 'Bird' will also be disrespectful, too.”

“B-But...”

“Again, it’s okay.” I picked up a stick lying on the ground and started brainstorming some names for the girl. “Let's see... Harpies are said to be masters of wind. And it's nice to have the name short so... Breeze... Gale... Storm... Windy...”

“You don't have to come up with the names now...” the harpy tried to tell me.

“Nope. I refuse to let you be nameless any longer than needed,” I retorted, staring at the words I wrote down, all having to do with wind. “Hmm... The name shouldn't be too simple, either...” As I stared at the list, two words- two letters, rather- caught my eyes. I replaced the first letter from one of the two words with the last letter from the other. “Oh, this sounds like a good one. What do you think of the name 'Mindy'?” 

“M-... 'Mindy'?” the harpy asked back.

“Well, look. The letters 'M' and 'W' are practically mirrored versions of each other. Turn the 'W' in 'windy' over, and you get 'Mindy'. It's also a cute name. What do you think?”

The harpy went silent at the explanation. I thought she disliked it due to how simple the name or the reason behind it was, or maybe a mixture of both.

“I... I can't read,” she then said.

I felt as though a weight hit my head at those words. 'It should’ve been obvious, shouldn't it?' I questioned myself. 'This girl has been a slave since a young- well, younger- age. She wouldn't have known her abc's yet.'

“But...” I looked back at her when I heard her continue to speak, taking notice of the light blush on her face. “I like the name...”

A smile formed on my face when I heard her say those words. “Well then, tomorrow, we can work on teaching you how to read and write. Aside from training, cooking, and occasional cleaning, I have more than enough time to spare in teaching you however I can.”

“Is it... really okay?”

“Of course it is. Now then, to get started on dinner. Think you can help me out? Pizza toast is fairly easy to make, and it's really delicious.”

Her ears perked up and she eagerly nodded, most likely because of good food coming her way.

“Then let's go, Mindy.”