I am under your care

"These balls of crumpled papers, are these beacons of some sort?" Lisa asked as she looked at the crumpled papers on Rick's hands.

She noticed strange symbols written on the balls of crumpled papers. Although Rick was young, she mused that he wouldn't just throw these objects if they didn't have any use.

As someone from the sealed village of Milan, Lisa wasn't any stranger to Sealing symbols.

Rick then teleported away from Lisa and nodded without explaining further.

"I assume your elements are Wind and Space?" Lisa said as she raised her left eyebrow.

"And Ice" Rick replied, straight to the point as he picked up the nearby balls of crumpled papers.

The corners of Lisa's eyes widened in shock as she looked at Rick's figure. But her lips curled up to a wide smile shortly afterwards.

'Triple-element mage? Furthermore, one is of supreme grade? Interesting.' Lisa thought to herself.

"What about those two?" Lisa added as she looked at the unconscious figures lying on the ground.

"Carla's elements are Water and Ice while Leon's elements are Fire and Life" Rick replied.

'Two supreme elements from the sealed village alone, not to mention that one of them is a monstrous genius who can teleport in combat. It seems that the village's future is bright' Lisa thought to herself.

"Show me your ice spells" Lisa said as her eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"About that.. I still haven't tapped into ice spells" Rick replied as he scratched the back of his head.

Lisa then looked closely at Rick's figure as the pupils of her eyes narrowed. It was at this moment that she realized that he's still too young to have that many spells.

There were those who were taught magic at a young age but they aren't really that common. Parents usually refrain from teaching their children magic at an earlier age than 8 due to the dangers of magic itself.

There were some reclusive clans who taught magic to their young as soon as they hit the age of 5 but as far as she can remember, the villagers of Milan weren't that reckless.

'I forgot. He's still too young indeed. His calmness, quick thinking, and judgment masked his youthfulness. It's as if the wisdom of his mind is beyond his age' Lisa thought to herself.

"You skipped Ice magic and directly learned spatial magic? You're quite bold. Who taught you Spatial Magic anyway?" Lisa asked.

She didn't recall anyone from the village who had an affinity for Spatial magic so she surmised that it was someone from the outside world.

"No one taught me. In fact, everyone from the village forbids me from casting Spatial Magic. It's just that I had ideas and couldn't stop myself from trying them out" Rick said as he flashed an embarrassed smile.

Lisa was a bit taken aback by Rick's reply but she quickly composed herself.

"Aside from the villagers, I assume no one knew of your Spatial affinity?" Lisa asked as the corners of her pupils narrowed down.

"I didn't show it to anyone else other than you, Leon, Carla, and the villagers" Rick replied as he rubbed his chin.

'A self-learned spell? What a monster.' Lisa praised inwardly.

"Then that's good. From now on, you are forbidden from learning other spatial spells for now. Focus on honing your foundation and arsenal. You're still too green to think about other Spatial spells" Lisa said with a gentle smile.

However, Rick slightly shivered when he saw her smile. He knew for sure that he won't ever try learning other Spatial spells without her permission starting from now.

Lisa then looked at the unconscious figures of Leon and Carla and shouted "Wake up!"

Rick didn't feel any difference in her voice but Leon and Carla immediately woke up while covering their ears as they grit their teeth in pain.

Rick was taken aback by Leon and Carla's over reaction from her shout.

After a few seconds, they calmed down and looked at Rick and Lisa with confusion on their faces.

"Rick, you're not bad but you're still too green when it comes to battles. As for you two, frankly speaking, I'm disappointed" Lisa said as she looked down on Leon and Carla's figures who were still sitting on the ground.

Carla's expression turned sour when she heard Lisa's words while Leon just looked at Rick for a moment before he turned his head down.

"You were down as soon as I attacked. You didn't even try to escape the range of my [Deprivation] spell. Only Rick was able to react to the situation and escape as soon as possible. Had I truly been the enemy, from the looks of it, he would have been able to come up with a way to escape. But did you know why he didn't?" Lisa said as she looked at the two.

Lisa was about to add but the corners of her eyes widened in approval when Leon answered "Because of us" without lifting his head up.

"It's good that you know" Lisa replied as the corners of her lips curled up to a faint smile.

'Hoh, I like this boy.' Lisa thought to herself.

'Woman, technically, they're still kids, you know? How were they supposed to react when Teacher Narlie told us that we can trust you?' Rick retorted in his mind but he didn't dare to reveal his thoughts.

As if Lisa heard his thoughts, she turned her gaze to Rick and flicked his forehead. Rick just held his forehead as he looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"No way! You can read my thoughts!?" Rick exclaimed.

"Of course not. But your expression tells me you had something to say in your mind. But now that you mentioned it, I wonder, were you cursing me or something like that?" Lisa said as the pupils of her eyes narrowed while her lips curled up to a gentle smile.

"Hahaha, what are you talking about? Of course not, I agree with everything you say" Rick said as he scratched the back of his head while his forehead was sweating bullets.

'If we knew she was this eccentric, we would've accepted life as orphans on the streets' Rick inwardly said his regret.

"Good. Now that you're here, I am under your care" Lisa declared as she patted the trio's heads.

'Shouldn't it be the reverse?' Carla said in her mind as veins popped from her forehead.