The Abandoned White Magician’s Tea Life - Chapter 12 : Amalia's Black Tea (2)

Translator: Sunnyshies

Editor: Ryuubii

Chapter 12 : Amalia’s Black Tea (2)

Amalia hurried back to the house after buying small cans of all three kinds.

On the way, she almost went to the inn instead of the house where Yugo was waiting for her, so she hurriedly changed direction and came home, where she found him sitting on a chair in the living room waiting for her.

“Welcome home, Mom. Did you manage to buy some tea?”

“Yes, I was able to buy a good, ready-made one. I’m going to make a pot now, do you want to drink it?”

“Drink!”

Amalia headed for the kitchen, smiling at the sight of Yugo’s raised hands and insistence.

In the kitchen cabinet, there was a small water kettle. It could hold enough water for a woman or child to drink one cup at a time, and the water could boil quickly.

The house had been vacant for a while now, but Bruno and his friends had been cleaning it up so that it would be ready for a new resident at any time. Amalia brought in some firewood from the shed, thinking that it would be easy to make a fire.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

Yugo peeked over to check on Amalia, who was crouching in front of the hearth, knocking flint against it.

“Aren’t you supposed to be brewing tea?”

“I need to build a fire to make tea.”

“Fire? Do we just put it on that piece of wood?”

“That’s right, but―”

“Yah*!”

(This is the same move Yugo used when destroying the rock before they went to the village in ch. 5.)

The tip of Yugo’s plump forefinger was pointed at the wood in the hearth. And with his cute shout, the tip of his finger glowed red.

Swoosh! A red fire lit up the firewood with a sound, and Amalia fell on her buttocks out of shock.

“Whoa! Fire magic!”

“That’s right. I can do this much.”

Yugo was happy to have surprised Amalia, and he seemed to be very proud of himself.

‘…oh, I see. The light dragons are not only good at light magic, but they can also use magic of other attributes to some extent.’

Since he was good at light magic, she had only thought that it would be nice if he could light up the night when it was pitch black, but it seemed that Yugo was more versatile than Amalia had thought.

Amalia asked as she placed the kettle on the stove, thanking him.

“Can Yugo use many other kinds of magic?”

“Generally. Oh, but we can’t use white magic.”

“Can’t use it at all?”

“Yeah. We dragons and demons are more skilled in black magic than humans. But white magic can only be used by those who live in this world.”

“Hmm…I wonder why.”

“I don’t know why… maybe it’s because we’re good at hurting others, but we have no concept of healing others.”

Although Yugo told the story plainly, his expression was a little sad.

She was not sure what kind of life dragons and demons lived in the Demon World, but despite being “the youngest dragon”, Yugo doesn’t talk about his family or the Demon World. She wondered if he had little interest in family, but he happily called Amalia “mom”.

‘I’m sure that for demons, the parent-child relationship is completely different from ours.’

The fact that they are good at black magic but have no aptitude for white magic may have a lot to do with the way demons and dragon races live and interact with others.

The fire that Yugo had started was burning well, and it seemed to be boiling faster than she had expected.

“Mom, I’ll help you.”

“Thank you. Well then, let’s get the tea ready.”

There was a regular pot that was not for tea, so she gave Yugo a spoon and taught him the difference between “a heaping cup” and “a grating cup,” and then had him put the amount of tea leaves into the pot according to the directions on the label.

“Is this supposed to be a drink? It looks like garbage.”

“Well, they only look like dead leaves. Now, then scoop it up.”

When Amalia held out the can, Yugo’s eyes were like a pair of saucers and his lips were tightly pressed together as he carefully put the tea leaves into the pot. His hands were trembling a little, but he was extremely pleased with himself for having put in the right amount of tea by “grating” it properly.

The water had just boiled, so she quickly poured it into the pot. The pot was made of ceramic, so you couldn’t see what was in it from the outside, but Yugo bent over the edge of the table, staring at the pot as it made popping sounds.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t find an hourglass, so she and Yugo counted the time out loud. Yugo didn’t seem to understand the units of time or big numbers, but he seemed to enjoy reciting along with Amalia’s voice. “Eighteen~, nineteen, Ten!*” He counted with a smile on his face.

(“じゅうはち、じゅうきゅう、じゅう!” – /Ji ~yuuhachi,-jū kyū,-jū!/ Yugo said eighteen a little longer.)

When the time came, she carefully poured the tea into the cup that had become heated with the hot water. She tried to be as careful as possible, but since it was not a teapot, a small amount of tea leaves still floated in the cup, so she scooped them up with a spoon.

“Yes, it’s ready. How does it smell?”

“…it doesn’t smell very sweet.”

“Do you like it sweet, Yugo? I will buy honey again next time, so please be patient with this until then.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Shaking his head, Yugo carefully carried the cups for the two of them with a tray and brought them into the living room.

The cups were placed on the table that had just been cleaned up, Amalia sat on the couch and Yugo climbed onto her lap. The chair for Yugo was not yet ready.

“Okay, well, be careful, it’s hot.”

“I’m a dragon. This is nothing to me.”

Yugo said proudly, then drank the steamy tea all at once as he had declared. 

It seemed that his resistance to heat was real, not a bluff, and he drank it down. As Amalia sipped her own cup, he drained it and fumbled with his mouth with an “Mnn.”

“It’s quite bitter.”

“Yes, it is. But it’s all about the sweetness from the aroma within the bitterness.”

“…sorry, I don’t really understand. But it made me feel warm and happy.”

Yugo twisted around on his knees and looked up at Amalia with a smile. The angel’s smile caught her off guard, and her hand trembled as she held her tea.

Although he seems to be resistant to heat, Yugo’s pale cheeks are slightly flushed, and he looks really happy and relaxed.

“Tea is bitter, but it warms the heart.”

“Good. I’ll make you another pot.”

Amalia said as she gently wiped Yugo’s mouth with a handkerchief, and he smiled shyly before leaning back against Amalia’s chest.

Of course, ready-made black tea is delicious, but she would love to have a cup of her own, brewed from herbs and fruits for Yugo to enjoy.

☼☼☼