Kays Translations

Chapter 45: The First Lesson and Ripples of Light

　Afternoon business resumed today. Most of the people in the affected areas had returned to work. Mr. Henry did not come for lunch. He must be busy again. I wondered if he would be able to come to the magic lesson tonight.

　In the afternoon, I received a letter from Mr. Henry. He said that although Mr. Kyrias loves magic, he would not be coming to Mr. Glidden’s lesson tonight. The letter said, “He has been invited to a family dinner. His family is very close-knit, so he probably can’t refuse.”

　Glidden-san and Sarah arrived at six o’clock, and Henry arrived a little later. I made stewed meatballs again for the two elderly people. I’m sure they’ll enjoy the tender meatballs.

“The meat is uniform and quite fine. This was not done by beating the meat with a knife, was it?　Can you show me the tools you used?　Did you make it with magic?”

“Yes, I did. Would you like to see it now?　Then come this way, please.”

　There were no more customers, so I led him to the kitchen. Mr. Glidden stood up even though he was still eating, and his companion, Sarah, looked down with a wry smile.

“This is a tool for grinding meat.”

“Oh. I wonder what’s going on in the inside. Can you take it out and show me? I see, I see. The spiral blade chops the meat as it rotates. And then at the end it pushes the meat out through this hole. It’s well thought out. If you put this on the market, it will be very popular.”

　Mr. Glidden looked at the mincing machine with a twinkle in his eye. When I replied that I had no intention of selling it, he gave me an aghast look, then laughed and said, “Next time, I’d like to see the reason why, too,” and returned to his seat. He seemed to have figured out that I was making money by magic.

　Mr. Glidden asked, his face turning into that of a teacher.

“You are good at transformation magic, aren’t you Mai?　I want to see how well you can do it before I teach you.”

“Yes, sir.”

　I made a few wooden plates out of firewood and after a bit of thought, I transformed the table into  Michelangelo’s Pietà statue.  I love the statue of Mary holding the dead body of Jesus, and I’ve been to the church in Bunkyo Ward many times just to see the Pieta. So the magically converted statue of Pieta is a small but faithful reproduction. I guess the time lag was a little longer than usual because I put out something more complicated than plates and carts.

　Henry was sitting at a distance, arms folded, watching, but he leaned forward in amazement, probably because it was my first time bringing out a sculpture. Sarah put her hand over her mouth and was speechless. I think she was probably more impressed by the beauty of the statue. Mr. Glidden was expressionless.

“You do all this and yet you don’t get tired at all.”

“Yes. Can you tell how much magical power I have lost?”

“To find out how much magical power someone has, you use detection magic. You have to hit them with a very small amount of magic power. If the other person has a lot of magic power, the magic power that you emit will be accelerated and bounce back. If the person has no magic power, the magic power is absorbed and their body will glow slightly. If the other person is a beastman, the color of the light is different. The color of the beastman also differs depending on its race. To be able to read it, you have to repeat it over and over again.”

　　What was that.

“That would make it easy to know who is a beastman, wouldn’t it?　Is detection magic something that any wizard can do?”

“No. At the moment, there are no wizards around me who can do it. Not all wizards, even the best ones, can do it.”

“So how do they find out who has how much magical power? How, for example, are the wizards in the castle chosen?”

“The wizards employed at the castle are chosen on the basis of their practical skills. Sensing magic is an ancient form of magic. Most wizards probably don’t even know that sensing magic exists. Do you know why?”

“Is it a question of practicality?”

　Mr. Glidden nods in satisfaction.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s the downside of prioritizing practicality. The reason is that ‘there are very few people with more than a certain amount of magical power and very few beastmen, so there is no point in learning such magic. After all, there are an endless number of things that magicians need to learn and master.’”

“Will using that magic cause no physical harm to the other person?”

“Don’t worry. The magic power you applied will immediately leave your body along with the light and disappear.”

　Mr. Glidden looks happy. Henry has a blank look on his face.

“The magic required changes with the times. The combination of magic is ever-evolving. If wizards do not learn and pass on their magic to the next generation, the magic that is not used will disappear. There is no one who can master a technique just by reading a book without someone’s guidance. The only such magician I know is Liyol. I really hope Mai will learn it.”

　I tried it right away. It was difficult at first because I had never released magic power without creating something. Mr. Glidden told me, “Relax your shoulders.  Let the magic power flow out softly.”　I was confused. After repeating the procedure dozens of times, I got an idea of how to do it. But it seemed that I was putting out too much magic power.

“It’s too strong. That level of strength is only to be used in forests or plains. If you release it that strongly in a crowded place, the wizard will notice. The volume of the voice would be adjusted according to the distance. It’s the same thing.”

“I kind of got the idea. I’ll give it a try.”

　From there, it was all about the release of magic power. For two whole hours, I only released magic power. It was weak and thin. It was much more difficult to emit magical power in all directions from the center of me without interruption than to release it with all my might. I was sweating.

After about two hours, I could feel a sharp reflection coming from Mr. Glidden once every two times. I don’t get one back from Sarah. Only a slight whitish glow on Ms. Sarah’s body. What about Mr. Henry?　I looked and saw that his body was glowing a pale red. (Wow!) I was impressed.

　The bell rang at nine o’clock, and the first session ended long after that.

“All right, let’s call it a night. This is something you must practice every day. Try it out while walking through a crowd. You’ll find it interesting. I had a lot of fun tonight. You have great qualities and talents.”

“It’s not mine, it’s my grandmothers’.”

“Not only that. I started this training when I was thirty years old, and it took me three weeks to master it and be able to read the responses without making mistakes. You are a bundle of talent and potential. Now, shall we go home, Sarah?”

“Yes, sir. But, um, ……”

　Sarah liked the Pietà statue and asks, “Will you put it back on the table? I will pay you for it so can you give it to me?” I didn’t need the money, so I asked Henry to load it into the carriage. Sarah was very happy, and I was happy too.

　The two of them were very close today. Mr. Henry saw them off and then looked at me.

“What color was mine?”

“It was a pale red. A very beautiful and elegant red.”

“Pale red. I’ll keep that in mind.”

　After that we said “good night” and hugged before he left. Mr. Henry was like a guardian knight.

　The next morning, I excitedly went to the market street early in the morning. Many merchants come at this time of the day. I also tried to release my magic loosely while purchasing things.

(Wow, interesting!)

When I released my magic power, keeping in mind to keep it “weak and soft,” the bodies of those closest to me started to glow, just like a stone being thrown into a lake. The ripples of light spread out, with a very slight time lag, and the bodies of those further away began to glow after a delay.

(Heh!　Heh!　Heh!)  

　I continued to release my magic power as I walked down the street. It was interesting to see the people around me glowing, so I kept walking down the market street, and my magic power started bouncing back. There was a magic user nearby!

　I slowly look around.

　There they were. There was only one man who was not glowing. He is a slender man of about fifty years old. He was buying a lot of meat and vegetables. I heard that having magical powers does not necessarily mean you are a wizard, but it seemed like I got somepretty sharp reflection.

　After that, I continued emitting magical power for a long time, and returned home just in time for Sophia-chan to arrive.

“Mai-tan, Fee-chan is here!”

“Good morning, Sophia-chan.”

　What color would Sophia-chan and Mr. Dion glow?

(Sorry, this is all part of the training!) I released my magic power while apologizing in my heart. As Dion and Sophia’s bodies absorbed the magic, they began to glow a soft blue, especially around their stomachs. I shouted “Ohhh!” in my mind again, and sent Dion off, saying, “I’ll take good care of her today too.”

　I see. That’s the color of a dog-type beastman!

“Sophia-chan, shall we plow the fields together today?”

“Yeah!”

　We decided to plow the small field that had originally been created in the backyard. I gave Sophia a small shovel made from an iron pot, and I tried digging up the field with a worn-out hoe that was in the garden. I didn’t know how to use a hoe, so I had a hard time digging it up properly.

“It was difficult. Sophia, were you able to dig the hole?”

　When I looked to my rear left, I saw a cute little puppy digging furiously in the dirt.

　Gurglegurglegurle,She was single-mindedly digging a hole with her front legs, and had already dug a deep hole about 50 centimeters in diameter. Sophia seemed to have heard me say “Ah,” and she stopped digging, looked over at me, and asked, “Hmm?”

　Damn, she is too cute!

“Fee-chan, Woof Woof digs it better!”

“I see.”

　I looked around at the cute, dirt-covered doggie Sophia, smiling softly, wondering,  (what happened to her clothes?). Her dress and panties were hooked to a holly branch in the garden.

“Sophia-chan, I don’t think people will come here because it’s a dead end, but if they see you, you’ll be in trouble, okay?　Next time, make sure you let me know before you turn into a dog.”

“Okay.”

　I don’t know if she really understood, but I had to wash this muddy kid anyway.

　I put Sophia in the bathroom, pretended to have prepared hot water in the kitchen, and  used magic to produce 40 degree water, which I then carried around in a bucket and scrubbed her in it.

“Soap smells good!　What’s that smell?”

“It smells like flowers.”

“Fi-chan’s house doesn’t smell, right? I love it. It smells so good!”

　Sophia was so cute as she sniffed the soap with her doggie body, that I almost said “I’ll give you the same soap” but I was sure that if I gave it to her, Karin would be considerate enough to return the favor.

Oh, how frustrating. It’s a pain to keep the fact that you’re a wizard a secret.

“I received this soap. If I get some more, I’ll give some to Sophia too.”

“Yay!”

　Back to human, Sophia and I went back to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

　I thought the same thing during the flood, but if I continue to hide my magic, I won’t be of any use to anyone. When I was living alone, I thought I should hide it to protect myself, but now it’s a bit difficult.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter