Volume 2: The Temucha Region—Aunt in Flames

Chapter 27: Thank You for Always Looking After My Nephew

The week after our special lesson concluded to great acclaim, the Kingdom of Griefia entered its rainy season.

“Um… Beginning next week, we’ll be on Rainy Season Break.”

“Hooray!”

Luluk was the first to respond to Professor Blanchard.

This country had a culture of celebrating rain.

Long ago, a great fire had nearly consumed the royal capital. A powerful mage of that era manipulated the sky and summoned rain.

It continued for seven days, bringing the capital’s fires under control with minimal damage. Ever since, rain had fallen on the capital for seven days at the same time every year.

This country had quite a few baffling stories of that sort. Since I came from the remote Decor region, I had never actually seen the royal capital endure seven continuous days of rain.

Still, I knew the entire country—not merely the capital—took a long holiday at this time of year.

In other words, it was simply a public holiday.

“We’re redoing the remaining interior work in the research building, so I’m afraid it’ll be off-limits. More importantly, all of you should use this opportunity to get proper rest.”

Oh, right. I had heard about that.

Then I needed to bring my remaining research to a stopping point before the break began.

Aunt Coffey had also told me I would begin helping seriously with her work around the holiday. I should finish what needed doing and lock everything up early.

After Professor Blanchard gave a brief closing greeting and dismissed us, I headed first for Filiestra’s laboratory.

Hers was a corner room.

It lay beyond the rooms belonging to Amae and Luluk, where occasional explosions rang out.

…It was tranquil.

This room possessed a unique atmosphere.

I steadied my breathing and knocked.

“Come in.”

The instant I opened the door, the faint scents of medicinal herbs and disinfectant tickled my nose.

A hospital examination room.

That was the simplest description of Filiestra’s private laboratory.

A white examination table occupied its center.

An anatomical model, skeletal specimen, and assorted medical magical devices stood along the walls. The shelves held medical texts and magical research papers.

The entire room was astonishingly orderly.

Every book’s spine aligned by height. Not a speck of dust lay on the floor, nor a stain on the walls. The only things on the desk were an unfinished document and a quill.

At the desk in the back, Filiestra quietly read through some materials.

“Welcome. I was just about to come get you. I’ll make tea, so will you wait a moment?”

“…Y-Yeah.”

I nodded lightly to Filiestra’s warm smile.

She seemed to have been immersed in research while wearing her usual white coat over her uniform.

“I finished what you asked for, so I came to deliver it.”

“Already? Thank you.”

I sat on the sofa and placed a thick bundle of papers on the reception table. The task she’d requested involved miscellaneous calculations for her research: safe depths for anesthetic formulas, the operational efficiency of Temucha formulas, and the compilation of various data.

Only after touching her research had I realized how difficult—no, how extraordinarily difficult—it was. Unless I mobilized every scrap of knowledge I possessed and applied it in complex ways, I could not even perform her odd jobs.

“You work quickly, Walker. This is a great help. Yes, the contents look good too.”

Filiestra picked up the documents as though exchanging them for the tea set she’d prepared. A cup filled with amber liquid was placed gently before me.

“Now, about the examination we performed the other day…”

My back stiffened at the subject she raised.

She meant the precision examination.

It began with Filiestra’s desire to analyze the blood of a mage with a high magical coefficient. Nothing particularly concerning had happened, and she said she obtained extremely valuable data.

She later proposed a precision examination, and I agreed.

Today, she would give me the results.

“I examined your body from every possible angle.”

I swallowed.

My nature was now a secret known only to me, but according to Grandpa, I was an artificial human. A precision examination offered an excellent opportunity to learn about my own body—especially when conducted by a classmate I trusted.

Two points concerned me.

Was my body truly no different from that of an ordinary human, and could I be considered healthy?

The second was my suspicion that Filiestra herself was an artificial human like me.

I had agonized because so much remained uncertain, but ultimately decided to undergo the examination.

I hadn’t told her anything yet, but she might know something about my body. Perhaps the results had already revealed all my secrets.

Above all, I wondered whether Filiestra’s soul had also been summoned from another world.

“Your dragon veins, heart, nerves… I was amazed by how well all your magical tissues function. Honestly, they’re at a level one normally sees only in textbooks.”

Filiestra spoke with slight excitement, leaving me momentarily dumbfounded.

“Your dragon veins are especially remarkable. Their paths are extremely clean. I’ve never seen such an unwavering structure in a real body.”

“Is it really that rare?”

“Yes. This should make creating keys much easier too.”

“Keys?”

“For important papers or research you don’t want others reading, we create locks that open only for the dragon veins of specific people. They can’t be duplicated or disguised, so it’s the most reliable form of information security.”

Oh, dragon-vein authentication.

Grandpa had used it for important manuals and specification documents too.

“Speaking of my dragon veins, did you find anything else unusual?”

“What?”

“You know… anything that wasn’t good?”

Filiestra immediately shook her head.

“No. Everything I examined showed healthy values. I found no negative abnormalities.”

“…What about the waveform of my magic?”

“Waveform? …Let me think. I don’t believe there was anything strange.”

“I see.”

“But Walker, I’m surprised you know such specialized terminology.”

“No, I…”

I tried probing, but she didn’t seem to be lying.

Could Filiestra herself be unaware that artificial humans even existed?

From an ordinary perspective, magical waveforms were certainly insignificant.

Most people likely regarded them as the magical equivalent of fingerprints.

And ordinarily, no one would imagine that those “fingerprints” determined whether a person could use a magic sword.

To begin with, “Filiestra is an artificial human” was merely my inference. Even my own status as one had no scholarly support beyond Grandpa’s testimony.

There could be another reason Filiestra used my magic sword, while she herself remained an ordinary human.

…I was piling inference upon inference until everything became tangled.

For now, I should celebrate the fact that my body was healthy.

I could share information about magic-sword compatibility once my conclusions solidified.

And I would forget my suspicions about Filiestra being an artificial human for a while.

“Thanks to you, my research progressed enough to reach a stopping point before the break. Thank you.”

“It was nothing…”

“I’d like to treat you to something as thanks. Are you free during the Rainy Season holiday? On the final day, I’m planning to visit the Rain Market with Amae and the others.”

“…Oh, yes. She mentioned something about that.”

“Keep the day open. We’re all going out to experience our youth,” Amae had said.

So Filiestra had been invited as well.

I liked the way Amae gathered people and planned activities.

She was far too good a person.

“But you’re always helping me, Filiestra. I’d feel bad letting you pay.”

“You gave me a precious magic sword, so I’ve wanted to thank you properly. Please? Won’t you let me?”

“…Well, if you insist.”

“Truly? We’re planning to visit a shop with delicious tarts, so look forward to it.”

I disliked having other people pay for me, but her momentum carried me into agreeing.

I didn’t know whether Filiestra was conscious of it, but there was something captivating wavering within the innocence of the way she asked. She might be unexpectedly skilled at using her expressions.

“I’m glad our schedules matched, Walker. I’ll be visiting home for every day except the last.”

“Your family lives in Temucha, right?”

“Yes. Amae has business there too, so we’re leaving together next week. What will you do during the break?”

…Hm? Why was Amae accompanying her?

She had said her family lived in the royal capital.

Well, I could ask when I remembered.

“I’ll probably help with my aunt’s work.”

She was paying my tuition, so I had to put real effort into it. I had certainly focused too heavily on research over the past two months.

“I see. You’ll be working during the break too… You said your aunt runs a guild, didn’t you? Um… Your examination showed no problems, but you’re always staying up late. Please sleep normally during the holiday, at least.”

After some unremarkable conversation, I left Filiestra’s laboratory.

◇

“I see. So Filiestra will visit her family during the break.”

Mercedes reclined on my sofa as though it were the most natural thing in the world and elegantly raised a teacup to her lips.

“I thought I might invite her to the opera on a free day, but if we’ll see her on the last day anyway, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I intend to spend most of the holiday at Dragon Lake myself.”

“…………”

“Now, Bren. How is my magic sword progressing?”

Recently, Mercedes had begun visiting to inspect my magic swords at every opportunity.

She never stayed long, but she had developed a pattern of drinking one cup of tea, browsing my swords, delivering a lecture, and leaving.

“It’s coming along… slowly.”

“Is that so? Do you have any results?”

…She claimed she would wait patiently, but she was surprisingly insistent.

Still, it truly was an urgent problem from my perspective. Having her push me forward helped mentally.

“There’s one on the wall that’s better than the earlier attempts.”

While polishing an unfinished blade, I pointed to an undecorated magic sword hanging on the wall. I had adjusted its compatibility conditions with an unspecified third party in mind. Mercedes had apparently been wholly unable to use Filiestra Number Five, but this one should fit her noticeably better.

“Oh. So this is it…”

“Be careful if you touch it. It’s dangerous.”

“Whom do you think you’re addressing? I’ll borrow it for a—”

Mercedes gripped the cloth-wrapped hilt.

“!?”

At once, she released a voiceless scream.

Her long, slender limbs convulsed, and she let go without a word.

“Are you all right?”

“Y-Yes. I’m fine. It merely startled me.”

Although shaken, Mercedes didn’t appear injured. Perhaps she simply wasn’t accustomed to a magic sword’s compatibility reaction.

“…How complete is this?”

“Hard to say… In terms of compatibility, perhaps a little over twenty percent?”

“…Twenty percent?”

Had the result fallen below her hopes?

Compared with perfection, it was indeed a worthless level of completion. I couldn’t blame her for thinking poorly of it. Still, I should defend myself a little.

“That one is designed to suit anyone. If I custom-built a sword specifically for you, I could make something far easier to use.”

“…………”

“I only began last month, so it’ll be quite a while before I produce something properly usable.”

My back was turned, so I couldn’t see her expression. Mercedes stood silently before the sword.

“…I’ve disturbed you long enough. I’ll return to my training.”

“Don’t you want to see the research notes?”

“No. I’ve seen enough.”

With only that, Mercedes left.

A smile had seeped into her profile.

She arrived suddenly and left just as quickly. What a strange person.

◇

Aunt Coffey’s home was a detached, two-story wooden house in a residential neighborhood in the western district of the royal capital. Apparently, she had purchased it shortly after graduating from the academy and becoming independent.

The building also housed the office she operated. Its total floor area was roughly twice average, and she let me use one of the empty rooms upstairs.

I made a habit of returning home properly on weekends and eating with her. I usually cooked, so on those days I had to arrive before sunset.

Aunt Coffey loved meat.

Consequently, our meals often centered on it.

I had served stew last time, so tonight I planned to make steak. I was confident in both the seasoning and heat control.

As I considered that, I noticed a figure outside my aunt’s home. Long red hair swayed like flame.

“Aunt—”

I began to wave, then noticed there were two figures.

They stood facing one another and speaking.

The other was a woman.

She had a delicate build and white-blond hair cut in a bob.

And she wore the same uniform as—

“Filiestra?”

“………Walker…?”

Filiestra’s eyes widened when she saw me holding bags of groceries.

Why was she here?

Before I could ask, my aunt looked over her shoulder.

“Oh, Bren. Welcome home.”

“I’m back.”

“We have a guest. Greet her.”

A guest?

Had Filiestra come to commission something from my aunt?

“Hello, Filiestra.”

“…W-Why are you at Lady Dreadroll’s office? You just said you were home…”

“………She’s my aunt.”

“…S-She is? Can something like that really happen?”

To be fair, I was surprised too.

I hadn’t expected one of my classmates to visit my aunt’s guild as a client.

“You know Bren? I wondered if you might, since you’re a Magias student.”

“We’re in the same class.”

“My, my.”

My aunt nodded once, then bowed lightly to Filiestra.

“Filiestra, thank you for always looking after my nephew.”

“N-No! I couldn’t possibly accept such words from a Grand Mage! If anything, Walker is always hel—no, I mean, he’s always helping me…”

She had stumbled over her words.

I had rarely seen Filiestra shaken. Perhaps even she became nervous before a mage of my aunt’s caliber.

“Rather than stand out here, let’s continue inside.”

“Then I’ll make tea.”

“Yes. You should join us too. This concerns work.”

“What?”

My aunt spoke casually, leaving me standing there for several moments.