Chapter 20: Henry searches for traces of Riyo

　The night of the day he returned home from nursing Mai. Henry was reminded of a certain man.

　When he was five years old, he contracted an epidemic and fell ill with a high fever and turned into a cat.

　The fever persisted and he never recovered from his cat form. Viscount Howler, who was worried about him, did everything in his power and found a veterinarian by the name of Gonza.

　Gonza, who was invited to the Viscount’s house, touched Henry’s entire body, made him open his mouth, looked into his eyes, and then made his statement.

“It’s a cold. The reason he turned into a cat was because he was sick and his body was in mortal danger. It is not an illness that causes a child to assume the form of a beast, so once the fever subsides, it will return to its human form.”

　Viscount Howler, relieved, gave the man a generous payment for the consultation, and warned Gonza with a sharp look that was unimaginable from his usual gentle nature, "You must never tell anyone about this child." Gonza simply replied, "Of course," and left without asking why the Viscount's family had a beast-man child.

(I’m worried about the remaining medicine I received. Maybe Dr. Gonza can make the medicine. Or maybe he knows how I can avoid turning into a cat.)

　When he had asked his mother about it later on, she told him, "I received the medicine as a gift from someone and the person who gave it to me is no longer in this country."

　Henry, troubled, asked his adoptive father where Gonza was.

“Father, please tell me where the veterinarian is. I want to ask if there is any way I can avoid becoming a cat.”

“It’s been twenty years since then. Don’t get your hopes too high.”

　The address he gave him was a village right next to the royal capital.

　He decided to visit on his next day off and lay down in bed. He forgot to close the curtains, but thought it would be nice to fall asleep while looking at the night sky, so he went to sleep. There is one unfamiliar bright star shining in the night sky. It was a broom star, which comes around once every few decades. It used to be feared that it would bring bad luck, but such superstitions disappeared after astronomers figured out its cycle.

"The closest time to see it would be in April. I'd like to see it with you, Mai-san, but I guess that's impossible. Mai-san has a lover who she'll spend the Spring Festival with. But she's not married, so..."

　I’m half inclined to laugh coldly at my reluctance to give up, and half inclined to think that there’s nothing so bad about me.

　I can't help but smile wryly when I remember a civil servant colleague complaining, "Once a cat has set its sights on a prey, it never gives up. There's a cat that comes every day to target the small bird we keep."

　The next day, while he was working at the castle, Kyrias came to see him

“The girder bridge construction, we've decided to do it without wizards."

“That’s not it. It’s time to replace the potions, so I was told to make and deliver the potions by the end of this month.　You told me to replace all four hundred bottles, but can I deliver them in installments of two hundred bottles each?　I’m taking on other jobs right now, so four hundred bottles is a lot for nine people.”

“Then could you please negotiate directly with the army instead of with me? It would be faster than having me in the middle.”

“I don’t want to do it. The military guys will definitely want us to deliver 400 bottles at once. It’s not like they’re even going to use all four hundred at once. I’m hoping you’d negotiate with the military.”

　Henry looked at Kyrias without replying.

　He knew that the young Kyrias is struggling, having suddenly been put in charge of the Magic Department. He could imagine that the head of the military department would follow customary practice and tell him to deliver the requested number of items in the right quantities.

　　Potions that are more than six months old are replaced, and the older ones are sold in the castle. This is a great privilege for those who work at the castle. Because they are so valuable, the potions sold every six months are very popular. Some people even resell them in the market.

“Okay. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try to negotiate with them to deliver in installments as much as possible. In return, I’d like you to tell me something. Come here for a moment.”

　They left the large room and walked to the end of the hallway.

“What is it you want to ask me after bringing me all the way down here?”

“It’s about magic. Is it possible to give magic power to another person?”

“In rare cases, under the right conditions, yes. First, the giver must have a high level of skill. Secondly, the other person must have a body that is capable of accepting and retaining the magical power. And thirdly, the two must be closely related.”

“That’s pretty limited.”

“Yes. It is impossible to pour one’s magic power into a stranger and have it take root. Why would you want to know that?”

“Because I read a novel about it.”

“Oh, I heard that novels with wizards as the main characters are very popular.”

　Henry had never heard of such a novel, but he went along with it.

“Yes, about that novel. Oh, and one more thing, is it possible to send someone far away without using a magical tool?”

 “Theoretically, it is possible, but as far as I know, no one has ever succeeded. That’s why we decided to stop relying on individual abilities and develop magical tools. Mr. Leesley’s mentor, Mr. Glidden, was researching this a long time ago. Did you ever hear the story of how he lost his lover in the process?”

　 He tried to confirm what Mai had told him and came across an outrageous story.

“My father told me something like that a long time ago, and I was curious enough to look into it. But there was no record of anything. It’s probably just a rumor.”

“There is no official record of it because the body was never found. But it is a well-known story among wizards. It was fifty or sixty years ago. When Mr. Glidden was still young, he tried out a teleportation spell on his lover. The destination was a place he could see very close by, but his lover vanished and was never found again.”

“Human experiments?”

“Yes. Mr. Leesley only heard about it later, but at that time, the rumor spread that ‘Mr. Glidden failed in his teleportation magic and sent his girlfriend to the bottom of the ocean or deep into the earth.’ Worse, there were rumors that he was jealous of her because she had superior abilities to him, and that he failed on purpose. Anyway, since then, it has been a tacit understanding among wizards that it is forbidden to try out teleportation magic on your own.”

“Mr. Glidden is ……”

　He was about to say that he was being crazy, but stopped himself.  Mr. Glidden is Mr. Leesley’s mentor, so in Kyrias's eyes he is a grand master. Kyrias gave a wry smile and said, “Hmph.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say. The fact that Grand Master Glidden used his girlfriend as a test subject, and Master Leesley disappeared along with the teleportation magic tool, are both pretty scummy. I admit that. But I can understand how they both felt.”

“How?”

“It’s hard to find a time when all three of your physical, mental, and magical powers are at their peak at the same time. At times like that, you end up thinking, ‘If I don’t try it now, when am I going to try it? I think anyone who wants to master magic thinks this. If you call me a research idiot, all I can say is, ‘Yeah, that’s right.’”

“Physical strength, energy, and magical power?”

“At least that’s how I feel. So although I’m angry that Mr. Leesley disappeared without a word, I can’t despise the man from the bottom of my heart. I’ve been mentored by him ever since I was a kid, and he even endeared himself to me.”

　Kyrias, always overly cheerful and bright, now has a look in his eyes as if he is looking into the distance.

“Do you know the name of that missing lover?”

“The name of the woman who disappeared was. …… Uh, sorry, I’m sure Mr. Leesley told me, but I can’t remember.”

“I see.”

　Every night, Henry would search the castle library for a woman who might fit Mai’s grandmother, Riyo.

　He has already found one girl who fits the criteria for possessing high magical power. According to his calculations,, the girl is now seventy-eight years old. That is the same age as Mai’s grandmother Riyo.

　The girl was from the village of Orb, the daughter of a farmer. She was born with high magical powers, so the village chief reported her to the lord. However, the girl disappeared at the age of seven. The parents replied that their daughter had died of illness, but the notes said, “There’s a chance she was sold.”

 　It is possible that she was sold for money because her parents could not wait for her to come of age and become a government sorcerer, or that she really died of illness at the age of seven. If she was sold, it was a typical story of a child with high magical power born into a poor family.

　The girl’s name was Hella. Her name is completely different from Riyo’s, but if she was secretly sold, it makes sense that she would have changed her name. Hella’s name does not appear anywhere after that.

　Henry thought to himself, “There’s no point in telling Mai-san such vague information. In the first place, she doesn’t seem to want to know where her grandmother came from,” he kept it to himself and looked for other information. He knew why he was so eager to find out.

　When they met at Romi’s bar and he walked her home, Mai said, “I don’t really like being alone at home at night.” He couldn’t forget what she said. Mai always smiles brightly, but he understands she is really suffering from loneliness.

　Henry thinks it would be nice to tell Mai, "You're not alone in this world. You've been sent to your grandmother's hometown, a place that has a connection to you." Mai is a straightforward person, so even if she found out, he felt like she would just say, "Oh, I see," but It was fine.

(This is about all I can do for Mai-san, who has a boyfriend.)

　Henry’s heart, which has been living as a human being, thinks, “If she is getting along well with her lover, I should quietly step aside and wish her happiness.” On the other hand, the heart of the recently awakened beastman tells him, “Who cares? Just take her away from her lover.”

“Mr. Henry?”

“Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about something.”

　Kyrias chuckled.

“I won’t steal the country’s assets and disappear, so don’t worry. Also, about what you were talking about earlier, what’s the name of that novel? I’d like to read it too.”

“What was it? I’ll check the title next time.”

“Well, I’ll be heading back, but I want you to take care of the partial delivery of the potions!”

“I can’t make any promises, okay?”

"I know. But you’re an excellent head civil servant, Henry-san, so I'm sure you’ll be able to convince that stubborn old man in the military! See you then."

　Kyrias said this pleasantly, and after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and turned around.

“I remember now!　The name of Mr. Glidden’s missing lover’s is Liyol.”

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