Chapter 47: Riyo Sasaki Now

　Six months have passed since I sent Mai off to the other world.

　Perhaps it was because I had used up all my magic to the very bottom at my age, but my magic has only returned little by little. Only recently have I finally regained about half of my magic power.

　It seems using that kind of magic at this age was too much of a burden after all.

　But that’s fine, because I’ll never use that magic again.

　I look out over the shopping street at dusk from inside the shop.

　Many people are walking along the street, but Mai never comes back saying, “Grandma, I’m home.” I feel lonely, but I don’t regret it.

　I was able to send her off with a healthy body, and I poured as much magic knowledge and magical power as I could into her. The magic will eventually settle in her vessel and fill it.

　I am sure that she will live a healthy life. Just as I did, as long as she is alive, she can do anything she put her mind to.

　My daughter Eri, like my husband, was born without magical powers. But Mai was born with a much larger capacity than I was. My husband Masakazu said, “It must be genetic.” 

　Mai was born with only a large vessel, but no magical power. But fortunately, her constitution was able to absorb magical power, so from the moment Mai was born, I decided that I would be her strength if the time came when she needed magical power and magic.

　When Mai was found to be ill and it became clear that even the most advanced medical treatment could not save her and I realized that the only thing we could do was to prolong her life, there was no hesitation in my mind. I decided to use that magic to send her there instead. If it was Orb Village, I could send her there without making a mistake. There were too many risky factors to send Mai there suddenly, since she knew nothing about the royal capital.

　Even Orb Village was not without risk, but if I didn’t do anything there was a 100% chance that Mai’s life would be over.

　After sending Mai off to the other side, some lumpy chunks of flesh and a bit of blood were left on the hospital sheets.

(Oh, I see. I knew it would be so, but this is how my illness disappeared.)

　I saw with my own eyes the reason why I had become healthy and it all made sense.

　I transformed the soiled sheets into new sheets. I moved the lumps of flesh and blood from the sheets to the floor, dried them using wind magic, hardened them into small pieces, and placed them in my pocket. What little magic power I had left was used up in this last bit of work.

　It was getting dark in front of me, so I sat down in the pipe chair and rested my upper body on the bed before I fell unconscious.

　What followed was the commotion I had been expecting.

　That child is currently considered a missing person in this world.

　The disappearance of a hospitalized patient with little time left to live was deemed to be as highly unlikely to be a crime. A police report was filed, but nothing was made of it. Since Mai was not caught on the hospital’s security cameras, the police were puzzled where she had left from.

“Mai left while I was dozing off, so it’s all my fault. I’m truly sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you.”

　I kept apologizing to the police and hospital staff. It was true that I was sorry for the trouble I had caused.

　The rice in the rice cooker is almost . It was time for dinner. The guests had arrived.

“Good evening Riyo-san. I’m here again.”

“Yes, welcome, good evening.”

　It’s Takako, a friend of mine in the neighborhood. Takako, too, has lost her husband and lives alone. She is a regular at my house for dinner six days a week. She is two years younger than me. She often comes to eat  lunch as well as dinner. Takako-san is fond of saying, “More than half of my body is made up of Riyo-san’s cooking.”

“I’d like to eat fish today. Do you have any fish?”

“There’s mackerel. Would you like it just grilled with salt and served with plenty of grated daikon radish?”

“I like it. It looks delicious. That’s what I’ll have. What’s for the miso soup?”

“I’ll make it nameko mushrooms and tofu.”

“I love nameko mushrooms. I like the green part of green onion, it is good for the mouth.”*

“Yes, yes.”

　Since Takako-san started having dinner every day off the back menu, the number of  office workers customers has increased. Everyone wants to have a taste of their mother’s cooking.

　This time, Mai’s childhood friend, Ryo-kun, came in. He glanced at the food Takako-san was eating. He is probably going to order the grilled mackerel set meal. These days, it is more like a diner than a coffee shop.

“Riyo-san, I’ll have the grilled fish set meal, too, please.”

“Yes, I got it”

“Have you heard from Mai?”

“No. But I’m sure she’s doing well. Thank you for your concern, Ryo-kun.”

　Ryo-kun has been coming to see me at least once a week since Mai went missing. He asks about Mai and is probably worried about me too. He’s a kind boy.

“I’m sorry for asking the same thing every time, Riyo-san. Mai really took care of me, you know.”

“There’s no need to apologize. I’m grateful that you didn’t forget about Mai.”

　Mai had a big sisterly streak in her, and since kindergarten she had always loved Ryo-kun like a little brother.

　Soon Takako and Ryo-kun left and the young office workers also went home. It was almost closing time.

　As I closed the store and went up to the second floor , Yotaro would come up to me as if to say, “Welcome home.” Mai was worried about Yotaro until the last minute. Behind him is a pure white kitten. It was the kitten that Yotaro had rescued.

　

　Last month, Yotaro made a big fuss. He stood in front of the store’s kitchen door, looking back at me repeatedly,  and crying out loudly for me to open up. When I opened the door, there was a small cat. It was a pure white kitten.

（I am seventy-eight years old. I don’t think I’ll live long enough to take care of a kitten like this.)  I thought to myself, and I was momentarily hesitant to let him in the house. Then Yotaro  took the kitten by the neck and quickly carried it upstairs.

　From that day on, our house became a home for one person and two cats.

　As soon as I sat down on the sofa, Shirayuki would climb onto my lap. In just one month, she has grown much bigger and heavier. When I stroke her, she shuts her eyes happily. Yotaro is watching her, but he doesn’t seem to be jealous.

“I thought I couldn’t die until I’d seen Yataro through, but thanks to you, now I’ll have to stay healthy for another twenty years.”

　As I said this while stroking her, Shirayuki cupped my hand and bit my hand sweetly. “what! Don’t bite me!” I said, but she didn’t seem to think I was angry.*

　Now that I live alone, I’m free to use magic without hesitation, but the world seems to be full of magic already.

　Cars and trains that get you to your destination without you having to walk, airplanes that carry hundreds of people, and machines that do the cleaning and laundry.

　Movie theaters, museums, libraries, and parks. Everyone can enjoy themselves anywhere. I love this world. Looking up at the night sky through the window, I see the moon shining gracefully. The moon, which changes its appearance every day, is truly beautiful.

　Every morning and evening, after praying at the memorial tablets of my husband and my daughter and her husband, I have a habit of looking at a small cloisonné vessel with a lid that is placed on a shelf on the wall. Inside it is a small, dried, hardened pieces of Mai’s disease. Although it is a hateful lesion, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it in the trash, thinking that it was also a part of her.

　Why did I end up in this world on that day 55 years ago? I checked countless times, but my theory was never wrong.

　I can only think of one reason why I was transported to this world.

　At the moment the magic was activated, I thought, ‘I wish I had been born in a world without magic.’ Since the trigger for activating magic is an image, it’s possible that my thoughts influenced the teleportation spell.

　I wonder if Glidden-sama is well. I wonder if Sarah is still in his mansion. If they are still alive and well, they are both quite old by now. Standing in front of the Buddhist altar, I put my hands together every day and sincerely pray for them both.

(I asked for this. Please don’t let Glidden-sama suffer because of me. Instead of making him suffer, please punish me. I’ll take care of it all.)

　When I was a dark slave, I wanted to escape without causing anyone any trouble, so I perfected the theory of teleportation magic. I thought that if I disappeared from the  locked room, the responsibility would not fall on anyone else. Looking back, I should have used transformation magic to make a hole in the wall and quickly escaped, but I couldn’t do that at the time.

　In a psychology book I read at the library, there was a term called “learned helplessness.” That was exactly what I was feeling at the time. Even though there were all kinds of ways to escape, but I was convinced that I couldn’t escape because I had been raised in a confined environment.

Three times I sent letters to Mr. Glidden’s house saying, “I am in a place from which I cannot return, but I am alive and well.” I couldn’t write anything else.

If it became known to the world that “I succeeded in performing teleportation magic” or “I cured a dying patient”, then Glidden-sama’s freedom might be taken away from him. I didn’t write my name, but I prayed that Sarah would recognize my handwriting.

　I wondered if the note had reached him. I’m sure it was sent to that house, but I don’t know if it was sent to his room exactly.

　No, it may have been a mistake to send the letter to Glidden-sama’s house in the first place. To everyone except him and Sarah, I was in many ways a nuisance. The servants were afraid of my master and they were very annoyed that I had come to live there. If the servants had seen the letter, they might have disposed of it.

　I spoke to a picture of Mai that hung in my bedroom.

“Mai, how are you doing?　Have you learned to use magic?　I hope you find someone you like over there. Live with the person you love and don’t worry about me. I’m doing fine. Besides, I am not afraid of dying now. I have Masakazu, Eri, and Hiroyuki in the afterlife.”

　I think how nice it would be if Mai met Glidden-sama and told him that I am living happily. It would be wonderful if such a miracle were to happen, but I won’t ask for too much.

　Café Riyo will be closed tomorrow.

　On my once-a-week day off, I always make it a rule to go out somewhere. Even now, at the age of seventy-eight, I still love to go out and walk freely.

　I pick Shirayuki up and head to bed with Yotaro, who is snuggled up to my feet. Tomorrow we’ll go to a bird-watching party. Let’s watch wild birds under the open sky. It’s fun to chat with fellow bird lovers.

　Will Mai realize the truth about the magic that transcends worlds? I’m not worried about that, because even if she doesn’t realize it, she can still be happy.

　My magical power will become familiar to her, and she will continue to produce magical power to fill her vessel. Even if someone were to take notice of her magic, I am sure that Mai would be smart enough to handle it wisely. Mai may look like a naïve young lady, but she is in fact smart and dynamic. She is also shrewd. She knows the subtleties of the human heart and the world far better than I did at that age. She’s also very caring.

　I put my magic power and knowledge of magic into it. Mai will definitely be fine.

　I lay down on the bed, sandwiched between the two cats, and closed my eyes.

“Mai, enjoy life to the fullest.”

TL Note:

When grandma Riyo’s husband talk about Mai having magic, he mentions it being septic heredity, but the word the author uses describe it as something that skips a generation, which in genetics refers to ‘Autosomal recessive genes’

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