Chapter 58: Dark Magic and Taiyaki

　According to Mr. Dion, the beastmen’s boat was successfully repaired. Someone He knew also helped with the repairs.

　Now that the ship is fixed, Ms. Carlotta is leaving the country. Mr. Henry will be lonely. And the only person he can tell he misses her is me, who knows the situation. It makes me sad. I will try to lend an ear to his feelings of loneliness as much as I can.

　The day before the ship left port, we both went to see Ms. Carlotta. Ms. Carlotta repeated to Mr. Henry, “Don’t come to the port under any circumstances. If they find out about you and me at the last minute, all our efforts up to this point will have been in vain.”

“All right. I won’t go.”

“You do that. Henry, please be well.”

“You too, Mother.”

　I was the only one who was crying as I watched them say their goodbyes. The two of them were smiling calmly.

Carlotta was surprised and asked, “Why are you crying so much, Mai?”, and Henry tried to soothe Me by saying, “since Diplomatic relations have been established with the Kingdom of Arcetheus,  I will probably go to that country someday too. So please don’t cry so much.”

“don’t mind me . I’m a very emotional person.” 

　I wiped away my tears as I said this, but the separation between parent and child was still hard to bear. It reminds me of my grandmother and I when we lost my parents.

　On the way home after parting ways with Carlotta, he told me a lot of things as we walked. Apparently, there were a lot of wizards who applied to join from the Magic Department, as the allowance for those who were assigned there was quite generous.

“The wizard who is going there is the oldest in the Magic Department. He may have wanted to make a name for himself in a new place. He is taking his wife and children with him. For the same reason, there was one civil officer who was also a candidate. I heard that the civil official over there requested that I be sent if possible, but the Prime Minister refused before I could turn him down.”

“I guess they didn’t want to let go someone so capable.”

“I doubt it. The civil servant going there is a very capable man, so I feel at ease. He will also be going with his wife and children.”

　When I learned that Mr. Henry had been requested to leave, I thought (I see, he can be gone for that reason). Partings lurk around us in many forms. I guess I should meet them when I can.

“The term of office was three years, so if they ordered me to go, I would have refused by any means necessary. Three years without you was out of the question.”

“If you had insisted, I might have gone with you.”

“I have no intention of going, and there is no need for me to give up the store that you holds so dear. Hm?　Mai-san?　Why are you smiling so much?”

　He asked me many times but I didn’t answer. Lately Mr. Henry doesn’t try to hide how much he likes me. I think that is cute.

　After he dropped me off at the front of the store, I said goodnight to Henry, who kept complaining till the end, “Aren’t you going to tell me?” I was so amused by the fact that he hadn’t heard my confession even though I confessed quite a bit, and I had a hard time not laughing throughout.

　During the third magic lesson, at the beginning of the lesson, I tried to cast a message spell in front of Mr. Glidden. A white spike appeared in the air.

“As expected of Liyol’s grandkid. It’s amazing that you were able to learn it in such a short time. You can correctly visualize message magic. Even many wizards misunderstand this, but magic is all about wishes and imagination.”

“Wishes and imagination: ……”

“Having a strong desire in your mind to ‘do this’ or ‘be this way’ is the power that makes the magic work. Once you get used to it, you can skip the process of imagining it. The reason why everyone can use the four great magic spells, such as fire and water magic, without making mistakes is because it’s easy to imagine how they look like from experience.”

　

　I see. So wishing and imagining is what triggers magic?  Ah, in that case…

“Mr. Glidden, where I grew up, there was a thing called witchcraft a long time ago. It was used to curse someone, sometimes using their nails or hair. Perhaps witchcraft was a form of magic.”

“That would be similar to the dark magic that existed in ancient times in this world.”

　Dark magic sounds scary just from the name.

“For example, let’s say you hate someone and wish misfortune upon that person thousands, tens of thousands of times. At worst, you wish for that person’s death. Dark emotions build up and eventually become power. The magic we use requires wishes and imagination, while dark magic requires feelings of hatred. The reason we need nails and hair is probably to identify the target.”

“If you can’t help but wish misfortune upon someone to that extent, then the person casting the curse is truly unhappy.”

　Mr. Glidden nodded.

“That’s right. Dark magic, which wishes misfortune on others, makes the person who casts it unhappy. Negative emotions gradually take on form and power, engulfing the dark magic user. The wizard who is engulfed becomes even more resentful towards others. Misfortune continues to grow and multiply. That’s how dark wizards destroy themselves.”

　I was once taught that when an onmyoji tries to kill someone with a curse, they were prepared for the curse to come back and kill them. My teacher of classical Japanese literature said that the saying “If you curse someone, you will dig two graves” means that you will need two graves, one for the cursed person and one for yourself.

“Mai, magic is something you use for the happiness of others, including yourself. You should not use your magical powers to wish misfortune upon others. The more abundant your magical power is, the more you should keep that in mind.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

　My grandma sent me off with a wish for my happiness, saying, “Mai, live your life with a smile.” I guess my grandma must have understood the essence of magic correctly.

“I am concerned about the magic department at the castle. The department gathers people with high magical power and only cares about practicality. Practicality is a result, not a goal. The most important thing for a wizard is not what he can do, but what he wants to do for whom.”

“It would be terrible if magic were used in war.”

“That’s right. Let’s take a break. I’m tired of talking about such heavy subjects.”

“I’ll serve you my grandmother’s favorite Dish now.”

　Illustration (By Mitemin)

　I placed the taiyaki I had made on plates and distributed them.

What an interesting shape. What’s inside?”

“It has sweetly cooked beans inside. It is my grandmother’s favorite.”

“Oh my, sweetened beans?　I’ve never had them before.”*

“Me neither. Which one should I choose? Hou ……. The tail is crunchy. The sweet beans are also delicious in their own way. So this is Liyol’s favorite.*

“Yes. There is a store in the neighborhood that specializes in this snack, and we used to buy them and eat them all the time.”

“How did you bake these into this shape?”

　I brought out a taiyaki machine that can bake one piece at a time from the kitchen and showed it to them.

“This was also made with transformation magic, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Will you sell me this pastry?　I want to eat it again tomorrow.”

“Selling them? Please take all you have. I was thinking about paying my teacher my tuition fees.”

“Mai-san”

　Sara shakes her head at me.

 “Teaching Mai-san magic like this and listening to  stories about liyol is  what Master enjoys the most. Please don’t talk about tuition.”

“But that’s too much…”

　This time Mr. Glidden shook his head.

“The price is your improvement. I don’t have much time to teach you. Learn magic as much as you can.”

“I understand. I’ll do my best. Oh, by the way, there’s something I’d like you to see, sensei.”

　I showed Mr. Glidden the ladybug I had colored.

“That white light is too conspicuous, and the people around me can hear my voice, right? I want to use message magic in a way that’s as inconspicuous as possible, but I just don’t know how to go about it.”

“Hmm. So you want to use message magic through this ladybug? In that case, you can use the techniques of dark magic.”

　Mr. Glidden looked amused.

“It’s so fun to see all the research I’ve done over the years come in handy. Mai, all we need to do is infuse this ladybug with your magical power. I’d like to use a drop of your blood, can you do it?”

 “A drop won’t hurt. I’ll get my sewing box.”

　I brought my sewing kit from upstairs and took out the needles.

“Try dripping some blood on the ladybug. Just a little bit. Yes, that’s it. Then pour magic into the ladybug slowly, just as you did with the sensing magic.”

“I think I’ve done it.”

“After you have poured the magic into the ladybug, you can wipe off the blood. The blood is the key that opens the door for the magic to pass through. Once the door is open, it is no longer needed. Now, leave the ladybug here, and while distancing yourself, try casting the message spell while thinking of this ladybug.”

“Okay!”

　I went outside and cast the message magic. Please! Please succeed! I whispered, hoping.

“Mr. Glidden, can you hear me?”

“Yes, I can hear you. Now we can talk without emitting white light. We can talk to each other as long as you are casting message magic.”

　Wow. Thanks to Mr. Glidden, I had a ladybug-shaped walkie-talkie in no time.

“It’s amazing that you came up with the idea of using dark magic, sensei.”

“Hehe. But you don’t have to make ladybugs to use discreet forms of message magic.”

“What?”

“We said magic is about imagining.”

　Mr. Glidden turned his palm up and chanted the spell for the message magic. A ladybug suddenly appeared on my teacher’s hand. The ladybug spread its wings and took off, landing on my outstretched hand.

“All I have to do is imagine a ladybug when I release the message magic, right?”

“……”

　we could  talk all the time as long as I don’t turn off the ladybugs. From there, the “Gah and bang!” method of teaching began again.*grinding noise/jarring sound 

“However, whether it is a ladybug or a butterfly, using magic to maintain its shape consumes a certain amount of magic power. Mai is a high magic power holder, so she should have no problem, but even so, it is better not to waste magic power. You never know when you might need it. If you want to talk frequently, it would be better to use inanimate objects.  I’m sure you want to talk a lot with Henry, right?”

“Yes. Ehehe.”

　So you’re saying that if you’re dealing with someone who only uses the message magic for a moment, it’s better to create some kind of form with magical power, and if you’re dealing with someone who uses it frequently, it’s better to use something imbued with magic power in it.

　Since that day, I have been practicing the message magic like crazy. I would be happy if Henry could hold the ladybug that contains my magic power sealed inside it so that we could talk to each other like with walkie-talkies. It’s a little disappointing that only I can turn it on and off, but I won’t be greedy.

　As I was practicing hard, I suddenly realized that I don’t need to stick to a ladybug.　It could be a cufflink or a ring, as long as Mr. Henry can wear it. I’ll ask Henry what shapehe would like.

“Grandma, magic is so fun. Thank you for making me a wizard.”

　I thought of Grandma as I let out several baby rabbits on the floor in place of the white light of the message magic.

TL Note:

Taiyaki: Fish-shaped pancake filled with bean jam

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