Chapter 8: Practicing warding magic and chestnut pie

　It seems Kyrias-kun really liked the apple pie. He comes to the store several times a week and always leaves with an apple pie after each meal. I was worried that he would get tired of eating apple pie every time.

“Shall I prepare a pie with a different filling next time?　How about chestnut pie?”

"Great. I like chestnuts too. Then that’s next on my list.”  

　Kyrias-kun left in a good mood with his friends in tow. Among the group of wizards who came to the store together, Kyrias was, by all accounts, the youngest. But he is still the leader of the group, which means that he is very good at magic.

　I used up all the ingredients that day, so I closed up the shop in the evening and bought some chestnuts.

　I decided to make chestnut pies in individual portions. And while I’m at it, I’ll also make some astringent skin stew for myself. My grandmother used to make this sumptuous treat every year.

Whenever I would say to her, “Chestnuts are delicious, but they take a lot of time and effort,” she would always say, “There is a certain happiness in putting in the time and effort for someone else.”

　Since I can no longer see her, I recall these casual exchanges of words all the time.

　Cut the boiled chestnuts in half, take them out with a spoon, and mash them with a masher. Mix in cream, milk and sugar and knead. It tastes good enough by itself, but to make it saleable, you need to puree it. Pureeing requires patience and strength.

　Two layers of smoothed chestnut cream and custard cream are wrapped in pie dough and baked.　  

　For cooking utensils, I use transformation magic on the iron pot I bought and used it as a masher and molds for baked goods. The familiar shape of a frying pan and the iron pot for cooking rice were also originally iron pots. Since it’s made of iron, it takes a lot of effort to prevent it from rusting, but it’s reassuring to have tools that I am used to.

　While I was baking the pie, I remembered the time when I went to buy a cast iron pot.

　I was called “iron pot” at that store.

“Here comes iron pot again today.” “Iron pot again?” “What’s iron pot doing in there?” I could hear them whispering to each other.

　I once heard that if you buy the same thing every day at a convenience store, the clerk will call you by the name of the item behind your back, and that story is true.

　When I told Mr. Henry about the pie when he came over for lunch, he looked surprised. I’ve become much better at reading his facial expressions lately. His eyes just widened slightly, which probably meant he was surprised.

“Kyrias-kun, did he come here?”

“Yeah. He seems to like it”

“Do you have chestnut pie now?　If so, I’d like to try it. And I will buy all of them as souvenirs.”

　Mr. Henry has just finished his daily special, “Braised Beef with Vegetable Sauce,” and he is also eating a chestnut pie with a roar, saying, “This is delicious.”

“Is Kyrias-kun bothering you?”

“No, not at all.”

　From Mr. Henry’s tone, I got the impression that he didn’t really want Mr. Kyrias here. Kyrias-kun is childish and goes at his own pace, but he would never do anything to hinder my business. In the first place, Mr. Henry was the one who brought him here. I wonder what’s going on.

　After seeing Mr. Henry off as he left with the crate, I began practicing my warding magic. I’ve been practicing ever since. To my chagrin, when I put it up, it’s full of holes.

　I learned after I started practicing that the wards appear as a shiny, transparent membrane to the person who put them up.

　It is fun to see the holes in the wards gradually decrease as I repeatedly stretch them.

“I did it!　I did it!”

　Finally, I was able to create a barrier similar to Kyrias-kun's

　When I press my finger on the shimmering membrane, it has a slight elasticity and is quite strong. No matter how much force I put on my finger, it does not tear. I am impressed by the fact that I created a plastic wrap that uses no raw materials and produces no waste.

　Hmm?　No, no, no. It wasn’t plastic wrap. It was a barrier.

　But still, Kyrias-kun, who came up with the idea of creating a barrier on a plate, is definitely a genius.

　The more times I did it, the quicker I got at putting up wards. It’s also fun. Eventually I stopped making mistakes at all, so I practiced extending the range step by step.

　From the top of the plate to the entire table top. From the table top to half the store. From half of the store to the entire store.

　Every day the practice of magic fills me with a pleasant sense of fatigue and accomplishment. It is easy to turn it off. All I had to do is to think in my mind, “Go away.”

　Kyrias was chanting spells, but I  couldn’t  find the spell for the barrier (warding) magic in my grandma's memory. Only the image of how to cast it. So I put it up without a spell.

“I wonder how strong the barrier is.”

　As an experiment, I created a dome-shaped barrier over a table and stabbed it with a knife. The sharp knife bounced back. The knife was resilient but not elastic, and it didn’t reach the table.

“Ho-ho-ho!”

　Wouldn’t this be the strongest if used for security equipment?　If you put a barrier around your body, you can afford to be attacked by a robber with a knife, can’t you?　It won’t bulge like a bulletproof vest.

“Isn't stealth security wear the bomb?" 　

　I grinned to myself and thought again. I wonder about the breathability.

　I put the plate on the table and brought some firewood. I poured a small amount of water over the wood to extinguish the fire, and once the smoke had gone out, I placed the wood on the plate. Quickly, I put a dome-shaped ward on the table.

“Oh dear.”

　Smoke filled the barrier, and there was no sign of it leaking. The inside of the dome is completely white with smoke. If I put a barrier around myself, I would die of lack of oxygen before I could be attacked.

　After thinking about it for a while, I changed the image I had when setting up a barrier.

　I placed the firewood with smoke coming out of it as before and imagined the shape of a chimney attached to the ceiling of the dome. Smoke comes out of the chimney.

“Okay, okay. Perfect.”

　I tried using this method on myself. I put up a barrier with it floating about 5 centimeters above my body surface. However,  I don’t close the end but extend a chimney about 30 cm above the top of my head. It feels like I'm walking around wearing a space suit with a thick chimney on my head.

　It’s super ugly, but I don’t care because others can’t see it. Now I feel safe walking alone at night. Even if I am attacked with a knife, I won’t get hurt. I thought to myself, “I am so talented,” but the next day my high nose broke.

　The next day, Mr. Kyrias came to the store alone.

　I talked excitedly to Kyrias-kun, who was eating chicken omelet rice with cheese

“The warding magic you showed me the other day is amazing. If you used it on people, they won’t get hurt even if they are attacked by thugs.”

“No, if you use a normal barrier, the people inside will suffocate. I can make a fine mesh of wards, but there aren’t many people who can do that.”

　Fine mesh?　Can you put up such difficult wards?

“When I was six years old, I said the same thing as Mai-san and my magic teacher laughed at me.”

　Damn!

"That's right, the chestnut pie that Mr. Henry gave me was really delicious. We were fighting over it at the department. And I was told  not to cause you any trouble. I didn’t bother you, did I?”

"It's not a nuisance at all. I-I'm glad you enjoyed it."

“You have a very good reputation among my friends. There are a number of them who want to take you out with them next time. They say your beautiful and a good cook.”

“is that so”

“I heard there are a lot of guys who want to ask you out.”

“I see.”

“Aren’t you happy?”

“I don’t know.”

　I am not happy. I don’t have the energy to fall in love right now. I’m already tired from the thought of how to start meeting a man in this world, or getting to know him a little better, or holding his hand and taking it from there.

　Besides, if I tell my lover my secret, he will think that I live in a fantasy world. Having said that, it can be exhausting to keep secrets hidden from your lover.

“I just opened my store, so I need to focus on my business so I don’t ruin it.”

“That’s just a front, isn’t it?　This store is operating as long as it doesn’t go into the red.”

I was surprised at how confidently he said, "That’s it, isn’t it?”  Mr. Henry said that too, but where did you get that idea?

“I am a commoner, born and bred, but what made you think that?”

　Kyrias-kun quickly lifted the cup. It was a cup I had made many times from a cheap glass vase using transformation magic.

“The most conspicuous thing is the expensive, thin cups. They are all exactly the same size, with no distortion or bubbles. Then there are the dishes, not a single one of which is chipped around the edges. If it chips, you throw it away right away, right?”

　No, I don’t. If it chips or cracks, I rebuild it with conversion magic.

"You’re not obsessed with income and will close the shop if you sell out. And you use good quality tables and chairs."

“If I were the daughter of a wealthy family, I wouldn’t know how to cook, now would I ?”

“That’s why it’s your pastime, isn’t it?　the escorts are probably mixed in as guests, right?”

“They are not mixed in. I am the daughter of a normal family.”

“Well, I don’t really care about anything else as long as I get a good meal.”

　Kyrias-kun paid the bill and left.

　Was it the cups? Well, most of the cups at Romi’s place are tin cups, wooden or ceramic. I’m going to slowly recreate the cup to make it look cheap. I ended up making the same cups I’m used to.

　That night, when I went to Romi’s bar, I wrapped myself in warding magic and went out. I put up a space-suit shaped ward with a chimney, which floated five centimeters above the surface of my body.

　The cats showed me their faces, but not one of them came close to me, just looking at me from a distance. When I tried to approach them, they ran away from me furiously.

　Apparently, cats can see the barrier.

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