Chapter 3: Deadlock

“Your magic is no longer working?”

I repeated Aya-chan’s words.

Inside my head, there were question marks everywhere.

Because magic is a skill, a technique. Suddenly being unable to use it is like suddenly being unable to ride a bicycle when you’ve been able to ride it all along, or suddenly being unable to do a handstand when you’ve been able to do it before… It’s similar to that.

So, I asked if it was possible for it to suddenly become unusable… but Aya-chan nodded with a bitter expression.

“Yeah. You know, it’s true. No matter what I do, I can’t use magic anymore.”

“When did it start?”

“About a month ago, I think. I just noticed it suddenly.”

After Aya-chan said that, I glanced at Renji-san for a moment.

Renji-san seemed a little hesitant, then continued.

“…I didn’t think it was something worth mentioning, so I stayed silent, but the truth is, that’s what happened. Rather than saying Aya-chan can’t use magic, it seems like she can’t manipulate threads.”

“You mean she can’t perform ‘Thread Manipulation Arts’ properly?”

“I’m not sure. The thing is, Aya-chan was actually able to use ‘Thread Manipulation Arts’ two months ago. So she said she wanted to focus on practicing magic, and at that time, she could use ‘Thread Manipulation Arts’ without any problem.”

I responded with a nod to Renji-san’s words.

I tend to forget, but other exorcists are still practicing “Thread Manipulation Arts” at the age of six. Aya-chan is no exception to that.

And after the Shichi-Go-San ceremony at the age of seven, they start practicing magic in earnest. So Aya-chan was one year ahead compared to exorcists of the same age.

However, Aya-chan suddenly became unable to use magic.

Why is that?

“But suddenly, ‘Thread Guidance Silvate’ became unusable. We had it checked by various people, but no one seems to know what’s going on. I’m thinking of having it looked at by the resonance teacher who comes to the training camp.”

“Oh, a teacher like that comes to the training camp?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Various teachers come. Me and Munehiro are also among them. During the summer training camp, apprentice exorcists from different places come, and we take turns teaching them various things. Well, the schedules overlap with the teachers from there for about three days.”

“Three days…”

It’s a shorter period than I thought.

During that time, while having Aya-chan’s condition checked, it feels like a significantly difficult task for me to learn “Resonance” on my own.

Well, if I think calmly, a normal summer training camp might last for one or two weeks, so three days could be a realistic number. No, is two weeks long for a normal camp? I have too little experience, so I’m not sure.

As I was contemplating various things about the schedule, Renji-san shrugged his shoulders.

“However, as a customary practice, members of the Ten Families don’t participate.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

“It’s because of their magical power.”

The Ten Families refer to our own family, Aya-chan’s family, and so on.

Mutsuki, Kisaragi, Yayoi… Anyway, among those exorcist families, there are ten houses with long histories. And overseeing those Ten Families is Akane-san from the Kamiarizuki House. I haven’t seen her recently, but I wonder if she’s doing well.

“The members of the Ten Families typically marry talented exorcists and produce children. And those children tend to become exceptional as well. Now, imagine what would happen if children with high magical power were mixed in with ordinary children… You can understand without me saying it. ‘Evil’ would come after them.”

“W-Wait, Renji-san! I have a question!”

“Yes, Itsuki-kun.”

As I was designated at school, I glanced towards the back.

I saw my mother chatting with Momoka-san.

And I saw my father, who had turned into a jungle gym for Hina while sitting down.

After hearing Renji-san’s words, two points of concern arose.

“…But my mother is ‘First Rank,’ right?”

First, there’s this one concern.

I don’t want to say that my own mother isn’t exceptional, but realistically, my mother is a First Rank. In other words, she’s like an ordinary person.

I’m not sure how to evaluate what makes an exorcist “excellent,” but I don’t think being a First Rank qualifies as exceptional… probably.

However, my father is Fifth Rank.

If exceptional exorcists marry exceptional exorcists, then there would be something strange about my parents, I thought. So I asked Renji-san, and he started laughing.

“Sōichirō is an exception. He is an exorcist who is stronger and has achieved more results than anyone of the same generation. Kaede-san is the partner Sōichirō wanted to marry. No one can complain about that.”

“I see…”

Ah, I see.

It’s like when the number one salesperson is always late but causes a commotion at company drinking parties, but because they produce results, the boss can’t say anything. I’ve heard complaints like that from the CEO of a small company in my past life.

So, that’s one of the questions that has been resolved.

But there’s one more question remaining.

“Even so, is it okay for both Aya-chan and me to participate in the training camp?”

Hina is a Second Rank, regardless of the fact that we’re not biologically related. It’s a very average rank. Probably, there won’t be any problems with her participating in the training camp.

However, Aya-chan is Third Rank. As for me, I’m a Seventh Rank.

If monsters tend to appear in places with high levels of magical power, it feels risky for me to go, especially considering Aya-chan.

“Yeah, it’s not a problem. One reason is for Aya-chan to have her condition checked… but Aya-chan’s magical power doesn’t come out of her body in the first place.”

“…Huh?”

It doesn’t come out? Isn’t magical power something that naturally flows out of the body if you don’t do anything…? Actually, isn’t the technique to control and prevent magical power from leaking out called “Manipulation Arts” (Kaijutsu)…?

So, I asked Renji-san to resolve my confusion, but the new information filled my head with more question marks.

“In Thread Silvate Arts (Shijutsu), it doesn’t come out. It’s not like magical power moves inside the body using Manipulation Arts. It’s strange. It’s as if the magical power has frozen.”

“Magic power can freeze?”

“If you undergo ‘Transformation,’ it can.”

“But if it’s frozen, is Aya-chan okay in terms of her health?”

“No problem. Magic power is the power of life… Since it doesn’t leak or decrease on its own, her health is actually good. She’s less likely to get sick, I think.”

Do you have to interpret it in such a positive way?

Well, anyway, what Renji-san is saying makes sense.

It makes sense, but the fact remains that Ayachan’s magical power is locked within her body due to some unknown cause.

…Why is that?

Well, nobody knows the reason, so both Renji-san and Aya-chan are puzzled, I guess.

“Besides, it’s okay for you, Itsuki-kun, to come to the training camp. You’re better at suppressing magical power within your body more than us, right?”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. You have a high level of proficiency in Manipulation Arts. The amount of magical power leaking from your body is at the level of Second Rank or First Rank.”

Upon hearing that from Renji-san, I felt happy and relieved at the same time.

The reason I practiced Manipulation Arts to control and suppress my magical power was primarily to avoid being targeted by monsters when my magical power leaked out of my body.

No matter how skilled I became in using magic or how well I trained my body, if I were constantly attacked by monsters, anyone would end up dead.

So, what I needed to do was to ensure that I wouldn’t be targeted by monsters.

With that in mind, I found myself putting more effort into practicing Manipulation Arts.

Encouraged by such praise, I became a little happy, and Renji-san invited me with a smile.

“That’s why, Itsuki-kun, come to the summer training camp.”

“Definitely!”

And so, for the first time in my life, my summer vacation plans were filled.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter