Chapter 4. So, what’s magic?
The chibi and I lay the red head shorty on the grass and wait for her to wake up. Waiting, a ton of waiting.
Her shoulders tremble and a noise escapes her.
I say, “This girl, is she finally gonna get up?”
There’s some drool rolling down from her smile.
She says, “Ehe, ehehehe, that’s no goood. How am I supposed to make a contract with so many of you? Ehehehehe.”
This is useless, that’s just gibberish. I have no choice but to consult with the chibi about making camp here. Dammit.
I prepare a fire at sunset. The red head opens her eyes as I’m striking, kachi kachi, the flint. Did the noise wake her?
She says, “Haa, spirit! Spirit? This place? Eh?”
She’s still half a sleep, what a pain… Whatever, I need to be friendly. I definitely won’t mess up this time. I say, “Hey, calm down. The danger’s already…”
The red head’s eyes meet with mine, and she turns away. She does a double take and “Hiiiiiiiiiiii! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please don’t sell me!”
“He- hey!”
“I’m… a good ojou-sama, but I don’t have any money! I’ll do anything you want! No, not anything! Ah, I’ll pay you! That’s why, please don’t ask for anything other than money!”
This is useless, she’s completely short circuited. First things first, I gotta get her to calm down. I say, “Relax, it’s not like I’m gonna to do anything to you[1].”
“You already did something!? No way! Su- such a thing happened while I was sleeping… No, it can’t be… I was saving myself for Hakuba Ouji-sama…[2]
She didn’t hear a single thing I said. This is getting more and more frustrating. Nothing I say is getting through to her.
I say, “No, listen to me. I haven’t…”
“It’s already too late for me. I’ve been defiled and now I’m going to be sold… I just wanted everyone to acknowledge me. I never thought something like this would happen.”
Hahahaa… Hahahahaa… Nope, this is impossible.
I say, “Shut up for a bit, will yaaaaaaaa! I’m trying ta tell you something, you moron!”[3]
“Ahh-kay!”
Fuu, she finally calmed down. Now to explain things nice and slow. What’s this, she’s trembling, ‘puru puru’? It doesn’t matter.
I say, “Che, listen up. I did absolutely nothing to you. You fainted so I carried you here. You’re not even tied up. Well, don’t believe me of you want. Just get lost.”
Alright, I know it’s not worth much to anyone except the chibi, but I’ve said everything I can. Guess I’ll start making camp. I resume striking, ‘kachi kachi,’ the flint. This one’s a bit hard, it ingtake a bit longer. Well, that’s not so bad. I just get to enjoy this with the chibi longer.
‘Kachi, kachi, kachi, kachi,’
She says, “U- um…”
“Shut up, I’m busy. Can’t you see?”
“Ye- yes…”
‘Kachi, kachi, kachi,’
Today’s spot sucks, and I thought I was getting the knack of it.
She says, “Are you trying to light a fire?”
“Ain’t it obvious?”
What was that? Wasn’t she trying to say something just earlier? I really wish she’d just hurry up and spit it out.[5]
What she says is nothing like I imagined she would. She says, “Wo- would you like me to light it for you?”
“Ahh?”
“Hiiiiii! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Che, so annoying. What am I supposed to say now? Go ahead? What’s a girl like here doing with such a tidy appearance?[6]
I say, “I’m not angry at you. So what, you got like a lighter or something?”
“A li- lighter? Ano, I don’t have anything like that with me, but I can light a fire.”
What is this girl talking about? Does she have a match? Well, either way, I’m saved. I’ll just trouble her for a bit.
I say, “Alright, would you mind?”
“Su-sure.”
The red head points her index finger at the fireplace and it lights. That’s it? She lit a fire just like that? What was that? What did she do?
She says, “A-ano, is this good…?”
“Yeah, you saved me, but what was that just now? How’d you light that fire?”
“Eh?”
What’s she giving me such a strange look for? I don’t get it. Or, is lighting a fire by pointing your finger normal? No, no one would need ta carry around lighters in that case. What did she do?
She says, “Ano, I lit it with magic.”
“Magic? What, like pulling a rabbit out of your hat?[7]”
“No, that’s not right…”
Magic, like in a game? I think I remember that megane saying something about this… no, he didn’t say that.
I say, “What’s magic?”
“Eh? Ehhhhhhhhhhh!? Yo- you don’t know how to use magic?”
“Nope.”
“No- no way, I’ve never met a person like that before!? Although, shouldn’t everyone else you’ve met been using magic…?”
“Nope, not a single person around could.”
“Ehhhhhhhhhh!?”
Damn, I don’t have a clue about any of this. I should just sit down and listen to what she has to say. Except, does this girl even have anything good to say?
I say, “Well, at the very least I’ve now heard of magic. Hey, are you fine staying here? I won’t stop you if you try ta leave.”
“Ah, yeah, I’m alright. Ahre? You’ve got scary eyes, but you’re surprisingly a sensible person? Or are you trying to trick me?”
Hey, if you’re gonna whisper, do it so I can’t hear you! Shit, well, whatever. I can see you don’t get it, so I’ll let it slide.[8]
I say, “So, what’s magic?”
“Etto, magic is magic.”
“Hey, you trying ta pick a fight with me!?”
“Hiiiii! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Ah, that’s no good. I gotta calm down or this conversation ain’t going anywhere. Don’t get worked up. The chibi understand me, so if I put in some effort, than this girl can understand me too.
I lower my head to her and say, “I… just arrived here five days ago. I don’t know anything. If possible, would you please explain everything to me?” Alright, I gotta keep going, just like this. I’ve never lowered my head, even to Ya-san, but I’ll endure it.
She says, “Five days… ago? Did you come from another continent…? But I’ve never heard of a continent where they don’t know about magic.”
“I don’t really understand what you’re saying, but I get the feeling it’s something like that.”
“Alright, I understand. Please allow me to explain!”
“Right, I leave it to you.”
I listen to the red head’s explanation while preparing dinner. I don’t know much, so this is making me excited. She says, “I shall be as simple as possible. First off, that which we call magic is the converting of things like fire or water into mana and then drawing it out.”
“Then, when you made fire with your finger, that was the converting and drawing out of your mana?”
“Correct, afterwards… Your eyes are scary. If possible, please don’t look at me.”
Shit, but there’s nothing I can do about that. I avoid eye contact with her and press for her to continue.
She says, “Once it’s converted into mana, anyone can do magic. Regulating the strength is also pretty simple. For example, back when I created that fire, 1 mana was enough.”
“I see, that’s amazingly handy.”
“Yes, that said, I was curious why you weren’t using magic to start the fire.”
So it’s something easy to do. Then, I should be able to do it too.
I point my finger and raise my fighting spirit. “Fire, iiiiigniiiiight!”
Nothing happens.
I say, “Ahre? Nothing came out. How come…?”
Not enough fighting spirit. I’ll just put more effort into it…
I say, “I’ll killllllllll youuuuuuuu!!”
“Hiii!?”
Nothing happens.
Ahre? Still no good?
The red head doesn’t give a single comment. She just shivers, a lot.
I say, “Hey, what gives?”
“Etto, why didn’t anything happen?”
That’s what I want to know… Well, I guess it’s fine. Thinking about it, I can’t light a fire like that, but I don’t really need to anyway[10].
I say, “Well, no problem. I’m just lacking fighting spirit.”
“But it should have come out… Hmm?”
“There’s nothing to worry about, I just can’t use it right now. Instead, let’s eat.”
“Eh? It’s okay for me to have some?”
“Che, don’t eat if you don’t wanna eat.”
The read head smiles for the first time as she says, “No, thank you very much.”
Looks like we’re finally getting along. I’m happy and the chibi are also delighted.
She says, “Hii!”
“Don’t get scared just from seeing someone smile!”
“I- I’m sorry. That was a smile? I thought I was going to be attacked…”
Anger wells up inside of me, but it’s fine. I’m in a good mood right now. Oh yeah, that’s right. What’s this girl’s name? She’s been teaching me all sorts of things, so I should probably ask.
I say, “That’s right, I need to introduce myself. Name’s Zero, what’s yours, Red?”
“My name is Grace=Olu….I mean, Grace!”
What’s that? I’m pretty sure she was about to say something else. Well, it’s probably fine.
I say, “Gureisuolu? Okay, Guru-kou.[11]”
“Guru-kou!? What kind of abbreviation is that? And before, that you said, Gureisuolu! My name is Grace!”
“Che, my bad, my bad. Best regards, Gusu-kou.”
“Guru-kou is also a problem, uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! What kind of heartless person calls a girl Red or Guru-kou in public!?”
I ignore all of Guru-kou’s screams. Giving nicknames to acquaintances is a good way to get along better.
We eat dinner and Guru-kou cries out, “Delicious!” The chibi are also pleased. We then turn in for the night. The stars sure are beautiful.
Guru-kou tells me her goal the next day. Traveling to town with her might not be so bad.
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