Etiquette Dictates That Names Be Asked in Swahili – Part 01

“Ayumu.”

I whirled around a little dramatically at the sound of a girl’s unfamiliar voice. Standing there with a serious expression was Eu. Not her usual blank face, but Eu with clear intent showing on her features.

“May I have a moment?”

She beckoned humbly, very much like Eu. But everything about this felt strange.

Why? Why was Eu speaking aloud?

Haruna clutched my clothes tightly, as if frightened of something, as if asking me for help.

“Sorry, Eu. If you’ve got something to say, can you say it here?”

Eu glanced briefly at Haruna, hesitated a little, then sat down right there.

“All right.”

I sat on the bed and placed my hand on Haruna’s forehead. She was burning hot. No way we could go on about the school festival today.

“I wasn’t sure if I should tell Haruna,” Eu said apologetically, then continued, “It seems my power has begun transferring to Haruna.”

“Transferring?”

“I don’t know why. But the symptoms Haruna has now, I recognize them. No, I’ve experienced them myself.”

As I listened, something clicked sharply in my head. I looked at Haruna’s chest. The mana siphon was still there. Could that be it?

“Because Haruna sucked away your mana?”

“Yes,” Eu sighed. “Because I returned too much mana.”

“Hm? What do you mean?” I pressed. Her wording felt a bit different from what I imagined.

“I had stolen Haruna’s mana. When I met you and discovered those variety shows at your house, I thought watching them would help me practice suppressing the hardest emotion to control: fun. So I watched them every day.”

So that’s why Eu always stared blankly at comedy shows.

“But one time, I burst out laughing at a sketch.”

“You did? Now that’s rare.”

“They were making fun of necromancers, so I couldn’t──ahem. Anyway, I couldn’t hold back. And back then…”

“Haruna was nearby. With that bear Megalo, right?”

Haruna gripped my hand tightly. “Bea… ry.”

Beary, yeah. That was the one.

“I’d been returning the mana I stole to Haruna. But my mana is like poison, and if I stir it a little too much, fate itself shifts. So I gave it back little by little, slowly, usually during meals, since Haruna didn’t come near very often otherwise.”

I see. Now that I thought about it, Haruna once said, “I didn’t know food in this world was so good for recovering mana.”

That must have been because Eu was sharing her mana.

“I think the reason you could become a Magiclad Girl was because you spent more time with me than with Haruna.”

“So you’re saying the mana you meant to return to Haruna… I ended up getting it instead?”

“Yes.” Eu nodded.

Haruna’s knee slammed into my back. She didn’t seem sick at all.

“Haruna’s fever will settle soon. But she might no longer be allowed to stir her emotions, or even speak. It could very well come to that.”

So once the fever went down, Eu’s powers would completely transfer to Haruna.

I see. No, wait! That sounded like serious trouble.

Eu might endure it with her selfless nature, but Haruna? Haruna was a walking disaster. No way she could suppress her emotions or her voice.

“I’m sorry. Last night, while we were all drawing together, I ended up praying to God.”

Eu’s blue eyes, tinged with sorrow, fixed on me. Beautiful eyes that drew me in, eyes I couldn’t look away from.

“I wished that I could laugh and enjoy the school festival with you.”

Tears nearly spilled from those eyes. She must be thinking that someone like her shouldn’t be wishing to enjoy anything.

“But I never imagined it would really come to this. That my prayer would be granted. I’m truly… sorry.”

Eu lowered her forehead to the floor in front of Haruna.

I gently patted her shoulder. “Actually, about that. Look at this.”

I showed Eu the pendant hanging from Haruna’s neck.

“What is this?”

“A so-called mana siphon this dumb genius made. It’s probably not your fault at all. More like her own doing.”

“I… see.”

Eu’s expression turned faintly lonely. I couldn’t tell if it was pity for Haruna or something else entirely. She said nothing more, and I couldn’t ask.

When silence fell between the three of us, a knock came at the door.

“Haruna, may I come in?”

It was Sera’s lovely voice. There was a hint of concern in her tone. She was also aware of Haruna’s condition.

She carried a tray, so I tried to switch places with her, but Haruna refused to let go of my sleeve.

Sera let out a small chuckle, then handed me the tray.

On it sat a glass of water, some tablets said to be half made of kindness,^[1] and a pot filled with concrete. Was this supposed to be porridge? She’d made the same thing back when I was bedridden.

Don’t tell me Sera only knows how to cook porridge the way you mix cement.

“Haruna, how are you feeling?” she asked in a gentle voice she would never direct at me. A voice so soothing it could lift even the weariest heart.

“…ine,” Haruna said.

I’m guessing she meant I’m fine. As always, she refused to show weakness in front of the girls. I found it funny and let out a snort.

“Ugh. Aaaah!”

Haruna suddenly writhed in pain. She clawed at her hair, rolling and thrashing on the bed.

“Haruna, you must not make a sound. No matter how much it hurts.”

Eu’s words didn’t reach her. Haruna kept crying out, her voice turning into sobs.

“Ayumu, cover her mouth,” Eu said gravely.

I did as she asked, pressing my hand over Haruna’s small, saucy mouth. I had no room in my mind to savor the softness of her lips.

“Eu, what should we do?”

“If she stays quiet, she can keep the headache away. I struggled to suppress my sobs myself.”

I knew that even speaking triggered severe headaches for Eu. But watching her always show no emotion, I honestly hadn’t believed the pain was that terrible.

But looking at Haruna now…

“Nggh! Nnnnngh!”

She squeezed her eyes shut, wrinkled her brow, clenched her teeth, kicked her legs, and scratched her head.

The pain was unbearable, bad enough to make her want to scream. But screaming only made the pain worse. That much was obvious just from watching her.

Watching with concern, Sera suggested, “Ayumu, give her some water.”

I grabbed the glass of water from the tray. “Haruna. Want some water?”

She nodded over and over, shaking her head violently up and down.

I sat her up and handed her the glass. Haruna cupped it in both hands, then suddenly jolted and dropped it. Water splashed everywhere, soaking the pillow and sheets. She flung the fluffy feather duvet aside and hugged her own body.

“N-No. What… is this? Make it… stop. Make it stop!”

Her scream echoed through the room.

Eu, watching silently, slipped off her gauntlets and placed them in Haruna’s hands. Haruna clutched them desperately, like a drowning girl grabbing driftwood.

“The ability has already begun activating. It’s sooner than I expected.” Eu fixed her steady gaze on me.

“What exactly happened?” Sera voiced the question on my mind.

“Her hands have healing powers. They manifest the will to mend. But whatever is healed, the user takes on instead.”

“Wait, it’s not just people?”

Eu gave a nod. “The feelings dwelling in objects are more frightening. Haruna is now shouldering every emotion, every pain, every sorrow carried by everything she touches,” she explained matter-of-factly.

Her words left me unsettled. Before I could even pity Haruna, I was struck by the thought that Eu had been carrying that burden all this time.

“Can the gauntlets suppress it?” Sera asked.

“Yes. They were given to me by a friend. Back when I, like Haruna now, became too afraid of everything, they gave it to me.” Her voice softened as she gazed at the gauntlets.

“Hmm.” Sera pressed a finger to her lips in thought. “Is there a way to restore her back to…” She cut herself off.

Restoring things back to normal meant Eu would lose her voice again. It meant giving her back all the suffering Haruna was feeling now. What were we supposed to do?

“For the time being, perhaps we lend Miss Hellscythe’s equipment to Haruna?” Sera suggested.

Haruna shook her head violently. “I won’t be able to… SWAT it up.”

“Give it up. It’s fine. Western SWAT teams probably dress like that anyway.”

Tears streamed down her face as she kept shaking her head. What a spoiled brat.

“All right, let’s get you out of those pajamas.” I reached to undress her.

“Get out of here!” she shouted, forcing out the words despite the pain.

A bucket of scalding concrete was dumped over my head, and I reluctantly slunk straight into the bathroom.

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1. A reference to the famous Bufferin A (painkiller) slogan “half of it is kindness,” meaning the drug combines aspirin for fast pain relief with a stomach-protecting ingredient. The “kindness” is just marketing for the gentler component that reduces stomach irritation.