Bonus Short Stories

Have Some Candy: Say, “Aaah”!

Within Alto Schloss, the Society’s headquarters in the Harz Mountains of central Germany, Suimei was in his room with his partner, the magician Hydemary Alzbayne. Currently, there was a variety of healing magicka items lined up on top of Suimei’s desk, and with sluggish—or rather, outright exhausted—movements, he was treating the fresh bruises and wounds on his face and arms.

As for Hydemary, having brought in some antique furniture from her own room, she had taken up in a corner of Suimei’s room and was elegantly enjoying some tea.

“Owowowowow…”

Enduring the light sense of cauterization, Suimei smeared ointment over his open wounds. Watching him, Hydemary lowered the teacup from her mouth and set it aside as she called over to him.

“Suimei-kun, you’re certainly outdoing yourself, aren’t you? Diving into something like close combat training as a magician… I believe it would have been sufficient just to learn the fundamentals, no?”

“Hardly. To become strong, that wouldn’t be enough.”

Just earlier, Suimei had requested to practice with his father’s good friend who just happened to drop by headquarters. He was the best among the armed combat specialists in the Society, Georg Bettendorf. And as to be expected, Suimei was rendered completely tattered by the encounter.

“Well, whatever you do is your choice, but you know, getting turned into a worn-out rag time and time again like that… seems a bit useless.”

“Yeah, well, sorry for being a worn-out rag.”

Though Suimei spitefully spat her words back at her, Hydemary acted as though it didn’t concern her. She simply threw a different question at him.

“In any case, you’re certainly strange in that regard. Normally, a magician would pursue the mysteries to the exclusion of all else. Something like actual combat would be completely secondary to that. So isn’t throwing yourself into something so needless the sheer height of futility?”

“You sure have some nerve to say that after picking a fight the moment we met.”

“A magickal showdown and combat are different, no? What you did with Lord Bettendorf was practice for a scenario where it was assumed that there were lives on the line.”

She certainly had a point. And looking at it like that, Suimei could understand where she was coming from.

“So, going back to what we were talking about earlier, why is it that you think magicians need to learn to engage in close combat in the first place?”

“Isn’t it precisely because we’re magicians? We greedily want to take in as much as we can get, right?”

“Is that so? To me it seems that it’s precisely because we’re magicians that we should abstain from overdoing it, I must say. Frankly speaking, not caring for one’s appearance is inelegant. I think one should act bearing their station and capabilities in mind.”

“Sooner or later, you won’t be able to say that anymore.”

“Hmph.”

And just as Suimei thought Hydemary was only responding with indifference, she started making actions like she was pulling on something. As she did, Suimei’s body was raised into the air like someone had lifted him up.

“Whoa! Wh-What the hell are you doing?!”

“No matter. Just stay still.”

Saying that, Hydemary began moving her hands like she was manipulating a marionette. And as if Suimei was being directly controlled by those minute gestures, he limply danced through the air and was brought down in the chair across from her. It was quite the rough way of getting him to take a seat.

“Let me ask you this: are combat techniques really that necessary to us?”

“…Well, isn’t it obvious that they are?”

“Why is that? Is the Society that violent?”

“It’s not just the Society. Those who call themselves magicians generally can’t keep themselves out of conflict. We have to subjugate apparitions, and we often butt heads with other magicians.”

“Is that so? Well, setting aside the matter of apparitions, I don’t really understand this talk about other magicians. If a magician is your opponent, wouldn’t it be fine to just have a normal battle with magicka?”

“I’m saying that not all magicians are sensible guys who will back down just because they’ve been put in their place magically speaking. They say if you’re not careful, you might get your head cut off in your sleep.”

“How dimwitted. If everyone was just a genius like me, it would be fine…”

“Don’t just casually call yourself a genius, damn it.”

“Am I wrong?”

“Well, you’re not, but still…”

He couldn’t deny it. Hydemary was indeed a magickal genius.

“Well, I think I can finally understand what you’re trying to say. If I feel like it, maybe I’ll also learn some combat techniques.”

“From Lord Bettendorf?”

“I’ll pass on asking him. No matter how charming a gorilla may pretend to be, a gorilla is still a gorilla.”

“…What kind of evaluation standard is that? All I hear is slander, you know?”

“Well, setting that aside…”

As she spoke, Hydemary served Suimei his share of tea and candy.

“Here, you have some too. They’re candies I bought from a high-end store, and tea that I personally brewed myself.”

Ignoring what Hydemary was saying, Suimei thanked her for the treat and brought a piece of candy to his mouth.

“…It’s good.”

“Of course it is. Both the tea and candy were hand-selected by me, after all.”

“Oh wow, how impressive…”

“Suimei-kun, that doesn’t sound anything like gratitude. Frankly, aren’t you making fun of me?”

“I don’t wanna hear it from someone who’s always so candid.”

Paying her criticism no mind, Suimei focused on snacking. After a few bites and sips, he realized that Hydemary was staring at him intently. What did she want?

“For this kind, it’s normal to split it into its different parts and eat it, is it not?”

“Hmm? Oh, have you never had one before?”

“Correct. I haven’t had this one yet.” With that, Hydemary opened her little mouth wide with a soft pop. “Aaah!”

“…Huh?”

“Like I’m saying, aaah!”

“…”

Hydemary had her eyes closed and looked like she was waiting for something. Was she telling him to feed her?

Well, she is a six year old child, I guess…

She wasn’t shy at all about being fed. It had only been six years since she was born, so since she was effectively a child, she simply may not have thought twice about such gestures. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Suimei picked up a piece of candy.

“…Here.”

“Hom!”

Taking into consideration her small form, Suimei picked out a small candy and tossed it into Hydemary’s mouth. Without really smiling or anything, she simply began chewing on it.

“Aaah!”

Finishing the candy, Hydemary once more opened her mouth in a reserved matter, patiently waiting for another piece.

“…Here.”

“Hom!”

Again, as she chewed on the candy, she didn’t give off a single hint that she was happy to be doing so.

“Is it good?”

“Mm. It’s quite tasty. It had just the flavor that I imagined it would.”

If she was content, Suimei thought she should at least let it show a little. Although, as a homunculus, it very well may have been asking too much for her to show the same expressiveness as a human.

“But…”

“But what?”

“I heard that the taste changed if fed to you by a member of the opposite sex, but I guess that isn’t true.”

“I-I see.”

“It’s just…”

“…?”

“Being fed… feels a little different from normal. Mm, it’s not bad.”

She vaguely appeared to be in a good mood. And one way or another, this girl may have become considerably more human.

Lefille and Cotton Candy

On the day Suimei and Lefille arrived safely in Kurant City, they went shopping in order to prepare for the next part of their journey to the Nelferian Empire. After taking care of all the odds and ends of shopping for the day, they were now walking together just a little off the main street. There were various stands lined up along the sides of the road, giving it something of the feel of a shopping arcade or bazaar. One stall in particular had something that piqued Suimei’s curiosity.

“Oh?”

The stall didn’t have any goods on display. In fact, the stall itself was just the shopkeep standing in front of something like a tub. It was a simply made, heated iron plate with a cylinder pushing up through its center—something that Suimei recognized. It was a cotton candy machine almost identical to the kind that could be found at temple festivals all across modern Japan.

“What’s wrong, Suimei-kun?”

Lefille looked up at Suimei as she questioned him. It seemed that, at her reduced height, she didn’t have a good view of things.

“Nothing really. I just saw something interesting. That’s all.”

“Something interesting?”

“Look over there.”

As Suimei pointed over to the stall, Lefille remarked on it as if it was something perfectly natural to her.

“Ooh, the cotton candy stand, you mean? What about it?”

“Hmm? What’s this? You know about cotton candy, Lefille?”

“Indeed. It’s quite common in large cities, after all… But does this mean it’s also something that exists in your world, Suimei-kun?”

“Well, yeah. Actually, I’m pretty surprised to see it here…”

Suimei knit his brow. Cotton candy was an inexpensive sweet from his own world. So why did it exist here? Certainly, making cotton candy was a simple matter of heating up sugar, so even in such a dramatically different world, it wasn’t impossible that they’d discovered it too. But still, Suimei just couldn’t shake the feeling that seeing a cotton candy machine here was quite strange. Mumbling to himself about it, Lefille made an expression like she’d come to realize something.

“I see. Perhaps it was something brought over from your world, then.”

“Oh? What makes you think that?”

“Well, it’s said that when cotton candy was first made in this world, it was by a hero summoned by the hero summoning ritual long ago. They made it to provide sweets to poor and needy children. And from there, the treat eventually caught on and spread throughout the world.”

So there was that kind of story behind it? Putting aside the issue of where exactly the hero had come from, Suimei was glad to hear the sweet treat had such a sweet origin.

“But… cotton candy, huh?”

“Mm…”

Lefille seemed to be deep in thought. Just what was she remembering as she closed her eyes and drew a deep breath? Curious, Suimei asked her about it.

“Do you have some fond memories of it?”

“A-Ah, no. There aren’t many cotton candy stalls in the north, so I never had many encounters with it. I was just remembering the one time I did have some.”

“Was it really that rare?”

“You see, sugar is a delicacy in the north. Compared to other regions, its supply was rather sparse.”

“Hmm, but wasn’t your family quite well off, Lefille? And even if it was comparatively sparse, it was still available, right?”

Lefille had told Suimei once that her bloodline was descended from royalty. She was presumably a noble, so Suimei didn’t think it would be all that hard to get her hands on some cotton candy.

“Well… My family always devoted themselves to honorable poverty and endless frugality, so it wasn’t as luxurious as you’re thinking. Besides, my father always said, ‘Sweets breed wicked thoughts.’ He never let me have any.”

“That’s, uh… How should a put it? A little sad.”

Lefille nodded. It was a heavy gesture, which gave a hint of the heavy feelings that came with it. As she gazed in the direction of the stall, she had a look on her face like she was reluctant to part with it.

“…So, do you want some cotton candy?”

“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you saying, Suimei-kun?! I-It’s cotton candy! Do you really think that I want something that looks like it’s made for children?!”

“Well, you sure looked like you did.”

Hearing that, Lefille folded her arms and turned away in a huff.

“Hmph, your eyes are surprisingly bad, I see. There’s no way I looked like that.”

“Yeah? Well, since our shopping is all done, let’s go―”

But before Suimei could finish speaking, Lefille’s face flushed so red that it looked like a ripe tomato and she began fidgeting idly.

“W-Well, um… If you said that you wanted some no matter what and insisted on having it… I wouldn’t say no to sharing some with you…”

So after all that, she really did want some, didn’t she? She didn’t have to go out of her way to put up an act like that. As Suimei was thinking such things, Lefille spoke up once more, almost imploringly.

“U-Um… I-I mean, I wouldn’t mind some if you wanted some…”

What else could Suimei say? She wasn’t being honest with herself. And so, pretending that he hadn’t heard or seen anything, Suimei let out a single sigh.

“Man, you know what? I do have a craving for cotton candy all of a sudden…”

“―!”

“Hey, Lefille. Sorry, but could you go buy me some?”

“I-I-I-I-If you insist. I-I didn’t know you had such a childish side, Suimei-kun.”

Lefille replied in a stiff manner, but after Suimei handed her a few coins, she did a complete one-eighty and happily skipped off to the cotton candy stall. Watching her go with a broad grin, Suimei walked to a nearby bench to take a seat. Before long, Lefille came running back over with a helping of cotton candy in either hand.

“Suimei-kun, I bought some!”

The tiny Lefille excitedly plopped herself down next to Suimei. There was an unusual sparkle in her eyes. Suimei recalled seeing something similar back when they bought the frilly dress for her at the clothing store.

“Hom…”

With her transformation after the fight with Rajas, the childlike aspects of her personality had somehow become more conspicuous. It wasn’t like she’d regressed or anything, but because her body had shrunk, her behavior was being pulled in the same direction.

“Hom nom…”

But since it only looked like she was acting her age, nothing about it seemed strange. And when things got serious, Lefille was her usual self. But right now, she was cuter than ever and a delight to behold.

“It’s so fluffy!”

Suimei was casually thinking such things as he watched Lefille, who was engrossed with her cotton candy and stuffing her cheeks with it. However, before long…

“Ah… It’s all gone…”

“Do you want more?”

“I-It’s not like I want to eat that much of it…”

“Sorry, but you’re not too convincing after shoving it all in your face in no time flat like that.”

Lefille scoffed and replied in a near scolding tone.

“What’s this, Suimei-kun? Could it be you don’t know that’s how you’re supposed to eat cotton candy?”

“What are you making up stuff for? You could look high and low and you wouldn’t find a kid wolfing it down like you just did. The only one with sugar smeared all over their cheeks with such a triumphant look on their face is you, Lefille.”

“Wha—?!”

Being caught completely red-handed, Lefille blushed even brighter than she had before.

“It was so tasty that you couldn’t help yourself, right?”

“I-I mean, it’s been a long time since I had any sweets, so I just…”

Was she embarrassed? She probably was. But hearing Lefille say something like that was also somehow refreshing. Smiling, Suimei took a few more coins out of his pocket.

“Here.”

“But the budget…”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like an indulgence here and there is gonna screw us over.”

“O-Okay, then just one more. I’ll go get it…”

And with that, Lefille once more ran off towards the cotton candy stall.

A Drunk Mizuki

After departing from the royal capital of Metel in the Kingdom of Astel, Reiji and the others crossed the national border and arrived in the Nelferian Empire. Upon reaching the imperial lands, they immediately chose an inn. Short Mizuki and Luka, the other four members of the group gathered for a meal. Titania sat next to Reiji at the table, clinging to his arm. When the opportunity presented itself, he spoke to her in a somewhat troubled voice.

“Hey, Tia… I feel like you’ve been kind of close for a while now. Look, there are even people staring, so could you maybe give me a little more space?”

“I-Isn’t it fine? We are fellow comrades on a journey; it’s important to build up our intimacy. Moreover, a little physical contact never hurt anyone…”

“A little? It feels like this happens all the time though…”

Seeing that she had no intention of letting go even though she was blushing, Reiji let out a bewildered sigh.

“I want to get along well with you, Reiji-sama. And if I’m to be perfectly honest, I would like to be in a more intimate relationship with you than anybody else.”

“But you’re already a precious friend of mine, Tia.”

It was clear Reiji had missed her meaning, and Titania shook her head emphatically.

“Th-That is not what I mean! It is more, um, how do I put it…?”

“U-Uh… Gregory-san, would you mind saying something?”

Reiji made a request of the most reliable senior knight in the group. Gregory cleared his throat, but then gave an answer Reiji wasn’t expecting.

“It is a wonderful thing for the hero and Her Royal Highness to be on good terms.”

“Hahh…”

Was he not going to help? Gregory just kept nodding repeatedly. Perhaps it was because Titania was by far his social superior. Maybe he felt like he wasn’t in a position to remonstrate her. But now that the most reliable person in their party had let him down, Reiji then looked over to Roffrey.

“I’m envious, Reiji-sama. So much so that if you wanted to fall in the next demon attack, I’d be happy to take your place.”

With green eyes, Roffrey quietly muttered the exact kind of thing Suimei would have said. He looked like he might even cry. But it was around that time that Mizuki and Luka came down the stairs from the second floor where the guest rooms were.

“Heehee, whoopsies!”

“M-Mizuki-dono, keep it together! Please be careful!”

What was going on? Mizuki was in a giddy mood while Luka seemed to be supporting her with all her might. Mizuki’s happy voice said she was perfectly fine, but her unsteady footsteps said something was quite wrong.

“Wh-What’s wrong with you, Mizuki…?”

“Dere’s nothin’ wrong ats all! I’m feelin’ a suuuuuper good now!”

She was completely inarticulate. Seeing her like this, Titania called out to her.

“Mizuki, are you perhaps drunk?”

“I’m naw dronk! I’m naw dronk at all!”

“Just how are you not drunk? Mizuki, you’re completely smashed, aren’t you…?”

Seeing Mizuki’s unbecoming behavior, Reiji put his head in his hands. She was spouting lines just like a drunk in a TV sitcom would, and it made his head hurt more and more. The next person to speak up was Gregory.

“Luka, what is going on here? Why is Mizuki-dono intoxicated?”

“I honestly do not know myself. It’s not like she had any beverages with spirits in them or anything… And as for food, about the only thing she’s eaten was the medohava she received from the innkeep just earlier…”

“Medohava?”

“Yes, but…”

Gregory asked for clarification with a stern face, and when Luka affirmed her statement, his face became even sterner.

“Tia, what’s medohava?”

“Medohava is a popular sweet made by taking honey that was left in the sun, mixing it with wheat flour, and baking it, but―I have heard of this before, I think—when someone who has a low tolerance for wines and spirits eats medohava, they say they may fall into an intoxicated state some hours later.”

“Is that true?! I was not aware of that…”

Luka showed a great deal of surprise upon hearing Titania’s story, and immediately looked over to Mizuki apologetically. Now that he thought about it, Reiji had heard something similar before too. Stories of people getting drunk without imbibing any alcohol. Apparently, they would get drunk when the enzymes in their stomachs got lively, functioning like a mini brewery. In extreme cases, it could even ferment rice that they ate, leading to intoxication. It was a curious claim, but it seemed plausible enough. Perhaps this sweet known as medohava was fermenting within her stomach. Mizuki had a normal constitution, but maybe she didn’t have much of a tolerance for alcohol.

“Glug, glug, glug… Pwaaah!”

“Mizuki, have you calmed down yet?”

After Mizuki gulped down some water and looked completely refreshed, Reiji tried checking to see if she felt better. But for some reason, she just puffed out her cheeks.

“Hmph!”

“Wh-What is the matter?”

Now Titania was concerned too, but Mizuki thrust her finger out at her in return.

“Now, just why are you clinging so close to Reiji-kun, I wonder?”

“N-No particular reason. I just thought that I would get a little closer with Reiji-sama today.”

“Hmph…”

“Wh-What is it…?”

“Nooothing. I just think it’s probably pointless; that’s all.”

“Wh-Why is that?”

“Reiji-kun isn’t into girls who are so pushy-pushy. And if you push him too hard, he may just pull away, you know?”

“I-Is that true, Reiji-sama?!”

“Huh? No, even if we’re talking about me, I have no clue what’s going on…”

“Besides, Reiji-kun is from Planet Boobs, so he won’t really be happy with that modest offering rubbing up against him like that…”

“Dear me… So it’s true after all, Reiji-sama…”

“Y-You’re wrong! Mizuki, what kind of nonsense are you telling her?!”

Reiji denied the accusations loudly, but Mizuki replied with an objection of her own.

“Reiji-kun’s a liar! My friend S.Y.-kun testified to it personally!”

“Es… why-kun…?”

Hearing him referred to by his initials, Titania couldn’t tell who she was talking about. But as for this friend’s identity…

“Aah, what the hell have you been saying, Suimeiiiii?! You idiot!”

As Reiji cursed S.Y.—Suimei Yakagi—who wasn’t present, Mizuki redirected her spearhead at a new target.

“Don’t you think so too, Roffrey-san? That Reiji-kun’s clearly a tits guy.”

“No, I do not particularly think such a―”

“You think so too, don’t you, Roffrey-san?!”

As Mizuki repeated herself in a threatening manner, Roffrey’s attitude completely changed.

“Y-You’re right. It’s just as Mizuki-sama says. It seems to me that Reiji-sama has been looking at nothing but the breasts of woman lately.”

“Hey, Roffrey, what are you saying?! Just now, you were just going to say…”

“Sorry, Reiji-sama. I have been taught that a knight should always be an ally to women.”

With Roffrey’s support, Mizuki suddenly grew more energetic.

“Tits, tits, titties! Do you really like sacks of fat on the chest that much?!”

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You’re wrong! I don’t really!”

“Well then, Reiji-kun, between big boobs and small boobs, which are better?!”

“Th-That’s…”

“You can’t answer, can you?! Reiji-kun, you dummy!”

“B-B-But, I mean, there’s no way I can answer that, right?!”

There was no way he would expose his personal fetishes in front of everyone. But then, Mizuki suddenly reached for the collar of her shirt.

“Whatever! I’m stripping!”

“WH-WHAT?!”

How did it come to this? Paying no heed to Reiji’s surprised shout, Mizuki began taking off her clothes.

“Wait a minute, Mizuki! Stop this at once! Where do you think this is?!”

“Who cares?! I’m gonna show off my charm to that super high-level blockhead right here!”

As Mizuki began wailing and flailing about, Titania and the others tried to stop her from going any further.

“Someone, do something…”

Reiji was at a complete loss. Why was it that the guy who would normally do something in situations like this wasn’t here?

Reiji’s Dream

“Reiji-kun… Reiji-kun…”

A familiar voice gently brushed against his earlobe.

“Come on, Reiji-kun…”

“Hmm…?”

“Reiji-kun, how long do you plan on sleeping? School’s over, so let’s go home already.”

“Huh… Oh, Mizuki?”

“That’s right. What’s up, Reiji-kun? Are you still half asleep?”

“No…”

As she peered at him with a concerned face, Reiji shook his head. It seemed that, at some point without him realizing it, he’d fallen asleep. To jog his memory a little, he took a look at his surroundings. And what he saw was…

“Wait, huh…?”

A blackboard and lines of orderly arranged desks and chairs. A bulletin board displaying school events. Classmates scattered about here and there, all illuminated by the setting sun streaming in the window. He knew all these things. Yes, in fact, Reiji was quite familiar with this place—his school classroom.

“What…?”

Unintentionally, he let out a surprised gasp. Why was he here? If he wasn’t mistaken, he was… No, he and Mizuki were supposed to be in another world defeating the Demon Lord.

“Ah, so you’re finally awake, sleeping prince.”

Reiji shifted his attention to the teasing voice coming from the other side of him. Standing there was his good friend who’d also been summoned together with him and Mizuki to another world, Yakagi Suimei.

“Hmm? Hey, Reiji-kuuun, can you hear meeeee?”

Suimei had been his best friend the past six years, ever since they met in middle school.

“Huh… So he can’t hear us? You thickheaded, good-looking bastard! Dumbass, dumbass, dumbaaaass!”

“Come on, Suimei-kun, you’re not a grade schooler…”

“I can hear you, Suimei.”

“That so, dumbass? Oof…! A punch to the gut… is a low blow… Shana Reiji…”

“A low blow? Says the guy who was just chanting that I was a dumbass.”

As his good friend pretended to grip his stomach and slumped to the floor, Reiji rolled his eyes. Eventually, Suimei finished his playful groaning and got back up.

“So, what is up? You still look kinda dazed there.”

“Yeah, I just had a strange dream is all.”

“A strange dream?”

“Yeah.”

“What? A wet dream?”

“Not that. The three of us were summoned to another world and asked to defeat the Demon Lord, that kind of dream.”

“That sounds an awful lot like that novel Mizuki just made me read.”

“Ultra Hero Summoning Wars, right?” Mizuki piped up.

“Yeah, that one. That one with the surprisingly expected name,” agreed Suimei.

“So, so? Reiji-kun, what happened in your dream?” Mizuki asked excitedly.

“W-Well, we were summoned to another world, but it seemed like there was only supposed to be one hero, so you and Suimei were basically summoned by accident.”

“…Somehow, despite being a dream, that’s an awfully detailed setting, you know. Could it be that you respecced as Mizuki in the middle of your dream? What do you think, Mizuki?”

“Lalalalala! I can’t hear you! I can’t hear youuu!”

Suimei turned an impish smile on Mizuki, who was trying to drown him out. He bored of it quickly, however, shrugged his shoulders, and turned back to Reiji.

“So, that was it, right? You were the hero?”

“Yeah. I’m surprised you could tell.”

“Well, it was your dream, after all. It wouldn’t be interesting if you weren’t the hero yourself.”

“Heh, yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Suimei’s exasperated sarcasm was the same as ever. Finding it strangely comforting, Reiji let out a stifled laugh, at which Suimei raised an eyebrow and made a strange face. Ignoring them both, Mizuki once more urged Reiji to continue.

“So, which was it? Were you asked by a king or a princess?”

“Both. Plus a court mage. And I accepted.”

“You would, huh? You would definitely do that, wouldn’t you?”

Mizuki looked completely delighted, as if she herself had been involved. She simply loved these kinds of stories. She looked on the verge of bursting into laughter, but somehow held it back. Paying her little mind, Suimei turned to Reiji again.

“Whaaat? Why didn’t you refuse?”

“Heh…”

“What’s up?”

“Nothing, really. It’s just that you said the same thing in my dream.”

Suimei flashed a triumphant smile and thrust out his chest proudly.

“Of course I did. Even in your dreams, I have common sense.”

“Really? That’s not the first thing I would have chosen to describe you…”

“Mizuki-san, do pipe down over there.”

“Hmph! It’s payback, so there! Pfbbbt!”

Mizuki took a jab at Suimei by suggesting there were aspects of his personality quite divorced from common sense. Suimei gave a purposely stiff reply, and she blew a raspberry at him. From there, Reiji continued.

“…So, after that, I learned magic from the people of the other world, and that’s where the dream ended.”

“MAGIC?!”

Mizuki’s interest piqued dramatically at the mention of that special word.

“Cool, so you mean we interrupted you just when you got to the good part.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

It went without saying that the true charm of fantasy worlds was the element of magic. And since Reiji had never had a dream like this before, he was a little sorry he didn’t get to explore it further.

“Hey, if you could use magic, what kind of magic would you want to use, Mizuki?”

“For me, it would be ice magic, I think. It’s pretty and cool, and seems kinda like it’d be the best.”

“That’s very Mizuki-like of you, isn’t it? How about you, Suimei?”

“Huh? Me?”

As Reiji nodded in reply, Suimei turned away bashfully.

“I’m not telling.”

“Whaaat? Come on. I wanna know.”

Mizuki leaned over as she prodded him for an answer. Suimei was a good friend who was always cynical, but also always stuck his hands into all sorts of things. Reiji was awfully curious just what kind of magic he would desire. Reiji continued to look at him expectantly, and Suimei eventually let out a resigned sigh and began speaking in an embarrassed tone.

“Let’s see… For me, it’d be magic that could make people happy, I think.”

“Magic that could make people happy?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m… you know… that, right?”

“Ah…”

Reiji and Mizuki looked at each other and both seemed to come to an understanding at the same time. Suimei didn’t have a single living relative. His mother died right after he was born; he never even knew her face. Reiji had been acquainted with Suimei’s father, but he’d tragically died in a traffic accident right before Suimei’s eyes two years ago. That left Suimei an orphan. So if he desired magic like that, it wasn’t hard to understand why.

“Yeah, so… that’s it. If I were able to use magic, I would want to use it to make someone happy. Since my mom and dad are no longer around, I can’t do much for myself. But with that power, I’d want to help other unfortunate people. What? Does that not sound like me?”

“No… That’s not it, teehee.”

“Man, this is fucking embarrassing. I shouldn’t have said a damn thing… Seriously.”

“But it’s kind of a strange feeling. Suimei, in my dream, you said my mission was absolutely impossible. That we had no obligation to save the people of that world. And that you personally refused to come along.”

“Whatever. That was just your dream, right? Don’t just lump me and your dream version of me together.”

“You’re right… Heh, yeah, you’re right. Even if it’s coming from you, it’s not all that strange, huh?”

Indeed, Suimei’s wish was earnest. And if he truly wished for it, it was something that Reiji would never laugh at. And then, as if refreshing his determination, Suimei clenched his fist tightly.

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ll definitely find it. A future with salvation. For the sake of proving definitively that there’s no one in the world who cannot obtain happiness, I will find the—”

Just what did Suimei say at the end? For some reason, Reiji just couldn’t make it out.

“Suimei? What did you just…?”

And just as he tried asking again, the brilliance of the setting sun engulfed everything in sight.

Acute Mana Failure

The ear-splitting claps of thunder finally settled down, and the still, clear night sky stretched out over the mountains. Having just defeated the demon general Rajas, Suimei was forced to wait until he’d recovered enough that he could move again. He then shouldered Lefille’s sword and picked up the small girl like a princess, and somehow made his way down the mountain road. While his heart was seized by the mix of exaltation and emptiness that often came at the end of a hard-fought battle, the still-weary girl in his arms called out to him in a worried voice.

“Suimei-kun, are you really in any shape to be doing this?”

“Hmm? Yeah, it’s not a problem, but… What’s up?”

“That’s… I was just thinking that maybe you were putting up a strong front or something. I was just a little worried.”

Lefille looked up at Suimei with a grim expression. Hearing she was concerned about him, Suimei flashed a smile.

“It’s all good. I just couldn’t move earlier because I’d simply used up too much mana. Once I’ve absorbed enough aetheric from my surroundings, I’m as good as new.”

“What do you mean? Used up too much mana? I’ve never heard of that leading to being unable to move…”

“No?”

“Using too much mana is supposed to leave you unable to use magic. Moreover, it’s not supposed to be possible to use mana down to the last drop like that. Mages are supposed to unconsciously cut themselves off to keep from fully wearing themselves out.”

“Yeah, that’s certainly true. There’s an unconscious limit in place to prevent the overconsumption of mana, too… I see, so that’s how it works here.”

In short, to prevent the overconsumption of mana, the human body’s self-defense mechanism would kick in before the caster completely drained themselves, and would prevent any further mana from being used. So what Lefille was saying was true for mages in this world, but the magicians of Suimei’s world had mana furnaces and were capable of using mana from within their body beyond that limit. That meant they were more capable of overspending, so to speak, which was how Suimei had fallen into the state he had earlier. Lefille then looked at Suimei with a puzzled expression.

“So if you expend absolutely all of your mana, is that how you end up?”

“Yeah, it’s called acute mana failure, or AMF. It’s what happens when you consume your mana to the extreme.”

“Oh?”

“When you exhaust your mana in a short period of time, your brain misinterprets that as a state of physical fatigue. Your blood flow, among other things, will slow and it will have an effect on the function of most of your internal organs. And then, like what happened to me, you’ll end up unable to move.”

“It leaves you quite defenseless, doesn’t it?”

“You’re not wrong. It’s quite a screwup as a magician, I have to say. But even what I went through wasn’t all that serious.”

“What happens when it’s serious?”

“The function of your internal organs slows enough that, on top of not being able to move, you end up with symptoms like spasms, nerve pain, and even vomiting blood.”

“It’s quite a dangerous condition, I see.”

“Even a minor case is a screwup, but severe cases can be fatal. But it takes something extreme for that to happen.”

Though Suimei said so in a comforting fashion, it seemed to raise another doubt in Lefille’s mind.

“So then what about those who don’t have any mana in the first place? Wouldn’t they always be in this Ay Em Eff state or whatever you called it? After all, they’re always without mana. But I can’t say I’ve ever heard of or seen anyone suffering from it…”

To answer Lefille, Suimei replied with some wisdom from his own world.

“People with no mana, huh? From our perspective, there isn’t anyone like that.”

“What are you talking about? There are plenty of people who can’t use magic.”

“No, that’s practically impossible. There’s probably just some reason they can’t manifest their mana. There’s a principle to intelligent life: all living beings that can think can process mana. So definitely, all humans have some mana.”

“What? Is that true?”

“Yeah. It’s a somewhat complicated topic, but… As a preamble, when it comes to the mystical and mystical locations—in other words, places where mana exists—there’s a way of thinking that says that such places exist exactly because intelligent beings believe that the mysteries in those places are mysteries. For something of an example, when it comes to creepy places, you can sense and recognize them using something other than your five senses, right?”

“Certainly. But that’s true for everyone, is it not?”

“That’s right. In short, all humans are able to sense such locations of power. Call it a sixth sense. And being able to sense that irregularity―in other words, the mysteries—means that the mystical exists there.”

“But even if people don’t sense it, mysterious spaces would still exist, no?”

It was just as she said. Those places were always there whether people were or not. It seemed very straightforward in that sense. However, from the point of view of mysticology, it was a little different.

“That’s not quite right. If nobody believed a place to be mysterious, it would hold no power as a mystical location. If there were no people, there would be nobody to decisively determine that the mysteries exist there.”

Lefille’s face grew cuter and cuter as she grew more and more pensive.

“Hmm…”

“You look like you’re not convinced.”

“Obviously. It’s strange to say that if nobody was around, then those sorts of spaces wouldn’t exist, after all. Anyway, what connection does this have to do with our talks about mana?”

“The fact that the mysteries are there means that humans are cognizant of those mysteries. And it means acknowledging that there are places that possess a higher degree of mystical power than others. Are we good up to this point?”

“Yeah.”

“So that means that something exists to accumulate the mysteries in that place. In order for that to happen, there needs to be an outside primary factor. However, just as I said before, mystical locations do not exist unless an intelligent lifeform observes them. That means, that by necessity, an intelligent lifeform would be that primary factor.”

“Can you assert that?”

“In order for the mysteries to be observed, there absolutely has to be an intelligent being present. And witnessing and being around these things leads to an accumulation of power that all intelligent life is capable of simply because it is intelligent and can therefore witness and observe such things.”

“And that’s… mana, right?”

“That’s right. So essentially, the ability to perceive the mysterious—the ability to think—is inherently accompanied by the accumulation of mana. There’s no way that it wouldn’t be. Since a location of power is always in a state where it is being observed, that proves the existence of the observer.”

“But in order to prove what you’re suggesting, it seems like there’s so much you’re assuming.”

“Then let me ask you this: how is it different from looking at nature and trying to rationalize it? In either case, we’re just interpreting what’s around us in a way that’s convenient, right?”

“But…”

“Lefille, the truly perfect equation that you’re talking about—the ultimate right answer—is something that only an omnipotent being would know. The rest of us are just slogging through one theory after another to try and get closer to it, be it in physics or mysticology.”

“…I feel like this talk is going to drive me crazy.”

“That’s how it goes. Mana and the mysteries are all basically metaphysical. It has a certain draw to it. People want to understand it, but the first to dive right into it and try and build a foundation for the rest of it paid the price with their sanity.”

With that, Suimei realized he had gone somewhat off topic.

“Well, to bring it back around, all humans possess mana. In the hypothetical case that someone truly didn’t have any innate mana, there’s the term chronic mana failure or CMF, but…”

“Even though they don’t exist, there’s a term for it? What kind of symptoms would that have?”

“Just think about it. Not possessing mana from the very beginning would mean…”

“Ah…”

“That’s how it is. Regarding that, we can only say that they don’t exist.”

Lefille seemed to be convinced. But before long, she looked up at Suimei with a different question.

“By the way, Suimei-kun… I’ve been wondering this for a while now, but where did you really come from?”

“Earth. A place that the people of this world would call another world.”

Afterword

I always think, “Just what should I write in the afterword?” When something doesn’t come immediately to mind, I end up rubbing my chin for about an hour and am left at a complete loss. I’m that kind of author.

And so, thanks to a questionnaire on Overlap’s official homepage, there’s now something like an afterword after an afterword. “There are too many afterwords! What do I write?! Someone tell me!”

And here I am today as well, still an author who’s troubled by afterwords.

-Gamei Hitsuji