Act 6: Discovery

Act 6:
Discovery

 

I flopped my upper half over the writing desk in my quarters and sighed exaggeratedly. I had been holed up in my room all morning doing experiments, but the results were just as I expected. And by that, I meant my expectations had been super dang low. To tell you the truth, I wished I hadn’t been right.

The day before, I had used my Saintly powers at the Order’s quarters. I had been absolutely shocked, as it had just happened all of a sudden, but at least I’d managed to heal everybody, so I couldn’t say boo to that. I was also happily, finally cognizant of what I needed in order to trigger my powers.

This was a relief in a lot of ways. For one, now I could make a certain grand magus lay off with all the pressure he’d been putting on me. That was cause for celebration indeed.

There was just one teeny little problem—i.e., the thing I needed to do in order to make my power work. Argh! Why did it have to be linked to Knight Commander Albert?!

I had been experimenting like crazy all morning. I was totally justified in this, too! I mean, Albert wasn’t the only person I’d thought about when I summoned magic those other times. Like the first time, I’d also been thinking about Jude, and Johan, and the other researchers, and the knights, and—well, suffice to say, thinking about them did jack squat this time around.

I dreaded doing it, but I finally forced myself to focus on Albert, and…the moment I pushed through my embarrassment and clearly pictured him, the Saint’s power surged up inside me. Easy as pie. Even more damningly, the second I wished for the churning within me to stop, it stopped. Great! Now I was getting used to it.

To tell the truth, if I had been the only one in my quarters, I would have started wailing and pounding my fists on the desk. I mean, this meant that every time I wanted to use my Saintly powers, I had to think about gorgeous, thoughtful, sweet, warm, wonderful Albert. What kind of absolutely unholy, unjust, and totally uncalled for torture was this?!

However, Mary and several other maids were with me. I couldn’t just roll around the floor with both hands covering my steaming red face, no matter how much I wanted to. The best I could do was let out that tremendous sigh.

“Lady Sei, perhaps you should consider taking a break?” Mary’s anxious voice came from behind my face-planted head.

“Thank you. I think I will.” I lifted my head from the desk and glanced back to find her smiling at me. She had already placed a perfectly prepared cup of tea on the table by the sofas.

Well, how can I say no to that? She’d also prepared some sweets that went well with the local herbal tea, and there were some sandwiches and fruits as well. In fact, I had seen this spread before—it was just like what I usually made back at the institute.

I glanced again at Mary, who smiled and said, “Please have a bite to eat as well.”

My stomach growled. It occurred to me then that I had started experimenting as soon as I got dressed, and I hadn’t actually eaten anything at all since then. When I thought about it a little more, I realized I hadn’t eaten anything for dinner the night before, either—on account of how the second I’d returned from the Order’s quarters, I had sequestered myself in my bedroom.

Normally, I ate three meals a day. But here I was, having ignored my dinner and left myself grimacing at my desk since the crack of dawn. I must have worried Mary. At least, that was the feeling I got when I saw all that food on the table. She probably thought that if I saw this familiar spread, I might finally work up an appetite.

I felt bad as I picked up one of the sandwiches, but as I did, I suddenly felt the incredible pangs of hunger. The sandwich was gone in the blink of an eye.

As I reached for one of the pastries next, I noticed the maids were sagging with relief. I hadn’t just worried Mary. Sorry, everyone…

After I finished devouring pretty much everything and was washing it all down with some tea, Mary told me some people had come calling while I was holing myself up. There was a whole list of visitors I’d turned away, and the longer it got, the more ashamed I became—I had freaked them out, hadn’t I?

Since I’d never returned to the brewery, even Corinna had stopped by to check in on me. Albert—considerate Albert—had come as well.

However, Mary had tactfully received them all in my stead, having determined from my behavior that I wasn’t ready to see anybody at all. I was eternally grateful to her, especially as Corinna and Albert were the last people I would have wanted to see me in that state.

After using my powers, I had pretty much fled the Order’s quarters. I had heard Albert calling out to me as I did, but I had ignored him.

Knowing him, he probably would’ve been downright anxious about me. But I…I just didn’t know how to face him.

The first time we met, I’d instantly recognized that he was my type, looks-wise. And ugh, I know that’s kind of shallow! The real problem was that every time we’d met after that, he had been unfailingly gentle and terribly kind. But whatever I was feeling right now was new—I’d never felt this overwhelmed before.

Would I still be able to act like a normal human being around him the next time we met? I didn’t like my odds. But it wasn’t like I could keep avoiding him. We had a job to do, and we had to do it together, or the monsters in Klausner’s Domain wouldn’t be going anywhere.

That’s right. Yeah. A job. I can’t just neglect it. I’m just going to keep it professional, and then maybe I won’t feel so devastatingly awkward when I have to think about him when I use the Saint’s magic. Yeah! Maybe I’m not a hundred percent positive I can do this, but I’ll just have to give it a shot.

“Thanks for the food,” I said, standing and nodding to the maids.

“Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?” asked Mary.

“I think I’m going to go to the brewery.”

“Very well.”

Corinna had come to check on me the day before as well, so I felt compelled to let her know I was okay.

Plus, there was still the matter of the blessings to discuss. I wasn’t entirely clear on what they were, but I could now wield my powers at will. I could commence with the experiments, and I had all sorts in mind. If they went well, I’d at last be able to acquire the special herb I was looking for. I was getting excited just thinking about it.

First, I need to figure out just what a blessing looks like…and then I need to get Corinna’s permission to experiment on some fields.

“Are you feeling better now?” Corinna asked me when I arrived at the brewery.

“Yes. I’m so sorry to have worried you.” I bowed.

“Well. I’m just glad you’re all right.”

Pleasantries and apologies done with, I dove into the important stuff. We headed into the back room to keep it discreet, and she seemed to catch my drift right away, perhaps because I spoke in a hushed tone. I assumed this was all rather confidential information, and we therefore wanted to avoid hashing it out in a room packed with other people.

“You want to run experiments, you say?”

“Yeah. Although first I’d like to review the Great Alchemist’s notes again.”

“What’s your first step after that?”

“I’m thinking I’ll pick a specific kind of herb to experiment with. If you can part with them, I’d like to borrow some flowerpots or something similar.”

“Why flowerpots?”

“Well, it’d be pretty bad if I messed up, right? I don’t want to risk hurting a whole field.”

“Ah, right you are. Very well, I’ll get some for you.”

“Thank you, Corinna.”

Given that I’d once enchanted—blessed—er, done something to a whole garden of herbs back at the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora, I was feeling pretty optimistic, but better safe than sorry, right?

Corinna told me she’d have everything ready for me in a few hours, so until then, I settled back in with the Great Alchemist’s records.

 

***

 

Sure enough, in a matter of hours, Corinna had everything ready for my experiments. We headed to the location she had set up for me, which was near the herb fields behind the castle that they used for experimenting.

Corinna had set up a multitiered rack of wood. Five unglazed clay pots sat on it, already full of soil, but there were more pots that nearby gardeners were filling as well.

As Corinna and I approached, the eldest of the gardeners turned to us. “This is pretty much everything we’ve got right now. Will you be needing any more?”

“No, I’m sure these will be more than enough,” said Corinna. “If it goes wrong, we might ask you to change out the soil or some such.”

“Righty-o. Let us know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks.”

Corinna and the gardeners were on pretty casual terms with one another, seeing as they helped her out a lot with cultivation of the fields, especially the trickier specimens.

The gardener got back to work, and soon all of the pots had been filled. They left us with cheerful nods and smiles and went on to their other responsibilities.

Corinna confirmed they had all left before saying, “Time to get started, then.”

“Yeah.” I headed over to the rack, pausing when something occurred to me. “What about the seeds?”

“Here.” Corinna pulled out a small bag filled with seeds from her skirt pocket. “This species grows the quickest of all those we have in stock.”

And did this kind require blessings in order to grow in the local climate? I double-checked with Corinna in a low voice, as the gardeners were still in hearing distance. She nodded in confirmation.

She was thinking about this as carefully as I was. Thank goodness.

As Corinna passed me the seeds, she quietly described the herb they would grow into. Running over the necessary conditions for growing this herb in my mind, I set about planting it. The gardeners had provided everything I needed except for the blessing—fertilizer and the like—so all I had to do was properly place the seed in the damp earth.

Once I did, I placed my hands on the pot and thought for a moment. Now I just needed to use my powers. But how? There was a difference between summoning the power and actually wielding it.

When I had done this back at the research institute, I had prayed for the herbs already growing to become more potent. This situation was a bit different, as these herbs wouldn’t grow on their own without my help. So should I pray for their growth? Their healthy growth? I guess I’ll give that a try first.

I took a deep breath and summoned my power—then froze. I’d just remembered how much thinking-about-Albert this operation required. I started blushing, and furiously at that.

“Something the matter?” Corinna asked, eyeing me dubiously.

“N-no, I’m all right,” I answered hastily. There was absolutely, positively no way I could tell her the truth.

I zeroed in on the pot again. Ugh. C’mon. Time to focus on the work. Focus, focus. Be a professional, Sei!

I pulled myself together and forced myself to think of Albert, just like I had all morning. Magic power roared through my chest, and this time, I didn’t tell it to stop. I let it overflow.

As I wanted the magic to feed into the pot in my hands, I tried focusing on the flow of my magic just like I did when I channeled my power to cast Healing Magic. How lucky that the grand magus had spent all that time tutoring me on exactly this.

As I anticipated, a white mist shot through with golden sparkles spread across the soil in the pot.

“Oh, my,” Corinna said with admiration as she watched.

Would this be enough? I hoped so. I prayed so. I prayed for the plant to grow, and the magic flickering over the soil reacted. It glowed, becoming more luminous before it burst in a brilliant little flash. Golden sparkles flowed out over the rim of the pot.

“Did it work?” Corinna asked.

“I…I’m not sure. Something happened.”

“I suppose we’ll find out in a bit, depending on whether or not the seed sprouts. Let’s check back on it later.”

“Yeah…that sounds about right.”

“This one’s next.”

“Huh?”

She handed me another small bag.

Ohhh. Welp. From the number of pots, I had assumed I would be doing different kinds of prayers on the same type of seeds, but instead, Corinna wanted me to try using my power on different types. I did stop her to explain my original notion, and she agreed that this was a more solidly methodical way to do it, so we combined our methods. In the end, I tried different prayers in sequence on a whole batch of different types.

I’ll have you know that it was transcendentally mortifying to have to think of Albert every time I used the magic, though.

“Good job.” Corinna patted me on the shoulder when I reached the end of the pots.

“Thank you.” I smiled.

“The fastest-growing of these seeds should sprout in about two to three days.”

“I’ll stop by to check on them tomorrow, just in case.”

“Good idea. Well, let’s head back in for now.”

We turned to make our way to the brewery together. We had only just reached the castle when I spotted Leo headed in our direction. He noticed us, grinned, and broke into a run to reach us faster.

I looked at Corinna in confusion. From her puzzled expression, she didn’t know what had prompted this reaction of his, either.

I assumed he had some business with Corinna, but it turned out that wasn’t the case. As soon as Leo reached us, he seized me by both shoulders. “Join my mercenary company!”

“Wh-what?” I was stunned by the sudden invitation. Had he really just asked me what I thought he had? What in the world? “Uh, what makes you say that?”

“Because I want you to be part of my company!”

“Oh… Uh, I really have no idea where this is coming from. What made you want to invite me?”

Leo was incredibly animated as he explained himself: it all came down to how I had healed his men the day before.

As I noted previously, very few people could use magic, and even fewer possessed Healing Magic, especially in the countryside. And here I had appeared before Leo and his company with a full display of my power. Having someone who could use Healing Magic in his company would improve the survival rate of his men by a heretofore unimaginable degree.

Also, there was the little fact that I’d panicked and used the Area Heal spell, which required a rather high level in Holy Magic. Therefore, Leo had deduced I was exceptionally skilled. He assured me that being an alchemist was, simply put, a waste of my talents.

Leo’s words made Corinna’s gaze go chilly, and she said in a cool tone, “Hold on a minute. What do you mean being an alchemist would be a waste of her talents?”

A drop of sweat ran down Leo’s temple, but despite Corinna’s menacing look, he stood his ground. “Oh, uh, I wasn’t trying to diminish the work you alchemists do. It’s just that her talent’s exceptional. Know what I mean?”

“I’m aware of a mage’s worth,” Corinna sniffed. “Listen, I understand your interest, but you’re going to have to give up on recruiting Sei.”

“Eh? Why?!”

Corinna and Leo talked at each other as if I weren’t even there. But, well, Corinna was right, I had no intention of joining Leo’s company. So, I just continued to quietly watch their exchange. I had come from the capital, after all. I wasn’t going to stay in Klausner’s Domain forever.

Plus…if I left…

Just then, the temperature of the air around us dropped several degrees, as if a cold wind had sliced by and decided to stick around.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Everyone turned to look past Leo at the person who had spoken.

Corinna’s chilly gaze didn’t even hold a candle to the frigid glare this man was giving Leo. I was suddenly sure the temperature drop hadn’t been my imagination.

Um…I think you need to get a hold of your magic, buddy. Maybe do some drills? Ha ha…ha… This thought danced around in my head, desperately trying to help me escape the reality of my situation.

Albert was standing behind Leo, glaring at him with blue eyes like icicles.

On seeing Albert, Leo’s own aura instantly sharpened as well. “Apologies, milord. We were merely having a pleasant conversation.”

“Is that so? Then how long do you plan to keep hold of her shoulders?”

Huh? You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard Leo be so stiff and formal. He sounds a bit weird! Oh, wait. I-I guess it must be because Albert’s a noble and all, I thought, my mind racing as Albert walked over to us. He very deliberately peeled Leo’s hands from my shoulders.

As he did, Leo’s aura grew all the more threatening.

“And just what were you talking about?” Albert demanded.

“Nothing of importance, milord.”

“Are you kidding? You were just asking Sei to join your mercenary company,” Corinna snapped.

“Granny!” Leo grimaced at Corinna.

Corinna sniffed, totally nonchalant.

However, despite Leo’s panic, Albert’s mood seemed to soften upon hearing this. Maybe he’d been afraid Leo had other intentions?

“Sei will not be joining your company,” Albert said.

“And why’re you the one who gets to decide that?” said Leo, breaking with his earlier stiffness. “I don’t see how what Sei does is any of your business.”

“It is, in fact, entirely my business. She came with us from the capital, after all.”

“Eh? Wait, you mean she’s one of the palace’s mages? Then what’s she doing making potions in the brewery all day?”

Uh, well, it’s a hobby—or, actually, it’s my job! And I’m not one of the mages, Leo, come on! I thought.

As I frowned up at him, some thought seemed to occur to Leo. His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open just a tad. “Hold up. Are you the Saint?”

“Watch your tone,” Corinna snapped.

Leo stared at me, utterly dazed, and I tilted my head, a bit perplexed…until I realized that it was me. I was the problem.

Oops. Did I forget to tell him?

All right, all right. Perhaps I’d neglected to share that little detail. Call it force of habit!