NOVEL WEB Chapter 77 - First Use of Magic
First Use of Magic
After checking out the room, Maryla-san went back to work, and Kei-san left to get ready for their departure. I made sure we promised to order some stuffed animals together!
“I’ll be back after taking care of a few things. You can stay here, or go to the hall if you need anything. You can do whatever you want, as long as you don’t leave the guild.”
Of course Gil-san couldn’t stay with me all the time. I’d be a good girl and stay put, so he could work.
“Okay! And um, thank you… Papa.”
“…I’ll come get you for dinner.”
I’d mustered up the courage to call him “Papa,” but it was surprisingly embarrassing! I’d never called my own father “Papa” either. Gil-san also seemed a bit flustered, he ruffled my hair, said this gently, and then left the room. I could have sworn his ears were a bit red.
“Well then. My first madgic… Fuu-chan, Homura-kun!”
『Yes! 』
『Yeah, I’m here! 』
Once the door closed with a click, I summoned the two spirits. And there they were, appearing out of thin air. The fluffy, pale green bird and the red monkey, staring at me with sparkling eyes, were unbelievably cute. Ahh, the power of those puppy-dog eyes!
“I have a wittle time… sho can you teach me how to use… madgic!?”
『Yeah! I’ll teach you! 』
『Fuu’s better for that. My magic uses fire, so it’s dangerous!』
“Uh-huh, you’re right! Fuu-chan, please!”
『Leave it to me!』
It was true that fire magic was dangerous indoors. Especially for a beginner like me. Who knows what kind of mistakes I might make! But since spirits are the ones who use the magic, I figured there’s no way to… fail.
『Sho… what kind of magic do you wanna use? 』
“Eh? What kind…?”
Fuu-chan asked this with an excited look in its eyes, but I didn’t understand. What kind… ?
『Well, you see… if you don’t clearly tell us what kind of magic you want us to use, we won’t know! We’ll get used to it and figure it out eventually, but for now, we need you to tell us the specifics! 』
I see. I think Schlie-san had mentioned something like that when we were studying. For general magic, you just had to channel your magic power according to your image, but that required skill. For nature magic, you needed to accurately convey that image to your spirit.
“Um, of courshe Fuu-chan uses wind madgic, and Homura-kun uses fire magic… right?”
『Of course! I can’t use water magic or anything like that!』
Of course. Alright, now that that’s settled, time to think about wind magic. Hmmm… Using wind to create a blade and attack with it, that sounded cool. But it would be dangerous to try it indoors. For starters… this one, I guess.
“I’ll shtart with something shimple. Can you make this handkerchief… float… with wind? Not blow it away, but… just make it float.”
『Yeah, sure! I’ll need some magic power! 』
Fuu-chan said, perching on my shoulder and kissing me on the cheek. It felt like it was pecking me with its beak. It was so cute I almost screamed!
It then took some of my magic power and flew towards the handkerchief in my hand, activating the spell. I felt a gentle breeze, and then the handkerchief was floating before me, fluttering gently.
“Wow… that’s sho amazing! And it… didn’t feel wike… I gave you much magic…”
『It only takes a little for something like this! Maybe you didn’t realize? 』
I see, so this kind of magic only required a little. So that meant… the bigger and more complex the magic, the more magic power it required? I decided to ask.
“How much magic power would you need… to make me float?”
『Hmm, about half of what you have now… and it would last for… two hours! 』
Ah, so it uses a lot. Maybe it’s because I don’t have much magic power? Either way, it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to fly on my own. I’d always wanted to fly like a mage, but it seemed like it wasn’t that easy… How disappointing.
『It’s okay to give us magic power every time you use it, but other people give us a little bit each day… So we can use it immediately if something happens. 』
That’s right, you could pay in advance or afterwards! I was already in magic power debt to Shou-chan. So that meant that I could also… save up magic power. Apparently, spirits could tell how much magic power they had stored. How convenient.
And because of the contract, they couldn’t lie and take more than they needed. Though, I wasn’t worried about that. They were all such good spirits!
“I don’t have much magic power, sho… I’ll give you… a wittle bit each day. Will it… actually add up…?”
I was worried that I’d just end up using it all up during practice. The two of them encouraged me, saying it would be fine.
『You’ll get stronger, Master! So it’ll be fine!』
『That’s right! We know… how much your magic power will grow! You’ll be incredibly powerful, so you don’t have to worry! 』
That was good to hear. It gave me confidence! I wanted to be able to fly freely through the skies someday, using Fuu-chan’s magic. It seemed like a distant goal, but still, a goal.
They then told me that I could give them more once my magic power grew, so it was fine to start with a little bit each day. Such an investment mindset. I was grateful for their offer, so I accepted.
“But, don’t let it pile up sho much that I can’t pay it back okay? I’d prefer to actually give you magic power, not borrow it…”
『Don’t worry! 』
『You don’t have to worry!』
Their cheerful response made me a bit uneasy. I’d have to keep track of it myself.
I didn’t want my magic power debt to snowball! And be pressured by my spirits to repay it. Though it might be kind of cute to be threatened by them. No, no, let’s not get too carried away. It was precisely because they were so kind and innocent that I had to be the responsible one!
I then gave them their daily dose of magic power. We finished our magic training session with Fuu-chan demonstrating a wind barrier spell that could deflect light attacks. It seemed like I was able to convey my image pretty well, but it would need some improvements if I wanted to use it in actual combat. Well, I wouldn’t know until I actually used it. And my proficiency would grow with practice. This was enough for now. I couldn’t do much more anyway, considering my meager magic power!
After that, I explained to Fuu-chan and Homura-kun what kind of magic I’d find useful, using words and drawings. They reacted with enthusiasm, “That sounds fun!” and “That’s cool!” It was enough to make me happy!
『I can’t wait to try it!』
『Yeah! No one’s ever thought of combining our magic like that! Me and Fuu working together!』
“Eh, weally?”
Apparently, while it was common to master magic based on individual attributes, combining different attributes wasn’t. While layering spells to enhance their power through synergy was common, combining two different attributes like that was unheard of. They said the main reasons were compatibility issues between spirits, and that it required a tremendous amount of magic power to do it with general magic.
But maybe it would work with my spirits, since the three of them got along so well…? At least Fuu-chan and Homura-kun seemed confident about it.
High-power magic with little magic power expenditure. Depending on the combination, even I might be able to be useful in battle.
A glimmer of hope had appeared, and it filled me with confidence.