Chapter 95:
Agedashi Tofu
Underneath the ever-blue sky, the boat drifted across the ocean.
On the deck, which shifted to and fro, Alice dug in her heels and stood. In her hand was a large staff made from an ancient tree. A complex pattern was carved into the magic staff, which Alice’s master had made especially for her. She gripped it tightly and began awkwardly chanting one of the “spells” her master had taught her.
“Go!” She fired the spell with gusto.
A glowing arrow of light erupted from the end of Alice’s staff and smacked into the open sea. Alice had been taught never to aim her magic at a living creature while practicing, so she took great care to avoid doing so.
To grow familiar with using—and eventually mastering—magic, Alice had been given a bit of homework. Firing magic arrows was part of that. When Alice’s master had been as young as Alice was, her parents had taught her in the same way. She’d apparently fired magic arrows at stones and such.
After repeating this attack against the ocean three times, Alice sat back down, exhausted. “I’m bored.”
Caring little about dirtying her clothes, she let herself sit on the ship deck and stared at the endlessly blue sky. About half a month had passed since she and her master had begun their journey across the ocean. Alice was terribly bored of it all.
“Give me something to dooooo.”
Before Alice and her master had boarded the ship, some straight-eared people had told them that the journey would be perilous. Sometimes, there were huge rainstorms. It was even possible that a sea monster would attack them.
If anyone fell into the ocean during a catastrophe like either of those, they’d be doomed. Heck, lots of ships sank to the ocean floor before ever reaching their intended destination. However large the ship, one poor encounter with a massive storm or giant monster was all it took.
Alice had been terrified when she’d heard all that, and even her master had ended up changing her plans. Deciding to stay in town for a bit, she’d headed deep into the nearby woods, cut a branch off a tree, and ultimately turned it into a staff that made it easier for Alice to wield magic in self-defense. Then Alice’s master had bought and made all kinds of potions, cast magic on her bow and arrows, and prepared in advance for crossing the ocean.
Since that fateful day when Alice’s master had found her abandoned in the woods, Alice had learned so many things.
The reason the trip had been so smooth up until now was likely the amulet that the friendly witch lady in the seaside town had given them. It was made of a stone and a shell that she’d found deep within the ocean.
I doubt that any of the ocean god’s followers would be foolish enough to attack you with one of these. It even has the power to keep storms away. Still, be careful.
Alice recalled the surprised expression on her master’s face when the witch lady had given her the amulet. The young girl didn’t know the details, but she could just barely tell that the amulet was full of strong magical power.
And so, her first journey by ship had gone swimmingly. Too swimmingly, in fact. Alice wasn’t sure whether it was because of her amulet, but nothing bad had happened. She simply sat on the ship as it swayed to and fro endlessly, bored out of her mind. That had to be a good thing, right?
After sitting on the deck for a while, Alice sighed and stood up. “Guess I’ll go back!”
Her master, the elf mage Fardania, was currently holed up in her room. Fardania figured that, if she had all this free time, she might as well use it to complete some of the magical research she’d been doing. She was jotting down all kinds of things on paper, casting magic, and generally staying too busy to keep Alice company.
“Master’s new magic… Didn’t she say she was gonna finish today?”
Alice thought back on what she and Fardania had spoken of that morning. Her master desperately wanted to finish her work today, so she’d told the young girl to give her some time alone in their cabin.
“I wonder if she’s done.” Alice looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to look as though it was setting.
What sort of magic was her master working on? The young girl desperately hoped it would rid her of her boredom. With that thought in mind, Alice headed below deck to the small, dark cabin she shared with her master.
“Yes! It’s done!” Fardania exclaimed.
Just as Alice arrived at the windowless room lit by her master’s magic, Fardania had completed her research. “Ah, Alice! Perfect timing. I’m all done. Brand new magic!”
“Um…um…congratulations?”
Alice wasn’t sure how to reply to her master, who was usually the epitome of calm and cool. Nonetheless, she offered her words of congratulations.
Alice’s response put a smile on Fardania’s face. “Thanks! It took a wee bit more time than I expected, but, eh, easy as pie for someone like me!”
The elf had first begun work on this magic over half a year ago. There was no way that a human or half-elf mage could do something that Fardania couldn’t, and that thought had driven her to start her research.
Now, after all that time, her hard work had paid off. Of course, she was on cloud nine.
“Wow.” Seeing her master so excited was enough to pique Alice’s curiosity. “What kinda magic is it?”
“A type of summoning magic. Using a spell, I alter the flow of magical power and call forth something from a faraway place or another dimension that fits certain requirements. Basically, it’s magic that lets me bring stuff I want to myself directly.”
Fardania explained her new magic in the simplest terms to the fascinated young girl.
“Wooow. So, are you gonna summon something now?”
“But of course!” Fardania nodded. “That’s why I spent all night trying to finish up!” On the floor of the cabin was a magic circle that she’d drawn without permission. She began to pour her magical energy into it, chanting.
The knowledge Fardania had gained over the course of a hundred years, the new knowledge she’d acquired during her short-but-wonderful journey—this was magic born of the techniques she’d picked up on her travels, born of Fardania’s entire being. However much the ship rocked back and forth atop the waves, that truth couldn’t be moved.
Eventually, Fardania picked up on a nostalgic presence through the magic circle—the familiar feel of the forest where she’d spent most of her life. Amid the trees was the single object that had inspired her to begin her journey.
All right! She drew it close to her and summoned it. “Come to me, door!”
Fardania completed the spell, and the desired object stood in the magic circle.
Seeing the familiar entranceway in the room, Alice gasped. “Wait—is this the door to Nekoya?”
Since the morning following her fateful encounter with her master, she’d passed through that door with a cat illustration numerous times.
“That’s right! If I hadn’t finished the spell today, we’d have had to wait another seven days. I worked really hard to make it in time!” Satisfied that her magic had succeeded, Fardania gulped. “Now then, shall we?”
“Yay!” Alice replied, a big smile on her face.
Within the narrow cabin on the ship, the sound of bells rang out.
It’d been nearly a month since Alice and Fardania had set foot onto solid ground. Both let out sighs of relief. They’d avoided being attacked by monsters or swept up into storms. Still, for an elf, there was something terribly comforting about standing on solid ground. That served as a firm reminder to Fardania that elves just weren’t meant to be on the open sea.
And so, she made an order that she normally wouldn’t have.