“Hey, can you get this thing off me already?”
“Oh, my teddy bear? He’s cute, isn’t he? I call him Beat-tan.”
“That’s not really...”
It was like Hydemary took every opportunity for a tangent, and she continued to boast as Suimei stared at her in exasperation.
“Isn’t he cute?”
“Looks pretty fiendish to me right now.”
“Whaaat?”
Suimei had half a mind to tell Hydemary off for acting this way under the circumstances. Contrary to its cute appearance, the teddy bear served as a mana shackle to whatever it grasped. And whenever its prisoner tried to gather mana in the afflicted zone, the teddy bear only became heavier. It obstructed the flow of mana, but it couldn’t be removed without mana. It was quite a dangerous trap to be caught in during combat.
Sensing Suimei’s dissatisfaction, Hydemary released the teddy bear and held it up expectantly. It seemed that she really thought Suimei was going to tell her that it was cute. She was apparently more fixated on its appearance than its magickal effect.
“Is the magicka you use origin magicka?”
“That’s right. I bet you’re jealous, aren’t you?”
Hydemary continued to boast, but Suimei narrowed his eyes at her.
“You sure are full of yourself.”
“I am a genius, after all. Didn’t you see my magicka?”
“Well...”
Hydemary was talented; that much was undeniable. Her magicka itself was eye-catching, and the way she could use multiple spells at once was an extremely high-level technique. Armed with both origin magicka and concurrent spellcasting, nobody could argue the fact that she was a genius. Moreover, she wasn’t making such a claim out of conceit. It was more accurate to say that it was the genuine answer she’d come to after evaluating herself. Such was a homunculus’s innocence.
The way she tested others still got on Suimei’s nerves, but he was willing to put that aside for now. He had bigger fish to fry.
“Hey, how old are you?” he asked.
“Hmm, you want to know my age? I was created by my father six years ago.”
“You’re... six? Seriously?”
“Yup. Understand now?”
“Yeah. You’re really something.”
It was normal for homunculi to have tremendous knowledge of all things, but the way Hydemary could use magicka was another story. Being able to cast spells like that at only six years old... She was, indeed, a bona fide genius. That and the fact that she could move independently of her flask made it very, very clear she was no ordinary homunculus.
Hydemary began using magicka to repair her smashed-up room. She did so quickly, thoroughly, and without any strange quirks. Her use of magicka was flawless, giving a better glimpse into the depth of her capabilities.
After she was done with the room, she beckoned her dolls and teddy bear over and began repairing—or rather, healing—them one by one. The dolls threw their arms in the air with joy, rubbed their cheeks against hers, and made other such affectionate displays as Hydemary lovingly patted each one. When she was at last finished with all the repairs, she took a seat at the table and beckoned Suimei towards the chair across from her.
“Take a seat. Let’s talk a bit.”
“...”
With that, Hydemary pulled some sweets and a teapot out of thin air. Keeping a keen eye on her, Suimei reluctantly pulled out the chair in front of him.
★
“What’s wrong? Take a seat.”
The owner of the room, Hydemary Alzbayne, once more urged Suimei to sit with her at the table where she was elegantly sipping tea from a cup she’d pulled out of nowhere. She was actually quite beautiful, although her outfit was something else.
Her long, black hair hung over the shoulders of her tailcoat, but she’d casually thrown her tophat and wand onto her bed. Her magician getup didn’t at all match the interior of the room, though the bisque dolls lying around shared her inorganic expression. It was all quite mismatched with her beguiling beauty. But even so, it felt like that was part of her charm. Like the discord was actually what brought everything into harmony.
After observing her for a moment, Suimei finally took the seat across from her.
“I’d rather you not be so cautious,” she said. “Just now was what you’d call a test. Something like a master certification exam. I have no further intention of harming you.”
“So? How’d I do on this mysterious little exam of yours?”
“I suppose you at least possess enough skill for me to acknowledge you.”
“Well, thanks, I guess,” Suimei replied cattily to her evaluation. “But you know I was told to take you with me, don’t you? Are you going to come along quietly?”
“Before that... there’s something I’d like to ask. Is that alright?”
“And this is why you wanted to talk?”
“Yup, exactly,” Hydemary replied indifferently. She then put down her teacup and cut to the chase: “I want to ask about you Society magicians. I hear you utilize a peculiar theory in your magicka.”
“You mean modern magicka theory?”
“Yes, that’s the one. It’s an outrageous theory that compounds multiple magickal systems together, right?”
“More or less.”
“But it’s not the same as using multiple systems at the same time, right?”
“You saw me use it just now. Do you really think it’s that kind of lowbrow magicka?”
Hydemary shook her head, implying that wasn’t what she’d thought at all. Just as she’d said, modern magicka theory mixed together magicka from different systems. For example, it could take rune magicka, which carved the compelling force of letters into objects to bring out their power, and mix it with a completely different system of magicka like Kabbalah numerology, which cataloged the phenomena of the world as formulas to be able to reproduce them. Even amongst magicians—who lived in the shadowy underbelly of the world—it was considered a rather heretical theory.
Speaking of the unusual, the magicka Hydemary used was rather unconventional as well. But setting that aside...
“And you’re all pursuing the ideals of your dear leader or whoever, right?”
“Yeah.”
As Suimei nodded, Hydemary cocked her head to the side like an innocent child.
“So what’s it all about?”
“You’ll figure it out as you go. You won’t be forced to do anything, and it’s not like I could explain it all here and now anyway.”
“That’s fair.”
Hydemary looked disinterested, but that was likely just because of her limited range of facial expressions. Moving on, however, she eventually came to her next question.
“Hey... Do you remember when you were first able to use magicka?”
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
“I want to know what it’s like for you people when you awaken.”
“You’re asking how I felt when I could first use magicka?”
“I more so want to know about your eureka moment.”
“So the revelation I had when I arrived at that stage?”
“I was able to use magicka from the very beginning. I’m not aware of such qualia.”
Suimei now understood what she was asking, but had one particular question about her question.
“Couldn’t you just ask the meister? I feel like you’d get a better answer from a higher-ranking magician.”
“My father’s answer was vague.”
Hydemary took a sip from her teacup, seemingly disappointed with the answer she’d gotten. Suimei, however, understood it.
“The first time I could use magicka, huh...?”
That was because he didn’t actually remember the details of the moment all that well himself. While being shown magicka by his father, he’d touched upon mystical power. He studied the knowledge required to use magicka, and one day, he was able to use it just like his father did. That was all he profoundly remembered about it. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when that day was or what he’d felt about it at the time. Looking back on it now, it seemed whatever had led him to use magicka had become inconsequential the moment he unlocked the secret.
The actual existence of mana was something he’d begun observing after he was able to use it. Even his mana furnace was something he’d created afterwards as well. They were skills that had stuck with him, even if their origin was vague. It was much like how someone never forgets the sense of balance required to ride a bike. Or how one can instinctively tell fortunes with tarot cards by tempering their senses. Or how sleight of hand is really just an extension of muscle memory. It was hard to pinpoint the exact moment one became capable of using such skills. But Suimei could say one thing for sure about learning magicka: it would be impossible if one never touched upon the mysteries.