“Hello? Earth to Maha? ‘Tis not like you to space out.” Ney’s voice snapped Maha back to reality.
Ney sat in front of her, smiling warmly like she always did. Ruri sat to Maha’s side and leaned in, looking curiously at Maha’s face.
They were in Al-kimiya’s mess hall, which had about twenty tables with chairs set out. In the back was the kitchen and the serving counter. Other members of the group filled the room, chatting spiritedly over their meals. Maha was joined by Ruri and Ney for her lunch.
“Sorry. I’m fine.”
“Is that so? Well, all right then.” Ney returned to her meal, taking a bite of her bread.
What was that, Metako?
“What was what?”
You know what. That ‘channeling the divine’ stuff.
“Oh, you saw that? Apologies.”
The visions Maha saw were my past memories. I’ve been reminiscing more lately; it seemed Maha would catch a glimpse every now and then because our minds were connected.
Maha counted out another sigh and returned to her meal, seeming a bit more distracted than before. After some time, her red eyes drifted over toward the homunculus sitting next to her.
Ruri was weighing on her mind more and more ever since they’d painted together. I was curious what it was about her that caught Maha’s interest, but it seemed like Maha didn’t even know herself.
“Miss Maha? Is something on my face?” Ruri asked, noticing Maha’s stare.
“…Yeah. Eyes, a nose, and a mouth.”
“I-I’d hope so?!”
Ruri kindly played along with Maha’s weak attempt to change the topic. What a good girl she was, honestly.
“Captain Ney, Captain Ney,” Ruri said.
“Hm? Yes?”
“I have question. Mother Diriyah taught me many basic things. But there is still one thing I don’t understand.”
Diriyah didn’t go into detail about her process, but she was somehow able to instill basic knowledge into her homunculi when she made them. That knowledge apparently didn’t feel all that real or whole to Ruri though. Experience remained the best teacher, it seemed.
“I don’t mind answering, but where would be the fun in that?” Ney said. “Maha, you answer her question.”
“Me? …All right, I guess.”
“Thank you, Miss Maha!” Ruri beamed at Maha. Maha felt soothed by the girl’s innocent smile, but you wouldn’t guess it from her stony expression. “Um. First question. Why are humans and demons fighting each other?”
“Because of a gap in how life is perceived.”
“Huh? M-meaning…?”
Maha’s explanation was too concise for Ruri to understand.
“Maha, you’re summarizing too much. To answer Ruri’s question, you need to start with the difference in values between man and demon.” Ney grinned wryly. She tore off a piece of her bread and dipped it in her salty soup before continuing, “The main difference between man and demon is their attitude toward life. Humans celebrate birth, value living, and fear death. Demons are the exact opposite. Maha, explain the rest.”
Thinking Ney was going to explain everything for her, Maha had started eating and was caught with a mouthful of hamburger steak. She took a moment to chew before picking up where Ney left off. “Demons despise birth, loathe living, and seek death. Their goal is to return all of existence to nothingness.”
“Hmmmm…?” Ruri pulled off the leafy bits of her strawberries as she listened intently. Confused, she cocked her head to the side. “I don’t get ‘return to nothingness.’ They want to kill all humans?”
“No. They want to wipe out everything forever, including themselves,” Maha flatly said.
A bit shocked, Ruri replied, “Wh-why? And that’s impossible. If you burn something, ash remains. If you heat water, it becomes vapor.”
“You know the basics of alchemy?”
“Yes. Mother Diriyah taught me.”
“I see. You’re right, but the demons still believe they can pull it off. And a certain legend among alchemists says they really can. It’s believed they have a magic spell called the Song of the End.” Magic was the source of the demons’ abnormal power, the counterpart to humanity’s alchemy.
Ney spread butter onto her bread and added onto what Maha said. “They say the Song of the End can end the world. A long, long time ago powerful demons tried to use it, but the alchemists of the time put a stop to them…just barely.”
“A close one,” Ruri said with a serious look.
“Right,” Maha agreed. “Anyway, the seal to the Song of the End is here in the Base. That’s why the demons keep launching attacks, and why an anti-demon barrier is erected around the town.”
“Base had such secret?” Ruri mused.
“We alchemists have a duty to protect the Song of the End from the demons. To prevent the world from ending.” Maha brought the topic to a close, then looked at Ney, who nodded satisfactorily. Maha sighed, secretly counting it off as the fifth for the day.
“That about does it for the fight between man and demon. Any other questions?” Ney asked.
“Yes. I want to know about Akashic Record, and who this Miss Metako is that Miss Maha is always talking to.”
“Me? Am I starting to get popular?”
“Those are some difficult questions. Ney, if you would.” Maha flatly ignored my comment and passed the burden of explaining to Ney, then began cutting into her beef patty.
“It looks like classroom teaching isn’t for you, huh? Hopefully combat instruction goes over better,” Ney said wryly. She swallowed down a piece of bread before continuing. “What do you know of the Akashic Record, Ruri? It should be fairly foundational-level alchemical knowledge.”
“I know it’s a record of everything in the world and a source of power.”
To be more precise, the Akashic Record was a record of all of the world’s past, present, and future phenomena.
“Good. Humanity’s alchemy and demonkind’s magic both source their power from the Akashic Record. It’s what allows us to alter reality. As for Maha’s friend Metako, she’s an interface that allows people to control the Akashic Record’s power, as well as a seal.”
“Inter…face?”
“A point of contact between two things. In short, she’s like a facilitator for people to work with the Akashic Record,” Maha added. Having finished her patty, she brushed the carrots that came with it to the side.
“Miss Maha, you need to eat your carrots. …Wait. But Mother Diriyah said only few people can connect with Akashic Record. How do most people use alchemy then?”
“That’s a great question, Ruri. The answer is the very reason Metako herself exists.” Ney nodded encouragingly. “People have varying degrees of connectivity to the Akashic Record. But that’s rather inconvenient, right? That’s why a super-important alchemist sacrificed themselves a long time ago to create a link to the Akashic Record. That’s Metako. From then on, humanity’s alchemists became able to use alchemy with her acting as an intermediary.”
“That’s me. Resident super-important alchemist here,” I joked. Only Maha could hear me, sadly. But at least there was a silver lining. Seeing such lovely ladies talk about me like this was a treat in itself. “Though I would prefer some love gossip instead.”
“Be quiet.” Maha brushed aside my request.
“Okay. I understand interface part now,” Ruri said. “What’s seal part?”
“The seal to the Song of the End is also Metako,” Maha answered as she begrudgingly lifted a carrot to her mouth. She grimaced upon tasting it.
The seal, as she mentioned earlier, was located in the Base. More accurately, it was located where the world and I were connected. The part of me talking to Maha through the alchemy tome was only a piece of the whole. My main job was to keep the Song of the End disconnected from the world.
“She’s just a pervert who keeps trying to talk about other’s love lives, though,” Maha said.
“P-pervert?” Surprised, Ruri dropped a strawberry. Maha stopped it as it rolled on the table and returned it to Ruri’s tray.
“How rude. I just want a little stimulus to dispel the boredom of eternity,” I protested.
“I can only take Maha’s word for it, but apparently Metako tries to pair her up with other girls every chance she gets,” Ney said to Ruri.
“She’s nothing but an annoyance,” Maha grumbled.
“I see…?” Ruri made a face that showed she didn’t really get it, but after popping a strawberry into her mouth, she was all smiles.
“Incidentally, Maha, what about Ruri here? Just look at the way she relishes her food. That has to score a few points.”
“…There she goes again,” Maha groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Ruri asked.
“Aha ha. Metako has probably moved on to toying with you, Ruri,” Ney said. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”
How rude. I wasn’t toying with anyone, just keeping an eye out for Maha’s sake. So what if I’m also getting a little personal amusement out of it?
“…We’ve strayed off topic,” Maha said.
“Right. Let me summarize what we discussed then,” Ney said. “One, the demons seek a spell called the Song of the End to bring about nonexistence. Two, the biggest duty we alchemists have is protecting the Song of the End from demons. Three, the Akashic Record is a record of the world and a source of power. Four, Metako is an interface for controlling the Akashic Record as well as the seal to the Song of the End. I think that’s about it?”
“Okay. I understand now,” Ruri said. Ney’s lecture was thorough and covered all the important points, unlike Maha’s overly concise ‘explanation’ earlier.
“Ney makes a good teacher.”
“She isn’t old for nothing, I suppose.”
“Did you say something, Maha dear?”
“…I said your appearance belies your worldliness.”
“Who’re you calling a loli?!”
Maha coolly took off her glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief, ignoring Ney’s outburst. The three were about done with their meal.
“Ahem, anyway. Next is combat training. Teach her well, Maha.”
“I know.”
“D-don’t go too hard on me please…”
Afterwards, the three made for the training grounds for Ruri’s combat training. Hoping to prove she could teach, Maha was utterly relentless. Ruri’s screams could be heard for miles.