Not long after that conversation, I gave Dad a demonstration and showed him my hand charged with mana.
“Nope. I don’t see it at all,” he said.
This was not a surprise to us given the history with the orbs.
“It’s pretty bright,” I said. “If you can’t even see this, I may not be able to show it to you.”
“Hmm. You can see it, Marie?”
“Yeah, I can,” she said. “All of the light is packed into his right hand. Maybe it’s different from how Shion sees it, though. Shion, can I try touching the mana when you’re doing Magicluster?”
I hesitated. This was the same mana that felled a goblin. I couldn’t have that happen to Marie. Although, when I was in Magicoat, all she felt was a faint warmth. She would probably be fine if I didn’t emit too much mana at once.
“Hang on, let me reduce the amount I’m emitting first. Okay, now try it. Take your hand away immediately if it feels hot.”
“Of course.”
The light dimmed as I reduced the amount of mana. Marie reached out and touched it.
“It’s a little hot,” she said, “but not as hot as a flame. So, if you start releasing more mana, then it will be like the time with the goblin?”
“I think so,” I said. “But that interaction was only possible because the goblin also had mana. That’s why Dad can touch it and feel nothing. It’s only dangerous for others who have mana themselves.”
“Would that mean that it is an effective technique to use against monsters?” Dad asked.
“It’s hard to say. I don’t know if all goblins have mana, or if it was just that one. It could be like with humans, some have mana and some don’t, right?”
“So, it won’t affect just anyone,” Dad said, nodding in understanding.
Marie and I met eyes. Apparently, we both had the same question.
“Uh, hey, Dad,” I said. “You seem to have come around pretty quickly after our big talk.”
“I’ve decided to believe you, so there’s no use in doubting everything. I can’t see it or feel it now, but maybe I will at some point. All parents should have some interest in what their kids like.”
Well, that’s not necessarily true, I thought. Dad just really loved us. I was glad that he was becoming interested. I appreciated this mindset of his.
“But this means that releasing mana could be dangerous for other people with mana responses, right?” Dad asked.
“Yes, definitely. I’ll need to be careful. We don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“Very well,” Dad grunted. “So, is that everything you’ve discovered so far?”
“Yes, unfortunately,” I replied. “There is something I haven’t tried yet. I want to try lighting a fire.”
“Do it close to the well, then,” Dad said. “We can extinguish it quickly there.”
Marie whispered in my ear on our way outside to the well.
“Dad is all about it! I can’t believe it after earlier.”
“Maybe Dad likes it. He might have a romantic imagination.”
“What do you mean?”
I assumed that only other guys would understand what I meant. There were plenty of things about women I didn’t get. While Dad had been decrying how dangerous magic was, its fantastic possibility had nonetheless captured his imagination. It was classic boy brain. I’m not saying that girls couldn’t be interested in the fantastic, but I thought Dad’s new enthusiasm was at least partially due to him being a man.
“Shion! Aren’t you coming?” Dad’s voice carried from the garden. He really was all fired up. My heart was racing too, so I couldn’t blame him.
Marie and I found him outside stacking up firewood. It looked like he was prepping for a bonfire. We gathered by the well in the corner of the garden. “All right,” Dad said. “I’m going to light it up. Ready?” He held up a flint, and the boyish sparkle in Dad’s eyes was endearing.
“Ready!” we said.
He struck the flint and the wood ignited. He bent down and blew on the wood to make the flames grow higher. He clearly knew what he was doing. I couldn’t have done it so easily.
“Thanks, Dad. Okay, now, everyone step back,” I said.
The two of them gave me some space and watched me closely. I bent on my knees in front of the fire and used Magicluster. With the mana concentrated in my hand, I touched the light to the fire. Instantly, the flames spread to my hand.
It all happened so fast. I never touched the fire with my hand, only with the mana. The fire spread so fast you would’ve thought my hand was drenched in gasoline. Everything past my wrist was blazing in bright blue flames.
That’s hot! Seriously, freaking hot! I was panicking from the heat and the unexpected result of the experiment.
“I’m on fire!” I shrieked.
“Shion!” yelled Marie.
“What’s happening?!” Dad shouted. He immediately drenched my hand with water from the bucket he held.
Thankfully, that extinguished the flame, but a burnt smell was left behind. The damage was less than it had felt like. Sweet lord, that was hot.
“Wow, that could’ve been bad. Thanks, Dad.”
“No kidding. That was dangerous, to say the least!” Dad exclaimed. “Thank goodness I filled this bucket just in case. I was worried something like that might happen.”
I blushed. “I don’t know what to say. Thanks, Dad.”
Dad and Marie continued to huff and puff in disbelief. I realized that I should’ve thought things through more. I never imagined the fire would spread straight to my hand.
“What just happened?” Marie asked. “It looked like the fire just jumped to your hand! It was blue, too.”
“Yeah, about that,” I said. “You know how mana only reacts to other people’s mana? Well, there might be something similar going on there. I have two thoughts about it. First, we know what happens when something magical brushes up against a dense source of mana. We saw that with the goblin. But there’s also the question of what mana does to ordinary things. That’s what I was exploring here. Well, we just found out—the fire reacted to the mana. The flames touched the mana and turned blue. I’m sure that’s why it happened.”
“I see,” Dad said. “So, you were investigating what would happen to mana when you made it touch a flame. That might apply to other things as well.”
“Possibly. I’ll need to experiment with several different things. I want to stay focused on fire for now. The result was unexpected, but it demonstrated that mana does interact with fire.”
“I saw it with my own eyes,” Dad said, nodding. “I certainly believe it now. Everything you’ve been saying is true.” He chuckled.
That made me smile.
“What’s going on? I don’t get it,” Marie said, looking between us.
“Oh, don’t worry about it, Marie! There are things that only you understand too!” I exclaimed. “You’ve been so helpful up until now. I would have never found out about mana if it hadn’t been for you!”
“Oh, yeah? Yeah.” Marie giggled. “Yeah! It’s all because of me, right?”
“Right!”
She was back on her feet. As easy to read—and adorable—as ever.
How about that extreme interaction between mana and fire! As soon as I thought about it, a realization flashed into my mind: That was basically magic, wasn’t it?
The flames didn’t materialize out of nowhere, but the mana I had generated had caught flame. It seemed awfully like fire magic. Could I be on the verge of shooting fireballs out of my hand?
“Muah ha ha! Fireballs! Soon, I shall shoot fireballs!” I couldn’t stop chortling.
“Look at that disgusting expression on Shion’s face! What the heck is going on?!”
“He always makes that face when he discovers something about magic,” Marie said. “Just look away.”
“I-is that so? I guess I’ve learned a new side of my son today. I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about it.”
I didn’t have time to think about what they were saying. My thoughts were galloping ahead with dreams of magic! Magic. I possibly just had my first taste of the real deal.
What a happy day! I wanted to skip. I was so glad to have been reborn into this life. It hadn’t always been easy, but it had its rewards. For the first time, I was starting to like it here.