Chapter 2:
Magic Research
CLACKETY-CLACK, RATTLE-DATTLE. THE SOUND of silverware against dishes echoed throughout the dining room. Followed by the nom-nom-nom sounds Marie and I made as we wolfed down our meals.
“My goodness, dearies,” said Mom.
After gobbling up my bread, I drained my glass of water. We slammed our cups on the table. “Thanks for the food, Mom!” we said as we raced out of our seats and left her in a tizzy.
“C’mon, Marie!” I said. “Hurry!”
We almost made it out of the room, but remembered our manners. We wheeled around to take our dishes into the washing area.
“What good kids,” Mom chuckled.
“Okay, now we’re going!”
“Be safe.”
We sprinted out of the room and then bounded down the hallway and into the garden, toward the stables. We grabbed three buckets, fishing rods, and a bag packed with hand towels and fishing bait. We scrambled to the front gate.
We couldn’t stop ourselves. We raced toward the lake. Once we arrived, we dropped the supplies off by the shore.
After our mad dash, I was gasping for air. “Ouch, that hurts.”
Marie clicked her tongue. “You’re weak because you never exercise, Shion!”
“I have no comeback for that.” My invoice for being so sedentary was about to be paid in full. I decided to start exercising from then on.
“Now what?” Marie asked. “We still have a while before sunset.”
“Let’s investigate the lake,” I replied. “I want to figure out where the orbs come from.”
“Where they come from? Isn’t that the lake?”
“Maybe,” I said, “but maybe it’s some animal that lives in the lake. We won’t be able to figure out the orbs’ true nature unless we check things out.”
“Beats me,” Marie scratched her head. “But I’m sure that’s true if you say so, Shion! So, what do we do?”
“First, we fill the buckets with lake water. Then, we add different things to them: sand and rocks in one, lake weeds in another, and fish in the last.”
“Okay! Let’s do it. I don’t know why, but I’m in! I’ll go pick the lake weeds.” She immediately started to fling her clothes off, baring her belly.
I stopped her, flustered. “Sis, what are you doing?!”
“I don’t want my clothes to get wet. The weeds are down at the bottom of the lake.”
“I—I’ll get them! You don’t need to!”
Marie raised an eyebrow. “You can swim?”
I was an average swimmer back in Japan, but I didn’t have any experience swimming in a lake since I rarely was out and about. I wasn’t worried about it, though.
“Don’t fret,” I said. “You’re a girl, Marie, you can’t just get naked around other people.”
“R-really? But it’s just you, Shion!”
“Doesn’t matter! I’ll get the weeds, while you find the sand and rocks, then the fish. Okay?”
Marie huffed and puffed as she pulled her clothes back on. “Fine,” she said. “But don’t look so terrified.”
She didn’t seem to understand, but at least she listened. Her dress was made of thick cloth, which allowed her to tumble around freely. She was my sister, and still a kid, but a girl seemingly not caring about anyone seeing her underwear still struck me as weird.
I stripped down to my skivvies. Underwear here basically resembled the modern stuff, but with far worse materials and craftsmanship.
I sensed Marie trying to keep an eye on me, but I ignored her and went into the lake. I went in up to my waist, and then plunged under the water. It was hard to see clearly, but I quickly found some plants waving within the currents. I grabbed a few and pulled them up by their roots. I resurfaced, put them in the bucket, then dried myself and got dressed.
I took inventory. There was one bucket filled with sand, pebbles, and water; one bucket filled with lake weeds and water, and one bucket that held nothing but lake water.
“I’m not catching anything,” Marie said. The fishing rod was a thick wooden stick with a curved hook dangling at the end of some string. Given the rod’s simplicity, plus the fact that we only had worms for bait, I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get a bite. This was a freshwater lake, so I assumed our kit would work eventually.
I sat down next to Marie and watched the water’s surface. It wasn’t time for the orbs yet. I was dying to know more about this phenomenon. I knew nothing so far, and yet I didn’t feel powerless.
It was all thanks to Marie. She showed me this place. She helped me be me because she cared for me. I didn’t even care if the orbs of light were something completely unrelated to magic. That would be boring, but it wouldn’t upset me—because now I knew how incredible it was to just have other people there for you.
“What’re you smiling about?” Marie asked.
“How glad I am that you’re here, Marie.”
“Wh-what are you saying? Of course, I’m here! I’m your sister, where else would I be!” She blushed, her face dyed scarlet. She was so easy to read and adorable for it.
As small as she was, she was my big sister. It was a warming and comforting fact.
“Thanks, Sis. Thanks for doing this with me.”
“Of course, you’re my little brother. Why wouldn’t I do this with you? And if this thing called ‘magic’ is actually real, I wanna see it. Isn’t it exciting?”
“Yeah, it is.” I chuckled. “That’s why I’m here.”
I didn’t mean just here on this lakeshore. I meant here in this world. Marie didn’t know that, of course. She had no clue that I came from another place. There was no point in overthinking it. Nothing good would come from telling her. First, she probably wouldn’t believe such a ridiculous story. Who would? Second, telling her would probably ruin our relationship. I saw no benefit, so I wrote off the option of ever telling her the truth.
“I hope there’s magic,” Marie said.
“If there is, I want to show you first.”
She giggled. “That’s a promise!”