Chapter 44

Nova was quiet for a while. This was normal for her, though this silence seemed different than usual. “I am, monitoring you,” she said. “Yes, you are.” “I’ll likely be kept in this position, even after going back to Lukutta.” “That does seem likely.” “But, I’m going to submit a request, to be reassigned.” “Why now, of all times?” asked Yuui. “Are you fed up with me?” “No… Because I, can’t keep up with you.” “I don’t think your request will be approved, though.” “…I agree.” Nova nodded once, her voice the same emotionless tone as always. “Yes. I look forward, to being with you longer, Yuui.” 7 Once the door to the meeting room opened, the people left, their expressions cheerful. The hall filled with the sound of chatter, which quickly grew into a ruckus. Ix was swept along with the tide of people toward the front entrance of the building, but Shuno was waiting right beside it. Their face lit up when they saw Ix, and they pulled him by the arm to drag him into a corner of the hall. As Shuno tugged him along, several of the meeting participants tried to talk to Ix. They were all smiling. He looked for Rolphie and Hemsley in the crowd, but he didn’t see them anywhere. It didn’t take long for the people to disappear. The hall quickly emptied, returning to silence. “Everyone’s going to the Chapel across the street,” Shuno told him. “The attendants waiting in the hall told me. There’s going to be a service in the Chapel; then everyone’ll go out to the grounds for the Heaven’s Worship ritual. Anyone can join that, I guess, so do you want to wait a bit before going?” “I don’t mind, but…,” said Ix with a sigh. “Why’re you so down?” asked Shuno in confusion. “I was only listening through the door, but you were amazing, Ix! I can’t believe you revealed what the ultimate wand really was! Man, I had absolutely no idea. A wand made by a dragon, that’s so cool—” “It was a lie.” “Huh?” Shuno looked blankly at Ix. “It was all a lie. The dragon, Rednoff, it was all just bullshit I don’t have any evidence for. Besides…that thing isn’t the ultimate wand.” “W-wait a second, Ix.” Shuno quickly held up a hand. “A-a lie? But Munzil Alreff and his own apprentices all agreed it was. I mean, I don’t have any clue how it’s used, but—” “That’s right, Shuno,” said Ix. “No one can use it, and there’s nothing it can be used for. That’s exactly what makes it the ultimate wand.” “…What do you mean?” “How many times have the two of us talked about it? Speculated about if it’s possible to forge the ultimate wand or what it would even look like if you could make it? I bet every wandmaker in history has thought the same. They dream about the ultimate wand and try to get just a little bit closer to it. That passion drives the development of catalysts, and it hasn’t died down, hundreds of years later. Even if they’re not moving forward as fast as before, even if Munzil dies…wandmakers like you will come along. Craftspeople with passion, who’ll move the ages along. And there’s probably a reason for that.” “Stop complimenting me here,” said Shuno, a flash of anger crossing their face before they returned to normal. “So you’re saying the reason is—?” “The ultimate wand,” said Ix with a nod. “Everyone believes that someday we’ll produce a single wand to end all wands. Because there’s a legend about the first wandmaker creating it. That’s why everyone’s so obsessed with advancing the craft. It doesn’t matter if the ultimate wand really exists or not. Just having the name out there means that magic catalysts will continue to evolve forever. It’s the same with stars. You feel safe reaching your hand out toward them ’cause you’ll never reach them.” “Okay, okay, what about Rednoff, then? Where did he disappear to?” “Not a clue.” Ix shrugged. “Maybe he died in that room, and they kept it a secret, or someone secretly helped him escape… Even if we try to imagine what happened, we don’t have enough information. Perhaps he felt guilty about putting all the blast wandmakers out of business and just disappeared.” “……” After listening to Ix’s explanation, Shuno turned away, frowning. They blinked several times, appearing uneasy. “…Right,” murmured Shuno after a while. “I get it, Ix. It’s going to take time for you to digest it all… Got it.” “Sorry for dragging you into this.” “Not a problem at all. But I get it. That’s what you meant when you said you were betraying someone, right? Saying it was the ultimate wand even when you knew it wasn’t true?” “That’s…” Ix couldn’t help falling silent. That wasn’t true. Because what he’d betrayed was the honor of the dragons no longer here. But Shuno’s voice quickly turned cheerful again. “Well, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. At least for now, it looks like your friend was saved.” By now, Ix knew that was Shuno being nice. He had no idea why they were so kind to him, why they were still smiling at him even though he’d gotten them into this mess. He didn’t understand it, but it made him so very happy. So happy he nearly wanted to cry. He looked at Shuno while thinking that, only to find a questioning look on their face. “H-hey, Ix, are you okay? Does your stomach hurt?” “No, it’s nothing.” “Really? You’re making an expression I’ve never seen you make before; seems like something to me.” There was barely anyone in the hallway at this point. The service in the Chapel was probably well underway, Ix guessed. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw two small people appear and walk toward him. “Ah, there you two are,” said one of them. “Oh, Master Coaku,” said Shuno, noticing them as well. “And you… Ummm, I’m sorry, I didn’t ask your name.” “Nova,” she said with a slight tilt of her head. “Nova? I’m Shuno. Thanks for your help before.” “It’s, no problem.” Ix had no idea why Coaku and Nova had come over together, but he just bowed wordlessly. Without Coaku, he never would have managed to get into that meeting. It seemed the old craftsman had been looking for the two of them. He’d thought they would be in the Chapel and went out to search for them. “Are you two not participating in Heaven’s Worship?” asked Coaku. “Oh, no, we are,” said Shuno with a wave of their hand. “It’s just, we don’t know the rituals, so we were talking about going after they’re finished…right?” Ix nodded in agreement, but hearing mention of Heaven’s Worship made him remember something. “Coaku, sorry for the random question…,” he said, “but do you have a granddaughter?” “No,” he said, shaking his head. “There was only my son. I have no grandchildren.” I knew it…, thought Ix as he glanced down. Yes, there was still one thing he didn’t understand. Riess. The girl he’d first met when he came to the town, who he ran into every once in a while. The girl who he’d speculated was a real ghost. But Coaku had told him he didn’t have a daughter or granddaughter. Now what Ix had imagined up to this point was starting to feel more real… “But I do have an assistant who’s young enough to be my granddaughter,” the craftsman continued. “Huh?” “Come on out, Riess.” Coaku stepped aside to reveal a little girl. She’d been hiding behind him the whole time. She was looking at the ground and gripping the edge of her coat tightly. “Riess…?” asked Ix, and she looked up to meet his gaze. Her face turned so scarlet so quickly, you could almost hear a sound accompanying it. She turned around and bolted far down the hallway. “I think that might be enough to tell you… I’m sorry. She’s a very shy girl.” Coaku bowed his head while looking in the direction she had run. “She doesn’t like having people look at her. She causes quite the headache for me, since she still walks around at night even though I told her not to.” “She’s shy…?” muttered Ix. “Please don’t misunderstand, though. She is really quite fond of you, Ix.” “Huh…? I don’t remember doing anything to make her like me. Did I meet her a long time ago?” “I doubt you’ve met. But you have spoken with her,” said Coaku cryptically. “…No, I don’t remember at all.” “She’d be happy to hear that,” said Coaku with a smile. “Do you remember I sent a letter to your master some years ago?” “Yeah. We exchanged quite a few. Master had me write them.” “That’s correct. But I only sent the first one.” “What about the others?” “Riess decided to send them all by herself. She pretended to be me so she could talk to a wandmaker she admired. I bet she was disappointed when the letters came back written by a substitute whose name she didn’t even know. But she didn’t have too many people to talk to at the time. Soon, she became obsessed with sending those letters… And it seems she took quite the shine to you, Ix. I only noticed because she was enjoying herself so much.” Coaku rubbed his head. “That’s why she was so happy when she heard you were coming to Estosha. It seems like you haven’t had much chance to talk, but we’ll have many an opportunity to see each other for a long time to come, now, won’t we? Anyway, I brought her with me so she could at least say hello, but…that’s how she is.” Ix blinked repeatedly, unable to say anything. What did that mean? “So what about the ghost in the monastery?” he asked. “Ghost? What’s this about?” asked Coaku, looking puzzled. “Uh…well, there was an incident in the monastery where someone said they saw something,” said Ix as he glanced at Shuno. “Ah, yeah, there was. I wonder what that was,” said Shuno. The two of them cocked their heads, and Nova slightly raised her hand. “It was, me,” she said. Her tone was so casual that it took a while for Ix to understand. “Now what are you saying?” asked Ix as he looked her in the eye. “It was, me,” Nova repeated. “I visited the monastery a few times, to investigate the Old Order.” “They don’t allow girls there,” said Ix. “Correct.” “…You visited? Through the underground passage?” “Yes. It was easier to walk down there, than crossing through the snow. I received information, about the passage’s existence,” she said, her speech fragmented. “We met, at the monastery.” “Huh? When?” “You picked up, the book I dropped.” “Book…?” “It’s getting late. I should be going. Good-bye,” said Nova as she held out a hand toward Ix, who was still confused. “Uh, yeah…,” he said as he reflexively shook her hand. In his palm was something unlike human skin—something dry and crinkly. He stared at Nova as she walked away. Just then, a scene replayed in his mind. That’s right, he’d picked up a book… The first time he went to the monastery, there’d been a monk pushing a cart. Ix had picked up a book for him. Which meant… The person Shuno had gotten a glimpse of in the kitchen had been Nova… And the reason there had been one lunch too few that day was because there really was one too many people at the monastery. For some reason, Ix felt the urge to burst into laughter. Even though Yuui had just gone through what she had. Something made the tension drain from his shoulders. So it had been Nova the whole time…? Right… That’s all the ghost was, then.