Chapter 5

“I-Ixie, th-th-th-th-that girl…” Morna trembled, looking terrified. This went far beyond shyness of strangers. The extent of her fear actually made Yuui feel guilty. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about her,” Ix told Yuui as he saw her attempt to exit the room. “Morna’s always like this with people she meets for the first time. She’ll get better if you spend some time together.” “U-uh-huh…” “H-hey, Ixie, don’t i-ignore me…,” cried Morna, tears welling up in her eyes as she clung to Ix’s sleeve. “This is one of Master’s customers. He’s dead, so she came to me,” explained Ix simply. “It’s a wand repair and maintenance job. I want you to lend me some tools and your assistance.” “A c-customer?” “That’s right. She has a contract from Master.” Both of them turned to look at Yuui, who stepped forward and bowed her head. “My name is Yuui. I apologize for any inconvenience we have caused, Ms. Morna.” “Yuui…,” mumbled Morna. “Yes.” “……” Morna stared at her with damp eyes. Yuui thought they looked like translucent emeralds. They stared at each other for a few seconds. After a moment of silence, Morna violently broke eye contact. “U-uh, um… T-t-tea…,” she gasped. “No thank you, I’m all right,” replied Yuui. “Wh-wh-where was…?” “Calm down, I’ll get it,” reassured Ix. He deftly placed his right hand on Morna’s head as it swiveled left and right. He kept holding on to her back until she let out a “feeyuu” and stopped moving. She plopped into the chair and looked up at Ix with puppy-dog eyes. “Th-thank you,” she said. “Mm.” “Oh, I’ll prepare the tea. If you don’t mind telling me where I should go?” said Yuui. She almost sprinted out of the room. Yuui definitely didn’t have the courage yet to be alone with Morna. 5 With the new face gone, Morna managed to achieve a semblance of calm. She looked here and there around the busy room, her fingers squirming like a millipede’s legs, but that was normal for her. Ix gazed at Morna, which made her cringe with fear. She looked up hesitantly. “Oh, s-sorry,” she managed. “For what?” “Uh, w-well, nothing really…” “All right.” “Yeah.” “……” “Oh…” She opened and closed her mouth, making noises that could have been words or something else entirely. Though she wasn’t good at talking with people, she also couldn’t stand silence. It was a nasty combination of personality quirks. “Oh, r-r-right,” she said tensely. “Show me.” “Show you what?” “Uh, the c-contract. You h-have it, right?” Morna was like their master in that she had excellent wandmaking skills but horrific interpersonal skills. In fact, she was probably worse than their master. At least Munzil had managed his own shop. And in some ways, she was his exact opposite, since he was always very aggressive toward everyone, whereas she was always afraid. After passing her eyes over the letter, Morna placed it carefully on her work desk. “I—I see…” “Seriously, he’s left us an incredibly inconvenient contract. And I thought I’d just finished sorting out everything he’d left behind.” Ix sighed. “W-well, we should still repair it…right?” “Yeah. The core’s broken, though.” As he explained that he couldn’t figure out what material was in the core, Morna seemed perplexed. “Y-you mean, even you couldn’t figure it out?” “There’s only so much investigation I could do. I don’t have magic anyway.” “I suppose so…,” said Morna, lifting the contract. “A-all right, I’ll take on this job.” “Huh?” “What?” They looked at each other questioningly. “Uh, w-well, I…,” whined Morna. “No, I’m not angry,” said Ix, raising one hand placatingly as Morna trembled, tears in her eyes. “It’s not that. I was just asking why you’d take the job. It says right there, doesn’t it? In a way, I’m the ‘simpleton who read it first’…” “B-b-but…” Morna stopped herself there before continuing. “I-it says ‘c-craftsman’?” “Oh…” Ix heaved a dull sigh, unable to prevent the sound from escaping his lips. She was correct. The contract did indeed say “a craftsman who apprenticed under Munzil.” Of course it would. The thing was, Ix wasn’t a craftsman. It was exactly as he’d told Yuui. That meant the wand’s repair would fall to Morna, so it would have nothing to do with him anymore. Her skills were significantly better than his anyway, and someone without leeway in his coin purse wasn’t in a position to take on a free job. Realistically, it was also the better option for the client. However— “No, I can’t put this burden on you, Morna.” His mouth moved before it had time to catch up with his thoughts. “Huh? B-but—” “I’ll do the repair. I just have to register with the Guild, right?” “You sure?” “Yeah. Unlike you, I don’t have any other work lined up anyway. You just need to help me in the beginning.” “Mm…” Morna nodded, albeit uneasily. “I get why you’re worried,” Ix replied with a snort, “but even someone as unskilled as me can handle swapping a core out.” “Ah, no, your capability isn’t the problem…” “Oh, funding? Luckily, I’ve got some cash saved up for now, so I’m fine.” “Mmmm, money isn’t, well, um, that’s also a problem, true, but that wasn’t what I meant…,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “Wh-wh-why are you doing it?” “I told you; it’d be a burden for—” “I-it’s not really that big of a deal. It’s Master’s wand. I w-want to check it out, too.” “Ah…” Ix frowned. “Well, that’s fine, I guess. But you can leave it to me. It’s my first job after all.” “R-really? First job… Hee-hee…” He didn’t get what was so funny, but it appeared he’d convinced Morna with that, because she didn’t question him further. So…why am I? he asked himself. It being his first assignment wasn’t a good enough reason. Not only would he be better off if he left it to Morna, but also it was something he should leave to her anyway. In other words, he was being selfish. Was he really taking up this annoying job his master left him out of selfishness? He didn’t understand his own decision. A crease sat between his eyebrows for a while, but eventually, he sighed and decided to forget the question. The breath he let out stirred the dust in the air. It spread and disappeared. 6 Yuui prepared the tea in scattered vessels, then returned to the room. Morna slurped the tea, her fear of Yuui fading slightly. Even so, Morna refused to make eye contact with her, instead staring at her feet as she spoke. “S-so the, uh, wand…” “Thank you for examining it,” said Yuui. “Fuu, heh-heh-heh…” Morna accepted the wand, recoiling from Yuui as she did so. Cradling it in both hands, she gently transferred it to the work desk. Then she performed the same ritual Ix had. In contrast with Ix’s polished motions, Morna’s were disconcerting. She slouched even worse and stared at the wand creepily while she inspected it. As she swayed her body to and fro, she occasionally let out a giggle. “All right,” Ix murmured quietly, bringing his face close to her ear. “It was made in the year… Its transmission efficiency is… The adoption method was a type-two Rednoff pipe transfer… Its disposition is incredibly moral… Estimated flexion rate is…” Yuui wondered vaguely if the hair scratching his face didn’t bother him. For nearly an hour, Morna used complex instruments to investigate the wand. Ix stood next to her, lending a hand. Surely their inspection would be finished soon. But their expressions weren’t promising. Deep furrows lined their brows, and their faces were beset with confusion. They’d just removed the wand from an instrument that had a large crystal set in its middle. “You agree, right?” murmured Ix. “The cycle is strange for a shinee aletts core.” “The R-R-Rednoff type could explain it,” Morna replied, shaking her head. “It speeds up the junction…” “With extreme affinity?” “Y-yeah.” “Well, it’s an interesting thought from a theoretical standpoint, but not even Master could ensure that kind of precision. Besides, it wouldn’t function as a wand.” “Oh yeah…” Morna swiveled her head. She was so completely engrossed in the world of wands that she didn’t even react when she turned toward Yuui. “I have to try using it…,” said Morna. “Will that be okay?” asked Ix. “Y-yeah. Probably. It’ll work.” “All right.” Ix nodded, walked over to Yuui, then leaned against the wall next to her and crossed his arms. He watched over Morna with an intense expression. “Excuse me, what is she doing…?” asked Yuui. “Test magic. Stay back—it’s dangerous,” replied Ix. “Dangerous?” “It’s been a while since she’s used that instrument, and she isn’t exactly a great spellcaster. It might explode.” Before Yuui could ask in more detail, Morna announced, “H-h-here I go.” She remounted the wand in the instrument they were using before and closed her eyes. Yuui knew this part well. People who weren’t used to using magic often focused like that. Morna drew in a long breath and cast the spell. Test magic didn’t create light or sound, so Yuui felt only the flow of mana. The volume and quantity Morna produced were both fairly decent. You could say she had plenty of potential as a magic user, but her handling was rough. It was obvious she hadn’t been trained in it. After maintaining the spell for a few seconds, Morna let out a sigh. “I’m done,” she said, looking over at them. “Yeah?” Ix tucked his chin in slightly. “So?” “Mm, mm…” Morna glanced at the instrument, and her mouth curled with a “fuuee.” “Morna?” asked Ix. “Foo-fyu-fyuu-fyuu…” “Wh-what’s wrong, Ms. Morna?!” asked Yuui, but she didn’t reply. Instead, she swayed her shoulders as drool dripped from her mouth. Yuui glanced up at Ix’s face. He looked shocked, but that expression slowly brightened until he let out a cry of delight in the end. “No way!” he shouted. “Hee, way…,” said Morna. “Ha-ha-ha! I can’t believe Master’s bullshit story was true. Makes sense…” “I’ll h-have to investigate more. It m-might be reusable if I reshape it…” “Hold up, wait. That’s my customer’s wand. First I…” The two gathered around the wand, creepy smiles on their faces. Yuui timidly asked, “Pardon my interruption, but what are the two of you so happy about?” “Oh yeah, Yuui,” replied Ix, his face betraying that he’d just remembered her existence. “Long story short, we know what the core material is.” “It isn’t shinee aletts?” “No. It’s actually something completely different. I’d thought it might be a possibility, but I can’t believe I was right.” “So…what is it?” “Well…don’t be surprised when you hear.” “Please just get to the point already,” Yuui said with an exasperated sigh. “It is my wand after all.” “It’s dragon heart.” “What?” Yuui blinked a few times, unable to believe her own ears. “It’s dragon. Dragon heart,” said Ix, deeply impressed. “I thought our master was just bullshitting us when he said he’d made a wand with dragon heart before. But I’ve got no choice but to believe it when the real thing is right in front of me.” “Dragon…?” “Yep. No doubt about it, right, Morna?” She nodded emphatically. “Th-th-that’s the only possibility. It’s absolutely dragon heart. There’s nothing else it could be.” “Huh…” Yuui was confused. “And that’s what the two of you are happy about?” “Of course,” said Ix. “Why aren’t you? What’s with that strange reaction? This is an amazing wand. Who was your dad?” “No, what I want to know is, is this material easy to get?” asked Yuui. “Of course not,” replied Ix immediately. “Morna and I didn’t even believe it until now, and we heard the story straight from Master’s mouth. We can’t even be sure any more exists other than what we have here.” “Um…then how are you planning to fix my wand?” “Huh?” Ix stared at Morna. She stared back wordlessly. After a few moments of silence, the two looked at Yuui at the same time. “Are you really telling me you two were that excited just because you got a chance to see a rare material?” she said incredulously. If what she knew was correct, dragons had been extinct for over a thousand years.