บท 64: Our Days
"Is this…really necessary?"
"Yes." She says immediately, glaring at the crystalline formation floating between her hands. Threads of blue energy extend from her fingers, swirling and melding into the crystalline rock. A jagged edge grows just a millimeter longer. "Very necessary." She adds in between her labored breaths.
I can't help but sigh.
That thing floating between her hands is known as a Mana Crystal, and an especially pure one at that. Normally, Mana Crystals as pure as the one she's handling will only form on the degrading corpses of powerful magicians. Their mana, finally untouched by their wielder's intent, finally escapes into the atmosphere and crystalizes.
Akeno is different, of course. She's one of the few people capable of controlling pure Mana, and through her careful control, she's gathering it all into a single location, letting it grow into a Mana Crystal purer than anything you can ever find.
Ha. If the magicians saw this, they'd probably be worshipping Akeno as a god. Hell, we might do that someday just for fun.
That aside, Mana Crystals are a powerful source of magic, and an especially potent catalyst for spells. The most powerful staves and tomes are made with crystals like this.
That's not what Akeno is doing however. She isn't planning to make a weapon or use it to cast some intense powerful spell or whatever.
Instead, that Mana Crystal she's making?
That's for me to consume.
If I was a normal person, I would proceed to die from Mana Poisoning if I did that. Consuming such a pure concentration of Mana is dangerous even for powerful magicians. Thankfully, I'm not alone in this endeavor.
Once I consume that Mana Crystal, Akeno will be there to guide it through my body. And using that, she'll awaken the dormant Mana hiding inside my body.
It's just-, I don't think I need to consume a Mana Crystal as big as the one she has planned in her head. I mean, it'll make the process slightly easier, but compared to how much effort she needs to put in to make the crystal grow even the slightest bit larger, I just don't think it's worth it.
Akeno thinks otherwise, and so she's basically holed herself in our summer home in Kyoto for the past two weeks, ignoring nearly everything
…is this…how I look when I get too deep into my own projects?
Being ignored like this; it isn't a pleasant feeling. Then again, I suppose this is karma.
"Don't hurt yourself, yeah?" I say, gently patting her head. "Take your time. Pace yourself. We have the time to spare." She still doesn't respond, her eyes fixed on the Mana Crystal she's been growing for the past couple weeks.
I sigh. I suppose it's time to take drastic measures.
So I snake right around her, and I plant a kiss onto her left cheek. She fully freezes then, barely managing to keep the Mana Crystal floating between her hands, and I grin. "Take your time." I repeat, a little more forcefully this time. She shivers in delight.
"...you smooth criminal." She eventually mutters.
I smile. "But I'm your criminal."
She huffs and kisses me. "Don't you have a student to teach?" She asks, playfully nudging me with her horns. "Genbu-chan will get lonely if you keep ignoring her, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah." I shrug. "If you want me gone so badly, you just need to say it."
She giggles. "Are you that lonely, Seicho-sama?"
I raise an eyebrow. "I'm not the one who broke an arm by hugging someone when they're sleeping." I shoot back, and she laughs wryly. We lapse into a small silence, before I gently pat her head. "But really, take your time. I don't want you to hurt yourself for me."
She smiles softly. "I'll try my best." She says, before she leans in to kiss me. I let her. We separate a minute later, and her cheeks are wonderfully red as she smiles at me. "Stay safe out there."
I smile. "I will."
Before long, the 'Recall' Ofuda I'd been charging up activates, and I vanish from Kyoto. I reappear deep underground, inside the confines of Hibana Village. There isn't anyone to greet me this time—I haven't told anyone when I'm actually arriving.
I begin walking. As usual, I'm heading towards the pagoda-like building at the rough center of the village. I'll be tutoring Genbu as always, though today will be a little special for the girl. It'll be a test of both her comprehension and her skills.
I already know she'll pass, but she certainly doesn't. The poor girl's panicking a little.
I'm not that mean, though. I decide to take my time walking around the village, just to give her a little bit more time.
The whole place has changed quite considerably in the past several months. It's bigger, for one. I gave the Nakiris the authority to slowly expand the space this village is occupying, and it seems they've done quite the job. The whole space seems to almost have doubled in area alone, and the roots have accommodated themselves to fit the new size.
That new space has allowed more buildings to be built, and there's even a public garden not too far away.
Really, if things keep progressing like this, it won't be long before we're forced to call this Hibana City instead.
…I'm genuinely terrified of how enthusiastic these people can be at times. I mean, one time, I offhandedly said something about using the Himejimas' control over Fire and the Doumons' mastery over water to create steam power plants. I hadn't really been all that serious back then.
And then, just a week later, three power plants just cropped out of nowhere, and suddenly Hibana Village is practically buzzing with electricity. We had to sell some of it to Kyoto to keep our batteries from exploding.
I need to be careful with my words. I don't want to take over the world by accident.
Past that, there's a lot more people living in the town. Most of them are refugees who'd escaped from the Five Principal Clans far before my interference. It seems some of their friends I'd saved had come to meet them, and most had decided to join them and live here in Hibana Village.
Rather strangely, there also seems to be some Youkai living among the lot. They've disguised themselves pretty well, though it doesn't stop them from giving me a salute when they pass me by. Which, considering how loyal everyone in this village is, only makes them even more inconspicuous.
They…have their reasons here. Some practical, some hilarious. None of them are malicious though, and so I've left them be. Besides, it'll finally give these stubborn Youkai the idea that not all humans are irredeemable.
Before long, I make it to the pagoda-like building. I go in, and I walk straight past the practicing students, teleporting up the first two floors to come into the classroom on the highest floor. Genbu, the ever diligent student, is already seated by her desk. Her eyes light up as she sees me teleport in, and she stands and bows in greeting. "Good morning, Hyoudou-sensei."
I wave her down, and she obediently sits down. "Sorry for being slightly late. I had some errands I needed to do." I say.
She shakes her head. "It's okay, sensei." She smiles. "I can always wait." Is what she says, but I can clearly see the way she is twiddling her thumbs beneath her desk. She's more than happy that I came late, and is just as terrified now that I'm here.
I huff. "So you say." I give the whiteboard behind me a quick knock. "Now, are you ready for today's assessment?"
"I-I am." She stutters
I smile. "Well then," I narrow my eyes. She gulps. "Let's begin."
So we do. As I instructed, I'll be assessing her mastery over all forms of water. Liquid water, steam, and ice; she must be able to maintain all three forms without destabilizing them, and perform some manner of spell using those three differing forms. And more than that, I'm also testing her casting speed and her general control over her Mana.
As I said, I'm confident that she'll pass this test with flying colors. But she certainly isn't, and that nervousness might cause some hiccups.
Still, it seems she isn't the Doumons' heir for no reason. As terrified as she is, she's performing incredibly well under all the pressure. Her control is steady, and her mastery is shown clearly as she wields all three forms of water with relative ease.
Naturally, she won't be fighting like Akeno anytime soon. That girl has such an incredible grasp on her magic that she barely needs to think to call for her lightning. It'll take Genbu some time before she begins crossing into that territory.
But it's still impressive. She is, without a doubt, the best magician Hibana Village has to offer at the moment.
As expected, she passes with flying colors. She wields the three forms simultaneously, holding each on a tight leash and commanding all without fail. "You've passed." I say simply, and I smile as I watch her eyes light up.
We celebrate with a quick meal at my favored Udon stall right after. The old lady manning the place is quite surprised to see the heir of the Doumons eating at her place, but she then smiles and shakes her head.
We continue our lessons for a little while longer after that. The girl isn't as tired as she expected herself to be, and so she decides to cram in some more before she inevitably falls asleep.
Our lesson stretches on until dawn, but she doesn't mind, and neither do I. A new morning arrives as I bring the girl back to her home.
And after, I teleport back to Kuoh, ready to welcome another day.
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Ventus889
Ventus889 Sorry for the delay, folks. I kept deleting and rewriting this chapter. Had a lot of trouble for some reason. I literally have, like, 12000 words of cut content because of this.
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