At night, stars shine in the dark sky. The mountains that had been colored with autumn’s red and the green of tree leaves have turned completely black, and the darkness of the sky faintly illuminated by stars and the blackness of the mountains envelop the village. The village is mostly asleep, with only small lights from inside houses leaking out slightly.
“A, Aoi? Are you still awake?”
“Oi, Aoi~. We’ve come to play~.”
Perhaps because it was night, Irias timidly opened the door to Aoi’s room, while Verdi entered energetically without much concern.
A red flame from a lamp flickers dimly in the room. It wasn’t a light large enough to illuminate the entire room, but it was sufficient to light up the table where she researched magic circles.
“Hm? You two, what’s up?”
“S-since light was leaking out so late at night……I brought tea……”
“I brought dried meat.”
Aoi had been sitting in front of the table, hand on her chin, lost in thought. In the dark room with only the light of a single lamp, the warm glow illuminated Aoi’s face, making it look reddish.
“Oh~, thanks, thanks. Tea and snacks, much appreciated.”
“How……? Is the research progressing?”
Irias places a tray with teacups and a plate of bite-sized dried meat on the table. Hot steam rises gently in the dark room, the tea’s aroma tickling their nostrils.
“Nah, not at all, not at all.”
“Eh? Really?”
At Aoi casually waving her hands, Verdi blinks in surprise. Despite saying the research isn’t progressing, Aoi doesn’t seem to care about it at all.
“What I’m doing today is research on [Reincarnation] magic, you see. Of course there won’t be any results.”
“Re-Reincarnation……?”
“Yep, reincarnation magic.”
Hearing about what Aoi is researching, Verdi’s cheek twitches.
“It’s research my family has continued for generations, see. We’re carrying the challenge of creating magic that would allow dead humans to be reborn while inheriting their memories and souls from their previous life.”
“T-to be reborn……can such a thing be done?”
“Impossible, impossible. The more I research it, the more I think it’s impossible.”
On Aoi’s desk lay magic circles related to reincarnation involving [Soul] and [Life]. Her family had continued researching reincarnation magic for generations. While mages were few in number, their history was long, and it wasn’t unusual to continue the same research across multiple generations.
However, regarding this reincarnation magic, Aoi declared it impossible. Faced with the difficult problem inherited from her ancestors, Aoi rests her cheek on her hand looking unmotivated, casting a bothersome gaze at the magic circle before her.
“Reincarnation is impossible. It exceeds the realm of what magic can do. This isn’t something that could be done even if we researched it for another thousand years.”
“A thousand years……. Eh? Then why are you even doing that?”
“Because it’s research passed down through generations, can’t help it~. Honestly, everyone except the elderly in my family wishes this research topic would go away.”
Saying this, Aoi yawns widely. Seeing this, Verdi’s energy drains, and Irias smiles wryly.
“Reincarnation magic seems to have exceptionally high difficulty……. I’m glad I wasn’t born into Aoi’s family, that’s what I think……”
“Irias, trade places with me~.”
“I-I don’t want to. If Aoi can’t do it, there’s no way I could.”
Irias waves her hands and backs away.
“But seriously, everyone says magic isn’t as dangerous a technique as the world thinks, but hearing about [Reincarnation Magic] makes me think otherwise? It totally sounds like crazy mage stuff, you know?”
“……Only Aoi’s family is doing such strange research……”
“Once I become the head of the family, I’m immediately abolishing this research.”
“A-almost all other research is ordinary magic research useful for daily life, okay……? Don’t misunderstand, okay? Verdi?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Verdi gives a half-hearted response while picking at the dried meat.
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“Well, I kinda get that it’s tough. Here Aoi, drink your tea, tea.”
“Uu~.”
As urged, Aoi drinks her tea, gnawing rudely on the edge of the cup.
“Haa~, I wanna do divination research~. After all, divination is what I’m good at, and it suits my nature……”
“Divination and fortune-telling are Aoi’s specialties, after all.”
“Recently, I created something called horse dung divination, wanna try it, Irias?”
“I-I don’t……”
“Aw, come on…~.”
Sensing danger, Irias withdraws, and Aoi pouts as her test subject escapes. At that point, Verdi asks.
“So? How’s your hobby of singing lately, Irias? I don’t really understand magic stuff, but I can understand that topic a bit, you know?”
“Ah, yeah, so-so I guess……? I was just making a new song earlier.”
Today too, Irias had been creating songs to perform for the children of the village and surrounding villages. The children in this area grew up carefree while humming Irias’s songs.
“At the village we went to for work this time, I taught the children songs too.”
“Irias is popular with children.”
“W-well……I do like children……”
“When I bring back a bear, children cry.”
“……I think it’s because the prank of coming back to the village wearing the bear’s skin is bad……”
At Irias’s point, Verdi laughs heartily. While Irias had a personality loved by children, Aoi and Verdi were full of mischief and were viewed warily by the children.
“Since Irias has a dream, you need to hold your head high and work harder.”
“D-it’s not such a grand thing as a dream though……”
“What was it again? You want to spread your songs throughout the world, have them sung for generations, and rake in money forever?”
“That’s not it!?”
Irias let out a surprised voice.
“I-it’s not like that……! I-I just think it would be nice if my songs could make all the children smile, and then it would be passed to the next generation, and the next generation, and then make the next children smile too……that’s all I’m thinking……!”
“Hyahyahya!”
“G-geez……”
To Aoi and Verdi laughing teasingly, Irias shows a sulking face.
“……But don’t you think it’s amazing? There are so many songs passed down in the village from five hundred, six hundred years ago, you know? How many children sang them and laughed together during that time……. I want to write such amazing songs too……”
“Irias is so pure~.”
“Really, can’t believe we grew up together.”
“Never felt anything from brats’ smiles.”
“Basically, as long as I’m fine, that’s all that matters.”
“How jaded……”
Irias could only be exasperated at her two twisted childhood friends.
“I don’t really understand the quality of songs honestly, but Irias’s songs are somehow, like, comforting. I think they’re good, yeah.”
“I-is that so……?”
“It is.”
Being praised, Irias laughs timidly in confusion, while Aoi shows her teeth in a grin, and Verdi nods slightly. The red, faint lamp light casts deep shadows on their three faces, yet still conveys their expressions to each other with that small illumination.
“If you want to pass songs on to children, Irias, why don’t you hurry up and make your own children?”
“Eh……!?”
Irias’s face turns bright red.
“U-uh, well……I-I think it’s still early for me……?”
“What do you mean ‘early.’ We’re already 16, you know?”
“Just the other day a girl one year younger than us had a baby.”
“Ugh……no……well……”
Irias panics while turning bright red. In this era, marriage and childbirth around age 15 wasn’t unusual.
“Irias would be a good mother~.”
“Yeah, children born to Irias would be happy~.”
“S-stop it, you two! Y-you’re teasing me, aren’t you……!?”
Watching the flustered Irias, Aoi and Verdi enjoy themselves with mean-spirited grins.
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