“That… uh… um… So, the reason I, Rain-kun, and Tuli-kun ended up reincarnating—can we safely say it was because of that reincarnation spell Kasumi-kun created four hundred years ago…?”
“Could you hold on a moment about that? Before we get into that story, there’s something I’d like to look into first…”
“…Something you want to look into?”
“Yes indeed. The three of you—could you please take off your clothes for a bit?”
“…Huh?”
Kasumi stood up from her chair and walked over to Zeke, cracking her knuckle bones with a series of sharp kikiri-kikiri sounds. Zeke and the others flinched slightly.
It wasn’t anything indecent—just a practical request. The three of them removed their outer garments and lay face-down as Kasumi began drawing magical circles onto their backs.
“This is a technique for examining a person’s soul,” she explained.
“A person’s soul?”
“That’s right. Normally, this allows one to glimpse someone’s true nature or divine the fate their soul is destined for… But this time, I’m using it for a different purpose.”
With a brush in hand, Kasumi swiftly and deftly drew intricate magical circles onto the backs of Zeke, Rain, and Tuli. Anya watched intently, utterly fascinated as she witnessed authentic witchcraft from four hundred years ago firsthand, letting out an awed “Huh…” under her breath.
Finally, Kasumi channeled her own magical energy into the circles she’d drawn, causing them to emit a soft, gentle glow.
“…Alright, that’s done.”
“Already finished?”
Kasumi nodded, and the boys sat up and quickly put their outerwear back on. Tuli had received the spell a little farther away and hastily redressed with a flustered air.
“So? What exactly were you checking—and what did you find out?”
“Well, based on the colors of your souls, I checked whether any of you had connections to ‘Ate no Sato’—my village—from four hundred years ago.”
“Four hundred years ago… your village…?”
“Yes—the village of mages.”
Zeke and the others held their breath. However, Kasumi’s demeanor remained carefree, even slightly disappointed, as if things hadn’t gone quite as she’d hoped.
“To put it plainly, none of you three have any relation whatsoever to the people from my old village back then. I’d implanted that reincarnation magic specifically into my fellow villagers’ souls, but your soul colors don’t match theirs at all—you’re completely different individuals from those ancient mages.”
“I see… So even though Zeke and the others don’t remember anything, there was a chance you were all reincarnations of those old mages—and you just checked that, but in the end, they’re totally different people.”
“Precisely, Anya-han.”
Kasumi gave a light pachi-pachi clap of her hands. Pleased by the compliment, Anya puffed up her chest proudly with a little snort.
“…Wow. So real magic can actually examine someone’s soul, huh?”
“In fact, that’s the very essence of true magic. It’s modern magic that’s gone off track.”
While rinsing the brush used to draw the magic circles, Kasumi explained to the four who were unfamiliar with ancient magic.
“Perhaps, because my own magic of reincarnation was successful, unrelated people were involved, creating multiple reincarnators in this land, in this era. I think that around this era, before and after my own reincarnation, the magic of reincarnation has been triggered on its own,” Kasumi speculated.
Hearing this, Zeke and the others tensed. Tuli and Rain had been pondering the mysterious phenomenon of their own reincarnation for thirteen years, and Zeke had been pondering it for thirty-eight years.
However, no matter how much they investigated, they couldn’t find the cause, and they felt they might never know in their lifetime.
However, there was a witch in front of them with a clear answer.
“Is it not your own will that involves those who are unrelated… Kasumi-kun?”
“Yes, this is unexpected. To be honest, there are many things I don’t understand about my own reincarnation magic.”
“…………”
Kasumi averted her gaze with a somewhat lonely expression.
Zeke and the others realized that their reincarnation held no significance, they were just caught up in an accident. Various emotions welled up within them, a mix of relief and a sense of injustice.
“But I think this is temporary.”
“Temporary?”
“Yes, I believe the activation of my reincarnation magic has caused a disturbance in the flow of souls in the world. However, it’s not something that will continue indefinitely. As time passes, the influence of reincarnation magic should diminish.”
“I see, so if time passes, reincarnators will no longer appear?”
“That’s right, Rain.”
Kasumi nodded at Rain’s words. Then, tilting her head, Tuli spoke.
“Are there other reincarnators besides us?”
“That’s also… a difficult part to predict. There might be more, or maybe there aren’t anymore.”
“I’d like to ask, does this reincarnation magic have any negative effects?”
Zeke asked Kasumi.
“I don’t think there are any negative effects on the reincarnator themselves. As far as I can tell from observing souls, there doesn’t seem to be any shortened lifespan or health issues.”
“Hmm…”
“However… there are some minor negative effects…”
As she said this, Kasumi fiddled with her smartphone and opened a news website. Placing the smartphone on the table, she showed the screen to everyone.
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“…Continued poor crop yields in this area?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Kasumi’s smartphone screen displayed news of poor crop yields in the rural areas a little distance from where Zeke and the others lived. It was localized news and hadn’t become a nationwide topic.
“…Is this due to the influence of reincarnation magic?”
“Yes, due to the disturbance in the flow of souls caused by reincarnation magic, it’s affecting weak life forms. Not just poor crops, but there are reports of excessive yields in other areas, though that doesn’t make it to the news.”
As she explained, Kasumi manipulated her smartphone further and displayed another screen.
“…Next is… a mass emergence of sparrows?”
“Yes, that’s right. This is also news from the surrounding area. It’s about a large number of small animals like sparrows and mice appearing, causing damage. The cause of the mass emergence is unknown.”
“Come to think of it, there was a notice about an increase in mice in the bulletin.”
“Exactly.”
Kasumi nodded at Anya’s words.
“So… because of the influence of reincarnation magic, there are effects on small lives like poor crop yields and the mass emergence of small animals?”
“Yes, that’s right, Zeke-san.”
These effects of reincarnation magic were only affecting this region.
“But don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry?”
“This is also a problem that time will resolve. Just as time will bring an end to the appearance of reincarnators, these events will also cease over time. As the flow of souls stabilizes, these issues should naturally resolve.”
“I see…”
Zeke nodded slightly, then turned back to Kasumi.
“While it’s understood that time will resolve it… until then, will it affect people?”
“No, it only affects small creatures, not humans, and probably not even slightly larger animals. I collected the souls of the poor crops and examined them in my room. I think they’re fine.”
“I see.”
At this gathering, besides Kasumi, there was no one familiar with magic. Zeke and the others had nothing they could do about this matter; they could only leave it to Kasumi.
“Don’t worry. It’s my responsibility as the one with reincarnation magic. I’ll make sure to pay close attention to the disturbance in the flow of souls.”
Saying so, Kasumi smiled.
As they talked, time passed naturally, and everyone began to feel hungry. Anya made enough yakisoba for five people for lunch, and with three growing children, it quickly disappeared into everyone’s stomachs.
The weather outside had become warmer than before, and it warmed up inside the house as well.
It was now the time when the end of autumn overlapped with the beginning of winter. They had already started using the stove in the house, but it wasn’t necessary during the sunny daytime hours, and the gentle warmth of winter filled the room.
In this setting, Zeke and the others sat around a table, listening to Kasumi’s story.
“And this pattern here is called [Dim], which signifies the flow of fate. It’s an essential element in fortune-telling magic circles.”
“Oh, I see.”
“…………”
Kasumi placed a large sheet of paper on the table and began drawing various patterns on it.
Several magic circles were already drawn on the paper, and she carefully explained them, while Zeke and the others listened attentively.
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