Volume 2: Chapter 023: Makia: Sympathy
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
It’s been a long time~
Makia here.
Here at the Midgard’s Miscellaneous Magical Merchandise to be exact.
A sudden shower had drenched my dress and my hair had gone all limp from the rain.
We were dressed in old mage’s robes that Madam Egressa had lent us after we dried ourselves off.
Lepis was sitting in a magic potion bath recommended by the Madam. She had protested, saying that she didn’t need it, but the Madam pressed her into sitting in the medicine bath anyway.
“… …”
Tooru sipped at the hot strong coffee provided by the Madam as he stood at the store front to watch the rain fall. He had a rather serious look on his face, so I stood quietly by his side.
“Angry about something?”
“… …”
Tooru twitched at the question. However, he did not look back as he said, “I’m not angry.”
This reminds me of a dialogue between two comedians. I think they started out just the same way. With my own mug of coffee in hand, I gave him a sideways glance and said, “Hey, that robe you’re wearing. Do you know that it used to belong to Professor Medite?”
“Pfft–!”
For some reason, Tooru was so shocked that he spat out his coffee.
“Ugh… it feels really weird. I mean, I don’t have anything against Professor Medite, but ugh…”
“Tooru’s wariness level has increased by 10…” I said in a monotone, much like an in-game narrator.
Well, it’s not like I can’t understand why he would make such a weird face. I also felt a little weirded out seeing him in those robes.
Somehow, I couldn’t help but see an image of Professor Medite flickering in the background…
[1] “So, are you worried about what Lepis said? Or are you worried about the demons?”“I’m worried about both,” said Tooru as he stared into the distance over his coffee.
We’re under the terrace, but it feels nice to experience the fine mist against our faces.
“Do you know about the demon country I created? It was a land enclosed in ice and snow…”
“Indeed, the Utopia of Demons, ‘Ysemore’, right?”
“I don’t know if it’s worth calling it a utopia, but I created that magic fortress for weak demons who have nowhere else to go.”
[1a] “Well, if it is a protected state, it is basically a utopia, isn’t it? Normal people won’t be able to enter that magic fortress since it was created by you. So it is a utopia for them.”“During that era, demons were oppressed as ‘beings that harmed humans’. While it was true that ferocious demons that ate humans existed, if they continued to be persecuted like that, an entire race would be wiped out. That’s what I thought anyway.”
So, you decided to give them a country and rule over them?”
“I was kind of in a similar situation as them…”
The battle between humans and demons has a long history.
A time when magic was part of life and the source of infinite possibilities. Adventurers and pioneers who hunted down demons were seen as heroes. In an era where it was traditional for those with strong magical powers to go on demon subjugation, the Black Demon King rose up as a ruler of demons even though he was a human.
[1a] “Well, I heard that the demons had been subjugated by the ‘Blue General’ about 1000 years ago. So that country that I had created must have disappeared after I died.”“Still, I’m shocked that you didn’t die in the middle of making that super huge fortress. Wasn’t it kind of a big risk?
“I just created the space for them. After that, it was all up to the demons to build on it. I even build a wall for them.”
“A wall, eh?”
[1] “Still, even though the wall was meant to keep outsiders away, you managed to enter it as you please. It really surprised me back then.”Oh yeah, I still remember it.
I found the wall made of powerful magic deep in a forest in the Northern Continent and decided to see what was behind it. I used my command magic to twist the magic a little and broke in.
That was when I found a man dressed in a black cloak and thought ‘still got it!’
“Still… what was supposed to be magic created for the safety of the demons has now been used to protect humans from demon invasions. Ironic, isn’t it?”
“Well, at least they managed to stay alive.”
“… …”
It was wrong to say that the demons were completely subjugated. Right now, they have fallen under the control of the Hermedes Federation and have apparently been modified to crave human flesh and blood. The ability to mimic normal humans also did not exist 2000 years ago. These demons appeared humanoid, but they were never fully human.
How ironic that the demons are now at the mercy of the Hermedes Federation and are bitterly hated by the descendants of the Black Demon King. Lepis never gives us any details, but she does seem to hate the demons and fear them at the same time.
“It was all rather nasty. All of it…”
“… …”
Tooru probably has a lot to think about after learning that the Twilight Clan is risking their life and limb (literally) through the magic fortress spells, now that he knows the demons are still around…
I glanced at this expression and found that he was still frowning.
“Humph, things must be pretty trouble for you and Ulysses since have so many ties to your past.”
“You talk as if you don’t have any ties.”
“Well, unfortunately, I have neither people nor country to feel nostalgic over.”
“I thought the Kings of the West often send you tribute and gifts?”
“That’s because they were all scared of me and wanted to be on my good side. It’s all tribute this, tribute that. They also want to get me in a good mood so that I would Name their newborn princes. Now and then, they would give me beautiful girls as gifts… I think they were expecting me to drink those girls’ blood or something.”
“… …”
To be honest, the stories about me turning beautiful girls into frogs probably originated from this.
Once, a kingdom sent me a young woman who was considered a heretic or a sinner or something. Anyway, she was someone they were expecting to execute one day.
Anyway, I transformed the girl into a frog and let her run away. I was just playing around, really. The spell I cast on her did turn her into a frog, but it also came with an escape clause. So long as she manages to receive a kiss from a good person, she could turn back into a human again. To be honest, I don’t know if she ever did manage to turn back into a human.
“Ah…”
The rain had gone from a torrent to a fine drizzle. Light began to pierce through the clouds and the air felt fresh and clean.
“I wonder if Percelis will wake up soon…”
While I was looking at the sky, I was struck by a sudden shock. [2]
Thump.
My entire body trembled. No, it was my magic that was shaken.
I wasn’t alone, Tooru also felt it. We looked at each other in surprise.
“J-just now…”
“Y-you felt it too? It was like getting hit by a huge magic wave.”
“Yes…”
I held my robe close to my chest as I stared in the direction of the shockwave. It was still drizzling, but I ran from the storefront to the middle of the shopping street to get a proper feel for the source of the wave.
“The Holy Nation…? No, the Research Institute?”
It was difficult to determine the exact location. However, although Thor and I were deeply shaken, the world around us appeared unaffected. [3] No one else appeared to have felt the wave. With our hearts still buzzing, we squinted in the general direction of the wave.
A faint flickering light seems to rise from the half-finished magic wave tower under construction at the Magical Research Institute.
“Could it be the Magic Circuit System?”
“What’s that?”
“Yuri said that they would be conducting a small-scale test of the Magical Circuit System during the Four Nation Conference today. They must have installed the circuit, but I didn’t know that we would be so affected by it…”
“Still…”
Just what is this indescribable feeling?
I felt restless, as though every aspect of me was being scrutinised or something.
“…Tooru…”
I grabbed the edge of his clothes. That momentary contact was enough for me to feel like an electrical current passed through me. Red and Black powers intertwined and connected like a long string, creating a new colour.
I can feel the powers overlapping.
The sound of hearts beating…
As if in mutual decision, Thor and I clasped each other’s hands.
“W-what is this…”
“Our magic is connecting…”
We stared at each other, confused by this indescribable feeling.
However, along with the powers, we could also somehow sense each other’s feelings. Embarrassed, we pulled our hands away and deliberately stepped out of reach of each other.
[3] But then…“What is this…”
“A new feeling?”
Thor braced a hand against the wall as I slid down to my knees, trying to calm my emotions down.
Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. It was quite embarrassing.
[3] The combination of red and black magic was shocking enough, but then a strand of gentle green magic inserted itself into the mix.Thor and I realised what it was immediately.
That gentle wave of power came from the innermost room at Midgard.
“Percelis…?”
As though beckoned by the magic, we entered the store and stopped in front of the room where Percelis was resting.
My heart, which had been pounding from embarrassment earlier, had been replaced by feelings of anticipation.
“Percelis!”
She has finally woken up.
For some reason, I felt sure of this. Well, that’s because I felt her magic intertwined with ours just now.
For a moment when we were connected, I could tell what she was feeling
“… …”
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Percelis was glowing.
Like, literally bathed in pure white light.
The expression on her face is one of wonder and curiosity, like a newborn who has not experienced much of the world.
Her eyes slowly slid over us and she smiled a little. That tiny gesture spills out memories and emotions that could not be expressed in mere words.
“That’s right. You are the Crimson Witch and the Black Demon King…”
“… ..”
“I finally understand why you are drawn to each other.”
It was only a moment, but the feelings that struck our hearts had to be from her.
It was a calm feeling backed by a rock-solid will of acceptance. As though she knew, and yet was still willing to accept everything.
However, far from indifference, a cocktail of emotions remained attached to the fragments of memories. Resentment, hatred, joy and sorrow swirled inside that little body.
Tears suddenly flowed from my eyes.
She must know me in her memories. There was no way I did not exist in those memories.
No way that I would not be hated.
However, though I searched with all my might, I could not feel a trace of negative emotion for me. She must remember everything. Even so, she harboured no hatred for me. Instead of hate, tenderness and affection flowed through the connection that I knew had to be the sublime existence of the Green Shrine Maiden.
I was moved to tears by this noble feeling.
Percelis pushed herself off the bed and left the store.
As she looked up at the fast-moving, brightly glowing orange clouds, the world could be seen reflecting from her large eyes.
[Gumihou: Ok, that last bit was super difficult]
[1] Small adjustments for more natural dialogues [1a] Deleted the weird dialogue habits that author has, the ‘…That’s right’ that went nowhere [2] Adjust detail [3] Add detail
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