Maydare Volume 1 Chapter 12 - Unfolding Destiny (Part 1)
The last numbered chapter!
Once upon a time.
In the “Salt Forest” of a southern country, a witch was born.
She was a beautiful girl with rose-colored hair and sea blue eyes, and she possessed immense magical power.
Rumors of her spread throughout the country, and people frequently came to rely on her power.
The witch listened to the people’s requests, sometimes bringing rain to the fields, sometimes curing diseases, sometimes granting names of fate, sometimes driving enemy soldiers away with rains of fire…
However, too much power can give people fear.
The witch thought she helped a lot of people, but she was soon persecuted by the people and even ordered to be executed by the king, so she had no choice but to flee deep into the forest.
Thus the witch, now alone, continued to live while cursing the people.
She had spent some time holed up deep in the words, but one day, she heard rumors from migratory birds and mice that there was a male magician who possessed great power similar to herself.
The witch took an interest in that magician, so she baked her prized apple cake with salt apples, mounted her flying broom, and went to meet him.
If he was an equally strong magician, he might accept her…
The witch wanted friends.
It was lonely being by herself.
She had a faint hope that there was even just one person, somewhere in this world, who would live with her.
Now, the one she met in the northern country was a black-haired demon king.
The demon king, with his army of demons and beasts that people feared, had created a country in the snowy mountains where no one could enter, using a special spatial magic.
Then, when the demon king saw the witch who had come to meet him, he said this.
“I hate witches. You must be a crafty, wicked woman who has come to steal my country.”
And, he thought that the apple cake brought by the witch was poisoned, so he threw the basket into the bottom of a valley.
The witch was greatly shocked, and she cried alone as she descended the mountain.
She was by nature prone to tears, a weakling, and had a glass heart. Her tears were so hot that they melted the snow of the snowy mountain, but she didn’t care and continued to cry as she went down the mountain.
And so, she made up her mind.
Just being a witch made her hated. Therefore, she would become the wicked witch that everyone misunderstood her to be.
Because if that really was true, and not a misunderstanding, then maybe she would be a little less sad.
After that, the witch did go there many times to play, under the pretense of coming to steal the demon king’s country.
Don’t lose, don’t be shocked, don’t get bored.
Rampage, rampage, sometimes setting up tea time to chat, and then rampaging again——
This was the beginning of the big quarrel between the “Scarlet Witch” and the “Black Demon King.”
〇
I woke up with a start.
I felt like I had been dreaming, but I could barely remember it.
The only thing I felt was a strange sensation, like I was winding red thread by hand and bringing it close to me.
“Oh...that’s right, at the ball, I...”
On the spur of the moment, I chanted the incantation hidden in that recipe book and used a strange magic.
“She’s up, dechi...it’s alright now, dechi.”
“It’s true, po...Milady’s fever is going down, poyo.”
Huh. ...My two ham-chans were talking next to me.
I got up slowly, and the white Popotarou slipped off my forehead.
It seemed that Popotarou, who was a【Water】attribute spirit, was lying on my forehead and admirably acting as a wet towel.
Also, there were a lot of wildflowers and clovers laid near my pillow.
“Did you two do this?”
The two ham-chans looked up at me with pure eyes. “Dechi.” “Poyo.” They said and nodded.
“You can talk, I see.”
“If Popotaro and Donchuke talked from the start, Milady would have fainted from the shock, poyo. Popotaro and Donchuke were the Lady Scarlet Witch’s spirits, after all, poyo. Good at being attentive, poyo. Talented, po~.” Crinkle crinkle.
The white and fluffy Popotarou said as he groomed himself.
“Donchuke sensed something very bad from that old man, so Donchuke started a mission to follow him, dechi. Sorry for disappearing without permission, dechi. Donchuke is giving Milady a four-leaf clover as an apology, dechi.” Lick lick.
The smaller and yellow Donsuke said while licking his teeny little hands.
...Hamster dialect?
They had very cute and relaxing voices, but they both spoke in different and distinctive ways. However, it was just that their mouths didn’t move, and it was creepy how I couldn’t tell where their voices were coming from, but cute things were cute.
I got up and scooped the two dwarf hamsters into my palm.
Now I knew.
The owner of the diary hidden in that recipe book was my great ancestor, the “Scarlet Witch.”
And these two were, without a doubt, the excellent spirits who served that witch.
“Thank you. Because of you two, we were able to punish the villains. Thank you, Donsuke, for your hard work. Thank you for coming back.”
Upon that, the two looked at each other.
“Popotaro and Donchuke are the ones who should be thanking Milady, poyo.”
“Milady summoned Donsuke and Popotaro to her side, dechi…”
For some reason, tears welled up in their eyes, and they both ended up crying profusely.
I wondered why they were crying. I didn’t know why, but they were so lovable that I started crying too. I stroked the two as much as I could. And patted them. They were springy and rubbed up against me.
“Popotaro and Donchuke worked hard for the sake of Milady, poyo~”
“That’s right, dechi! By the way, Donchuke found things like these in the enemy camp, dechi.” Slap, slap.
The yellow Donsuke clapped his cheek pouches with his tiny hand and spat out something.
It was a round silver button...what was this thing?
“Makia…, you’re awake!”
At that moment, Lapis entered the bedroom.
“Did I perhaps get into quite a lot of trouble?”
“It might have been because you used such large-scale magic, but you had been suffering from a high fever for some time afterwards. It has been three days since the ball.”
“Three days!?”
Ever since I was born in Maydare, I have never experienced getting nightmares with a high fever. I was blessed by【Fire】, so my body temperature was always high, and that was normal for me.
I wonder if it was because of the magic I used at the ball…
The secret technique of the “Scarlet Witch” hidden in the recipe for salt apple juice.
If that recipe book was a diary that hid the Scarlet Witch’s secret arts, then I need to try the other recipes to check the secret arts…?
“Makia, it’s better for you to eat something. Also, you’ve been told to go see Professor Ulysses once you are feeling better.”
“Professor Ulysses?”
“The matter of you at the ball was left entirely in the hands of Professor Ulysses, who is a Lune Ruschia Magic School teacher. It seems that the professor, who is also a prince, defended you…”
By “defended,” did that mean I was being treated as a problem by the palace?
It might be inevitable. I did use magic that no one else knew about.
Also, I wanted to know what happened with that affair afterwards.
Professor Ulysses might know something about the magic I used. He should have witnessed it there, after all.
I ate a bowl of barley gruel, took a shower and cleaned myself up, then went to go see Professor Ulysses.
The professor was looking out the large window in his atelier.
“Hello and welcome, Miss Makia.”
The professor always had a gentle and soft air around him, but today there was a tense atmosphere about him.
Today was cloudy. The wind was blowing a bit strongly. From this large window, I could see the students chattering and moving around the school grounds as usual.
At the professor’s urging, we sat down on the sofas in the room and faced each other.
“Um, I’m sorry, sir. I caused you trouble the other day because of my willfulness. ...Is Thor alright?”
I asked about Thor. I was more concerned about him than anything else.
“I used healing magic on Mr. Thor, so his injuries healed quickly.”
“Thank goodness...Thank you, professor.”
“I am the supervisor of the Savior and Guardians, and I am also their advising magician, so it is only natural that I would do so. Rather, Mr. Thor asked about your condition many times. Your foot injury healed quickly, but I had much trouble with your high fever, as neither healing magic nor potions would work on it, so...”
“...”
“It must be a reaction to the use of special magic.”
The professor finished his sentence. I recalled the sight of the magic I used the other day once again.
“Sir, I heard that you defended me. So does that mean the palace considers me a danger?”
I said as I gripped my skirt above my knees.
“It is true that the palace is being cautious. However...the only person who could have done something about the situation at that time was you, Miss Makia. The margrave had a foreign transference magic device implanted in his body. It is a small-sized, cutting edge object, something unable to be sensed by Ruschia’s antiquated magic. The restraint magic that enclosed Mr. Thor and Airi is a magical technique developed in a foreign country and used for warfare, and it is difficult for modern Ruschian magic to respond to it immediately.”
Professor Ulysses told me in a matter-of-fact but thorough manner.
“As the margrave intended, the Savior’s life was in danger, but you used exceptional magic and defused the situation. ...Where did you learn that spell?”
“It was a spell hidden in our family recipe book my grandmother gave me. It seems to be the diary of my ancestor, the ‘Scarlet Witch.’”
“The Scarlet Witch’s...diary?”
The color of Professor Ulysses’ eyes changed slightly, and he put his hand to his chin.
“The reason the palace is cautious is that the magic you wielded was reminiscent of the ‘Scarlet Witch.’ There is no doubt that is because you are the descendant of that witch.”
“...”
I had no choice but to hang my head and listen to him. After all, the Scarlet Witch is a symbol of evil, nothing more.
“There are some who claim that the magic of the ‘Scarlet Witch’ is harmful to the Savior. The reason is that five hundred years ago, that witch killed the Savior along with herself. ...However, Miss Makia, you used the supposedly lost ‘Command Magic’ the other day, a magic that in some ways threatens even modern magic. You, who are able to use it, have the makings of an extraordinary magician.”
“Command Magic…? An extraordinary magician…?”
I looked up suddenly. I couldn’t understand it at all.
However, Professor Ulysses began to speak, looking off somewhere in the distance.
“You know about the ‘Black Demon King,’ the ‘White Sage,’ and the ‘Scarlet Witch’ from five hundred years ago.”
“...Yes, of course.”
“Those three great magicians are especially famous, and there are other extraordinary magicians who have left their mark on history. For example, three hundred years ago, there was the ‘Wisteria Princess,’ the ‘Archbishop of Holy Ash,’ and the ‘Blue Jester’...the representatives of eight hundred years ago are the ‘Yellow Dragon Commander’ and the ‘Azure Consort’...going back to a thousand years ago, there are the ‘Gold King’ and the ‘Silver King’...”
I knew them all. Every single one of them were magicians of legend and anecdotes.
These magicians might seem like characters from an old fairy tale, but they certainly did exist in this world, and they had influenced history, for better or for worse.
“People act as though only the ‘Savior’ who appeared from another world is special, but the ones who influence Maydare are, first and foremost, magicians. The ‘Savior’ merely bears the role of correcting the course of the magicians’ curiosity and judgment, which sometimes lead them in the wrong direction.”
I was only listening, but…
What Professor Ulysses said just now seemed to be very important somehow.
The professor’s light citrus yellow eyes were tinged with a calm and subdued magic. However, I felt like his words were filled with an indescribable passion.
“Miss Makia. You may become a great magician whose name will be engraved in history. It is probably best to use that magic rarely, but...when you feel that you truly need to, listen to your heart. If you indeed have the makings of a great magician, a switch will quietly turn on within you.”
“A switch? Sir, did you also have that kind of experience?”
When I asked that, the professor’s countenance changed all of a sudden, but he quickly kept his composure.
“...I suppose so. Yes, let us say that I have.”
He chuckled and only left meaningful words.
A switch will turn on, he said. I had felt something like that at the time.
“Is there anything else you will like to know?”
“Um, I’ve been sleeping for a long time, and I don’t know what happened after the ball. The enemy...Margrave Greigs, what exactly was his goal?”
“The margrave had learned of the Savior’s existence early on and has been secretly uniting those who claim to be against the Savior. But the true mastermind behind all of this seems to be someone else. That person contacted the margrave, inflamed their emotions, and tried to have the Savior killed.”
“Why do they disavow the Savior? Isn’t the Savior the one who will guide the world to peace?”
“That...is because there is a considerable number of people who will be inconvenienced with the Savior’s intrusion. Those who do not want her to stop the conflict ahead.”
I wondered what kind of people they are.
“The Savior is summoned into this world to ‘defeat’ something. That something will be determined when the Savior and Guardians go to the Holy Land and receive the prophecy from Vabel’s ‘Green Priestess’, but if there is anyone who is already aware of what that will be, they may consider making the first move.”
“The first move...that reminds me, Dontanates had something like this in his cheek pouch.”
I took the silver button Donsuke had spit out from my pocket and placed it in front of the professor.
“...This is…” the professor took it in his hand and raised it up. “This is a remarkable accomplishment, Miss Makia.”
“Eh…?”
“The true form of our enemy may be revealed very soon.”
The professor hurriedly stood up, as though he had seen the button before. And then he looked down at me, who had no idea what was going on.
“Well, what do you think? Those two are excellent spirits, aren’t they?”
He said, and smiled mischievously.
The professor had always known how excellent my little spirits were.
Thanks for the chapter, I seemed to have missed the update on NU, glad I checked back :)
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