Maydare Volume 3 Chapter 8 - Late-Night Snacks, Exhibitions, and the First Snow (Part 2)

 This isn't actually the last chapter, there's one more to go

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The Garnet first years’ final team assignment, the “Everyday Magic Tool Contest.”

The projects would be displayed for about a week in the assembly hall in the center of the city, where citizens were free to view and try them out.

We also looked around at the other teams’ projects, all of which were at a very high level. 

“Look, that’s Team 1’s magic pouch. I wonder if their theme is ‘clothing.’”

Team 1, led by Beatrice, created a stretchable pouch to hold cosmetics and other small items, which was just what you’d expect from a team that mainly had girls. The pouch was made of a special magic fiber, so it could grow to unusual size or shrink to a smaller size. Like my magic basket, it didn’t seem able to hold more than its capacity.

However, I had a feeling that such a product was already available as merchandise…?

“Oh my, if it isn’t Garnet Team 9. Good day to you.”

Somehow sensing our arrival, Garnet Team 1 appeared.

Beatrice, in particular, looked supremely confident as she stood in front of the pack.

But her fingers were covered with bandages.

“How do you think of the workmanship of our beautiful pouch?”

“It’s wonderful. I’ve had a chance to touch it, but it’s really expandable.”

“Yes! This is the result of the magical fibers developed by the Asta family. I’m sure it will be explosively popular among non-magician women.”

“But aren’t products like these already on the market?”

Beatrice started breathing heavily at Nero’s indifferent quip.

“Don’t underestimate us! Our magic pouch isn’t just expandable!”

She unzipped the magic pouch they had created, removed the pull, and the magic pouch changed shape in midair.

“As long as you walk around with this…”

The magic pouch then became an elongated cloth.

“You can use it as cloth or bandages to stop bleeding in an emergency.”

“O-Oh, I see…”

Team 1 and Team 9 both applauded.

Although there were many things I could poke fun at, I suddenly thought of what lay ahead. Perhaps someone from a prestigious magician’s family like Beatrice might be alarmed by the war in the future and have a sense of urgency in anticipation of it.

Perhaps this magic pouch would become very useful in the future.

“Oh, Makia, look at that. Team 2’s floating bicycle is going out of control.”

“Huh?”

Lapis was pointing in the direction of Team 2’s project, the “Floating Magic Bicycle.” Apparently, it was a bike that seemed to float and run with the power of magic, so it required almost no pedaling force, but maybe there was a mistake in the magical formulas, because it was running wildly all over the place. Team 2 was desperately chasing after it.

Ah, it flew out of the venue. Take it easy, guys…

“What’s Team 3’s project?”

Nero, though, seemed more interested in Team 3’s project than the bike.

Team 3, as expected, was displaying magical toys for children.

In addition to the top-shaped toy Francis showed us before, there were also boomerangs, yo-yos, and other toys of various shapes and sizes. There were many children at their booth, all of them playing happily. Oh, there were also adults who seemed to work for toy companies, and they were giving their business cards to Team 3. Maybe this would develop into a big business.

Frey was not amused by the fact that Garnet Team 3, who we had a history with, was doing well.

“Tsk, those assholes from Team 3. They weren’t just hanging around the magical dumping ground for show. With all that junk and the gummies Leader collected, is this what they call ‘even a poor marksman will hit the target with enough shots​’?”

“That’s not the only thing. Surprisingly, there are some dense magic formulas written into those toys. Even though they’re toys, they’re sophisticated creations that show the results of many years of research.”

Nero seemed to think highly of Team 3’s work. If he said so, then those toys must be of a high level.

There were also shoes that could stand on water, flowerpots that could change shape at will, and more.

Since these projects were made by first-year students, there were many magic tools that were never actually completed, and there were many that could be found all over town if you looked for them, but the assignment was asking what was the focus of one’s attention when making those magic tools, including those ones.

Now. Our project was a thin panel heater that could be stuck under a desk and a three-dimensional cube-shaped magic heater that could quickly send warm air to people’s feet.

They were lightweight and warmed up quickly. They were also fuel-efficient.

They didn’t use fire, so they were safe for children to handle.

Although at a glance they might seem more modest than the other team’s projects, they were magic tools that could be used in daily life, and we stuck to the “simple is best” principle.

“Oh, Professor Medite!”

Just then, I spotted my uncle, Professor Medite, the Potions instructor.

When I ran up to him, Professor Medite was about to greet me with open arms, but I braked a little before to avoid the hug. Because, Uncle, you smell like tobacco.

“Miss Makia~~. You haven’t been paying attention to your uncle lately, mmm.”

“Uncle, this is a school. You can’t excessively dote on your niece.”

My uncle had a soft spot for me. He told me to call him Professor, but he still treated me as his adorable niece.

“By the way, professor, what do you think of our team’s project?”

I quickly asked for his reaction. Although he wasn’t involved in the evaluation of this assignment, I felt that his opinion would be helpful for us to know the response.

“Mm-hmm, I think you made something very interesting. People are stopping around here because their feet feel nice and warm. You aren’t stopping their eyes, you’re stopping their feet. It’s a good tactic.”

Indeed, there was a decent gathering of people where our magic heaters were located.

Since the exhibition hall had no fireplace and was cool, people seeking warmth came to this warm area where the magic heaters were working, and they were slow to leave.

“I have read your report and your focus was excellent. It is true that in the Kingdom of Ruschia, the development of magic tools for heating has been slow because of our warm climate. Since we don’t know under what circumstances we’ll be tormented by cold weather in the future, a lightweight, portable heating device that doesn’t use any fire might become a necessity.”

Ooh, so I’ve successfully got our aim across.

It seems that we would get a good evaluation.

“But, just saying this now, there’s a ‘plant’ that will warm the air immediately. It also emits heat without fire, just by blowing on it. It’s called a flame lantern plant, and it emits heat by crushing its balloon-like inflated fruit.”

“Oh…come to think of it, there is something like that. I completely forgot about it!” 

Even in Deliafield, those flame lantern plants were used several times in the winter.

How could I have forgotten about them? Since they existed, the reason for existence of our magic heaters was in jeopardy.

“However, they are very valuable and not easily available on the market for non-magicians to acquire. In order to target non-magicians, it would be good to make a magic tool that was easy to use and mass-produce. As long as the cultivation of flame lantern plants doesn’t flourish, your magic heater is likely to prevail.”

All of us were relieved to hear Professor Medite’s words.

“Oh, thank goodness. Hey, Uncle, don’t scare us like that.”

“Well, your uncle is a teacher, you know. And Miss Makia, you haven’t been visiting me much lately~~”

“Are you still hung up on that?”

Professor Medite grinned nastily and said, “I wish you guys good luck,” and then went to see the other teams’ projects.

Even so, I was flustered when I heard about the flame lantern plant.

Certainly, there were plants and minerals that had been endowed with all kinds of magical benefits in this world. 

Those, however, were by no means made for human convenience.

The nice thing about magic tools was that they were made completely for human convenience. When people had an itch they couldn’t scratch and desired a more convenient life, magic tools were needed.

As I’ve learned from Lady Alicia’s case, the meaning of a magic tool’s existence could change depending on the person who used it. For her, the magic mirror served more than its original purpose, being an item that would mediate her children’s quarrels with each other or as a medium to see into the future.

I’m sure that the magic tools we created would show various faces depending on the people who used them. They might be useful in situations we couldn’t have ever imagined.

Regardless of the contest’s outcome, I hope that they would develop into fine magic tools that would be useful somewhere, someday.

“Hey, where’s Nero?”

We were supposed to be walking around the exhibition hall together, but before I knew it, Nero had disappeared. I looked around, but I still couldn’t find him.

“Maybe he’s taking a closer look at each team’s magic tools than we are.”

“Yeah. He loves this kind of thing. Anyways, I’m starving and there’s too many people here, so let’s go back to the atelier.”

Lapis and Frey made good points.

He wasn’t a little kid, so I felt it would be okay to leave him be, but then…

“Ah!”

Not far ahead of me, I spotted Nero. His soft platinum blond hair glistened in the light shining down from the skylight. He was standing in one spot and staring out of the hall.

I had never seen that expression of surprise on his face before.

And then, he left the hall quickly.

“Makia? What’s wrong?”

“...Sorry, you guys go to the cafeteria first!”

For some reason, Nero’s expression the moment he left the hall made me worried.

Feeling a strange uneasiness, I followed Nero.

I waded through the crowd and left the hall, but lost sight of him.

I looked up at the sky and saw Fugue, Nero’s spirit, about to descend somewhere. I used her as a guide and looked for Nero.

“Ah, Nero…”

I quickly found him. However, he seemed to be talking to someone.

It was hard to see because of the shade, but he was talking to a tall man wearing a long coat and sunglasses.

I stopped calling out to Nero and instinctively hid behind a wall.

Was he an acquaintance? Nero didn’t talk much about his personal life, so it was novel to see him talking to an outsider. It was probably not a good idea to eavesdrop or snoop too much. Let’s just leave…

“Brother, am I allowed to live here, in such a peaceful place without any worries? There is no hunger or cold here. Are days like these allowed…”

But, my feet stopped at Nero’s words.

Brother? Was Nero talking to his older brother?

What was Nero even talking about? Curious, I peeked at the situation again.

“...Don’t worry about anything. Stay at Lune Ruschia. That’s the role you can play now.”

The man Nero was talking with took off his sunglasses.

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Blond hair and garnet…eyes. He was…

He was General Kanon of the Frezier Empire.

“...No way…I can’t believe it…”

That shocking fact that struck me made my mind go blank for a moment. Gradually, my whole body began to tremble.

Wait a minute. Nero and General Kanon were brothers.

Not wanting to accept that hard-to-believe truth, my hands flew to my mouth.

Indeed. I knew that they had the same last name, Pachelbel. I only had the awareness that they were the same.

But I didn’t think they were actually brothers. I didn’t even want to think about it.

That fact chilled the inside of my chest to the bone.

I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t believe my precious friend was the brother of the man who killed me in my previous life.

“...!”

Unable to bear it any longer, I ran out in front of them.

Nero was very surprised by my sudden appearance.

“...Makia?”

I, on the other hand, was glaring at that man over Nero’s shoulder.

With eyes tinged with fear, suspicion, and hatred.

“What is the meaning of this?” I squeezed out my voice. “What’s going on here…!”

The fact that Nero was by my side.

That didn’t seem like a coincidence, and it was frightening.

I didn’t want to suspect him, but even so, it was an indisputable fact that this man was the man who killed me in my past life.

In the shadows of the narrow alley, General Kanon simply narrowed those red eyes of his, put his hand on Nero’s head, and turned his back to us. He seemed to be about to leave without saying anything. 

“W-Wait!”

I tried to chase after him, but Nero grabbed my arm and stopped me.

“Makia, calm down. Don’t follow Brother. He’s a busy person.”

“But, Nero!”

“Even if you have some sort of history with him.”

Hearing those words, I stopped. My movements and thoughts all stopped suddenly.

“Nero, you…”

Nero was looking at me with his usual eyes.

Was it possible that he knew?

That man’s true identity. And my truth.

On the other side of his brown contact lenses, Nero’s vivid magenta eyes were wavering.

“Don’t worry. The only thing I can tell you is that I’m not your enemy. I’m also a pawn of this country. I’ve been set free to Lune Ruschia because of my circumstances.”

“...Set free?”

From where? From what?

“But I can’t say any more than that. Secrets are a magician’s etiquette, right?”

“...”

Even at a time like this, Nero was detached, his expression and tone unchanging. But his grip on my arm was strong.

Nero always supported Garnet Team 9. 

He even made the rice cooker I wanted, working through the night and not even sleeping. 

Even if he was brothers with the man who was like my mortal enemy, Nero was an important member of Garnet Team 9.

Just like how I had things I couldn’t tell everyone, he had his own circumstances and secrets.

Wasn’t that just fine?

“Okay. So you also have your own things going on. But I won’t ask about them. Because…I think some things will be connected together one day.”

“...Yeah, I think so too.”

I would trust Nero, who right now was a member of Team 9.

Nero probably trusted me in the same way.

The first year final exams for the second semester were approaching.

On that day, temperatures in Miladriede dropped to the coldest they had been that winter, and the first snow fell.

It didn’t pile up, but it didn’t snow often in this region, so everyone was excitedly looking up at the snow falling.

I was no exception, and I was also excited about seeing snow for the first time in a long time, but I slipped and fell on my butt on the frozen path to the atelier, so I became more cautious after that.

Dangerous things happened when a nation that wasn’t used to snow got too excited. Really.

It was very cold inside the glass bottle atelier.

I turned on the magic heaters in addition to the fireplace to warm up the room. Our heaters could sense people’s feet and warm them as though enveloping them in heat, so we treasured them highly.

I also carried in the flowerpots from outside. It would be even colder tonight, and apparently it was going to snow again. I couldn’t let them wither.

Once the room warmed up, the other members also gathered.

Today was a day off, but we decided to form a study group for the end-of-term tests.

“Haaa, studying? What a pain.”

“At least work hard until the end, Frey. You’re someone who can do anything if you put your mind to it. I’ll teach you anything you don’t understand.”

“Keh. Must be easy to be a top student. You’re even looking after me.”

“What are you talking about? I can’t lose to Nero or Beatrice. I don’t have it easy at all.”

That’s right. The results of the final exams of the first school year would decide the Garnet Honor Student.

Becoming the Garnet Honor Student was a goal that was touted as soon as we entered the school.

To be honest, I had no need to become the honor student any longer. I was able to meet Thor again, and I was able to freely enter and exit the palace in an unexpected way.

But it was true that that goal gave me hope.

Therefore, I worked hard this entire year to become the honor student.

I wasn’t going to slack off just because these were the final exams. My rivals were Nero, who was the top of our class, and Beatrice, who was always competing with me… I’m going to defeat them!

“Hey, Makia. Has this little one always been in this form?”

While I was burning with motivation, Lapis and Nero were looking intently at something completely different.

It was the lantern containing the demon fire will-o’-the-wisp, which I brought with me here this morning.

I went over to see what was going on, and to my amazement, the demon fire had changed shape.

“Eh!? What’s this? Is this…a hamster?”

When I brought it here this morning, it was in its usual demon form, rampaging around in the lantern. But before I knew it, it had transformed into a tiny, trembling, adorable (?) blue hamster that was crawling on all fours. 

”Could this demon fire…possibly be mimicking your hamsters?”

“Mimicking?”

Was it influenced by my Donpopo?

“Will-o’-the-wisps changed their appearance depending on their environment. They could take on the form of the strongest being in the area in order to survive.”

“Huh? So the strongest being here are dwarf hamsters?”

Well, this demon fire did tend to succumb to the pressure of my ham-chans.

“...It’s the result of our training, dechi.”

“...You can do it if you just try, poyo.”

Donpopo suddenly appeared on my shoulder. There was a dark shadow over their adorable faces.

Aaah. How terrifying my spirits were. Did this mean the will-o’-the-wisp was changed by the pressure of its ham-chan seniors…?

Since they were here, I gave them some sunflower seeds, which they ate, shell and all.

They were ham-chans, but their teeth were like piranhas. 

We were so excited by the demon fire’s mimicry that we neglected to study for exams.

But suddenly, the door to the glass bottle atelier opened.

“Milady!”

And then, the voice of someone who wasn’t supposed to be in magic school rang out.

To my amazement, it was a black-haired knight in a knight’s uniform.

“Eh? Eh? Thor…?”

“Oi oi. That pretty boy just trespassed here. What’s going on with the security at Lune Ruschia?”

Frey’s quip was reasonable. Nero and Lapis were also stunned.

Thor, however, seemed to have some urgent business and called me over while bowing to the other team members. Wondering what was going on, I left the atelier.

“What’s wrong, Thor, why are you in such a hurry?”

“Something bad happened, milady. Lady Airi has gone missing.”

“...Huh?”

I froze for a moment, unable to blink.

“She left a letter before she disappeared!”

An incident broke out on the day of the first snowfall. That was why Thor came to get me, even if he was trespassing.

In the letter left by Airi, she wrote only two words in her own handwriting, in Japanese katakana.

“Tuna mayo.”

Without a doubt, I was the only one among the Guardians who could read that. 

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