Gift (2)
“La la la lala la~”
A swimming pool carved from stone.
A cheerful little hum drifted across the modest pool.
The singer threw herself into the water.
Splash.
Clear ripples split into silver light.
The swimmer was Illys.
After several laps she paused to rest, strands of hair plastered across her face, water dripping steadily from the ends.
Illys tilted her head back in one smooth motion.
Whoosh.
In that instant her golden hair arced like a drawn bow and cascaded behind her. Droplets flung from the tips traced perfect circles through the air, each one catching the sunlight and glittering like scattered jewels. Between them a playful rainbow ring bloomed for a heartbeat before vanishing.
Her neatly soaked hair settled against her back. Illys perched on the pool’s edge.
A voice called from behind her.
“My Lord. It is time.”
Illys turned toward the speaker. It was Adeline, the chief maid.
“Yes, Nanny.”
“My Lord. Please call me chief maid from now on.”
Illys pushed out her lower lip at the firm boundary Adeline had drawn.
“Hing.”
Somehow her petulant streak seemed worse than before.
“My Lord. ‘Hing’…? You govern this land now. You must show proper dignity.”
“Pfft! Do I act like this with just anyone? Only with you, Nanny. With everyone else I’m ultra-serious. Don’t you know ‘strict-solemn-serious’?”
“‘Strict-solemn-serious’…?”
“Super solemn and serious. And honestly… I think I’ve loosened up a little.”
Splash.
Illys slipped back into the water, swam the length of the pool underwater, and burst up on the far side. Once more she flung her head back.
Whoosh.
Water droplets formed a perfect ring in the air.
“Swimming… This is something even the capital can’t do right now.”
A tiny private pool. Just as Illys said, only a short while ago such a luxury would have been unthinkable.
A continent-wide drought had dragged on for three years. Water rationing, conservation, and outright cutoffs had become the norm everywhere. The king had ordered an investigation into the cause, and Illys’s own master had left with the research team. Had she never become a lord, she might have been part of that expedition herself.
Most territories still suffered under the water shortage. The Rodriguez domain, at least, did not.
Illys climbed out of the pool and walked to the edge of the battlements. She leaned against the chest-high wall and gazed out over the plain.
“Adeline. Look over there.”
Adeline handed her a large towel, then stood beside her to take in the distant vista.
A vast, unnaturally perfect circular lake filled the plain. It did not look like water that had simply gathered in a natural depression; rather, it resembled water carefully poured into a round vessel. The vessel itself was as smooth and flawless as if a master craftsman had carved a pure geometric form into the earth. Inside that basin lay water as clear as any mountain spring, transparent all the way to the bottom—clean enough to drink straight from the lake. No one who had tasted it had ever fallen ill.
And within the lake a spiral staircase of ancient design seemed to descend toward the depths.
“The Constellation said that thing is a lid.”
“A lid?”
“Mm-hm. He filled a lid with water and sent it to us.”
“A lid from the world of the gods, then.”
“Exactly. And the water is safe to drink as-is. I think He must have cast a massive purification spell on it. There’s no other way so much water could stay this pure.”
“Ah, how grateful we are.”
“Constellation~ Your grace!”
Illys picked up Adeline’s words and turned them into a little chant.
“Ah-ah, we shall repay~ the Constellation’s grace!”
Adeline looked at her with the helpless fondness of someone who had long since given up trying to rein her in.
“Heehee.”
Adeline understood the joy completely. She had watched every moment of Illys’s struggle, her helplessness, her tears over dying subjects. Then Illys had struck a spectacular contract with a Constellation, and that Constellation had showered them with sponsorship without restraint. Adeline had never even heard of a Constellation so generous. Because of Him, no one in the territory went hungry anymore. There was water enough for drinking, enough to keep the fields moist, and still enough left over to build this little swimming pool. Of course Illys was happy.
“Adeline.”
“Yes.”
“How should we repay the Constellation?”
“My Lord, the council meeting is about to begin. Perhaps you might discuss it with your vassals?”
“Heehee. All right.”
Illys started toward the inner keep.
“My Lord. You need to change clothes first.”
She was still in her swimsuit, wrapped only in a large towel.
“Got it.”
Whoosh.
One quick spin later she stood in a proper formal suit and shoes. For a 4-Circle Mage, changing clothes was the work of an instant.
At the territorial council Illys’s eyes sparkled. Her tone was pure strict-solemn-serious.
“Ahem. As you all know, the reason we enjoy abundance of food and water today is solely the grace of the Constellation. Is that correct?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then how might we express our gratitude? The topic of today’s meeting is: ‘How shall we show our thanks to the Constellation?’”
The room fell into thoughtful silence.
Illys continued, musing aloud.
“As I informed you at the last meeting, our Constellation is a tsundere. He will almost certainly never demand thanks or repayment first.”
Everyone nodded.
Someone asked, “But what kind of gratitude does a tsundere actually enjoy?”
“An excellent question.”
They pondered what form of thanks a tsundere might prefer. No one felt entirely sure.
The knight-commander raised his hand.
“Ahem. It is a little embarrassing, but for the sake of the territory I shall speak.”
His expression was solemn—like a white-bearded Guan Yu of old.
“In my younger days… I myself was a tsundere.”
“Ooooh…!”
“And speaking as a former tsundere, people of this style prefer sudden gifts.”
“Sudden gifts?”
“Yes. If you announce, ‘I’ll give you a birthday present, on such-and-such day, tomorrow…’ and plan it all out in advance, the reaction is usually ‘Forget it! Get rid of it!’”
Illys tilted her head.
“‘Get rid of it’? What does that mean?”
“Throw it away. I don’t need it. That sort of thing.”
“Why would someone tell you to throw away a birthday present?”
Further explanation was clearly required.
“Ah—because it feels awkward. Allow me a small example.”
“Please do.”
The knight-commander rose from his seat. He lowered his gaze as though looking down at someone smaller.
“A cold winter day. A man and a woman outdoors. The man secretly takes out a warming stone he prepared earlier and hands it to the woman. ‘Use it! They’re everywhere over there!’ he says. In truth, bringing a warming stone is quite a lot of trouble. The woman offers no thanks; she merely blushes.”
He then looked up into empty air.
“A little later the woman hands the man a small cookie and says, ‘This is my heart.’”
The knight-commander spun and mimed bolting away.
“The woman who gave the cookie flees at once—so he has no time to refuse. That is the key. The flustered man finally understands and calls after her.”
His eyes held a wistful light.
“What is this? Why are you giving me this and running? Hey! Hey! Come back!”
He stretched one hand forward.
“Marianne!”
Illys nodded as though something had clicked into place.
“Ah… I think I understand.”
She looked around the table.
“So how shall we prepare? If anyone has an idea, please speak freely.”
One of the clerks raised a hand.
“When we present the gift He will surely open a communication. At that moment we say, ‘Picked it up on the way!’ and cut the link.”
“We say to the Constellation, ‘Picked it up on the way,’ and hang up?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… Any other thoughts?”
Beside him an administrator shook his head.
“The knight-commander’s point is sound… Something more intuitive would be better.”
“More intuitive?”
“Yes. The Constellation sponsors us for the sake of spectacle and amusement.”
Several people nodded in agreement.
“Mm… True.”
“In other words, since His purpose is to watch us, why not send a video letter so He can see us even better?”
“A video letter?”
“Yes. My Lord, as a mage you can record images, can you not?”
“Oh, of course.”
Illys stroked her chin, considering.
“The Constellation’s purpose in sponsoring our territory is sightseeing or entertainment, and He especially loves semiconductors… What if we deliver our greetings by video, and place that video inside a semiconductor?”
“Ooh. That sounds promising.”
The clerk who had suggested the “picked it up on the way” line spoke again.
“If the Constellation desires amusement, would an experience not be even better?”
“An experience?”
“We seal an illusion spell into it.”
“An illusion spell…”
Illys thought for a moment, then smiled.
“That’s actually good. A semiconductor should be able to hold an illusion spell. After all, semiconductors are meant to hold magic. All right. Let’s make it.”
Illys activated the magical recording device. Seated before the lens was Chief Maid Adeline, eyes already glistening.
“Sniff. Thanks to the Constellation, you cannot imagine how happy our Lady Illys has become. All this time our Lady Illys… sniff… how she suffered in her heart… sniff…”
Adeline clenched her knees with both hands, speaking through tears.
“But because the Constellation has watched over us and sponsored us so warmly… at last that burden on her heart has grown a little lighter. Constellation, thank you truly. The one who gave our Lady Illys strength and comfort… was only You. From now on… please, we beg You… stay by our side…”
Even Illys, who was operating the recorder, burst into tears.
“Waaah! Nanny…”
“My Lord…”
Others took their turns before the lens.
“Final recording subject… Ralph! Ready?”
“Yes. Ready.”
“Then magical recording begins. Ready! Action!”
Dwarf Chief Ralph began in a calm, steady voice.
“Greetings. I am called Ralph. As you can see, I am a dwarf. Seeing the Constellation’s artifact truly astonished me.”
He seemed to picture it again, and a low exclamation escaped him.
“A device larger than a grand training ground! Inside it, magic circles linked by lines thinner than a hair. And within those circles lightning itself was racing. Aah!”
Ralph stared straight into the recording aperture, face already flushed with passion.
“We dwarves are bundles of pride. The only human I truly acknowledge is the Lord who has given us a place to live. Yet it is also the dwarves’ rule to follow anyone who displays higher skill. Constellation. Not only the humans—we dwarves as well will serve the Constellation of the Creator with all our loyalty.”
Ralph bowed his head deeply. The sincerity in the gesture was unmistakable.
“Cut! That was excellent.”
Now they had to turn the recording sphere into an illusion magic circle.
“Ralph!”
“Yes. Everything is ready. This way.”
Illys and Ralph, carrying the recording sphere, arrived before an enormous green structure—the circuit board of the RAM the Constellation had once sent them.
“Even with the RAM chips removed, the metal circuit lines are densely packed. There is no better material for recycling into a magic circle.”
“Good. Have you etched the circuits according to the blueprint?”
“Of course.”
Illys had redesigned the green board into an illusion magic circle, and Ralph together with his craftsmen had painstakingly completed every circuit line. Illys walked to the center of the array.
“Here, then.”
“Yes.”
She inserted the recording sphere into the socket and carefully checked every mana-supply device one by one.
“Ralph. Honestly, I’ve never completed a magic circle this huge before.”
“Most people haven’t.”
A building-sized magic circle larger than a training ground—something only a great mage would normally dare attempt.
“Without this board I probably never would have tried.”
“I myself have thoroughly enjoyed working on this.”
“I chose the activation word hoping the Constellation will remember us.”
Illys cried the magic’s starting word.
“Rodriguez!”
⟨ Illusion Magic Circle Activated ⟩
Fwaaah!
The magic circle flared to life. Instantly the sights of the territory and the dozens of people who had recorded messages appeared as though they truly stood there—as though one were walking among them in the flesh.
“Magnificent. The Constellation will surely be pleased.”
“Excellent.”
Whoosh.
Illys spun once and was clad in pure white prayer robes. Before her the Holy Relic mirror had already been set in place.
“To the Constellation of the Creator who watches over the Rodriguez territory, we offer this tribute. O Constellation, accept our gift.”
Vmmm-vmmm-vmmm.
A fierce vibration rolled through the air.