The Calm Before the Storm (1)
Luid was lying by Delrin's Lake as always, gazing up at the sky.
The weather was beautiful. Could it really be possible for a day to be this sunny?
His daily life was as peaceful as the weather itself. Three days had passed since the incident, and nothing had happened since.
He simply lazed about to his heart's content, rolling around on the grass by the lake. He ate when it was time to eat, slept when he felt like sleeping, and chatted with Hershey whenever boredom struck.
It was, truly, the everyday life Luid had longed for above all else.
And yet, Luid knew. This quiet calm was exactly like the stillness before a typhoon makes landfall.
Just as the sky is clearest on the day before the storm.
"What if the sky came crashing down?"
"...I'm sorry, what?"
"The sky is so high up. If it fell, that would hurt."
"...You must be very sleepy, Master."
But worrying about things that hadn't happened yet was foolish. Far better to make proper preparations than to fret idly.
Not that preparations weren't a hassle.
Luid murmured absently.
"Which is why, Hershey, refusing to go outside just because the sky might fall is the stupid thing to do."
"...Wouldn't an ordinary person not worry about the sky falling in the first place?"
The words of a genius were hard to fathom. Was there some profound meaning hidden in that exchange just now? Hershey pondered it gravely.
Of course, what Luid was actually thinking was far removed from anything Hershey could have imagined.
I need to put up tape. And double-check that the windows are latched. Just in case, I should wedge the cushion over them too...
What will happen, will happen.
He could sleep in peace here by the quiet waters of Delrin's Lake, but the great wave known as the story was advancing steadily even now.
Soon, the second episode would begin.
Luid resolved to prepare thoroughly. So that the windows wouldn't shatter when the typhoon arrived.
Having decided he should get moving and then promptly taken a nap instead, Luid cracked his eyes open.
Right beside him, a fox was curled up, tail swishing lazily.
Luid took the fox by its armpits and lifted it up.
"Your name is Fox."
[...Wait, just like that?]
"I like foxes."
[...]
Luid set the fox back down on the ground and rose to his feet. He stretched with a long yawn, then did some light warm-up exercises.
He'd slept enough; it was about time to get moving. But perhaps it was the drowsy afternoon air at work—
Grrrowl—
He was hungry.
As the saying goes, even the most breathtaking scenery comes second to a good meal. He would simply eat first, then get to work.
"Hmm."
Luid looked behind him.
Zzz...
Hershey lay on her side, fast asleep. She was smiling in her sleep—having a pleasant dream, it seemed.
I'll wake her in a bit.
There was no need to disturb her now.
Just then, Miho transformed into her human form and wrapped herself around Luid. Her hair brushed against his face, tickling him.
She has no intention of letting go, does she.
Miho had been glued to him ever since the contract. Fox or girl, the behavior was identical.
She said she'd missed the warmth of a person.
Fortunately, she didn't talk nearly as much as he'd feared. Perhaps because he'd warned her, she mostly just asked him to play with her or pet her, and that was about it.
She was less of a bother than expected, so he was fairly satisfied. Whatever her inner motives, the exterior was still an arctic fox, and that suited him fine.
"I told you, I like foxes."
"Play with me. I've been waiting for ages, you know."
"I'm about to eat, so wait."
Luid brushed the grass off his rear.
"By the way, what exactly can you do?"
"What a prompt question. It's only been three days since we contracted, you know."
Miho declared with a proud flourish.
"My specialty is mental-type abilities. I am the Spirit of the Stars, after all."
...What do stars have to do with the mind?
Luid decided to let it go.
Still—mental magic was an unexpected windfall. It was an exceedingly difficult school of magic. As he'd learned when a carelessly-crafted Covenant of Vows had spiraled somewhere unintended, it was a field that had little to do with innate mana capacity.
"More useful than I expected."
"Right? Didn't I tell you? Miho is super useful! Which is why—how about an official contract? Hehe."
"I wonder how much a secondhand spirit goes for these days. Hopefully expensive."
"I apologize, that slipped out."
"Good enough."
Luid looked down at the deflated fox girl.
"Is that all?"
"...I can use all the basic magical effects humans talk about. Healing magic especially, I'm a bit better at that. And..."
"And?"
Miho lifted her head and flashed a sly grin.
"I can become a grown-up."
He didn't need to ask to understand.
Light seemed to radiate from her entire body, and Miho grew. Not merely larger—she matured. The form of a fully grown adult. Her chest was remarkably generous.
"Well? What do you think?"
Where the girl had looked utterly innocent, this form was downright alluring.
Luid's answer was firm.
"Don't grow any taller than me."
...It was, apparently, the sole complex he possessed. Miho sulked and shrank back into her diminutive form.
"You don't like it?"
"No. Mental magic sounds useful. You mean things like manipulation, right?"
"Yes. To put it simply, I can turn lies into truth."
Luid pictured himself picking up a common rock, walking into a jeweler, and putting Miho's ability to work.
-Good heavens, a gem of such purity!
-What magnificently beautiful gold this is.
...As tempting as it was, even he had some dignity as a disciple of Confucius. He decided against fraud.
"Can you catch fish too?"
"...Fish, Master?"
"Yeah. Lunch today is sushi."
"What's sushi?"
"A secret."
"...I've figured out your ways now, Master. When something's a hassle, you just call it a secret, don't you?"
"A secret."
"...Yeah, that's exactly it."
Miho deflated somehow, her whole body going limp.
"I'm confident in my fish-catching, though!"
"Don't catch too many. One is plenty."
Luid added anxiously. He was genuinely worried about the ecosystem of Delrin's Lake.
"Yep!"
Miho answered cheerfully and dashed off toward the lake. Just before touching the water, she shifted back into a fox and plopped in with a splash.
She's a spirit, so she won't drown... right?
Choosing to trust her, Luid walked into the forest.
He'd been eating poorly as of late. With everything that had happened, he'd been mostly relying on the dining hall for his meals.
And the food there was abysmal. The menu, to begin with, consisted of stew or steak. Nothing else.
The stew tasted of absolutely nothing, and the steak was like chewing on a rubber band. The fundamental elements of any proper dish—spice, sweetness, saltiness—were nowhere to be found.
All because of that damned purification spell.
That much, he could never get used to. So today, he'd resolved to bite the bullet and cook for himself.
The reason the menu was sushi was simple: the ingredients were easy to gather.
Granted, there was no rice here, but an excellent substitute existed.
"Rice, mushroom—same difference."
Luid glanced around, searching for mushrooms.
"Should be around here somewhere."
He was looking for the faintly glowing ones. Unlike ordinary mushrooms, they had a dense, concentrated flavor with a taste and texture remarkably close to sweet, savory rice.
Well, look who it is.
He found the mushrooms quickly—but he found someone unexpected along with them.
"Huh?"
Nia Lion.
A fellow first-year in the Magic Department, and a girl with a talent for alchemy.
Spotting Luid, she waved brightly in greeting.
"Long time no see!"
Luid walked over and asked,
"Why are you stealing my mushrooms?"
"...These are yours, Luid?"
"No, actually, take as many as you like."
Nia sagged, a look of utter deflation on her face. But her eyes soon sparkled with curiosity.
"What's the Fairy of Delrin doing out here?"
"Came for these."
"...Is someone sick nearby?"
"Why would there need to be?"
"Well, game mushrooms are the main ingredient in healing potions..."
This was news to him. Luid only knew mushrooms by their taste.
"O-oh. I had no idea."
Nia laughed awkwardly. Luid stepped closer and harvested the mushrooms.
"I've actually come looking for you a few times, but you were never around. Guess today's my lucky day—to catch the Fairy of Delrin himself!"
"I'm a person."
Luid replied flatly. He harvested about five mushrooms and stood up.
Looking at Nia's gleaming eyes, he thought:
Of all people, I had to run into her. I wanted to avoid this until the second episode blew over.
The second episode: The Commoners' Rebellion.
Nia Lion was the central figure of that episode.
Just as the title suggested, commoners, pushed to their limit by injustice, would band together and incite a riot to seize the Every Library.
That the commoners would set their sights on the Every Library was, in a way, the natural course of things. The original novel had even described it as a powder keg finally going off.
The nobles had monopolized the library, barring commoners from using it at all.
For all it was called a library, the Every Library was essentially a vast storehouse of rare and varied materials.
With nobles hoarding access to such a place, the commoners were already seething—and then, under someone's leadership, they would unite to throw it open to everyone.
And the one who stirred them up was Nia Lion.
"Still interested in alchemy, I see."
"Hm? Yep! Classes are boring, but research is fun!"
"...Is alchemy the only thing that's caught your interest lately?"
"Huh...?"
The reason the daughter of House Lion—a family so powerful it practically ran the Imperial Capital—had made her move was exactly one thing.
It looked fun.
Nia Lion incited the commoners and stormed the library purely for her own amusement.
Which was why Luid asked.
"Nothing? Nothing fun going on lately?"
"Fun...?"
Nia tilted her head.
Has she changed? Or...
Had his intervention altered the story?
Truthfully, Luid didn't much care either way.
It was fifty-fifty, really.
If the second episode proceeded as written, it would confirm that the future he knew would continue unfolding—useful knowledge, that.
If it didn't, one tiresome worry would simply drop off his list. Also fine.
But then, inevitably—
"Oh! Actually, yeah. I did find something recently that's more interesting than alchemy. Why, Luid? Bored? Wanna hang out with me?"
It seemed that what will happen, will indeed happen.
Luid turned away without a word.
First things first: mushroom sushi.