Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Modern Magic (1)
The child's small hand gently stroked the tail.
Did she like the texture?
Her hand, full of curiosity, didn't rest for even a moment.
She poked it with her fingers,
stroked it softly, and then gripped it tightly with both hands, fiddling with it.
Then, like patting a rabbit's rear,
she began tapping the tail against her palm with a sharp smack-smack sound.
A light, cheerful noise.
My thoughts cut off, and sensation took over first.
...It's a bit ticklish.
Perhaps because I hadn't used my tail for so long.
The sensitivity seemed heightened.
Every time her hand touched it, the tail twitched reflexively.
"?!"
"...Huh?"
The child pulled her hands away,
looking up at me with a startled face.
My tail must have flinched more dramatically, unable to endure the tickling.
I was about to tell her it was fine,
but the child's actions were a step quicker.
Fidgeting anxiously as she inspected my tail,
she caressed it very carefully and blew on it with a soft hoo-hoo.
That's...
It was what Loren did whenever the child fell while practicing standing up.
Loren always did that.
She'd help the fallen child up,
blow on her knees and palms with a hoo-hoo,
and say, "You're okay, right? It doesn't hurt anymore?" while hugging her tight.
Does she think it hurts?
Her clumsy imitation of Loren felt surprisingly tender.
The warmth transmitted to the tail faded.
The child alternated her gaze between me and the tail, gauging my reaction.
I stroked her gently with a soft smile.
"It's okay. It doesn't hurt."
"......"
"Really. It was just ticklish."
"......!"
The child's eyes widened round.
As if to confirm it was ticklish,
she hesitated, then turned her gaze back to the tail.
And then,
very softly, carefully,
she tapped it once more with a light thud.
The tail trembled slightly.
"......"
"Ticklish..."
"......!"
Did she read my expression?
The light in her eyes sparkled again as she looked at me.
A mischievous smile quickly spread across the child's face.
She reached out toward the tail,
and this time, began tapping it rhythmically: tap, tap, tap.
Gently,
carefully.
Which made it even more ticklish, so the tail quivered.
Every time my tail twitched,
her shoulders shook with light laughter.
"...Fun?"
"!"
The child's head nodded vigorously up and down.
Seeing that, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"As long as you think it's fun."
"......!"
The child beamed.
That one smile made the tickling bearable.
I gazed down at her quietly.
Her expression was like one who'd found an amusing toy.
After tapping it a few more times with her palm,
she soon hugged the tail with both arms and rubbed her cheek against it.
She buried her face in the tail,
smiling drowsily as if she might fall asleep any moment.
Just like when she hugged the rabbit.
No,
somehow even more affectionate and profound.
I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
As long as she likes it.
Carefully, I wrapped the tip of my tail lightly around her body.
It felt awkward from disuse, but thankfully, she seemed satisfied.
Her breathing grew even slower and more peaceful than before.
She'll fall asleep like this.
The child's pajamas were soiled with dirt.
I couldn't put her to bed like that.
Slowly,
very carefully,
I rocked her with the tail coiled around her body.
"Wake up. You can't sleep yet."
"......?"
"You have to change clothes first."
The child nodded with half-closed eyes.
Rubbing her eyes and stretching, she hugged the tail one more time reluctantly.
I fetched her pajamas.
Setting her down on the floor and handing them over, she reached out even in her drowsiness and took them.
Blink, blink.
She stared at the clothes with sleepy eyes,
then began changing into the pajamas very slowly.
I carefully rebuttoned the ones she'd messed up halfway.
"Good job."
"......"
I picked her up and headed to the bedding.
The warmest spot in this cabin, a little away from the fireplace.
The rabbit, already asleep, lay curled up beside the blanket, breathing steadily.
I laid her down gently.
I pulled the blanket up to her shoulders.
A couple of times,
I patted her shoulder,
brushed aside the hair covering her eyes, and stood up.
At that moment, the child's eyes snapped open.
She quickly looked to the side,
flung off the blanket in a panic, and grabbed my clothes.
"Huh?"
"......?"
"Ah, I'm not sleeping tonight. I have to read."
"!!!!"
The child shook her head frantically.
Her eyes reddened in an instant.
"...Sleep together?"
"......"
She nodded repeatedly.
Her face was already flushed.
"Hmm..."
"......!"
I tried to gently pry her hand off my clothes,
but she showed no sign of letting go.
Her eyes mixed grievance and anxiety.
Usually, I'd give in and lie down beside her.
But
not tonight.
I pulled my clothes free with a bit more force.
"Sorry. Not tonight."
"......"
"Feast Day is coming up. I need to prepare gifts soon. Sorry."
"......"
The child hung her head.
She didn't grab my clothes anymore,
but her trembling shoulders said it all as she sniffled.
I glanced at the calendar on the wall.
Three days until Feast Day.
Time was truly running out.
I couldn't delay learning modern magic
and completing enchantment anymore.
Besides, daytime was mostly devoted to the child.
"Mm..."
"......"
After a moment's thought, I took the book and sat in the chair by the fireplace.
The child's head stayed down.
Instead, her shoulders shook even more than before.
I sat in the chair and carefully extended my tail.
Hoping for at least small comfort, I slowly placed the tip on her shoulder.
Her head lifted little by little.
Her teary eyes looked up at me.
"Sorry. I'll lend you this at least."
"......!"
"Just bear with it tonight. Tomorrow, we'll sleep together for sure."
"......"
The child nodded slowly.
Then, just like usual at bedtime,
she hugged my tail in place of me and curled up under the blanket.
Her breathing evened out, and her small back rose and fell steadily.
Sleep well.
Good.
Only after confirming she was asleep did I turn to the book.
The light by the fireplace wasn't as bright as under a lamp,
but focusing a bit made reading comfortable enough.
I opened the book on modern magic.
[Basic Magic Primer]
It was the book I'd bought on my first visit to Hubert's bookstore.
A decent amount of time had passed since then,
but I'd never properly read it even once.
There was one reason.
Days spent with the child
left me far short of time than I'd expected.
At dawn, I'd brew her medicine,
and at sunrise, prepare breakfast.
Once she woke, I'd have to offer my hand to her silent pleas.
The more time for her piled up, the less the pages turned.
More urgent matters than reading arose immediately.
Of course, I had some time to read.
When she drew pictures,
played with the rabbit.
Took naps.
There were brief respites,
but even those went to herbology or childcare books.
In the end, modern magic—what I'd deemed least necessary—was postponed until today.
I wondered when I'd read it... but here we are.
I sighed briefly and opened the book.
The faint scent of dusty paper tickled my nose.
Let's start with advanced magic.
One page.
Two pages.
I examined the book slowly, meticulously.
Unfamiliar yet familiar sentences sank clearly into my vision.
This is advanced magic?
Incredulity wrinkled my brow automatically.
It was always like this.
Understanding and accepting were different.
The book said so,
but my common sense shook its head today as well.
Unable to hide my dismay, I checked the book again.
The advanced magic described here
felt like vast spells mimicking natural phenomena.
Striking thunder in an area,
splitting the earth to erupt lava,
summoning storms to sweep everything away—simple magics like that.
Impossible.
In the past,
even children used these casually when bored.
And these are advanced?
I couldn't even laugh.
Then what on earth is basic magic?
If this was advanced,
I couldn't imagine how pathetic basic would be.
I flipped quickly to the section on basic magic.
[Basic Applications: Everyday Magic Usage]
What caught my eye was
a spell to warm water,
a spell to quickly dry wet clothes.
And
parts of the hygiene magic I'd been interested in were recorded here too.
This is basic?
Intriguing.
Such delicate spells as basic.
I'd never even considered using magic for things like this.
Mana was nearly uncontrollable.
Its nature was wild and explosive,
making it easier to unleash maximally than restrain.
But—
the magic in this book was entirely different.
Even I had taken ages to make a small flame.
Yet handling fire just to heat water,
raising wind gently without damaging fabric.
Isn't this far harder?
The more I read, the more interest and curiosity welled up.
Until the fireplace glow dimmed
and sunlight filtered through the window, illuminating the cabin.
I read without pause.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ It had been a while.
I hadn't felt anticipation drag on like this in so long.
The sun was finally setting.
I'd brought the child
into a rugged mountain meadow on the way back.
To test the new magic I'd learned.
Modern humans
had pathetically little mana.
Less than pebbles by the roadside in the past.
Because of that, perhaps,
they saw magic as "the art of handling it delicately."
The product of tuning and application,
constantly amplifying for efficiency as its essence.
The magic I knew from the past
was just erupting and swinging mana wildly.
But now it was different.
Even felling a single tree
required complex incantations and precise control.
That intrigued me.
And
it felt refreshingly enjoyable.
I slowly finished preparations for practice.
Today, I'd try logging with modern magic.
I set the child down in a safe spot.
"Alright. Here goes."
"......!"
The child's breathing seemed to stop, turning quiet.
That small gaze watched me carefully.
Yeah. Let's use it carefully.
The amplification part worried me,
but if I adjusted to let just a tiny bit of mana flow...
A suitably large tree before my eyes.
Cautiously channeling mana, I extended my hand.
Then, I activated the spell from the book.
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
In that instant—
the tree, and
even the mountaintop beyond it, flew away.
Shattered wood fragments scattered in the wind everywhere.
"?!"
"...Reverse."
I immediately rewound time.
The splintered tree
and the airborne mountaintop returned to normal.
"Ugh..."
"......?!"
Relief was short-lived
as my head throbbed again, memories surging in.
Vision blurred.
Past? Future?
Or memories from another timeline?
I sighed and opened my eyes.
An unfamiliar bedroom.
I seemed to be lying in bed in the memory.
The blanket around me,
the dark ceiling.
Only a candlestick in one corner lit the room.
The room was quiet.
Yet an ominous sensation crept in.
I slowly raised my gaze upward.
In that moment, bewilderment hit first.
My hands were bound by magic I'd never seen before.