Witch's Forest (3)
Laurzara set breakfast on the table with meticulous care.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, as though they had just been picked.
In the teacup was the same mysterious tree sap Lawrence had seen yesterday.
There was a great deal of it, which made him imagine she had been up before dawn, laboring over the meal.
“Welcome. I didn’t know how much you ate, so I prepared this to start with. Will it be enough? Or maybe not. You’re a beloved child, after all—you must be growing fast, so perhaps it won’t be enough.”
“I don’t plan on eating. You don’t need to go to so much trouble next time.”
“Hmm? Why not? Is there some fruit you don’t like? Then just leave that out and eat the rest. It’s easy enough to find around here, anyway.”
“No, it’s not that…. I’ve been told to be careful about eating in the Spirit World.”
Lawrence remembered Acheron’s warning.
Don’t put anything from the Spirit World in your mouth carelessly.
One wrong move, he had said, and the Spirit World might seize hold of him.
“Who told you that?”
“Acheron.”
“The last guardian, then. He isn’t wrong. Those who do not belong to the time of the Spirit World are gradually assimilated by it, after all. Still, that’s a rather old-fashioned view.”
“Are you saying the guardian was wrong?”
Without meaning to, Lawrence’s voice hardened.
“Dragon Valley is a sacred place even within the Spirit World. Every holy land has its reasons. If you were to eat fruit imbued with spiritual energy in a place like that—say, a fruit like Pomona—it would be over in a single bite.”
The name rang a bell.
It was the fruit the rabbit had once offered him in Dragon Valley.
“So you do know what I’m talking about.”
“Yes. The fruit you warned me about was Pomona.”
“Pomona is fruit in name only. It’s really a condensation of spiritual energy and mana. You may not know it, but it’s absurdly precious. One Pomona alone could quite literally change your world. Oh. I’d love to see that once. A beloved child changing before my eyes….”
Whatever she was imagining, Laurzara wore an enraptured expression.
“If you mean a changeling, I have no desire to become one.”
A child twisted by the Spirit World until it could never return to the waking world.
He had no intention whatsoever of losing himself—of losing the self that mattered most.
“A changeling is one thing or another, depending on the case. In any event, don’t worry and eat. If it’s dangerous, we’ll help you.”
“Isn’t there no need to eat while I’m in the Spirit World?”
“It’s not about need. Eating means living. Something so small, so ordinary, helps keep one’s mind intact. To be blunt, there’s no one who hates food.”
“……”
He couldn’t deny that.
Lawrence himself was the sort with a healthy appetite.
Not a little, either. A lot. Very, very a lot.
He did not agonize over it for long.
Laurzara was not the sort to lie over something like this.
Just like Arwen, he now knew she was a witch worth trusting.
More than anything, it bothered him to refuse the meal she had prepared from early morning for his sake.
“I’ll have a little, then.”
“Good. Good. You made the right choice.”
Sitting down beside Laurzara, Lawrence picked up a piece of fruit.
It was a deep brown color, darker than a potato.
When he touched it, the flesh gave slightly, soft and water-heavy beneath his fingers.
And yet he still hesitated before bringing it to his mouth. Only when he finally looked up did he realize he was being watched with unwavering intensity.
“Um….”
“Yes, yes. Go on and try it. Don’t mind me.”
No, really—what kind of spectacle was eating supposed to be?
He wasn’t about to swallow anything delicious with someone staring so openly at him.
“……”
As if she had been waiting for this moment alone, Laurzara’s eyes burned with scholarly zeal.
With expectations this high, it was hard to react at all.
There was no point saying anything. Nothing he said would matter.
Lawrence slowly raised the fruit to his lips.
A fresh fragrance spread across his mouth.
The first taste was similar to the Waterseed he had eaten in the swamp.
It was juicy, but not so much that it flooded his mouth.
Just the right amount.
A gentle sweetness made him nod before he even realized it.
“It’s good.”
“Right? Could you tell me exactly what part is good, and how? A beloved child can experience both the waking world and the Spirit World at once, so I’m curious how you perceive the taste.”
Laurzara’s speech quickened.
Her eyes behind the lenses shone with interest.
“What I feel and what you feel probably aren’t so different. But if I had to say…. the fragrance and the juice are both wonderful.”
“So the function of taste is the same after all. Could you keep eating and tell me what you think as you go? I’d like to know whether anything else changes.”
“I don’t mind, but could I tell you after I’ve finished?”
If possible, he wanted to eat in peace.
* * *
After breakfast, Lawrence moved to the base of Yggdrasil.
This was the real reason he had come to the Witch’s Forest.
To learn more mysteries and more magic.
Today’s teacher was Laurzara again.
Arwen was not there.
Auriela was nowhere to be seen either, which suggested she was busy talking since early morning.
As an aside, she still had not appeared by the time breakfast ended.
“Don’t mind it. She just doesn’t show her face much, so her greetings tend to run long. We all have more to do than you’d think.”
Laurzara said that, but it still felt strange.
Maybe it would be better to ask about it later, if she came back.
The uneasy feeling didn’t last long.
Once he sat beneath Yggdrasil, every stray thought in his head seemed to be blown clean away.
“……”
Warm sunlight.
A soft breeze.
Even the pleasant warmth brushing against his face.
All of it worked together to create a feeling of utter ease.
“...That’s right. If you wanted to classify it, the witchcraft of the forest would count as earth attribute. Considering elemental affinity, that gives it the advantage over water attribute.”
Lawrence listened closely to Laurzara’s voice.
“Magic is a kind of scholarship. You reproduce a promised law on the basis of what you’ve learned and understood. Now, let’s take the Bind you’ve learned as an example. Bind is magic that causes tree roots to spring up. So if you used it like an attack spell instead of for its original purpose, would that work?”
“If I forced it, I think I could make it work.”
That was the direction his recent training had taken.
By shaping Fire and Shadow into all sorts of forms, his control had visibly improved.
“Shape-shifting…. Honestly, whatever I think of, you always go beyond it. One plus one is two. It can’t become three. Normally, something like that is impossible. To apply it to the training of magic, of all things, is absurd.”
“Impossible? But….”
Even now, if he wanted to, he could alter the shape of Shadow or Fire.
It was difficult, certainly.
But it was not a matter of whether he could do it at all.
“Think about it. Bind is magic that causes roots to sprout, not magic that creates wooden spears or whips. I told you magic is a promised law, didn’t I? If you try to change a fixed form, problems are inevitable.”
Reading his confusion, she continued.
“If you yield, and yield again, then simple changes in shape might be possible. But even that is only because it approaches the essence of mystery—old, divine magic. A normal mage can’t do such a thing. Remember that. It’s not something effort alone can overcome.”
“Then should I stop now? If I understand you correctly, wouldn’t I just be twisting a promised form by force?”
“No. I never once said it was wrong. It’s just a method most people can’t use, no matter how badly they want to.”
He felt relieved.
At the very least, the direction of his effort had not been mistaken.
“We’ve still got some time for now. I’ll watch over you as much as I can. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask.”
Arwen flew in behind Laurzara.
Whether she had heard everything or not, she floated a brief line of text into the air and asked:
“Your real intention?”
“A chance to observe a beloved child? Where else would I ever get such an opportunity? Before you leave, I’ll have to record every last thing you do….”
Laurzara, who had been talking excitedly, suddenly stopped.
An uncomfortable cough echoed out. Lawrence pretended not to hear it.
“You’ve been busy since yesterday.”
“Arwen’s fault. I haven’t seen you in ages, so I’ve got a lot to do.”
“That’s right. That’s right. It’s all your fault. It’s not as if the Witch’s Night is the only time you should show your face, is it? I thought you’d died in your workshop.”
“Laurzara. Be quiet.”
“So you are aware it’s embarrassing, then. That’s why you still call yourself by your name.”
Annoyed, Arwen turned away sharply.
“Is that really something to be upset about?”
He supposed she couldn’t speak.
When it came to conversation, she had no choice but to write.
Had she perhaps done that on purpose, simply to make herself easier to understand?
“Incense witchcraft is powerful magic that even deceives its own caster. Quite literally, if you’re intoxicated by incense, you can forget your very sense of self. That’s why you need the Third Eye, a mechanism for looking at yourself with cold clarity. Because of that device, this child calls herself by a third person’s name.”
“Laurzara.”
“My, my. I wasn’t lying.”
“……”
Lawrence kept his mouth shut.
From Arwen’s reaction alone, he could tell she disliked the subject.
The actual practice of magic began in earnest.
Bind changed form depending on the vegetation used as its target.
If there was no nearby plant life, Laurzara would draw in vegetation from farther away and activate it.
The mana cost also varied with distance. If there was no vegetation nearby that could be used as a target, soil and stone were tied together with Bind instead.
In other words, rather than roots springing up, clumps of earth would rise to bind the target.
That meant the spell was cast by making dirt mounds rather than roots erupt.
“You can use it that way. But I wouldn’t recommend it. There’s always a great difference between borrowing what already exists and making something out of nothing. Usually that difference is borne by the caster.”
She was right.
Bind based on soil mounds, even when there was only a bit of weeds available, demanded nearly several times as much mana.
In terms of force and durability, it fell far short of the version that used living plants.
Unless things had reached the worst possible point, he had no desire to use it.
While practicing Bind, he also worked Shadow at the same time.
Laurzara seemed intrigued by the void attribute, and watched it with gleaming eyes. At moments like that, she was just as eager with questions as ever.
“The Red Eyes spirit taught you Shadow Spear?”
“Yes. I call it Red Eye.”
“Red Eye. Well, spirits don’t have proper names, after all. You’re probably the first to have given the spirit of the Shadow Forest a name.”
Since the subject had come up, Lawrence decided to ask.
“Acheron told me that spirits are very dangerous.”
“They’re not the same as the fairies born from the mother of the forest. They weren’t even born from the great cycle created by nature. More often than not, they take human desire as their root.”
He didn’t really understand.
Arwen supplied the explanation.
“Magic analogy. Fairies: will dwelling in plants. Spirits: void created from nothing. Beginning is wind and desire. The end of that becomes a spirit.”
Lawrence rested his hand on his chin.
In short, fairies were ordinary neighbors of the Spirit World, while spirits were beings far more powerful than that?
If he compared it to magic, the latter was vastly harder to handle.
“I understand that they’re powerful. But why does that put them in the same category as danger?”
“The great cycle. Guardians of order and law. But spirits are not like that.”
“Arwen just said it, didn’t she? That spirits are pure forms born from wind and desire. So the nature they take on inevitably changes depending on what desire gave birth to them.”
“Red Eye. Spirit of the Shadow Forest. Rage, resentment, fear. Emotions even spirits can’t control. If a spirit goes berserk… everyone is in danger.”
You could die in an instant because of a passing whim.
Lawrence understood what that meant.
“Not all spirits are dangerous. But Red Eye is dangerous. That’s what I’m understanding, right?”
The two witches nodded.
Come to think of it, Lawrence remembered a few spirits being present when Veles had set out on his journey.
If they had been dangerous beings like Red Eye, they would never have been allowed to attend in the first place.
With both hands clasped together, Lawrence’s gaze slowly settled.
* * *
Lawrence spent nearly a month in the Witch’s Forest.
Arwen, who had come as a familiar, sometimes went off on her own, but Laurzara spent nearly all her time with him.
I want to observe a beloved child.
The scholarly fire behind her lenses was genuine.
And so he ended up growing closer to Laurzara than to Arwen.
Once they had become friendly, though, she sometimes displayed inconvenient habits.
He came to understand only while eating, sleeping, and washing that “watching every last thing” had meant exactly what it sounded like.
He kept practicing Bind, but he did not neglect Fire Tail either.
The sentry knight made a shield of radiant light. Compared to Shadow Spear, which was void attribute, the fire attribute Fire Tail was far more effective against it.
Still, he couldn’t deny that its power fell short of Shadow Spear.
That was why the training was necessary. Magic only grew stronger by climbing the steps right in front of him, one by one, in order.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
He had learned one spell, Bind, but in return he had gained a wide range of knowledge about the direction of magic training and the mysteries themselves.
He certainly wanted to learn more magic.
He even hoped that if he asked, someone might teach him. But for now, the priority was to focus on mastering Bind and Fire Tail well enough to defeat the Keeper of the Key.
Don’t be impatient.
He hadn’t even climbed the staircase in front of him yet.
There was no need to covet what lay beyond it.
On the final day, Auriela appeared to see Lawrence and Arwen off.
“I wonder whether you spent your time meaningfully.”
“Thank you for your consideration. Thanks to you, I’ve had precious time beyond price.”
“Then that is good. Come again during the Witch’s Night next time. When that day comes, I shall welcome you properly as well.”
It was clear enough that she had disliked Lawrence’s unannounced visit.
“Arwen.”
“Auriela, no—this time I woul….”
Auriela cut off the words that were forming in the air.
“Do not forget that our sisters love you.”
“……”
When Lawrence stepped aside, Laurzara approached.
“You worked hard these past few days, Lawrence.”
“You worked harder than I did, Laurzara.”
“If you think that way, why not stay a few more days? There’s still so much I want to observe… no, see.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to refuse. Time is running short.”
Once he opened the door to the sanctuary and stepped out, that would be the end of it.
Or perhaps something else entirely would be waiting for him.
If opening the door didn’t lead to an ending, then he might have to return to the Witch’s Forest for help after all.
“Is that so? What a shame. You’ll come again for the Witch’s Night anyway, won’t you? Until then, I suppose I’ll have to make do with researching the hair you gave me.”
Despite her words, her face was full of regret.
It was as if one true feeling outweighed a hundred spoken words, and before he knew it, Lawrence found himself speaking.
“Thank you for everything, Laurzara.”
“What are you saying? I’m the one who should be grateful. You gave me so much research material. I imagine I’ll be stuck doing nothing but experiments in my workshop for a while.”
As though she had been waiting for that, Laurzara spread both arms.
Acheron was the same—why did the neighbors of the Spirit World love hugging so much?
Still, since this would only be the second time, Lawrence embraced her warmly.
Amid the thick scent of grass, there was a sweet fragrance too.
“See you next time, Lawrence.”
“Take care of yourself too, Laurzara.”
The two met each other’s eyes and smiled.
After the farewells were over, Lawrence headed toward the door Arwen had opened.
It was time to return to the sanctuary once more.
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