Rachel and the Kids (1)
A brief silence fell between the two of them.
Yulia and Herbena. Blow kept his mouth shut, certain he was in no position to weigh the two of them against each other. While he was still searching for an answer, Yulia forced the corners of her mouth up.
"...I know. It's all right, Young Master."
"No. Even if Herbena had asked, I doubt I could have answered easily."
Once he had begun, Blow found his footing again and went on in a calm voice.
"I'll simply congratulate whoever wins more warmly than anyone, and comfort whoever loses more gently than anyone. Both of them."
"You really do know just what to say."
"And besides, I don't particularly think the young lady is going to lose."
"Truly?"
"Yes."
Certainty sat in his voice, and Yulia's expression brightened little by little, as if frost were melting from her eyes.
"Thank you, Young Master. I'll do my best!"
"Then how about a drink?"
When he offered, Yulia considered it for a moment, then quietly shook her head.
"No. If you're willing to believe in me, I ought to focus on my magic. Academia is coming, and the gathering too, and my mind's been all unsettled. I've been saying every foolish thing."
"Something you thought was still far off feels entirely different once it's actually at the door."
"Yes. That's true. And actually, besides that..."
Yulia turned over several thoughts and nearly said something to him, then deliberately let the words on her tongue scatter.
"Never mind. I'll tell you later."
"Tell me when you want to. With words, when you say them matters too."
Yulia turned his remark over, wondering whether now was that time, then shook her head inwardly. Today she had work stacked up waiting: duties in the Publicity Department, and training besides. So she rose, doing her best to smile as brightly as she could.
"Thank you for the words alone, Young Master."
"I only said what a business partner ought to say."
"I'll see you next Wednesday."
"I'll have everything ready before then. The sparkling water, and the pizza."
"Then I'll leave the hard work to you."
A short while later Yulia boarded her carriage, and Blow went into Hills. Until the door shut, and until even the last sway of it died away, Yulia watched Hills through the window of the rocking carriage.
At that same hour, while Blow was speaking with Yulia, Herbena, Cindy, and Skadi had gathered to practice magic. The method was simple enough: Cindy cast first, and Herbena answered the spell.
"Take this!"
A sky-blue flame the color of Cindy's hair took shape out of her magic circle and flew at Herbena. The instant she saw it, Herbena cast water magic without a shred of hesitation and put the fire out. It had been something of a trump card, so Cindy's clenched fists trembled before she flopped flat onto the floor.
"This is so annoying!"
"Shall we rest a little?"
"Yeah."
Skadi, who had been watching their exchange for some twenty minutes, grew curious. She took a seat beside Cindy and asked.
"Cindy, why don't you chant the spell names?"
"It's not cool."
"What kind of talk is that?"
"Magic's supposed to be used in secret, like an assassin cutting a throat. Like this!"
Cindy suddenly pointed a finger at Skadi's face. Wind magic blew from her hand and sent Skadi's long hair shooting straight up. The hair the maid had so carefully arranged was left a complete tangle, and at the sight of it Cindy and Herbena burst out laughing.
"Hahaha!"
"Our maid worked hard on this hair this morning..."
"Ah, I didn't know. Sorry."
Cindy pressed her hands together in apology, and Skadi pouted at her.
"Just hand over a hair tie."
"Then I guess I'm going around in a ponytail today too! Hey, did you decide to go to that Black Bridge Gathering?"
"Yeah."
"What's gotten into you. You wouldn't go to those even once."
"It just sort of happened."
With the tie Cindy passed her, Skadi gathered her long hair and twisted it up neatly. While the two of them talked about the gathering, Herbena took up a magic tool she had set in a corner of the training hall.
Its name was Mana Bead: a transparent glass crystal sphere with fine, deep-blue particles settled inside. Mages used it to wring their mana out to the absolute limit. Depending on the amount and weight of the ground mana stone, and on what stone had been ground, the tool was graded upper, middle, or lower.
Herbena set it on her palm, drew a deep breath, and poured mana into the bead. The powder inside answered her and began to drift this way and that within the sphere. Interest stirred, and Skadi and Cindy came over. Watching the mana-stone dust scatter inside the globe, Cindy's eyes sparkled as she asked in a delighted voice.
"Oh, you got yourself a Mana Bead! Upper grade?"
"No. While I was buying one, I got the highest grade. It's good for draining mana without having to think."
"Whoa, can I try the highest grade?"
"Just a moment."
A little later, once she had dispersed her own mana, Herbena passed the Mana Bead to Cindy, and Cindy drew on it without a moment's hesitation. Unlike Herbena, whose particles had all danced, Cindy could pour in mana as hard as she liked and only a few grains would drift. The rest refused to budge.
"This is so annoying!"
Even while throwing her tantrum, Cindy handed the bead back with care, and Herbena, taking it, spoke as if to console her.
"You just used magic. That's why."
"Even so! Yours spins around just fine!"
"Well... that's because it's me..."
"You're the worst!"
Cindy snapped like an angry cat. Even so, before long she was watching, together with Skadi, the whirlwind raging inside the Mana Bead with keen interest.
"So giving it a shape is the hard part? Harder than just flinging it around."
"Yeah. That's right."
Answering Skadi, Herbena turned the whirlwind into the form of a spinning top, and Cindy's mouth fell open.
"It's pretty..."
"Send the mana to one side. If you think of it that way, it's easy."
"Just don't tell me it's easy."
At Herbena's perfectly casual remark, Cindy grumbled and let out a deep sigh.
"Haah. I'm done. I'm finished."
"With what?"
"What else? Academia. The more I practice, the more my confidence seems to leak away."
"Does it? I still think you're not bad, senior."
"Not bad isn't good!"
"That's true."
Herbena scratched her cheek as she said it, and Cindy puffed hers and whipped her head away. Skadi, who had been watching the two of them, slipped in and asked Herbena.
"Herbena. Who do you want in the first round?"
"Who's even in it?"
At Herbena's genuinely blank reply, Cindy let out a faint sigh and answered in Skadi's place.
"You, me, Blase, Rebecca, Senior Yulia..."
She thought it over, recalled Danvers answering the president's question, and added.
"And Danvers too?"
The moment Danvers's name came up, Herbena stole a glance at Skadi. Seeing it, Cindy drew her brows together and nudged Skadi with an elbow.
"What, you still hung up on her and Rebecca?"
"It's just that Danvers is so uncomfortable around me."
"Yeah? Danvers has no manners, but she does the work well."
Skadi's expression was still sour. Then Cindy spoke to her in a serious tone unlike anything so far, quiet and steady.
"Honestly, your personality's gotten a lot brighter, hasn't it? Compared to first year."
"Has it?"
"So I thought you were all right. Even if you didn't say so, I figured you weren't stressed."
"Well... that's one thing, and this is another."
"Right. It's not the time to get tangled up in every little thing. Still, you're better than you were in first year. Back then you acted like the world was ending."
"......"
Skadi's freshman days were unknown territory to Herbena, so she only listened in silence. Cindy looked from one of them to the other and went on with a sly air.
"Your personality changed because of Blow, didn't it?"
"D-don't say ridiculous things!"
Skadi's face flushed as she shouted, and Cindy, delighted by the reaction, poked her in the side with a finger.
"Haha. Flopping around like a fish just pulled from the water."
"I said it's not!"
"True, you two only stuck together at the start of first year. There wasn't much coming and going after that, was there? So this time you might actually be right."
"That's because you were busy...!"
"Fine. I'm sorry about that."
While the two of them bickered, someone knocked at the training-room door.
"What is it? I'll get it."
Put on the spot by Cindy's sudden offer, a flustered Skadi went to the door herself. Rowbedi stood there, awkward as could be.
"Rowbedi? What's wrong?"
"Ah. The Young Master told me to bring you this."
A sweet fragrance rose thickly from the basket he held out.
"Donuts!"
"Where!"
At Skadi's cry Cindy sprang up like a released coil and came running, and Herbena crossed over as well. While Skadi was holding Cindy back from snatching at the donuts, Rowbedi dipped his head to Herbena and spoke.
"The Young Master said to tell you to eat, and then practice hard. And to share them with Senior Skadi."
"...Tell him thank you. And that I'll come by tonight."
"Yes."
The tips of Herbena's ears had gone a little red as she looked at the donuts in the basket. Then Cindy, having shaken Skadi off, snatched up two of them.
"These are mine!"
"Hmm. Seeing as there's an even number, I don't think there's one for you, senior."
"What! Hey, you're supposed to split even a single bean! My donuts!"
"Have just one."
While the three of them poured every scrap of attention into the donuts, Rowbedi, utterly drained in that short span, closed the training-room door very quietly, like water seeping away.
Saturday evening, nine o'clock. Hills, at the hour when they ought to start closing. The tables had thinned to scattered seats, and Blow, with a little room to breathe at last, sat down and for the first time in a while wrote this and that in a notebook. Lately he had been setting in order everything he had been through since coming up to Caipol. He was halfway through checking the section on the monastery when Megan, having glanced at the time, came over to him.
"Young Master, it is time for Miss Jane and the new recruits."
"Is it that late already?"
No sooner had he spoken than the door of Hills opened, and Jane and Linne came in looking markedly worn. Blow went to meet them at once and asked Jane, whose eyes were half shut, in an apologetic tone.
"You look tired."
"I was drawing sparkling water until dawn yesterday."
"You worked hard. Rest a little tonight."
"It's fine. Linne says she'll do it."
"No, neither of you has to. Herbena's covering tonight."
Linne could not keep the smile off her face. A little later Herbena, wearing clothes Blow had bought her, came into the restaurant with Skadi.
"Young Master."
"Blow!! The donuts were amazing!"
Skadi dropped into the table beside Blow as if she had always belonged there. Herbena set her bag down there for a moment, then came over to him.
"Young Master, I've read the sparkling-water manual."
"Just in case, watch Jane and Linne do it once."
Herbena glanced at Jane, who stood meekly, and indicated Linne with her palm.
"I'll hear it from Linne."
"All right. That's better."
"Should I go now? It shouldn't take long."
"No. In a little while. The new people are coming in to introduce themselves today."
"Ah, yes. Understood."
"Ooh, new faces!"
Skadi ordered two beers in a delighted voice, and Herbena took the seat beside her. At last the stars of the evening came through the door: the Traffic Light Trio, and beside them Kunsai Cherohun, edging in awkwardly. Guided by Megan to the center of the hall, they began introducing themselves in turn.
"I-I'm Alice Whiterabbit! I'll be working at the restaurant from now on."
Alice bowed timidly. Applause broke out, and the one clapping hardest was Melo, who might as well have been the lady of the house at Hills.
"I'm Radnes Woodbridge. I'll be working at the potion shop."
"I'm Cosette Cyfried. I'll be working at the potion shop with Radnes. Please take care of us!"
"I'm Kunsai Cherohun. I came to learn the work before the donut shop opens! Until then, Mr. Luta will be helping in the kitchen as well."
Kunsai's joining had been settled with Yulia beforehand. Better to grow used to trade before running a shop outright — both Yulia and Kunsai had agreed with Blow on that.
"A round of applause, everyone."
The moment the words left him, they all clapped warmly. That made two for the restaurant and two for the potion shop. Anyone still needed after this would, as Megan had said last time, be brought up later from Blanya. Skadi ran her eyes over the lot, then let out a thin sigh as if the wind had gone out of her.
"What is this. All old faces."
"Old? That's a bit harsh."
At Skadi's teasing tone Blow gave a short laugh and glanced at Jane. Jane drew a glass bottle of potion from her robes at once and held it out to him.
"Welcome, all of you. And since you're here, I'll tell you what's changing at the potion shop. Starting with this."
It was nothing like the old bottle, a plain cylinder that had looked rather like a milk bottle. This one was nearly a round sphere, and inside it the signature blue of Red Forest — Foresti Made — sloshed gently. Cute. While everyone seeing it for the first time thought the same thing, Linne handed each of them a sheet of paper, packed from the shape of the potion bottle all the way through to the terms of the potion subscription.
The next morning, Sunday. The Campbell estate in the imperial capital, Serdia.
"You prepared properly?"
"Yes. I did."
Rachel Campbell was leaned fully back in her chair, speaking with Blow Deblique through a communication circle.
"Honestly, if it was going to be like this, I should have dumped the whole thing on Yulia."
"Even so, you're the host. You'll come the day before and check everything yourself, won't you?"
"I will."
Saying so, Rachel stretched her arms out and looked around her own room, a place she almost never entered.
"Tell Yulia that when it's her turn, I'll handle the preparations."
"Yes. I'll pass that along."
"And you... you'll be in Caipol for a few days. So have plenty of fun content ready, so I don't get bored."
But no voice came back through the circle. Rachel's brow pinched at once, and she shouted toward it.
"Hey, you bastard."
"Ah. I dozed off for a second. I... did hear you, at least."
"How are you this silver-tongued every single time? You're dead. For real."
"How many times do you plan to kill me?"
"Tell that purple-haired one of yours to have a resurrection spell ready."
"Yes."
"Anyway. See you then."
With that, the communication circle went dark. Sophia, her confidant and guard knight, spoke from beside her in a courteous tone.
"Lady Rachel, everyone is waiting."
"Then tell them to keep waiting."
"Shall I tell them that?"
Sophia asked in perfect earnest. At the sight of that frozen expression, Rachel let out a hollow laugh.
"Sophia, try being a little softer, like Blow. We've known each other more than ten years."
"I believe that is something only Young Master Blow can do."
"Why?"
"That, I do not really know either. How it is even possible."
Sophia answered like a clerk at a desk. Rachel tilted her head at her, pulled on the clothes that had been hanging, and went into the reception room. The moment she stepped inside, voices flew at her.
"Late, and still with a face that shameless. What should I even call it. Impressive, I suppose."
"Rachel can get away with it."
"......"
"We finished the tea before you arrived, so another cup, please! Loaded with sugar!"
Seeing her close friends huddled together in the reception room, Rachel let out a deep sigh, as if she were already tired.