Portable in Size
Colt was tilting his head as he held the steering wheel.
"...You got all that in there?"
James had taken his car and trailer out of the hotel parking lot and stowed them away in his magical storage in a quiet place with no surveillance cameras. That was why he was now heading back with Colt in Colt's car, after explaining the situation.
"Did you think I'd only be able to put in money?"
It was hard for Colt to believe that the magical storage James called portable could hold a huge car and an even larger trailer.
"How big is your portable storage, anyway?"
"Hmm... about..."
James searched for something he could compare the storage's capacity to, then pointed downward with a finger.
"About this big?"
Colt glanced at the passenger seat, then looked where James was pointing and asked again.
"This car? No way..."
A giant trailer and a pickup truck had disappeared. There was no way the storage was only the size of his sedan.
"What are you talking about? Say it so I can understand."
"The floor space of the storage is about the size of California."
Skreeeech!
Colt slammed on the brakes and pulled over hard beside the road. Then, very slowly, his head turned toward James.
"...California?"
"Probably?"
James still remembered the contents of his master's book.
[...To activate this inventory, the caster must pour in as much of his own mana as possible, and through that act the inventory's size will be determined. Therefore, it is best to activate the inventory only after reaching a level where mana can be controlled freely. If activation is attempted with a small amount of mana and clumsy control, there is a high chance that the inventory I gifted you will be lost altogether. Even if activation succeeds by some chance, the result will be an extremely cramped inventory.]
James had checked that passage over and over. He waited until his control of mana improved and he could pour in enough of it, and the result was the California-sized inventory he had now.
Because I opened it by pouring in the entire sea of mana I can control.
When he had known nothing, James had trained mana with nothing but sheer willpower. After reading his master's book, he trained in earnest, moved past the shovel stage to a giant excavator, and then beyond that. But drawing mana under the control of his will had always been a delicate business. Fine, fluid mana slipped free of his grasp all too easily, and no matter how much he scooped up and filled, it was empty again before long.
There's a limit to how much mana I can scoop up.
James had felt frustrated by the idea of pulling mana toward himself and using it, so he did the opposite instead.
Mana doesn't need to come to me. I just need to go to mana.
That was the day James realized the sea of mana. From that point on, the total amount of mana he could handle increased at a staggering pace. Later, after learning Mercia's grimoire and reaching the rank of intermediate mage, the total volume of his mana was still comparable to that of a high-level mage. That sea of mana was also the reason James, though only an intermediate mage, could use spells that belonged to the high-level tier.
"What! That doesn't even make sense!"
"I can't even guess the total capacity. I don't know how tall it is."
He could roughly estimate the area, but since he hadn't measured the height, he couldn't be certain.
"Then it's not portable!"
"It is portable! I can carry it around whenever I want. If you can lug around a 100-inch TV, that's portable!"
At the thought of James carrying California around with him, curses spilled out of Colt's mouth before he could stop them.
"Damn..."
"For the record, I didn't make it myself. It was a gift from my master. I don't know how to make magical storage."
"What kind of person is your master, anyway?"
"...A magician?"
That wasn't why he was asking. Of course James's master was a magician; he was the master of the world's only magician, after all.
"...I should just stop talking."
Most of the things related to James's magic were beyond Colt's comprehension.
"Just tell me where the hotel we booked is."
"......"
Colt opened his mouth as if to answer, then gave up and started driving again.
"Where is it?"
"We booked the Hyatt Long Beach. It's too close to the airport if we stay somewhere quieter."
"Ohhh. Colt, Colt."
The two of them had already arranged a flight from Los Angeles Airport to England, and because they had allowed plenty of time in the schedule, they needed to stay at the hotel for a few more days. Neither of them wanted to keep staying at the old hotel, so they were moving to a different one.
"Besides, word is there's a pretty lively entertainment district near the hotel."
"...Tch. Here we go again."
Colt had a handsome face and a long trail of women around him, and from time to time James would run into a woman at home whom he had never seen before. Quite a few of them were women he'd crossed paths with after they'd spent a hot night with Colt.
If Colt walked the streets of Las Vegas, wouldn't half the women there know him by name?
His network was that wide.
"Still, if we're not in the same house this time, my ears won't have to suffer."
"What's the fun in going alone? Come on, let's have some fun too."
"I'd rather spend that time training magic..."
James didn't dislike women, but right now his stalled magic training came first.
"This is Los Angeles, you know?"
"So what? You think people in LA would look at me weird if I sat there meditating?"
"That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying there'll be plenty of people from South Korea here too, the place you're planning to visit next."
"......"
"Long Beach is a little far from Koreatown, sure, but there are still more Koreans here than in other places. Entertainment districts are the easiest places to meet people, aren't they?"
"......"
James was intrigued by Colt's words. If women tended to come looking for Colt on their own, all the better.
People from the same country as me... Koreans...
It didn't seem like a bad idea to meet them before going to England.
I've almost forgotten the language of that country too.
He could think of it as studying in advance.
"Fine. I'll go too."
"Colt!"
"Colt. Colt!"
It was a permitted nickname ever since James had succeeded in robbing the casino, so Colt, who had been listening quietly up to now, shouted back without backing down.
"Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy!"
"...What was that supposed to be?"
"I can't be the only one getting hit!"
"...There's not a single thing funny about it. What's the point of shouting Jimmy three times?"
"Colt. Colt isn't funny either!"
"I think it's funny!"
"I think it's funny too!"
"It's not funny!"
"You're the one who's not funny!"
"Nope. Colt. Colt is funny!"
A childish shouting match broke out between two grown men. They looked like brothers cut from the same mold.
* * *
After arriving at the booked Hyatt and taking a short rest, the two met again in the lobby at dinnertime.
"Whoa. Jimmy. You actually put some effort in today?"
"Colt. I'm a man who steps onto the stage too. A real magician hardened by years under the pinspotlights."
Colt kept himself in shape with constant exercise and dieting so he could host the show. Thanks to that effort, combined with his naturally good body, he looked like a model no matter what he wore. James, who had trained magic since childhood, was the same.
"Hmph."
Being a magician onstage didn't mean you were only there to show magic. Audiences naturally watched the magician's face and body too, and if only to stand apart from other magicians, there was no choice but to keep oneself in shape. Now that James and Colt were dressed up like this, the eyes of the guests passing through the hotel kept turning their way.
"You only dress up when you go onstage, and spend the rest of the time wandering around like that."
"......"
In truth, James didn't dress up often. He only got properly dressed when he had to go on stage, and once he came down, he turned back into an ordinary person immediately.
Hey, I did put some effort into this, you know?
Fearing he'd get teased for no reason, James kept his mouth shut and hurried on.
"Where did you scout out, Colt?"
"This way, Jim Jim."
Their new nicknames were the result of the childish argument that had continued from the car all the way to the hotel.
"......"
"......"
After glaring at each other, they turned their heads sharply and headed toward the entertainment district.
The two men cut striking figures in the cold city, each with a different kind of charm that drew the eye.
Tap.
As they made for the entertainment district, James held out a hand to Colt.
"...What? Why?"
"Hand it over. The money I'm going to spend."
"Nope. Didn't you say you'd just pull it out of that portable whatever-storage?"
"You don't want to give it to me?"
"Hmph!"
"Have you forgotten what I have on me?"
"Ah..."
What Colt had was small change, while what James had put into his inventory was the big bills.
"Whoa, whoa. I'm joking. Just joking."
Colt reached into his inner pocket to pull out a wad of cash, then scanned the surroundings with wide eyes.
"...There are too many people watching."
Handing over a large amount of cash in public could create problems, never mind the suspicious looks. Pulling cash out and flashing it in the middle of the city was a spell for summoning thieves.
"And you're the one telling me to open my storage here?"
"...I'll give it to you inside, where there aren't any people."
"Colt."
"......"
With a sour look, Colt headed once more for their destination.
* * *
The building they reached was quieter than expected, so they were able to exchange money in a suitable spot. After taking the cash, James quickly put it in his pocket and asked,
"Why are you giving me so much?"
"So much? What's so much about it?"
The cash Colt handed over came to a full ten thousand dollars. It was an excessive amount for a single day's drinking.
"How much did you bring?"
"...Thirty thousand."
"Jesus..."
James couldn't help wondering why anyone would bring thirty thousand dollars with them in the first place.
"How much did you think you'd spend today that you brought that much?"
"You never know."
Colt had come prepared with thirty thousand dollars with the intention of splurging properly today.
"Honestly."
"Enough lecturing. Let's go in."
"......"
James remembered that he'd come here to relax, so he cut himself off and went into the bar with Colt.
"Oh. Nice atmosphere."
"It's better to start somewhere like this than in a noisy club."
"Start?"
"Did you really think you'd meet a girlfriend at the very first place you went? You check the mood, see who's coming and going..."
"......"
Colt put in quite a bit of effort to find that night's prey.
"If it doesn't feel right, you move on quickly. If you talk to someone twice in one place, there are people who'll recognize you. Once that happens, the fish you've almost got on the line notices and runs."
"A professional really is systematic."
Since James was nothing more than an amateur, he intended to move according to the instructions of the professional Casanova Colt. After having a simple drink at the first bar, Colt moved on to another place, and James trailed from bar to bar with him.
Along the way, quite a few women came up to them first, but Colt sent them away with perfect manners.
"I hate to say it, but I have a flight booked. We're supposed to head to the airport soon."
"...Have a pleasant trip."
After the woman left, James said,
"Since when did two weeks become soon?"
"I never said exactly when we were going. Depending on how you look at it, tomorrow or two weeks from now could both count as soon..."
James snickered and asked what he had really been curious about.
"By the way, wasn't the woman you just turned down good enough by your standards?"
"Ah..."
They had spent enough time together that James knew the line Colt drew when choosing women. A certain standard of body and appearance came first. If looks were everything, things ended within a week; if the relationship lasted a little longer, personality and basic common sense were added to the mix. The woman Colt had just turned down was top-tier in both looks and body, and even though they hadn't exchanged many words, it was clear she had a fair amount of intelligence.
That said, he wouldn't be seeing her for more than a month anyway.
"Her personality didn't seem especially bad either."
"She wasn't Asian."
"Huh? Today's one of those days where you're in the mood for Asians?"
"What exactly do you take me for?"
"I'm the magician of telekinesis. Colt is the magician of the bed. If we're talking magic, I'm way behind you."
"Pfft!"
"Thanks for laughing at my unfunny joke."
"I'm looking for Asians because of you, though..."
"Oh, you were looking for Koreans because of me?"
Colt had been planning to meet Koreans for James's sake. Of course, tonight's goal wasn't a romantic encounter. It was a meeting for exchanging information that might help James trace his roots.
"Yeah. Because of you, I had to send away my little cutie with tears in my eyes."
"And even then, they still have to be above Colt's standards for looks?"
There had been Asians in the bars they'd visited that night. But Colt had only let his eyes linger for a moment before moving on.
"Wouldn't it be better to talk while looking at a pretty face?"
"Colt's standards really never change."
Even James couldn't help cheering Colt on tonight.
I agree too.
It really would be more enjoyable to talk with a woman who had beautiful looks.
"Ah!"
Colt looked past James toward the entrance and suddenly stood up.
"Jimmy, wait a second."
"What is it?"
James followed Colt's gaze and saw two Asian women with black hair.
...They're definitely good enough.
At a glance, they were young women who possessed striking beauty.
"Good luck, Colt."