Katachi dipped the dusty cloth into the bucket, and twisted it hard, forcing the water out of it. With the cloth at a suitable moisture, he continued wiping the chandelier in the main atrium.
B : "This is stupid; Don't you have lessons or anything? Surely you didn't come here to be a janitor or a caretaker?"
At the bottom of the stepladder Katachi was standing on was a blonde girl with her hair tied into four braids and a chest the size of Mount. Gigraceldi, reading a book on catalysts used to improve one's magical efficiency and focus. Leaning on the wall next to the stepladder, she seemed annoyed that the young man atop the stepladder appeared so carefree.
B : "It's been five days! Five days! You've spent EVERY one of those days on cleaning! And of all days, you're cleaning the school on a Sunday! They're not even paying you to clean this place, so how could you even enjoy something like that?!"
Katachi paid no heed to her, and continued cleaning.
B : "I sometimes don't know if, if you're retarded or something! How could ANYONE stand cleaning the school faculty without pay or any form of benefit?!"
K : There is a benefit to cleaning."
The blonde girl named Bael seemed taken aback at his sudden response.
K : "For one thing, cleaning makes the place healthy and habitable. Mother Rin has always emphasized on cleanliness, and it's agreeable. Cleaning helps one to keep in touch with their inner self, devoting oneself to the environment. It's the same as accepting the environment as your personal space, and allows one to train themselves for inner peace. Just as how people would not disturb you for passionately studying your field of magic, your personal space, this act of cleaning is a form of cleansing for both the area around you, and within yourself."
Bael rolled her eyes at the mere mentioning of Mother Rin.
B : (Doesn't this guy give a break or something? For every day I've met him, he's mentioned this name at least once. Who is she, his lover?) "Uh huh. Yeah, sure."
Katachi put extra strength into the cloth to scrape off a resilient stain which looked like it wasn't getting off any time soon.
K : "That's a hidden benefit of cleaning only those who have done it actively would learn of."
B : "I would much rather laze around than waste my energy in cleaning then."
Bael continued reading the last few lines of a healing herb on her book, and flipped a page.
K : "It's also a rather personal thing, but I'll leave it at that... What are you reading?"
Bael looks up at Katachi in interest, finally finding some form of what can be considered casual conversation with him.
B : "It's a book about herbs and the like, about how certain spices and wild plants can be used to enhance the mental state and the body. I'd need every bit of information I can get to preserve the reanimated parts for as long as possible."
K : "Sounds interesting. Does it contain the dangerous, poisonous types of plants?"
B : "Yeah. The book's pretty extensive."
Dipping the cloth into the bucket, Katachi squeezed and twisted it to adjust the water content in the cloth.
K : "Are the plants described within all local, or is it all around?"
B : "This book was made by Irving Daniel, a book-keeper who's lived in Anik. I'm guessing that unless he's a travelling guide or a merchant's tabs keeper, it would most likely contain information about the plants found in Anik. It's quite interesting to know these kinds of things, nonetheless."
Katachi frowned a bit upon hearing Anik.
K : "Are you planning to migrate over there or something?"
B : "No, silly. What I meant was, if Anik is going to have herbalists who are coming over to Yhorfe, that would be wonderful. I could make more unique drugs and medicine that other apothecaries can't copy, and maybe even discover new effects to them."
Katachi nodded slightly in agreement as he continued wiping the glass beads dangling from the chandelier.
K : "I guess, that's an interesting idea to have market-wise."
B : "Yes it is, and I'd rather you spend your time doing something more constructive for your future like this instead of wasting all this time cleaning every spot in school."
Bael retorted with a spiteful accent, but Katachi replies her calmly, as if he had anticipated such a reaction.
K : "My original course ended on the first lesson itself for some reason, and I don't have any lessons in particular until Tuesday. I might as well spend time meditating like this since I have nothing I need to rush."
Bael's eyes widened.
B : (Tuesday? But... He said his lessons were on Wednesday and Thursday!) "Tuesday? But your lessons are on Wednesday and Thursday, aren't they?"
Bael felt like she was left in the dark, as if he had held back some information from her.
K : "Yeah, but I asked Bertund yesterday, and he helped me sign up for an additional course to discover my affinity of magic."
B : "Wait, wasn't what you had on Wednesdays and Thursdays a lesson oriented on your magic affinity?"
It was not normal for a student to attend a magical course when they had no affinity for it. It was like telling a fish that can only swim to spontaneously grow two legs and walk on land. So, what exactly had Katachi attended for only one lesson?
B : "... Did your previous course end on the first lesson because it wasn't a magic you had an affinity with?"
K : "Uh, well, you could say that, and yet you really can't, but... It's a bit hard to explain, but you can consider it like that."
(Katachi's wording it weirdly. He could have just agreed with me, but he didn't, so could that mean the lesson on Wednesday was a type of magic that didn't involve elemental affinity?... A Reincarnate Art?)
B : "Reincarnate art?"
K : "Ahh-aah-aah-aah-aah! Ahh! Ahh!"
Hearing that, Katachi was taken aback slightly, and he gripped onto the chandelier with his free left hand. He had lost his sense of balance, which caused the chandelier to be tugged at quite strongly. Katachi desperately tried to regain his balance, which, fortunately, he did. It was quite a miracle since the chandelier did not seem to fall off the ceiling despite being tugged at by such force.
B : (Hoho, that reaction. Perhaps I'm on the right trail?) "I hit a nail, didn't I?"
K : "... I won't answer that question."
Bael smiled ever so slightly on her face, but her heart was leaping all over the place.
(Haha! That reaction is so cute! He's never talked about the magic he's used before, but I guess I have a rough idea now! He must be using some form of Reincarnate Art!- ...)
Thinking that far, Bael's face stoned into a daze.
(... There are quite a handful of Reincarnate Arts... Which one is he using? Dardicel? Ilpoh? Soltak? Croxa? Most of these Reincarnate Arts don't require any form of prayer or such, which would fit nicely because of his lesson schedule... Arrgh, guessing is a pain... I wish I had more details to work with...!)
B : "Hey, Katachi, which God are you worshipping?"
K : "None."
B : "Come on now, don't be like that! There must be some God or legend you're worshipping!"
K : "Segus."
(Segus? Is he serious?!)
B : "Are you serious!? Segus?! That's not even worth it! He's just a pacifist Legend who can't even fight for himself!"
K : "He's respectable because he loves all life. I pray to him at the church back at home. Mother Rin also says that loving all life is important-"
B : "Enough about Mother Rin, sheesh! Also, you're lying, Katachi. Segus lessons are at noon, to express kindness towards plant life, insects and animals!"
Katachi, finally finished with the chandelier, dropped the cloth into the pail, and carried it down the stepladder made of floating stones and axis magic that locked it in place.
K : "I mentioned that I do indeed worship Segus. However, I said nothing of me attending Segus magic courses. I didn't even know that Segus magic courses existed, had I known I would have chosen it for an additional course over Affinity Discovery."
B : "What?! That's not-"
K : "This conversation is over. I have to clean these up in the back, and you don't want that book to get wet, do you? It's a paper book, and those are expensive."
Katachi gently pushed one of the stones upward, and the entire stepladder floated up. He then placed his hand onto a stone step, and dragged the stepladder through the air, to the back of the school.
B : (Ugh... He's a hard nut to crack, despite being so candid...)
Bael could only pout and frown at Katachi, who was perhaps the only other student in school not to be entranced by her chest.
B : (... That's not fair... He never answered my question.)
*** ***
Event magic.
It is a new type of magic recently coined, which is the most unique, and perhaps the most powerful form of magic in existence. It is a type of magic that forces things to happen.
Eggs that have just been laid can be forced to age until a chick is birthed in a matter of seconds. Ice found on the lakes can be forced to stay frozen even in the heat of summer. One could force a person to utter the truth, against his will. Mountains can be worn down into rubble in an instant, food can stay fresh forever, and people could even become immortal, or take on a bizarre form that allows them to live forever.
Magic related to time, space and the like, previously believed to be the strongest, pale before this type of magic.
That's the classification of the Words of Power - An absolute event magic that would make even the frailest cowards and the weakest beggars triumphant over a king.
(...)
Katachi could not afford having his secret leaked.
If anyone knew of his Word of Power, it would be over. He would be treated as an outcast, and leered at by everyone in school for having such an unfair, ridiculous and powerful magic.
So, until that happens, something must be done about it.
Katachi picked up a flyer resting on the table.
K : (The Sage Raufid Young Magus Tournament... The winner is allowed three prizes, which can be anything that is within the school's power... I have to secure that as soon as possible.)
Katachi picked up a wooden tablet, and placed it on the magic circle attached to his left arm.
The magic circle engraved his name, "Kotsuba Katachi", onto the tablet, and he dropped it into the participation box.
K : (I'll have to get first place in the most subtle way available. I'd have to end every match in the shortest time possible. The longer I stay out of battle, the lower the chances of me being detected is. It's wishful thinking, but I hope I don't have to fight any strong opponents until the final round.)
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