Water Magic
"Herb delivery, please!"
"Oh? Vio, ain’t it rare for ya to come ‘round at this time o’ day? Ahh, must be ‘cause it’s yer day off, so ya went gatherin’ in the mornin’, eh? Good on ya."
When we arrived at the guild, Mr. Taki was at the reception desk, so I asked him to handle the delivery. Meanwhile, Dad was asking another receptionist to call the Vice-Guildmaster.
Normally, I do my gathering in the afternoon after school and come to deliver in the evening, so it’s usually Grandpa Naara from the Sheep Sisters who inspects the goods. Mr. Taki, like Mr. Naara, wore appraisal glasses and checked them over quickly and neatly.
"I’d heard the rumors, but you really *are* good at gathering. Everything you brought in passes the delivery standard with no issues. That’s five points, so 250 Lari. Here you go."
"Thanks, Mr. Taki."
I took two bronze coins and five tin coins. The coins in my magic bag at home were steadily increasing.
Ah! I should make a piggy bank with earth magic. Not a pig, though — a bear.
… Wait, but a piggy bank’s whole thing is that you smash it with a hammer. I couldn’t bring myself to smash a bear. I should make it an animal — or maybe a monster — I wouldn’t feel guilty about breaking. I wonder if I can check the monster encyclopedia before we meet the Vice-Guildmaster.
That was what I was thinking, but when I turned around after taking the coins from Mr. Taki to call Dad, the Vice-Guildmaster was standing *right* behind me.
I was so startled I actually hopped a little. Can’t be helped — this guy makes no sound when he moves. I’m convinced he used to be some kind of assassin-type mage.
"I only told you about magic yesterday, right? I figured you might be having trouble with it, so I came right away. The training grounds are being used by copper-rank adventurers and above today and tomorrow, so shall we go out to the back yard?"
"Ahh, Vice-Guildmas, this here’s a different kinda magic from yesterday’s. If ya got a big ol’ tub, the meetin’ room might be better, y’see."
The Vice-Guildmaster had suggested going outside, but with water magic, without a container all you get is a puddle.
He tilted his head slightly, then nodded in understanding, telling us to go ahead to the meeting room while he got a tub ready.
Dad and I headed to the second-floor meeting room — the same room where I registered with the guild.
Sitting on Dad’s lap while we waited, there was a knock, and in came the Vice-Guildmaster and the Guildmaster. Sure enough, it made sense for the Guildmaster to be here too.
"So, some kind of magic consultation? Can’t say I’ll understand it, but I’ll sit in anyway."
"If it’s something like yesterday’s massage magic, you’d just regret not being able to try it.
Now then, will a tub of this size do?"
He had said magic was all about feeling, after all.
The Vice-Guildmaster brought in a big barrel, big enough for an adult to carry with both arms. I could probably use it as a bath. Since it was plenty big enough, I thanked him and started to get down from Dad’s lap — but he stopped me.
"Hold up a sec, Vio.
Vice-Guildmas, Guildmas, the magic Vio’s about to use is mighty somethin’. This ain’t just big news for the Adventurers’ Guild — the Commercial Guild’ll shake, an’… well, most likely the whole kingdom’ll get stirred up."
"Huh?"
"Well now… that does sound exciting."
The Guildmaster froze at Dad’s serious tone, while the Vice-Guildmaster smiled like he was delighted. Really, these two couldn’t be more different.
Still, the Guildmaster quickly straightened up to listen.
"Then I’d better pay close attention. What kind of magic is it?"
"It’s magic that makes drinkin’ water."
"It’s common knowledge that water from water magic isn’t drinkable… but if *you* are saying that, Alke, does that mean you’ve already tested it?"
"Aye, but see, I ain’t all that confident in my magic-sensing ability. So I reckoned the Vice-Guildmas should check it good. I drank some myself, and there weren’t no magic sickness, so it oughta be fine."
The Guildmaster just opened and closed his mouth, wordless, but decided it was faster to see than talk. So we got right to the experiment.
Dad set me down, and I took my position in front of the tub.
The Vice-Guildmaster sat cross-legged on the far side. A handsome grown man sitting like that… it somehow gave off a strange air of disappointment.
"Okay, here goes."
This was my fourth time, so I was smooth.
From both hands, I scattered my magic like a human sprinkler, caught the air, squeezed it tight, and big droplets splashed into the tub.
By aiming low and close to the tub, there was no splash. See? I’m a quick learner.
"… It actually made water."
I heard the faintest voice, but it was still water full of magic power. I pulled the magic out of it — sliding it away until only *pure water* was left.
"Done! Dad, I did it even better than last time."
"Aye, Vio, ya get better every time ya try."
"This has absolutely no magic left in it. It could be very useful for making potions, among other things.
Indeed… this would move not just the guild, but the whole kingdom. Guilds in the inland areas of the republic would drool over this.
Alke, have you considered that if people knew Vio had such knowledge, nobles might seek to marry into her family?"
Ughhh. Marrying into nobility? No way. I am *not* dealing with some short, balding, fat lord. Nope, nope, nope!
"Pffft! Yeah, that’s the ‘absolutely not’ face.
But listen, Vio — if ya were a noble’s daughter, ya wouldn’t have to be an adventurer, and you’d eat fine grub every day. You like studyin’, right? You could go to schools way fancier than the local learnin’ house.
In the royal capital, there’s a magic academy. Even commoners can get in if they’re exceptional, but without connections or coin, it’s near impossible. Nobles get in automatically. It’s so good, students even come from other countries. How ‘bout it?"
"School sounds nice, but tying myself to nobles for life is too risky. I’d rather make connections and get in as a commoner.
I want to visit every dungeon on this continent, and I want to meet dragons. I *want* to be an adventurer. No nobles.
Besides, this magic could help a lot of people, right? If we wait until I’m grown, people will die. So let the Vice-Guildmaster take credit and announce it publicly.
Originally, I just wanted to use water magic for washing dishes. This was an accident. I don’t need credit."
"For washing dishes?"
"An accident?"
The Vice-Guildmaster and Guildmaster looked puzzled. Dad nodded to them.
"She was tryin’ to figure how to use water magic for somethin’ other than attackin’. That’s how she ended up with this. Pullin’ the magic out so it’s drinkable came after."
Both of them turned to stare at me, so I gave a big nod. The Vice-Guildmaster wobbled to his feet and sat beside the Guildmaster.
I went over to Dad, and he lifted me back into his lap.
"I didn’t really get it just now. Your magic spread out, then gathered over the tub, and then water came out. After that, you pulled the mana out of it — is that right?
That’s all I could figure. And it was completely chantless. I dunno if I could do it even if you explained it."
The Guildmaster ran a hand through his hair, but honestly, he was mostly right. Pretty impressive for someone working just off observation.
"Yes… If Vio doesn’t want to be tied to nobles, we’ll need someone else to present this.
Luckily, because of yesterday’s events, I sent a letter to my mentor. I wanted his opinion on the difference between life magic and other types of magic. He’s an elf who gives special lectures at the magic academy. The letter went out this morning, so he should read it by early next week.
I’m sure he’ll be intrigued. When he replies, we can tell him about this water magic as well."
"Oi, an elf mentor… you mean *that* guy?"
"Yes. Perfect for this, wouldn’t you agree?"
"Ahh, he’ll definitely come. We’d better warn the marquis, or he’ll just show up without notice.
Still, for this, having him come might be a good thing."
They looked way too happy about it. Wait — elf? Did they just say *elf*?
I could meet an elf?! In our village there are only humans and beastkin. I’d heard there are dwarves in bigger towns, but dwarves and elves are like mandatory characters in fantasy novels.
Would they be beautiful? Delicate? Flat-chested? …Well, if it’s a guy, he’d be flat by default, but maybe handsome. Ohhh, I’m so excited!
For now, we decided the water generation magic would stay between the four of us, pending the elf mentor’s reply.
The letter would travel through the guild’s mini-teleportation circle, which can send packages about the size of a small parcel. It costs one silver coin per destination — 10,000 Lari. Since gathering 10 herbs only earns 50 Lari, that’s 200 times the amount.
No way I could afford that. That’s why they bundle letters and packages going to the same place.
But this time, the Vice-Guildmaster couldn’t wait, so he sent only the letter. It had already been transferred to the royal capital, and from there the guild would post a city-wide request to deliver it to the recipient.
A perfect blend of high-tech and old-fashioned delivery.
What do you think about this chapter?
