A Steady World

Caelum inhaled deeply, savoring the stillness of dawn as he surveyed the fields. The air was crisp and cool, carrying the faint scent of dew and freshly turned earth.

He plucked out another stray weed amongst the rows—anything to distract himself from the thoughts running through his mind.

The last few days had passed quickly. Not much had changed since the incident in the forest; he continued learning Val's language and was making decent progress.

However, one thing had: her sudden insistence that he try to use magic.

She would show off her spells whenever she could, weaving shimmering lights or stirring the wind with a flick of her wrist. Every other time he saw her, she was doing something magical. Sometimes it was subtle, sometimes it wasn't, but in either case it was clear she wanted him to follow suit.

The problem? No matter how many times she demonstrated, it was wasted effort.

He was just a guy, not some sort of mage or sorcerer. Even if he had mana, which he didn't, he had no idea how to use it.

Caelum shook his head and pushed the thought aside. He could worry about it more once the morning chores were done.

He continued walking along the rows of plants, examining each one closely. There were seven crops growing in the fields currently: potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, lettuce, and cabbage. He was more or less done checking for any pests and weeds, but still had a little bit left to go.

It had been nearly a week since he arrived, and slowly, he was settling into a routine. The work could be hard; the language lessons were a lot to digest; and the uncertainty of his future was daunting.

Still… he was starting to enjoy it here.

Even if he still didn’t fully understand this world or Valeria herself, there was a quiet rhythm to life here, and there was something grounding in that stability.

There was only one thing that nagged him about it.

He had yet to see anyone else.

As far as he knew, the city he had glimpsed in the distance was nearly a full day’s travel if he went straight there. And from what he could tell, there wasn’t a single soul within walking distance of the house.

It was unnerving. Were he and Val the only ones out here?

He shook his head as he finished combing through the last of the rows. Now came the part that he had learned to dread.

Watering.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the process of watering the plants; he actually found it to be rather relaxing. No, the issue was how Val wanted him to do it.

He briefly reminisced to three days ago when she had first tried showing him how to create water.

"Come on, Cael," she had urged, her arms wrapped around his waist and her chin resting lightly on his shoulder. "Magic is easy! Focus! Let the mana flow!"

She had been so insistent that he could conjure water just like she could, despite his many repeated protests that he couldn't use magic.

And, of course, nothing had happened.

Still, that hadn't stopped her from making him try. Again. And again. And again.

Now, standing in the field, he sighed and prepared himself for yet another failure. At least this morning Val was preoccupied with the animals.

He raised his hand up to the sky and focused on his palm. He imagined the droplets forming from thin air and falling down from the sky, landing on his fingers, and trickling down his skin.

"Please," he whispered.

He concentrated as hard as he could, willing the water to appear.

He waited.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

He lowered his hand and sighed.

"Not that surprising I guess," he said to himself. He had known that nothing would happen, and yet he was still disappointed. There was a part of him that wanted to believe that maybe he could do something magical.

Well, to be more honest, he just wanted to see Val excited.

Whenever she used magic, she looked so happy, so proud of herself. She had that same expression every time she tried to teach him, and each time he failed, he felt guilty for letting her down.

It wasn’t like back home, where people either expected him to fail or didn’t care at all. This was different. It was harder to disappoint someone who actually cared.

"…Cared?"

That thought stuck in his mind longer than he expected. Did Val really care about him? And if she did… how?

He had accepted a while ago that she wasn’t putting on an act. Unlike most people he had known, she was genuine. Her concern wasn’t fake or purely out of obligation, and her kindness wasn’t calculated. But what did it mean?

The eccentric girl had gone out of her way to help him learn her language, had given him a place to stay, and had saved him from a monster.

But why did she do it? Pity? Kindness? Friendship? Or was it just because she was crazy?

"Yeah right, more like crazy… cute."

Cael groaned as he realized he had said that out loud.

"I must be crazy too," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

He glanced around making sure that no one had heard him. Luckily, the only living creatures nearby were the farm animals in the barn, the chickens, and some small rabbit-like creatures off in the distance—

"Caw!"

Cael jumped in surprise as a crow-like creature landed on the ground and ruffled its feathers.

"Crap! Don't scare me like that!"

The bird tilted its head, regarding him curiously. "Caw?"

"Bah, what are you looking at? Never seen someone who can't use magic?"

It cawed once again, and Cael frowned. "…Actually, that might be exactly what's going on."

The crow made a noise that almost sounded like mockery, and Cael rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'll show you, stupid bird. Behold! I shall summon forth rain to nourish the soil!"

He held up his hand in a grandiose gesture, trying to look impressive. "Waterfall! Hydros! Water! Rain! Moisture! Wet!"

*drip*

A single droplet of liquid formed on the tip of his index finger and beaded off into the soil.

"…" He looked down at the tiny drop of water in disbelief. Then, he turned his attention to the bird.

"Hear me, o' feathered one! I am Caelum Hoshino! A great and mighty sorcerer who can create a single drop of water!"

"Caw?" The crow blinked, tilting its head.

"Yes, it is I!" Caelum continued dramatically, ignoring the fact that the bird was mocking him. "The powerful mage whose spells have the power to moisten the soil and quench the thirst of the earth!"

"Caw." The crow ruffled its feathers, seemingly unimpressed. Then, without any further comment, it flew off, leaving Cael alone in the field.

He watched the bird go, then looked at his palm.

"A drop of water huh?"

He still couldn't believe it. Had he really done that? It wasn't even close to the torrential amount of water that Val had produced, but it was something.

"Maybe I really do have mana after all." He flexed his hand, staring at it curiously. "Huh. So how do I repeat—"

*FWOOSH!*

A sudden blast of water erupted from his palm, shooting directly into his face.

"GAH!"

He stumbled backward, flailing wildly as the stream drenched him from head to toe.

"Stop, stop, stop!" he yelled, shaking his hand desperately. The jet of water continued to spray him, and he scrambled to get to his feet.

After a few chaotic seconds, the flow finally ceased, leaving Cael sprawled on the ground gasping and completely soaked.

He glanced around, hoping that no one had witnessed that humiliating display of magical ineptitude.

"Cael?!" a voice said from behind him.

Of course. He turned his head to look behind him.

Standing nearby with her eyes wide in shock was Valeria, clutching a basket of eggs.

Steam started to radiate off his face in embarrassment.

"Hi," he said weakly, sitting in a puddle of mud. "...How much did you see?"

Valeria didn’t answer. Instead, she set the basket down and ran to him, covering her mouth with both hands. A rapid, excited stream of words tumbled from her lips, most of which he couldn’t understand—but he did catch the words 'water', 'magic', 'success', and 'amazing'.

"Ah, uh… I'm glad you're happy," he replied, wiping the mud from his hands. He tried to avoid looking at her, but it was pretty difficult to ignore. She was practically glowing.

She knelt beside him and grabbed his hand, tracing the lines of his palm with a delicate finger. "!!!"

"Y-yeah." He nodded. "I did magic… I guess? I don't understand what happened though. Don't get too excited—"

Before he could finish, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

He swallowed hard. Her warmth seeped into him as she nuzzled his cheek affectionately.

A sudden flux of fluffy feelings bubbled up inside of his chest. He wasn't sure if it was because he had finally cast a spell, or if it was because she was so happy for him.

Probably both.

Hesitantly, he hugged her back, awkwardly resting his hands on her back. They stayed like that for several moments before she finally pulled away, still beaming.

"!" Cael noticed that he had gotten her dress a bit muddy from the hug, but she didn't seem to mind. Instead, she just kept smiling and talking to him in a very excited tone of voice.

"I wec'g dakoara og! You vov og! Luvsijacfof! That bef amazing! How vov you vi og? Wec you do og again?"

"Uh…" He tried to keep up with the conversation, but he struggled how fast she was still going. "Val? Speak slowly please?"

That did the trick. She stopped and took a deep breath before beginning again, slower this time.

"You did magic. Water magic." She pointed to his hand and then to his head. "Your mana is like mine. Try wind next!"

"Wind huh?" He grimaced, remembering the razor-sharp blades she had summoned against the monster.

"I… don't think I want to yet. Might kill myself. Might hurt you."

"No, no, no! I'll teach!" She patted his hand reassuringly. "I'm proud of you, Cael! You did good!"

He gulped, looking away. "…Thanks."

"Okay! Let’s go! I'll teach you wind!"

"Wait! What about the watering? And the mud?!"

"Watering later! Mud doesn't matter. Magic is more important!"

"I'm not sure I agree—"

Before he could protest, she grabbed his wrist and started dragging him somewhere with a giddy smile on her face.

He supposed that he didn’t really have a choice.

Not that he really minded.