A Tome Called Lingua Magi

There once was a young man, who, in his high school years, became enamored with studying the Japanese language. He was so enamored, in fact, that he spent the greater part of his waking life from age seventeen and onward solely dedicated to its acquisition.

From mastering the 2,136 general-use kanji characters in under ninety days as a high school junior to passing the highest level of a standardized Japanese language exam shortly after turning eighteen, the man had no shortage of accomplishments when it came to his passion.

Upon joining the Japanese language program at the university he attended, he quickly rose through the ranks, eventually gaining the reputation of being the most promising student the department had ever seen. From “inspiring” to “unhinged,” his classmates had much to say about the passionate-yet-obsessed individual. Considering his regiment consisting of a grueling nine hours of Japanese study per day, it was only natural for the man to have garnered such a plethora of nicknames among those who knew him.

From the outside, it appeared that he had it all and was on his way to success in the world of language learning.

However, by the end of his junior year at university, the man hit a predicament that he never saw coming—not in a million years. While his top academic performance remained unwavering, he secretly grew to resent the Japanese program due to its unchallenging nature and the disconnect he felt with course materials. Graduation had also crept up on him, being just a year away. He was now mere moments from entering the real world, yet still had no idea what he would do after his time as a student came to an end.

What started as an innocent passion for Japanese learning four years prior had become an all-consuming obsession that left the man blinded to his own duties as a human being, and reality had set in that time was running out.

One day in the spring season, upon just turning twenty-one, the man was invited by the department director for a private career guidance consultation.

“......Ryuuhei. You’re looking awfully grim,” the director said calmly from behind his office desk. His voice was stern, yet carried a cordial tone behind its apparent coldness. “Is something the matter?”

“Oh, um, it’s nothing. I’ve just been thinking about a whole lot lately.”

“I still can’t believe you’re going to be a senior this year. It feels like just yesterday that you came to my office asking to join this program, and now here we are. Time flies, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it sure does,” Ryuuhei responded in a wry voice. “......So fast that I didn’t even bother to think about my future, that is,” he added internally with a hint of sarcasm.

The director broke the silence after a brief pause. He grinned amicably at Ryuuhei.

“Chin up, kid. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you. Interpreting, teaching, translation...I’m sure you’ll do well no matter what field you choose to pursue. You’re my star student, after all.”

Upon hearing those words, all Ryuuhei could manage was a forced smile, followed by a slight nod. “I appreciate the encouragement, Professor. In all honesty, though, I have no idea what I’m going to do when I graduate.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll figure something out. I might be worried about some of your classmates, but not you,” the director assured. “......Now then. If there’s nothing you need from me, you’re excused. I expect big things from you in your final year.”

Ryuuhei stood up from his chair and extended his hand toward the director. After exchanging a short handshake, he left the office and quietly shut the door behind him.

“......Please, worry about me too, sometimes,” he muttered quietly with an air of annoyance.

During the following months of summer break, Ryuuhei made a great effort to find himself and explore different options for his future. In spite of this, however, nothing seemed to click. He tried everything—from translation to teaching Japanese online to even considering graduate program enrollment—yet not one thing he dabbled with proved effective in capturing his attention.

One day, while riding his bike to the town’s public library during the final week of August, Ryuuhei recalled the words his aunt had imparted on him at a recent family gathering.

“Honestly, the reason you’re so bored with life is because nothing ever challenged you. Everything always came so easily that you never had to really try.

You need real competition. Something to humble you—something to reignite that spark that makes you go, ‘Right, maybe I was just a big fish in a little pond.’”

“......If something like that really existed for language learning, I’d sure love to know about it,” he mused to himself. “I joined the most difficult Japanese program in the country—even relocated to do it—and still, it’s not pushing me as hard as I’d imagined it would.”

Once he arrived at the library, Ryuuhei parked his bike at the rack located on the sidewalk outside the entrance and secured it with a cable lock. The moment he walked inside, he was greeted by the library’s cool interior—a pleasant contrast to the scalding summer heat that ravaged the town that day.

The librarian smiled at Ryuuhei and greeted him with a friendly wave. She was a young woman who looked no older than he was.

“Nice to see you again. I’m guessing you’re here to visit the Japanese section of the East Asian Wing as usual?”

Ryuuhei shrugged with a faint smile.

“You know me all too well by now.”

“Of course. You’re always checking out Japanese books every time you come here. ......Which reminds me—,” the librarian’s face lit up with enthusiasm as she pointed toward a newly-installed shelf of the East Asian Wing. “We just received a new shipment of novels a few days ago. Just thought you should know because you’re always fanboying over that stuff.”

Ryuuhei took a closer look at the shelf. Certainly, in all the times he had come here in the past, it had never been there before. Unable to contain his excitement, he made his way over to it with the fervor of a grade schooler in a toy store. The librarian shouted at him.

“Hey! Ryuuhei, no running in the library!”

After briefly rummaging through the novels on the shelf as though he were an archaeologist who struck hidden treasure, Ryuuhei frowned, and his shoulders slumped down in defeat.

“......Rats. I’ve read all of these before.”

“No kidding? You’re an odd one, my friend,” the librarian blurted with a distraught look on her face.

Ryuuhei was about to leave when he noticed something resting sideways high atop the new shelf. It blended in with the blackness of the shelf’s wood, which nearly caused him to miss it. He directed the librarian’s attention toward the item.

“What’s that up there?”

“Dunno. Let me get that for you,” the librarian said. “Wait right here while I get a stool.”

She ventured off momentarily and returned before long, classic library swivel in hand. After a brief struggle to reach the item, she finally managed to yank it off the top of the shelf and nearly fell before balancing herself.

“There you are. Almost broke my neck to get it for you.”

“Thanks,” Ryuuhei said as he took the item from her. It was a plain black book with an ornate scarlet emblem and silver Japanese text that spanned the cover.

“......A book?”

The librarian looked at him with a confused expression as she dismounted the swivel.

“I can’t read Japanese. What does that say?”

“......Lingua......Magi. It says ‘Lingua Magi’. The Japanese below the katakana says, ‘Gengo no Majutsushi.’ Translated, it means......Sorcerers of Language.”

Curious, Ryuuhei turned the book over and parsed the synopsis.

“After receiving a mysterious invitation, a local legend unknowingly finds himself facing challenge after challenge at the greatest Japanese language academy of the past, present, and future. Armed only with newfound ambition, he must overcome the trials and prove that he, too, can stand along the ranks of Lingua Magi.

The enigmatic Yakumo Sensei, the unrelenting Philosopher, the enchanting Kyouka—new company awaits our hero.

Experience the overlap of magic and language learning in a way never before told.”

“Well, this is certainly intriguing,” Ryuuhei thought to himself.

“I’d like to check this book out.”

“......Had a feeling you’d say that,” the librarian said with a smirk. “Follow me.”

After venturing behind the counter of the checkout desk, she typed the name of the book into the database.

“......That’s odd. Nothing’s coming up. There’s no barcode anywhere on the book, either. I’m sorry, my man. Give up on checking this one out.”

“Tsk. Dang it. Looks like I’ll have to stay here and read it, then.”

Ryuuhei begrudgingly dragged himself to a nearby sofa in the library’s lobby and plopped himself onto it. Then, he opened the book and started to read it.