What is Magic?

Chapter VII

What is Magic?

Occupied with his training, summer passed like a breeze, and fall slipped in quietly, dressing the trees in yellows, oranges, and reds. Autumn weather tended to be mild around these areas, and winter rarely brought snow, he was told, but today the universe and the gods conspired to make liars out of everyone and him quite miserable. It had been raining for most of the day, accompanied by cold winds.

“Let’s stop for now, Master Enji.” Pol rested his long staff over his shoulders and extended a hand to Enji, who lay on the ground spread-eagled.

“Thanks.” Enji rose and supported himself with his staff, wiping the rain from his eyes. During spear practice, the drizzle that had plagued most of the day had turned into a downpour, soaking him to the bone and making him shiver like a puppy.

“Let’s go inside, Enji Lo. I’m hungry,” Popa urged and pulled him by the hand.

“Wait. I have to dry and change first; if not, I’ll catch a cold.”

“Catch a cold?” Popa eyed him quizzically. “What is that?”

“Don’t you know about the common cold? It’s when you get sick with a fever, sneeze, and have a sore throat.” You lie in bed at home, and your crush visits to cook a nice rice porridge. Yeah, right! Only in my dreams.

“Never heard of it,” Pol said, scratching his head as he walked beside them.

“You’re kidding.” Then he noticed something. He looked between Pol and Popa, bewildered. “You two are not getting wet!”

“Oh, it’s because we’re using a barrier,” Popa stated. Enji glanced at Pol, who confirmed Popa’s words by nodding.

“A barrier! I understand that Pol and Sol can use protection barriers, but I didn’t know you could, too, Popa.”

“Mine won’t hold against a sword or stop ranged attacks,” Popa said, “but it’s sufficient for rain and cold. Anyone can use it.”

“The hell, why can everyone use it! I’m obviously in the minority here! Probably the only one!” Enji ranted all the way to the house.

Once inside, he darted to his room to get changed. He threw his wet clothes in a corner and put on his tracksuit. At least it’s red, and not green. Enji thought, remembering a certain anime. He didn’t have a towel in the room, so he dried his head with one of his shirts. Feeling cold, he wrapped himself in a blanket.

Wrapped like a burrito, he arrived at the kitchen. The three girls and the two boys stared at him as if he were a lunatic.

“What?” he uttered belligerently. “I’m freezing.” He hugged his blanket tightly.

“My lord, do you wish to be embraced by me or any of the girls?” Nilsei asked.

“I don’t want to be embraced by any girl!”

“The boys then, my lord?”

“Count me out of it,” Sol said without taking his eyes off his food.

“Ah! That’s not it! What I wish for is a hot bath!”

“I’m sorry, my lord. I took it for granted that you can’t use any magic.” She turned to Silma and asked, “Can you heat the tub for him?”

“Now?” Silma stopped mid-bite.

“Please.” Nilsei smiled.

After taking another bite of her chicken leg, she rose from the chair and headed toward the laundry room. “Come with me,” she commanded, muttering some unintelligible words under her breath. Enji followed her, his eyes fixated on her nervous tail.

“Fill it with water.” She pointed to the large wooden basin in the center of the laundry room. The wash basin was large enough for two people to sit comfortably while soaking. It was already half full from earlier when he had filled it for Popa.

“Right.” Enji emptied two of the three pails that were against the wall into the basin.

Silma recited an incantation, and a ball of fire floated above the water. Within a few seconds, the water began to emit plumes of vapor, and the fireball disappeared. “Use the other bucket to get the temperature to your taste. I’m going back to my food.”

“Thank you. Could you tell Popa to get me a towel when she finishes? She can leave it by the door.”

“Anything else, my lord?” she said with sarcasm.

“I know I can always count on you, my beautiful lady.” Enji did an elaborate bow.

Silma harrumphed and stomped out of the room. Enji caught a glimpse of her face turning a deep shade of red.

He waited until he couldn’t hear her anymore to undress. Probing the water temperature with his hand, Enji found it to his liking. He used one of the pails to wash himself. He had no soap, so he just splashed cold water on his body and immediately dunked himself into the hot tub.

“Ahh!” Enji leaned back and rested his arms along the perimeter of the round basin. He missed the hot tub in his grandparents’ home. Even the shower in his parents’ old apartment would have been a luxury right now. He couldn’t recall the last time he visited an onsen. He needed to negotiate some favors with Silma so he could always have a hot water bath like this.

“Enji Lo, I brought you a towel!”

“Huh? Wait, Popa! Don’t come in, leave it by the door!”

“Why?” She stood in front of the washbasin, looking at Enji with a quizzical expression.

“Don’t you see I’m naked?”

“Oh, I see what you mean.” She removed her dress, leaving only a band of cloth around her breasts and some brief underpants. She climbed into the tub with him.

“What are you doing?!” Enji tried to cover himself with his hands while trying not to peek at the girl.

“Oh, you already started, my lord. I brought soap to wash you.”

“What?! Wait! Nilsei, don’t come near. I’m naked.”

“Yei! We’re naked,” Popa splashed water on herself, making her undergarments almost transparent.

“Why, my lord? I have bathed the boys before.” She knelt next to the tub after taking off her dress, leaving only her undergarments on, just as Popa did. She began lathering his head with soap.

“Ack! What are you doing? I can do that myself!”

“Shh, my lord, if you keep fidgeting so much, you are going to get soap in your eyes.”

“That’s the least of my worries! Popa, leave my feet alone!

“I’m going to wash them.” Popa lifted one of his legs, making him fall backward against Nilsei, who hugged him from behind.

“Nilsei, there is something soft of yours touching my back!”

“Keep still, my lord, or my top might slip off.”

“W-whaaat?!”

“I lost the soap!” Popa exclaimed. With her head submerged, her rump up in the air, and her tail wagging furiously, she searched for the soap.

“Popaaa!” Enji screamed, shielding his eyes from the onslaught of splashed water.

“What is all this racket?” A commanding voice came from the doorway.

The two girls and Enji turned to the door where Eithea was glaring at them with arms crossed under her breasts. From behind her, Silma was trying to get a peek at what was going on inside.

***

“Where’s Popa?” Enji asked when Silma arrived in the kitchen.

“She is with Mistress.”

“Is she getting punished because of me?”

“No, Mistress is mad at you, not at her. She’s only teaching Popa proper behavior in front of you,” Silma replied. “She said that you are a bad influence on us girls.” She finished setting up the writing utensils that Enji would use for his language exercises.

“It wasn’t my fault that...” Enji shut up when Silma glared at him. He hoped that Nilsei wouldn’t get punished either. To avoid repeating what had happened, he needed to squeeze some extra credit from the book he sold Eithea for a basin of his own.

Silma invoked a small flame to light the table candles. “Today, you are going to practice writing a letter to—”

“Silma, what is magic?” he interrupted her after watching her magic at work.

“What do you mean?” Silma twitched her ears and the tip of her tail.

“Do you have to have a pool of mana to be able to use a spell like you just did?”

“Mana?”

Enji realized that when he said ‘mana,’ it didn’t translate into her language. “I don’t know what to call whatever makes magic happen.”

“Hmm...” Silma thought for a few seconds. “The [Sug] around us powers the magic arts that we use. We recite incantations to summon its power and will it into performing different effects.”

Sug? The word didn’t translate into anything that he was familiar with. Initially, he thought that ‘Sug’ was something like the ‘Ki’ of a famous monkey-tailed anime from which he drew his power. Neither did it mean summoning or contracting a spirit to borrow their magic energy. Nor did it mean the famous Force from a certain space opera. Therefore, it must be something unique to this world, and it’s harnessed using spells. “Would you teach me a simple spell?” Enji pleaded.

“Alright. I will recite the ‘little flame’ spell.” Silma extended her hand forward with the palm up and commenced the incantation,

--“Hear me, God of fires! I shall cast a small flame.

--“Attach upon my body the vestment of the [Sug]!

--“Gather from the essence of life that the gods have bestowed on the world the food of embers.

--“Gather from the essence of life that the gods have bestowed on the world twice the liquid of the flames.

--“Unite in a matrimony of harmony in the eyes of the Gods.

--“Ignite with the essence of life with the passion of love above my hand!

--“Culmination, since we have been gifted by the Gods!”

Floating above her palm, a small flame appeared, and in a few moments, it extinguished itself.

Enji had been listening to her words while staring at her hand the whole time, trying to see if there was any trick, but it just happened like a miracle. Well, it was magic. Straightening up, he looked Silma in the eyes and asked, “You invoked the gods in your spell; then the Sug must be divine power, am I wrong?”

“I don’t know.” Silma shook her head. “I had seen the same spell cast without mentioning the Gods.”

“What gods do you, or the people around here, worship?” Enji asked.

“The Kingdom is very lenient as to what faith their subjects worship. As for me, I follow the Goddess Sil, the protector of our kind. My name is based on hers.”

Enji initially imagined a cat-headed goddess similar to Egypt’s Bastet. But because he was Japanese, that image was replaced by a big-breasted, beautiful woman with cat ears and a skimpy dress. He shook his head to dispel the thoughts. Silma glanced at him but refrained from asking.

“Silma, could you write that spell for me?”

“No. You write it while I dictate.”

After writing the spell down and Silma checking it, Enji repeated it several times in his head. Sure that he wouldn’t fumble the words and cause a catastrophe, he extended his right hand and recited the incantation using the most solemn tone that he could manage.

Nothing happened. It was a total failure. “What did I do wrong?” Enji asked.

“The spell was correct. Did you visualize every component of it?”

“Visualize? I don’t even know what the words refer to.”

“First, you have to feel the [Sug] that is all around...” she gestured with her arms wide open. “...and command it to envelop you. Then—”

“Enji Lo, Mistress wants to see you!” Popa shouted as she stormed into the kitchen.

***

Enji, nervous, knocked on Eithea’s room door. After receiving permission to enter, he closed the door behind him. Eithea was looking out into the night, perched on the windowsill like the last time he had visited her. The only difference was that this time she was not as lightly dressed, and there were no visible moons. Her attire consisted of a long, ornate dress with wide sleeves. Her hair was bundled into a ponytail, giving her a more youthful look.

Kasus, her butler—Enji, who chose to believe he was one—poured some hot liquid into two fine-looking cups, setting them on a small round table with two opposing chairs.

“Sit.” She finally faced away from the window and gazed at him.

Enji was prepared to be admonished about the incident with the wash basin. “After you, my la—Eithea.” She looked at him oddly before approaching the table. Enji knew she didn’t like to be treated as a noble and kicked himself, figuratively, about his slip of the tongue. I hope she doesn’t think I’m mocking her.

He waited for her to sit before following suit. She picked up her cup and smiled. Enji took that as a sign to do the same. He took a small sip of the hot concoction. He found it to have a mild and pleasant taste; it was slightly bitter, but not quite as bitter as tea or coffee, and it gave a fragrance that reminded him of flowers.

“How is the learning of our language coming along?”

He thought she probably knew about his progress from Silma, but she asked to start the conversation. “I can read and understand the books that Silma lent me.”

“Do you want me to remove the collar?”

The collar around his neck was for marking slaves as property and was only removable by the master’s command. The translation magic used on it had been instrumental in the rapid learning of the language of the kingdom, and he didn’t want to lose that advantage.

“Is it possible to enchant another object that I could wear? The collar is uncomfortable for sleeping and bathing. I would like to have the ability to translate other languages as well.”

“So, you’re thinking of expanding your horizon beyond Whitewall?”

“You never know in what seaport your ship will leave you stranded.”

Eithea rose from her chair and slammed both palms on the table. “You have traveled by boat?”

Her outburst startled him. “Well... my country is an island nation, surrounded by many other islands. I had visited some of them.” Yeah, only a couple. In middle school, our class took a two-hour ferry to Izu Oshima Island, and my parents and I also took the Tokyo-Wan Ferry for sightseeing.

“B-but... how do the wooden hulls survive the rough seas and tall waves? They will be crushed.”

How big are the waves in this world? Then he remembered the two moons and what he learned about tides. “Our ships have iron hulls,” he ventured meekly.

Eithea slumped into her chair, staring at him, speechless. Kasus promptly refilled their cups. Eithea slowly took the cup to her lips; her hand trembled slightly as she pondered.

Enji sipped his tea, giving Eithea furtive glances. Have I angered her?

Finally, Eithea seemed to have come out of whatever deep thought she was engrossed in.

“I’ll send you on a trip. Be ready in the next two days.”

“Huh?”