Swords and magic

We entered the town without a hitch. What would have been extremely difficult for a suspicious person with strange clothes and no backstory or alibi like me was made so simple by being with Julie. The guards opened the gates upon seeing the crest on the carriage without question and we were let in. I gave Julie an appreciative look. She just tilted her head and looked back at me with a ‘did I do something?’ look on her face. Cute.

I was pulled from my reverie by the vibrant sights and sounds of the town. It seemed to be market day, though I’d say people were a bit too energetic just for that.

“Ah, it looks like the festival’s preparations are coming along great.” Marie commented. Julie nodded and turned to look at the myriad stalls we were passing with all sorts of goods and wares for sale. For a small town, they seemed to be doing quite well economically.

I was more occupied with the multicolour banner that had been strung up over main street and the little straw orbs that hung from them.

“What are those?” I asked curiously.

“They are a traditional decoration for this festival.” Julie responded with a smile. “They symbolise the goddess of the harvest as it is said that she dwells in the very wheat itself. People hang them up at this time of the year for good luck with the harvest.”

Hmm. I feel like I had heard that sort of premise before.

We soon reached the main town square which was chock full of people and stalls. The carriage wouldn’t be able to pass through any further so we all dismounted. I guess this is where we would part ways. I felt a bit sad and was about to say my goodbyes when the shrill sound of a pot banging echoed through the square.

In the middle, hanging off the top of a lamppost, an old hunchback was banging a ladle against a metal pot to get the marketgoers’ attention. “Hear, hear! Doom is soon upon ye!” He yelled as he kept banging the pot.

“Is that… a soothsayer?” I eyed Julie as she shook her head.

“Nothing of the sort. He belongs to a cult that believes the world will end soon.” She sighed and let her shoulders drop. “They’re usually harmless, but as you can see, quite obstructive.”

Two town guards had approached the lamppost and were trying their hardest to pull the man down but they only succeeded in getting kicked in the face by the flailing man. I stifled a laugh.

“Ahem.” I cleared my throat. “Well, thank you for this short but enjoyable time we had together.” I gave a little bow to Julie. “It seems that you are here on business and I don’t want to impose any longer.” I was about to turn around and walk off, wondering about what my next actions would be but I heard Julie call out to me.

“Wait! Umm…” I turned back round to see her thinking hard on the spot. What was it? Was she going to ask me for an exorbitant amount of money as a fee for sneaking me into town which I obviously wouldn’t be able to pay and then use her authority to turn me into a slave because I wasn’t going to be able to pay up? Maybe I wouldn’t mind that too much if it was Julie…

“I, hmm…” She interrupted my strange chain of thought. “I saw how you were able to use the flameblade back there.” She said in a quieter voice as she stepped closer to me, almost whispering in my air. Her proximity sent a shiver down my spine, not one of fear, but a very warm and pleasant one.

“You see, I am in this town for a particular reason, and the more people I have to help me, the better.” She continued. Then she nodded to Marie who stepped forward with a little pouch that sagged with what was obviously a good number of coins. “I would, of course, compensate you for your troubles.”

I was about to accept on the spot, but my head told me to think a little bit before being played by this pretty girl. “I would be happy to, if I knew more about the nature of what exactly you are here for.” I said after a moment of thought. “Though, it is difficult to discuss that here. Shall we talk over lunch?” I said at the same time as my stomach let out a growl that was louder than my words.

Julie looked stunned for a second, then laughed. “Hehe, sure, why not. I was starting to feel a little hungry myself.”

With that, even though I had suggested it, I was now being treated by Julie as I sat across from her on the terrace of a tavern in the town square under large umbrellas. Marie stood behind her, ever the diligent maid as long as her mouth was closed. The three knights from before had apparently taken the chance to go hit up the pub and Julie had let out an exasperated sigh watching the day-drinkers merrily head towards the bar.

We dug into the food, which did greatly resemble some sort of northern European cuisine. Mashed potatoes, some kind of meat, some sauces, and gravy. And small pickled round vegetables that were almost like radishes but much sweeter. The food in general tasted heavenly though I wasn’t sure if that was because I was that hungry.

“So, I take that you are of some noble house?” I said eyeing the crest of the golden eagle on her sweater.

Julie nodded and patted at her lips with a napkin before starting. “I did never introduce myself fully. I am Julie von Besselschaft, the eldest daughter of the Besselschafts.” She said that as if that meant something to me. Maybe it would have to anyone in this world, but I hadn’t the slightest idea of who the Besselschafts were. She cocked her head, surprised at my lack of reaction, but continued. “My father is the Marquis and lord of this domain. And Lydenburg,” she gestured widely to indicate the town we were in, “is one of our most economically significant towns.”

“I see.” I nodded. “I’m sorry, I’m not too familiar with the nobility of this place or their customs so if you could cut me some slack I would really appreciate it.” I said sheepishly

Julie shook her head. “Oh don’t even worry. It’s actually a lot easier for me to speak this way when people aren’t calling me Young Lady von Besselschaft and all sorts of other things.” She sighed. I guess nobles had it difficult in a different way.

“But returning to my point earlier.” She had delicately cut a small piece of the meat and put it in her mouth, chewing modestly before continuing. “I would like to recruit your skills for a clandestine mission.” She said.

“A clandestine mission?” That sounded exciting. But how would I explain that I actually had no idea how to use magic, forget any semblance of martial skills?

“I would think about it if you told me a bit more.” I leaned back in my own chair, studying her poker face.

“I would be more than happy to, after having received your agreement to join us.”

“”Hmm”” we both looked at each other.

I threw my hands up. “Fine, I’ll do it. Curiosity killed the cat I guess, now tell me, what’s going on?” I leaned back in over the table, my interest apparent as Julie smiled back.

“Excellent.” She leaned in close too. It felt strangely intimate but I was too focused on her story to think that.

“I was actually dispatched here on my father – the Marquis’ orders.” She said in a low voice. “I rushed from the academy, as you can see by me still wearing the uniform.”

Ah, so that was a uniform. That made a bit more sense.

“The reason for this sudden trip stems from a concerning piece of information my father had received from a spy in this town right before the poor spy was killed.”

Killed? I had joined something a lot more dangerous than I had initially thought.

“And… what was that information?” I asked, also in a low voice.

Julie looked around before turning back to me and dropping a bombshell. “That this town’s mayor is sacrificing innocent civilians to summon a demon.”

I looked at her with an air of disbelief and cynicism. I was met only with a serious stare. Marie behind her nodded gravely. I see. To me, having the common sense of my old world, this seemed like a tall tale. But in this world with magic, there were bound to be demons, and I couldn’t take that fact lightly.

“So, you are here to stop the mayor before he summons this… demon?”

Julie nodded. “We have another spy in the household of the mayor. We have received confirmation that the mayor is indeed holding prisoners hostage under the title of criminals. Our plan is to infiltrate his mansion tonight, and I want to bolster our forces as much as possible.” She said in a serious tone.

“I see. However, there is a slight problem with this plan.” Julie looked at me quizzically. “You see,” I continued. “I don’t actually know how to use magic.”

Julie and Marie both stared blankly at me, then each other, then back to me again.

We wrapped up lunch and I joined them at the inn they were staying at. Julie had used her authority to reserve one more room for me. The knights had retired to their room to sleep off the alcohol before the mission and Julie had invited me to her living room to go over tonight’s plan. I sat across from her in an armchair as Marie served us coffee.

“I don’t want to be a deadweight so if it’s that serious I think you should go without me.” I said, looking down at the table with a sigh.

Julie looked at me strangely. “Why would you think you’re a deadweight? I’ve never seen anyone wield the flameblade with such intensity before.”

I shook my head. “I can’t use magic. If you asked me to activate it again then I probably wouldn’t be able to.”

Julie looked at Marie who understood and went to the wall, picking up a similar sword to the one from before and handed it to Julie. She drew the sword and held it up. A second later, the blade caught on fire, though it was nowhere as intense as when I had used it to cut down the goblin leader. Then, she wordlessly passed the sword to me. Holding it again in my hand it felt a lot heavier than before. It must have been the adrenalin that had allowed me to use it like that before. I tried to concentrate hard on that image of flames but nothing happened. I sighed. “Well, there you have it.”

I was about to put the sword down when Julie eyed me with great suspicion. “Are you a spy of the mayor?” She said bluntly.

“What? Why would you think that?” I felt the air grow hostile.

“You didn’t even try to pour your mana into the sword.” She said, as she picked it up and wreathed it in flames again, this time pointing it at me. “You can’t fool a student of the Widrow Magic Academy.”

“Woah woah woah!” I put my hands up and leaned back as I felt the heat of the sword. “I really don’t know how to do that! Maybe I was able to do it earlier because it was a life or death situation!”

Julie kept the sword pointed at me, then dropped its point, extinguishing it with a sigh. “I can’t tell if you’re lying or not. However, we can’t have you roaming around with this information so we’ll have to keep you in our custody till the mission is over.”

“Wait, hold on, I really mean it in that I don’t know how to activate it.” I said quickly. “Could you at least walk me through it?”

She looked at me, a puzzled expression on her face but acquiesced nonetheless. “Hold this” She held out the sword with one hand, then nodded and pushed the sword towards my face as if to say ‘hold it with me you dolt’. I obeyed and gripped the exposed part of the hilt, my hand brushing against hers. She didn’t seem to mind as much as I did.

“I will pour some mana into it now. Memorise this feeling.”

As she did, I felt her hand grow slightly warmer, slightly tingly, the same sensation as when I had swallowed some of the water Marie had dropped on my head. What’s this? This time I could feel a distinct flow of something, emanating from Marie’s hand and into the sword. The blade caught alight again, this time burning slightly stronger than when Marie had done it alone.

It was now that I noticed a similar feeling of something almost “leaking” from my hand into the sword. I wasn’t consciously expelling it so I guess it only added a small amount to the flame’s intensity. Is this the mana Julie was talking about?

That feeling slowly spread from my hand to my arm, then my chest, then my torso and eventually to the rest of my body. If I had to describe it words, it was similar to being in the cold rain for a long time, then having something warm and dry touch your back and having that feeling spread throughout your body. However, that was a temporary feeling. This one felt more permanent. I withdrew my hand from the hilt and now that I had been made aware of it, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. This… this was it! This was the mana I had been so desperately craving ever since arriving in this world!

With a shaking hand, I reached out to take the extinguished sword from Julie’s hands, who looked at me with unyielding suspicion. I could feel Marie tense as I did.

Ignoring them for now, I closed my eyes and, getting a feel for the flow of mana around my body, directed it towards my arm. It was an extremely difficult feeling to describe. How can I describe how I moved my arm? I just thought about it and it happened. No, I didn’t even think about it. I willed it and my arm moved. It was the same feeling.

However, my mana felt sluggish and my forehead creased as I tried to figure out how to move it around. In another analogy, it felt like trying to move my leg after it had fallen asleep. All of a sudden, I felt a surge as I pushed it hard towards my right hand. Ah, this was it, this was the feeling!

However, it may have been too much. The sword not only caught on fire, but became a flamethrower of sorts and shot a column of flame right up to the ceiling, singing it before the all-too-familiar torrent of water came pouring down on me once again.

I looked at the two of them, a blank expression on my face, dripping with water. Marie sighed. Julie looked taken aback, then let out another laugh. “Haha! I feel like I haven’t laughed this much in a while. You really are a strange person.” She said, wiping away a tear.

I sat there obediently as Julie blow-dried me with her wind magic again.

“Sorry to doubt you, but it really does seem like you have no control over your mana yet.” She said as I tried to pat down my hair now all puffed up again. “But I can see that you have immense potential…” She looked at me thoughtfully. Then she got up and walked over to me, earnestly taking both my hands in hers and bringing her face close to mine.

“Wha- what?” I sat up straight and stopped breathing as Julie looked me right in my eyes.

“I think you should enrol in the Academy. No, you must. It would be an absolute waste.” She said with a gleam in her eyes. “I will recommend you personally to the director. So please!”

“I, uhh, aren’t I too old to join the academy?” Julie looked at me like I had said something strange. That’s when I realised I hadn’t taken a look at myself since I came to this world. I looked down at my hands and they did seem different than usual.

“Aren’t you the same age as me?” she asked dumbfoundedly. “Sixteen?”

Sixteen!? Had I regressed by a whole six years?

“Ah, yeah, I guess so.” I gave a nervous laugh.

She was still holding onto my hands tightly and when she realised it, she quickly let go and put a hand to her mouth, clearing her throat before sitting back down, with a little “ahem”. Cute.

“Forgive my little outburst” said Julie as she sat back down and took another sip of her coffee. “But I have a duty to my station to ensure that talented people are put to use. And I believe that it is in your own interests to join the academy, you know?” She continued. “It greatly improves the chances of landing a stable job compared to… whatever you are doing at the moment.”

I remembered how she had first seen me prostrating myself on the ground on that dirt track earlier and I felt my ears become hot with embarrassment.

“I, uh, well…” I stuttered. “I don’t really have the means to pay for something like that.”

“I will ask my father to cover it.” She replied instantly. Wow, she definitely was going to use that to recruit me to her own house later, I thought. But, it’s not like I had any choice in the matter at this point.

I put my hands up in defeat. “Very well, I accept. I’ll enrol at this Wilson Magic Academy or whatever.”

“Widrow Magic Academy.”

“Ah yes, that.”

We both looked at each other, then gave a light chuckle. Julie then turned to Marie.

“Would you be able to fetch ‘that’ item for Alfonse? I think it would suit him perfectly if it came down to a battle.”

“That item?” I looked at her with an apparent look of confusion but Julie just smiled back as Marie disappeared to the adjacent room, then returned with what seemed to be a pair of steel gauntlets lined with leather. Marie placed them in front of me at the table and took her position behind Julie again as she began to explain.

“These gauntlets are enchanted to convert your mana into shockwaves, much like the flameblade converts mana to fire.” She said, donning one of them on her right hand. “However, the amount of mana you need to pour into it for it to do any damage is quite high.” She said as she put the gauntlet against my cheek gently. I blushed at the gesture but then felt a gentle vibration from the glove, almost like an electric massager.

Slowly getting used to this whole mana business, I put on the other gauntlet on my left hand and tried forcing my mana into it again. Nothing happened for a short moment, then the gauntlet began to vibrate at such a speed that an extremely high pitched sound filled the room. My eyes grew wide. It was like an ultrasonic sound emitter! Then exactly how much damage could the gauntlet really do? I looked around and grabbed a napkin off the table, draping it across the gauntlet. It was torn to shreds in the blink of an eye.

I looked at Julie with an expression of bewilderment and surprise, only to see that she had the same look on her face.

“That… is quite something.” She commented, blinking rapidly. “I’ve only ever seen it used to impart single heavy shockwaves but it seems that your constant flow of mana is making it vibrate at unimaginable speeds.”

That didn’t quite explain why the napkin had been torn apart though. I had an idea, though. It seems that touching something allowed for the vibrations to match its resonant frequency and tear it apart in an instant. Scary.

I took off the gauntlet and put it on the table with a shaking hand. My hands were trembling. Julie looked at me worriedly.

“Are you alright?” she asked with obvious concern in her eyes, reaching out to put a hand on my trembling arm.

“Ah, uh, yes, don’t worry about me.” I managed to blabber. Julie also realised it and quickly retracted her arm, slightly blushing.

I cleared my throat and then looked sharply in Marie’s direction as I felt a flow of mana gather above my head. Wait, how did that work? Did mana attract itself? To me it felt like the mana in my body had gathered near my head as Marie had unsheathed her wand and pointed it above me. There was a lot I still didn’t know and I intended to experiment with it till I understood everything.

“Marie” Julie said sternly and Marie sighed and lowered her wand. 

“I would rather if you didn’t start flirting with this strange man in front of me, Lady Julie.”

“I wasn’t flirting!” Julie pouted, turning red and turning around to look indignantly at Marie.

The two bickered for a bit but I was zoned out, thinking about the new possibilities I had unlocked, things I had to confirm, and experiments I could design.

“..fonse. Alfonse?” I was pulled out of my thoughts by a concerned looking Julie calling my name.

“Ah, yes?” I looked back up at her. She had an expression of concern, and maybe a little guilt.

“Am I… forcing you into this? I’m sorry I didn’t mean for it to be that way.” She said apologetically.

“Oh, no, not at all.” I shook my head. “In fact, you’ve made me realise what I want to do in this world now.”

It seemed like a grand declaration, but to me, I really had figured it out.

I pounded my fists together. “Don’t worry about me, I think I’ll have fun tonight.” I said with a grin slowly spreading across my face.