Chapter 5: Sorcery

Our first few days at the restaurant were rough.

The workload was heavier than I’d expected. We started at eight in the morning, and our shift ended at four in the afternoon, since the evening staff took over and ran the place until midnight.

Aria was running all over the place carrying orders from one side to the other. The moment we started, they gave her the official waitress uniform: a simple brown dress with a white apron. It didn’t look bad, but it wasn’t anything incredible either. And honestly, I barely even had time to look at her, because I was swamped too, dealing with the accounts and managing ingredients on a large scale.

“Good work. You can head out now.”

The boss dismissed us at the back door. By then, our replacements had already arrived.

“Sure. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye, boss!” Aria said, waving her right hand enthusiastically from side to side.

Good Lord, just how much energy did this girl have?

I was exhausted and didn’t feel like doing anything.

“Aria, before we go home, I’m stopping by the hardware store. I need to buy some steel pipes and scraps of metal.”

“Oh? Are we building something at home?” she asked.

“No. Remember, I’m a sorcerer. I need to practice every now and then, or I’ll get rusty. We’ve been so busy job-hunting that I haven’t had many chances to train. Come to think of it... I’ve never shown you my abilities, have I?”

It wasn’t like I had much to brag about. Compared to my younger brother, my talent looked downright pathetic. Still, what little I did know, I used efficiently.

“Oh, you’re going to put on a demonstration for me? I’m honored.”

“Alright, if you want to see me in action that badly, you can watch today. Let’s buy the metal first, then I’ll show you what I need it for.”

It didn’t take us long to get the materials. On the way home, there was a decent-sized hardware store that sold all kinds of steel and construction supplies. They also offered welding services and repairs for pipes and gates. A full catalog of things the local metalworkers provided to customers.

In the end, I bought two chunks of steel, a broken pipe, and a bunch of screws that were on sale. Since it was all damaged metal or stuff with very little practical use, they gave me a discount.

“That metal is useless, Lucio. Why did they even sell it to you?” Aria whispered.

She still didn’t fully understand some aspects of our civilization, and one of them was the buying and selling of scrap.

“There are people who buy useless metal to turn it into different kinds of crafts, or just resell it to recycling plants. It can be profitable if you play your cards right. Kind of like those guys on TV who buy old junk.”

Aria and I watched antique shows. She loved seeing the objects that used to exist in the world, and I mostly cared about the old weapons.

“Humans surprise me more every day.”

“It’s really not that amazing.”

After a short walk, we got home. Then we headed into the backyard, where clothes were hanging out to dry and random junk was scattered all over the place.

“We’ve got enough room for me to show you everything, but first, let’s take the laundry down.”

“Yes, sir.”

We sorted our clothes into separate baskets, mostly to avoid misunderstandings straight out of some ecchi anime, and then we went right back to the yard with the metal we’d bought.

“Metal Spell: Silver Bullets!”

Sorcery was easy to learn, but extremely difficult to master.

In theory, it involved combining the currents of magical energy in the environment with the power inside each person. To do that, the sorcerer had to synchronize with both himself and the earth itself.

But any mistake in the magical process could bring negative consequences for the sorcerer, whether that meant an explosion caused by overloaded power or even permanent physical damage.

The screws I held in my right hand slowly began to change shape. First, they turned into a silvery lump, almost like modeling clay. Then they took the form of 9mm bullets.

“I see. You can control metal. Not bad.”

Aria watched the transformation with clear fascination. My newly made projectiles began floating gently in the air. Under normal circumstances, I could fire them at roughly the same speed as an old pistol, but since I didn’t have anything to shoot at, I just slipped the bullets into my pocket.

“My family specializes in metal-based spells. We can make it harder, sharper, or transform it however we want.”

I grabbed the pipe with both hands. Then I closed my eyes and focused the energy currents into the object again.

“Metal Spell: Transformation.”

I used the same process as before, except this time, I shaped it into a silver saber with a detailed hilt and a gleaming blade.

“A cavalry saber. Can you make a lot of those?”

“Actually, I’ve got a whole collection of them stored here. Look.”

At the back of the yard, there was a red storage box built into the wall.

“I keep the sabers created through my spells in this special compartment. In a dangerous situation, I won’t always have a convenient metal source ready to manipulate, so I create them little by little in advance. That way, all I have to do is summon them.”

“That makes sense. It saves time and energy when you have to fight. I don’t know anything about the sorcery humans use. This system is completely new to me. Could you show me how you fight with the saber? I’ve always wanted to see it in person.”

A fair request.

To be honest, I’d already been planning to train my physical movements too. I needed to stay in shape. I didn’t consider myself a great fighter, but I couldn’t afford to lag behind either. Whether I liked it or not, I was still a sorcerer—a member of the Atenas clan.

Even if I had deserted, even if they considered me a loser, there was still a tiny bit of pride left inside me.

“Of course. Step back a little and you’ll get to see my poor moves in action.”

I pulled another saber from the storage box and stepped into the middle of the yard. Since I didn’t have a training partner, I had to imagine myself on a battlefield.

Immediately, I slashed twice through the air at full speed in a crossing pattern. Then I followed up with different combinations, using both sabers as if they were extensions of the same body.

I didn’t have superhuman physical abilities, nor did I use reinforcement magic, so I compensated for my lack of power by wielding two sabers. My fighting style was a personal version of the fencing used by eighteenth-century English musketeers. On top of that, thanks to the enhanced sharpness and durability I gave my weapons, I could fight head-on against bastard swords or even massive axes.

I had chosen sabers for their lightness and maneuverability. A sword required more strength and training to use effectively. Sabers, on the other hand, could be wielded one-handed and relied more on speed than brute force.

The training lasted an hour.

During that time, I reviewed every kind of cut a saber could make, from lateral slashes to horizontal ones. I even combined both styles into a single attack, showing a fair degree of mastery over the weapon.

“That was so cool! It was like watching a martial arts movie, but in my own backyard.”

Aria was easy to impress.

Any other sorcerer would have mocked my lack of talent for metal manipulation. The fact that I relied on weapons as my primary offensive method instead of pure sorcery made me look like a complete idiot.

“Thanks... I guess. Since I don’t have much talent for sorcery, I have to use other methods to make up for it. I’ve been training with sabers since I was fourteen, but without a mentor—or anyone who really knows the art—I haven’t improved that much since then.”

Being self-taught gave me the advantage of creating my own unpredictable attacks, but unfortunately, it also meant losing the foundations of the martial art and ending up with a hollow style.

“Of course you’ve improved. If you’ve been training for years, then you should already be an expert. Whether you’ve had the chance to prove it is another matter. In fact, teach me how to use a saber! Please.”

Aria ran straight toward my weapon stash and fearlessly grabbed one of my sabers.

“Come on, I read online that if you teach someone a discipline, you improve the most important details yourself. So don’t be mean.”

“I don’t mind teaching you, but why do you want to learn? You don’t need to.”

“Because it looks fun, Lucio. If I’ve learned anything in these few weeks as a human, it’s that not everything needs to have some grand meaning. Sometimes, it’s enough to just do what makes us happy, right? Besides, I’m already a goddess waitress. Just imagine if I add more to my repertoire... a goddess waitress fencer. Doesn’t that sound amazing?”

Good God.

I couldn’t help laughing at that.

This girl had the superpower to make me laugh even at my lowest points.

It was just like our first meeting. That day, I’d felt terrible, and her mere presence had been enough to make me forget my problems for a while.

“You win. Just be careful with the saber. It’s not a toy.”

I had never taught anyone my personal combat style before.

We started with footwork, because a good fencer needed firm support to attack and defend with speed. Aria began with the most basic leg exercises, which involved making small hops in place and then shifting backward, forward, and to the sides.

Kind of like how Taekwondo fighters moved.

This technique didn’t apply to sport fencing, since in that discipline you couldn’t move toward the flanks. In fact, this style of fighting had nothing to do with the Olympic version of fencing. I’d simply borrowed the name because of the type of weapon we used.

“Am I doing it right?”

Aria remained in the basic defensive stance. Before attacking, she had to learn to defend herself. Otherwise, she’d be done for the moment an enemy struck.

“Yes. Stay in that position and move your arm diagonally. Remember, this isn’t a sport. Your opponent could be carrying a mace or a much bigger sword.”

One of the few advantages of this so-called pirate fencing was its versatility. If the enemy was larger, the movements became faster. Against opponents of similar size, the attacks became more measured, because the room for error was much smaller.

“Yes, Master.”

It was fun watching her try to make the cuts without dropping her guard.

Aria had enthusiasm, but that was about it. It quickly became obvious that she had absolutely no talent for fencing. Just like me, really. Back during my first lessons, I hadn’t even known which side of the saber had the edge. I just waved it around with no theoretical understanding whatsoever.

Ah... those were the days.

“That’s it. You’ve almost got it.”

Even so, Aria kept trying for two more hours. I was surprised by how much dedication she gave to a single basic command of the martial art.

Guard and slash.

Guard and slash.

That simple sequence gave her a lot of trouble, but thanks to her incredible determination, she managed to master it in a short time. No talent, no special powers—she just repeated the action over and over until it was engraved deep into her mind.

“I did it! Am I already a high-level swordswoman?” Aria asked teasingly.

“Give it a few more years and you’ll be ready to learn some saber combinations. But let’s stop for today. We’ll keep practicing tomorrow, alright?”

“Okay. Anyway, I’m starving to death. What are you making me for dinner today?”

“Let’s go see what we’ve got in the fridge.”

Maybe Aria was right.

Up until now, I’d been underestimating my own skill with the saber. After seeing how much trouble she’d had on her first day, I was finally able to appreciate all the years I’d invested in mastering it.

And obviously, I planned to get even better.