Gumihou
patreon
WeD - V2C01 - Makia: Daydreaming
🕑 Added 2023-01-14 14:17:59 +0000 UTC“Who is it…”
In the cold clean air, on the outskirts of a snow-covered forest, I met with a man. It was no coincidence, I came here to meet him.
“...”
With his long black cloak fluttering in the wind, the man kept his stare over the snow world at a line of cliffs. There, deep within the Northern Forest, was a land occupied by demons.
He was the king of that land.
However, this king was human.
Not a regular human, though.
I was the same.
“You are… the Black Demon King…?”
“... and you… who are you?”
“I am…”
I am the Crimson Witch.
Hey, you and I… aren’t we the same?
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com ~
“... …”
Like fragmented pieces of a daydream, my past memories came to me.
It’s been a long time.
This is Makia Odille.
Several months have passed since Tooru and I came to the Royal Capital. It is late afternoon on the tail end of the summer season.
As for the place, we are currently at the Holy Land’s Magic Research Institute.
Recently, I have been immersing myself in this school. As to the reason why I, the Crimson Witch, who had mastered magic is now attending school? There’s a simple reason behind it.
Basically, I am bored.
It may sound a little impertinent to some, but really, compared to Yuri who had increased duties as a prince and Tooru is super busy with his new job as a Magic Knight. As for me, the ostensibly 14-year-old girl, there’s nothing much I could do.
Moreover, I’m not familiar with white magic.
My kind of super unique, ultra powerful and one-of-a-kind magic is pretty useless in times of peace. Moreover, it looks like Sir Raymond wants to hide our true powers as much as possible, on the grounds that the Federation of Hermedes might grow wary of Ruskia and send assassins. Well, they would be wary of Ruskia regardless considering what happened to their giant soldiers. Anyway, what I want to say is, it’s probably best not to reveal anything as much as possible.
This is why, thanks to the benevolence of the Magic Research Institute operated by the Medite family, I am now taking classes here.
Frankly speaking, although I am highly skilled in my field of magic, I really have no idea how it works here. White Magic is very difficult, unnecessarily intricate with all sorts of restrictions and above all, really, really boring.
“... Hey!”
“...”
A thick spellbook hit me in the head.
Even seated at the furthest corner of the classroom, I still attract the attention of Professor Medite, the lecturer of the day.
“The Royal Palace Magic Advisor should not be daydreaming during class.”
“... old man…”
“Right, points deduction. The next time you call me an old man again, I will give you a written assignment.”
The boys and girls in the same physical age as me and attending this particular class started giggling. Here, I’m nothing but a student.
When I first met Lord Medite, I thought he was a shady looking noble as well as a very questionable person. After entering the Magic Research Institute, I got to see a different side of him.
He only gives one or two lectures a week, but the lecture halls are always packed. It’s clear that he’s a popular one.
I guess his lessons are interesting enough, although he tends to talk about White Magic through Poison Magic without hiding anything at all. There are times I wondered how this is even permissible, but, well, I guess students who internalize his teachings would become splendid, albeit shady, sorcerers.
At the end of the lessons, some students storm out of the room in a hurry while others remain to chat with each other.
I don’t belong to any particular class and am allowed to attend any lessons I like. I don’t exactly have friends here either and did not try to make any. At the end of today’s lesson, I left the Institute.
I am supposed to visit the Medite Mansion today.
That’s because Medite-sensei’s wife had just given birth to a healthy, energetic little boy just the other day.
I was asked by Medite-sensei to bestow a name to the newborn.
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com ~
“Oh, welcome, young lady Makia.”
“... Sensei, could you please stop drawing attention to me in class? I already stand out too much.”
“Well, that’s because you don’t listen to what I am saying. You always have this bored look on your face…”
“Your classes are interesting, but things like contracts, limitations, restrictions and balance etc etc are a bore…”
“That is how White Magic mitigates the risks, everything is pre-calculated in advance…”
The Medite Mansion is situated in the Holy Land. The large site itself is surrounded by a black fence and is close to the Magic Research School.
Ever since I started living at the Royal Capital, I have interacted a lot with Lord Medite and visited his mansion often.
When I first saw it, I thought it was a shady-looking place. On the day I visited, the sky was blue and the central sea quiet, however, the mansion stood out against the gorgeous background with its ominous aura and murky air.
Today is the same, although I have gotten used to the mansion’s weird aura.
Upon entering the mansion, Lord Medite immediately takes off his usual suffocatingly thick, and poncy-looking noble magician’s robe and welcomes me into his house in that casual, offhand manner of his.
I don’t feel the presence of many people in this place.
“How is Giselle doing?”
“Ah… goodness me, being a mother really changes a person. She had been really anxious before, but once the child was born, she suddenly transformed into a wonderful mother… fufu~”
“... As for Medite-sensei, he’s a doting father…”
Lord Medite is beaming stupidly at me, not even trying to hide his true feelings.
This Lord Medite no longer feels like the original Lord Medite. It’s almost as if he has turned into a child.
Is this the power of a child?
“Do get a hold of yourself, Medite-sensei, if you keep behaving carelessly like this, who knows what will happen? You have many enemies.”
“... I know that, believe me. If I die too soon, I won’t even see my son grow up!!”
He is an odd person who gets excited over the oddest things. I thought of him as a weird noble uncle before. However, a strange old man is probably the closest description.
After walking down the oddly darkened corridors of the house for a while and not seeing a single person, I could not help but ask, “So, I’ve been here a few times and have been thinking about this, but, is there no one else in the mansion?”
“....? Of course, there are. Everyone is busy with their own thing, however…”
“.... I see…”
What about servants? [1] Maids to clean the floors and walls, butlers to greet you and take care of things? Somehow, the only people I ever see here are either Lord Medite or Giselle.
We reach the room at the end of the corridor. There, I see the third person in the house, a thin and pale-looking maid with a rather pallid complexion.
Looks like there really are other people in the house.
“... Colette, is it alright to enter?”
“Yes, master.”
When the maid sees me, she smiles. The smile is rather eerie, in keeping with the whole theme of the house.
In contrast, when Lord Medite pushes the door open, the room we step into is bright, fresh and welcoming. Giselle-san is in the middle of the white bed in the centre of the room. She is Lord Medite’s wife.
Next to her is a peacefully sleeping baby.
“Oh… Young Lady Makia is here…”
“It is a pleasure to see you, Giselle-san. I heard you had a hard time giving birth.”
“I can only say that it is incredibly taxing and painful… on top of that, I had to deal with a man who was wandering around getting underfoot and being completely useless…”
“Well, that’s just how men are,” said Medite-sensei proudly. Although I cannot say what is there to be proud about.
“Oh my… it’s the baby, so cute~”
I flop on the bed to have a closer look at the baby. This baby is completely white [2].
Despite having been born to a poisonous man like Lord Medite and his equally poisonous wife Giselle, nothing but innocent cuteness.
“Even so, it’s best not to touch him too much. The baby is the culmination of all the good parts of myself and Giselle, that is… he has a rather poisonous constitution.”
[1] Should I take back my remark about the baby being nothing but innocent cuteness?
“... all the good things between you two…”
I look at the baby again. He still looks small and white and sweet.
This little baby will grow up to be a splendid successor to the Medite Family.
“... ...”
The baby let out a little yawn.
That little mouth is so small and sweet.
The pointy part of the upper lip is just too adorable.
It’s a bit difficult to determine how he will look in the future, but for now, I think he resembles Giselle-san a little more… if the shape of his lips is anything to go by.
“... he looks just like me. Look, look, his hair colour is the same as mine,” is Medite-sensei’s enthusiastic remark, but really, there’s no basis for it.
While it’s true that the fuzzy bit of hair growing on the baby’s head is similar to Medite-sensei’s, a baby’s hair could change as they grow.
The door suddenly clatters open.
“Oh my… looks like we have a very important guest here~” an old woman with a bent back, dressed in dull brown robes and a patch over her right eye steps in. I think her eyes specifically graze over me.
“Oh my, it’s Grandmother… how rare for you to come here.”
“Humph… I thought I’d drop by to see my great-grandson. As for the name, I do believe that it’s best for the very important guest to grant it. Hee hee hee~”
“Oh my, oh my, is that sarcasm?”
Even though this old woman is walking with a cane, somehow, I get the feeling that she could walk perfectly well without it.
“Ah… you’re that person at that time…”
I had wondered where I had seen her before, but it suddenly occurred to me. Last year, while shopping for a gift for my parents’ wedding anniversary, I came upon a shady looking general goods magic shop at the Royal Capital. She must be the store owner.
“... hee hee hee… it’s been a long time, young lady… or, should I address you as the Crimson Witch?”
As expected, she is no ordinary person.
From the moment I first saw her, [1] even back then, I knew that there was something odd about her.
The Serpent Empress of Medite.
That powerful scent of poison must be something close to fate for this clan.
[Gumihou: Let's gooo!!!]
[1] Add Detail to emphasis on the ‘lack of people’ scene.
[2] ‘This baby is completely white’ is probably figuratively speaking, since newborns are red or reddish
