“Connie! Are you in?!”
The next day, I headed straight for the Magic Tool Department.
Inside, I found Connie tinkering with some suspicious-looking device, just as she always was.
“Oh, Lloyd-kun. What brings you here so early in the morning?”
“Actually, there’s something I want us to make together. It’s... this kind of magic tool.”
I handed Connie the blueprints I’d drafted the other day.
“You’re always so sudden... Let’s see. Hmm, I think it’s possible. But with this structure, wouldn't it be better to change the material?”
“Heh, as expected of Connie. I hadn’t thought of that. In that case, we could weave in a spell formula like this.”
“Nice. You really are a mage, Lloyd-kun. If we switch this part to that material, we might get even better results from the synergy.”
“Then how about...”
“And while we’re at it...”
Before I knew it, we were deep in conversation.
Connie and I really did get along. She couldn't use magic herself, but her understanding of spell formulas was incredible—enough that even I was impressed from time to time. With her help, I might actually be able to create the magic tool I had envisioned.
And so, I spent the following days holed up in the Magic Tool Department, completely immersed in the production process. At this rate, I’d be able to finish in time for the tea party without any problems.
“However, Master Lloyd, I don’t know exactly what you’re planning, but wouldn’t most things be manageable if you just used your own magic instead of relying on magic tools?”
“I can’t use magic this time.”
My opponents were Noah and Gazel. If I used magic in front of those two, they would almost certainly find out, no matter how much I tried to conceal it. Especially after the incident the other day, they would be on high guard. But they shouldn't be nearly as wary of magic tools.
“I see. That makes sense. ...Even so, I wonder if that Majin is doing his job properly?”
Grimo was currently shadowing Noah and the others while using the Wooden Effigy. After the commotion we’d caused, we couldn't exactly have "Lloyd" just stop showing his face entirely.
“Grimo will handle things. You know how attentive he is, right?”
“Evaluating a Majin based on his interpersonal skills is certainly... unique to you, Master Lloyd. No, I shouldn't trouble you by making strange comments without any proof.”
Jiriel was mumbling something to himself. I wondered if he had wanted to do the job himself.
“Lloyd-kun, do you have a moment?”
Connie’s voice broke my train of thought. She was wearing a rucksack and dressed as if she were about to head into the mountains.
“I need to go gather some purple bloom herb. Could you keep things moving here while I’m gone?”
“Purple bloom herb? Oh, if that’s all you need... Shiro.”
“Onn!”
I reached into Shiro’s fur and pulled out a bundle of purplish-blue herbs.
“W-Wait, is that purple bloom herb?! When did you...?”
“I thought we’d need it, so I got some in advance.”
During our initial meeting, it had seemed like we would need various medicinal herbs, so I had taken Ren of the Poison Moth with me to gather some.
“By any chance, do you have ethereal mushroom too?”
“Yeah. I have dark cloud moonflower and summer-bug winter-flower seeds, too. Will this be enough?”
“I can’t believe you have this much rare purple bloom herb... And even the dark cloud moonflower, which starts to rot the moment it’s picked, and the bone heaven herb, which crumbles if handled incorrectly, are in perfect condition. It’s hard enough just to find them, but your processing skills are amazing, Lloyd-kun.”
“Well, it was my companion who actually gathered them.”
Ren of the Poison Moth had spent her life in the mountains and possessed a wealth of survival knowledge. With the pharmacology she’d learned under me, she had become an incredibly reliable ally.
Connie murmured as she stared intently at the materials I’d laid out.
“...By the way, Lloyd-kun, this is just a thought, but did you happen to pick up any magic accumulation stones while you were out?”
Magic accumulation stones were rare stones found in nature that could store magic. They weren’t necessary for the magic tool we were currently making, so I hadn’t been looking for them. Besides, they weren’t the sort of things you found just by looking; they were extremely precious.
“No, I didn’t. Do you need some?”
“I see... No, I just thought maybe you might have found some. Yeah.”
Looking visibly disappointed, Connie returned to her work.
She picked up her tools and began touching the magic tool to check its condition. Her technique was as flawless as ever, but come to think of it, many of the magic tools Connie made were designed to store magic. Did that mean she never had enough magic accumulation stones?
“It’s strange, though. You seem to be obsessed with accumulating magic, Connie.”
Every magic tool Connie had made was equipped with a function to store massive amounts of mana. There were plenty of magic tools that operated without magic or didn’t require expensive stones. I wondered if there was a reason.
Connie paused to consider her answer.
“...Do you know what a Cursed One is?”
“Yeah. People who possess strong magic but can’t control it, making them objects of fear and hatred.”
Ren was one, and I had dealt with many others known as Cursed Ones. Generally, they lived lives where they were shunned, often forced into the underworld.
“Actually, the village where I grew up is the kind of place where many such people are born.”
There were lands on this continent where massive amounts of magic had accumulated—places where powerful monsters were sealed, where Relics of God still existed, or where the remnants of experiments with Great Magic lingered. In such places, it was common for people to be born with high magic capacity, or as Cursed Ones who struggled with control. People with peculiar constitutions like Connie were also common.
“My younger brother was born with too much magic. He was bedridden from the time he was old enough to know what was happening. No doctor could help him, and he died before he was five. It wasn’t just him, either. Other villagers suffered from similar conditions. Even those lucky enough to survive had to deal with their own magic constantly turning on them... I wanted to find a way to save everyone. That was what started me on the path of making magic tools. Oh, but I do like magic itself, of course.”
“I know.”
She wouldn’t have been able to acquire this much knowledge and skill if she didn’t love the craft. Besides, studying spell formulas as a mage allowed one to tune the disordered Magic Lines of others. That was likely why she had entered the Magic Department despite spending most of her time on the manual labor of the Magic Tool Department.
“There’s a limit to what I can do with my power alone, but anyone can use a magic tool to provide treatment. I want to rid this world of people suffering from those symptoms. That’s my dream.”
Connie spoke as she assembled the device. The sweat on her forehead seemed to sparkle in the light.
“Oh... what a noble, heartwarming girl. To learn spell formulas without possessing magic is like pursuing scholarship while blind. She must have suffered so much, yet she does it all for others... How magnificent.”
Jiriel was tearing up, clearly moved by Connie’s words.
In any case, her actions finally made sense to me. Her magic tools were designed to absorb and dissipate the excess magic from the people in her village.
“I understand. If I find any of those magic accumulation stones, I’ll give them to you, Connie. Consider it thanks for your help.”
“Really? That would be a huge help.”
“We should help each other in times of need, right?”
I shook hands with Connie.
If I stayed on good terms with her, she might invite me to her village one day. Then I could learn the secrets of that land and how it affected the people. A village where Cursed Ones were common... it sounded fascinating. It would surely be useful for my research on magic.
Yes, indeed.