The discussions regarding whether magi-craft could be applied to humans were reaching their peak.
They stood on the very brink of a breakthrough, needing only the slightest catalyst.
Just then, Hanna's grandmother, Martha, walked over.
"Lunch is ready," she announced.
"Okay."
Knowing that claiming they were too focused to eat would likely result in being dragged away by the collar, all three obediently set their thoughts aside and headed for the dining hall.
Everyone currently on Hourai Island had gathered there.
Today's meal was a rarity: grilled rice balls. The savory aroma of toasted soy sauce instantly stimulated their appetites.
"Something like this is great once in a while."
The side dish was simple—just a serving of oshinko—accompanied by warm hojicha.
"Mm, delicious."
"The fragrant char really is wonderful, isn't it?"
That peaceful interlude flew by in the blink of an eye.
"...There's something I'd like to consult everyone about again. Would you mind listening?"
Before the entire group, Elsa brought up the subject they had been exploring.
"Hmm... So basically, if we can determine whether someone can cast magi-craft on their own body, we might be able to take a step forward?"
Crossing his arms, Jin spoke with a serious look on his face.
"...Hey, would it be fine to use me or the others for that?"
"......Huh?"
Jin's body was composed of magiatoms, and everyone else was a homunculus.
"Ah."
Belatedly realizing what Jin meant, Elsa deflated a little.
"...I wasn't thinking."
"Still, if you need help, we could ask Sion or Lordtoss to cooperate."
"Mm, I'd really appreciate that."
"Got it."
With that decided, Jin had Laojun reach out to them, and Lordtoss, who happened to be free, agreed to lend a hand.
"Hello, everyone."
"Long time no see!...Well, I suppose it hasn't actually been that long."
Ludmila had accompanied him as well.
Sion was occupied with work and unfortunately couldn't make it.
"...And that's where we stand."
"I see, so that's the idea. You want to see if a person can use magi-craft on themselves?"
In addition to Jin's explanation, Elsa offered supplementary details.
"If magi-craft works on living organisms, it should prove invaluable for Healing as well. We would truly appreciate your help."
"Understood. What would you like me to do?"
"Could you try altering the tip of your fingernail using the magi-craft spell 'Forming'?"
"I'll give it a shot....'Forming'... It works."
"Oh!"
This was a major discovery.
If they could achieve synchronization, they might be able to set broken or misaligned bones using magi-craft.
Currently, treating such injuries required breaking the bone again before applying Healing.
"In that case, could you trim an overgrown nail using 'Separation'?"
"I'll try....'Separation'... It worked."
"Wonderful."
"Next, could you cast 'Hardening' on a strand of your hair?"
"Um, it would be rather inconvenient if my hair turned into needles, so would the hair on my arm be all right?"
"Of course, that's fine."
Lordtoss explained that since he needed to target a specific hair, he preferred being able to see it clearly during the cast.
"Here goes....'Hardening'... Yes, it worked."
A single hair on the back of his hand had stiffened like a needle.
When they plucked it with tweezers to check, it truly felt as rigid as a pin.
So far, the results supported the hypothesis that magi-craft could affect one's own body.
Whether this was conditional or applied universally across all magi-craft remained a question for further study.
Elsa hoped to eventually use 'Extraction' to treat internal bleeding or act as a surgical drain, much like they had done the other day.
Naturally, she couldn't ask the perfectly healthy Lordtoss to test something like that, so they brought the human experimentation to a close for the time being.
"Thank you, Lordtoss."
"Not at all, I'm glad I could be of help....Besides, from what I gather, this is all to advance medical techniques, right?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, we've taken an important step forward."
Thus, it was tentatively proven that a person could use magi-craft on their own body.
It remained tentative only because they had exclusively verified spells with physical effects.
"I'd like to test chemical magi-craft as well, if possible."
That included using Destruction Magic to dissolve stones or using 'Extraction' to treat carbon monoxide poisoning.
"It might also be possible to remove blemishes by breaking down melanin pigments."
"Indeed."
"And if we can break cells down into carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and the like, we might even eliminate tumors."
"That's true."
The fusion of Healing magic and magi-craft had only just begun.
"Well, that was certainly fascinating."
Saki, who had been watching Elsa and Lordtoss's experiment, spoke up cheerfully.
The entire Jin Family had been observing the trial with bated breath.
"That's a huge leap forward. As for the remaining mysteries, there's still the question of how magi-craft affects living plants, isn't there?"
Elsa nodded.
"Just as Saki-nee says. We still haven't found an explanation for why magi-craft fails on a growing tree, yet works on a branch snapped off from it."
At that moment, Lishia voiced a question.
"Um, looking at it through the lens of 'synchronization,' is it even possible to synchronize with a living plant?"
To which Elsa replied:
"I'm not sure whether it's possible or not. After all, it's a 'plant.'"
"That's true..."
Since plants lacked a distinct consciousness—or rather, didn't 'think'—it was uncertain whether they even possessed a magic pattern to begin with.
Consequently, even if one wished to synchronize with them, there was simply no way to do so.
"In that case, is it fundamentally impossible to process biological materials the same way we do metals?...Wait, that can't be right. We already process things like Ground Spider resin and magical beast leather, don't we?"
"That's true."
Here, Jin spoke up.
"Even with lumber, the magi-craft we use is things like 'Forming' or 'Joint.' Those are fundamentally different from spells like 'Forming' and 'Fusion.'"
"That is certainly true..."
Jin continued:
"A standing tree can be felled with 'Wind Cutter.' If you scale that down to an extremely micro-class level, it might... become 'Forming.'"
"That's an interesting thought, Onii-chan."
Hanna seemed intrigued as well.
Pooling their wisdom to pursue a single question like this was truly rewarding—a sentiment shared by everyone present.