Chapter 01: “The Boy Called a Failure and the Blue-Trembling Resonance”
The port town of Elnea in the morning always looks a little sleepy.
The sea breeze strokes the cobblestones‚ the chimney of the bakery releases the scent of freshly baked bread‚
and in the distance the fishermen shout the same thing every day: “Today’s the day we haul in a huge catch!”
Amid all that‚ I—Aria—was walking while carrying a thick grimoire.
（…How does it make sense to carry a grimoire when I can’t even use magic?）
Even as I make the retort to myself‚ my arms are still tightly hugging the book.
The weight of the leather cover presses into my chest‚ and the feel of the page corners against my fingers is strangely reassuring.
Even though I can’t use magic anymore‚ there’s still a part of me that can’t give up on it.
The sea breeze rustles my hair.
The golden highlights mixed into my deep navy hair reflect the morning sun and shine a little brightly.
Tap‚ tap.
Whenever I think deeply‚ my fingertips start tapping out a rhythm on their own.
This habit hasn’t changed since long ago.
“...Whoa‚ watch out!”
A shadow dropped from above.
Elnea’s famous specialty—the greedy seagull dive.
（Here it comes…! Predict the trajectory‚ calculate wind speed‚ the evasion angle is—）
In my mind I calculate the “optimal evasion solution” I learned from theoretical magic textbooks.
Two steps to the right‚ crouch‚ then left—
“Gah!? That was close…!”
The seagull‚ as if mocking my calculations‚
skimmed past my grimoire at a hair’s breadth distance before flying away.
The wind pressure shakes my arms and the grimoire nearly slips.
“Whoa…!”
I hurriedly clutch it again.
The corner of the leather cover digs into my finger and I grip it tightly without thinking.
I can’t drop the grimoire.
This is the one thing I don’t want to let go of.
“Aria boy‚ you can’t beat a seagull with theory.”
An old man at the harbor laughs.
“They’re the strongest in the world when it comes to the smell of bread.”
“Strongest because of the smell of bread… what kind of standard is that…”
I sigh and start walking again.
But I don’t hate these little everyday scenes of the morning.
Even if I can’t use magic‚
even if I’m called a “failure‚”
this town alone won’t drive me away.
So today again‚ I walk while holding my grimoire.
As a contradictory student who can’t use magic yet still refuses to give up on it.
The sea breeze rustles my hair again‚
and I let out a small breath.
When I pushed open the library door‚ the noise of the harbor vanished as if it were a lie.
This is the quietest place in Elnea.
The smell of the sea breeze and the cries of seagulls never reach here.
Only the scent of paper and ink drifts through the air.
I sit down at my usual window seat‚
and place a pocket-watch-shaped magic-power control device on the desk.
The engravings carved into the silver lid reflect the light‚
as if asking‚ “Are you really going to do this?”
“...I am. Today for sure.”
I murmur quietly and open the grimoire.
The roughness of the page touches my fingers and oddly calms me.
I take a deep breath and switch on the control device.
—Click.
Inside the lens of the device‚ a dull blue light flickers on.
Magic power flows faintly‚ and the needle begins to tremble.
The blue light is weak‚ but it clearly carries the “presence of magic.”
（Just like the theory… the construction formula is simple.
Keep the magic flow minimal… suppress the fluctuations…）
Tap‚ tap.
My fingertips tap the desk.
It’s proof that I’m concentrating.
“...Float.”
The piece of paper lightly—
—fell.
“...Huh?”
No‚ rather than falling‚
it moved like it “almost floated‚ then gave up.”
The needle of the control device trembles violently‚
and finally returns to zero as if saying “Impossible.”
The blue light also fades with a soft *shun…*‚ almost disappearing.
“...Failed again‚ huh.”
Tap‚ tap‚ tap.
The rhythm of my fingertips changes into the tempo of impatience.
At that moment‚
that voice returned to my mind.
‘You are a failure.’
A cold voice.
And then—the gaze.
That day‚ my mother Reina wasn’t looking at me.
Only at the “mistake in the construction formula I had drawn‚”
piercing it coldly as if staring at a defective product.
As if my very existence
were nothing more than an “error in theory.”
A childhood where perfection was demanded.
The day I was discarded as “talentless”
just for making a single mistake in a magic formula.
And now—
me‚ who can’t use magic anymore.
（…It’s laughable‚ isn’t it.
I was called a prodigy‚ yet now I can’t even float a single sheet of paper.）
Self-mockery spreads bitterly in the back of my throat.
Outside the window‚ the harbor’s light shimmered.
The world keeps moving today as well‚
yet it feels like I’m the only one who’s still stopped in place.
The blue light of the control device had almost disappeared‚
and the piece of paper had returned to being just paper on the desk.
When I left the library‚ the sea breeze brushed my cheeks again.
Perhaps because I had just been wrapped in silence‚ the harbor’s bustle felt slightly distant.
Adjusting the grimoire in my arms‚ I head toward the breakwater.
It’s a place I often stop by.
When I stare out at the sea‚ it feels like the mess inside my head becomes a little clearer.
But—today was different.
“...Huh?”
At the boundary of the sea‚
where blue and white waves should mix‚
a thin gray layer spread out.
It wasn’t just dirt.
It clung thickly to the sand touched by the waves‚
and the white foam that should normally disappear quickly
carried an eerie stickiness‚ refusing to collapse for a long time.
（Residue…? Even here?）
A toxin created every time magic is used.
Scattered across the world during the war‚
and even now continuing to spread faster than purification can keep up with—the “disease of the world.”
But Elnea’s sea was supposed to be relatively safe.
Yet now—it had come this close.
Tap‚ tap‚ tap‚ tap.
The rhythm of my fingertips falters.
It’s the tempo of panic.
（This is bad… the world really is…）
Mixed into the smell of the sea breeze was a faint metallic bitterness.
Each time the waves rolled in‚ the gray layer spread little by little.
As if the sea itself were being “eroded” by something.
The people at the harbor worked as usual‚
and the children ran around laughing.
But I alone had realized it.
That the world was quietly‚ steadily being eaten away.
（…I have a bad feeling about this.）
The sea breeze blew past‚
and the gray layer slowly pulsed between the waves.
Leaving the breakwater behind‚ I head toward the marketplace plaza with unease still in my chest.
The smell of the bakery and the voices of people mingle together‚ spreading the usual morning of Elnea.
—At the center of it all‚ an especially dazzling light was spinning around.
“...Huh?”
Golden hair reflected the sun‚
like a sunflower dancing.
The girl spins in the middle of the plaza‚ flicking her fingers.
“Pirorin♪”
…Wait‚ I definitely heard a sound just now.
Why does the activation sound of magic go “Pirorin♪”?
The next moment‚ light musical notes burst out around the girl.
“Amazing! Big sis‚ do it again!”
“Hehe‚ okay! Then next—like this!”
The girl laughs and flicks her fingers again.
“Powaaaan♪”
Powaaaan…?
The sound effect for magic is… powaaaan…?
The glowing notes swell gently‚
and float into the sky like soap bubbles.
（…What kind of magic is this?）
There’s no theory‚ no formula.
No adjustment of magic flow‚ no expansion of a construction equation.
Yet the magic flows naturally like a “performance.”
Without realizing it‚ I had stopped walking.
At that moment—
when the girl looked this way‚ she froze for just a second.
Her golden eyes opened wide in surprise.
Then her gaze
softly settled on the “golden highlight” in my hair.
The next moment‚
her mischievous smile deepened‚ as if filled with certainty.
（…Just now… what was that…?）
The girl runs toward me as if nothing happened.
“Want to see too‚ mister? Look—like this—”
The moment she approached‚
the pocket watch at my waist clicked softly.
“...Huh?”
As if matching the beat of my heart‚
the pocket watch grows faintly warm.
A blue light leaks faintly from the gap in the lid.
（Why…? I’m not even channeling magic power.）
The girl—Iris—looked at my reaction
and for some reason narrowed her eyes happily.
Her smile somehow carried a hint of “nostalgia.”
“You know‚ magic comes out when the inside of your chest goes *kyun!* like this!”
“…No‚ ‘kyun’… that’s not an explanation…”
“Eh? Then what about ‘powaaaan’?”
“That makes even less sense!”
Iris chuckled softly.
“I’m Iris. What about you?”
“Aria… but…”
My words trailed off.
Her magic was completely different from any theory I knew.
Every time a glowing musical note burst‚
something stirred deep in my chest.
Different from the unease I felt when I saw the sea earlier‚
a warmer—but restless—feeling.
（What… is this?）
Iris spun around again‚
laughing as she scattered glowing musical notes.
That smile
was bright enough to make it seem like the grayness of the world didn’t exist at all.
After Iris left‚ the glowing musical notes were still floating gently around the plaza.
Children chased them while laughter echoed.
But I stood there‚ frozen in place.
（…What was with that girl?）
My chest was still restless.
Not anxiety‚ not fear.
Something more… warm‚ unsettled‚
almost like nostalgia.
Before I knew it‚
my fingertips were tapping the fastest rhythm they ever had.
Even when I tried to stop‚ they wouldn’t.
It was like my heart was moving on its own.
The gray presence of the sea I saw earlier
felt like it had been pushed away for just a moment by Iris’s light.
（Magic… can it really be used like that?）
No theory‚ no formula.
Casting magic just from a “kyun” in your chest
is completely different from the magic I know.
I leave the plaza and return to the library.
At the window seat where I had been sitting earlier‚
the pocket-watch-shaped magic-power control device had been left behind alone.
“Ah… shoot.”
I had meant to come back for it‚
but Iris’s magic had distracted me and I completely forgot.
I reached out my hand—at that moment.
Click…
Even though no one touched it‚
the pocket watch made a faint sound.
“...Huh?”
Inside the lens‚
a blue light flickered on like a pulse.
At the same time‚
a faint warmth touched my fingertips.
As if the temperature from when Iris had been beside me
still lingered in the air itself.
The air vibrated faintly‚
and the pocket watch seemed to breathe like a living creature.
（…What is this?）
The restlessness deep in my chest
echoed stronger and deeper than before.
The grayness of the world‚
the sunflower-like girl‚
everything
felt like it was connected to a future I didn’t know.
|