Chapter 6 - How many babies should we have?

I placed the bracelet back in the priest's hand.

“You never mentioned the size, so I went ahead and made it big.”

The dust filling the monastery began to drift away, revealing the cracked tile floor clearly—and the hidden space beneath it.

WHOOOSH

The wind carried dust down through the tiled floor. A basement. One filled with bookshelves.

“You have an underground library.”

“... Pardon?”

The priest's responses kept coming a beat late, as though he was still in shock.

“The basement. It looks like there are books stacked down there.”

“Uh... Yes... That's right.”

He didn't turn toward me. He was simply examining the cross-shaped pillar I'd created up close. Then he even reached out to touch it—

CRACKLE!

The moment his hand drew near, the shining cross-shaped pillar spat out a threatening flash.

“Divine power of such purity... Who in the world are you...?”

“I'll take that as a pass.”

Ignoring his words, I jumped down through the gap in the floor.

As I walked through the dark underground library, the priest awkwardly squeezed through the opening and followed me.

“Are you perhaps from the Church's central administration?”

What was he talking about? He was jumping to conclusions all on his own.

“Even if I were an inspector from the central administration, I couldn't tell you, could I?”

“Ah, that's... true.”

I took my gaze off the priest and examined the books on the shelves. Scriptural interpretations arranged by era caught my eye first, but I wasn't looking for useless things like those.

I wanted the spellbook given to clergy who passed the test—a book that made healing magic easy to learn, even for beginners.

I did find a spellbook while browsing the shelves, but—

“This won't do.”

It was a textbook over twenty years old, so I gave up on it and closed it. Since improved editions seemed to come out regularly, I might as well get the latest one.

I continued searching the underground library. But the more freely I rummaged around, the more hurried the footsteps of the priest trailing me became.

“Shall I just... find it for you?”

“Earlier, you said you couldn't give it to me.”

“Well, it looks as though you intend to turn the library upside down until I find it for you anyway... You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?”

I hadn't realized I came across as such a lout... But if he was willing to cooperate, there was no reason to refuse.

“In that case, I'd appreciate it.”

The priest nodded as though he'd been waiting for those words, then snapped his fingers.

SNAP!

A spell that created light. The light the priest conjured flew back and forth between the desks before stopping in front of the books lined up on the top shelf.

There were about twenty volumes with identical covers. The textbook was titled <Basic Healing Magic Spellbook 1.0>.

It sounded like some cram school's textbook.

“This is the textbook provided to novice clergy who pass the test. Revised this year, it is distinguished by its accessible writing.”

“You sound like a bookseller.”

“... At any rate, this is the spellbook we use.”

I accepted the book he offered with one hand and lightly flipped through its pages. Just as he'd said, the simplified magic circles and terminology stood out.

Since it was a basic spellbook, Esther's existing knowledge of magic should let her master it quickly.

I closed the book with a grin.

006

During class at the academy, Esther rested her chin in her hand and stared blankly out the window.

Lately, she hadn't been able to concentrate on her lessons.

[“You don't need to control it. You're already perfect.”]

That was when it had started.

Even if she couldn't control her mana, she could become a splendid mage just by learning healing magic. In fact, she could surpass other mages.

Having heard that only recently, perhaps it was only natural that her regular classes weren't registering.

'Haaah... '

Her bottom-ranking grades weren't due to a lack of talent. Born into a family of mages, she had practiced magic from an early age. She understood the academy's lessons easily, and when it came to theory, she was even better than the other students.

The problem was practical work.

The academy's magic department wanted excellent mages, not students who were good at studying. With the academy's policy of using practical assessments in place of written exams, she simply couldn't earn good marks.

Just as during the entrance examination, she never gave it her all.

The trauma of burning down her hometown in the past kept her trapped. If she lost control of her mana again, she might hurt someone.

Esther always kept a hand on the brakes. She had enrolled at the academy to find a solution to her condition, but she still hadn't found a way forward.

The first semester of her first year had only chipped away at her confidence. It was a bleak time, day after day of the boy she liked refusing to treat her as a person.

Then Daywin had given her hope.

[“Healing magic has no side effects even when your mana overflows.”]

Give up every other kind of magic and learn healing magic. It was a different approach, but it was an answer.

'I do want to try learning healing magic, but...'

Esther knew, too. Holy magic belonged exclusively to the Church and wasn't part of the academy's curriculum. She could learn healing magic by joining the Church and training for the clergy, but it would cost her two years.

And even after those two years, a final examination awaited her.

As alternatives, she did think of buying a spellbook on the black market or taking lessons from a corrupt cleric—

'No matter how desperate I am, I can't... break the law.'

It was far too reckless. That would make her no different from a dark mage.

Esther pictured herself saving people with healing magic. That image of herself still felt indistinct.

'I'll just have to try after I graduate from the academy. I worked so hard to get in; it'd be a shame to give up... And if I leave the academy, Laward will... Huh?'

Laward.

The name sent her thoughts in a new direction.

'Come to think of it, Laward wanted to become a paladin...'

A paladin. The reason Laward worked so hard every day—and also the reason he loathed Esther.

'Wouldn't he know about holy magic?'

Esther resented the Church and the Goddess for stealing Laward's heart, but looking at things from another angle gave her a brilliant plan.

1. Laward either knows holy magic or is studying it.

2. Approach him, saying she wants to study with him.

3. How many children should we have?

After the failure of her lunch-box plan, she'd taken a somewhat forced break. But this time, success was finally in sight.

Esther covered her face with her delicate hands and let out a little laugh. She had a good feeling about this.

If ten swings wouldn't fell the tree, she'd swing an eleventh time. Was there anyone more attractive than someone of the opposite sex who shared your interests?

“... Pardon? What did you say?”

During a break, in the corridor of the first-year building, Esther repeated her question with wide eyes.

“I said I got you a spellbook.”

Daywin held up the book so she could clearly see its title.

<Basic Healing Magic Spellbook 1.0>.

“This is...”

Esther's trembling eyes scanned every inch of the cover.

“Isn't this... a textbook used by the Church?”

At her hushed question, Daywin nodded.

“Yes. I fetched it myself, so there's no mistake. And I believe I already told you that, too.”

“Something this precious... Is it really all right for someone like me to accept it?”

Daywin's eyebrow twitched at her question.

'She's still like this.'

He'd thought she would get better with time, but the Esther he'd seen in the game still hadn't returned. That Esther had been confident and bold, though tenderhearted and shy beneath it all.

That version of her had vanished without a trace, leaving only a fragile girl behind.

“It'll be a problem if you don't accept it. Well, at least you know how precious it is. That makes my trouble worthwhile.”

“When you say you went to some trouble to get it...”

She suddenly recalled what she'd been thinking earlier. The only ways to obtain a spellbook without becoming a cleric were to visit the black market or bribe a corrupt member of the clergy.

“Um.”

Esther looked up at Daywin suspiciously.

“May I... ask how you obtained it?”

“Hmm.”

Daywin hesitated.

'Telling her how I made a mess of the monastery... probably wouldn't go over well.'

He couldn't throw away the image he'd built.

After considering various answers, Daywin decided simply to keep quiet. Speech was silver, silence was golden.

'Besides, making something up would be a hassle.'

After that brief deliberation, he spoke.

“I'm afraid I can't tell you that.”

For a moment, Esther looked dazed, as though she'd been struck.

'He really did get it through improper means...!'

Suspicion became certainty. At the thought of participating in a crime, her heart began pounding wildly.

'Is it all right for me to use... a spellbook obtained through shady channels? W-won't there be trouble?'

Esther imagined being dragged away by the Church's inquisitors and locked behind bars. That image, at least, was crystal clear.

What frightened her most was Daywin's untroubled face. Even after violating Church law, his expression, tone, and complexion hadn't changed at all. He was perfectly calm, as though nothing had happened.

As though he was used to this sort of thing.

'... He's frightening.'

She had thought he looked frightening from the start. It was probably his red eyes. Probably his sharp gaze and the foxlike curve of his lips, too.

When they'd first met, she'd even found herself holding her breath until he spoke.

But unlike other nobles, Daywin had approached her with a gentle tone, smiled readily, and known how to speak kindly. She'd thought he was nicer than he looked.

'But he really is... frightening.'

“Esther? Why so quiet?”

“What? Oh, I'm sorry.”

Esther started and raised her head.

“Well, sir... You did this for my sake... didn't you? You're not normally... that sort of person, are you?”

“I'm not sure what you mean, but this is no time to be picky about means and methods. I want you to improve quickly.”

“Means and methods...”

As Esther murmured blankly, Daywin took her wrist without waiting for a response.

“E-eek!”

Already frightened of him, she was startled by the sudden touch of his skin. But only for a moment.

THUMP

“Don't be afraid. You'll do well.”

By the time she came to her senses, he'd placed the spellbook in her hand.

The feel of the thick book's cover brought her thoughts to a halt. Esther froze on the spot, looking as though her soul had left her body.

'I-I touched it. As of this moment, I'm an accomplice, and now I'll end up in prison...'

She tried to return the spellbook immediately, but he'd already turned away. He simply left, as though he wouldn't hear another word.

“I accepted it...”

Once Daywin was out of sight, Esther stood alone in the corridor, staring down at the spellbook.

“...”

She still didn't know what sort of person Daywin was. If anything, this had made him even harder to understand.

Still, had anyone ever told her they would stop at nothing for her sake? How long had it been since someone had said they believed in her?

Would anyone like that ever come along again?

Daywin was still full of mysteries, and frightening, too, but his determination to help Esther seemed unchanged.

Even if it wasn't true, he was someone she wanted to believe in.

“Oh.”

And she realized something else.

... She no longer had a reason to talk to Laward.