39 – What Were You Doing?
I came looking to ask Matapju something, but no one seemed to know what happened. Not even the passing senior with a face scar.
“I guess you’re either next to, above, behind, or below your junior.”
“What are you talking about?”
“People are saying that you and Matapju are always together, so how would I not know?”
That’s the kind of talk going around. If someone hears it, they might think we sleep together and shower together.
Of course, we did that occasionally.
Sometimes we’d be so engrossed in our research that we’d end up sleeping together, or Matapju would help me shower if I nodded off while showering.
Not that anything scandalous happened. This is the third thing I’m concerned about in my Matap life—relationships between the s*xes.
Once you start becoming aware of the subtle parts, it becomes endlessly awkward. No matter how many thick layers of time you’ve built up, a slightly awkward confession can crumble everything in a relationship.
Matapju is like family to me. I didn’t want to unintentionally drift apart.
Enter the universal fantasy magic here. I… even if I feel eros, I made sure it doesn’t lead to physical reactions. Like blushing or those kinds of things.
Anyway.
What I wanted to ask Matapju was about ways to increase combat power. After the intense battle with the Guardian Golem during the previous outing, I realized that using fantasy magic recklessly would result in getting hit like a dust rag.
So, I prepared various countermeasures, but whether they’ll work is uncertain.
I also wanted Matapju to handle inspections and thought we needed career counseling. Haven’t I witnessed the First Princess turning into a Storm Princess while flapping her wings? I couldn’t stand by after seeing that.
Uwha (羽化).
I, too, wanted to have the Feathery Transformation.
The Princess’s “Wind Gloves of Harmony” were magical that I could use as well. It specialized in illusion magic, so there were no restrictions on learning other magic. However, the wind gloves the Princess cast were truly a storm.
After witnessing that scene, I murmured to myself, “Could I, too?” and tentatively whispered, “Bloodwind.” Naturally, it didn’t work, and only a breeze at the level of a mini fan emerged.
From Noble mtl dot com
The Feathery Transformation seemed like a special move or awakening. It appeared to be a technique that, with a sense of timing, turned with the power of the heart. Despite casting all kinds of magic with sincere effort, there was no sign of it working.
The Purple Tower and Grand Sorceress Yuna had reached a level beyond the Feathery Transformation. As a senior in ultimate moves, there seemed to be a way to enlighten… No, at least to gain a clue.
So, I checked the bathroom (just knocked), entered the bedroom, visited the labs of senior and junior colleagues, and even threw a low kick instead of the Purple Tower.
And here, in the simulation room where I never thought it would be, I finally found the Purple Tower. Lying on the magic circle, connected inside, I spoke through the full voice chat from the outside.
“Purple Tower, what are you doing there?”
– I, I was just… playing! Yeah!
“Oh, yes. It looks like it.”
Looking at the display, the internal situation was shown in dot graphics. In the control room inside the simulation, it could be viewed in a full 3D perspective of 360 degrees, but outside, due to budget and magic power issues, it was displayed in dots.
The dot representing the Purple Tower showed signs of sweating. Perhaps caught playing alone, she seemed flustered.
Next to her were dots representing the Central Tower and the Pharaoh Tower, along with various odds and ends. It couldn’t be seen in detail because of the dots, but I could at least identify a sword, a dress, and a cake.
I casually threw a remark.
“Want to play together?”
– Oh, um?
“It’s more fun to play together than alone.”
– Uh, I’m okay.
“Did you want to see a subplot? If you want, we can try it a bit more. Or maybe do a reset once, make Purple Tower the protagonist for the second round. Of course, we’ll tweak the plot a bit.”
– A re, reset is not allowed…!!
As Matapju Yuna gazed at the sky, fiercely defending, Sentra and Pero witnessed the sharp confrontation between the malevolent spirit and the compassionate deity.
The spirit casually uttered ‘reset.’ It was the end. Sentra and Pero, frozen in place, trembled. Yuna, hiding her hands behind her back, desperately signaled to the two.
I’ll find a way to handle it, so stay quiet and inconspicuous…!! she conveyed.
The spirit continued spewing various dreadful possibilities.
– The idea of a multiverse crossover is interesting, Matapju. Sentra seems likely to shine even in the wasteland.
“No, um, I just did it out of boredom…”
The spirit mentioned sending Sentra’s memories and experiences, melded into the Crownhole, to a strange world.
– Playing with ‘what if’ scenarios is fun. What if Pero were a woman, or if Sentra were a man? Shall we tweak the modeling a bit? Your servants in Matapju’s house would appreciate it.
“That’s, no, it’s done already…”
Talking about swapping genders. (If Sentra ever found himself in such a situation, he seriously contemplated how to explain it to Irida.)
In response to the spirit’s continued spewing of dreadful possibilities, the deity Yuna bravely summoned a shield. The spirit’s voice grew darker and more ominous. It was a bit sulky because Matapju wasn’t playing along.
– Well, everyone wants to play alone sometimes… Fine. I’ll be working in the research lab; if you’re done playing and have time, consult with me.
“Uh, I’ll leave soon…!!”
Thunk.
The voice echoing from the sky ceased.
Matapju sat down with a sigh of relief. He might have been a bit annoyed, but spending about three hours adjusting the modeling or… if the annoyance persisted, he could always memorize a magical spell.
‘I want to hear your thoughts about the character’s panties.’
He would have to endure an embarrassing monologue for an hour, but it was better than leaving it annoyed. He had become a bit troublesome since the teasing.
“…Is it over, my lord…?”
“Sure, we… survived.”
“We survived…!!”
Pero raised his arms and shouted in triumph. At the same time, the boy understood why this world was filled with pain. There was no doubt that the demon was behind it all. That’s why God couldn’t explain the reason and was being evasive!
“……”
Matapju had decided to take the secret of his idea to destroy Pero’s village to the grave.
————-
After some time had passed, Matapju came to find me. As he looked at my face with a somewhat cautious expression, he said:
“Umm, I want to hear about the character’s panties…”
Hmm.
It seemed that my weird acting had made an impression. So, I decided to go ahead and share my thoughts on which panties would be the most fitting for Matapju. I stopped before his face exploded.
Then, we moved on to a productive and wholesome topic. The original purpose, you know.
“How do you create a fairy tale?”
“Do you care?”
“It seems useful… and men can’t resist finishing moves.”
“Well, for someone like you right now, it might be a bit difficult…”
“Why?”
“Uh, hey! Don’t push your face against mine!”
“At least give me a convincing reason.”
“You really want to have it, don’t you…?!”
Can’t resist finishing moves. I can’t resist.
Maratju pushed my chin and forehead with gentle hands, explaining the reason.
“Wu Hwa (羽化) and Sung Hwa (昇華), they’re about changing one’s soul to gain power. And the most basic way to transform the soul is by extracting intense emotions from memories. But… you don’t have complete memories, do you?”
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, I found myself under suspicion of youth-onset dementia. I opened my mouth to refute—then closed it. Upon reflection, there were indeed parts I couldn’t recall. Quite a few.
Memories of my past life are still vivid. However, memories of this life… were vague. Specifically, I couldn’t remember the names of the parents who farmed potatoes. Also, there was a childhood friend, a heroine I used to play with in the neighborhood… but…
Youth dementia, perhaps.
“Hey, don’t worry too much! It can be fixed. Yeah, I’m getting stronger, so cheer up!”
“…Um, in a novel I read in my past life, there was a protagonist who periodically lost their memory. It involved taking care of them. Do you find that interesting?”
“How much do you think I’m suffering, youuu…!!”
An enraged Maratju pinched my cheek in response to the unexpected mockery. Despite the words, I wasn’t really suspicious of Maratju. I listened for more explanation.
“So, after recovering your memories, maybe you should consider Wu Hwa. As I mentioned before, unstable Wu Hwa is similar to magicians. When gained during anxiety, and then entering Ju Hwa, huh?”
“But, just listening to you, it sounds like there are other ways, right?”
“Yeah. Since changing the form of the soul is the condition for gaining power, you can artificially Wu Hwa. By breaking the soul or inflicting wounds.”
“Aren’t those who directly manipulate the soul like that… called black magicians?”
“Right. That’s why black magicians still hold influence. Even though people all over the world stand united against them, they haven’t been eradicated. Because each spell they cast is, in essence, Wu Hwa.”
The conclusion of the consultation was put on hold.
They assured me that as long as I relax and have fun, knowing they’ll protect me, everything will be fine. Once everything settles down, I can take it slow.
Sometimes, I wonder why Maratju treats me so well. Is it because of my sporadically handsome face, or did my pheromones work hard?
It felt like someone was overlapping with me. Like Elaine.
————-
“I’m going back to my hometown.”
“…Hometown?”
“Yes. There’s something unsettling about the gaps in my memory. I’ll just go check it out quickly and come back.”
I became nervous all over again.
After carefully organizing the gaps in my memory, it seemed that my early-onset dementia occurred in a low priority order. Meaning, the insignificant memories were erased first. The cherished memories would be the last to be erased.
My mind was truly exceptional. How could a person’s mind even deduce the gaps in memory? That was the essence of a grand magician. That was me.
Thinking in reverse, it meant that the forgotten memories now had a low priority. What was so significant about the time when I was farming potatoes in my hometown that I cleanly forgot about it?
“Now that we’re going to the academy soon, there’s only empty time right now. Put away the necklace, Matopju.”
“But it’s dangerous outside…”
“Getting your neck broken is even faster. Besides, I won’t be alone. The Second Prince said he would assign someone to accompany us. Since we’re going to be together at the academy, I thought we could foster camaraderie by going out together…”
“A girl?!”
“She’s a girl.”
“No way!”
Matopju growled.
Just when I was taken aback by the unexpected opposition, the click-clack of high heels echoed. Then, a woman in a formal suit and a ponytail walked into the reception room.
She had a cool and sharp appearance, even wearing horn-rimmed glasses, and her hair was pink. It was a prejudice, but according to the ancient tradition, pink hair signified…
“I’m Yuli Lancer, an on-site agent of the Imperial Defense Force. I’ve been assigned to handle the identification ‘Mad Magician’ starting today.”
“A- A woman…!”
“I like women. Please take care of me.”
“U-um…”
[Image: A woman in a formal suit and a ponytail walks into the room.]
With the sudden revelation of her unexpected taste, Matapju, who had been shouting opposition, stiffened in place. I, too, froze beside her, grasping the situation.
Her sharp mind quickly identified the issue. If those words were true, it meant there were plans to send ominous glances Matapju’s way. She was cute, after all.
Indeed, Matapju was already receiving such ominous glances. Following the gaze of those agile eyes, it seemed they were not just staring at Matapju’s stockings and skirt— they were penetrating the absolute territory between them. Unacceptable, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.
“Please take care of it, ‘Ping Ballet.'”
“Yes, I’ll take care of it, ‘Mad Sorceress.'”
Flames sparked between the handshake of Ping Ballet and me.
Lol. They gave each other nickname