chap 14 7

“Elementals: they abide in standing pools of water, and are carried in the flowing current...”
“Elementals... they dance in the flickering flames... and in the rising inferno...”
“Elementals: they—”
Suddenly, Grandfather stopped.
Flustered, Shihoru brought her ear close to his mouth.
He was breathing. Softly. He was snoring a little. It seemed he’d fallen asleep.
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”
Relieved, Shihoru moved away from the bed. Turning out the lights, she left the room. Feeling the exhaustion hit her all at once, she wanted to crouch down.
“It’s like... I’m nursing him...”
Technically, Grandfather had been teaching her all day long. He’d taught her everything there was to know about elementals. Today, on her third day of basic training, she had started to be able to sense elementals, though only vaguely. Him praising her aptitude had made her happy.
But still, Grandfather was extremely old. He might have been exceptionally sharp, and he apparently didn’t forget things that often, but his body was still in decline.
First of all, he couldn’t walk alone. He needed help to eat, too.
No, he might have been able to manage that without assistance, if necessary, but it would probably take him a long time.
He seemed likely to spill things, too, so cleaning up after him would be a lot of work. It was better if someone helped him eat.
As might have been expected, changing his clothes was another thing Grandfather struggled to do alone. Wizard Yoruka gave him a sponge bath every morning, then changed all his clothes, so Shihoru only had to take off his robe at night. That did help.
Regardless, she was practically nursing him.
That was fine, but if she was going to be learning from an old man so infirm that he needed nursing, Shihoru needed to be considerate in a lot of ways.
Frankly, she was worried for his health. It concerned her that the seven days of basic training which were assigned to everyone who joined the mages’ guild might actually be harder on Grandfather than Shihoru.
He was the oldest mage, after all, and like a living encyclopedia. What would she do if his health took a turn for the worse?
Shihoru was beside herself with worry, and putting it that way was no exaggeration.
Shihoru was sleeping in a small room on the first floor of the guild. Her room only had a bed, so sleeping was all she could do there. The only other places she could enter freely were the bath, the washroom, and the library.
The library was the largest room in the guild. There were desks and chairs surrounded by shelves of books.
Shihoru made a point of spending time in the library every night until she got sleepy.
The library had a manager called a bookwatcher on duty, and there were always people reading books there, but the rules forbade talking. So if Shihoru sat there with an open book no one bothered her. No one even looked at Shihoru.
The books in the library were made of parchment or paper, and all of the writing was done by hand.
When she’d first seen them, she’d been impressed that they were all handwritten, but when she thought about that, she wasn’t sure why.
When she was sitting in a chair, by lamplight, reading a text that someone had written out character by character, it helped her relax. Shihoru liked the sound of flipping pages.
As she was staring down at a book, someone else turned a page. The slightly heavy sound of sheepskin parchment. The light sound of paper. As she listened, gradually, drowsiness set in.
She was almost at her limit. No, she might already have been halfasleep.
Shihoru closed her book and stood up. Returning her book and leaving the library behind, she came across Wizard Yoruka in the hall.

 

“Ah!” Shihoru hurriedly bowed her head. “G-G-Good evening...”
“Reading?” the woman asked. “So late? I can see you’re very passionate.”
“N-N... No, I’m not, not at all...”
“Continue to exert yourself.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!”
Raising her face, Shihoru glanced at Yoruka. Or that was what she’d intended to do, but she ended up staring.
“Yes?” Yoruka asked.
“N-No...”
“If you have something to say, then say it.”
“N-No... N-Nothing, really...”
“You must. That was the look in your eyes just now. You mean to lie to me? That takes some courage.”
“I... I-I-I’m not lying...”
Shihoru’s head spun. Her face—no, her entire body—was burning. She started to sweat profusely.
Yoruka made no attempt to move.
Shihoru did not move, either.
“I... I just... um... I just...”
“Just what?” Yoruka asked.
“I... I was just thinking... you’re p-pretty... that’s all...”
“Is your sight poor? Or is it your aesthetic sense that’s impaired?” “Huh...? No, um, my, uh, a-aesthetic... sense? It’s... w-well, I don’t know, but... m-my eyes are fine... I think...”
“Flattery, then, is it?”
“F-Flattery...? No, not at all...”
“Is it spite?”
“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Why would you say that?”
“My looks are average,” Yoruka said. “Not pretty. They’re completely ordinary.”
That was plainly untrue. The fact was, while Yoruka might not have been some otherworldly beauty, she was quite pretty. She was tall, and she wore clothes that hid the outline of her body, so it was hard to tell about her figure, but she wasn’t fat, and was probably on the thin side.
If she was average, what did that make Shihoru?
Wasn’t Yoruka the one being spiteful here?
Shihoru had a lot of thoughts about it, but if she came out and spoke her mind, she would be criticizing a wizard. She couldn’t do that. She mustn’t.
That said, could she really say nothing? It might not be good to stay silent, right? Should she make an excuse? Or explain, rather?
“U-Um...” Shihoru attempted, “th-the truth is, I’m not, uh... fflattering you, or sucking up. That’s not it... it’s just... y-y-you don’t look anywhere near as old as I—”
As she stammered, she realized this was a mistake.
No one even looked at Shihoru.
They might both be women, but Shihoru should never bring up the topic of age. That was obvious. Normally, Shihoru wouldn’t have. It was because she’d panicked. But that was no excuse. She had to apologize.
“I-I-I-I-I-I’m sorry! Excuse me! I apologize!” “I turned 27 the other day,” Yoruka said.
“...Come again?”
The blood drained from her face so fast that Shihoru could feel it. She had to be pale as a sheet right now.
“T-Twenty... seven...”
“It was Wizard Sarai, wasn’t it?”
“Ah...! Y-Yes, ma’am...”
“How old did Wizard Sarai claim I am?”
“Th-That’s...”
“Tell me honestly.”
“O-Over... forty... he said...”
“That geezer,” Yoruka muttered.
“Huh? Gee...zer...?”
“Pardon me,” Yoruka smiled.
It was the first smile Shihoru had seen from her. When she smiled, she had to be at least ten times prettier.
But she was ten times scarier.
“I will have a talk with Wizard Sarai about this,” Yoruka announced. “You continue to be diligent in your training.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am. U-Under...stood.”
“Now, go to bed.” Yoruka walked off.
Shihoru let out a great sigh, then stumbled back to her room.
There were four rooms that seemed to be for those in basic training. They were all individual rooms, but in terms of size, it was like someone had just put a door on a bed. The ceiling was low, too.
When she went to open the door of the room assigned to her, the door next to hers opened, and a boy who wore thick-rimmed glasses came out.
“Oh!” Shihoru gasped. “Um... H-Hello...” She reflexively bowed her head.
Adachi looked at her and scowled. “Still awake, are you?”
“Oh... b-but I was about to lie down...”
“What do I care? Whether you’re awake or asleep, it makes no difference to me.”
“S-Sorry...”
Shihoru hurried into her room and collapsed on her bed. Then she let out another sigh.
Even though she was exhausted, she was wide awake.
She wouldn’t be getting to sleep for awhile.

5. He Was a Stern Father
Master effortlessly nocked an arrow to his bow, drew back the bowstring, and loosed it.
When he did, whoosh flew the arrow, and thock... it stabbed into the tree he’d aimed at.
“Wow!” Yume clapped despite herself.
Master lowered the bow, looking sideways to her.
“...Listen. How many times have I shown you this now? You don’t need to clap. This is no time to be getting giddy.”
“Oh, yeah. But, y’know, when Yume sees Master shootin’ his bow, every time she thinks, ‘That’s so cool! That’s so pretty!’”
“I don’t care about your impressions. Do as I did.”
“Sure. Got it! Yume, she’s gonna try!”
Yume stood beside Master, drawing an arrow from her quiver and nocking it.
“Listen, Yume,” he said. “The truth is, there’s no fixed form in archery.”
“Fixdorm?”
“...No. I said ‘no fixed form.’ What did you even think a fixdorm is?”
“Meow!”
“Hey! What are you suddenly shooting for?! I was in the middle of trying to explain it to you, you know?! Listen, then shoot! This is common sense!”
“Ohh. Sorry. It missed, too.”
“...Just listen.”
“Listenin’!”
“Your responses are good, if nothing else... well, whatever. Like I was saying. There’s no fixed form in archery. There are, of course, some dos and don’ts. But if you just get those down, you can shoot however you like. So long as you hit your target, that is.”
“Mm-hm, mm-hm.”
“So, once you learn how to hit your targets, just shoot the same way every time. No matter what happens, don’t change. Don’t bend. Don’t waver. You stick to it, and you’ll never miss your mark.”
“You’ll never piss or bark?”
“No, miss your mark. Miss. Your. Mark. Get it?”
“Mister Mark?”
“No... Oh, whatever. It doesn’t matter. Forget it.”
“Yume, she’s gonna forget it!”
“Good.” When Master grinned, he was quick to hide the bottom half of his face with his hand, for some reason. “A-Anyway, you can imitate what I do or find your own way, but the first thing is to hit your target. If you hit, repeat what you did, until muscle memory kicks in.”
“Muscle memory. Got it!”
“Now do it.”
“Doin’ it!”
Yume fired her bow.
She fired, and fired, and fired, and fired, and picked up the arrows once her quiver was empty, and put the arrows back in the quiver, and fired, and fired, and fired, and fired.
She just kept firing.
“Yume.”
“Nuwah?”
“That’s enough. Stop for now.”
“Got it. Yume, she’s gonna stop for now.”
“How did you not hit even once...?” Master was clutching his head.
Yume rubbed Master’s back. “Master, you okay? What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s not a ‘what.’ It’s you. You fired a hundred times and still missed. That’s a godly trick you pulled off there.”
“Ohh... It’s Yume’s fault, then. Sorry, Master.”
“I don’t know that I’d say it’s your fault. It’s a mystery to me. Even a total amateur ought to get the occasional lucky hit. It’s not like you aren’t reaching the target because of a lack of strength, so how did you miss every time?”
“How do you think? Yume, she’s aimin’ at that tree like she oughta be, but, zoom, the arrows go flyin’ off in a whole other direction!”
“Something is wrong. Something... Your form isn’t that weird. What’s the problem?”
“Maybe Yume’s got no talent!” “You moron!” he suddenly yelled at her.
Yume pulled her hands back reflexively.
Master looked around awkwardly. “No... sorry. It’s just... um... Y-You can’t say that. Don’t blame talent so easily. There’s a cause somewhere. I just have no idea what it is... Maybe it’s my fault?” “You’re not doin’ anythin’ wrong, Master!” Yume declared.
“Y-Yeah? I-I guess...”
“Yeah! Master, you’re doin’ your best to teach Yume. You’re not wrong. Yume’s the one shootin’ the arrows, so it’s Yume’s fault if they don’t hit.”
“Well, yes, but...”
“Master, that’s how it is, so cheer up, okay?”
“R-Right. No, hold on, you should be a bit more depressed...”
“Is gettin’ depressed gonna make the arrows hit?”
“No, probably not. You have a point. Getting depressed isn’t going to help.”
“It won’t help? Well, that’s a problem.”
“Tell me about it.” Master cleared his throat, taking one step away from Yume. “Just so we’re clear, I want to straighten out one misconception.”
“Sure. Yume, she’s listenin’.”
“I’m... well... you know. I’ve had a number of students before, and all of them have told me I’m a strict father.”
“But you’re so nice, Master!”
“That’s where you’re misunderstanding.”
“Yume’s misunderstanding?”
“That’s right... Honestly, people are even a little terrified of me. I’ve even had a guy run away during basic training. Just one, but it happened.”
“Yume’s not gonna be runnin’ away, though.”
“O-Oh, yeah?”
“’Cause bein’ with Master’s fun!”
“It... It is?”
“Master, is bein’ with Yume unpleasant for you?”
“N-No, it’s not.” Master hid the bottom half of his face, then, on top of that, he turned away. “Of course it’s not... you dummy.”
“Oh, good. If you hated Yume, she’d be super sad, you know?”
“I-I could never hate...” Master suddenly coughed and cleared his throat.
Yume rubbed Master’s back again. “Master, are you okay? Have you got a cold? If you do, keep warm, okay?”
“I-It’s not a cold. I’m fine. I don’t catch colds. I never get sick. I’ve got a good, healthy body, so this is... nothing.”
“Well, good. Yume, she was gettin’ worried, you know?”
“S-Sorry... No, no, no! What am I apologizing for? Damn it, listen up, Yume!”
“Yes, siiiir!”
“That’s a good response.”
“Yay!”
“No, that’s not it... This is a declaration! The other mothers and fathers return to the guild during basic training, but we won’t! Because I’m strict!”
“Oho!”
“In the basic training I have for you, you won’t be going back to the guild once! We’re living in the wild the whole time! How’s that? You can’t bathe, and the mosquitoes are relentless, that’s got to be hard on a girl like you! I’m strict!”
“Fwooooooooo!” Yume cried, excited.
“Wh-Why are your eyes sparkling like that?”
“This’s gonna be so much fun! Livin’ with Master in the woods the whole time! Takin’ baths is nice, but you only stink if you don’t! Oh, but, Master, are you okay with a stinky Yume?”
“You don’t smell that bad... I mean, I think I’ve got a beastly smell to me, too. I can’t really tell myself, though...”
“Beastly smell?” Yume brought her face up to Master’s chest, sniffing him. “...Nuh? You do smell. Is it beastly? Huh? Well, it’s not unpleasant. It’s not a nice smell, but it’s a smell Yume could get hooked on.”
“Wh-Whoa, Yume.”
“Mew?”
“S-Stop it! No... D-Don’t sniff me!”
“Why not?”
“J-Just stop!” Master took two, three steps back, then hung his head. “...This is weird. It’s not supposed to be like this. I’m a solitary hunter, and a strict father, and my students hate me...”
“Ah!”
“Wh-What?” Master asked.
“Yume, she wants to practice with the bow some more. Can she?”
“...S-Sure. That’s fine. Of course. You’re enthusiastic.”
“Well, sure!”
Yume took a stance with the bow, without nocking an arrow, and drew back the bowstring.
Was this it? Or did she need to change her facing? There were all sorts of things she could try adjusting.
“If Yume doesn’t get good with the bow, she’ll feel bad for you,” she announced.
“Y-You...” When she looked over, Master was covering the bottom of his face. “Would you stop that?”
“Stop? Stop what? Huh?”
“Forget me. I don’t matter. You practice for you.”
“Well, sure. But Yume wants to work hard for her master, too. Is that wrong?”
“It’s not wrong, but still!”
“Well, then Yume’s gonna do her best for herself and for her master, too!”
“Oh, yeah? Do your best.”
“Yume’s gonna do her best!”
“Do your best, Yume...”
 
6. The Trap
It was the fourth day of basic training when Grandfather suddenly complained that he was feeling unwell.
“Urgh... Th-This is bad...”
“Grandfather?! Wh-Wh-Wh-What’s the matter?!” Shihoru exclaimed.
“Ngh, ngh, ngh...”
Grandfather clutched his chest, leaning over in his chair. He might fall out of his chair like that.
Shihoru got up, rushed over to him, making sure he at least didn’t collapse.
“Nnngh... Nnngh... Nnngh... This is bad...” Grandfather closed his eyes and let out a low groan.
Shihoru looked around in vain. “Wh-What can I do...? Sh-Should I call someone?”
“N-No... It’s fine...”
“B-But...!”
“Let me rest a little... Here... Urgh...”
“Y-Yes, that’s okay,” Shihoru said fearfully.
“Ohh... No... My strength... It’s fail...ing... me...”
“I-I’ll support you!”
Shihoru put her arms around Grandfather and held him to give him support when he looked ready to keel over.
Grandfather’s whole body was quivering. There was no other noticeable change, but he was old, so he probably had an existing condition or two. She wouldn’t have been surprised by anything.
Maybe she should call someone. However, ever since the first time she’d met Grandfather, no other mage had come near the classroom they were using for lessons.
If she was going to call for help, she’d have to leave the room. If she did, she’d have to leave Grandfather alone. That worried her.
“I’m fine... I’m fine, so... Leave me... Let me stay like this... Let me rest like this, for just a little while...”
“I... I under...stand. Um, does it... hurt somewhere? If something’s wrong, please, tell me. Please...”
“Yes... I’ll... do that...”
This being an emergency, she couldn’t fault him for it, but Grandfather’s face was pressed up against her chest. Was that making it hard for him to breathe?
“U-Um, Grandfather,” Shihoru ventured.
“Yes... What is it...?”
“Y-You’re not suffering... are you?”
“No... Not at all... It feels nice, actually. No...”
“Huh...?”
“I’m fine... Fine... Yes... Fine...”
Next, Grandfather put his arm around Shihoru’s back—no, her butt— squeezing tight.
Was he feeling better? If he was, thank goodness. But...
“G-Grandfather...?” Shihoru asked nervously.
“Yes...”
“E-Erm...”
“What is it...?”
“I hate to say this... but...”
“Hmm...?”
“Th-The way you’re touching my butt is a little...”
“...Yes?” Grandfather pulled his face away from Shihoru’s chest. “Ohh. Pardon me. Sorry, sorry. It just happened.”
“N-No. It’s fine... if you’d just stop. Wh-Why are you still rubbing my butt?”
“Hmm!” This time, Grandfather pulled his hand away from Shihoru’s butt, then laughed in embarrassment. “Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean any harm.”
“H-Harm?”
“Girlie,” Grandfather said. “Your butt felt so comfortable to the touch, I felt sad to part with it. There’s no reason other than that.”
“Y-You mean—” Shihoru pushed Grandfather against the back of his chair. “Th-This was just plain sexual harassment.?!”
“Sexual harassment?” Grandfather cocked his head to the side. “This may be my old age talking, but I don’t know what you mean. I was rubbing your buttocks with the purest of intentions, have no doubt.”
“Don’t try to turn this around...”
“I am doing no such thing!” This was the first time Shihoru saw Grandfather open his eyes wide in front of her. “I love girls’ butts!! I love boobs! I am in love with every part of the girl! I don’t want to take on any boys for basic training! I want to spend what little time I have left with girls! Is that wrong?! No! Certainly not! I maintain absolute confidence in my righteousness!”
“D-Did you deliberately make it so Adachi-kun would get impatient...?” “Correct!”
“What is wrong with you...?” Shihoru muttered.
“Don’t you worry about me, girlie,” Grandfather smirked.
“You’re full of energy, too...”
“I’m 107 this year! No matter how much I love girls, all I can do is breathe air in the same room as them, and if I see a chance, maybe touch them a liiiittle, nothing else! It’s tragic that I can’t do aaaanything else...”
“That’s... not my problem...”
“Could you possibly understand my vexation, girlie?!”
“Not at all! And I don’t want to!”
“My word! Not understanding your own master’s feelings! You fail as an apprentice!”
“Fine! Whatever! Fail me! I’ll learn from Wizard Yoruka, like Adachikun!”
“You fool! Yoruka is my student! I am her teacher! She can say what she likes, but Yoruka can never defy me!”
“You’re horrible!!”
“Call me what you will! Mwahahahahah! Girlie! I’m not letting you escape until your basic training is over!” Shihoru bit her lip.
She was frustrated.
But more than that, she was sad.
Shihoru had never suspected Grandfather in the slightest. She’d cared for him, and tried to help. That was all.
Grandfather had taken advantage of Shihoru’s feelings. Because Shihoru was his apprentice, you could say he’d taken advantage of her weaker position as someone who had to look after him.
“Does it hurt, girlie?!” Grandfather cackled like a devil. “Do you feel betrayed?! Well, know this! All the boys out there in the world are worse than me! I’m doing you a service, teaching you the harshness of reality!”
“Boys?” Shihoru repeated in horror.
Was that true? Shihoru collapsed to the floor.
She was scared. Scared. Scared! Grandfather was decrepit with old age, so she had gotten off lightly. If he had been a healthy young man, what might he have done to her? What horrible things?
“Fwahahahahahahahahaha!” the horrible old man laughed. “Girlie! Know the darkness of this world, and grow to become a woman!”
Shihoru shook her head. She wanted to cry. Or rather, she was already half-crying. The tears were ready to flow.
Just in time, the door to the classroom opened, and Wizard Yoruka came in.
“Fwuh...” Seeing Yoruka, Grandfather clearly started to panic.
Yoruka was the opposite.
She strode towards him with no expression, then chopped him in the head with an open hand.
“Agh...!”
“You filthy old man.”
“Y-You... Yo-Yoruka, how dare you do this to your teach—” “Silence,” she ordered.
“Urkh...”
“To think you would still act the same even after turning 100. How can you have grown so little? I am too appalled for words, Wizard Sarai.”
“Th-The seething passion of my soul, which still seeks adventure, even after turning 100, is something to be praised! I-Isn’t it?! Right, girlie?!”
“Huh...? You’re turning to me on this?!” Shihoru exclaimed.
“You’re my apprentice, aren’t you? Be a good apprentice, and give me an out! Help me!”
“...N-No.”
“Gasp!”
“Now listen, girlie,” Yoruka said.
Shihoru was shocked to find that even Yoruka was calling her “girlie” now.
“This old man is the oldest, most respected mage alive, but he is also infamous, and especially scorned by female mages, who keep their distance,” Yoruka told her. “His knowledge and talent as a mage, however, is genuine. He is one of the few mages in Grimgar who has attained true magic. His teachings will, undoubtedly, become an invaluable asset to you as a mage. You may not understand that now, but with time, you will. However, if you find yourself unable to deal with the old coot’s behavior, I am willing to take over as your instructor for the rest of your basic training. What will you do?”

7. Feet
Master pressed his raised index finger to his lips. That was the sign for, Don’t talk. Be quiet.
Yume nodded, and then Master walked down the game trail in a low posture.
Yume followed behind him.
The game trail was really narrow—not wide enough that people could walk down it normally, but it had been well trodden down. There wasn’t much grass there, and hardly any dry branches had fallen on it. That was why, so long as they progressed with caution, they could sneak along silently with relative ease.
Master came to a stop, hiding himself in the shadow of a tree. Yume was right nearby, imitating him.
Master looked around the area, moving his eyes more than he turned his head.
Yume did the same thing.
The birds and the bugs chirped.
The wind blew.

Chapter end