The Genius Magician Hydemary Alzbayne
Just like when Suimei had first entered this room, he looked around it warily. It was decorated with white antique furniture and bisque dolls lying around here and there. It was girlish, to say the least. It easily could have passed for the room of some European princess.
“What’s the matter? Have a seat.”
The owner of the room, the magician Hydemary Alzbayne, was seated at a table. Maintaining a robotic expression, she pulled a teacup out of nowhere and gracefully brought it up to her lips.
With her long hair, tailcoat, curving cane, and silk hat that she’d casually tossed upon the bed, she certainly had the complete appearance of a magician. But just like the dolls around her, her expression was stiff, though her glamorous beauty undeniably set her apart from them. She left nothing to be desired in terms of her charm.
Following Hydemary’s suggestion, Suimei took a seat across the table from her.
“I’d rather you not be so cautious. Just now was something like a so-called test. I have no intention of harming you.”
“So? What’s your evaluation of me after putting me through your so-called test?”
“Well, I suppose you pass. You seem to possess a level of ability that even I can recognize, after all, mister magician of the Society.”
“Well, thanks, I guess.”
Suimei gave a non-committal response. The reason she spoke in such a haughty tone was likely the result of considerable self-confidence. Or perhaps it just came naturally to her. She didn’t have the air of someone who was extremely gifted, but nevertheless…
“I was told to bring you along with me, you know?”
“Yes, my father told me that much. That when a magician of the Society came, that I should go along with them.”
“So what’s your answer?”
Suimei asked her for an answer, but Hydemary responded to Suimei with a question of her own.
“Before that, I have something I would like to ask. Is that alright?”
Suimei nodded. Hydemary then set aside her teacup and cut to the chase.
“What I want to ask is about you magicians of the Society. If I remember correctly, you all use an unusual magicka theory, right?”
“Modern magicka theory, you mean.”
“Yes, that is what it was called, wasn’t it? It’s an outrageous concept that composites together magicka from different systems, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“It’s not just using magicka from different systems at the same time, right?”
“It’s just as you saw before. Did you think it was that kind of lowbrow magicka?”
“Not at all.”
Hydemary shook her head. Just as she said, the magicka used by a modern magician was based on modern magicka theory, which mixed together magicka from various systems. For example, there was rune magicka, which carved characters into objects to bring out their power, and Kabbalah numerology, which could manifest the phenomena of the world by cataloguing them as numbers and formulas—by mixing the two totally different systems together, a completely new system of magicka was born. Even within the world of magicians living in the underbelly of modern society, it was considered quite heretical.
Speaking of unusual, however, the magicka that this girl used was also quite strange. But setting that aside…
“So all of you are chasing after the ideals of your dear leader or whoever, right?”
“Yeah.”
As Suimei nodded, Hydemary tilted her head to the side like an innocent child.
“So what’s it all about?”
“You’ll get it if you come along. It’s not like we’re forcing you to do anything, and it isn’t something for me to say here.”
“That’s true.”
Hydemary looked disinterested, but it was only because her range of facial expressions was limited. Before long, she thought of something else that she wanted to ask.
“Hey, do you remember when you were first able to use magicka?”
“When I was first able to use magicka, huh?”
In truth, Suimei didn’t actually remember very much about it. While being shown magicka by his father, he’d touched upon mystical power. So if there was anything extraordinary about the first time he’d used magic, it would be that one day he’d simply thought, “I can do it.” After that, he was able to use magicka just like his father. That was all there was to it. He couldn’t even identify the specific moment it had happened. After all, whatever it was that had led him to use magicka became inconsequential the moment he unlocked the secret. He felt that way even now.
Even the existence of mana was something he found himself attuned to once he was able to use magicka, which led to him forging his mana furnace. It was something like how once someone learned to ride a bicycle, they would never forget that sense of balance. Or how one could instinctively tell fortunes with tarot cards by tempering their senses. It was more or less an extension of such techniques. It was difficult to explain outright, but there was one thing Suimei could say with absolute confidence. If someone never touched upon magicka and its mysteries, they would never be able to use it.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, I don’t really remember.”
“Is that acceptable for a human who pursues the mysteries?”
“Isn’t it? Pretty much everyone is like that.”
“Hmph.”
With another seemingly disinterested reply, Hydemary once more matched her gaze with Suimei’s. Just what was she thinking about? Her eyes had a cold, gray light to them. They seemed to hold not a hint of passion, but there was a sharpness to them. And after gazing into his eyes for a while, perhaps finally satisfied, Hydemary gave Suimei a pronounced nod.
“Alright. I get it. I’ll go along with you.”
He got her consent, though he couldn’t say what she’d based her decision on. She then moved on to what she considered the next order of business.
“Suimei-kun, was it? Do make sure to treat me well like a lady.”
“What are you implying?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I want to be treated properly.”
Did she say that because she was a pseudo-lifeform born from a flask, a homunculus? It was likely her desire not to be treated as an object. Without leaving Suimei much time to contemplate the matter, Hydemary suddenly stretched out.
“Ha-aaahh…”
And just like a sleepy child, she let out a tremendous yawn. Seeing her show no restraint at all, Suimei was primed to pass down some candid advice. He furrowed his brow, but Hydemary only rubbed her eyes.
“I’m tired now, so I’m going to sleep.”
“…What?”
Just what was going on all of a sudden? Suimei was completely taken aback and could only watch as Hydemary stood up from her seat.
“Goodnight.”
And with that…
“Zzz…”
Hydemary lay down on her bed defenselessly, falling immediately and soundly to sleep.
“H-Hey, what the hell’s with you…?”
Watching this all unfold, Suimei was really and truly stumped. But forced to accept the situation for what it was, he figured there was nothing to be done now that she was already asleep. He got up and made to leave, but then remembered one important thing. The door to leave this room remained unopenable. In other words…
“…Hey, just how do I get out of here?”
Until Hydemary woke up once more, Suimei was forced to just wait in her room.
“Who… are you?”
“I’m gonna slug you, you little punk…”
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