Epilogue: How Many Snacks Is Appropriate?
After delivering the homunculus boy to Hydemary’s father, Edgar Alzbayne, Suimei and company wrapped up their remaining business in Germany and returned to Japan. Once they were back, they saw to various preparations—including stocking up on all manner of things for Reiji and Mizuki—for their return to the other world. When the day arrived, however...
“Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!”
“Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!”
Suimei stood in the Yakagi estate garden with two beautiful girls charging at him while shouting about chocolate. One of them was Felmenia, who was carrying a cardboard box chock full of the stuff; and the other was Liliana, who was preciously hugging her stuffed penguin.
It seemed they were intent on returning home with a massive supply of chocolate in tow. Unable to conquer their lust for it here in the modern world, Felmenia had decided to take as much of it back with her as she could carry. If Suimei had tried to enforce a 300 yen limit on candy or something, he knew it would make his life a living hell. So, thinking better of it, he’d made certain concessions about the snack supply, but...
“That’s still way too much, ain’t it?”
Felmenia’s arms were full with the cardboard box of chocolates, and stacked neat and high atop it were takeout boxes of cake. Just how much were she and Liliana planning on bringing? They could only take what would fit in the teleportation circle, so Suimei was hoping they would come to their senses on that front.
As for what Felmenia had to say for herself...
“But Suimei-dono, we must bring back souvenirs! I have a duty as a retainer to deliver these treats to Her Highness!”
And as for Liliana...
“It’s impossible... to endure... without chocolate. I want to... at least have... some every few days.”
Liliana apparently wanted her portion for herself, but her honesty in the matter and her sense of moderation were actually quite praiseworthy.
“We can only carry but so much. You guys are gonna have to cut down.”
“This is as much as we could cut down!”
“We actually... prepared... a lot more.”
Suimei insisted, but the girls just wouldn’t relent. It was like he was losing ground with them by the word. But it was there that Lefille—shrewdly carrying a bottle of sake to take back to Rumeya—cut in.
“The two of you need to stop being so unreasonable with Suimei-kun already.”
“But, but, but...!”
“Lefille, to us... this is a matter... of life and death.”
Liliana looked to Lefille with grave eyes, and Lefille returned a gentle smile. Her smile, however, didn’t indicate that she was on Suimei’s side when it came to the chocolate. In fact...
“I know, Lily. But don’t we now have a heartening ally in Lady Mary?”
She encouraged Liliana and Felmenia to solicit the help of their new comrade. Her interjection had seemed like a rebuke at first, yet things had taken a strange turn. No, in truth, this was inevitable. With snacks on the line, of course Lefille was on the girls’ side. And to further their cause, they went running over to Hydemary.
“Mary-dono!”
“Hydemary... please say something... to him.”
Naturally, Hydemary was on their side as well. With that, it was three... No, four against one.
“Suimei-kun, don’t be stingy.”
“Fine, alright already. Jeez.”
And so, Suimei reluctantly caved in. An innocent cheer breaking out in celebration. Snacks, of all things, was one thing the girls wouldn’t give up on. Felmenia was beaming as if their victory had only been a matter of course, and even Liliana was smiling happily.
Hydemary, however, approached Suimei as he got to work on the magicka circle.
“Suimei-kun, you’re bringing souvenirs yourself, aren’t you? So what’s the big deal?”
“I’m only taking all this ’cause there’s a noisy brat waiting for me back over there who won’t shut up if I don’t. I’d never hear the end of it.”
As Suimei began slinging insults, Hatsumi—who was patiently waiting on the sidelines for preparations to wrap up—threw him a dirty look.
“Suimei, that’s a rather mean way to put it. Shall I inform her that you weren’t even sorry?”
“What? Who?”
“Anou-san, of course. I’m on her side here, you know? So if you don’t mind, I’ll be telling her everything. Including how reluctant you were.”
“Ugh...”
When Hatsumi pointed it out, Suimei was forced to reckon with the fact that both she and Mizuki were people he’d intentionally kept out of the loop about his identity as a magician. If she were to pick sides in such a situation, it was only obvious she would side with Mizuki. And Suimei was very, very sorry about that right now.
“Listen, I’m taking more than enough to make it up to her, okay?”
“You really are. That’s quite a bit of stuff you’ve got there.”
Suimei had packed plenty of Japanese ingredients that didn’t exist in the other world—rice, miso, soy sauce, all kinds of dashi, and even instant noodles. He’d picked up everything he could think of that would give Mizuki a little taste of home.
“I’ll be leaving the cooking once we get back to you, okay?”
“Of course. I’m itching to put my skills to use.”
Suimei thought the time and energy Hatsumi put into learning to cook would be better spent honing her blade, but to Hatsumi, the kitchen was just another battlefield. When joined by Felmenia, who was ordinarily in charge of the cooking, the two of them would undoubtedly achieve great things.
“Yo! Looks like you kids are about ready to head off.”
All of a sudden, a man’s voice called to the group from afar. Suimei turned to spot Kiyoshiro, along with his wife Yukio and his son Haseto, walking towards them. Hatsumi’s family had been taking care of Suimei and company during their stay in Japan, and it seemed they’d come to see everyone off.
Kiyoshiro took a cursory glance at the teleportation circle before letting out a sigh of admiration.
“Huh... That’s quite a few circles ya got there.”
“You can tell?”
The more circles within a magicka circle, the more information it contained. The outer magicka circle was the teleportation spell proper, but altogether it was composed of seven smaller circles. It was like grand-class magicka and then some. As such, the amount of mana it consumed was nothing to be sneezed at. Fortunately, however, that wouldn’t be an issue with several capable magicians on hand.
Ignoring the magicka circle, however, Yukio put her hand to her cheek and politely lamented the departure of their guests.
“How regrettable. It’s been so lively around here lately.”
“She’s right. We’ve had my students gathered around for dinner, but this was a first for us. It was nice and refreshing.”
Turning away from his aunt and uncle who were being rather nonchalant about the whole affair, Suimei looked to his cousin.
“To think I even had to tell you about it, Haseto...” he sighed.
“Hatsumi found out anyway, so the timing was pretty perfect,” Kiyoshiro chimed in.
It was there that Haseto turned a complicated expression to Suimei, like he wasn’t quite sure what to say.
“How do I even put it? I’ve always thought you were pretty mysterious, but I never dreamed you were like something straight out of a fantasy story.”
“You sure aren’t acting very surprised, though.”
“Well, you know... Anyway, level with me. Just how strong are you?”
Haseto was brimming with curiosity, and Suimei answered as he always did.
“Aah, well, somewhere in the lower-mid—”
Or, at least, he started to. He only got a few words in before sharp gazes befell him from all directions.
“Suimei-kun, that part of you is a little...” Hydemary sighed.
“Can you stop lying to people already?” Hatsumi jeered.
“I think it’s about time for you to cut that out. Don’t you? ” Lefille scolded.
Under fire from all three of them at once, Suimei was left groaning at a loss for words. It was there that Kiyoshiro turned to his daughter.
“Hatsumi.”
His usual flippant attitude was nowhere to be seen. He was addressing her not just as her father, but as her instructor. Hatsumi turned to face him in kind, ever so slightly tense.
“Yes?”
“Go and end this.”
“Understood.”
Their parting words were brief, but that was enough for them. And once they were done, Yukio approached with a gentle smile.
“Hatsumi-san, be careful not to get sick. And don’t hurt yourself, okay?”
“That’s, well... Sure.”
Yukio’s slightly out-of-place comment left Hatsumi at a little bit of a loss for a response. She seemed to be more concerned about illness and injury than she was about the strength of any enemies.
“That goes for everyone else too. Please do take care of yourselves.”
With that, the rest of Suimei’s group gave her their thanks. Kiyoshiro then called out to his newest student.
“Hey, Lefille.”
“Yes, Grandmaster?”
“Once will do, but go see that swordsman you respect.”
“Very well. My time here was brief, but I cannot even begin to express my gratitude for your training.”
“You betcha. And hold on to that feeling. The moment you forget your gratitude for others, your sword will begin to show signs of arrogance.”
The ever-so-silly Kiyoshiro, every now and then, had something profound to say. But once all was said and done with Hatsumi’s family, they quietly returned to the Kuchiba residence.
“Now then, it’s about time we get going.”
Suimei walked over to the magicka circle to begin the ritual, when Hydemary suddenly stepped in with him.
“Mary...? What are you doing?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Or were you really going to leave me behind again?”
Her tone was extremely critical, but this was the first Suimei had heard of her desire to go with him.
“I mean, are you really sure about this?” he asked skeptically.
“Now that’s Suimei-kun for you. Your denseness is downright terrifying. Have you ever heard of being too reserved?”
“Life is way harder over there than you think it is, you know? They don’t have any of your favorite snacks.”
“It’s fine as long as I learn the teleportation spell myself.”
“You’re really something, you know? Expending such a massive amount of mana just to go buy sweets...”
“You still have to coach me. You said you would, so I expect you to follow through on that.”
“Yeah, yeah. Cheer up already. I’ll even give you a pat on the head.”
“Do you really think you can coax me like that? Seriously... Could you not belittle me?”
“Is saying that while taking off your hat some kind of performance art?”
Indeed, Hydemary was holding her hat in one hand as she stepped toward Suimei and leaned forward. He looked down at her dubiously, but she only took this for reluctance.
“You’re not going to pat me on the head after all? No one likes a man who goes back on his word.”
“I swear... For a seven-year-old, you really never know when to shut up.”
Though exasperated, Suimei gently patted Hydemary on the head. She was as expressionless as ever, making it difficult to tell whether she was pleased. But the fact that she let him continue certainly seemed to indicate so.
Meanwhile, however, the visitors from the other world and Hatsumi had been stunned into silence. They were all gawking at Suimei with befuddled looks on their faces.
“Hmm? What’s up?”
Unsure why everyone was suddenly staring at him, Suimei quizzically cocked his head to the side. A bewildered Felmenia spoke up on behalf of the group.
“Um, Suimei-dono, the seven-year-old you mentioned just now...”
Looking at all the confused girls in turn, it suddenly dawned on Suimei.
“Oh, come to think of it, we never told you, huh?”
“Hey, Suimei... Have you been keeping quiet about something extremely important again?”
“Er, well... It’s just that it’s only been seven years since Mary was created.”
Suimei plainly confessed the truth, feeling a little bad about forgetting to mention it sooner. What he said, however, left Lefille reeling in shock. She looked at him in simple disbelief.
“That can’t be. I mean, she’s far too tall and smart for that to be the case.”
“As I’ve been saying... that’s ’cause she’s a homunculus. They grow differently from normal humans.”
“I-Is that so...?”
Lefille’s head was still spinning, but Liliana’s lone eye shot wide open.
“Hydemary... is that... true?”
“Mhm. I’m seven.”
When Hydemary answered with an affirmative nod, Liliana froze. She stared up at the girl that she’d believed to be older than her in absolute silence. It seemed her brain was struggling to get a handle on the situation, but that was perfectly understandable. Hydemary had turned out to be half her age, after all. In absolute bafflement, she began mumbling to herself as she counted on her fingers.
But she wasn’t alone in this predicament.
“N-Now that is quite...”
“I-Isn’t this a rather serious development?”
Both Lefille and Felmenia were still equally bewildered. Hatsumi, however, looked to Hydemary with a blank expression.
“I thought we were about the same age...”
“You can just keep thinking of her that way,” Suimei replied on Hydemary’s behalf. “She’s seven years old, but that’s seven homunculus years. They don’t play by human rules. Kinda like how we think of dogs and cats, you know?”
“Stop right there, Suimei-kun,” Hydemary finally interjected. “Is that really what you think of me?”
“I mean, it was the only comparison I could think of.”
Nevertheless, it wasn’t a good analogy. Hydemary was rightfully glaring at him.
“Okay, well, uh... Let’s get going.”
“Hey! Suimei-kun, that’s inexcusable! Hey!”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. So let’s go already. Everyone, get in! We’re leaving.”
“Jeez, you... We’re going to settle this properly later, you hear?”
Hydemary stomped into the magicka circle with enough force that it was almost comical.
And so, shortly after that, Suimei clapped his hands together. As the pleasant sound lingered in the air, the magicka circle began overflowing with manalight.
“Dimensional connect.”
Suimei recited the keywords to activate the spell, and they were whisked away to another world... all without realizing that someone was watching from the shadows.
“Heeheee! I knew I hadn’t seen him for a while, and here he’s stuck his neck into something that looks so very fun! Way! To! Go! Me! You sure know how to have fuuuuuuuun, Suimei-kun! As your number one fan, it’s only right for me to take chase, right?! RIGHT?!”
An insane voice resounded through the Yakagi estate garden.
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