Chapter 37: Waiting for Spring(1)

Lucy had dreaded becoming Asha Village’s resident mage. But now that she was stuck here, it wasn’t so bad.

‘Oh, good morning, Mage!’
‘Lucy! What are we playing today?’
‘If it’s not too much trouble, could we have you over for dinner? As thanks for your help.’

The villagers were welcoming. Back in the Magic Tower, no one except Gish had paid her much attention. Or rather, no one had shown her positive attention.

She was used to negative attention. The sneers and whispers, the trash left outside her lab, the subtle bullying that haunted her even in her sleep. It had been particularly bad after Gish visited, which was why she had been avoiding him recently.

She had stubbornly clung to her position at the Tower… but now that she was gone, she felt surprisingly at peace.

‘…Thanks to Avalli.’

While Lucy’s magical abilities were hardly worthy of being called a “teacher”, Avalli consistently addressed her as such. It did wonders for her self-esteem.

Avalli was also a quick learner, both practically and theoretically. By Lucy’s standards, she was a genius. And Lucy Ignis was her first teacher.

She couldn’t deny the sense of pride.

While she was frustrated by the interruption to her research, Arsene would be traveling to the city in the spring to purchase materials. She had also secured a supply of magic stones from the green-eyed being residing within Avalli. And the new house Karls was building for her was far larger than her tiny lab at the Tower. ‘Workshop’ would be a more appropriate term.

So, Lucy’s days were carefree and enjoyable. Or rather, they should have been…

“Good morning, Teacher Lucy!”
“…Huh?”
“It’s a beautiful morning.”

Avalli’s usual cheerful greeting… but something felt off.

The reason was simple.
Magic power.

Avalli’s eyes were brown, which meant Lucy shouldn’t be sensing any magic power.

“Teacher?”

Avalli tilted her head, looking like her usual self. But Lucy felt a tingling sensation, a surge of magic power.

“…Avalli, is something… different today?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well… I’m sensing… magic power from you.”

Avalli froze at Lucy’s words, like a character in a horror story, suddenly turning into a doll.

“Transmission. Witness detected. Countermeasures required. Awaiting instructions. Awaiting. Awaiting. Awaiting. Awaiting.”

Avalli repeated the same phrase in a monotone, robotic voice.

“…A…Avalli?”

Lucy froze, a chill running down her spine. She berated herself for being so complacent, so oblivious to the danger—

“Transmission received. Relaying message. Oh, Teacher! Wait for me! I’ll be right back!”

The robotic voice ceased, replaced by Avalli’s usual cheerful tone, as she delivered a completely nonsensical message.

“…Huh?”

Lucy’s mind went blank, struggling to comprehend the situation. But before her bewilderment could subside, a wave of magic power crashed against the window.

“I’m back!”

Avalli vaulted through the window frame, her hair its usual brown, not the silver of the previous night. To Lucy, completely unaware of what had transpired, the scene was utterly baffling.

“Two… Avallis?”
“Ah, I’m the real one.”

The Avalli who had just entered said casually, walking towards the other Avalli.

“Good work.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Hmm… should we explain to Teacher?”
“I think that would be best. It’s difficult for me to make judgments on my own.”
“Alright. See you later.”

That was the end of their conversation. Or rather, one Avalli transformed into a glowing orb of light and merged with the other.

“…”
“Did I surprise you, Teacher?”
“W…What… was that, Avalli?”
“A clone. I had some business outside the village. I tried to be back before you woke up, but I was a little late.”

Clone.
The word sent a chill down Lucy’s spine.

‘…Cloning is forbidden Conjuration magic.’

It was an incredibly difficult spell to use, but that wasn’t the main reason it was forbidden. Clones often developed their own sentience and challenged their creators. Even the great witch, Shartel, who created the spell, was said to have become enslaved by her own creation in her later years.

“…You didn’t learn that properly, did you?”

“Huh? Oh, no. I just… focused and it worked.”
“You can’t use dangerous magic like that casually!”

Lucy yelled, then began explaining the dangers of cloning magic to Avalli. Her knowledge of Conjuration magic was limited, so her explanation was vague… but her concern was genuine.

“…That’s… certainly unsettling.”
“Right, Avalli? Promise me you won’t use it carelessly again!”
“But I… had my reasons.”
“Reasons?”

At Lucy’s questioning frown, Avalli hesitated for a moment, then focused magic power in her eyes. The ‘green-eyed being’ could probably explain things better than ‘Avalli’.

“…Ugh.”

As Avalli’s eyes turned green, Lucy clutched her robe and gulped.
“It’s been a while, Lucy.”
“…Yes. How have you been…?”

The nervousness in Lucy’s voice was almost comical, but Avalli suppressed a smile and spoke in a serious tone.

“My power is fully unleashed on the night of the full moon.”
“…Unleashed?”
“I don’t want the villagers to see my true form, so I leave the village and spend the night in the Great Forest. But being away could cause misunderstandings about Avalli.”

Avalli continued her explanation, her demeanor and speech patterns shifting, as if a different personality had taken over.

‘I’m getting better at this acting thing.’

Lying to Lucy felt wrong, but she had dug herself into this hole.

“So, the clone…”
“If there’s a better way, please tell Avalli.”

Avalli said, taking something out of her pocket and offering it to Lucy. It was a black pouch filled with something heavy.

“And this is the magic stone I promised you.”
“A…Already?”
“I didn’t have much else to do while I was out.”
“…Thank you.”

Lucy carefully accepted the pouch.

“I’ll see you later, Lucy.”

Avalli closed her eyes and dispersed the magic power she had concentrated in them. Her eyes returned to their normal brown, and she opened them with an innocent expression.

“What did I just say, Teacher?”
“You said to tell Avalli if there was a better way.”
“A better way?”

“We still have time until the next full moon, so we can think about it. …But Avalli, do you always leave the village on the night of the full moon?”
“Yes!”
“And what do you do… while you’re out?”

Avalli hesitated, then answered cautiously,

“I don’t remember exactly, but I think… I was hunting demonic beasts.”
“…So that’s why the demonic beasts around here have disappeared.”

Lucy was half right, half wrong.

It was true that Avalli had eradicated the nearby demonic beasts, but… that had happened before the night of the full moon. The reason they hadn’t reappeared was because Sylvain, at the World Tree, had gathered all the demonic beasts in the Great Forest.

But she couldn’t explain about Transcendent Beings and gods to Lucy, so… Avalli simply nodded. A sudden silence filled the room.

A natural lull in the conversation, as neither of them had anything more to say. And the silence was broken by—

“Avalli! Lucy! Time for breakfast!”

—Envel’s call.

“You’re not still asleep, are you?”
“We’re awake!”
“I’m up!”

“Avalli, could you come help me?”
“Oh, yes!”

Avalli replied quickly and hurried out of the room. Lucy, left alone, glanced around and then carefully opened the black pouch.

“…Seriously?”

Inside were high-purity magic stones, not just one, but seven.