Chapter 37: Waiting for Spring(1)

Lucy, who dreaded being the exclusive wizard of Asha Village more than anyone else.

However, after becoming a member of the village out of necessity, she found life to be much more pleasant than she had expected.

“Oh, good morning, wizard!”

“Sister Lucy! What are you going to play with me today?”

‘If you don’t mind, can I treat you to dinner? I’ll do it as a way to thank you for helping me last time.

People welcomed her.

In the Magic Tower, no one was interested in Lucy except for Gish.

To be exact, no one was interested in ‘positive’ things.

The negative attention was so tiresome.

The laughter that Lucy heard every time she passed by, the piles of trash in front of the lab, the dark harassment that came to mind when she closed her eyes even though she didn’t want to remember it.

The days after Gish visited the lab were the worst, and Lucy had recently become wary of him.

Lucy had held on to her stubbornness to stay in the Magic Tower, but…after she finally got out, she felt surprisingly at ease…. It’s also thanks to Avalli.

If we only consider magical abilities, it would be embarrassing to call her a master, but Avalli stubbornly called Lucy her master anyway.

That helped Lucy’s self-esteem rise considerably.

Avalli not only possessed transcendent magical powers, but also had a quick understanding of the theoretical part.

By Lucy’s standards, it would be no problem to call her a genius.

The first master of such a genius was none other than herself, Lucy Ignis.

To be honest, I’d be lying if I didn’t feel proud.

It was a little disappointing that I couldn’t resume my research right away…

When the snow melts in spring, Arsene plans to go to the city to get various materials.

I also asked the green magician in Avalli’s ‘inside’ to promise to supply magic stones.

In addition, Lucy’s new house, built by Mr. Charles next door, is so large that it’s hard to compare it to the small laboratory in the magic tower.

It’s more like a ‘workshop’ than a house.

So Lucy’s days are worry-free and enjoyable.

It must have been so…

“Hello. Master Lucy!”

“… Huh?”

“Good morning again today.”

Avalli greeted her in the morning as usual.

However, Lucy felt an incredible sense of discomfort from that sight.

The reason was simple.

Magic power.

While Avalli’s eyes were brown, she shouldn’t have felt any magic power.

“Master?”

Avalli tilted her head, looking the same as usual.

However, for some reason, she felt magic power that made her skin tingle.

“… Is there something wrong with that Avalli today?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“No, that… magic power is different than usual.”

Upon hearing that, Avalli suddenly stopped moving.

It was as if she had turned into a doll in an instant, as if she was in a scene from a horror story.

“Transmission. Witnesses have appeared. Countermeasures needed. Standby for instructions. Standby. Standby. Standby. Standby.”

Avalli, who had turned into a doll, repeated the same words in a dull voice.

“… Ah… Avalli?”

Lucy’s whole body froze at that creepy sight.

At that moment, as she reflected on herself for having forgotten the sense of crisis-

“Received. Message being delivered. Oh, Master! Please wait a moment. I’ll be there soon!”

The dull voice stopped, and Avalli, with her usual bright expression, began to tell an unexpected story.

“… Huh?”

Lucy’s mind went blank, not knowing how to understand this situation.

However, before her confusion could disappear, a creepy torrent of magical power struck outside the window.

“I’m here!”

And Avalli jumped over the window frame with a calm voice.

Since it was morning, her hair was not silver like last night, but brown as usual.

From Lucy’s perspective, who had no idea what had happened, it was quite an absurd sight.

“Avalli… the two of you?”

“Oh, I’m the real one.”

Avalli, who had climbed over the window, calmly spoke and approached Avalli, who was originally in the room.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Nice to hear.”

“Um… But I guess it would be better to explain it to the teacher.”

“I think that would be good. After all, my judgment alone has its limits.”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

Lucy shouted.

“Okay. Well, let’s meet again next time.”

The conversation between the two Avalli’s ended there.

To be exact, one Avalli’s transformed into a shining orb of light and entered the other Avalli’s  body.

“……”

“Are you surprised, Master?”

“Wha… What on earth was that just now, Avalli?”

“It’s a clone. I had some business outside of town. I was going to come back before you woke up, but I’m a little late.”

Clone.

Lucy’s spine tingled at the two letters that Avalli casually uttered.

‘… Clone is one of the forbidden magics of the service magic.’

It is an incredibly difficult magic to use, but the reason it is called forbidden magic is for another reason.

It is because the clone itself will most likely take on a new self and aim for the master’s position.

In fact, it is said that even the great witch who created the magic, Shartee, became a s*ave to her own creation in her later years.

“… It’s not a magic you learned formally, is it?”

“How can you do it with spirit?”

“You shouldn’t use dangerous magic like that with spirit!”

and began to explain to Avalli about the dangers of the magic called clone.

Since she was almost a complete novice when it came to ministry magic, her explanation was somewhat vague and disjointed…but at least Lucy’s worries were conveyed properly.

“… That is definitely a scary story.”

“Right, Avalli? You must never use it recklessly again! It’s a promise!”

“But, I have some unavoidable circumstances.”

“Circumstances?”

Avalli seemed to hesitate for a moment at Lucy’s frowning question,

but then gathered her magic power with her eyes.

It would be easier for Lucy to understand if ‘Green Eyes’ explained it than if ‘Avalli’ explained it.

“… Ugh.”

As soon as she saw Avalli’s eyes turn green, Lucy gulped and grabbed the hem of her clothes.

“It’s been a while, Lucy.”

“… Yes. How have you been…?”

Hearing her nervous voice, it almost made him laugh,

but Avalli barely managed to suppress her laughter and continued speaking solemnly.

“On the night of the full moon, my power is completely released.”

“… Release?”

“I don’t want the villagers to see my true self, so I’ll escape from the village on that day and spend the night in the great forest.

However, if I’m away, Avalli might be misunderstood here and there.”

Avalli continued her explanation in a polite tone as if her personality had been switched.

‘I feel like the smoke is gradually increasing.’

Although it felt uneasy to lie to Lucy…,it couldn’t be helped since she had buttoned up the wrong button in the first place.

“So the clone…”.

“If there is a better way please tell Avalli.”

After saying that, Avalli took something out of her bosom and held it out.

The black pouch was filled with a heavy lump.

“And this is the magic stone I promised you.”

“Already?”

“Because I have nothing to do while I’m out of town.”

“… Thank you.”

Lucy took the pouch with careful hands.

“Then I’ll see you next time, Sister Lucy.”

Avalli closed her eyes as she said that, dispersing the magic she had focused on her eyes.

Avalli, whose brown eyes had returned to their usual state, spoke with an innocent expression.

“What did I just say, Master?”

“If there’s another way, she wants me to tell you.”

“Another way?”

“There’s still time until the full moon, so let’s think about it….

By the way, Avalli, do you always spend the full moon outside of town like this?”

“Yes!”

“What do you do outside of town…?”

Avalli thought for a moment and then answered the question carefully.

“I’m not sure, but I think I caught a demon.”

“…”

So the demons around here hid the seed.”

Half right, half wrong.

It’s true that Avalli had actually defeated the demons around here…but that wasn’t on the night of the full moon, but before.

The reason the demons stopped appearing after that was because Sylvain, who was in the far eastern World Tree,had gathered the demons of the Great Forest with all his might.

However, it was impossible to give Lucy a detailed explanation about transcendent beings and gods…

Avali nodded appropriately.

Immediately after that, a sudden silence filled the room.

It was a natural silence that had come because neither of them had anything else to say.

And what broke that silence was none other than-

“Avali! Lucy! Wake up and have breakfast!”-the shout of Envel, the landlady of this house.

“You’re not still sleeping, are you?”

“I’m awake!”

“I’m awake!”

After hearing their answers, Envel immediately continued.

“Can Avalli come and help me now?”

“Oh, yes!”

After answering hurriedly, Avalli quickly left the room.

Lucy, who was left alone, looked around briefly, then carefully opened the black pouch and checked the contents.

“… Really?”

Inside, there were high-purity magic stones, not much different from before.

And this time, there were not one, but seven.