6-5 Rondo Of The Spirits

For now, I decided to leave Besmagil as “item-box fertilizer.”

I’d just keep producing it periodically with leftover magic power.

It’s not like I set out to make something like that in the first place.

Since I’d managed to make Mari her magic batteries, that was good enough.

Just to be safe, I also tried making a version ten times the height and width (a thousand times the capacity).

But after I made seven of those, my MP got stuck right on the verge of leveling up.

Mari would probably glare at me again, so I decided to hold off on leveling up.

I’d forgotten the important part.

I needed to translate Mari-san’s email and bring it to His Majesty.

Huh? Still no email yet.

So while I was waiting, I’d ended up creating the legendary magic metal, Besmagil.

I analyzed Besmagil, but as expected, there was no magic metal beyond it.

So that’s why it’s “best magi.”

Or is it really “best magic metal.”

Come to think of it, Takeshi gave it a fictional name, so it exists in this world as an English-sounding term.

While waiting, I took a walk around the Kemomimi Kindergarten.

Believe it or not, the kids have fads too.

Right now, the big craze was “pencil spinning.”

They were all practicing seriously.

I was clumsy with my hands, so I’d always been bad at it back when it was popular when I was a kid.

The pencil would go flying somewhere in no time.

With pencils, the length eventually changes as they wear down, so I supplied ballpoint pens and mechanical pencils too.

A fair number of kids could write pretty decently now.

Even this old man’s reading-and-writing lessons had come along reasonably well.

Not to the level of Japanese, of course.

I also tried making notebooks with all kinds of cover designs by compositing images.

I’d even started producing parts of a treadle sewing machine little by little.

It’s a complicated mechanism, so there was no way I could make it all at once.

“And yet you make the legendary magic metal Besmagil while drinking tea,” Mari laughed.

When I shot back, “Because that one’s easy to make!” she’d give me a stunned, exasperated look.

But honestly, manufacturing it isn’t difficult.

It just requires an absurd amount of MP, so nobody but me could do it.

And I’ve got support like Seventh Sense, too.

That ability just lets me know things without logic, so it’s incredibly effective even for manufacturing unknown items.

Denim—jeans fabric—was great.

By copying my own jeans and analyzing the weave, I made it easily.

And denim has a lot of variations.

It’s thick and durable, so it doesn’t tear easily.

It has a little stretch, it dyes well, and it’s just a nice material overall.

Originally, it was meant for tough work clothes—durable enough for things like gold prospecting—so it’s similar to that sturdy canvas fabric, too.

Different weave and materials, but it belongs to the same general category: “hard-to-tear, tough cloth.”

Kids were constantly falling and sliding around at full throttle.

Before I knew it, even the ones who used to crouch in the corner hugging their knees were running around with energy now.

I taught them lots of old Japanese games, too.

And in this world, empty cans exist.

Because I brought in canned food and canned drinks.

So naturally, we also have kick-the-can.

An original otherworld variation, though—like “Guard-Thief” instead of cops-and-robbers, with the thieves’ guild and the patrol force.

I made jump ropes, plus Reversi, stacked-blocks, and of course board games.

I’d brought UNO and playing cards with me.

That UNO set—I bought it thirty years ago to play with people at youth hostels, but I never got the chance, so it was still sealed. A “new old stock” relic.

It was wildly popular back then.

I’ve even forgotten how to play now.

I only remember you’re supposed to shout “UNO!” when you’re about to go out.

The price sticker was from a toy specialty shop near the station that vanished ages ago.

Nostalgic…

That building was probably a bar or something by now.

These days you might be able to buy UNO at a 100-yen shop’s toy section.

Or maybe the game’s already faded away.

As for the playing cards, I think I got them as a prize from a Las Vegas hotel promotion—use a coupon they hand out for slot pulls, and you can win stuff.

There might’ve been nude cards too, but thankfully, the ones I brought were normal, with cheerful illustrations.

I also made a kids’ basketball hoop like the kind sold online, futsal goal posts, and balls.

Then a badminton set, and of course table tennis.

My collection of play equipment just kept getting more complete.

Kids play with adult-sized equipment anyway.

I also made some for the adult staff, too.

Because I wanted them to play together with the kids.

Maybe we could even sell this stuff through the commerce guild.

I could also try making versions using local materials instead of harmful plastics.

I’d meant to do a patrol, but I ended up playing with the little ones.

They’d woken up from their naps and were burning energy until dinner.

Then Mari-san’s email finally arrived, so I translated it and delivered it to the palace immediately.

His Majesty was absolutely overwhelmed with emotion.

Over there, she’s just an ordinary citizen, though.

Since I was in the capital anyway, I also dropped by the adventurers’ guild.

“Oh! Al. Long time no see!”

That’s what the guildmaster said.

Oh right—yeah!

So I really was a world-top SS-rank adventurer now.

“When you’re taking care of kids, time just disappears.”

“By the way, Antonio’s exam is coming up soon.”

“For what?”

The guildmaster looked utterly exasperated.

“You. What else could it be? The A-rank exam…”

“Ah.”

When you’re busy dealing with a big group of kids all day, you forget everything else so fast.

Antonio must’ve hesitated to bring it up, too.

Man, I did him wrong.

He helped train me back then.

“Wait—shouldn’t the exam season be over by now?”

“Well, here’s the thing. This time it’s hosted by the neighboring ‘Empire,’ but it’s been heavily delayed.”

“That… could it be because of that recent incident?”

“No idea. But they won’t not hold it. For every country, it’s basically a chance to secure fighting strength. And the Empire won’t want to get excluded next time.”

“How’s Antonio?”

“Haven’t seen him today. He looked like he had a hard expression on his face, though.”

“Can’t blame him. An S-rank promotion and restoring his house are on the line, and then this happens.”

“Anyway, what brings you here today?”

“Well, I’ve been forgetting to learn advanced healing magic. I figured it’d be bad if a kid got seriously hurt.”

“Ah, right. That. A lot happened, so I forgot too. I’ll contact the government office. I already made an inquiry earlier. I’ll confirm it now and write you a letter—take it tomorrow to the palace’s relevant department. The high priestess is probably busy too, but with a rich guy like you, it’ll likely work out. And there’s no issue with your status now either.”

“Thanks.”

So even in this other world, it’s basically “money talks,” huh.

Honestly, for me, that just makes things faster and easier.

Once everything was done, I returned to the Kemomimi Kindergarten for dinner.

The sight of kemomimi all wagging at once, shoveling food into their mouths in total focus, was spectacular every single time.

Kids who didn’t pass out after bath time got storybook time.

Then one by one, they fell, and the caretakers carried them off to their futons.

At least I didn’t have to worry about toothbrushing—everyone did it during bath time.

From here, it was probably time for this old man to write his novel.

The title was Elegy of the Kemomimi.

Just the battle journal of a kindergarten principal.

I post it irregularly on a web-fiction site when I feel like it.

The illustrations are drawn by the kids during class—little crayon “masters.”

The next day, I headed to the palace, got formally announced, and was guided to a civil official overseeing temple jurisdiction.

“Lord Alphonse, Honorary Marquis. It is my first time meeting you. I understand you wish to learn advanced healing magic?”

“Yes.

I’m in your care.”

The way they addressed me was almost comical.

I was an honorary noble, but I only had a first name.

No family name.

If it’s fine to use a Japanese one, I do have one.

Alphonse Inoue.

That sounded like some Japanese-Brazilian name and didn’t feel very dignified.

Maybe I should insert a “von” in the middle to sound more like a local noble.

On Earth, “von” isn’t a middle name—it’s part of German surnames like “von Horst” or “von Braun,” and it should go with the last name.

But for some reason, even famous people get known by the “von + surname” alone, and the first name gets dropped.

So “von” ends up feeling like a first name.

I loved Professor von Braun when I was a kid, and I know I read his name in those kinds of books—but I can’t even recall his first name anymore.

And I feel like in the Nordic regions, there were also those long names combining “VON” with other middle names.

Then they took me to the high priestess at the Grand Alva Temple—separated from the palace zone by a single wall.

It sat atop a small mountain inside the capital.

And the high priestess was a young girl.

She was only fifteen, apparently.

She’d been brought in due to an oracle.

‘An oracle… does that mean gods really exist in this world? Or is it a fake oracle?’

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jessica. I’ve heard you wish to learn advanced healing magic?”

“Yes. Thank you in advance.”

When the other party was a cute girl, this old man somehow switched to extra polite speech.

Whoa. She’s a total beauty.

Clear skin, refined features, and long, shining silver hair.

She might be the most beautiful girl I’ve seen since coming to this world.

That mysterious aura boosts her score even more.

The princesses were cute too, but this was even beyond that.

A feast for the eyes, a feast for the eyes.

She led me deeper into the Grand Temple and explained:

“Normally, healing magic isn’t something we ‘show’ like this rather than actual treatment, but since we’re going to receive a lot of donations, we’ll make a special exception! Please take care of us~.”

Man, young people say it straight.

It made me smile back without thinking.

Then she demonstrated healing magic one by one.

The one I wanted: Greater Heal, which could restore even major missing parts of the body.

Greater Regen, which could sustain healing at an army scale.

Greater Poison Heal, which erased any poison instantly.

Greater Cure, which worked miracles on illness.

Greater Clear Blood, the highest-tier spell to purify blood.

And then Discurse, a holy spell that removed curses.

Holy, which had a cleansing effect, and Holy Place, its area version.

Contract, which could form a pact with spirits—and Discontract, which dissolved it.

This was a really good haul.

The heal-type spells especially were amazing.

Whether I had an immediate use or not didn’t matter.

You always prepare for the decisive battle.

And Jessica waited with a bright, practiced business smile.

I stepped closer and whispered softly near her cute ear.

“Is the payment for learning it the standard market rate? In places like this, there’s also the meaning of an offering, right—how does that work?”

“Well… yes. We’d be happy if you could include a bit of that meaning too. Think of it as… goodwill.”

I nodded, put twenty platinum coins into a small leather pouch, and handed it over.

I’d asked the civil official about market rates earlier.

For ordinary treatment, it’d be about one platinum coin.

This was ten spells plus an offering, so I paid double.

She checked inside, then said happily:

“That will do. Thank you very much for your generous donation.”

For me, having these spells meant peace of mind.

Spending the equivalent of two billion yen wasn’t expensive in my current financial situation.

But something bothered me, so I asked:

“Contract says it’s a pact with spirits, but do spirits really exist? And for example… would they even make a pact with someone like me?”

“Ah, that… um… It’s… very difficult to say, but… there are lots of them here too. And—”

She glared sharply behind me, then shouted:

“You all! Enough already!”

Startled, I immediately used my radar to search for “spirits.”

Oh, they were there.

And most of them were clustered around me.

So they’d been sucking my magic power.

I-I didn’t notice at all!

Well, my magic pool was ridiculous.

Even if they were siphoning a little, I wouldn’t realize until someone told me.

And they were probably feeding on the “leaked” magic—stuff naturally radiating outside my body.

No wonder I didn’t notice.

It’s like invisible tiny mites biting you.

But somehow, it felt like the spirits were making petty excuses while the high priestess scolded them.

I could tell the vibe.

“To think you’d do that without permission to a guest! Honestly, every single time—!”

“Hah—so they’re repeat offenders?”

Spirits were kind of… pathetic, huh.

Not a shred of the majesty you’d imagine from the name.

“P-please don’t worry. These children can’t leave the temple. But please be careful of spirits elsewhere.”

It was so much like a comedy sketch that I couldn’t help warming up.

When I tried to leave the temple, I felt like something tugged my hand.

Checking with radar, it seemed like the spirits were trying to hold me back.

People who generously radiate enormous magic probably aren’t common.

Heh, guess I can’t help it.

Cute little guys.

I spread both hands, closed my eyes, circulated my magic like I was training magic control, then gently released refined magic from my hands.

On radar, I could see the spirits rejoicing and dancing wildly as they took it in.

I stayed like that for a while, then at the right moment, I prompted Jessica.

“Shall we go now?”

This time, it seemed they didn’t stop me.

“I’m sorry about our children. They help with temple work, so I can’t be too harsh with them.”

“No, it was a fun experience I’ll rarely get to have,” I said.