Mahou Sensou:Volume 2 Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2: Aspect is Twilight

Part 1

Takeshi and Mui had gone out into the hallway on their way to the store. He already knew the way, but he was grateful to have her accompany him. As they walked, he stared at the holstered pistol Mui carried on her hip and asked:

"Hey, Mui, how long have you had your Aspect?"

"Oh, you mean Arthur?"

"What? Did you name it?"

"Of course. Many people name their Aspects." Mui smiled. "Arthur and I, we've been together since sixth grade."

"Impressive..."

"No, it's no big deal. I became a wizard almost since I was born, and although my relationship with magic started a long time ago, it took me a long time to get my Aspect. Nii-san on the other hand, already had his white gloves and Lancelot since he entered elementary school."

"Lancelot?"

"Yes, that's the name of the saber my brother always carries with him. It's not an Aspect, but it's very important to him, since it belonged to dad."

Mui looked happy as she talked, but as soon as she started talking about her brother, her countenance fell. Takeshi noticed this immediately and his smile also stopped, not knowing what to say.

Mui's older brother, Aiba Tsuganashi, was formerly also part of the <Wizard's Breath>, but currently, he was in the ranks of <the Trailers>. However, Mui firmly believed that Tsuganashi had been kidnapped by <the Trailers> and that they had altered his memory.

When Takeshi met him in the living world, he could tell that the young man did not recognize his younger sister in the slightest. Tsuganashi was a user of Destructive Magic, -the most dangerous of systematic magics-, and was now fighting on the enemy side against <Wizard's Breath>, using his ice magic called: "Evil Ice". As Takeshi started to make memories of him, chills went down his spine. He had never seen anyone before who had such a cold stare like his. Even when he looked at Mui, his gaze was utterly merciless and he seemed as heartless as his manner. That Tsuganashi was totally different from the one Mui talked so much about.

To lighten the atmosphere, Takeshi asked in a cheerful tone:

"When you were born, your parents were already wizards?"

"Yes, that's right, that's why Nii-san and I are considered part of the 'Magic Aristocracy'."

"Magic Aristocracy?"

Takeshi was already familiar with that term. Though it wasn't something they had been taught in the summer classes. Rather, he heard it from a classmate; And that is that if a baby is born into a family of wizards, it often ends up exposed either accidentally or on purpose, to the magic of its parents. These children who were turned into wizards by their parents or grandparents as babies are known as "pure-blooded wizards" and most of the time, these wizards are often favored by the communities to which they belong. This happens because almost always these pure-blooded wizards, usually join the community to which their parents belong, resulting in an inequality of status between pure-blooded and non-pure-blooded wizards.

Among more than fifty wizarding communities that existed in the world, there were seven that were recognized as the largest and most important. That group of communities were known as "The C7", and some of those communities were reserved only for Magic Aristocracy.

Takeshi did not pay much attention to what his companion said when he mentioned that term, but he heard that the vast majority of wizard were of noble lineage and very few were not. The fact that Mui was a magic Aristocracy wizard, was something very common there and the unusual one, was Takeshi and friends.

"Had you heard about the magica aristocracy before? Who told you about it?" Mui asked.

Takeshi nodded and answered:

"Yeah, it wasn't easy at first but I was able to figure out what it was about."

"Yes. If you come to this school, you have to always be attentive even in things you don't like, because there are people who put a lot of value on that nobility thing. There are groups that take those things into account to let you into a community."

The headmistress had told Takeshi earlier that it was better to choose a community when you are in school, therefore, Takeshi found himself meditating on it. Then he answered Mui right away:

"I think Wiza..."

"Stop!" Mui suddenly exclaimed, placing his index finger on Takeshi's lips.

He, stopped talking and stood in surprise and while she kept her finger his lips. Then she clarified:

"It's still too early for you to decide. Think it over carefully first, and see with your own eyes which community suits you best."

However, Takeshi's attention was on the sensation of the finger pressed against his lips. Unlike hand holding or shoulder touching, lips were a more intimate area. Mui suddenly realized that Takeshi was staring at her in complete silence. so she quickly removed her finger from his lips and turned around.

"A-ah...! First you have to choose your Aspect!" Mui exclaimed nervously.

Then, she continued to walk in a hurried manner, but unlike before, this time she walked stiffly as if she was a robot. The warm summer breeze blew through an open window, gently ruffling Mui's hair and exposing to Takeshi, her reddened ears. In that shy mood, Mui entered the store first.

"Hello!"

Immediately a middle-aged man with grayish hair peeked out from the other side of the glass counter.

"Ahh, hello. What will you want today, Mui-chan?"

"I don't want anything for me today, it's for him..."

Takeshi entered the store and looked around. He had been there before, but he hadn't had a chance to look because he was immediately taken away to the magic academy.

The store was a long, narrow space that appeared to have everything you'd expect a normal high school stationery store to have. On the shelves beyond the counter, it had mechanical pencils, pens of various colors, erasers, boxes of paint sets, calligraphy paper, and some kinds of inks. However, there were also things that were definitely not part of what you would find in an ordinary academy; inside the counter, there were glass bottles filled with stuffed spiders, there were also, 12-packs containing eyes (although at first glance, they looked like egg packets), there were also three stiff worms inserted in a pencil holder and some snake skins of different sizes.

"These look like witchcraft items..."

"I'd like to ask what all these are used for, but I think this is a good time."

The attendant spoke to Takeshi who was looking interestedly at the items:

"You look like you're seeing these things for the first time, boy."

"Hello..."

They both smiled and then exchanged greetings.

"He is the husband of the lady who gave you the textbooks that time..." Mui commented.

When the shopkeeper heard that, his smile widened even more.

"So you already knew my wife? I'm glad to hear that. Everything you'll need in this school can be found here, so we'll be seeing a lot of each other. My name is Katou, although the students call me 'Oyassan'. Nice to meet you?"

"Nice to meet you too, I am Nanase Takeshi."

When Takeshi introduced himself in a very formal manner, Oyassan smiled with slight shyness. From Takeshi's point of view, he should always greet his elders in the most cordial way since in the dojo he attended as a child, there were many older people and they were taught to greet them in the correct way even though they got along informally with their classmates.

"So what do you have in mind?" Oyassan asked.

"We want to find an Aspect for Takeshi-kun. He is an evasive magic user." Mui replied.

"In that case, he will require one that is of the weapon type."

Oyassan walked to the end of the counter, and lifted the table to leave. He walked to a small door at the back of the store and pulled out a bunch of keys from his pants pocket from which he chose one.

"Follow me."

As soon as he opened the door, he touched a switch on the side and turned on the light inside. However, when Takeshi entered the room, he stared at an area that was in complete darkness. There was light that was true, but the room was so large, it was not fully illuminated.

"What? I can't see the back of the room"

"He's surprised! He's surprised..." Mui muttered.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Mui and Oyassan laughed at Takeshi's reaction.

"Of course I'm surprised, it's my first time coming in here." Takeshi replied.

"All the boys who come in here, they have the same expression. It's so cute." Oyassan said.

Then he approached Takeshi and patted him on the back.

"Well, come on, Takeshi, adventure awaits us."

Not knowing if he was joking or not, Oyassan walked to the right side of the place and Mui hurried to follow him. Takeshi stood there for a while longer and took another look around. The place was a huge warehouse that stretched wide in all directions. When Takeshi finally caught up with them, he found Mui and Oyassan walking towards an aisle where there were some shelves with weapons lined up on them. There were spears of all sizes lined up perfectly on the shelves along four meters of wall, and on the wall on the other side, similarly crossbows of different sizes were lined up. That whole hallway where Takeshi walked, was full of weapons. But if he stayed to watch, he would lose sight of Mui and Oyassan.

"I guess if you already know his systematic magic, it's because he already used it before, right?" Oyassan asked Mui. She smiled and answered:

"Yes. although I'm sure that when he did it, he was using a wooden sword. right Takeshi-kun?" Mui turned to look back and Takeshi nodded.

"Yes."

Takeshi had finally managed to catch up but was still a bit disturbed by the atmosphere of the place.

"Then it has to be a sword. Come this way...#

Oyassan seemed to have complete knowledge of the place so without a second's hesitation, he led the two of them to a place where there were many swords. When Takeshi arrived, Oyassan was already standing in front of the shelves.

"Takeshi, is there any Aspect here that caught your attention?" Oyassan asked the confused Takeshi.

"Yes, but just out of curiosity, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Systematic magic can only be activated if you have an Aspect. The amount of magic required to activate it is at a completely different level than basic magic. Would you like to choose something on your own?"

"Yes!"

At that moment Oyassan moved a little away from the rack with swords and Takeshi approached.

There were swords of different sizes placed upright and on the back shelves, there were unusually shaped daggers lined up in rows of three. Without looking at anything in particular, Takeshi approached towards a vertically placed sheathed sword. There were dozens or perhaps hundreds of swords of various colors both old and new. Japanese swords, western swords and others quite curved that he had never seen before. All classified according to their type.

"Hey... How about this one?" Mui asked, picking up one of the swords.

"Let me see..."

Takeshi received the sword from Mui, held it by the hilt firmly and pulled it out of the scabbard. It was a very fine, highly polished sword, but the blade was less than five centimeters wide.

"It's too thin. It could break." Takeshi said.

"You're right... well, how about this one?

Mui pulled out another type of sword, but seeing that this one was more pointed than the previous one, she returned it to its place. However, that sword was so heavy that in the short time she held it, her hand trembled.

"I think I'd better not..."

Without even looking at the blade she knew that this sword was not the right one.

"Do you want me to help you?" Oyassan asked as he looked at them from behind.

"Yes, please" Takeshi answered.

When Takeshi accepted the help, Oyassan instead of taking a sword held Takeshi by both arms.

"hmmm..."

"Ouch...!"

Takeshi complained.

"You look muscular. Don't you think you could use a heavy sword?" Oyassan suggested.

Then he stood next to him and compared their heights.

"You're not so different from me. Surely you must weigh about sixty kilos."

Then he raised his arms up and motioned for him to stretch as far as he could.

"The length of the arms is also important." "Oyassan clarified.

After comparing Takeshi's physical characteristics using his own body as a reference, Oyassan finally turned to where the swords were.

"Excuse me... I usually practice kendo, so, if possible I would like to find a Japanese sword." Takeshi said.

Then Oyassan who was looking at a place where double-edged swords were lined up, shook his head and said:

"Japanese sword?"

Even so, Oyassan did not go to where the Japanese swords were.

"If you say you practice Kendo, then you would be better off with a Western sword."

"what are you talking about?"

"Japanese swords are cutting tools. Bamboo swords and wooden swords are striking tools. If you already have ingrained kendo habits, I recommend that you try to put them aside. Katanas, on the other hand, are tools that are used with unsheathing techniques. The way they are used is completely different from what you know. It would be very difficult for you to use it."

After explaining, Oyassan finally seemed to have found one that convinced him. It was a sword whose hilt was covered with leather.

"What do you think of this one? It is the same length as the bamboo sword. Although it weighs twice as much it will wobble at first, but it just takes some getting used to."

The sword was a western style sword with a double-edged blade and a length slightly longer than the length of Takeshi's arm. The scabbard was carved with ivy patterns while the hilt was lined with fairly worn old leather. Its guard, was much larger than what bamboo swords used in kendo usually have.

"What do you think?" Mui asked, standing next to him.

"Mmm..."

Takeshi simply let out a groan.

"Well, it's neither good nor bad," Takeshi thought.

The sword was ok, but he wasn't comfortable with it.

"Although, I wonder if this is the one."

Since it was an Aspect, he expected something like a sort of electric shock to run through his body or at least a sensation that would make him feel special empathy for the object in question, but apparently he was expecting too much.

"Will it be okay if I keep this one?"

"Hey, how about that one?" Mui asked.

It was one with a glossy matte black sheath that had embossed reliefs engraved with ornaments in the shape of the sun and moon.

"Aah about that one..."

Oyassan tried to say something. But before he could, Takeshi already had it in his hands.

"It's light and long." Takeshi said.

It was certainly heavy for one-handed use, but with both hands, it could be swung without any problems. All it took was a little practice. It felt nice to hold, and upon close examination, it could be seen that the color of the scabbard was actually silver. But now, the plating was peeling and blackened. It was an old sword, but it was in good condition as if it had been used with great care. Moreover, it was clean and looked freshly polished. However, its most remarkable feature was its hilt; unlike other common swords, it had no guard between it and the blade, but instead had a hole to put a finger in.

When Takeshi held the hilt correctly, his fingers trembled.

"What is this strange feeling?"

At that moment, a strange feeling came over him. It was something akin to restlessness or anxiety. Very similar to what he felt when he first activated his magic.

Oyassan took the sword from his hands, and returned it to where it was with a complicated expression, and then said:

"Maybe it's coincidence, but the previous owner of that sword, was also an evasive magic user.

Hearing that, Mui smiled and said:

"Really? Then that one is good, isn't it?"

However, seeing Takeshi's confused face and Oyassan's frown, Mui's expression also became weird and added:

"Wait a minute, it's not a common thing to abandon an Aspect right? What kind of person does it...?"

Oyassan immediately responded to Mui's concerns:

"It was someone who lost her magic and now lives as an ordinary human. That person was also one of the wizards who fought in the first great magical war."

"Really? Could it be by any chance that he was one of the "Fifteen Great Wizards"? Mui asked jokingly.

But Oyassan put on a grim expression and nodded.

"Seriously? That's amazing...

Mui looked excited by that revelation, but Takeshi didn't understand what was so special about it.

"The great Fifteen... if I remember correctly, it said something about them in the books," Takeshi recalled.

In the subject called: 'History of Magic', you learn about some wizards. The information was not detailed and they didn't dig much in class because they mainly talked about the First Magic War in general.

"Only the history of wizards was quite extensive...", He thought.

Although there was part of the history of those wizards that occurred at the same time with the history of the war in general, there were things about the post-war period that could only be known by studying the history of those wizards, but there was no time to study them in depth. They had been taught that those "Fifteen Great Wizards", were the ones who divided time and space into two parts in order to protect ordinary humans from the Trailers. However, they didn't say what kind of people they were. Though honestly it's not like that was very interesting. Besides, Takeshi didn't want to get involved in that war that the mages had continued to this day.

"it seems to have something carved out." Takeshi suddenly commented.

He noticed it when he took the sword again to pull it out of the scabbard and see its blade. Mui moved closer to see the design engraved on the surface of the sword. The place was dimly lit so one had to get very close to get a good look at it. Takeshi and Mui looked at it while trying not to bump their foreheads together.

"Is it a magic circle?"

"It's a circle of evasive magic." Oyassan said.

"Does that mean this is a magic sword?" Mui asked, looking up in surprise.

"Magic sword?"

When Takeshi asked about that, Mui answered him gradually as he remembered:

"Transfer your magic into an Aspect is the normal thing to do. But, when someone customizes it by engraving their own magic circle, they get it to have a synergistic effect when using that magic. The problem is, that means the sword can't be used by anyone else... right?"

Mui turned to look at Oyassan and bowed his head sadly. However, it would be pointless to have put the sword there if it could not be used by someone else. So, Oyassan responded again to Mui's doubt:

"That's right... The number of magic circles there are, is the equivalent of the systematic magics that exist. But, even so, there are very minute details that vary for each individual. There are characters written around the circles that change shape according to the individual. That's why even though it's a magic circle of evasive magic like Takeshi's, it's actually different."

"I've never heard of someone using an Aspect with someone else's magic circle engraved on it," Mui answered.

"That's obvious. Doing that is dangerous. Imagine, Mui-chan. If you tried to activate your Acceleration Magic using this sword, your arms would probably explode or something."

"What? Really?"

Hearing that, Takeshi was shocked and quickly looked back at Oyassan. If that thing was so dangerous, it wasn't a good idea to use it. But, Oyassan smiled at him as if everything was fine and said:

"Despite that, if the person using the sword, is also an evasive magic wizard, it will be safe to use it."

Mui was surprised to hear that and asked:

"Have you tried it before?"

"Of course. After all, there have already been other students who have wanted to take that sword as their Aspect."

"..."

Mui seemed to have put on a bitter expression.

She had known the shopkeeper since she was in elementary school and knew that he sometimes behaved very childishly. But be that as it may, using a student to test magic is not something an adult wizard should do. Therefore, Mui asked:

"But, the fact that it's still here, means that no one has been able to use it right?"

Oyassan averted his gaze with a slight smile and muttered:

"Yeah... no one could do it... more or less that's what happened..."

Mui wasn't dumb and understood everything she needed just by seeing Oyassan's gesture, so she talked to Takeshi:

"Takeshi-kun, I think it would be better if you didn't try..."

Even if his arms didn't explode or something like that, Takeshi might get hurt somehow in case something went wrong. But seeing Mui's concern, Takeshi put on a bitter smile and wanted to ask Oyassan:

"What happened to the other students, did their arms explode?"

Oyassan laughed loudly.

"Of course not. If that had happened, I would have been fired by now."

Apparently, it didn't look like the outcome was going to be that bad.

"You're right. They wouldn't have this here if it was this dangerous, I guess..."

Takeshi looked at the sword still in his hands.

"What's the matter, you want to give it a try?" Oyassan asked.

"Takeshi-kun... do you really want to do it? -Mui hurried.

There might have been safer swords that he would have liked better than that one. Takeshi had no doubt about that. But, that sword was very comfortable.

Oyassan suddenly took a sword from the rack, unsheathed it and said:

"In that case, let's ask the body what it thinks?"

"Huh?"

After saying that, Oyassan raised the sword and launched a downward attack on Takeshi.

"Uwaa!!! What are you doing?"

Takeshi quickly raised the sword and blocked, causing the sheath that had barely been slid off to fly off and leaving the blade completely naked. Even in the darkness, it could be seen that the blade was a bright silver color, but there was no opportunity to linger and examine it. Mui stepped back and Oyassan raised the sword once more to continue attacking Takeshi.

"P-please stop..."

Oyassan attacked several times swinging his long sword one-handed while Takeshi defended himself as best he could. He was gradually pushed back by the forceful attacks, until finally Takeshi faltered.

"This is dangerous!!!"

"Of course it is..." Oyassan replied with a smile and continued:

"Don't worry, if we get hurt. We will be able to heal right away. There is a student who is excellent with healing magic."

After saying that, Oyassan continued to vigorously attack Takeshi, who wanted to take distance, but the space was too small and he could no longer retreat even one more step since he had the shelves with weapons at his back.

"What's wrong with this man?"

Unable to move, Takeshi merely watched as Oyassan cornered him with his attacks. At the same time, purple-colored magic particles began to erupt from Takeshi's body.

"It's activated!!!" Mui shouted in the distance.

"Yeah, it seems so."

Oyassan unsheathed his sword which he just stuck into one of the shelves at the last moment. A circle of purple-colored evasive magic was clearly visible in Takeshi's left eye. He had just anticipated an attack from Oyassan thanks to an ability called "Strike Vision" and dodged it before it hit him. Takeshi's affinity, was of an evasive type of magic that allowed him to anticipate dangers ahead in a few seconds, which is not much time, but thanks to that Takeshi was able to dodge Oyassan's sword and prevent it from skewering him. However, the matter was not over yet.

Takeshi suddenly felt as if the sword he held in his hand was throbbing. At that instant, the circle of evasive magic in his left eye changed from bright purple to dark purple and darkened to black.

"UuAAaaaaaa!!!!"

Takeshi raised his gaze upward with his eyes wide open and began to scream. A great amount of magical particulars erupted from his body. From the top of his head to the soles of his feet, Takeshi's pores had opened up in such a way that he felt as if his blood was the one that was going to spurt out.

Seeing Takeshi from a distance, Mui was horrified.

"Ta-Takeshi-kun!!!"

He was screaming in pain as if his whole body was being squeezed.

"AAaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

"Keep it up, and don't let go of the sword!!!" Oyassan exclaimed. However, Takeshi did not hear anything.

The particles of magic power that came out of Takeshi, began to gather on the sword as he held it.

"What is this? It hurts... I can't take it anymore..."

He was being driven by a strong desire to move wildly to stop some strange nervous spasms he was feeling.

"I feel like there are bugs running through my body..."

The sensation seemed to be gradually fading, but the extraction of his magical power, continued to happen without any change. He didn't feel like his right arm was numb or anything, but the magic particles coming out of Takeshi, were concentrated in a certain part of the hilt where they formed a kind of dark purple mass.

Its bright purple color gradually darkened like night until it became completely black like the color of the engraving on the sword. Immediately, a rectangular object appeared protruding from the hilt on the opposite side of the magic circle engraved on it.

"Is it a cartridge?" Mui asked in surprise.

"Great!" Oyassan shouted without taking his eyes off the sword for a second.

However, Takeshi was being stripped of his magical power and was about to collapse. A magazine type cartridge had been created with his magic power, which should be in a gun and not in a sword.

"That sword... Is it a Gun Sword?" Mui wondered as she saw the never-before-seen shape of the sword Takeshi was holding.

"If it's a Gun Sword, it should have a barrel along the blade, but I don't see it anywhere."

Mui was trying to analyze the situation as calmly as possible, but Takeshi's cries of pain simply distracted her.

"I can't take it anymore..." she muttered.

The magic power that had left Takeshi's body was beginning to run out. However, the magic that was still left in his body was still shifting and gathering in his right arm.

"How do you feel?" Oyassan shouted after getting to a safe place.

"I don't know..."

The magic continued to flow from his right arm, past his fingertips and into the sword.

"Be that as it may this sword is going to..."

Takeshi opened his fingers to release the sword and stop his magic from draining further.

However...

"It's stuck in my hand and I can't let go!"

Takeshi had tried his best to be able to open his fingers and drop the sword, but it was simply still stuck in his palm and meanwhile, it didn't stop absorbing his magic power for even a moment.

"All right. Hold on a little longer." Oyassan said calmly.

Takeshi took a couple of steps with the sword in his hand and said:

"Already... I can't take it anymore... it will absorb all my magic power..."

He tried to free himself from the sword using his other hand, but the sword was strongly attached as if the strongest glue had been applied to it. Takeshi suddenly collapsed to the ground. It seemed that the sword was not only absorbing his magical power, but also his vital energy.

"Uuuuh...."

Takeshi looked up and looked at Oyassan for help. However, Oyassan was simply looking at a watch on his wrist.

"This old man... he'll pay me back later..."

Takeshi felt like lying down on the ground, but he had stopped feeling pain since his magic power was absorbed so he preferred despite his exhaustion, to hit the hilt of the sword against the ground several times to try to disengage himself from it. But, no matter how hard he tried, nothing happened to the sword. It still seemed hungry for magical power.

"You are doing very well," Oyassan said.

When Oyassan finally decided to approach, Takeshi had already laid down on the ground. Oyassan then, kicked the sword and it for some reason easily rolled off the floor away from Takeshi and the cartridge that had appeared at the top of the hilt, disappeared. Then Oyassan said:

"Listen, the magic circle engraved on this sword, draws out the evasive magic capabilities to the maximum. If you don't control that, the sword will absorb all your magic until it drains you dry."

"..."

That was something that Takeshi understood perfectly without needing to have it explained to him. So he just stood up with an expression of total fatigue.

"What is that thing? A cursed sword or something? I can't use that..." Takeshi answered.

However Oyassan shook his head and denied it.

"No, it's not that. You need to use that sword."

"Are you kidding me?"

When Takeshi raised his face with a look of indignation, Oyassan looked at him seriously and said:

"I'm not joking. In fact, you're the first one who hasn't fainted when activating his magic with that sword."

"Fainted?"

Takeshi was horrified to think that could have happened to him.

"It's not easy to make that cartridge appear." Oyassan said impressed.

Suddenly, Mui who was standing far away, approached slowly looking at Takeshi with concern. Then she glared at Oyassan and said:

"Even having done that dangerous thing, don't you think it's a bad choice?"

"Come on, Mui-san. Don't make such a scary face. I'm sorry OK? Look on the bright side: He didn't faint and that was a good result."

Takeshi didn't think that result was as good as he said it was, but he wasn't in the mood to argue about it either.

"If this sword makes someone faint, it means it is powerful enough to force the activation of the magic and release it, right?" Mui asked.

"That's right. The former owner of this sword was a powerful wizard. Its new owner cannot be an ordinary wizard."

"Are you suggesting that Takeshi-kun's magic is very powerful?

"Not really. But, it so happens that even though the magic circle engraved on the sword doesn't belong to him, he's been able to use 80% of his magic with it. That means that sword is more than suitable for Takeshi."

While listening to Oyassan's explanation, Mui approached Takeshi, who was finally able to sit down and she gently put her hand on his shoulder.

"Most likely with other swords I will barely manage to reach 60%. For those who use evasive magic, an Aspect can be a sword, a spear or even a stick. Anything will do as long as it meets certain requirements."

As he spoke, Oyassan carefully wiped the blade of his sword with a cloth he pulled from his waist and returned it to its original place and continued:

"Generally, evasive magic wizards have a hard time finding an Aspect. It is not as easy as it is for wizards who use biological magic, whose Aspect is usually always an object that has a high sentimental value for them. Thanks to their attachment to their Aspect, they can often use up to 100% of their potential with it. On the other hand, evasive magic mwizards can use anything as their Aspect and therefore only achieve 60% of their potential no matter how much magic they put into it."

Oyassan picked up the sword Takeshi had been holding and stood in front of him.

"This sword has a high capacity to release magic because its former owner was a powerful wizard. I recommend you take it, boy."

However, Mui answered for Takeshi:

"B-But... Couldn't you better choose another sword and engrave Takeshi-kun's magic circle on it?"

"I told you. The previous owner of this sword was a powerful wizard. I admit that if the Aspect has your own magic circle, the transfer of magic becomes more comfortable. But if we compare the previous owner of this sword with Takeshi, obviously the owner of the sword is the one who had more power and therefore, he will get more out of this sword than another one, even if it has his own magic circle engraved on it."

"So what are you going to do, Takeshi-kun?"

Takeshi looked at Mui with a confused expression.

"What am I going to do...?"

"Aspects are tools that allow you to unleash a great amount of magical power. Nothing more than that. It doesn't hurt to choose the one that suits you best. However, if you want to see your true potential and overcome your limits, I recommend you take this one."

Oyassan raised the sword and showed it to Takeshi and continued:

"The suffering that most wizards who use evasive magic have to live through is something that those of biological magic will never know. They always have to search for the Aspect that best suits their needs. There are evasive wizards who even spend their whole lives searching for one with those characteristics. After all, the Aspect is an indispensable tool for a wizard."

"..."

Even hearing all of the above, it was still difficult for a novice mage like Takeshi to decide which was the best choice.

"To be honest, it looks more like a cursed sword than anything else to me," Takeshi thought.

"I'm afraid to use it again."

Oyassan noticed Takeshi's distrust and fear. So he picked up the scabbard tucked the sword in and said:

"The cartridge only appeared when your magical energy started to concentrate on the sword. right?"

"Yes..."

"That means you can use it as a means to use other people's magic."

Takeshi didn't know what he meant and then asked:

"What do you mean?"

"The cartridge holds three rounds. It uses special bullets that change the shape of the sword based on other people's magic stored inside."

Oyassan raised the hilt of the sword so he could see it clearly and pointed to the area where the cartridge appeared.

"You must introduce someone else's magic into the bullets first. Refilling them is very simple. Just hold a bullet and activate your magic. The moment the bullet is full, you must insert the bullet into the cartridge and at the moment a trigger will appear. If you press that trigger, the sword will change shape to adapt to the magic stored in the bullets."

Takeshi listened in complete silence to Oyassan's explanation, until suddenly....

"Twilight..."

"Huh?"

Takeshi was confused at the word Oyassan had just said.

"That's the name of the sword. Its previous owner called it <Twilight>."

"Twilight?"

Oyassan handed the terrifying sword to Takeshi and continued:

"She used to say that she really liked the moment when the sun and the moon could be clearly seen at the same time. But that was a long time ago."

When Ouyassa, said "she", he was referring to the previous owner of the sword who apparently was a woman. Takeshi wanted to know more, so he looked at the scabbard of the sword and asked:

"Is that why it has a sun and a moon engraved on the scabbard?"

Mui touched the scabbard and said:

"It's really very pretty..."

Takeshi finally stood up with the sword in hand. His knees were still weak but at least, he already felt better than a while ago.

"Do you think I am able to control this sword?"

Oyassan looked at him confidently and answered:

"Of course I do..."

Seeing that there was no hesitation in Oyassan's expression, Takeshi let out a heavy sigh and said:

"All right, I'll give it a try..."

"Great!" Oyassan shouted.

However, Mui looked worried and wanted to make sure:

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. I feel I can do it."

At first he was worried, but when he remembered the feeling he had when he first held her, he made up his mind completely.

"Are you using your intuition?" Mui asked with a smile.

It was clear that Takeshi wasn't using his magic, but he realized that she was just having fun, so he answered:

"Of course..."

He opened his eyes purposely as if he was showing her the magic circles. Mui burst out laughing and Takeshi also laughed with her.

Oyassan, who was looking at them happily, pointed to the entrance and said:

"Well, let's get out of here, I'll go find you a belt that fits you, so you can carry that sword."

As Oyassan headed towards a corner where there were objects made of leather, Takeshi and Mui headed towards the glowing exit.

"I feel confident because of the way Katou-san looks at that sword. So far, he has helped many boys choose their Aspects and he has never been wrong."

Takeshi knew Mui's words were meant to reassure him, but he still commented:

"I think the sword is fine. It's just that, if I don't get used to the magic a bit more, I might have trouble controlling it in the future so it's better to have a sword from now on, to help me with that."

Mui was nodding in agreement to everything he was saying until suddenly, Takeshi asked:

"Mui, did you get your gun here too?"

She smiled and answered:

"Of course... Katou-san picked it out for me. He also customized it for me. If the blade of your sword is nicked or doesn't fit properly in the scabbard Katou-san can fix all that."

"Okay."

They both walked out of the dark warehouse towards the lighted store.

"Twilight. It's a nice name." Mui commented looking back.

The sword named Twilight that Takeshi now carried, glowed in the light of the store with its particular matte black color.

Part 2

When Takeshi and Mui returned to their classroom, they came upon rather unusual scenery. There were several burned desks, and they saw that Ida was in complete shock. In addition, Kurumi looked very upset. All the other students, were cornered at the back of the room. They didn't seem to be scared but they did look like they were completely resigned.

"But what happened?" Mui asked Kurumi who was standing at the side of the classroom trying to fix her disheveled brown hair.

"It was something terrible..." Kurumi answered.

"It can't be. Don't tell me Ida got out of control again?" Takeshi said.

"That's exactly what happened..."

While Kurumi was shaking her head vigorously, she was fixing her hair that had been left as if she had been hit by a gust of wind.

Suddenly, one of their classmates, one of those cornered at the back of the classroom, approached. He had a completely emotionless face and as he approached, Takeshi realized it was one of the students who lived in the dormitory across the hall from his.

"The teacher asked Ida-kun to activate his magic and this is what happened..." The boy said.

His desk should be the first one in the row, but this one was also completely scorched. However, what caught Takeshi's attention was the boy's head. Perhaps the boy had activated his systematic magic or something, as something that appeared to be dog ears was sticking out of his head.

"I understand... but, your hair seems to have been burned too." Takeshi replied.

Then, he pointed to the boy's head, and the boy put his hands to his head to check.

"Huh? Aah, you're right. What a remedy. Oh my ears..."

A dry chuckle rang out, accompanied by the laughter of the other classmates who also began to laugh.

"Don't worry, such things happen often in this class," Another student said

"That worries me." Takeshi replied.

Takeshi's words were accompanied by a cold look that Mui had never seen on him before, then she said:

"I knew it. They don't call this place the infernal class for nothing. I guess that's why everyone was telling me I was condemned to hell when I was assigned to this class."

"Really?"

"Yes..."

Seeing her nod with a straight face, Takeshi let out a subtle smile.

Part 3

The next day after regular classes, there was still time for magic classes to start, so Kurumi asked Takeshi to study with her in the library.

Takeshi left Twilight, -the Aspect he chose with Mui's help-, locked in a locker. It was too heavy and dangerous to carry around all the time and since he had heard that students with weapon-type Aspects usually left them in their lockers in the hallway on the second floor, Takeshi did the same.

"Wait, I'll go get some information." Takeshi said.

When he got up from the chair, his briefcase that was hanging on the back fell to the floor and everything inside came out.

"Is everything all right?" Kurumi asked.

She was sitting next to him, so she bent down and reached out her hand to help pick things up, but noticed that among the things that came out of the bag, there was a handful of photographs.

"This... Is it me?"

"Wait, it's not what it looks like"

Kurumi held up a photo in which, the upper part of her was portrayed in a swimming suit, so Takeshi looked away quickly.

"This is when we had swimming lessons." Kurumi said.

Then she looked through the other photos and looking at Takeshi with an air of suspicion, she asked:

"Hey, what's all this?"

With his face turned, Takeshi firmly affirmed that this was not his.

"Well, some guys had them..."

Then Kurumi burst out laughing as she realized how the matter was going.

"So you took it from them, didn't you?"

"Yes..."

Takeshi was relieved that she understood.

She knew he hadn't taken them but, but she didn't like the idea that there was someone else around, taking pictures of her. She sat back in her chair with the photos in her hand and began to examine them carefully. She didn't seem to like the way she had been portrayed in them, so she frowned, but looked up and said:

"But why had you kept them?"

"Wait, it's not like I wanted to keep them...!!!"

Takeshi objected, as he put away the things that had slipped out of his briefcase again, then hung it back on the back of the chair. He had simply left them among his things after confiscating them and forgot about them. Even he, himself, was surprised to see that they were still there. At that moment Kurumi laughed and said:

"Don't worry. You are my boyfriend after all. You don't need to be nervous. I don't care if you get to see these things in public."

"That would make a pervert," Takeshi replied with a chuckle, "I actually wanted to give them to you."

When Takeshi said that, Kurumi carefully selected the pictures and then took one out of all of them.

"Well in that case, let me see... this one...."

She quickly put the photo inside the breast pocket of Takeshi's shirt and said:

"I'll let you keep that one. That way you'll look more like my boyfriend, right?"

"Huh? B-but..."

"Don't lose it. Ok?"

With a smile on his face, Takeshi didn't want to object any further and simply kept silent.

The photo showed Kurumi sitting on the edge of the pool smiling happily with one knee raised. The photo was so good that if anyone was told that this photo had been taken from a modeling magazine, they would immediately believe it. Takeshi felt a little uncomfortable, but he still went off to search the library shelves for information while whispering, "Well, what a relief." At the same time, Kurumi laughed at the awkward way he moved.

Part 4

Three days later, Kurumi was in the pool locker room hurriedly putting on her swimsuit.

"I thought you said you didn't want to be in swimming lessons with the boys. What made you change your mind?" Mui asked as she placed the clothes she was taking off in the locker next to her.

Kurumi let out a nasal chuckle and answered:

"Nothing. I just realized that swimming lessons aren't so bad after all."

"Ooh"

Mui simply nodded at Kurumi's mysterious attitude.

As soon as Kurumi finished putting on her swimsuit, she turned around. However, her face distorted into a surprised expression as she kept her gaze fixed on a certain part of Mui's body.

"Is s-something wrong?" Mui asked.

Kurumi pursed her lips and said:

"Do you, by any chance, drink milk every day?"

Mui had no idea what she meant, but answered anyway:

"Milk? Well, I don't really like it."

"I see, so you do dorsal stretching?"

Mui understood less and less.

"No, I don't. By the way... What is dorsal stretching?"

Kurumi seemed to be looking at Mui with some envy.

"Is it some kind of joke?" Mui asked.

"No, it's no joke."

Mui could not find any consistency between "drinking milk" and "dorsal stretching". It was until Kurumi stretched her arm pointing to the pair of plump hills covered by her underwear.

"Your breasts!" Kurumi exclaimed as if she was annoyed.

"My breasts?"

"No way. Don't tell me you have someone massage them for you." Kurumi said with much fuss, causing Mui to cover her breasts with her hands involuntarily.

"What are you saying, Kurumi? I don't do that...!"

The two made such a fuss, they attracted the attention of other girls in the dressing room. Mui's cheeks blushed.

"Stop saying weird things Kurumi." Mui protested in a low voice.

Then, Kurumi folded her arms and said:

"You're right. There's no way you can do that. It's just that, people say that if you massage them they get bigger."

Mui was curious and asked:

"Kurumi, did you ask someone to massage them for you?"

Obviously that question was a joke, but Kurumi quickly exclaimed:

"No one has massaged them for me! Stop saying weird things! I would never do something as daring as that. Besides, I haven't let Takeshi touch me yet."

While shouting impulsively, Kurumi's face suddenly turned all red as if she was boiling.

"You're the worst!!!" She shouted.

After saying all that, Kurumi ran off towards the pool.

"What was that all about?" Mui asked herself completely perplexed.

"What does Takeshi-kun have to do with her breasts?"

Mui looked at her own chest, and suddenly, the image of Takeshi appeared in her mind. A very smiling imaginary Takeshi who reached out both hands and gently touched her chest and saying:

I will massage them to make them bigger.

Mui suddenly became dizzy and took a step back.

"It can't be... what things I get to imagine..."

Just like Kurumi, Mui ducked her face and covered it with her hands to hide how blushed she was

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...!"

At that moment she started hitting herself in the head.

"Delete it! Delete it! Delete it...!"

She didn't notice that all the girls who were still there, were staring at her weirdly while she was hitting herself trying to forget the strange thought that had come to her mind.

Translator's Notes and References

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