Magic Maker - How to make magic in another world - - Chapter 168

Magic Maker – How to make magic in another world –

Chapter 168   Winona’s talent

The daytime in Alsphere is a relatively comfortable environment.

Winona takes care of the basic things around me, and the temperature is just right.

Lately, Winona has been observing Melfi’s interactions a lot.

She couldn’t see magical power before, and there was some hesitation, but maybe gaining magical power has boosted her confidence.

Today, as well, the four of us—Count Goltba, Carla, Winona, and myself—were watching Melfi, who was reading a book written in fairy language.

“Monsters appeared, so I exterminated them.”

Melfi read the words, I translated them, and if magical color was needed, I used oral magic in fairy script to discern it.

The Count listened to my words and recorded them in the book.

Carla, based on the classification of magical colors existing for each word, examined the trends in the characters and considered the rules as a whole.

Winona observed the entire process, engaging in magical-related operations, magical perception, and practicing oral magic together.

I think it’s challenging for Winona to master magical perception, but it’s important to give it a try, especially since she suggested it herself and I had no reason to stop her.

“Hey, I was thinking, do we really need to write in fairy script?”

“Well, yes, it is necessary to write in characters. Is there a problem with that?”

“No, it’s just, even if we can write in fairy script, how do we distinguish which magical color it reacts to?”

“T-That’s right, as Carla-san mentioned. Perhaps it should be written by someone with magical power. Let me give it a try.”

“Then, Shion sensei, please take a look at this!”

Count Goltba handed me the fairy language dictionary, which he had been compiling so far, in other words, the fairy language dictionary.

While looking at it, I wrote down words on paper that currently have multiple meanings.

Then, I tried giving them oral magic with each corresponding magical color.

The result: no reaction.

“…It seems writing normally doesn’t work. In that case, I guess I need to give magical power while writing. Let me try writing while producing oral magic.”

While emitting red magical color from my mouth, I attempted to write characters. The red magical color moved towards the characters and was absorbed. The characters were briefly dyed in red magical color, then quickly returned to their original ink. Was this a success?

As an experiment, I tried giving all oral magic that should react to fairy script. Only the red one reacted. The magical color shone for a moment and then disappeared. It must have been less than a second.

“Oh, it’s reacting!”

“Fantastic! Based on the current reaction, it seems you need to produce the corresponding magical color while writing!”

“Yes, the current oral magic is magical power adjusted for the fairy language using magical perception. In other words, it’s different from spells.”

“Fairy script, like fairy language, also requires magical perception. Well, this is quite challenging. Only Shion sensei can pull off such a trick.”

I contemplated.

Fairy language and script, both are languages that fairies possess. If magical perception is necessary for adjusting magical power and sensing in spoken language, it seems reasonable that magical perception is also required when writing characters.

However, it feels somewhat uncomfortable that both spoken language and characters require the same ability. In the common spoken language, the speaker typically uses touch and hearing, while the listener uses hearing and vision. In writing, the writer uses vision and touch, and the reader typically uses vision, but systems like braille involve touch. What I’m trying to convey is that all these senses are different.

The existence of spoken language and characters may be due to the convenience and differences in characteristics. If exactly the same senses were used, there wouldn’t be a need for both. Of course, the advantage of being able to write things down is significant. Additionally, not being able to write or read without magical power could be considered an advantage in some sense.

…But is that the only way to use it? Is such a sophisticated language only writable in that manner? In reality, to use fairy language perfectly, magical perception is essential, but someone like the Count can speak at a basic level by imitating the production of oral magic colors. Magical perception is akin to the ability to express subtle accent differences in pronunciation or the ability to comprehend when listening. In other words, spoken language has a certain degree of versatility.

In that case… Let’s try something. While I could do it myself, it might be more effective experimentally if someone else does it.

“Count, Winona, can I ask you something?”

“Anything you wish!”

“Y-Yes, what is it?”

“Count, can you write fairy script using oral magic without using magical perception? Winona, can you write fairy script while using oral magic in the common language, i.e., casting spells? Even though it’s just saying the same words as the written characters. Let’s make it a sentence. Please create a sentence including words with multiple meanings and single-meaning words.”

The two nodded vigorously and agreed readily. I moved a bit away to let them concentrate, naturally sitting next to Carla.

“Well, let’s see how this goes.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Haha, indeed!”

Carla laughed joyfully. She’s also a scholar like the Count. She must love research and analysis, just like me.

Winona and the Count began to write characters while emitting magical power from their mouths.

“Early in the morning, I woke up, basked in the morning sun, had breakfast, and savored happiness.”

Winona used the common language, while the Count remained silent. After a while, the two finished writing fairy script.

I approached them to check the characters. At this point, I didn’t know how it turned out.

“Let me try now.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Please!”

Both of them responded almost simultaneously. It’s nice when they respond so clearly. Holding the papers with the fairy script written by both of them in each hand, I prepared to experiment.

The Count’s characters were somewhat rough but had a distinctive and attractive style. Winona’s characters were like exemplary writing, resembling a sentence from a textbook.

First, I started with the Count’s writing. I released each magical color contained in the words one by one from the beginning of the sentence. The appropriate color was absorbed by the corresponding character, and for a moment, the color of the character changed before quickly returning to its original ink. It was a momentary flicker, to the extent that if you blinked, you might have missed it. It briefly flashed, so as a fairy script, it was readable. However, the color-changing time was extremely short.

…There are various things that catch my attention, but let’s take a look at Winona’s characters.

I release magical colors one by one, just like with the Count’s characters.

Similar to the fairy script written by the Count, the characters are dyed in magical colors, changing their appearance. However, a difference emerged when compared to the characters written by the Count.

Winona’s fairy script remained dyed in magical colors for an extended period. After reading the sentence, the color persisted for several seconds. It probably lasted for more than a minute. Gradually fading, it eventually returned to its original ink. The duration of color change was overwhelmingly longer than when I did it.

Everyone noticed this difference, exchanging surprised glances.

“…W-What was that just now? Why did Winona’s magical color persist the longest?”

Count Goltba seemed perturbed as he blurted out. Everyone shared the same sentiment, including myself, Winona, and Carla.

I racked my brain. Why did Winona’s color change duration surpass both mine and the Count’s? Her magical power is less than ours, and her magical manipulation is not as stable. However, in practice, the color change duration was longest for Winona.

What could this possibly mean?

I examined the fairy script. I couldn’t perceive even the slightest bit of magical power contained within the characters. Closing my eyes and confirming with magical perception, I still couldn’t sense any magical power in the fairy script.

However, there undoubtedly was magical power within the fairy script. Otherwise, there would be no reaction when giving magical colors after writing the fairy script. So, one should consider that some kind of change occurred in the characters due to magical power or the reaction of magical power.

Could it be the ink?

Is there magical power mixed in the ink?

Perhaps it coincidentally has good compatibility with Winona’s magical power?

“There might be a cause in the ink. Do you have any other ways to write characters besides using ink?”

“I have limestone and charcoal if you need them.”

“Let’s try it.”

Winona, the Count, and I used oral magic to write fairy script on paper or stone with limestone or charcoal.

I used magical perception with oral magic, the Count used oral magic without magical perception, and Winona used spells. The results were the same. If it was something recognized as characters, magical colors reacted, and Winona’s color change lasted the longest. By the way, both the Count and I also tried using spells, but the results remained unchanged, and the duration was short. In other words, regardless of the writing material, Winona was the only one who could sustain color change for a longer duration.

“Why… I-I can’t do anything. I think there must be some mistake.”

Perhaps because she achieved better results than both I and the Count, Winona appears agitated and flustered.

There’s no need for her to worry.

However, the fact that results have been obtained indicates that there is undoubtedly some cause.

Certainly, as Winona mentioned, both I and the Count should excel in handling magical power compared to her.

We should be superior in magical power adjustment, the quantity of magical power, and the smoothness of producing magical colors.

However, with our magical colors, we cannot prolong the color change of fairy script.

If the color change only occurs for a short period, it becomes challenging to decipher.

In other words, Winona’s written fairy script seems to play the most critical role as characters.

Does Winona have an innate talent?

Certainly, there is a possibility of talent, but at this point, is it surpassing both mine and the Count’s abilities?

At the very least, I don’t think there’s such an overwhelming difference without doing anything.

So, it’s not about the proficiency of magical power adjustment or the quantity of magical power.

Proficiency… proficiency, huh?

The difference between me, the Count, and Winona is the level of proficiency.

Winona has only recently become a magical power user.

Did it work out well precisely because she is inexperienced?

No, that’s not it. It feels a bit different.

But it’s somewhat close.

The difference between me and Winona.

Winona is not accustomed to handling magical power, and her magical power is minimal.

Minimal magical power… minimal?

I tried writing the fairy script again.

This time, I released magical colors with an almost infinitesimally small amount of magical power.

The magical color was absorbed into the characters, and for just a moment, the characters were dyed in color.

After finishing writing the fairy script, I released oral magical power with the corresponding magical color, just like before.

Then the fairy script started to shine.

It continued to glow for about a minute and finally faded away.

“W-What was that just now? This was so long!?”

Winona looks bewildered.

The other two are also waiting for my explanation.

While organizing the information in my head, I spoke.

“Yeah, it turns out that the scarcity of magical power is crucial.”

“Scarcity, you say? Not abundance?”

Strictly speaking, both terms denote the quantity itself, but in this context, they express the idea of more or less.

At first glance, one might think that having more magical power would lead to more significant effects. I used to think the same. However, that’s not necessarily true in all cases. Excessive magical power can actually be more of a hindrance. The appropriate amount of magical power, significantly less than expected, seems to be suitable for the color change of fairy script.

“I see! So, that’s why the fairy script I wrote had a prolonged color change!”

“That’s right. However, it might not be the only factor. Count, could you try writing fairy script again, but this time, reduce the amount of magical power?”

“Understood!”

The Count enthusiastically wrote the fairy script and handed it over. Once again, I infused the fairy script with oral magical power.

However, the characters disappeared in less than ten seconds.

“Hmm! The duration extended, but it still didn’t reach Miss Winona. I minimized the magical power as much as possible.”

“Yes, it was about the same amount of magical power that Winona used earlier.”

“What could this mean!?”

The Count, with an excited demeanor, clenched his fists and shook them vigorously. It seemed like you could almost hear the sound effect of excitement.

“It might not just be the quantity of magical power but also the quality and type of magic that are relevant. As I mentioned before, magic has type, quality, color, and quantity. Magic type represents the individual’s unique magical characteristics. Magic quality is the inherent nature of magic itself, and adjusting it is challenging without magical perception. Magic color is the classification of oral magic produced by emotions and intent. Magic quantity refers to the amount of magic. Magic type and quality are innate, and even with magical perception, changing magic quality significantly is difficult. Magic color and quantity can be altered through training in magic manipulation and increasing the total amount of magic. I believe the former two are crucial when writing fairy script.”

“So, it’s something you’re born with… essentially, talent.”

“Winona might have a talent for writing fairy script.”

Extending the duration of magic color change was due to the scarcity of magic power. However, it’s unlikely that Winona can achieve such results with only that factor. It’s reasonable to think that she possesses a natural talent for writing fairy script. Both the Count and I approached the level of magic power similar to Winona. I used magical perception to adjust the quality of magic, achieving a duration similar to Winona’s. It turns out that Winona, who achieved it naturally and unconsciously, has more talent.

“I-I have talent…?”

Winona was bewildered. However, after a while, she smiled a bit awkwardly. There was some joy in her expression, despite her hesitation and consideration. Seeing her like this made me genuinely happy. Winona had been making efforts all along.

“Well then, let’s have Winona participate in our work from now on. How about having Winona transcribe the categorized sentences and words that Carla has sorted? Winona has neat handwriting, and we can ask her to create the official fairy language dictionary.”

“I have no objections, of course.”

“I’m fine with that. Frankly, both the Count and I have messy handwriting.”

“I-I transcribe…? Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’d appreciate it. How about it, Winona?”

Winona looked uneasy. Until now, she had only been an observer, and suddenly, she was given a significant role. It’s natural for her to feel nervous. Being suddenly promoted can elicit either joy or fear, depending on the person. Winona was timid and pessimistic. Thus, she would undoubtedly be scared and anxious. However, the current her was different from the past.

“I-I’ll do it! Please let me do it!”

Winona moved forward despite her fear. There was a determination in her eyes. Seeing her motivated expression, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Thank you, Winona. I’m counting on you.”

“Y-Yes! I will definitely accomplish it!”

Winona nodded repeatedly with a happy expression.

“Then, here you go, Winona!”

The Count handed Winona a volume he took from his bag. It was filled with blank pages, yet to be written. In other words, it was the official version of the fairy language dictionary.

Winona hugged the dictionary tightly against her chest, closed her eyes as if savoring the moment, then opened them, revealing a beaming smile, her long eyelashes swaying.

“I’ll do my best, Shion-sama.”

It was a radiant smile, unlike any before, without a trace of hesitation.