Magic Maker - How to make magic in another world - - Chapter 56

Magic Maker – How to make magic in another world –

Chapter 56   Trout is the bridge to hope?

Today is a holiday for consultations with Cole. I can only examine mild cases of lazy Syndrome patients once a week at that clinic. If only mild patients would be admitted to Alfonse’s clinic, there might be more flexibility. Whether by chance or design, only mild patients seem to go to that clinic. Consequently, I can only conduct experiments once a week.

Of course, reckless experiments are out of the question, and the content is limited to something unquestionably safe. I cannot conduct experiments like treating patients as guinea pigs. At most, it involves exposing a small amount of magic power, a method closer to a light diagnosis like palpation. Since reactions are visible, it becomes an extremely valuable experiment.

Someday, I might request the cooperation of a patient’s family for experimental treatment, but that’s not now.

In any case, I need to start with experiments on monsters and achieve some results. This way, effective and safe approaches for mild patients can be explored. If I were to be indulgent, I’d like to gain the cooperation of a healthy person with magical abilities for human experiments. Mild patients cannot explain their condition in words, and they don’t react immediately. Therefore, the risk is still high, and precise reactions are unclear. Healthy individuals, on the other hand, can provide their valuable descriptions and, if they perceive danger, can halt the experiment immediately.

However, when asked if there is such a unique and valuable individual with magical abilities, someone’s face comes to mind, and I shake my head. There might be a road I have to take eventually, but it remains daunting. Saying it’s easy to experiment on one’s own body—who would do that? And moreover, for the sake of others.

Right now, I’m in my sister’s room. I hold her hand and occasionally help her move. My job is about that much, and anything else is taken care of by Mom. Even though we’re family, it seems better not to leave it to me, a boy, because she’s a girl. It’s a part I understand without words, so I’ve never said anything about it.

I gently stroke my sister’s hand, hoping for some response. Seeing her lying still makes me feel a sense of frustration.

There’s a knock at the door. When I answer, Red, Maron, and Rose enter.

“Everyone, you came.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Even though it’s far… thank you.”

“Heh, no need for thanks. We’re friends, so it’s only natural. Besides, we just hitched a ride on the back of a carriage.”

Casual words like these made me happy. There are people who are willing to help. Just that fact alone becomes such a source of strength.

“Uh, you see, Shion-kun. I brought what you asked for.”

Maron timidly handed over a barrel. Inside were water and fish—several Cutthroat Trout.

Red and Rose also came out into the hallway, carrying a few barrels.

Although they were called barrels, they were small, and each barrel contained only about three trouts.

“Sorry, couldn’t bring too much.”

“No worries. It’s plenty. Thank you.”

“It’s fine. By the way, Shion likes trout. Well, it’s decently tasty, you know.”

“Well, yeah. I thought I might use them for various things.”

I laughed as if trying to deflect what I would use them for.

Suddenly, I looked at Rose. I have to tell her.

It’s an essential thing to say, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Rose is one of the few people who “has magical power and is not afflicted by lazy syndrome.”

She might be suitable for magical reaction experiments. Moreover, by examining her, I might understand why she remained unaffected.

However, I’m still hesitating.

It’s not easy to ask someone to become a subject for human experimentation.

“Is something the matter? Is there something on my face?”

“N-no, it’s nothing.”

“Really?”

In the end, I couldn’t say anything. After chatting with the three of them for a while, they left.

What remained was the trout and my regret.

“Sigh… I have to say it…”

Regardless of whether Rose cooperates or not, I have to speak up. There’s no progress in just moping around.

There’s no use pondering over Rose, who has already gone home. I stared at the trout they brought.

Among the animals I know, it’s the only fish with magical power. Apart from monsters and humans, Trout are the only creatures with magical power.

Although the discovery of magical power was thanks to the trout, I haven’t paid much attention to it since then.

But now, I want to observe the magical reactions under various conditions.

I feel sorry for the trout, but I’ll use it for experiments. It’s likely to show similar reactions to monsters.

Doing nothing due to preconceived notions is the most dangerous thing.

It’s already a lost cause. I held the trout and let the magical power flow.

“10, 15, 20.”

I unintentionally voiced the numbers. Saying them aloud makes it easier to be aware, and it’s fine like this.

I increased the amount of magical power in line with the numbers.

“25, 30, 35, 40, 45.”

The area around my hands continued to emit light. Up to 45, it was a significant amount of light. However, it seemed that the trout didn’t carbonize, unlike weak monsters that had already reached that magical power level. I was surprised by this. When focusing magical power on monsters, even a small amount would produce smoke, gradually carbonize, and then rapidly collapse when reaching the right amount. But it seemed like it might still be okay.

“50.”

No carbonization.

It can still go on?

“55, 60, 65, 70, 75.”

Is this a lie? How far can it go? Even a War Kobold carbonized at 50 magical power. There was no change in the trout’s body. My hands were just getting warm.

“80, 85.”

Still, no change.

“90.”

The maximum value of magical power I could gather. The result— the trout was lively, healthy, and thrashing about. I released the trout back into the water. I was in a state of shock. This was completely unexpected. While I could ‘purify’ monsters, it seemed impossible with trout. What could this mean?

“Could it be that monsters are different? I can purify monsters because they’re monsters, but I can’t purify trout…?”

This was a significant breakthrough. It meant that there were entirely different reactions between monsters and trout. If there was evidence to support this, research on lazy syndrome could progress even further. Are humans, like monsters or trout, exhibiting the same reactions, or something entirely different? Knowing this would alter the approach to human experiments.

If humans exhibited pre-purification signs like monsters, it would be quite dangerous. However, if supplying a small amount of magical power, similar to trout, didn’t cause surface carbonization or smoke, it might suggest that providing a larger amount of magical power wouldn’t have an adverse effect on the human body. Although it wasn’t certain yet, if there were no issues, more proactive methods could be explored.

In the end, experiments on humans would be necessary at some point. If there were precedents where commonalities existed regardless of the conditions, the approach and preparation would be different, reducing the uncertainty. The more information available, the greater the chance of success in experiments, and perhaps even in finding a cure.

However, this is still just one example. I will continue to conduct experiments with different individuals and record the results for a while. If this result approaches 100% certainty as much as possible, the safety of future research will increase. Humans and trout are different. However, monsters might be a separate classification, while humans and trout could potentially be in the same classification. With that hope in mind, I continued the experiment of channeling magical power into the trout.