Magic Maker - How to make magic in another world - - Chapter 72

Magic Maker – How to make magic in another world –

Chapter 72   Sometimes you only realize it when you lose it

After finishing all the work and being seen off by the nurses, I returned to the house of Glast-san, which had become a second home, with my father, who had come to pick me up. My mother welcomed me.

“Welcome back, Shion-kun. How was it?”

“I’m back, Mom. Yeah, I cured everyone.”

“Good, I’m relieved… really. Thank you for your hard work. Shion-kun, you’ve done something wonderful. You can be proud.”

My mother gently embraced me, and her actions conveyed a sense of affection.

Neither my father nor my mother has changed since that day.

On the day I was told we weren’t connected by blood.

Our relationship has continued as usual.

Originally, the blood connection didn’t hold much significance for me.

“Sis is upstairs?”

“Yes. She’s in her room. She was anxious every day, wondering when Shion would come home. It was tough. Go and see her as soon as possible.”

Dad said with a wry smile.

I’ve been busy with treatments all week, and I couldn’t come home.

Even when I went out, I was asked, “Shion, where are you going?” with a lonely expression.

Since my sister was still recovering, I didn’t give her a detailed explanation on the first day.

However, on the way home, my dad told me that he and my mom had explained everything properly in my absence.

I moved away from my mom and went upstairs.

My sister’s room.

A room I had visited many times.

Whenever I opened the door, there she was lying on the bed, silently staring at the ceiling.

No response, no matter how much I talked or touched her.

That scene is still vivid in my memory.

As if shaking off that memory, I opened the door.

“Oh, Shion. Wel, come back.”

My sister, lying in bed, smiled brightly.

As soon as she spotted me, she changed her expression and blushed happily.

Internally, I felt relieved.

Even though I knew my sister had already recovered, I was afraid she might regress.

Thinking like that again.

“I’m home, sis.”

I returned the smile and took a seat on the chair beside the bed.

“Waited, for so long… Shion, you weren’t here…”

I listened to my sister’s fragmented words with a calm heart.

She needed rehabilitation because she had been bedridden.

However, according to Dr. Alfonse’s diagnosis, the aftermath of the miraculous recovery from a normal comatose state was relatively minimal.

Perhaps because she unconsciously opened her eyes during the day and was able to swallow her food slowly on her own, she might not have been in a complete state of unconsciousness.

As a result, she awakened and was able to speak immediately.

However, she hadn’t spoken for a long time, so her voice was hoarse.

Since she didn’t make her own turns, family members and nurses were constantly moving her limbs.

Normally, after a year of comatose state – although there are individual differences – several years of rehabilitation would be required.

However, recovery seemed to be quite fast.

The cause of the lazy syndrome is the loss of magic power.

However, the exact cause of the magic power loss is unclear.

I believe it is likely due to the influence of Kakuya.

Kakuya supplied me with excessive magic power, amplifying and circulating it.

People who couldn’t withstand the excessive magic power ended up unconsciously consuming an excess of magic power to return to normal.

This is probably the precursor to Lazy syndrome.

As this reaction becomes pronounced, it consumes the magic power within the body, leading to a lazy syndrome state.

Normally, if one rests, magic power can be replenished, but because the body is already influenced by Kakuya, even if magic power is restored, it is immediately consumed.

As a result, the lazy syndrome is maintained, and without being able to restore magic power on their own, recovery does not occur.

That, I believe, is lazy syndrome.

People who contracted is lazy syndrome before kakuya tended to have a lower amount of magic power, so they probably succumbed to the lazy syndrome before Kakuya arrived.

However, my sister is a bit special.

While other patients were in good health, their physical abilities did not improve.

In my sister’s case, her physical abilities were abnormally enhanced, demonstrating strength comparable to an adult.

I think that was a precursor to lazy syndrome.

In my sister’s case, she underwent some magic training with me, allowing her to manipulate magic to some extent, and her magic power had increased.

Therefore, I think the reaction of conspicuous magic consumption in the body was more pronounced than in other patients.

If that’s the case – let’s leave what happens next for now.

Anyway, in this world, medical equipment is scarce, and the level of medicine is not high, but there seems to be some consideration for rehabilitation.

Thanks to that, she can speak a little after a week of recovery.

However, she still cannot move her body on her own.

Since she is conscious, she no longer needs someone to accompany her all the time, but I still go to check on her frequently.

She looks happy, but it seems difficult for her to speak.

It’s probably better if I do most of the talking.

“Did you hear the story from Dad and the others?”

“Yeah… I’ve been like this for a year and a half now.”

My sister’s voice warms my heart when I see her face.

At the same time, there’s a sensation as if my heart is being squeezed.

An impulse to hug her involuntarily arises.

Ah, she has really come back.

Thinking that, I feel like crying, but I suppress it because it’s embarrassing.

I continue talking, as if trying to deceive my own inner feelings.

“Yeah. It’s been a year and a half since that time when you collapsed, sis. A lot happened.”

Really, a lot happened.

A lot.

Even so, we overcame it, and now we’re here.

I thought it was endless misfortune.

I thought it was irrational and unjust.

But without giving up, we kept moving forward and overcame it.

With that sense of accomplishment, I embrace happiness, realizing that everything around me is not taken for granted but is precious and irreplaceable.

“I heard it all. Everything you’ve done for me. Even when dangerous monsters attacked.”

Hearing the word “everything,” for a moment, I wondered if it included the details of my own circumstances.

But then I remember.

During the discussion with Mom and Dad, we decided not to tell my sister everything yet, including that I’m a Rugure and that we’re not blood-related.

My sister has just started to recover, and there has been too much in the past year and a half.

Telling her everything suddenly would likely cause confusion, and it was decided that it wouldn’t be too late to talk about it once her body had fully recovered.

But that’s not the only reason.

“Thank you, Shion. You’ve worked hard all this time.”

“It’s not a big deal. I just did what I wanted to do. You know, I do things that I decide to do on my own, right? Like my magic research. So, it wasn’t hard.”

“………… Shion.”

My sister looks up at me, her eyes glistening.

I accept her gaze without looking away.

We gaze at each other for a while, and the silent moment is broken by my sister’s voice.

“Shion, hold my hand.”

“Yeah.”

When I hold my sister’s hand, it feels warm.

Her body temperature has returned.

So has her magic.

The sensation gives me reassurance.

And it seems my sister feels the same way.

She, who was smiling, suddenly lowered her gaze.

“I… I was a little scared. I have almost no memory, but somehow, there’s something. Alone, in the darkness, trapped, unable to do anything… it was a scary memory. But all along, I could hear your voice, Mom’s, Dad’s voices. So, the memory I endured… might have been a dream.”

Even in the modern era, dreams are not fully understood. One theory suggests that they help organize memories, but even that is not certain. Was my sister’s dream a result of her brain interpreting information from her senses? Just imagining such a dream gives me chills.

With a weak grip, my sister holds my hand back. Just that gesture conveys Marie’s clinging emotions towards me. It’s natural for it to be that way, and there’s a slight vulnerability in it. However, I have no intention of rejecting those feelings. I simply cherish this precious existence and hope that it won’t break again. I hold my sister’s hand with both of mine.

“It’s warm…”

My sister was repeatedly closing her eyelids, seeming sleepy. Having a conversation seemed to exhaust her quite a bit.

“Don’t push yourself; you can sleep.”

“But…”

My sister voiced her concern anxiously.

“I’m here. Until you wake up.”

When I said that, my sister smiled faintly, as if reassured, and closed her eyes. Soon, the sound of her gentle breathing started.

I lightly combed my sister’s hair with my hand.

I couldn’t help but cry.

I am so relieved to the point that my hands tremble.

Because it became like this, I took a short break, even though I had dedicated myself to treatment for the past week. It seems it didn’t help.

I had been holding back my tears in front of my sister to avoid causing trouble, but it seems I couldn’t hold it in after all.

Ten days from the second Day of Scarlet Night.

One week since the treatment method was discovered.

Soon, an invitation from the capital will arrive.

When that happens, I’ll have to leave this place, leaving my sister behind.

That day will inevitably come.

And if I refuse, I’ll be abandoning many people, as the Lazy Syndrome has spread worldwide, and I’m the only one who can treat it.

So, let’s savor this fleeting time.

This time with my beloved yet fragile sister.

I stroke my sister’s head.

She is my sister.

However, we are not connected by blood.

When I learned that fact, I was perplexed and averted my gaze.

It wasn’t the first time I had thought about it.

I deliberately avoided thinking about it.

Because she is family, because she is a precious existence, it wasn’t something I could easily ponder.

So, I had never seriously considered whether I loved my sister as a family member or as a woman.

There is no doubt that she is precious as a family member.

That’s what I had convinced myself of until now.

However, when I thought that my sister might never wake up, the question arose.

Do I truly love Marie as a sister?

Knowing that there is no blood connection removed any constraints.

Because of that, I ended up thinking about it even more.

My heart thumped.

Whenever I looked at my sister’s face, my heartbeat inevitably quickened.

I still didn’t understand the true nature of those feelings.