Subject Runes - V1 Chapter 16-17

Chapter 16: Developing a New Spell

“Neon. After school today, we’re making a magical tool.”

“Whaaat…”

Neon made an incredibly unwilling face. Even before I entered the academy, I often made magical tools back at home, and Neon had always helped me with them. She was probably remembering those days right now.

“Don’t look that disgusted. I want to make that new spell we found in the ancient ruins usable as soon as possible. If I build it into a wand, other people might see the magic circle, so I’m thinking of making it into a ring-shaped magical tool and carving the magic circle on the inside.”

“Ughhh… Isn’t that going to be ridiculously fine work?”

“Probably. Anyway, Carl Schmidt-sensei said we can use the tools in his laboratory, so we’re going to borrow some references from the library first and head over right away.”

I dragged the unwilling Neon off to the library by force and picked out some reference books.

“Do we really need to borrow a book about the light-attribute spell Lightning?”

“Good question! Actually…”

I began giving Neon a full, enthusiastic explanation of my idea for modifying the Lightning spell to increase its attack power. Partway through, Neon tried to escape, so I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and kept explaining while forcibly hauling her all the way to Schmidt-sensei’s laboratory.

“Glad you came, Azoth, Neon.”

Schmidt-sensei’s laboratory had a full set of tools for making magical equipment. We borrowed one complete set and immediately got to work.

“First, I’ll make the prototype. If it works, we’ll make a few more of the same item.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Neon, you handle the Fourier transform.”

“…Why?”

“Were you not listening to my explanation just now? To increase the destructive power by turning Lightning’s light into pulses, we need to calculate the spectral intensity, obviously.”

“Y-You want me to do that…?”

“You’re good at calculations. Actually, you and I are the only ones who can do it.”

“You demon…”

For the next three days, Neon and I shut ourselves inside the laboratory, and at long last, the prototype was finished. We took it to the magic training building to test it.

Incidentally, just like other non-attribute spells, this magic did not require a chant. It activated simply by declaring the spell name.

[Non-Attribute Unique Spell: Super-High-Speed Perception Release]

The movements around me began to look slower, but had the spell actually succeeded?

“Neon, try attacking me with a practice sword.”

“Here I go.”

Neon swung her sword down, but the path of her blade felt slower than usual. I could see the tip of the sword coming down from above, aiming for my left shoulder, so I took one step back and dodged it.

“Hm? My body feels a little heavy.”

My perception was accelerated, but my body could not quite keep up with it. So that was how it worked. This would need practice.

Next, I had Neon try it as well.

[Non-Attribute Unique Spell: Super-High-Speed Perception Release]

I kept striking at Neon with a sword, but she read every attack and dodged each one by a hair’s breadth.

“How was it, Neon?”

“Azoth’s movements look slow, but moving my body feels like trying to move underwater. It’s rough. I think this needs practice.”

“I agree.”

After that, I had several other people try it, but for some reason, Selene was the only one who could use this spell. Was there some kind of usage requirement?

For now, I decided to bother Schmidt-sensei again so I could make magical tools for Selene and Neon.

“Neon, did you finish the Fourier transform from the other day?”

“I did, more or less.”

“That helps. Next, use this prototype as a reference and make the perception spell’s magical tool yourself.”

“I hate fine work, unlike you, Azoth.”

Even while grumbling under her breath, Neon began making the magical tool. Earth-attribute magic was necessary for magical tool creation, so Neon’s help was extremely valuable. To Neon, I was probably nothing but a nuisance, but I was the kind of person who would use even my own parents if they were standing around and useful.

Well, I left the perception spell to Neon and decided to work on researching Lightning instead. First, I began analyzing the existing magic circle.

Three days later, Neon also completed her magical tool.

“I’m exhausted. I finally finished one… and there’s still one more.”

“Good for you. Mine looks like it’s almost done too.”

“The Lightning one?”

“Well, I won’t know if it’s complete until I actually test it.”

“But I’m glad the prototype is done. That calculation was a real pain.”

“Sorry. About that… after analyzing Lightning’s magic circle, I found out the spectral intensity can be set with parameters without specifying numerical values.”

“…So my calculation was pointless.”

“No, it wasn’t pointless! It should have been good mental exercise…”

But Neon grabbed the Lightning grimoire roughly and slammed it hard onto my head with a loud “bang,” then stormed out of the laboratory in anger.

“I really did something bad to Neon.”

Because I had not understood Lightning’s magic circle properly, I had ended up making Neon do useless calculations. Feeling guilty, I gave up on asking Neon for any more help and made the remaining one by myself.

After that, Neon stopped coming to the laboratory. I kept going there alone and eventually finished the final magical tool as well. Then, to check whether it worked properly, I went looking for Neon and the others.

“Where is everyone?”

Recently, I had been acting separately from everyone after school, so I had no idea where they were. For now, I decided to go to the Dungeon Club and ask someone there, so I showed my face at the clubroom on the third floor of the club building for the first time in a while.

But when I opened the door, a lot of club members were gathered inside, sitting around the table and having a tea party. On top of that, not only Neon but the entire usual group was there.

But why was everyone here?

“Azoth, you’re late!”

Dan hurried me along, telling me to sit down quickly.

“Huh? Oh, right…”

Was there some kind of event today?

“Marl, happy birthday!”

Marl was congratulated by all the club members and received her presents.

…Right. Today was Marl’s birthday party. I had completely forgotten. Crap.

Panicking, I handed Marl the magical tool I had been planning to have her test, pretending as if it had been a birthday present all along.

“Marl, happy birthday! I want you to accept this ring.”

Marl was startled after suddenly being handed a ring.

“This is…”

“This is a magical tool I made after getting a hint from that altar in the ancient ruins. I modified Lightning, which had only ever been useful as lighting, into an offensive spell. I made it for you, Marl, so I really want you to try it!”

“…Is this what you’ve been holed up in the laboratory making this whole time?”

“Well, something like that.”

In truth, this was not the only thing I had been making. I had made all kinds of other stuff too. But Marl gently hugged my ring to her chest and lowered her face with a happy expression.

“Azoth. What in the world are you doing right in front of Selene?”

When I looked toward the voice, Sasha-senpai was glaring at me with a face like a raging demon while Selene sat beside her, cheeks puffed out in a sulk.

With my sharp instincts, I understood the situation immediately. Sasha-senpai was angry because I had given a present to another woman while completely ignoring my own fiancée.

The truth was that it was just a prototype magical tool disguised as a birthday present, but if I explained that, I would also have to explain that I had completely forgotten Marl’s birthday party. Either way, this was a very bad situation.

After instantly understanding the position I was in, I quickly pulled another magical tool from my pocket and handed it to Selene.

“Selene, I want you to accept this ring too.”

I handed Selene the magical tool for Super-High-Speed Perception Release.

“This is a magical tool I just finished. I was looking for you because I wanted you to try it as soon as possible.”

“This is for me? Thank you. It matches yours, Azoth… Honestly, you really are hopeless.”

With that, Selene accepted the ring with a smile.

“Be careful about doing things that cause misunderstandings. One of these days, you really will get stabbed.”

Sasha-senpai sighed in exasperation.

I thought, good grief, and looked to the side, only to see Neon trembling with anger.

…That was honestly kind of scary.

Dan, worried, whispered into my ear.

“Hey, Azoth, Neon is angry. What the hell did you do?”

I could see that she was angry just by looking.

“I feel like I messed up a little, but she’s too scary for me to ask her directly.”

“She’s been in a bad mood for a while now. That isn’t normal. You better patch things up properly.”

“I know…”

I turned toward Neon and timidly spoke to her in a low voice.

“I’m sorry I made you do pointless calculations…”

“That isn’t what I’m angry about!”

“Then what are you angry about?”

“I don’t know!”

Chapter 17: Neon’s Childhood

Even after we returned to the dorm, Neon would not speak to me, and it felt like I was being forced to sit on a bed of needles.

“I said I’m sorry for making you do pointless calculations. I would really like you to stop being angry soon.”

“……”

“I-Is there anything you want?”

“A ring.”

“I already gave you a ring.”

“That one is the one I made myself.”

“It’s the same thing, isn’t it?”

“Selene-neesama is one thing, but you even made a ring for Marl. Mine is self-made.”

So that was it. At last, I understood what she was angry about.

To get through this situation, I removed Neon’s ring from her finger, then slid the ring I had been wearing onto her finger instead.

“Let’s exchange mine and yours. I’ll wear the one you made, and you wear the one I made. That should solve everything.”

Stunned by my brilliant quick thinking, Neon stared at the ring that had suddenly been placed on her finger—the prototype—for a long time. Then Neon’s aura of anger slowly faded away.

That night, I had a dream.

It was the night of the baptism ceremony when I was five years old. The next day, after I became Selene’s fiancé, I had gone to Father’s room.

“Father.”

“What is it, Azoth?”

“If I become engaged to Selene-neesama, what will happen to Neon?”

“Neon will likely be married off to an upper-ranking noble in a political marriage.”

“Can someone who acts that much like a boy really become the wife of an upper-ranking noble?”

“Appearance has nothing to do with political marriage. As a bride with two attributes’ worth of magical power, she will have no shortage of suitors.”

I see. So Neon would become the wife of an upper-ranking noble.

Neon, who had always been with me since I became aware of the world, would one day leave this house. When I thought about that, a loneliness I had never felt before crossed my heart.

“Did you, after all, want to be engaged to Neon?”

“That is not exactly it. I just feel lonely knowing that I will eventually have to part with Neon.”

“I see. Well, sending her away as a bride is still a long way off. You do not need to worry about it until then.”

Father smiled as he said that.

Neon would eventually leave this house. I could protect Selene, but I could not protect Neon forever. In that case, I would make Neon strong enough to protect herself.

That was what my young self decided.

When I was seven years old, I noticed something about magic.

When activating fire magic, we were taught to imagine a flame as concretely as possible. However, even when I imagined “thermal energy” instead of “flame,” the spell still activated.

To be more specific, instead of what people would usually call a “flame,” a “plasma fireball” appeared. In other words, while this world’s magic had what could be called fantasy-like aspects, the actual phenomena that occurred were based on the laws of physics.

To put it another way, knowledge of natural science had the potential to dramatically improve the effects of magic.

Once I realized that, I decided to cram all the knowledge I had gained from studying for university entrance exams in my previous life into young Neon.

Neon had always been a smart child to begin with, and when I taught her, she absorbed modern knowledge rapidly.

◇

I was dreaming.

This was a memory from around the baptism ceremony when I was five years old.

I was Neon. Selene-neesama’s younger sister.

But the truth was, I wanted to become Azoth’s younger brother.

Because playing with Azoth was more fun than standing beside Selene-neesama and acting proper.

Why was I born a girl? I want to be reborn as Azoth’s younger brother.

Azoth was kind and cool.

He always protected me.

When he grew up, Azoth would probably become an amazing knight.

And I wanted to stand beside Azoth as a knight too. I wanted to fight together with him.

That was what I had always thought.

On the day of the baptism ceremony, Azoth collapsed.

I was happy because I obtained the same two attributes as Azoth, fire and earth, so I was the same as him. But more than that, I was worried about Azoth after he collapsed.

I hope he wakes up soon.

If I tell him I got the same attributes too, will Azoth be happy?

While I was thinking about those things as I waited for Azoth at the baptism celebration, I heard Father and the others talking.

They were talking about making Azoth and Selene-neesama engaged, then sending me away in a political marriage.

I was shocked.

Would I be separated from Azoth in the future?

My chest hurt like it was going to split open.

Azoth woke up and came to the dining hall.

Everything I had been thinking about telling Azoth just a moment earlier vanished from my head.

Azoth was told about his engagement to Selene-neesama, and he looked so happy. Seeing that made me feel like I was about to cry a little.

Azoth knelt in front of Selene-neesama and made a knight’s vow.

Selene-neesama is taking Azoth from me!!

I had never felt this way before.

I did not want Selene-neesama to take my precious Azoth.

To erase that terrifying future, I immediately knelt in front of Azoth and made a knight’s vow to him. If I did not do that, I felt like I would no longer be able to stay with Azoth.

After that, I stopped wanting to become Azoth’s younger brother.

I want to marry Azoth.

From the day of that baptism ceremony onward, Azoth stayed close to me and taught me all kinds of things.

Language, arithmetic, science, social studies.

Strange knowledge that could not be found in any book in the mansion’s library. Knowledge only Azoth knew.

He taught me as much as he could, all day long.

Apparently, magic had other secrets besides those mysterious chants, and this kind of knowledge was especially useful.

According to Azoth, he could keep protecting Selene-neesama forever, but I would eventually get married and leave, so he would no longer be able to protect me. That was why, in exchange, he said he would teach me everything he knew.

He wanted me to learn the strongest magic I could and gain enough power to protect myself.

He said that was the one and only thing he could do for me right now.

I was happy. Azoth really was kind.

While we were studying, I could stay together with Azoth the whole time, so I wished the two of us could keep studying together for the rest of our lives.

By the way, what was a “rascal”?

I would be happy if it meant beautiful girl.

In the morning, when I woke up, Azoth was sleeping in the bed beside me.

Well, that was normal.

But when I remembered the dream I had just seen, I became so embarrassed I felt like I could die.

Why did I dream about something from when I was that little?

I had to hurry up and drive those dream scenes out of my head.

Even though I tried to force myself to think about something else, for some reason, the scenes from the dream would not leave my mind.

I nearly let out a “Uwaaah!” without thinking.

This was all because of this ring.

Because he suddenly put this ring on the ring finger of my left hand.

Everything was Azoth’s fault.

I tried saying “Hmph” at Azoth in spite, but he was sleeping comfortably, so my restless feelings did not clear up at all.

Now I was mad!

Azoth needed to reflect on his actions a little more.

Why did I have to go through this?

I got irritated and peered at Azoth’s sleeping face, but he was still sound asleep.

Now I was completely mad!

In that case, as punishment, I would kiss Azoth and shame him.

However, since he had not committed a crime severe enough to deserve a kiss on the lips—and because I would be too embarrassed—I would limit the punishment to touching his cheek.

Then, after carrying out the sentence as usual, I kept watching Azoth’s sleeping face until he woke up.

When I woke up, Neon was leaning close and peering into my face like always.

“Good morning, Azoth.”

“Good morning, Neon. You woke me up again this morning, huh? And… I’m sorry I made you angry about the ring yesterday.”

After apologizing once, I sprang out of bed and quickly changed into my uniform.