Sara-chan's Magic Practice and the Secret of Incantations Taught by Omake-sama

Cleaning, laundry, this and that; the days of a maid apprentice are whizzing by in a blur.

Honestly, my first impression was that this mansion wasn't that big, but I've realized that keeping it sparkling clean (and with so few people) is actually an incredible amount of work.

According to Maid-senpai, even out here in the remote countryside, unexpected guests can still drop by, so the mansion has to be kept clean and ready for them, or else the other nobles will make fun of the baron.

Fueee.

Is that like a nobility pride thing?

How tedious.

Well, even if I think that, I'll do the cleaning seriously, because it's my job.

Now, since Maid-senpai is also in charge of the cooking, she's currently holed up in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Normally, wouldn't people hire a cook for this kind of thing?

<Well, I imagine that's the norm...... but since they're poor, I suppose that's just one of the areas where the baron compromised?>

I don't really care about the compromise, but honestly, isn't Maid-senpai overworking herself a bit too much?

Well, she looks fine, so I want to believe there's no problem.

At the very least, I'll do my best so that Senpai can take it easy during the month I'm here.

Oh, by the way, I was resolutely forbidden from entering the kitchen.

Something about how they can't just let a newcomer who arrived yesterday into the kitchen.

Apparently, that's just how it is.

So, after parting ways with Senpai, I followed her instructions and spent some time weeding around the mansion with the other servant, Uncle Mauve.

He's, you know, that guy. The plain guy who drove the carriage yesterday.

He has a gentle face and seems kind, but there's a vacant quality to him that makes me feel a bit uneasy.

Just a moment ago, while weeding, he accidentally pulled up some medicinal herbs Madam had planted and got chewed out big time by the mean-eyed old butler guy, who came flying over.

The sections were clearly marked out with stones and such, so how do you even make that mistake?

Come to think of it, this old guy was also breaking plates during breakfast this morning.

Is he even suited for servant work?

He looked so depressed that I gave his lower back a few encouraging pats, but the old guy got spooked and jumped away from me, trying to wipe the spot I touched with his handkerchief over and over.

........................

Ah, sorry, old guy, I touched you with my hands right after cleaning.

“EMIIIII! EMIIIII! WHERE AAAARE YOUUU!?”

Oops, that cute yet noisy shouting is Sara-chan.

When I look up, she's leaning out of the window of the upstairs study room, looking for me.

Ah, that's dangerous, Sara-chan. You'll die if you fall.

<If that child has also undergone cliff-jumping training like Emi, then perhaps?>

Perhaps nothing. Like there'd ever be a noble young lady who does that.

I can't let her keep doing dangerous things, so I quickly move under the window.

“Ah! Emi! I'm going to practice magic now! I'm going outside with Mother, so I want you to wait for me at the entrance!”

Having said only that, Sara-chan pulled herself back into the room.

I can hear a dotabata sound. It seems she's started preparing to go outside.

I can also hear Madam scolding Sara-chan, things like “Don't shout!” and “Don't run!”

Sara-chan's road to becoming a lady is still infinitely long.

Seriously, hang in there, Madam.

◇ ◇ ◇

And so, I am now at the magic practice grounds behind the mansion with Sara-chan and Madam.

Calling it a practice ground is a bit of a stretch; it's just a mown field with some targets placed in it.

There's a forest beyond the field, and assassins after the baronial house could be hiding in it...... maybe, so I was keeping a sharp lookout as I watched Sara-chan's magic practice.

“‘O water bullet, come forth, and pierce my foe! 【Water Bullet】!’”

Sara-chan points at the target with her index finger and chants something, and a small ball of water appears at her fingertip.

The ball of water went shooting toward the target...... or rather, it didn't; it just plopped to the ground and left a small wet spot.

“Mmm~...... It's not working......”

“Concentrate more, won't you? What matters is chanting the incantation while you hold a clear image in mind. ‘O water bullet, come forth, and pierce my foe! 【Water Bullet】!’”

Madam's ball of water flies straight at the target and hits it with a loud noise.

With that kind of power, it won't kill anyone, but it'd be plenty good for making them flinch or holding them off.

This 【Water Bullet】 spell is actually the very first magic the children of this country's nobility learn, the most basic of the basic. It's meant for self-defense, apparently.

......Anyway, Omake-sama.

I have a question.

<Yes, what is it, Emi?>

I've already learned 【Ignition】, 【Desiccation】, 【Water Collection】...... all that so-called life magic, from you, Omake-sama, right.

<Yes, yes.>

The magic I've used until now didn't need an incantation like that, right?

And yet Sara-chan and Madam are mumbling incantations, right?

What exactly is a magic incantation?

<......To put it simply, a magic incantation is a password for connecting to the ‘magic assistance system’ the God of Magic created. I saw it on a documentary program called ‘The Gods' Challenge’.>

S, system? Password?

<That's right. Magic power manipulation is difficult, isn't it? So the God of Magic created a system to assist with it, so that anyone could use magic. A system where, if you chant a phrase the God of Magic registered in advance, a spell of a fixed, standard type activates.>

Assisting magic power manipulation with a system!?

<Yes. Thanks to that, once the system went live, the number of magic users grew to 50 times what it had been, and on the strength of that achievement, the God of Magic shot straight up from a lower god to a higher god......>

Wait wait wait!?

So, like, take 【Ignition】, right, I had a really hard time learning it, right!?

If I had just used the correct incantation to use 【Ignition】, I could have used it without much effort!?

<Well, that's essentially it.>

Ehhh~~!?

Then you should have just told me that incantation~~!!

<............ I am sorry, but I cannot do that.>

Eh?

<That system basically assumes the users are humans. It's a system that connects to a human soul to assist with magic power manipulation.>

I'm a human too!?

<But, inside of you is me, the ‘Vessel of a God’.>

Ah......?

<Therefore, if you tried to mimic that incantation, the system would undoubtedly bug out.>

Bug out!?

<To put it bluntly, if you chanted and used magic, you would explode and die instantly.>

Scary!!?

<So you must never, ever chant anything, all right, Emi?>

W, wow, so that's how it is~......

The world really doesn't want to let me have it easy, does it~......

<Well, look at it another way, Emi. It's a good thing! Because you can't use the system, you've gotten to hone your magic power manipulation technique! Magic that leaves everything to the system is inflexible in all sorts of ways, after all; if you can, it's far better to do the magic power manipulation yourself.>

I guess......

Well, I guess so.

Just looking at casting speed, for example, not having to mumble a chant makes chantless magic way faster, so there are upsides.

<Speed isn't the only upside. Using less magic power is another.>

Is that so?

<Using the system consumes extra magic power compared to not using it. That's because the God of Magic collects it in the name of system maintenance...... but rumor has it that hardly any of that magic power goes into improving the system; it goes straight into the God of Magic's pocket. Apparently that god is raking it in and loving it. Since the God of Magic has a monopoly on the magic concession, that god gets singled out for criticism in the Divine Realm all the time.>

......M, magic incantations, that's all I asked about, and somehow I've learned way more than I ever wanted to know about concession politics in the Divine Realm......

◇ ◇ ◇

Now then, now then.

While enjoying this mental conversation with Omake-sama, I'm by no means letting my guard down.

There are no suspicious figures in the forest, and I hear no strange noises other than the cries of animals. No particular problems so far.

Rather, the problem is the face of Sara-chan, who is rolling around at my feet, looking like she's about to throw up from magic depletion.

When the magic power in your body becomes extremely low, you get nauseous and unable to move like this.

If you end up in this state in a forest or mountain, it's a guaranteed course to be tortured to death by monsters, so I always keep an eye on my remaining magic power in my daily life to make sure that doesn't happen.

The only time it was seriously bad was probably when I fought the giant snake.

“......Ugh, urp...... oe, o, a...... haaaah......”

Yes, yes, take deep breaths, Sara-chan.

Suu~, haa~, suu~, haa~.

I rub the back of the pink-haired girl, who is suffering with an idiot face no beautiful girl should ever make. Rub rub.

“Honestly, I'm always telling you that magic isn't something that activates just by pouring in magic power, aren't I?”

Madam, acting as the instructor, has an exasperated look.

Ah, Madam, who is apparently a genuine, born-and-bred noble, says she's not capable of fighting, but she knows and can use a full range of magic incantations.

Knowing magic incantations seems to be part of the basic education every noble is expected to have.

The main reason Madam wants Sara-chan to learn magic seems to lie there.

“B, but...... urp...... I don't know what to do, to make it work...... so there, phew......”

Sara-chan can manage to create the water sphere, but from there, she can't seem to launch it toward the target.

And because she's frustrated that she can't do it, she practiced stubbornly, and as a result, she hit magic depletion and collapsed.

Hmm, but why isn't it working?

Since she's chanting correctly, the “magic assistance system” should be operating normally, and it wouldn't be strange for the magic to succeed, right?

<That's probably because, as Madam said, she isn't able to form a proper image of the magic. After all, the system only provides assistance with magic power manipulation. If the user cannot clearly imagine the magic they want to use, and doesn't have the magic power corresponding to the magic they want to use, the magic cannot be used even with the system.>

Mumu, an image, huh......

<Also, the fact that Sara Salar, the baron's daughter, has a distractible personality is a problem. You can't thread a needle while looking away, can you?>

When you put it that way, it sounds like magic is a total pipe dream for Sara-chan, idiot that she is right now.

Settle down a little, Sara-chan.

So it's like, if you want to use magic, be a lady first?

“Hey, hey, Emi, you can use magic too, right? I want to see Emi's magic!”

Uh-oh? Sara-chan has perked up a little after her rest and started saying weird stuff.

<She's distracted again. She probably wants a change of pace.>

“You used magic when you saved us, didn't you? The thieves were saying that! I didn't get a good look at that magic! That's why I want to see it!”

Hmm, even if you say that......

It's true that I think I can handle magic power manipulation reasonably well.

So, in the original sense, it wouldn't be wrong to say I can use magic.

But for Sara-chan and Madam, I think magic means the kind that ‘activates when you chant’.

If that's the case, I can't use magic.

Apparently, if I chant, I'll explode and die.

“I want to see it! I want to see it! I want to see Emi's magic~~!”

Aah! Geez, you're noisy, Sara-chan!

Stop lying on your back and flailing your arms and legs!

Look, Madam's forehead has a vein popping! Notice it, Sara-chan!

Fine, it can't be helped. Then behold, my magic!

I plunge my right hand deep into the ground and grab a clump of earth as usual.

Then I squeeze it tight.

Here, 【Solidification】!

I perform magic power manipulation to make the pebble as hard as possible.

Look closely, Sara-chan! I'm using magic right now!

Then, I take the completed pebble and, with all my might, 【Stone Throw】 it toward the target!

Of course, I don't forget to apply 【Body Strengthening】.

The pebble, which shot from my palm at an abnormal speed, hit the target and without losing momentum, mowed down several trees in the forest beyond the field.

Amid the thunderous roar, the forest trees topple, mishi mishi.

Sara-chan is staring at me with a blank face, and Madam is staring at me while looking pale.

“......I showed her. My magic.”

How was it? Young miss.

Are you satisfied?

“......I don't think that's magic......”

No, it's magic, probably. In the original sense.

“......I don't think that's magic......”

Even Madam! But well, I suppose it can't be helped that she has that impression.

After that, the mean-eyed old butler guy, who came flying out of the mansion at the roar, gave me a long, nasty, nitpicking chewing-out, and today's magic practice session came to an end.

Past chapter 50, and only now does the lore on magic incantations show up. In a story about a world of swords and magic......

Well, since “being able to chant = having an education,” it's only natural that Emi-chan, who lived in the wild, had no opportunity to encounter it, right?

Ah, also, I added magic incantation descriptions for Caro-chan.