The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

I was happy just to have my mother.

I had no one I could call a father for as long as I can remember.

But I never felt lonely because I had you.

"Don't be like me. ......"

It is a memory of that day two years ago.

The last conversation we had when she met me a few days before she went to sleep.

Tears streamed down her face as she hugged me gently, as if this was our last goodbye.

"Mom?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. ...... I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

Slowly, with her hands on my shoulders, she pulled away, wiped away her tears, and looked at me with eyes that showed her extraordinary determination.

"Amako, you shouldn't be here. If you stay here, you will never be able to live a normal life or be happy. ......"

"eh ......"

"Don't say anything now. This is your last chance to tell me what you've done, now that no one is watching."

I didn't know what it meant.

There is nothing wrong with my life now, and I have no reason to leave.

I don't understand why I have to leave.

"You have no future here. But it's out there. So you'll live in a new place."

"...... you're going, too, right, Mom?"

She smiles sadly at my words.

"I'm sorry, I can't go with you. I have things to do here."

"What are you ......?"

It's important. Don't worry, you're a strong girl. You'll find someone you can trust with all your heart.

Mom's words had a tone of conviction.

That was the last conversation we had two years ago.

Her face was sad, but her concern for my wellbeing was as kind as ever.

I was so happy to see her.

"Amako, I'm home."

"......"

I was woken up by Nea's brainy voice coming in through the high window.

It was not a prediction, but a dream of what had happened two years ago.

Rubbing my eyes, I got up from the futon and turned my attention to Neah, who had moved to the perch the caretaker had prepared for her.

"How was it?"

"Usato and Aruk knew exactly what they were doing."

"Yes. That's good."

I was hardly worried, though.

I had no doubt that Usato would realize that I was lying.

"Nair gave me a rough time, but it was a good experience.

"There's something thorny about the way you say it. ....... Are you still bitter about me?

"I don't care now."

He doesn't say it out loud, but he really doesn't care because he is quite sorry.

In fact, I am glad that Nair is here in this situation.

Without Nair, I would not have been able to act so freely.

"So, even though I came to help her, that creature removed her fetters by force and said she was able to escape on her own. ...... She's so fluent that she doesn't even know how hard we've had to work.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if Usato could escape, let alone Aruk-san. ......"

"Yes, but you know what?

He's even more polished after his fight with Mr. Karon in Mearaq.

The fact that Jinya didn't know Usato well enough to begin with is the key to the whole plan.

No, it's impossible to assume that a human being, whose physical ability is usually inferior to that of a beastman, can move in such an unorthodox manner.

"He seemed to have caught on to your lie right away. And he was more perceptive than most people can imagine."

"That's true. I said it in a way that only Usato and Mr. Aruk, who have traveled together, would understand."

From the outside, it would have sounded like I was telling Usato and the others to go home in despair over the foreknowledge. In fact, Jinya, who heard my false prediction, was fooled by it, and he brought Usato and me together.

But the real reason for this was to tell Usato and the others that we were going to fight Jinya head-on.

"Jinya called our relationship fragile. But those words will not sway our 'until now'."

Do you know how many hardships we have gone through?

Nair set an evil dragon on us.

In Samaritan, we worked to break the curse.

In Mearaq, we fought to stop the dragon man, Mr. Karon, from running amok.

All of these incidents were very difficult, but we cooperated and helped each other along the way.

"How can I say this, we trust each other. ......"

What are you talking about?　You're the same way with Nair."

Nair muttered something about something else, and I responded to her in an exasperated manner.

Nair, who had her beak in a daze at my words, immediately smiled in a funny way.

"That's right. What am I talking about?

"So you finally not only look like a bird, you're a bird in the head?"

"That's rude!　I'll peck you!

I smiled at Nair, who spread his wings to show his anger and began to swipe at me with his beak.

But this is no time for friendly conversation, so I quickly change the subject.　　

"By the way, did you get permission from Usato?"

"Yes. Yes. I have already sucked the blood from your guard and your maidens. No one will hear or notice our conversation until it's time for us to switch.

"......Nea is pretty much what you say about Usato. If you ask me, Nair is more dangerous than Usato.

It is truly amazing to be able to increase the number of people you can manipulate in the blink of an eye, even though you are bound to do so without anyone noticing.

Nair's lips twitched a little, as if she was not convinced by my words.

"It's not that kind of a panacea. It takes a lot of magic to control them, and I myself have to suck their blood and make them suggest themselves to me.　So it's not like I can manipulate so many at once.

"...... I see."

"Yes, so you have to think about when to use it. Usato is rather worse. He seems harmless enough in normal circumstances, but once he shows his true nature he'll hit you with his healing magic. And with my speed and strength that are beyond human, I'm still a pretty little thing compared to such a monster."

I guess it goes both ways.

But Nair wasn't just making suggestions without thinking: .......

I can't say the same for you, but you have a frightening ability.

"Well, leave it to me to work behind the scenes. I'll remind Jinya who she's pissed off and who she's made enemies with."

"......Yes, please."

Maybe Nair is also mad about this whole thing.

There is no reason for Nair to take it easy on Jinya, a man who is trapped by unreasonableness and refuses to keep even the minimum promise.

Besides, I think Nair himself is fond of Usato.

He will never tell Usato about it, though. ...... I can't speak for others either.

"Oh, and by the way, I've seen your mother.

"!　How was it?"

"I checked again, but I still don't feel the magic. It was unnatural.

I can't feel the magic.

It is safe to say that magic does not exist in your mother now.

"There are two possibilities. Either the magic itself has disappeared from her body, or the magic has been transferred to another place just like it was there. I believe it is the latter.

The magic has been transferred.

There is only one reason that comes to mind.

Is it really because of the Twa?

Not all of it, but it seems to be part of it. Since it is a magical tool for transferring precognition magic in the first place, and since it is said to be incomplete, it would not be surprising if the part that controls Kanoko's own magical power itself was pulled out due to some adverse effect.

I have never thought about what happens when a person runs out of magic.

It's not the same as losing magic by consuming it.

Besides--

"...... Mom is still in her body. She may not wake up, but she's alive in that body."

When Usato tried to heal Mom by strengthening her lineage, Mom's words flowed into his head through his body.

Mom's voice was reaching us with a certain intention.

"I heard her voice through Usato, too. It's hard to believe it for sure."

"......I couldn't believe it either. I hadn't heard my mother's voice in two years. ......

I was so shocked that I couldn't even move when Jinya and the others attacked.

"I never understood why my mother stopped waking up. When I heard that no matter what I did she wouldn't wake up, I told myself that she had a serious illness, and I looked for a healing wizard who could ...... manage the illness."

When I came back here I finally understood.

< and heard about Jinya, who was so proud of using her mother's precognition magic.

"But in reality, I was wrong. Mom is not sick. She was forced to move the toys. She was forced into a situation where she had to do it, so she activated it herself."

"...... a situation where you have to move an unfinished magical tool...... if that's why your mother does it."

"I know."

Nair's words are interrupted.

Here I am, looking at a part of my mother's memory and I finally know the reason for her words and tears.

"Two years ago, it was me who moved <>. Mom took her place instead of me to stop it. ......"

"He's the only one who could have made me do that. ......"

"Jinya, the man who had the power since then."

It is truly chilling to think that if I had stayed in the land of the beastmen, I would have been treated as a component to move .

But more than that, I was angry.

Mom must have been trying to create a for me and for the wizards who would be born later. She twisted the way it was, tried to make it her own power, and sacrificed even my mother in the end.

To be honest, I'm really angry right now.