Chapter 5: Magic manipulation
Translator: Soafp
The day after we started our magic training, I asked my mother about the timing for our daily magic practice.
“Well, how about the time between the end of your nap and dinner?”
It seemed like that was the plan, the time before dinner. Certainly, that time was usually spent idly, with nothing much to do.
And so, after our daily routine of studying and napping, the appointed time arrived.
“Mom, magic!” (Continuing with our training, yay!)
“Mom, magic!”
It seemed like El was looking forward to it as well, as both of us urged our mother enthusiastically.
“Alright, I understand.”
With the momentum from the two of us, our mother responded with a joyful tone.
Half-closing our eyes and relaxing our bodies, just as we were taught yesterday, our vision disappeared, and we could only faintly sense the light. Once we entered a meditative state, we could quickly feel our own magical power.
(Oh, it’s a strange feeling when you feel it again. It’s like being in a drowsy state upon waking up… it’s quite pleasant…)
The comfort was greater than expected, and I almost felt like I could fall asleep.
(No, I can’t fall asleep!)
I roused myself and resumed my magical practice.
(I think Mom said something about moving magic… So, like this? No, that’s not it. How about this? Hmm, it’s moving slowly, but it doesn’t feel like I’m moving it myself. I’ll have to try different things…)
In my attempt to manipulate magic for the first time, I experimented with different methods, but nothing seemed to work well. After about 30 minutes of trying, I couldn’t grasp even the slightest hint of progress.
(It’s tough to learn on my own… I should ask Mom.)
Gradually emerging from my meditative state, I found Elphus, who had been held by mother. It seemed that Elphus had fallen asleep, even though it was right after our nap.
(He fell asleep so quickly?)
For a moment, I found it strange, but then I remembered the magical training I had just experienced.
(That’s right, it’s easy to fall asleep like that.)
While smiling wryly and looking at Elphus’ face, I decided to ask mother the question I had in mind.
“Mom, I can feel the magic now, but it seems to move on its own without my control. Do you have any tips or advice?”
“How did you try to move the magic, Aldo?”
“How? Um, let me think…”
I paused for a moment, then slowly recalled my attempts during the magical practice.
“I tried to make the magic move ‘faster’ and also tried to change its ‘direction,’ but there was no sign of it moving at all.”
My answer seemed to be what my mother expected, and she began to explain with a smile.
“If you do that, the magic won’t move. Let me show you an example, so watch closely.”
Mother held up a single finger, and a faint light began to emanate from it. The light gradually moved towards the tip of her finger and then separated from it. Hovering about 5 cm (2 inch) above her fingertip, the light formed into a small orb.
“Now, I’ll change this into light magic… ‘Light.'”
As she muttered a single word, the faint orb of light suddenly emitted a strong, blinding light.
I instinctively squinted my eyes against the intense brightness.
“How was that? The magic I used for ‘Light’ just now was about as much as the tip of your nail. It seems like you tried to move all your magic at once, but even I can’t do that. Start by trying to move just a tiny bit of magic, and then gradually work your way up to larger amounts.”
I immediately agreed with my mother’s words and decided to put them into practice right away.
I began to move the small amount of magic inside my body. It was truly a tiny amount of magic, akin to a grain of salt or sugar.
Slowly, the magic began to move. However, its movement was sluggish and hesitant.
“Mom, I could make the magic move, but it’s slow and small.”
My mother replied with a wry smile at my words.
“Aldo, you mustn’t rush. This is how everyone learns to control magic.”
“How long does it usually take to get better at it?”
“Well, I could control magic about the size of a fingertip, or maybe as big as a nail’s tip in a week or so. It took that long with the ‘Light’ spell.”
“A whole week, huh? That sounds like quite a bit of time.”
“You know, Al, my master used to say I was a prodigy, like one in a decade or so. So, it might take you a bit longer.”
Mom had a slightly smug expression as she mentioned her past achievements.
While we were having this conversation, El, who was still being held by Mom, slowly woke up.
“Did I fall asleep?”
“Yes, you did. You looked adorable sleeping.”
She gently stroking El’s hair.
As El slowly got up.”
“Nii-sama, did you make progress in your magic training?”
“Just a little bit. I managed to move a very tiny amount of magic”
El seemed surprised that I had managed to move magic, and he asked me to show him how I did it. It was a complete role reversal from yesterday. I gladly accepted his request.
Once again, I started to move a tiny amount of magic, about the size of a grain of sugar, just like before. I moved it up and down, left and right, slowly but with intention.
Suddenly, I felt a touch on my right shoulder. It was probably El. I sensed the space around my right shoulder expanding, creating room for another person’s presence.
I moved my magic into this expanded space and began manipulating it. After a while, I noticed that there was another magic presence in there. It was El’s. It was completely different from yesterday when I was the only one controlling magic.
From then on, our two magic sources interacted with each other. They moved closer, drifted apart, occasionally collided, and sometimes merged. Compared to the initial struggle, controlling magic felt incredibly smooth now. It was like a graceful dance between two entities.
We played like this for a while until we decided to end our practice. As I slowly returned to a waking state, I opened my eyes to see Mom peering at us with a worried expression, as if she was about to cry.
She asked us about our physical condition, just like she did yesterday. Was everything okay? Were we in any pain? Was anything unusual? It was the same routine as before.
I couldn’t quite understand why she was so concerned, but I knew that she was genuinely worried. So, I did my best to reassure her by sharing the details of our practice during meditation.
After I finished explaining everything, Mom started speaking with a difficult look on her face.
“I can’t tell your condition in meditation, and that worries me. Since both of you can control magic now, I’d rather you do your training in a normal state. Starting tomorrow, no more meditating for practice!”
Mom declared this with unwavering determination, leaving no room for objections. Knowing that as long as I could get closer to mastering magic, it was worth it, I obediently agreed to her decision.
After lunch the next day…
“Now! Meditation is forbidden starting today!”
Just like yesterday, my mother declared the prohibition of meditation right away.
“Let’s start by feeling magic without meditating.”
When she says that, she explains the method of training.
“The basics are the same. Keep your eyes open and focus your consciousness inside your body.”
Following Mom’s words, I stood up and tried to focus my consciousness inward, although it felt like I was on the verge of entering meditation.
“Oh! I sort of understand it now.”
I somehow felt the presence of magic. When I looked at El next to me, our eyes met, and it seemed like El was feeling something too.
Feeling mischievous like a child, I tightly held El’s hand and concentrated on sensing the magic within myself.
After a while, I could clearly sense the magic. From there, it was easy. I started moving a single particle of magic within my body.
The magic danced within me… and soon, I felt another particle of magic. It was El’s.
Just like El usually followed me, his magic followed suit. Gradually, the speed increased… Two particles of magic were racing through my body.
From El’s body into mine, and then back again, the two particles of magic freely roamed.
My mother’s voice could be heard.
“Now, let’s move on to the next step.”
While playing with magic, both of us replied in unison,
“Yes, Mom!”
“Yes, Mom!”
The two of us happily answered.
“Both of you, the next step is a bit more challenging. So far, you’ve been moving magic within your bodies, but how about trying to let it out slowly?”
My mother’s words made it clear that we were getting closer to performing magic.
“Now, let me show you an example.”
Just like yesterday, my mother raised one finger.
The finger emitted a vague light, gradually moving towards the tip of her finger…
Then, it detached from her fingertip, forming a small ball of light about 5 centimeters above it. It was the same as yesterday; by changing the properties of this light magic, she could create “Light.”
However, Mom started moving the “ball of light” without completing the spell.
Mom moved the “ball of light” in all directions, sometimes slowly like falling flower petals, and other times quickly like a thrown ball. She manipulated it freely, creating a mesmerizing display.
Suddenly, I noticed that the balls of light multiplied. Two, three, and more appeared, creating a surreal scene as if we were in a dream.
After a while, the balls of light disappeared, and silence filled the room.
“I got a bit carried away.”
Mom’s somewhat clownish voice echoes in the room.
“Both of you, try to move your magic outside your bodies. Once you can do that, the basics of magic manipulation will be complete! Remember, the basics are the most important in anything.”
Hearing that it was just the beginning, we tightened our resolve.
Raising one finger and gathering magic, the tip of our fingers gradually started to glow.
Looking at my glowing finger, a vague memory struck me… Yes, I had seen this before! It was from a show I watched a long time ago! (Thinking about something silly)
I tried several times, but neither I nor El could move magic beyond our fingertips into the air. It was frustrating. Dinner time was approaching, and I held El’s hand, preparing for what would likely be our last attempt at magic manipulation.
“El, this is our last try. Let’s do it together”
El was momentarily surprised by my words.
“Okay.”
When we raised the fingers we were holding together, both of them gradually started to glow. The light slowly moved towards the tips of our fingers, but once again, it wouldn’t move into the air.
I was about to give up when I heard El’s voice.
“Not yet. Just a little more!”
My thoughts stopped for a moment. In the next instant, embarrassment welled up inside me. I had started this magic training, and El had been dragged into it more than halfway. Yet, I had almost given up before him. I couldn’t let my heart be defeated by a four-year-old.
“I can’t give up, especially not in front of El!”
I glanced at El, who was still focused, and concentrated on my fingertips once more. Slowly but surely, the light moved into the air…
Mom, who had been watching beside us, stood up in astonishment.
“Well, you did it for the first time…”
Mother said with a dry laugh.
Honestly, I was mentally exhausted. Without thinking, both El and I collapsed onto the sofa.
Lying on the sofa, facing each other, our faces filled with a sense of accomplishment.
“Well done, El.”
“Yeah! Nii-sama!”
“Both Al and El did a fantastic job,”
Even though Mom had a shocked look on her face, she praised our accomplishments from the bottom of her heart.
“With this, the basics of magic manipulation are complete. From now on, we’ll work on increasing the size of the magic you can use through practice.”
It seems that the practical applications of magic will be learned when we reach the age of ten.
I plan to take it slow and steady as I learn.
Late at night…
Rafina had been pondering the events of the past few days.
“The exchange of magical power between the two of them… elevating the lower one’s abilities to match the higher one’s. It’s as if their magic is resonating. Magic resonance…”
Rafina decided to name the ability Aldo and Elphus were using for transferring magical power “magic resonance.”
“While it doesn’t seem to have any harmful effects… I’m sure it can be applied to magic manipulation as well. Those kids, as long as they’re together, they seem capable of anything. Anyway, magic manipulation is complete. As long as they master the basics, they won’t have any trouble with advanced applications.”
Whether it was a unique ability of Aldo and Elphus or a twin-specific power, Rafina couldn’t help but feel a hint of envy towards the ability she had named “magic resonance.”