kscans

Chapter 272 - The Enchanter Speaks 2. Countermeasures for Accidental Enchantment

For Omo, who had thought it was just a cheeky brat wanting to learn some simple enchanting to show off, Yuri’s words were shocking. What did he mean by ‘safety assurance’?

"First, I’ll tell you about the event that started it all."

With that preface, Yuri told Omo about the incident where his beloved Pestle and Mortar had, at some point, acquired the enchantment of [Disintegrate Acceleration]. He omitted the specific details, only saying that an enchantment had appeared on tools he had been using for a long time...

"Ah... that happens sometimes. It’s barely worthy of the name enchanting, but sometimes an enchantment can gradually take shape over a long period of time."

"Ah... is that so."

"Perhaps you were using it while imagining the desired outcome, wishing for it to be so? It’s a childish thing to call enchanting, but if you were wishing for it over a long time..."

Having spoken this far, Omo showed an expression of uncertainty for the first time. He had said ‘over a long period of time,’ but the person in front of him was clearly a child of about ten. Didn't the phrase ‘a long period of time’ seem far too out of place? If he were exceptionally talented, perhaps he could complete an enchantment in a short time, even without any guidance... no, no, it was too hasty to assume that.

"You don’t have to answer if it’s inconvenient... but what kind of tool was it?"

"Ah, a Grinding Stick and a Grinding Bowl... no, to be precise, it was ‘something like them.’ Since they were handmade by an amateur, they are quite different from what you’d find in town."

Yuri said this coolly, but his accomplices listening from behind couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. It was true that a Pestle and Mortar were similar to a Grinding Stick and Grinding Bowl, and it was also true that they were handmade by Yuri and different from what was sold in the market. However, he hadn't mentioned the strange tools called ‘Pestle and Mortar’ at all, and had given a coherent explanation without telling a single lie. They thought he was bad at playing politics, but to think he could pull off a trick like this...

Meanwhile, Omo was lost in thought after hearing Yuri's answer.

"I see... a Grinding Stick and a Grinding Bowl..."

It was true that a single session with those could be quite long. If he had been wishing for it with single-minded focus, it wouldn't be surprising if a rudimentary enchantment succeeded. Even if this child had no talent, if it had been used since his parents’ time... wait. Didn’t the child say ‘handmade’? A Grinding Stick was one thing, but why would he need to make a Grinding Bowl by hand when he could just buy one?

"I might have misheard, but... did you say the Grinding Bowl was handmade?"

"I did. It’s a bit difficult to obtain in the village where I live."

"Difficult to obtain...?"

Just as Omo was about to ask what kind of countryside he lived in, Yuri preempted him with the answer.

"I live on Salt-Sour Mountain."

"Salt-Sour Mountain!?"


"...To think you’ve been living on Salt-Sour Mountain, and all alone... for five years..."

He himself hadn't lived a peaceful and tranquil life up to his age. He had a certain pride in having been tossed about by the ‘rough waves of life.’ But what was that pride now? The boy before him was a warrior who had survived the ‘tempestuous storm’ of that magical realm, all alone, for five years before even turning ten. He was too ashamed to look down on him.

"I was able to come to Laurenzen this time thanks to Adon-san’s kindness, but I’ve never had such an opportunity before."

No wonder Helman and Inba’s explanations had been brief and to the point. It wasn't something they could casually spread around, and before that, they probably weren't sure if anyone would even believe it. He himself wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't heard the rumor of the ‘mysterious boy from the mountains’ a while ago. That rumor itself was quite something, but since both Adon and Inba were vouching for this child, it couldn't be a complete fabrication. ...Though a part of him felt that his own mental health would have been better off if it had been a lie.

"...So, what do you want to know? You were saying something about safety assurance?"

"Ah, yes. The thing is..."

Yuri’s concern was about the danger of his everyday items having enchantments placed on them without his knowledge! Omo was about to collapse from the absurdity of it, but after hearing Yuri’s explanation, he could only hold his head and groan. ...Could anyone have ever considered the possibility of a Heating Enchantment being unknowingly placed on one's futon, causing them to be steamed in their sleep? Even for Omo, with his long career as an Enchanter, it was an ‘accident’ he had never heard of before... but just because he had never heard of it didn't mean he could declare it would never happen in the future. What's more, considering the track record of the boy before him, who had achieved an ‘enchantment’ in an unintended way, that concern could not be laughed off as baseless... it couldn't.

Now he understood why Yuri was pleading for ‘safety assurance.’

"So... I was wondering if an Enchanter might know a way to avoid such ‘Accidental Enchantments.’"

"A way to avoid ‘Accidental Enchantments,’ eh..."

This was an accident case he had never heard of not only in his long life as an Enchanter, but also not from his master. Omo tilted his head, but as someone who called himself an Enchanter, he couldn't very well say he didn't know when asked for guidance on enchanting. What's more, this was a matter that could, if things went wrong, involve a person’s life.

"And, if I can use enchanting, even if it’s just a semblance of it, I’d like to be able to."

When told something like, "On Salt-Sour Mountain, you can't survive unless you deal with everything earnestly," he couldn't very well say no to that either.

Therefore, Omo pondered deeply, struggled mightily, and finally...

"I’ve never thought about it before, but... that’s right. Looking back on my own experience, I suppose I did have that kind of mindset before performing a spell. ...In the sense of a mindset different from my usual one."

By repeatedly approaching the work with a sort of ritualized procedure, he could establish a kind of safety device where he would not perform an enchantment without that procedure. Omo's advice was something like that, and it had a persuasiveness that made even Yuri think, "I see." At the very least, reconsidering his current vague and aimless method did not seem like a bad thing.

Now then, a question he wanted to ask again came into focus.

"It seems a bit late to ask, but... what exactly is enchanting?"