by Shouji Gatou
“That’s right, she should have enough animus. Here’s something to look at.” Obiza pulled an object from his doctor’s bag. It looked like an old-fashioned thermometer, except that the liquid in the tube was blue. “This here’s an animometer,” he explained. “It measures the animus in a given location.”
The name was a little on the nose, but this wasn’t Seiya’s first time seeing one; they’d been installed here and there around Maple Castle.
“The animometer reads approximately 3800 mieverts where we stand. According to the MHO, this means ‘animus is abundant, and you can enjoy a healthy day.’”
“MHO?” Seiya questioned.
“Magical Health Organization. It’s an international body of the magical realm,” Isuzu explained.
“What are mieverts?” Seiya asked again.
“A unit of measurement,” she told him. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I can’t help it,” Seiya muttered. “They sound like units of radiation...”
“The point is, your castle is well stocked with animus. But according to this nitmus paper...” Obiza took out a band-aid-sized strip of red paper. It must have been used already, because two-thirds of the paper had turned blue. “You see this blue part here? That indicates a lack of animus in the patient.”
“I see...” Seiya said thoughtfully. “Say, what’s the deal with that paper? How do you use it?”
“She puts it in her mouth. Then we wait three minutes and see if the red part changes color, fumo.” This time, it was Moffle who explained.
“You’re saying Latifah had that in her mouth?” Seiya clarified.
“Yes, fumo. ...Wait a minute, fumo. You weren’t thinking about taking it, were you?!”
“Don’t be stupid!” Seiya retorted. “It’s this old man I’m worried about.”
“Moffu. Now that you mention it...”
Obiza flushed suddenly. “H-How dare you! It’s true that the testing paper is soaked with the princess’s precious saliva... But I was going to dispose of it as medical waste. I sure wasn’t going to seal it away, take it home, display it on my home altar, and shave away a millimeter a day to add to my tea while occasionally licking it myself!”
“Give that to me. I’ll dispose of it myself.” Isuzu snatched the paper from Obiza’s hand.
“Ah. ...You damned whippersnapper,” Obiza complained. “Why’d you have to ruin it?!”
“Shut up!” Seiya exploded. “Why are you always a creep about everything?”
“You were going to abuse it, fumo!”
“It’s not abuse!” Obiza protested. “It’s recycling!”
“Just get on with the explanation!”
“Ugh... Ah, right. ...Anyway, the area is full of animus, yet the princess herself remains deficient. All the tests I’ve run come to that same conclusion.”
“But why?” Seiya wondered. Wasn’t recouping her lost animus why they put Latifah in AmaBri in the first place? If it wasn’t really helping, then nothing Seiya could do really mattered.
“Can’t say as I know,” Obiza shrugged. “What I do know is that the animus deficiency is what triggers the memory reset. The curse is involved, but my impression is that... it’s an automatic reaction.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The memory reset is a side effect of the curse. That much is clear. But it follows, to me, that the reset could have been programmed into the curse as a sort of safety mechanism. Blocking her growth with a reset prevents over-weakening due to the animus deficiency. I believe the lack of a physical reset in this case is evidence of that. But if she keeps losing animus at this rate, her physical body may reset as well.”
“So she’s in purgatory, fumo...” Moffle’s paws began trembling with anger.
“I can’t say what that magician was after when he did this,” Obiza went on, “but it seems the princess weakening and dying wasn’t it.”
“......”
“Now, here’s what that means,” Obiza said, clearing his throat. “It means our problem right now isn’t the curse. What we need to learn is, why is the princess is suddenly so lacking in animus?”
“Do you have a way to find that out?” Seiya asked.
“I believe so.” Obiza pulled a new tool out of his bag. It looked like a pair of old goggles, the leather type with thick glass lenses frequently seen in old biker movies. “These are Umbra Glasses. Like it says on the tin, they let you see umbra.”
“Umbra?” Seiya asked again.
“It means the shadow world,” Isuzu helped.
Another new term. This was all getting more and more confusing. “The shadow world is, um... is that different from your magical realms?”
“Yes,” Obiza explained. “Our magical realms exist elsewhere entirely. Umbra is sort of the underside of the mortal realm; it’s all around us right now, you just can’t usually see it.”
“I don’t understand,” Seiya insisted.
“You stubborn little... You know, if you’re already like this as a young’un, you’ll wind up in trouble later in life. You’ll be the old man who doesn’t know how to use a smartphone, and has to bug his grandkids for help instead.”
“Nobody asked you!”
“Hmm. I know, fumo. To put umbra into terms a mortal can understand... it’s like the world you see through infrared goggles, fumo.”
“Is it that simple?” Seiya asked, feeling suspicious.
“Moffu. You know how certain birds and insects can perceive ultraviolet light? It’s like that.”
“Hmm...” Seiya felt like he was getting the idea. “So, what good will those glasses do?”
“Seeing umbra will let us search for traces left by the princess’s soul.”
“Huh?” Seiya was confused again.
The others spent the next thirty minutes offering various circuitous explanations, through which Seiya more or less finally worked it out. Their world (in other words, the mortal realm) was full of invisible magical energy (animus?). Umbra Glasses would let him see that energy as part of the visual spectrum. The “shadow world” was a place where the distribution of that energy could be perceived. In that sense, Moffle’s infrared goggles metaphor was probably the most useful one.
In the shadow world, one could see the movements and flows of animus; locations where they were strong, and ones where they were weak. In other words, it could reveal objects in an area to which humans were especially attached, and the actions they took around them. Obiza’s assumption was that by looking around Latifah’s usual living area with Umbra Glasses, they might be able to find the source of her animus deficiency.
Apparently, with sufficient training, certain magicians could see umbra on their own. Sadly, Obiza wasn’t one of them; neither were Izusu or Moffle. The Umbra Glasses could compensate for that, but they had their own drawbacks.
“Using the glasses requires a great deal of magical power,” Obiza said. “I can only use them for about five seconds, and that leaves me exhausted. I can’t use them again without a whole day’s rest.”
Seiya asked what would happen if Moffle or Isuzu used them, but unfortunately, their usage time would be similar. Their relative youth might let them use them a little longer, but not significantly so.
“Moffu. I trained in my army days to use some powerful magical weapons... You still think it’s beyond me, fumo?”
“It is,” Obiza confirmed. “The mana they employ is different from those of weapons... I’ve never served in a military, but I’m told that a warrior’s mana and a seeker’s mana are different kinds of things.”
“Ahh. Yes... I see, fumo.” It seemed something a bit like RPG classes applied; Moffle and Isuzu were both soldiers, so they weren’t specialized for this particular tool. That meant they had a solution (of a sort) but no one to use it. They were completely at a loss.
Seiya asked a question. “Could I use them, then?”
Obiza immediately shook his head. “No, no. You’re a mortal. You don’t have any mana, a
nd no power to perceive it.”
“Wait.” Isuzu gasped. “Seiya-kun is no ordinary mortal. He was given magic by the princess.”
“Moffu! Isuzu?!” Moffle scolded her. Seiya’s magic was generally a guarded secret. Apparently, it was politically controversial for the Maple Land royal family (it was bestowed with a kiss, after all), and Moffle was probably worried about the danger it could cause if an outsider like Obiza heard about it.
“There’s no point in hiding it from Dr. Obiza now,” she replied. “His sexual harassment is disgusting and I want to kill him for it, but he does have talent as a doctor.”
“Moffu... well, you’re right about that...”
“I’m not fond of the way you just referred to me... But is that true? Do you have... er... the royal magic?!” Obiza’s voice cracked with excitement.
Seiya’s mortal understanding of the situation was lacking, but apparently the magic he’d been given was powerful enough to shock the old oni. “Yeah,” he answered. “Is it... really that impressive?”
“Of course it is!” Obiza gasped. “You actually k-k-k-k-kissed that beautiful princess?!”
“That’s the big deal?!” Seiya asked.
“Die!” Obiza wailed. “You need to die!”
“Moffu,” Moffle agreed. “I’ve been waiting a chance to kill him myself, fumo...”
“Hey,” Seiya objected.
“Kidding, fumo.”
“You don’t look like you’re kidding to me...” Seiya muttered.
That’s when Isuzu brought out the musket. “Enough. We’re talking about Seiya-kun’s magic. Well?”
“Hmm. Well, I’ve got to say, it’s my first time meeting someone with royal magic... I don’t know much about it.” Obiza folded his arms and fell into thought.
“Is it really that impressive?” Seiya asked again.
“Moffu,” Moffle affirmed. “I never asked what kind of magic you got, but it’s likely powerful, whatever it is.”
That was right. Moffle still knew nothing about Seiya’s magic. He’d never tried to ask him, either. He’d probably judged, based on Isuzu’s behavior, that it was none of his business... in which case, it wasn’t right to pry. People (well, fairies) like Moffle were capable of making sensible calls like that. Of course, he was right to do so; Seiya wasn’t planning on using his magic to find out what was on Moffle’s mind. He could usually tell what the old bastard was thinking even without it, and if he did use his magic on Moffle... it would only be after the trust between them was completely destroyed. That probably wasn’t happening any time soon. Any time soon, anyway...
“It’s been said that those with royal magic have incredible mana,” Obiza mused. “But like I said before, there are different types of mana, and without any training at all... hmm...”
“Why don’t we just test it, then?” Seiya said. “Hand them over.”
“Ah?” Obiza was reluctant.
The conversation was going nowhere, so Seiya just snatched up the Umbra Glasses and tried them on. “Oh...” Moffle’s comparison to infrared goggles was accurate indeed; the minute he put on the glasses, the colors in the world around him changed. It wasn’t monochrome; it was all in cool colors. The places rich with magic were the closest to warm, but those without it were dark or black. Other than that, though, it looked just like their world. White outlines highlighted the plants and flagstones of the rooftop garden. Isuzu, Moffle, and Obiza were distinguished by yellow outlines.
“Can you see?” Isuzu’s silhouette said, emitting a vaguely yellow light.
“Yeah. You, Moffle, and the doctor are... yellow. And the doctor’s bag is glowing really brightly. It must be from the magic items in there, huh?”
The yellow light from the three grew brighter, merging together in Seiya’s vision. “The light just got stronger... Were you surprised?”
“Yes,” Isuzu told him, “very surprised.”
“Hmm. It’s interesting... some of the trees here are brighter or dimmer... That’s the tree Latifah prunes a lot, right? And it’s... yeah, it’s brighter than the other trees...” Objects that people had attachments to shone brighter, just as Obiza had said.
Since Seiya could still make out the shape of objects around him, he could walk without tripping. He passed through the rooftop garden to look down from the railing over Sorcerer’s Hill. “Wow... I can really see the difference in popularity between the attractions. The House of Sweets is... yeah, go figure, it’s the brightest... It’s all pretty much in line with the data, so it’s not exactly educational... but it’s definitely interesting.”
“Seiya-kun.”
“Aquario’s bright, too, but the color is a little different,” he continued. “I wonder why that is... Actually, all the attractions are different colors... I wonder if it represents the different kinds of fun the guests have there...”
“Seiya-kun,” Isuzu repeated. Her voice was serious.
Seiya snapped out of his fascination. “What’s wrong?”
“Well, you’ve been wearing the glasses for over thirty seconds. Are you still all right?”
Seiya finally realized it, now that she’d mentioned it. “Yeah, I am.”
“You’re not tired?” she pressed.
“Not especially,” he told her. “...Is that strange?”
Isuzu didn’t respond, but turned to Dr. Obiza. Well, at least, it appeared to him that she had— in actuality, what he saw was her yellow light growing a little stronger and turning toward Obiza’s light.
“Well, that proves it,” Obiza observed. “The young man really does have royal magic.”
“Moffu. He’s likely a seeker type, fumo. Now, I won’t pry any further than that...”
“Yes,” Isuzu agreed. “It seems we’ll just have to leave this to him.”
Seiya took off the magic goggles, and the world went back to normal.
Latifah was sleeping in her bedroom. She seemed to be in such a deep slumber that there was no need to worry about waking her up. Given what Obiza had said, she was probably more exhausted than she looked.
“Latifah...” The bandage was still on her forehead. It felt to Seiya like the last remaining bond between them.
Seiya was alone in the room with her. The presence of Obiza, Isuzu, and Moffle would add static to the umbra, so they’d been told to keep their distance and remain silent. Thus, they had left the castle to wait in the general affairs building.
Seiya looked at the clock: 11:30 PM. The park was quiet. The residential and business districts were far away, which helped preserve the silence.
Let’s go... he thought, and then put on the Umbra Glasses.
In an instant, Latifah’s form changed to a yellow silhouette. He could see traces of yellow here and there around her, too. Things she used often glowed the same color: The bedroom dresser, the wardrobe, the record player and records...
But those weren’t the only bright lights he saw. The parlor and the kitchen, the rooftop garden... They all glowed with the light of things dear to her.
He’d thought that if he could see what occupied Latifah’s mind, he could find the source of her memory reset—or at least, a hint to its whereabouts. He’d been naive. There was nothing here that would fit the bill; Latifah’s life in Maple Castle was peaceful and mundane. She had a specific routine, and there was nothing he could see that was out of the ordinary.
Wait... Suddenly, he saw something shining brighter than anything else. Points of light leading out of her bedroom, like footprints... Yes, they were definitely footprints... small, adorable footprints dotting the floor. Seiya decided to follow them. As he did, gradually, they became something more: a vague silhouette of her form walking just in front of him. The silhouette picked up the phone in the living room. It seemed to talk about something, and moments later, its entire form seemed to glow brighter. When had this happened?
After hanging up the phone, she returned to the bedroom and started getting changed. (It was just a hazy silhouette, so he didn�
��t feel like watching her was inappropriate.) She changed her outfit several times. It was like she couldn’t figure out what to wear, but at the same time, she was clearly enjoying the process. At last, she finished changing and left the room.
In the parlor, a Mogute-shaped shadow arrived and handed her something. It looked like a ball of green light, but Seiya knew at once that it was the Gulley Suit LT.
He was starting to understand what he was seeing. These were Latifah’s actions yesterday; the events leading up to the date were playing out as animus shadows before his eyes.
Led along by the Mogute, Latifah headed for the castle elevator, and traveled south down the underground passageway. Seiya followed. He felt a bit nervous about spending too long in this “shadow world” the glasses revealed to him. He thought several times about taking them off, but the thought that he might lose sight of her stopped him.
Her shadow continued down the passage. Occasionally, she passed another member of the cast, but nobody recognized her. Each time this happened, her silhouette glowed with joy.
She really does like her pranks, I guess... he thought. He’d only recently become aware of this aspect of her. Latifah loved harmless pranks, outsmarting people, and spooking them.
Predictably, the two silhouettes finally came to to the Entrance Square cast door. Latifah’s entered the shop and spoke to Seiya. ...The shadow of Seiya from yesterday, that is. She handed him his transformation item; Seiya changed his appearance, and the two began to walk around together.
Her shadow sparkled with joy and anticipation; it was the strongest light of any he’d seen so far. He wondered why she was so happy about going around the park with him— it made him a little self-conscious, really.
The date continued to proceed as expected. But at this rate... Following her shadow was intriguing, to be sure, but Seiya was starting to feel impatient. This wasn’t going to lead him to the cause of her reset, and on top of that, he was starting to get tired. Apparently even with “royal magic,” he couldn’t wear the glasses forever.