"Did something fun happen?"
"Brother. If you see what I've created, you'll be truly amazed!"
I took Tonelico's hand and went outside.
In the yard, Mother and Mia were already waiting.
"You're here."
"Boo! You're late!"
I went to stand beside them.
"I heard Tonelico created a new spell. She was so excited that she woke me up this morning, so I didn't get a proper night's sleep."
"Well, I heard about it last night. What do you think? Jealous?"
"No… not really."
I pressed my hand against Mia's forehead as she charged at me like a wild boar. How dare she.
"But isn't it afternoon now? If you've been up since morning…?"
"She only dotes on her dear brother! She doesn't even pay attention to me. Honestly!"
So she had waited until I woke up. I felt a little bad about that.
With my arrival in the yard, the audience was all gathered.
Tonelico stood in the center of the yard and cleared her throat softly.
"Ahem. I will now begin the demonstration of my magic. I have completed my verifications several times, but just in case, please stand still right there."
"Alright, dear. You be careful too."
"When it comes to Tonelico's magic, I'm always ready!"
I just stood there without saying a word.
I could feel their gazes on me.
"What. Why."
"You have to say something too, brother."
"What for? I've seen Tonelico's magic often. There's no need to worry…"
"Of course there is!"
Even Tonelico was staring at me intently.
I really don't understand the hearts of women.
"Alright. I'm sorry. Go, Tonelico!"
"Wow. That's the worst. So lame… Ouch!"
I flicked the teasing Mia on the forehead. So satisfying.
"I'm really starting now!"
Tonelico began to draw upon her magical energy.
Even Mia, who was about to retaliate, fell silent and stuck close to Mother.
A giant circular frame appeared in the sky. Water began to fill it from within.
Within the thin frame, the noble surface of water appeared.
"It's like an upside-down lake. It's beautiful."
"How fascinating. I can't even imagine the principle behind it."
This wasn't the end. With a flushed and excited expression, Tonelico stretched her hand forward.
The surface of the water rippled, and then a massive torrent of water, like a cascading sea, began to pour down.
"Kyaaah!"
"Oh my! What is all this?"
I lifted Mother onto my back and quickly scaled a wall.
Fortunately, neither Mother nor I got even our toes wet, but I hadn't been able to grab Mia.
I looked back down at the ground, but Mia wasn't there.
I thought she had been swept away by the water, but I was wrong. Tonelico was holding Mia in a princess carry.
"What do you think? It's a spell called Water Mirror. It can transport not just water, but people too, you see?"
"Awesome. That's insane."
Clap, clap, clap. Mia applauded, and Mother and I followed suit.
Tonelico smiled.
"Incredible. To create such a flood of water in a place with none…"
"That's an incredible Suiton."
"Suiton?"
"Ah, no. Skill. I meant its skill level. My words got mixed up."
What the heck is Suiton*, anyway.
After the magic demonstration was over, Tonelico cleaned up the flooded yard.
She snapped her fingers, and the water rose on its own before returning to the sea.
It was a truly rare spectacle.
After watching Tonelico's magic demonstration, we went down to the village together.
Our destination was the library, where Tonelico practically lived.
As we entered, the librarian greeted me warmly.
"It's been a while, Mr. Kyle. Have you brought a new book?"
"No. [The Giving Tree] was the last one. Nothing comes to mind anymore."
"Are you retiring from writing? What a shame."
My memories were hazy, but sometimes, things would come to me in a flash.
Sometimes it was a game, other times it was an inspiration.
They were probably memories from my past life.
I used them to create games like Juggling and Jenga.
As for books, I wrote and published children's stories, and the reception was very good.
I heard my fairy tales were the bestsellers in the trade with the Isle of Britain. I'm simply embarrassed.
After all, I only started writing them as a way to make money and help our country.
The fairies loved my silly little tales.
Among them, the stories about humans were the most popular. The fairies absolutely adored humans.
If you were to ask for my greatest work, it would probably be [The Fox Yokai and the Father].
It was so popular that one could claim it was a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece, but,
in truth, I didn't like that story very much myself.
I picked up a copy of [The Fox Yokai and the Father] placed at the library entrance. I touched the cover, which depicted a fox and an old man.
I dislike it because of the ending. Isn't it just a sad story where the fox is left behind, all alone?
Tonelico, who had been choosing books for a while, called out to me.
"Are you looking for something?"
"It's nothing."
We picked out a few books and headed to the reading room.
There were large tables for groups to sit around, and smaller tables for one or two people.
We sat at a two-person table. Tonelico seemed excited, saying it was her first time sitting at one.
"Haven't you been here with Mia before?"
"The moment she opens a book, she falls asleep… I had to rent a room to lay her down."
She's an embarrassing sister no matter where I take her. If only she were half as good as Tonelico.
Unlike me, who had brought only a single, light volume, Tonelico sat down with four or five thick tomes.
"Tonelico, what books are those?"
"This is a history of Britain, this is an encyclopedia of Orkney. This one is…"
It seemed she had read them all, as she rattled off the titles and their contents just by looking at the back covers.
"Would you like to take a look?"
"Alright, let's see…"
The history book Tonelico handed me was packed with tiny print from the very first page.
My head spun. It occurred to me that Tonelico didn't wear glasses for no reason.
"I'll read it next time. Haha."
"It's not very interesting, is it? To be honest, I already know everything in it, so it's not very fun for me either."
Tonelico gazed wistfully at the book's cover.
"Then why do you read it? If you already know everything."
In response to my question, Tonelico lowered her voice.
"I am… the 'Fairy of Paradise,' am I not? The one who came to destroy the Isle of Britain."
"That's right."
It wasn't a moment for comforting words. It was the truth.
"But I don't want to do that. I don't want to become a witch, burn the land, and slaughter the fairies like it says in this book."
Tonelico hugged the book to her chest.
"Everyone is precious to me. Mr. Cal, who makes my clothes, Ms. Scarlett, who puts on fun shows… I like all of them."
"…And all of them like you, too."
"Hehe."
Raindrops tapped against the window lattice. The sun, peeking through a break in the clouds, shone down on the reading room.
Bathed in the sunlight, Tonelico spoke.
"So I thought about it. Instead of ending Britain, couldn't I… start it anew?"
"Hmm… That sounds difficult."
Tonelico let out a small laugh.
"Yes. Just as you said, brother. It will be very difficult. But I still want to do it."
She pulled a book from the pile stacked beside her.
The cover read, [The Fox Yokai and the Father].
My eyes widened. I felt a flush of embarrassment, as if a dark part of my past had been exposed.
"This is the story you wrote, right, brother? It's my favorite."
"…You like it? Why?"
"Even though the fox and the father misunderstood and fought with each other, in the end, they reconciled and understood each other's hearts."
"But the fox dies alone and lonely."
Tonelico refuted my words.
She chided me, saying I had completely misinterpreted the work.
*But I'm the author?*
…The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but I held them back.
"That's not it. The fox longed for the days she spent with the father and wished to die as a human. And as she wished, she met a peaceful end. Death is a tragedy. But for the fox, it was a new beginning, a departure to a world where she could be with her father, ending her life as a yokai."
Is she talking about the afterlife?
But I don't think I wrote anything like that.
"So you think the fox was happy in the end?"
"Yes. Because she wasn't bound by her fate."
The fox in [The Fox and the Father] has something in common with Tonelico.
The fox was raised by a human, but was ultimately a yokai that harmed humans.
Tonelico was raised by fairies, but is the 'Fairy of Paradise' who came to kill the fairies.
Perhaps she was deeply impressed by the fox's life, who chose not to live as a yokai killing people, but to meet her end like a human by her father's side.
I could only speculate.
"If everyone treated each other with kindness, like the fox and the father, wouldn't the world become a beautiful country?"
"…I wonder. Wouldn't that be too difficult? It's hard for me to imagine such a country."
I'd heard that down on the Isle of Britain, the clans fought almost every single day.
The strong are right, and the weak are wrong.
That's what a fairy who migrated to Orkney once told me.
I didn't say this to Tonelico, but she's a wise child, so she might already know.
"It will surely be difficult, but I'll be cheering for you."
"Cheering isn't enough. You have to help me. There's still so much I don't know."
Tonelico took my hand.
"You will help me, won't you?"
"Yes. Of course."
She smiled. A warm feeling radiated from her blushing face.
For the sake of that smile, what couldn't I do?
=======================
"Suiton" can be translated to "Water Release" or "Water Style" in English, as it's a term used in the Naruto series for a specific type of ninja technique. In other contexts, it can refer to a Japanese dish called suiton, which is a type of dumpling made by dropping flour dough into hot water or soup.