The Bonds We Formed, Like Magic | Chapter 4

[healingbonds]

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Mithra: If, say, the unthinkable happens, and I lose to Oz, and am gravely injured, and fall into a deep slumber to heal....
He can be the person who shows up in my dreams.

Nero: So he’s not working.....

Murr: Mithra, I think you might be fantasizing about Shylock here.

Mithra: No, I really want him to show up in my dreams. See, you wouldn’t want to be haunted by a nightmare when you’re in the worst condition ever.
I feel like Shylock is the kind of person who won’t do the worst thing ever when you’re already in the worst condition ever.

Chloe: I think I understand~! But isn’t Rutile the same? Rutile is really nice when you’re feeling down!

Mithra: No. He’s the kind of person who tries to do the best thing possible when things are going terribly, but his actions end up being the worst ever.

Rutile: You’re so rude! I’ve never done anything like that.

Mithra: You’re terrible, you know? Whenever we’re in serious trouble, you never listen to a thing I say.

Shylock: I refuse to be obedient, but I shall treat you with the utmost kindness.
And if I can make a living from working in your dreams, it might be a rather pleasant life.
Because it means I get to witness the great Mithra of the North, who makes the whole world tremble, in his most fragile state.

Mithra: ...........

Mithra gazes at Shylock for a while, before letting out a long sigh and shaking his head in exasperation.

Mithra: ....This is why I don’t wish to fight with Western wizards.

Akira: Were you fighting right now....?

Mithra: Also, Sir Sage. Your job is to absolutely, definitely, totally, and completely be in my room when it’s nighttime.

He’s really pressing for it to be absolute. I feel apologetic.
Mithra cannot sleep because of his injury from the < Great Catastrophe >.
But on some days, he can fall asleep thanks to the Sage’s mysterious power. There’s no guarantee, though.

Akira: I really do want to try my best, but I can’t promise I’ll be there every day....

Mithra: You don’t need to promise me anything. What a terrifying thought.
You know, it’s awful how you’re never around in the magic headquarters whenever I feel like sleeping. Please do something to fix the problem.

Akira: Yes, I’m sorry.....

Rustica: Sir Sage is busy, you see. If you’d like, I can play music for you until you fall asleep, Mithra.

Mithra: That’s not a bad idea.

Rustica offers his services, breaking the tension in the air.
He also holds out his palm in Chloe’s direction, as if introducing him.

Rustica: And this boy might create some new clothes for you while you sleep, Mithra.

Chloe: Ah... I’m Chloe, the tailor! Um, I’ll do my best.

Mithra: Aren’t you a supporter of the former king?

Chloe: Eh? Do you mean Rutile? Is it bad that I’m Rutile’s friend?

Mithra: Not at all. That person is jobless at the moment, you see. So please hire him at your shop.

Chloe: I can do that!? Yay~! Rutile, we get to work together!

Heathcliff: He’ll even arrange for your re-employment....

Arthur: What a good administration.

Rutile: Then I’ll work at Chloe’s shop! Welcome to Collins’ Tailor Shop.

Chloe: Ahh~! This is making me blush.

Rustica: I’m so happy for you, Chloe.

Mithra: Nero. See? I got you more coworkers.

Nero: Ah, thanks....

Mithra: Faust, you’re the hatter.

Faust: Huh? What...?

Mithra: Lennox, you’re the optician.

Lennox: That’s news to me.....

Mithra: Cain, you sell eyeballs.

Cain: I do not. I do not, and I will not.

✦✧☾✧✦

And just like that, our first meeting was expended playing Mithra Kingdom.
I tried to steer us back to the objective at hand by dropping prompts and nudging them in the direction of certain topics, but the conversation scattered all over the place.
Like the spray of water from a watering can. Naturally, it’s not like it wasn’t a fun time.
But the day drew to a close, and we were no closer to reaching any decision.

✦✧☾✧✦

Arthur had smiled affably throughout the meeting’s proceedings; now, he turns to look at the early dark of the sky beyond the window, and speaks up.

Arthur: Shall we stop here for the day? It’s been so much fun, all thanks to Mithra.

Mithra turns to Arthur with a look of surprise.
It seems like he never imagined that he would receive thanks.
Still, Mithra looks pleased.

Mithra: Well, of course.

Arthur: But you might’ve just misunderstood one detail. You see, the chairperson isn’t supposed to be a dictator.
Neither is he a ruler, nor a supervisor. He’s just the person who’s in charge of ensuring the meeting progresses.

Mithra: Which means?

Arthur: His job is to organize the flow of the discussion, and maintain the order of the meeting to ensure everyone gets to speak.

Mithra: There’s no way I’d do something like that. Someone else should take the job.

Mithra takes a seat, gulping down tea which had gone cold. He must’ve gotten tired from speaking too much.

Cain: I feel like the Southern wizards could do the job. How about you, Figaro, or Rutile?

Figaro: I think Rutile would be a good choice. You’re a schoolteacher; you must be used to gathering opinions and reaching consensus.

Rutile: I mean, yes, but... I couldn’t possibly be chairperson when there are so many amazing wizards around.

Figaro: Oh, come on. You should scold them with that sweet voice you use with bad children.

Rutile raises his eyebrows at Figaro’s teasing suggestion.
He narrows his warm green eyes, and murmurs, in a soft yet scolding tone.

Rutile: You mustn’t do that, Dr. Figaro.

Figaro strokes his lips in satisfaction.

Figaro: Fufu. Not bad.

Rutile: Dr. Figaro, why does it seem like you enjoy being scolded?

Snow: After you’ve amassed a certain amount of power, you get scolded less and less, you see.

White: Being scolded allows him to act spoiled.

Figaro: Please stop with your unwarranted analyses. Also, I’ve never amassed any power whatsoever.

Snow & White: Huh~. That’s so surprising~.

Rustica: Now, how is everyone feeling? We must be tired from all that discussion. Let’s take a break by heading to the lake for our next meeting.

Figaro: Wait, we haven’t even gotten to the main topic of our first meeting, though.....

Rustica: If we gaze at the surface of the lake as it ripples in the breeze, the gentle flow of time will bring peace to our hearts, and we’re certain to figure out the perfect solution.
To the dilemma of choosing our chairperson.

Akira: Wait, so you’re making this... A meeting to decide our chairperson?

Cain: Which would send us back to square one. Well, actually, we’re now one square behind square one. Well, this is fine; we’re only just getting started.

Owen: Wow, Sir Knight. You sound like you know what you’re talking about.

Cain: Central Country is a cultured nation, after all. I’m used to meetings.

Owen: Then why don’t you be the chairperson? I’ll watch and observe how useful your favorite little fancies called "understanding" and "peace" are.

Cain: You shouldn’t do that, Owen.

Owen: ...What?

Cain: Oh, I just thought you were interrupting the meeting because you wanted to get scolded the same way Figaro did.

Owen: You idiot.

Bradley: Hey, Owen disappeared.

Cain: ....That guy....!

Akira: Eh.....?

Shylock: My, my. It looks like we’ve circled back to getting all the Sage’s wizards to converge.

Riquet: Oz. You didn’t make a single comment during this meeting. I’ve heard that meeting participants ought to vigorously offer their opinions and ideas.

Oz: .........

Mitile: You too, Mister Leno. You look stronger than anyone else here, so please comment and leave an enthusiastically positive impression of the Southern wizards.

Oz: No objections.

Lennox: Objection.

And with that, the wizards begin to leave the room.
They seem way more exhausted than when they’ve fought battles or came back from long journeys.
I feel really desolate. It was hard enough work getting so many of them together in one room, and yet we couldn’t reach any sort of decision.
Having a meeting of wizards is truly difficult.
But Arthur pats my back in consolation.

Arthur: Do not be discouraged, Sir Sage. It was a terrific meeting.

Akira: ......But we have a whole mountain of problems, and we didn’t manage to decide on even a single course of action.
We were supposed to discuss how to protect everyone and the whole world....... And we’re already running out of time as it is......

Arthur: Like you said, it was a meeting meant to make decisions that are important to all of us.
But that is precisely why we cannot arrive at good answers unless we know anything about each other.

I blink at Arthur’s words. His blue eyes are glittering joyfully.

Arthur: But thanks to Mithra’s tale, I got to learn so much about everyone.
Besides, no one had any hesitation speaking up. More than anything else, I’m grateful for the air of lively and engaged conversation in the room.
I’m sure everyone was able to let down their guards and discuss their thoughts in such a lighthearted manner because you were there, Sir Sage.

Akira: Arthur......

One by one, Arthur uncovers the good points that came out of the meeting, and I feel a rush of renewed amazement and elation.
It’s hard to believe we had been in the same place and watched over the same proceedings: I am amazed by the striking revelations in his words.
Is the world viewed through Arthur’s eyes always so beautiful?

Chapter 3 << | index | >> Chapter 5