Body Snapshot

Be careful as to what you pretend to be.

Because what you pretend to be is the very thing you are.

—Kurt Vonnegut

 

"… This is difficult."

Nina spoke, furrowing her brows and looking frustrated.

She didn't say it was impossible, displaying her stubborn side.

"You managed to summon it, but…"

"Can you really make it speak?"

Responding to Lufelle's words while staring at the Gnome that appeared from the rock in front of her, Tia grumbled. After returning to Scarlet, Rin and I had been asking everyone if they could summon an elemental capable of speech. In conclusion, the result was a total failure.

"I can't. I'm bad at that kind of thing. I can't even summon one."

Yuuka raised both hands, indicating her surrender. It was quite an unexpected result.

Many Swordsaints struggled with elemental magic, such as creating fire or water. Not even Darg was an exception, so it may have been due to his influence.

However, perhaps because Yuuka was a half-elf, she was very good at elemental magic. Yet she couldn't even summon the form of an elemental.

On the other hand, Lufelle, who struggled with elemental magic, managed to summon an elemental with a fairly solid form. It seemed that there was a level of skill even in just summoning elementals. The better the summoner, the more clear the elemental that appeared.

Compared to the very rough shape of the lump of earth I summoned that vaguely resembled a human, the Gnome Lufelle summoned had discernible facial features and even appeared to be wearing clothes.

She was used to creating objects, such as building houses, so her ability to visualize may have influenced her summoning. Yuuka, on the other hand, was terrible at drawing.

The best at summoning elementals was, by far, Rin. Nina was good too, but the elementals that Rin summoned were a cut above the rest. They had an accuracy that made it difficult to believe they weren't real creatures.

"… I might be able to make a water elemental speak."

Having summoned the Gnome several times and getting a feel for it, Rin suddenly said that.

"Water, huh…"

Based on our experiences summoning elementals several times, elementals seemed to have something of a personality, probably due to the images we had of natural phenomena. Gnomes were gentle and obedient while wind elementals were mischievous. Water elementals were whimsical and emotional. I had no idea when it came to fire elementals since I'd never summoned one. I had the feeling that summoning one myself would only lead to trouble.

"Be careful. It might go berserk."

I was reminded of the Jack Frost incident from the past. Ice and snow elementals would also likely have a nature close to water. It would be unbearable if they went out of control like that time.

"Well, it should be fine. That was just because Ai…"

Nina started to say something but suddenly clammed up.

"Ai?"

"… Ai was just inexperienced back then."

Well, that's true. Unlike back then, magic technology had advanced. Nina's words were somewhat concerning, but I nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

Saying that, Rin turned towards the waterway flowing beside the school building.

"O' water! You, the ever-flowing, the formless, the cold. The water maiden Undine!"

Hoh, I exclaimed silently in surprise. It had been quite a while since I heard Rin use such a solid incantation. She usually invoked magic with incredibly lackadaisical incantations.

"I shall lend you my voice and appearance. Reveal yourself before me with that form!"

In response to the spell, the water in the canal surged, lifted, and formed an exact replica of Rin. I see, so that's how it is! She was skilled in magic for taking human form in exchange for her voice, so it must have been some sort of application of that.

"Hello."

"… H-ell-o."

As Rin cheerfully spoke, Undine responded hesitantly, but clearly. Her voice was identical to Rin's.

"We did it!"

"No… not yet. We have to see if we can extract knowledge from the elemental."

Just mimicking words like a parrot won't help us learn about the past. It's important to be able to ask questions and receive answers.

"That's true. So… where did you come from?"

"Moun-tain."

The Undine pointed to the northern mountains and answered. The water in the canal was drawn from Scarlet River, the river that flowed alongside the village. The source of the river's water was indeed where she pointed.

"I see. Between here and that mountain… was there anything big and round?"

"There was… spinning, turning. Interesting. Boring."

The spinning wood is probably a reference to a waterwheel. It doesn't serve any particular purpose, but the villagers find it amusing to watch the water spin it, so they've left it as is.

"So… why do you all dislike Mentor?"

"Men-tor…?"

As Undine parroted the question, Rin turned her gaze to me. Following her gaze, Undine caught sight of me…

"Scary! Hate!"

Her reaction was dramatic. Water droplets were hurled at me like a hail of bullets. A whirlwind blocked their path before I could even scream.

"Step back, big brother!"

It was Yuuka. She swung her stone sword at an incredible speed, slashing and repelling countless water bullets. But her opponent was an elemental, water itself. The force of the water bullets only increased, and a pained voice escaped Yuuka's lips.

"Wait!"

Rin's shout wasn't directed at the Undine. It was meant for Lufelle, Tia, and Nina, who were starting to return the water to its original mass.

"Don't cry."

Rin used her large tail fin to envelop the half-crazed Undine.

"Rin!"

"It's okay."

Doing so meant that all the water bullets the Undine fired hit Rin. But she calmly and clearly responded with a composed voice.

"It's alright, calm down. Mentor isn't scary. He's a very kind person."

"But… But…"

While Rin's desperate embrace managed to calm the Undine down somewhat, she still cast a fearful gaze in my direction.

… Red, scary.

Huh? Is that it!? It's a color issue!?

"I'm also red, am I scary?"

Yuuka asked while showing off her own red hair.

"A little, scary."

Yuuka silently turned to face me, took off her jacket, and draped it over me in reverse.

"Not, so scary, anymore!"

My clothes were made from transformed scales, so they were completely red from top to bottom… Feeling somewhat exhausted, I slumped my shoulders when the Undine's form suddenly crumbled and returned to water. Immediately after, Rin's body also collapsed on the spot.

"Rin!"

That's right. She'd taken the full brunt of those water bullets at close range. There's no way she would be unscathed. I hurriedly ran to her and lifted her up, then held my breath at the severity of her injuries.

Her fair skin was covered with dark red bruises everywhere.

"I managed to… block it, but elementals are really strong, huh…"

Rin spoke with a weak smile. Of course. No matter how adept she was at manipulating water as a merfolk, there's no way she could compete with a water elemental itself.

"Take her to the clinic. I'll treat her."

With that, Nina rushed to her clinic like the wind to prepare. I cradled Rin's body and hurriedly followed after her.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

"How's Rin?"

After finishing the initial treatment, I asked Nina as she emerged from the room.

"Her body is in worse shape than it looks. She… probably won't last much longer."

"What…"

Her grim expression and the news she brought were worse than I had anticipated.

"Even without the injuries… I don't think she would have lived more than another year."

Knowing it offered no comfort, Nina had to say it.

"Go, talk with her."

I nodded and entered the room, taking Nina's place.

As I closed the door behind me, I pretended not to notice the sound of sobbing coming from outside the room. I approached the bed where Rin laid.

"… Rin."

"Nn…"

She… was fine. She was so lively just the day before.

Somewhere inside, I believed Nina's diagnosis was wrong.

But as I looked at Rin lying in bed, I realized that my thoughts were mistaken.

As Nina said, it's wasn't just her injuries. Her life force, her vitality… the energy things needed to live… her body was losing whatever it was.

"Why… did you do something so reckless?"

That's not what I wanted to say.

Not knowing what to say, but feeling like I needed to say something, those words came out of my mouth.

"… Do… as I liked…"

Rin spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Utai, told me."

… With that, I understood. There was nothing more I could say.

"… Thank you."

"No problem."

If doing as she liked meant helping and supporting me, then I had no choice but to say that. As I bowed my head and thanked her, Rin showed a broad smile.

"It was always so fun, wasn't it? Today was fun too."

Rin murmured like a monologue in a distant voice.

"But… I'm a little tired. I'm… sorry. I need, to sleep now…"

"… Yeah."

I clenched my teeth, holding back the tears that threatened to spill over, and nodded.

"Good night, Rin."

And then.

Rin gently closed her eyes.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

"Good morning!"

At the bright and cheerful voice, I couldn't help but scrunch my face.

"Morning… let me sleep a bit more…"

"Eh, why~?"

My eyelids felt as heavy as lead and my head was pounding. I had clearly drank too much last night, but there was no one to blame but myself.

"I'm just not in the mood… Rin's…"

"I'm what?"

My eyes snapped open. Green eyes were peering into my face.

"Rin!? How… how, ehhh? How!?"

"I got better because I slept!"

With a confused look, I opened my eyes wide as Rin flexed her muscles in a show of strength.

"You, why…"

Next to me, Nina looked just as stunned.

"Let me take a look."

"Eh, wait—Professor Nina!"

Nina forcefully lifted Rin's shirt. Her stomach, which had definitely been covered with bruises the day before, was smooth, white, and looked soft. Nina suddenly realized something and glared at me.

"What are you looking at? Get out!"

I was kicked out of the room.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

"… Unbelievable."

What felt like dozens of minutes had passed. Nina, looking dazed, emerged from the room with Rin.

"No injuries, no deterioration. What in the world you do? Your skin, organs, everything is completely different from the body you had yesterday!"

"Yeah. I gave transforming back into my old body at shot, all the way to my insides!"

Rin casually answered Nina's almost shouting question.

"You… really are reckless!"

Nina smacked Rin's back several times. Her smile was neither a cold smirk nor a mixture of amusement and exasperation. It was a genuine, rare smile.

"Hey, why are you looking so glum? Rin's saved!"

"Ah… yeah. No, I still can't believe it's real. This isn't a dream, is it?"

As soon as I asked that, Nina forcefully slapped my cheek.

"How about now!? It's not a dream, right!?"

"… Seems like it."

I nodded, holding my throbbing cheek.

"We need to hurry up and tell Lufelle and the others. Come on, don't just stand there, let's go!"

As Nina, unusually high-spirited, pushed my back, I glanced at Rin.

… Magic would eventually fade, no matter how much magical power was put into it. There were few exceptions to that. My taking human form or Rin turning her tail fin into human legs were examples of that. No matter how much time passed, they wouldn't naturally disappear. Surely, this rejuvenation magic must be the same.

The reason I could go back and forth between human and dragon forms was simply because I was both.

Rin's legs was due to her voice being sacrificed.

Because we both offered something equivalent… at least, something equivalent in terms of magic, the balance was maintained.

If that's the case—

 

 

—just what did Rin sacrifice to rejuvenate herself?