Water Bullet

 

Single/Projection/Instant. Summons a small water elemental,

inflicts ten points of damage on the target.

Note: Treated as a special attack against fire dragons.

 

Clattering and rattling, carriages traversed the paved road. The horses pulling them were so similar to Earth's creatures that I couldn't help but turn around after passing them.

Upon closer inspection, their legs numbered six, not four. Almost perfect, except for the extra legs and the horns.

Yet I was oddly impressed at how they managed to walk without tripping over with so many legs.

Each carriage on the street looked similar, but the not-quite-horses varied greatly. Some had small wings. Others were covered in scales. A few even had long, snake-like tails, and there were even some with two heads. I wonder if those are considered as two-horse carriages…

Continuing down the street, I saw windmills in the distance, a somewhat peculiar sight. My memories from Earth, though distant now, recalled windmills always facing the same direction in a line.

However, these windmills were arranged in a circle, each at a slightly different angle. A girl in white clothes was fluttering around them.

"Hey Sylph. Good work today as well."

As I called out, Sylph happily waved and flew faster. The circular arrangement of windmills was a circuit for her to keep them spinning without stopping. Each time Sylph circled the windmills, their blades spun, transferring power to the shaft.

Small gnomes each about a meter tall—house elementals known as Brownies—were bringing in wheat to the windmill.

"Ah, Mentor!"

As I moved past the windmill and headed outside, I saw a giant girl sitting with a small fairy perched on her shoulder.

The ever-friendly duo, Lufelle and Tia.

"Why are you two here?"

Usually, they'd be busy with their respective jobs around this time.

Lufelle worked in construction and building, while Tia was a primary school teacher.

Lufelle, with her giant body building larger houses and roads, and Tia, teaching little children with her tiny body, were quite a famous duo in the now-expanded village named Scarlet.

"Probably the same as you, Mentor."

Lufelle, sitting in a typical girl's posture, looked up as Tia descended from her shoulder to meet my gaze.

"Ah, I see. I should have called you. Have you been waiting long?"

"Not really… We haven't been waiting that long."

In response to my question, she averted her gaze.

"Yeah. Since the morning."

"Hey! Don't give it away!"

Tia shouted, flapping her wings and flying back to Lufelle's shoulder.

"Next year, let's ask the Mentor to join us."

Lufelle smiled at Tia's outburst.

"Look… they're coming."

At my words, they both looked towards the waterway running alongside the road. It was the Great Scarlet Aqueduct that Lufelle had built, stretching from Scarlet all the across the Lykos' plains to the merfolk's bay.

"No, over there."

"Whoa!"

Before they could look up at my words, a large white wing swooped down over their faces.

"What!? What's happening!?"

"Ah, welcome back, Rin."

While Tia flustered, buried in feathers, Lufelle greeted her calmly.

"Hehe, I'm back, Professor Tia, Professor Lufelle. Surprised?"

Rin, her blue hair shining in the sunlight, shifted her arms from bird wings back to human.

"Of course I was! What are you doing all of a sudden!?"

"Catching you off guard, obviously."

Rin chuckled. I'd clearly seen her dive down from the direction of the sun, hidden within it its light behind her.

After teasing Tia for a while, Rin suddenly jumped off Lufelle's shoulder.

Careful!

Even sitting, Lufelle's shoulder was quite high. I hurried to catch her, but Rin landed lightly before I could reach her.

Her legs, now supple as a cat's, smoothly transformed back into human legs. The change was so smooth, it was hard to tell when it happened, even while watching.

"I'm back, Mentor."

Rin landed in front of me with a soft smile.

"… Welcome back, Rin."

I couldn't help but think that she never changes.

"Hey! You're doing childish pranks! You remember me, right!?"

"Yes, yes, I remember you, Teacher Tia. And Teacher Lufelle too."

Raising her hands in surrender, Rin laughed at Tia's circling.

Fifty years ago, Rin lost all her memories and reverted to her eight-year-old form as a price for overcoming aging and death.

So, the Rin in front of me was another Rin, one living a different life.

Her memories, slowly fading away as she regressed in age save for brief flashes of clarity, stopped disappearing once she returned to the age of eight. But perhaps deeply traumatized by being forgotten, Tia always made sure Rin remembered her every time they met.

"But you've gotten good at transformation magic. You don't have to sacrifice anything anymore?"

I believe the first time Rin had managed to change her lower half into a human's was when she was around 150 years old, so she'd managed to do it 90 years sooner this time. Not to mention, she couldn't speak when she had human legs before.

"There's still a sacrifice. Like when I'm like this—"

Rin spread her arms, which turned into white bird wings.

"—I can't cook."

She declared firmly, her expression tightening.

"That would be difficult with those arms."

"But, with training, I might be able to cook with my legs, or I could ask others to help with the arrangements, right? I can't do any of that."

I laughed, and Rin returned to her usual expression, explaining.

"I see, a geas…"

"Gesh? What's that?"

Rin tilted her head at my muttering.

"A geas is originally a word for a taboo, or restriction… it's somewhat of a promise akin to 'I won't do this.' The inability to cook isn't just something that naturally happened, it's something you decided, right Rin?"

Rin nodded, surprised.

In Celtic mythology, a geas is a kind of oath with a god. Breaking it would lead to destruction, like Cú Chulainn's vow of not eating dog meat.

Actually, similar practices exist in various cultures. In Japan, people would often vow to not eat their favorite food until they achieved a certain goal, hoping for a good outcome. That's also a kind of geas.

"This one's swimming. So when I have human legs, I can't swim. Even though I'm a mermaid."

Rin slapped her slender legs and laughed.

"So, to use transformation magic, you have to learn various things. Each becomes a sacrifice."

I see. Her magic seemingly just changes her body, but actually transforms the skills she's acquired into physical abilities.

"So, Rin's cooking must be so good it could make you fly."

"Yeah. I've improved a lot this year. I'll treat you all, so look forward to it."

"Yay, can't wait!"

Tia's teasing words were met by Rin's acceptance, and Lufelle rejoiced innocently.

I couldn't decide if it was mysterious, or perhaps a natural outcome…

Rin had relearned transformation magic and started traveling again.

"But it's been a year since I've been to the village. Can I take a quick look around?"

"No. You have to see Nina first."

"Okay…"

Rin looked around restlessly, eager, as Tia put her in check.

Unlike before, Rin now returned to Scarlet once a year.

But that was not her own choice; it was something Nina had imposed.

"Nina, I've brought her."

"Thanks."

At the clinic, Nina, now fully accustomed to her doctor's attire, greeted us.

"Outsiders are a nuisance. Get out."

With that, Tia and I were promptly kicked out. With nowhere else to go, we joined Lufelle, who had been waiting outside due to her size.

"I hope Rin's okay."

"Well, it should be fine. It's just a checkup."

Worried Lufelle was met with Tia's dismissive tone. She was just as anxious, hence waiting to greet us.

Merfolk living on land seemed to have significantly shorter lifespans than those that lived in the sea.

The former Rin had physical problems at about half the age of her great-grandmother, Utai.

The direct cause remained unclear. Is it the scales rubbing against the ground or drying out on land? Nina speculated it was something along those lines.

And perhaps these problems could be avoided by transforming into human legs.

But as it would take decades to see any changes, Nina began these annual physical examinations, checking the impact on Rin's body. They were likely the world's first occurance of regular health checks.

"Hey, you three are together? What's up?"

As we waited motionlessly for Nina's examination to end, Yuuka passed by. Her red ponytail flowing, she carried a stone sword, making me catch my breath.

The twenty-fourth generation sword leader, Yutaka, and the elf exchange student, Aqua's half-elf daughter.

Though distantly related, with her long, pointy ears and tall stature, she bore no resemblance to them. Yet recently, I've been sensing Yuuki's presence in her, and not just because their names are similar.

"… Ah, Rin's back!?"

"Yeah, she is."

Lufelle answered Yuuka's brightened expression.

"Today's the day. Rin, welcome back!"

Without pause, Yuuka flung open the clinic door.

Inside, Rin was half-exposed for the examination.

"… Ah."

Relieved to see her unharmed, flawless skin, I braced myself for the water bullet heading my way.