Chapter 25: Miss the Chance

From what I can see, this village's civilization is two or three centuries behind Hiiro. Farming and animal husbandry haven’t begun, only a little metal is in use, and all the buildings are wood—there isn’t a single brick house.

When I heard they spoke the Hiiro language here, three possibilities came to mind.

First, that someone from Hiiro happened to come all the way here and founded the village.
But that was ruled out by the fact this place lies across the sea.

Second, that a Japanese reincarnator like me taught them.
I’ve never met another reincarnator, but it isn’t impossible.
Yet the village chief said that “The Magus of Genesis” taught them language and magic.

Even if there were a reincarnator, would they really start by teaching magic, as I did?
For me, that was all I had. I knew little of science or engineering; what I did have was knowledge about magic and the imagination I’d honed by always thinking, “If I could actually use magic, what would I do?”

Ordinarily, if a modern Japanese were reincarnated or transported here, wouldn’t they try a modern, scientific approach?

If there was a reincarnator, there’s no doubt they were a modern Japanese. The language used in this village is far too close to the Japanese I know; if centuries had passed between, their speech would be quite different.

And the third possibility is...

that the “Magus of Genesis” they speak of was Ai, reincarnated.

「Um, this Magus of Genesis... are they no longer alive?」
「But of course not. It’s a tale from long, long ago.」

I wonder how many years “long ago” refers to. Humans sometimes call even something twenty or thirty years past “long ago,” so I have no feel for it at all.

No—when I was human, or up to about a hundred, I remember having that sense, but it’s long since slipped away. Whether “long ago” means six hundred years or more makes a world of difference.

「Is there... anything left? Something they wore, perhaps?」
「Oh, there is. Would you care to see it?」

I’d asked with almost no expectations, so the favorable answer took me aback.

「You do? I’d very much like to see it!」
「Certainly. This way, please.」

Led by the obliging village chief, Rin and I were shown to the back of his residence.

「This is the garment said to have been worn by the Magus of Genesis.」
「...This is?」
「Yes. It’s also a treasure handed down in our family for generations.」

It was a single piece of clothing, apparently made by tanning animal hide.
It was displayed in the center of the room, set on a wooden mannequin of sorts.
It must have been from long ago. The preservation seemed decent, but it was still quite ragged and worn—hardly wearable.

However...
Is this really something the Magus of Genesis themselves wore?
I had to clamp down on the rude question that almost slipped out.

Because it was obviously a man’s.
Both in design and build. Set on the mannequin, it was plain to see—the height was almost the same as mine, and the shoulders were broad.

“Is that really something the Magus of Genesis wore?”

Before I could ask what I wanted to but couldn’t, Rin briskly wrote the question on a sheet and posed it.

「Yes—so that we may not forget and may honor our great ancestor, we’ve kept it with care all this time.」

Spoken and written carry different nuances, though. Rin’s question seems to have been taken as mere surprise, and the chief answered without the slightest offense.

Could one reincarnate as the opposite sex? At first glance, compared to a human becoming a dragon, a change of sex seems easy enough.

But magic is born of will. If Ai reincarnated, it would have been by magic—and she would have done it to meet me again. In that case, it’s hard to imagine her being reborn male.

Well, perhaps I’m half indulging my own wish, but in broad strokes I don’t think I’m wrong.

If so, then was it a different reincarnator? Staring at the garment’s construction didn’t tell me; its simple make looked like the ordinary hide clothing commonly worn in Hiiro a few centuries ago.

「Other than this... is there anything else? For example, anything bearing writing?」
「Regrettably, nothing of that sort remains.」

If there were wooden slips or clay tablets, I thought we might learn more—but things aren’t so convenient. If only there had been dealings with the elves, we could have asked about those days...

「Come to think of it, was not having contact with the el— no, with those monsters also something the Magus of Genesis taught?」

When I asked, the chief plainly winced.

「I don’t know. But it’s only natural not to wish to associate with such eerie creatures.」

He all but spat the words; that too jarred with me.
If Ai had reincarnated, at the very least she wouldn’t be prejudiced against elves.
Of course, prejudice could have taken root after she died... no, there’s no point in overthinking it.

「Thank you very much. This has been most enlightening.」

I thanked the chief and left the village.
In the end I couldn’t learn who the Magus of Genesis was, but one thing was certain.

Namely—whether it was Ai reincarnated or someone transferred here from Japan,
they had died long, long ago.


* * *


「Sensei—are you okay...?」
「Yeah. I’m fine.」

On the path out of the village toward a place far enough that no one would notice me take off in dragon form, I forced a smile for Rin, who was looking up at me anxiously.
But to be honest, I was hardly calm inside.

Maybe—maybe Ai reincarnated in that village and ended her life again.

I hadn’t made it in time at all. There’s no way word of Hiiro would reach a village across the sea. Even if she had reincarnated, there was nothing to be done. No—right now, even if she were born again in some village just as far away, I wouldn’t notice.

The thought made my chest feel tight.

「Sensei...」

Rin tugged at my arm and stared up with eyes that said she had something to tell me; she was probably wavering over whether to say it. She opened her mouth, but no sound came from her throat.

『Can you hear me?』

It was then that a familiar voice rang in my mind.

「Nina? How come—」

From here to Hiiro, scale-mediated communication shouldn’t work.
I’d thought the same would hold with the positions reversed.

『I don’t know why it got through, but I’m glad I tried on the off chance. Hurry back.』

Nina’s voice was hard as she told me.

『...Light Blue’s condition has taken a sudden turn for the worse.』