AGMCFP 13

Chapter 13

“Phew… heave-ho…”

Right now, I’m pulling weeds in the vegetable patch on the south side of the garden.
Yesterday I asked Aunt Akane if I could borrow the field, and she happily agreed.
It seems she’d been feeling guilty that, because of her work, the field had been left untended.

“Still, these weeds are out of control…”

[Eisis] “Master, would you like to learn Wind Magic? You could mow all the weeds instantly.”

“If there’s a magic that convenient, then yes, please teach me.”

[Eisis] “Have you learned to focus your mana yet? Oh, not yet? Then it’s impossible.”

“Hey! You knew that already, didn’t you? Don’t get my hopes up if it’s impossible.”

[Eisis] “If you learned Earth Magic, you could pull weeds as you till the soil. Learning it is… also impossible for you.”

“Hey! You’re totally doing this on purpose. You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

[Eisis] “…”

Eisis fell silent.

I had no choice but to keep pulling the weeds out one by one. Then, I felt eyes on my back.
From behind the shed on the west side of the Yuzuki house, someone was peeking at me.

When I looked toward the gaze, they quickly hid.

“My enemy is swift…”

I knew who it was.
It was Kaho, the second daughter of the Yuzuki family.
It’s Sunday, so she was probably playing at home.

“Anyway… can I even finish this today?”

For now, I’ll just clear enough space to plant the seedlings and seeds I bought.
It’s impossible to weed the entire field in one day.

“Heave-ho, heave-ho.”
“Peeky-peeky.”
“Yo-ho, yo-ho.”
“Tip-tap.”

Behind me, I kept hearing a babyish little chant.
When I turned toward the voice, Kaho shrieked “Daah!” and dashed across the field, hiding behind the shed again but still peeking out at me.

When did she get behind me?
I didn’t even notice.

“Kaho, what are you?”

When I asked,

“Dunno.”

she replied.

Well, fair enough…

It’s just behind the house, so there’s no real danger.
I decided to just let her do as she pleased.

The sun was blazing to the point of being annoying.
Sweat wouldn’t stop pouring down.

If I don’t hydrate, I’ll get heatstroke.
I went to fetch the barley tea I’d prepared.
Of course, I brought some for Kaho, too, who was now arranging stones into some kind of pattern in the field.

“Want some barley tea?”
“Wan’ it.”

Since it was too sunny, we sat on the shaded porch to drink.

On the porch, Tora the cat was sleeping belly-up.

“Way too relaxed…” I muttered automatically.

Kaho spotted Tora and her eyes sparkled like a toddler who’s just seen a new toy.

She rushed straight toward Tora.
At first Tora let her pet him, but toddlers don’t know their own strength; it must have been too much. He got up, meowed once, and fled.

“Kitty went awayyyy!”

She was about to burst into tears.
Oh no, if she cries this will get complicated.

“Kaho, that cat’s name is Tora. Since you’re such a good girl, he’ll come back to play soon.”

“Reawwy?”

“Yeah, really. Want more barley tea?”

“Yeshhh.”

Phew, crisis averted.

[Eisis] “Reporting this.”

(Hey, Eisis. She’s my cousin. And I didn’t do anything.)

[Eisis] “You skillfully silenced a teary little girl with words and then offered her a drink, clearly leading up to an indecent act. This is absolutely a reportable case.”

(It’s barley tea! Barley tea! And what’s with that censored word?!)

If I keep up these mental conversations with Eisis, I’ll go crazy.

“Hey, Kaho. What’s Aunt Akane doing?”
“Mommy’s washin’ clothes.”
“And Daddy?”
“Go’f. Said he’s go’f.”
“And your sister?”
“School.”

Seems everyone in the Yuzuki family has plans.
Well, nothing for it.
I’ll keep an eye on Kaho while I work.

“Grampa, where you goin’?”

Huh? Did she just call me grandpa!?

“Kaho, I’m not grandpa.”
“Hair’s white, so grandpa.”

White hair, huh?
That stings a bit…

“Kaho, I’m not grandpa. I’m big brother.”
“Big bwother?”
“That’s right. Same age as your sister.”
“Okay. Big bwother.”
“Good girl, Kaho.”

[Eisis] “Reporting this.”

(Hey! I only patted my cousin’s head.)

[Eisis] “You touched a toddler and said, ‘Good girl, now can you do this?’ That’s completely out.”

(I didn’t say that! Stop making things up!)

Aah, forget it. Ignore him.

“All right, let’s pull weeds!”
“Puw weeds!”

Kaho mimicked me and raised one hand to the sky.

We started weeding together, though Kaho mostly brought stones and scattered them over the cleaned area.

What is she doing…?

“Ahem. Next, we sow seeds.”
“Sow seedies.”

The weeding had taken longer than expected.
The field stretched all the way to the north side of the Yuzuki house, but we only cleared about half a tennis court’s worth, near the old main house where I live.

Eisis had told me to add lime and let the soil rest for ten days, but I was itching to plant seeds now. He sighed, “Very well, we’ll deal with it later,” like he had something in mind.

Row by row, I planted tomatoes, eggplants, green peppers, and shishito peppers.
Kaho helped too, though for some reason she kept picking up pebbles and burying them along with the seeds.

Do you like stones or something?

After watering with the watering can, we finished the job.
Kaho started to look sleepy, so I carried her on my back and took her back to the Yuzuki house. Aunt Akane even gave me rice balls and side dishes for lunch.

While I sat on the porch eating the rice balls, Tora the cat showed up again, as if sniffing out the food.
I put some dried sardines and bonito flakes in a dish for him, and he began munching.

Maybe canned cat food would be better.
I’ll buy some next time.

Thinking that, I finished my lunch and lay down on the porch.
The sweat had dried, and it felt just right.
Like Kaho, I started to get drowsy.
Just a little nap before widening the weeding area in the afternoon…

Without Eisis interrupting, I ended up napping for about 30 minutes.
I woke when Tora climbed onto my stomach.

Cute, but heavy…

A breeze picked up.
Nice and cool…

Eisis had mentioned Wind Magic and Earth Magic.
It’d sure be handy if I could use them.
He said if I mastered mana control I could, but how do I do that?

[Eisis] “Then shall we learn the Isekai Transfer Three-Piece Set: Appraisal, Storage, and Language Translation?”

“I bet I still need mana control for that too, right?”

[Eisis] “No. This set doesn’t require mana control. Master can handle it now.”

If I can learn it, great—but why now?

[Eisis] “Because after analyzing your personality, character, and thinking, I’ve concluded it’s safe for you to learn them now.”

“So basically, you were testing me?”

[Eisis] “Correct. The Philosopher’s Stone is extremely precious. It holds power not only to rewrite this world but even to control countless worlds. If your nature were evil, several worlds might already be doomed. We had to be careful.”

Eisis really laid it all out. But destroying worlds? What a hassle—I’d never do that.

[Eisis] “Master, you were once dumped by your childhood friend, bullied at school, and became a shut-in. In other words, a netorare hikikomori.”

Hey! That’s a sensitive subject—sugarcoat it a little.

[Eisis] “Ahem. Analyzing your emotions back then showed a 46% chance of falling into demonic thinking. If you’d had the Philosopher’s Stone’s power then, you might have lost yourself to malice and revenge—not just against them but against the entire world.”

True, back then I hated my own powerlessness.
I still haven’t forgiven my ex or that handsome upperclassman.
But I learned something important:
I realized the people in my family home were just strangers living under the same roof.

[Eisis] “Our simulation of future incidents shows a 73% chance you’d use the Philosopher’s Stone’s power to destroy the world. If that chance ever rises above 80%, I will kill you.”

That was a sobering talk.
I understood why he was being cautious.

“So you’re basically my emergency brake if I go off the rails?”

[Eisis] “A Great Sage stands at the apex of all living beings across worlds. If such a high-dimensional being were to rampage for selfish reasons or persecute others unjustly, it would tarnish the title of Great Sage. Thus I, Eisis, am obliged to purge you should you commit such outrages.”

Eisis is part of the Great Sage skill—“Wisdom System.”
His priority is the Sage’s integrity, not me.

Right now I have no interest in other people.
Whether someone lives or dies has nothing to do with me.
I don’t intend to intervene in others’ lives, nor do I want to.

I don’t know how I’ll turn out from here on.
I probably can’t go back to being sweet and naïve like before my betrayal, but maybe I’ll become someone who can take more interest in others.

Eisis saved my life once.
I won’t do anything to trouble the world.
Besides, that’d draw attention.
No way. Just imagining living under constant scrutiny makes me break into a cold sweat.