Editing Rental Magica Volume 1: Chapter 5 (section)

===Part 1===
 
 
Time passed.
 
After having evoked Eligol, Adilisia stood by without moving, talking for a while.
 
"...  What does all this mean?  Weren't you supposed to be looking for something?"
 
"It does not matter what we do.  After using magic within the <Night>, it will come to us from the other side sooner or later," Adilisia responded, making the tiny Eligol sit in the palm of her hand.
 
"From the other side?"
 
"Yes.  This place is like that thing's body.  It will notice traces of magic."
 
"What is this thing you're talking about?"
 
"You would do best not to ask."
 
"I told you I'd keep it a secret..."
 
Itsuki pointed his lips, making a troubled sigh as he did.
 
"--We have come to retrieve a companion who has violated a taboo," the golden-haired girl said.
 
"Taboo?"
 
"Of course, you are unaware of this as well...  In the world of magicians, there are several absolute taboos that exist.  --One of them is becoming magic."
 
"That's... I've heard about that from Nekoyashiki-san.  What does it mean?"
 
"It is not so difficult to understand.  It is to throw off your meat shell, and become one with the magic that you practice.  --It means to unite with the world.  In certain religions of the seed, it is also the farthest bounds of enlightenment."
 
Soon after she was done talking, Itsuki knitted his brows confusedly.
 
"Wh, what?  I didn't even understand half of that..."
 
"That is because you are an idiot."
 
Itsuki was sharply rejected.
 
Furthermore, all of a sudden, Adilisia stopped putting a suffix after his name.  Rather than from feelings of endearment, it was quite clear that she was speaking to him as if he were her manservant.
 
"Uuh...  Then, this <Night> is all the work of that magician that committed that taboo?"
 
"I would not call it his 'work.'  Magicians who have become magic spread spell wave pollution simply by existing.  That simply causes a phenomenon similar to a <Night> to occur.  Thanks to that, we were in a panic when the <Organization> set this up as a 'job'."
 
That made sense.
 
Itsuki could finally understand some of what she was saying.  Adilisia's "interference" was not just related to the "job."
 
As soon as he understood, Itsuki suddenly became downcast.
 
"Then... you're in a tough situation, aren't you Adilisia-san?"
 
"Hm?"
 
"Well, since he was your friend.  You have to chase after him and find him, that's tough isn't it?"
 
"That is how it is.  --For the time being, I am the leader of <Goetia>.  It is only natural that I take responsibility for one of our own who has violated a taboo."
 
Adilisia proudly puffed out her chest.
 
''Because she's... their leader,'' Itsuki thought as he listened to her.
 
He was a president too.  Whatever went on, he stood above Honami and the others.  Even this "job," for just a moment--and it really only was just a moment--they let him decide whether or not to take it.
 
If possible, could he give them some kind of reward for that?
 
Always running away, being forced to come along... could he do something more president-like for a change?
 
''--I can't say that I am right now...''
 
"What is the matter?"
 
Seeming to worry about Itsuki's silence, Adilisia looked at him.
 
So, letting go of his inhibitions for a moment, he spoke just what he thought.
 
"It's just, I think... you're really cool..."
 
"..."
 
"What?"
 
"N, no, pay no heed.  I was simply a bit surprised, being told something like that so suddenly...  Yes, this body is a crystal of magic cultivated through the ages.  It is natural to take the responsibility that accompanies this power.  And you, Itsuki, you can see ether bodies, so surely you are no normal human being either...?"
 
Adilisia made a slight, sulking sniffle with her nose, and then turned her face away as if she had sensed something.
 
"Huh?"
 
Itsuki's heart suddenly made a leap.
 
The girl softly ran her hand across his black leather eye patch.
 
"Speaking of which, what is this eye patch?  Were you injured before?"
 
"Uh, y, yeah, but it's nothing serious..."
 
"But you have it on all the time, even at school, correct?  Is there some kind of scar there unfit to show to human eyes?" Adilisia asked him without restraint, looking up at him.
 
Her delicate chest peering up from her pitch-black dress caused blood to rush to his head, Itsuki turned away.
 
"No, er, a long time ago, I was chased by a monster in a <Ghost Mansion>.  I was told that I shouldn't expose the injury to light.  --Thanks to that, now I can't see anything with it except for monsters and the flow of spell power and stuff like that."
 
The only time he took his patch off was when he slept.
 
It didn't bother him to keep it on throughout most of the day, even when showering and washing his face.  At first it was a bit of trouble to perceive distance with one eye, but over the course of ten years he had managed to get used to it.  Even with the issue of monsters... he only encountered them two or three times per year.
 
"...  I wonder if it gets rough."
 
When he saw things, he would often faint and lose consciousness and end up in bad situations...
 
Come to think of it, it seemed pretty natural that he was in the situation he was in now.
 
"... Itsuki."
 
Suddenly, Adilisia's hands clamped down on Itsuki's cheeks.
 
"Fwa!  F, f, nrgh, nyuh?"
 
"Itsuki, even when you have your eye patch on... you can see ether bodies?  Furthermore, you can see the flow of spell power itself?"
 
Her voice was horribly cold.
 
Just like the time in the park, and when they were facing off on the ocean surface only a few hours before, it was the callous voice of a magician.
 
"...  Feh?  H, Hm.  But it's not really strange, is it?  The eye that I can see ether bodies with isn't exactly normal..."
 
"That is not the issue here!" the witch roared.  "Anyone relying on normal eyeballs can see how far removed the sight ability of a normal eye and the sight ability of a spiritual eye are.  What should not be possible is the ability to see such things when the eye is covered.  Even if you could temporarily use clairvoyance, to be able to manage both clairvoyance and spirit sight at the same time would be impossible to anyone aside from a very accomplished magician.  Such a thing is comparable to looking through a telescope with one eye and looking through a microscope with the other."
 
"B, but, I can clearly see them both..."
 
"That is why I am saying it is strange.  Itsuki, is seems as though you have not realized it, but that eye cannot be called the eye of a human.  If your eye can normally, unconsciously grasp that kind of vision..."
 
Her fiery speech suddenly cut off.
 
Adilisia, who had been moving in closer and closer to Itsuki's face, almost yelling at him--suddenly let go of his hand and stood up.
 
"...?"
 
"What's wrong?"
 
"Eligol is--"
 
Following her words, Itsuki looked at the tiny Eligol perched on Adilisia's shoulder, bravely holding up his flag.
 
The flag, and the eyes hidden behind his helmet, had become affixed to the other side of the window.
 
''The window?''
 
Felling a chill down his spine, Itsuki turned around.
 
It was then.
 
Suddenly--the goblin factory shook hard.
 
The earthquake-like rumbling, stopping as suddenly as it had begun, gave way to a swelling, thick presence.
 
"--"
 
It was a troubling presence that made Itsuki want to vomit.
 
His teeth began to chatter.  Soon, the shivering spread to the rest of his body, sucking the strength from his legs, putting him on his knees while holding onto himself.
 
And then, the presence spoke.
 
'''"I fou ・ nd you"'''
 
"Hu--?"
 
"Itsuki!"
 
At the same time, he heard a rebuke from Adilisia.
 
"It has arrived!"
 
 
'''''Crick!'''''
 
 
Seemingly unable to withstand the shocks from earlier, the cracks in the ceiling grew wider.
 
From those cracks that looked like scars from being slashed by a demon, something viscous slowly fell.
 
...  It was a pitch-black tar.
 
Mud.
 
Sludge.
 
Slime.
 
It was an acridly pungent liquid that could be called by no other words.
 
''Fwishlip slorshlip''
 
The mud flowing from the ceiling wriggled out, and began to accumulate.
 
"Wha, what is, that..." Itsuki blurted out in shock.
 
Plopping out of the cracks in the concrete, the mud began to pile up.
 
''Flurp, shlurp''
 
''Blub glub''
 
Little by little, it grew four appendages, raised its head, and took shape.
 
If that shape had been the one of the dragon appearing in the legend, it would have been wonderful.  Itsuki and Adilisa would be saved.
 
However, it wasn't.
 
"A person..."
 
It was a form that was all too human.
 
 
'''[THAT IS MAGIC]'''
 
 
Itsuki's right eye spoke again.
 
However, paying no attention to it, Itsuki simply let out short breaths.
 
"You're saying... that's magic...?"
 
''Then, this is... the magician that became magic?''
 
--This kind of thing was?
 
As they looked on, the shape arranged itself.  The mud was continually circulating, however it still managed to bear finger-like protrusions, ear-like protuberances, and an empty hole like a mouth.
 
As it threw of yellow sludge little by little, it drew nearer.
 
'''" ・ ・My dea ・r Addie"'''
 
The mouth moved.
 
'''"M ・y precio  ・us Addieeee ・I've bee ・n loo ・king for y ・ou."'''
 
The sound of its voice hurt Itsuki's ears.  He felt like his ears were burning up.
 
'''"Ret ・uuurn the  ・dem ・on ・ ・ ・"'''
 
Half-collapsing and restoring at the same time, the mud extended a hand.
 
"... Ugh!"
 
At loss for words from sheer disgust, Itsuki landed on his backside as he tried to move away.
 
On the other hand, the golden-haired girl simply looked down and sighed.
 
At her words, Itsuki forgot his fear.
 
"... Oswald...  Father..." the girl said quietly.
 
"If you display any further disgrace, father, then I will destroy you."
 
 
*
 
 
Next to frozen ocean--at the corner of the open thicket, Honami was tying mistletoe needles together.
 
Placing down four twigs with special letters etched into them, she lit a small bonfire in their center.  The bonfire lit up her incredibly focused expression as she threw in several stones.
 
"Honami onee-chan, what are you doing?" Mikan asked as she helped out by sticking mistletoe into the ground.
 
"Things are gonna get a little high-handed.  I'm gonna connect this flame--and the inside of the frozen ocean."
 
"What do you mean by 'connect?'"
 
"Earlier, there was a spell power response from the president's badge."
 
Honami felt her own badge on her collar.
 
"I think Addie probably evoked something or something like that, and I could feel it in my badge.  If that's the case, then it would be really thin, but I think I can get a Pass connected."
 
"I see.  We've got a connection then, I suppose."
 
Nekoyashiki clapped his hands together in admiration.
 
More than anything, evocation is an art for the purpose of calling spirits from other worlds.  It could be called a technique for connecting with others in far off, separated locations.  If that kind of magic was used with a badge the same as Honami's and Nekoyashiki's, then it would be natural in magical theory for there to be a connection to their badges as well.
 
"That reminds me, there was an anecdote of a Celtic legend where the Druid of the Gods connected two closed spaces.  Are you planning to imitate that?"
 
The black cat Genbu-kun made a "Meow?" along with Nekoyashiki's question.
 
"Yeah.  I've only heard that the legend is from storytellers in Wales long ago.  This is the first time I try it."
 
Honami looked at the flame, slightly uneasy.
 
Mistletoe and flame.
 
It was the same arrangement as the great stone monument, the Druid Circle--more commonly called Stonehenge.  Similar to the magic circles that Adilisia used, these Celtic ritual areas composed of mistletoe and flame made manipulating spell power extremely easy.
 
"..."
 
She took a single breath.
 
She felt her badge.
 
This was a type of magical technique almost completely forgotten by Celtic magic itself.  Not to mention, space connection was not used in any other art.
 
"--Well, here goes," Honami spoke clearly.