“Uh… What’s with that reaction?”
It seems like something really bad is happening.
“Tsukasa, why are you wearing that!?”
Mother shouts at me.
“If I explain, it’ll take a while…”
“Be brief!”
“Grandfather said if I wanted to become a wizard, I should wear it. I don’t fully understand, but once I put it on, I couldn’t take it off. Mother, please remove this curse.”
Mother is supposedly a great wizard from a prestigious family.
I don’t have anyone to compare her to, so I don’t know the specifics.
“Show it to me!”
Mother grabs my arm and raises her hand to the bracelet.
Warm light begins to emanate from her palm.
“Ugh!”
The warm light continues to shine on the bracelet, yet nothing happens, and Mother’s face begins to distort.
“Mother, your magic is running out. You don’t seem to have much power.”
Mother doesn’t have that much magical power; I have more than her.
“It’s only because you have too much! Ugh! This bracelet… is it absorbing Tsukasa’s magic!?”
Mother continues to emit warm light onto the bracelet, but still, nothing happens.
“Ugh…!”
Mother’s face starts to turn pale.
“Mother, stop!”
“Ms. Giselle, that’s enough!”
Father and the Principal grab Mother’s arms to stop her.
“Ugh… No… This can’t be…”
Mother lets go of my arm and slouches her head in defeat.
It seems the curse removal has failed.
“Hey, hey, what is this bracelet?”
I understand it to be a really bad situation by the reaction alone.
“Should I explain?”
The Principal looks at my parents, who slowly nod.
“Is it that serious…?”
“Let me explain from the beginning. A few days before today, as I mentioned earlier, in that other world… commonly known as Astral, a bracelet was stolen from the treasure vault.”
Could this be about that bracelet?
“And?”
“As a result of the investigation, it became clear that the culprit was Mr. Kiyoshi… Your grandfather.”
Well, since you got it from Grandfather, I kind of guessed as much.
“Why would Grandfather steal something?”
Grandfather’s the stupid one here.
“The motive is unknown. To begin with, Mr. Kiyoshi is a dignitary involved in the management of Astral. Why would he do such a thing?”
So Grandfather is important…
That’s why he gave me 30,000 yen for New Year’s every time.
“Hmm… Is this the stolen bracelet? If it’s from a treasure vault, it’s a rare item, right?”
“Yes. Very rare. Extremely rare…”
“Can I return it…?”
It’s in the way, so I don’t want it anyway.
“That seems impossible, as Ms. Giselle has already proven. If even someone with Ms. Giselle’s caliber of wizardry can’t do it, then no one can.”
Impossible…
“Ah, then what should we do?”
“One option is to cut off your arm.”
Huh?
“I’d like to strongly reject that option…”
“Of course, one would… but this bracelet is problematic.”
“Is it expensive?”
Will Father and Mother pay for it?
No, Grandfather should pay.
“You can’t put a price on it. It’s not about that; this bracelet steals the life of those who wear it.”
Huh?
“Am I going to die?”
When I ask, the Principal lowers his eyes.
“Why will I die?”
“…This bracelet is called the ‘Wristlet of Thirst.’ It slowly consumes the magic of the wearer, eventually taking away their life energy.”
Eek!
“Teacher, please cut off my arm!”
“Eh? Is that alright?”
“Of course! Which would you rather have, Teacher, die or lose an arm?”
Are you stupid!?
“Well, that’s understandable… But, there might be another method.”
Eh!? There is!?
“Hurry up and say it! What is it!?”
“That’s what we were discussing with your parents. Simply put, we should use a curse-breaking spell.”
Curse breaking…
“But Mother couldn’t do it, right? If she couldn’t, then no other wizard can do it, right?”
I said that just now.
“Yes… But that’s when trying to remove the curse from the outside.”
Outside?
“What do you mean?”
“When removing a curse, it’s more efficient for the person cursed to remove it themselves rather than letting someone else do it.”
Ah, I see?
“Um… So, if I remove the curse, then that’s fine?”
“That’s correct.”
Curse breaking…
“Umm… But I can’t even use fire magic properly…”
“Not to mention, I can’t use anything except for physical enhancement.”
“Yes. That’s why you’ll train from now on. Fortunately, even from my perspective, Tsukasa has an immense amount of magical power.”
I just have a lot of magic power…
Even if you have a massive hammer, what’s the point if you can’t swing it?
“Will it work?”
“That depends on you. The worst-case scenario is cutting off your arm…”
“Hmm… I’m glad I put it on my left arm… It’s not my dominant one.”
“Aren’t you giving up too quickly?”
Shut up. I lack confidence.
“Should I learn from Mother?”
“That’s one option.”
“What do you mean ‘one’?”
Is there another?
“Tsukasa, would you like to come to my place?”
Your place?
“The Magic Academy, right?”
“Yes. You’ll study magic there and learn the curse-breaking spell. From what I’ve seen, you haven’t really trained in magic, have you? Someone like that couldn’t suddenly use advanced curse-breaking magic. So, it would be better to start from the foundation of magic control and gradually train.”
“Gradually…”
“We don’t have that much time, do we?”
“No, this is a fortunate situation. Since Tsukasa has significant magical reserves, you won’t run out of magic and die immediately.”
“Will we…?”
“I apologize. Due to the item being ancient, the records are scarce. However, this method is undoubtedly the shortest path.”
So, that’s how it is…
“Cutting off the arm is the worst-case scenario, right…?”
“Please consider it. I’ll come back for your answer…”
The Principal says that and stands up.
“Eh?”
I look at the Principal in surprise.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not like I need to think about it… The answer is already clear, isn’t it?”
It’s the only option.
What is there to think about?
“Well, yes, but… You need to consult with your parents and consider various things. Attending the magic academy means dropping out of your current high school…”
“Dropping out…”
“Teacher… I failed the high school exams, so I’ve been unemployed since April…”
When I say that, my parents drop their gaze and become silent.
“Eh? Ah, so that’s why…”
The Principal seems to have realized something.
“I apologize…”
“I, it’s not unusual. In any case, please discuss with your parents. If you decide, let us know.”
“Understood…”
“Then I shall take my leave… Mr. Makoto, Ms. Giselle, I’ll search through some records back at the Academy as well.”
The Principal bows to my father and mother.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you for your help.”
My parents bow in return as the Principal leaves, leaving just the three of us in the room.
Thank you for reading.
If you found this work ‘Interesting!’ or ‘I want to know what happens next!’, bookmarking it or rating it ★★★★☆ would be a great encouragement for my writing.
I deeply appreciate your support!
