Sharl continued to take out her potion-making set one after another, arranging them on the workbench.
Then, as she explained something, she began adding extracts of leaves and fruits that I had never heard of.
As a result, triangular flasks filled with colorful liquids were being heated by alcohol lamps right before my eyes.
“Grand, isn’t it…”
“Watching the fire is relaxing, isn’t it?”
Not really.
It feels like some kind of ritual.
“Sharl, did you tell your parents about last week?”
Of course, about Mr. Wallace and Senior Joan.
“I haven’t. I told Chloe though.”
So, you didn’t tell your parents…
“Isn’t it necessary to tell them?”
“It needs to be done, but it’s obvious that it will bring about complications. We’ll stay quiet until we receive instructions from the academy or the administration. How about you, Tsukasa? Haven’t you told your parents or Toko-san?”
“I haven’t.”
It would be futile to tell Toko, who would only say, “Bad guy!” And if I told my parents, there’s a fear they’d forbid me from leaving the town.
My mom is overprotective.
“Right… I never thought our homeroom teacher Mr. Wallace or our free-spirited senior could be spies from another town.”
“Sharl, I’m still a bit unclear about this. What is this ‘other’ town? I’ve heard about something like that before, but is Astral split into different towns?”
“…You don’t know?”
“I haven’t asked anyone, and the thick book I received before enrollment hasn’t even been opened.”
It gives me a headache just thinking about it.
“Right… you didn’t take history either, did you?”
“We’re taking Curse Studies together, right? Unfortunately, I couldn’t take history.”
Damn…
“Anyway, even if you didn’t plan to take it… um, do you know how Astral came to be?”
“The witch hunts, right?”
Though even that is a bit vague to me.
“Are you familiar with the Magic Proxy Wars?”
“I heard about it from Senior Joan. The world was split into two during the war and fought against each other.”
“You know that much? Then, let me explain.”
“Please do.”
Sharp as ever, Miss Sharl, our home tutor.
“After the witch hunts, the alternate world of Astral was created, and various wizards fled here. Initially, the population was less than 100, but they gradually increased, surpassing 1,000 in less than a decade.”
“From all kinds of countries?”
“Exactly. There was a secret community of wizards back then, and through that, people began to gather here little by little, starting from Europe, then from Africa and America, and eventually even from the Far East of Japan.”
I don’t know exactly when it happened, but that’s impressive.
Back then, there were no internet or phones, either.
“So the population reached 1,000?”
“Not just that. It grew to 5,000 and eventually surpassed 10,000.”
“That’s a lot… There were that many wizards back then?”
Apparently, they were much more numerous in the past. Moreover, the wizards who fled also began having children with each other, increasing their numbers. Naturally, the town grew larger, and eventually, other towns were founded as well.
I suppose that makes sense.
“Are those the towns today?”
“No. Back then, there were only two or three, and they were located close to each other. However, things changed after conflicts between countries began. A simple example would be the Hundred Years’ War between our country and England. When something like that happened, relationships deteriorated here too.”
That’s not exactly simple…
“I learned that from Senior Joan as well.”
“Of course, it wasn’t just that. Gradually, wizards began to split along national lines, especially those from Europe. France, Germany, England, Italy, Portugal, Spain…”
Uuuh… I get it…
“What about Japan?”
“Japan? I have no idea. It was an isolated island nation at the time and there is almost no remaining information.”
The Edo period and its seclusion…
“So if they split by country, did they build towns for each country?”
“Exactly. Representatives were sent from each town to form an administrative committee, which became the predecessor to the current administrative committee.”
“Predecessor?”
“Towns split by country, and the administrative committee was created… It’s the same structure as the world over there. Over there, there were countries and a United Nations. Astral followed the same path. And then came the World War.”
The United Nations?
“And then?”
“The towns became nations and the proxy war of the real world took place here in Astral. The administrative committee was also split into the Axis and the Allies. For instance, after Germany lost, there were retaliations.”
“Did France lose?”
“Yes… Anyway…”
“That’s how it went…”
“Still, wars like that ended with the conclusion of the World War. Germany and Italy lost, by the way. Incidentally, Japan was kind of irrelevant. There were hardly any Japanese wizards in Astral.”
Irrelevant?
I feel kind of funny about that.
“What happened after the war ended?”
“There was a trend saying that dividing by country was not a good thing. After all, they came to Astral and fled to avoid such conflicts and persecution. Why were they repeating the same mistakes as the real world?”
I get it.
Honestly, I thought the same thing halfway through.
“And?”
“The current administrative committee prohibited wizard wars and declared that magic should exist for wizards, not for nations. After that, harsh punishments were imposed on conflicts and discrimination between countries.”
Discrimination…
“Mathias, right?”
“Yes. That’s why things ended that way. Though, if it were someone in a position of authority, it would’ve been a huge problem.”
The people around Sharl must’ve been pretty dangerous, huh?
“So does this mean there are no conflicts between countries now?”
“Yes, now there aren’t. Your friends Cedric and Frank get along well, don’t they? That wouldn’t have happened during the proxy wars.”
Cedric is from England and Frank is from Germany.
They were enemies back then.
“I see…”
“Nowadays it’s peaceful. Even your parents are a proof of that.”
A French mother, and a Japanese father.
“I understand the history, but why does a spy come into the picture?”
“The current towns aren’t divided by country, but people can move freely. However, now, instead of conflicts between countries, there could be disputes between towns.”
People sure do love their conflicts…
“Why?”
“Money, rights, magic… there are various reasons. I hate to say it, but people are prone to conflict. The will of individuals doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme… you understand, right?”
I get what Sharl is saying. We study together, train in martial arts, go on dates, and she teaches me things in this academy where we get along well. Yet, in reality, our families are at odds.
“It’s unavoidable, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. We should all just get along.”
Even though Sharl and Toko almost dueled over their dislike for each other…
As I watched Sharl make potions while we continued talking, it was already noon.
At noon, we ate lunch that Chloe had prepared. As Sharl stood up after finishing her meal, Chloe approached us.
“How was it?”
“It wasn’t exactly painful. But when I heard you were planning to start lessons with the books you wrote yourself, I was surprised.”
“I checked yesterday, but she said she first needed to teach the basics. I stopped her though.”
She’s probably right, Sharl, but please don’t do it.
I hate studying.
“But the potion-making was impressive. I don’t really know much about it, but when some mysterious liquid was added, it turned into carbonation.”
What was that?
“Rest assured. I don’t know either, and most people don’t.”
As Chloe and I were talking, Sharl returned.
“Hmm? What are you guys talking about?”
“Our thoughts on potion-making. It’s all kinda mysterious, right?”
“Well, perhaps… Okay, for the afternoon, let’s work on your requested ginger ale-flavored recovery potion, shall we?”
“Awesome, Ginger Ale.”
After finishing lunch, I went upstairs with Sharl and spent the afternoon in the training room, watching her continue making potions.
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