Simmering Jams at the Edge of the Forest

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In the past, I was the most senior student at the school and he was a new student, but because of his high magical power and special characteristics, we had attended lectures together in some classes, and the other side remembered me.

“I read about her in the report, but I wonder what she’s really like~.
I’m looking forward to it.”

We took a street carriage to Meissery.
As Hugh said, he didn’t want to take the Countess’s carriage.
He had been talking to me in a friendly manner, but he didn’t seem to look for a response and was content with polite responses.

Courtesy to elders, or hierarchy based on status, was meaningless to a powerful person in a magic academy.
I was one of the people few casually approached because I have my father’s frightening appearance that I was aware of, so it was a good thing.

When we were approaching Meissery, we were indeed interrupted when he suddenly told Auriga about the change of destination.

“We’re going to meet the village chief first.”

“I know, but we have no business with the chief.
Besides, wouldn’t it be better to sneak in suddenly to see the real ‘Orison’?”

I was pushed, but it was true that I wanted to see a side of the person my mother was with that was not seen on the outside.

As we quietly exited the carriage in front of a house that stood near a forest on the outskirts of the village and was so unfamiliar that we felt no nostalgia, we were stopped as we tried to make our way to the front door.

“Shush, be quiet.
This way.
Backyard? … Wow, I’ve seen nothing like this…”

Hugh’s special magic was in his eyes.
He could actually see the magical power that was normally perceived only as a flow of air.
It seemed that not only could he see, but he could also interfere, but the full extent of this seemed to be classified even in the Academy of Magic, and only a few, including the head of the Academy, were aware of it.

He looked at the sky and the air with interest, and when I turned to the backyard as he indicated, I found the woman standing in the field with a basket of vegetables, looking up at the sky.

Crisp, old-style clothing, wide-brimmed straw hat.
Each one of those was familiar to me and probably belonged to my mother.
Although I could not make out her face because of the distance and her back to us, she wore a calm air that blended in with the forest.

A big dog from the woods… When she got out of the field with the dog, named Buddy, that she kept, which I thought I had read from a letter, she squatted down and played with the dog.

“….Hgh.”

Hugh, next to me, looked with a breathless gaze.

… I was amazed.

Golden light particles were flying around her.
Not just that, they were apparently playing with her.
As I had heard that she had lost her voice, I did not hear a single note of her voice, but I could tell by looking at her that she was being jostled around.

‘The Fairy Egg’… There could be no better proof.
Her hat fell off and our eyes were drawn to the glossy black hair that spilled out.

Suddenly, I noticed that Hugh, who had apparently lost interest, was walking forward.

She must have been surprised by our sudden appearance, but she regained her composure and made a splendid ladylike bow.
It was so perfect that I wondered if this was a royal garden.

Finally, I stood in front and looked at her.
Black hair, mysterious odd eyes, skin as white as a flower in a summer fountain.
She looked much younger than the age I had heard.
My mother’s dress fitted her well and didn’t look old.
How serious was the near-death wound on this slender body?

This was ‘the Orison’ but… Wasn’t the distance too close? It would not be the distance between adult men and women who had never met before, who were not dancing.
When I froze because I felt like I might touch her if I moved improperly, she smiled blithely and told me to hold out my hand.

After looking at my hand sullenly, her slender fingertips slowly spelled out the words.

Why cookies? I didn’t know what ‘the Orison’ thought.

A body smaller than I remembered, a voice weaker.
Mother reminded me of the years I had spent without seeing her, which made me feel old.

Margaret, ‘the Orison’ with my mother, looked much more like a biological child than I was.
I had no right to feel alienated while causing that myself.

And, after all, mother still seemed to prefer life without magical tools as much as ever.
I could clearly see the annoyed look on the face of the head chef of the royal residence as she stood in the kitchen by herself.
It was immediately apparent that Margaret was comfortable with this lifestyle.
She didn’t seem to be overworked.

I was also concerned about her proximity to Hugh, but then again, did the report say that she had poor eyesight? She should get some glasses when she got to the capital.
I hoped she would have the proper gender distance to protect herself.

“No, you showed me something good~.”

“That’s your bright red face they’re talking about.
We certainly saw some unusual things.”

“Bwuhhhh, there’s the little one! The egg, the egg!”

This was also rare, honorific.
She was very upset.
We were now walking towards the village center to leave the mansion and go to the village chief’s place.
The elite of the Academy of Arts and Crafts, whose personality aside, his abilities should be well known, said something unexpected.

“Hugh must be going to the forest as well.
Isn’t he meeting the spirits and fairy eggs?”

“The genie is shy, and so far, the only person I’ve been able to meet at the Academy of Magic is the head of the class.
They don’t let me into the forest itself in the first place.
I can only go as far as the forest entrance.”

I wonder if this man, yawning with boredom, was really thirty years old.

The forest where the spirits appeared was a mysterious place where many things remained unexplained.
The most important thing was that there was some kind of boundary in the forest and usually humans were not allowed to enter.

“Well, let’s leave it at that.
I’m sure she’s an ‘Orison’, you know.
Then there are those eyes… I wonder if I could have a look.”

“Is there anything strange?”

“Hmm~.
No, it’s more of a confirmation than a suspicion.
But, well, even if I didn’t, I’d still want to check it out.”

The Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry was full of research idiots.
It must be a very uncomfortable experience for those who had to deal with it.

“… Don’t force her.”

“I won’t.
I’m gentle with pretty girls.
Also, it would be reckless to offend the ‘Orison’… Hmm? I wonder what will happen.
Haha, I’m curious.”

I walked along the country road, with no time to relax my brow, with a somewhat untrustworthy man as my companion.