Simmering Jams at the Edge of the Forest

an Orison research job.
I moved next to Hugh, the listening staff member, as called.

“”

The doctor and Lady Adelaide were on the sofa across from each other, and Mark and Walter were on the single-seats on either side.
Mr.
Hugh rummaged through his bag and pulled out… A white board?

“This, is a magical tool.
Specially made.
When we heard that you were inconvenienced by the loss of your voice, the people in the technical section of the Academy of Magical Arts developed it.
This is a special pen.”

I was given a milky-white board with a slippery surface, like a thin A4 glass plate, and a pretty black quill pen.
Both were not as heavy as they appeared.

“Just write something random.
Self-introduction and stuff.”

As he spoke, I handwrote.
I’m Margaret, please don’t call me Miss… And.
Oh, the letters were written in a beautiful black color, after a little time, the letters themselves floated up, absorbed into the quill and disappeared.
Wow, that’s interesting.

“It won’t get lost like paper, and you can keep writing? Inside the barrel of the pen, there is a crushed magic stone.
The magic power injected into it takes the place of ink.
It’s made to circulate, so you can use it for a long time without running out of ink.
Well, there are inevitable losses, so it’s not permanent.”

“Well… You could do that.”

“There are kids with high magic power that they can’t control, so we’re making all kinds of things for them.
Ah, and since this is a prototype, can you try using it during this stay? I want you to tell me how it feels to use it because we’re going to improve it.
Let me know if you have any opinions on how long it’s showing up, or how much it weighs.”

Mr.
Hugh looked at me with satisfaction as I nodded and wrote yes, and continued his words.

“I really wish I could do something about your voice itself.
If the doctor couldn’t figure it out even after examining you, I guess it’s a little too much for us.
You might know something if you see the genie, but do you want to see him?”

Can we meet?

“They appear in the forests of the capital, but their presence is unstable, perhaps because it has only been a short time since they first appeared.
I guess that’s why the young lady was invited.
I can’t promise when they will show up or if we will actually see them.
But if you want to meet, I’ll make arrangements.”

Hmmm.
So, I would see them soon when I got a chance.
I moved the quill hurriedly.

“… Don’t you want to see them right now?”

Oh, Sir Walter.
What, hey, did I look weird or something? Oh, hey, so was everyone else.
No, it was a genie, I’d like to see it, to be honest.
Especially if they called me to this world.
But I guessed you couldn’t always see them if you went there now.
If we stayed in the capital until we meet, how many days would it take? That was a little… I kind of didn’t want to leave here.

Part of me was comfortable living with Lady Adelaide, but I felt like I shouldn’t leave this forest.

I thought I would be fine with just going to the Royal Palace for a night or so, but as I said, I didn’t think I could do it for days.
I didn’t have a reason, but if I had to say, it was a woman’s intuition.
It was pretty hit and miss.

“You don’t want to leave the land, huh?”

“Even with Addy? Of course, I’m with you when you go.”

With Dr.
Daniel and Lady Adelaide… I thought I could handle a bit.
For two or three days.

“I see, I understand.
Okay, then.
Next.”

The red-headed wizard was excited and happy to hear all kinds of things.
I was sure half of it had nothing to do with work, because Sir Walter’s furrowed brow was quite deep.
I got it.
This was a person who puts his own interests first pleasantly.

They didn’t ask me anything that was troubling, so I answered as much as I could.
I would pass on the law of conservation of energy, genes, and other things I couldn’t explain.
I just told them that that was the way it was over there.

One discovery there.
Apparently, the length of a day or a year seemed to be different between there and here.
The reason it was “seemed to be” was because I couldn’t explain the exact length of a second or anything like that.
Also, my watch was broken.
Living in the countryside, I didn’t even pay attention to the calendar because I didn’t look at it much, but oh, usually the first thing I noticed was that this was what people call sketchy, me.

Well, according to my rough calculations, I was roughly twenty-six years old this time… I didn’t really change much.
Wait, Mark, what do you mean you knew it?

“I always thought she didn’t look four years older than me.
I was right, after all.”

“Still, the young lady looks much younger.
About twenty-two or twenty-three?”

Twenty-two was a scam, then.
Was Mark so happy to have a four-year age difference turn to two-year? Don’t come all the way to pet my head.
Twenty-eight and twenty-six were no different, rounded off, I remain thirty, an adult woman.
Okay?

Mr.
Hugh, who was smiling happily, looked at my face.

“Okay, last but not least, let’s get down to business.”

Those beautiful emerald eyes had turned into that of a researcher.
I gulped at the seriousness in his eyes, and then he held my cheeks between his hands and our eyes met at close range.

“Margaret.
Can I examine those eyes of yours now?”

In the middle of the speech, Mark, who was next to me, suddenly grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away from Hugh, tugged me toward him, hugged my head and blocked my eyes.
The moment the magic tool on my lap fell to the floor with a crack, I felt not only that arm but also myself being wrapped in it.

What? Hey, why was I being hugged by Mark? I could hear the sound of Mark’s quick heartbeat, his chest pressing against me, and then… Oh, I was in trouble, why did I feel so safe in his arms? I was not getting used to him, was I?