Chapter 2

"I'm sorry."

Deeply, deeply.

I bowed my head.

To be honest.

I wasn't feeling sad or lonely.

I wasn't even feeling angry or indignant.

First and foremost.

Ah, so this moment has finally come.

That's what I thought.

My hair wasn't white from the start, and I couldn't use this "power" from the beginning.

One day, it happened suddenly.

My family had no connection to magic, generation after generation. I knew that there were quite a few people called magicians in this world, and there were schools and companies for such people, and they were integrated into society to some extent.

Magic, fundamentally, is something innate; it doesn't just bloom one day.

Of course, even those who can't use magic have magical power, but it only exists at the minimum level necessary to sustain life. You can't suddenly use that power to produce fire, water, or lightning. Impossible is impossible. You can't do magic tricks without seeds.

Therefore, families without magic could live their entire lives without any connection to it, unless their neighbors were a family of magicians. My family thought the same.

"Magic would be convenient, right?" That's how they felt.

But it didn't turn out that way.

A sudden mutation.

I still remember the doctor saying that. Without incorporating the blood of a magician, it was impossible for a child with magic to be born in an ordinary family.

However.

An exception to the exception happened to me.

Of course, it was a shock to my parents.

One day, I suddenly fell ill, and they were deeply worried. Even after taking me to the hospital, I was diagnosed as healthy, and they were scared, thinking it might be some unknown disease.

About a week later, my black hair turned white as if bleached. Another week passed, and objects around me started breaking without any warning.

I thought it was a poltergeist at the time. ...I didn't think it was my fault.

That's when I started to think something was wrong. My parents, fearing the worst, took me to a magic hospital this time.

It was the right decision.

An abnormal amount of magical power was swirling inside me.

From that day on, the way my parents looked at me changed.

Magic is convenient when you can use it, but terrifying when you can't.

I think that's true.

I was scared too. I didn't know what to do.

The doctor kept complaining that he had never seen such a level of magical power. He was at a loss about how to handle me, treating me like a bomb that would explode if touched. I was isolated in a room, connected to a machine that slowly drained my magical power.

My parents gradually stopped visiting. They were trying to hide it, but they were clearly afraid of me. By this time, I had a vague feeling.

Probably. I would have to live a different life from these people.

...I didn't even know if I could survive from that point on.

So, let's return to the beginning.

I don't know what to do even if you apologize.

Before I could ask what to do, a beautiful woman appeared behind my parents.

"Nice to meet you, Seiya Nakajo."

She had dazzlingly beautiful skin and blonde hair. The woman with sky-blue eyes spoke fluent Japanese, which contrasted with her appearance.

"I'll cure your condition. You can leave the hospital today. Then, become my disciple. I'll teach you magic."

Her words were true.

Before I knew it, my condition had improved. Despite my parents' panic and the doctor's objections, the woman took me to her mansion. Yes, a mansion. A grand one at that.

When she said, "It's still not as good as Aizan City next door," I was even more surprised.

...That's where I met him, too.

☆

With a dull thud, the man in front of me fell to the ground.

I didn't kill him. I just knocked him out.

"...Is that all of them?"

I should have neutralized the number of people my master mentioned.

"You're done. Good work."

She entered the room as if on cue.

"So, did you find what you were looking for?"

"Um... Unfortunately, no. I thought it might be here, but..."

She put her hand to her cheek and sighed wistfully.

...A considerable amount of time has passed since then. My relationship with this woman as master and disciple has continued. And her appearance hasn't aged at all. Is she using magic? ...Maybe she's actually a wrinkled old lady like a pickled plum.

"Are you thinking something impolite?"

"Absolutely not."

I hurriedly denied it. It seems my thoughts were showing on my face. I need to be more careful.

Then, I suddenly noticed.

"Master, what's in your hand?"

"Oh, this?"

She lifted it. It looked like an old, worn-out hand mirror...

"When activated, it can jump to a different dimension. Want to try it?"

"No, thank you."

I answered immediately. It seemed to be a troublesome magical tool.

"Come on. If it gets dangerous, you can use your ability to jump back here right away."

"My teleportation magic hasn't been proven to jump between dimensions."

"Then, let's test it here—ah! This mirror is quite expensive..."

Before she could make any strange moves, I smashed it.

"I'm quite satisfied with this world."

"Hmm, fine then."

She seemed to have given up and casually threw it behind her.

"Still, you infiltrated and eliminated a base of 129 people in just 15 minutes. Not bad at all."

"Thank you."

"I'm happy that you've grown this much, even though you can't chant spells."

"Why are you suddenly talking about aging?"

That's right.

I can't chant spells.

From a magician's perspective, I'm a complete defective product. When I first realized this, I laughed in disbelief. I, who was abandoned by my parents because I could use magic, couldn't even use it properly. It was too black of a joke.

However.

I have one unique ability that even ordinary magicians can't handle.

That's teleportation magic.

To be precise, it's a magic that achieves the same result as teleportation, but the details don't matter. Anyway, this became an essential skill for me, who can't chant spells. By using this teleportation magic and other spells that can manifest without chanting, I finally found value as a magician.

"Here, take this."

"Huh? What is this?"

Without understanding the "here," I looked at the piece of paper handed to me. This is...

"A passport?"

"Yes. You've been in America for two years now. Aren't you starting to miss Japan?"

...What?

"Complete one more job for me. There's someone waiting for you at the airport. Ask them for the details. After that, I'll give you a little vacation. You've been working too much lately."

...What?

"What's wrong? Why the puzzled look?"

"...Did you eat something bad? Such a kind master is creepy!?"

"Watch your mouth, Seiya?"

"...Y-Yes."

...Smack... with a fist... to the face...

"It's pure kindness. When you return to Japan, finish the light work quickly and take a little break."

...Are you joking?

Really?

Besides, can I really handle that job alone? I'm a rookie magician who just got my license.

And.

"But, we still haven't found what we're looking for, right?"

That's the reason we've been moving.

"I said it's a vacation. After it's over, you'll work hard again."

...Is that so?

"Is it okay? Take it easy. Your flight is soon."

"Huh?"

I looked at the flight time on the ticket handed to me in a hurry.

...It was less than 30 minutes away.

"Jump, jump quickly."

"Something I always say!! Tell me earlier!!"

I grabbed my master's hand to use the teleportation magic.

You might think that with this magic, there's no need to use a plane. However, teleportation magic isn't that omnipotent. The farther the distance, the more magical power it consumes, and if you teleport to a location outside your field of vision, the coordinates might be off, potentially involving surrounding objects.

It's impossible to jump from America to Japan. That's why I can't miss the flight.

First, I need to pack. I can't return empty-handed. I hurriedly packed and went to the airport... Normally, it would be impossible, but with teleportation magic, it's doable.

That's probably why my master didn't tell me until the last minute.

Still, Japan. It's been a while. I should visit him too. "Bring me some souvenirs~" my master mumbled in her sleep, which I ignored as I thought about these things.

And because I was thinking about these things.

I forgot to confirm whether the job was something a rookie magician like me could handle.