143 Mushoku Tensei

Days after the graduation ceremony.

Right now I'm looking at a giant magic circle.
At first glance it looks like a brick.
Actually a stack of A2-sized paper with magic circle covered front and back.
At least 100 sheets or so tall.

Wooden frames keep the stack together on four corners, and the frame too have magic circle drawn on it.
Probably a magic tool of sorts.
Construction has taken a really long time.
I helped, but it has mostly been Nanahoshi.

"If you please."

Standing besides the magic circle, Nanahoshi said.
Cliff and Zanoba beside her.

They also helped with the research.
Thus they also want to witness the research advance as well.
Nanahoshi was reluctant, but since it's their right to ask, so she caved eventually.

That's the excuse, but honestly they're there in case that Nanahoshi goes berserk if it fails again.
And to help console Nanahoshi.
Console by the opposite sex, it should have some effect.
Men and women together, it has worked for me.
At least find a few guys to pamper her.
Head to a tavern somewhere, order some Dom Perignon, and go crazy.
Cliff, Zanoba, the three of us.

But this time I feel confident.
Cliff guaranteed when the blueprint was outlined.
Thanks to the "Arm of Zanoba" research, Cliff's skills have reached another level.
It should work... probably.

Okay.

"Magic injection begins."

I place a hand over the edge of the magic circle.

"..."

My magic begins pouring in.
Rapidly magic is sucked from my palm.

The consumption rate is incredible.
Probably beyond the capacity of anyone else.


Thinking carefully, it's obvious.
Back in the days, Sylphy was exhausted after just a single one of these magic circles, so equivalent of an advanced level magic in consumption.
And now we have 100 of them.
Although Cliff helped limit the magic consumption, so it's not 100 times, it should at least still be 10, 20 times the usual.

"How time consuming.  We should improve on this area a bit..."
"Shh."

Cliff murmurs to himself, but Nanahoshi stops him.

Blood-like, Magic streams continuously from my heart.
Magic circles shine in reaction to the magic.

Nothing feels off this time.
And the magic flow has been normal.
Light from the magic circle outlines complex pattersn.
Colors changing constantly.
Yellow, red, purple, white...
Deja vu.
I have seen these lights before.

Metastasis Event.
The same colors as back then.

What do I do?  Should I stop?
If it happens now, then Zanoba and Cliff will fell in as well.
No, it might lead to a bigger disaster.
Sylphy and Norm have school today too.
No, not just the school, the city, Luci, everything...

But, nothing strange thus far.
In the first place, the magic circle we made doesn't have that kind of power.
We spend a long time gaining experience to prevent that from happening.
It'll work.
It's fine; it'll work.

"...!"

Light glows brighter.
Then, it begins to dim.

Dong.

A soft noise.
Magic flow quickly ceased.
Light disappears from the magic circle.

"..."

Middle of the magic circle.
A green object.
A pretty round thing patterned black and green.
A shiny, watery item from earth, in patterns of black and green.

A watermelon.

"Success!"
"Awesome!"

Nanahoshi stands up, pose in victory.

"Congratulations, Shishou!"
"We did it!"

Cliff and Zanoba applause cheerfully.

"Say..."

Cliff approaches the watermelon in anticipation and pokes it.

"Green and yellow, what an inauspicious exterior... Can I hold it?  Will it bite?"
"Okay, but don't drop it.  It's unexpectedly fragile."
"Oh... It's rather heavy."

Cliff picks up the watermelon with curiosity and look all over it.
Watermelon does look rather unlucky.
For people of this world, the black and green pattern is something to be feared.
The inside is blood red too, of course it looks a bit disgusting.

But this world has many strangely shaped fruits and vegetables as well.
If we search carefully, it's possible that something like watermelon exists in this world too.
I think I remember seeing some kind of a melon before.

"Hey, Nanahoshi."
"What?"
"Now I think about it, wouldn't summoning a Yubari King be better?  Since that's a hybrid cultivar, it definitely wouldn't exist in this world."
"You... do you even know the difference between regular and hybrid melons?"

Having her saying that, I was a bit stumped as well.
At bets, I can tell prince melon and cantaloupe apart.

"Anyways, I can't go that detailed yet.  Actually, I was trying to summon a cabbage this time."

Subtle emotion surfaces as Nanahoshi said.

This world has vegatables like cabbage too.
So could we tell the difference?
Figure out whether we summoned a cabbage from this world than the other.
I'm no farmer.
Neither is Nanahoshi.
Summoning vegetables might be a mistake from the start.

"..."

No, it's fine.
A experiment based on theory, and we have results.
Then, this watermelon should be fine.
Although we can't confirm whether it's from this world.
But, all in all, watermelon is watermelon.
Calling it a success isn't a lie.

"Well, since it's a success, let's cerebrate!"

Zanoba looks uninterested, probably because it wasn't doll shaped.

"Ah, fine."

Badigadi, Pursena, and Rinia.
Those party people are gone.

The cerebration feels a little lonely without them.
But, put that aside for now.

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