That day, he took his family to an expensive yakiniku restaurant.
A few days after he sold his first copy, the joy gradually faded. He continued putting it up for sale after lectures, but no one looked at it.
He figured he should look at it as an occasional luxury.
“I found you!!”
That day, he went to the seeker association for a lecture, but suddenly, as if it crawled out of the ground, a terrifying fat man grabbed him by the shoulder.
His face was like prajna full of anger, and he failed to realize who it was at first. It was only after hearing him that he realized it was the first person who bought his book.
“One million for that book is too expensive. You can find tons of magic circles like those on the internet!”
Said the nasty complaining customer while pushing the book onto him.
Azabu was a little upset when he saw it. There were burn marks and stains. And even scraps of ramen noodles and onion attached to it.
Once a person bought a book, it was theirs, but as the author, this was no joke.
And so, no matter what the man said, he had no intention of refunding it.
“No. The cooling off period is over.”
“What’s that!? You sold a book with stuff you can find on the internet for a million yen! This is a scam! Give me back my money!”
“Like I said, the cooling off period was eight days. I can’t refund you now.”
“Guh!? You can do something about that, right!? Weren’t you the one who decided it?”
“No, it’s the law. You can sue if you want. I can’t refund you for a book this dirty anyway. If you paid a lot for it, how about treating it better?”
“Guh…”
He felt satisfied after hearing that and seeing the dejected fat man.
Then he realized that this young man most likely did not know how to use magic circles. He treated it poorly, but he was still the first person to buy his book, so he figured he would teach him how to use it.
“If you want to know how to use this book, come here tomorrow at ten. If you actually want to…”
He looked at the fat young man, and the pure eyes he saw before now seemed to be full of hope.
◇ ◇ ◇
He drank too much the previous day.
He had to drown his sorrows after seeing the book in such a sorry state.
His children were worried when they saw him hungover. He did his best to smile and tell them it was okay, but his teenage daughter smelled the alcohol in his breath.
Children were said to be difficult in this rebellious stage, but his daughter took the initiative in looking after her sister, which helped a lot.
He was late, but when he reached the seeker association, the man from the day before was waiting. And he seemed upset to be kept waiting for an hour.
“A-za-bu!! Keeping someone waiting for an hour, uh!? You’re the one who told me to be here at this time!”
“Sorry, don’t yell, my head is ringing. Come here, I have the conference room reserved this morning.”
After he returned from the bathroom, the eyes that were so pure the previous day seemed scornful.
But he felt better, so he went to the conference room to begin explaining.
He drew a magic circle in the air and showed off a trick he used in dinner parties, but the man did not like it. He was angry even.
He failed to grab his attention, and thought about how to recover, but had to get into the main topic because the man insisted.
The book itself could be made to float, but he would have to show that off some other time.
“To use magic circles, you need to understand their effects, composition, and the flow of magic energy. The effects of the magic circles are detailed under them, so you just look.
As for the composition, it’s basically the same as what I did when I drew one in the air. But if you want to use strong ones, you need to understand why they have that shape and why they cause that effect. Well, this is exclusive to people who have magic skills.
Next, since you have the Sewing skill, you need…”
He explained various things, and while he felt as though he was not being heard halfway through, the man’s face stayed serious.
How magic circles were put together was very important to skills like Sewing and Alchemy, but he worried if he understood.
Also, people with magic skills had to be careful when using magic circles, but Tanaka seemed to only have Sewing, so he figured he would be fine. The book had that warning as well, so there ought to be no issue.
After the explanation, he said something else for some reason.
“This is the complete edition of the magic circle dictionary! Act now, and you can get it for two million yen!”
“I’ll take it!”
He did not expect him to actually buy it.
He asked if he was sure, but the man said he definitely wanted it.
◇ ◇ ◇
Azabu spent his days watching his children grow.
He had the help of his parents, in-laws, and his second wife’s mother, so his children never had to be lonely.
Azabu even found time for hobbies, including some time for himself.
He took his youngest daughter to preschool, and then headed to a certain place.
It was a building with a sign that read the Church of Minsule. There were many elderly people on the first floor of this three story building, receiving Healing Magic in return for alms.
They could supposedly give what they wanted, but it ended up being expensive.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning. We don’t usually see you so early, Mister Azabu.”
The woman healing, Maya Seijyu, did not stop, and performed healing in accordance with the alms.
“Oh, that’s right. Can you take some food to our new friends? They are being chased, so someone needs to reach out to them.”
“…Yes. Where is it?”
Seijyu seemed happy with that response, but her eyes did not smile.
She focused on healing again, and Azabu thought back to a conversation he had years before.
◇ ◇ ◇
Two cups of black tea were brought to the table furthest back in a cafe, and Seijyu spoke.
“You believe a traffic accident resulted in your first wife’s death, but that is not true.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Exactly that. Someone killed the driver not long after he started the car. I don’t know what kind of trouble the driver and the killer had, but this murder is what killed your innocent wife.”
“What did that killer…”
“That killer is not in this world anymore. He was a former seeker whose hands were stained with bad deeds. The killer might have also been killed.”
“And why are you telling me this?”
“Oh? I thought you would be angrier.”
She said after a sip of tea.
Azabu put more strength into the hand that was on the table, and his lips were trembling a little. She knew he was not calm, and was simply holding back his anger.
“To be blunt, this is an invitation. You were victimized twice by seekers, so you understand how dangerous they are, correct? All we weak people can do is band together and look after each other. Won’t you join us?”
“Miss Seijyu, I appreciate the offer, but I cannot trust you. I heard bad rumors about Minsule. I can’t imagine this organization protecting me.”
Azabu got about and was about to leave.
He would do anything to protect his children, was the promise he made when he saw her dead body.
He would not lose any more loved ones. That was part of the reason why he got involved with the seeker association and formed a good relationship with its president.
Joining that religious organization would ruin what he was building up.
But Seijyu whispered something that made him stop.
“…It seems your second wife was still alive when that unit broke in.”
What broke inside Azabu showed its head again.
ーーー
Shinichi Azabu (42)
Level: 11
Skills: Sewing, Duplication
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