"Turn Around and Face Me!" 05 (Pixiv Fanbox)

05. Limiter

“A limiter…?”

“That’s right.”

The day after it was officially determined we would be attending the academy, Mother Claire and Mother Rei were the ones to bring this up to Mei and I.

“Now that you’re officially enrolled and set to attend the academy, we’d like to use some magic to limit your abilities.”

Mother Claire stated that they wanted to use a spell to limit and scale back my swordsmanship and Mei’s magic.

“Why should we have to do something like that?”

“… That sounds inconvenient.”

Neither Mei nor I understood our mothers’ intentions in doing so. Mother Claire soon continued.

“The two of you are simply too far ahead compared to your peers. If we allowed you to attend with your abilities unchecked, it could lead to unnecessary confusion.”

“Do you really think so?”

“… Why can’t we just hold back?”

At this point, both Mei and I were already used to holding ourselves back. We couldn’t really see ourselves messing that up now.

“That may work for the two of you. However, to the other children, you two would still just be too strong.”

This time, Mother Rei followed up to continue the explanation.

“Honestly, Alea, your swordsmanship, and Mei, your proficiency in magic, have already reached the pinnacle of this world’s standards. I think that’s really amazing, but at the same time it could demotivate your peers.”

Mother Rei explained that we each possessed large strengths, and, for better or for worse, that strength also carried with it a large influence.

“So you mentioned a limiter, but just how specifically do you intend to do this?”

“… If something comes up and we can’t use our full power, we can’t respond as required.”

“Don’t worry, Rei’s done well to come up with a good solution.”

“We don’t intend to completely restrain your abilities. We’ll make it so that the limiter can be temporarily removed under certain conditions.”

It seemed that Mother Rei had drawn inspiration from barrier magic that was originally used to dampen the potency of magic spells.

“More specifically?”

“When you act in your own interests, the limiter will give you access to about sixty percent of your strength.”

“… If we do something for others, there’s no limit?”

“Yup. That, and the limiter will deactivate itself if your lives are ever in danger, so don’t worry.”

Mother Rei had acquired a large variety of magic, but it seemed that this spell was her very own original invention.

“Do we have your understanding?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Mei doesn’t mind either…”

“Thank you. Alright them, you two, I’ll cast the spell now.”

　◆◇◆◇◆

“And that’s what happened.”

“… That’s why… It’s not that we held back.”

“Please think of it as s-something like a precautionary measure to ensure a smooth school life.”

Mei followed up and explained.

“… This is the mark.”

Mei showed everyone the lily pattern engraved on the back of her right hand.

“Hey, wait! Mei!”

“Ooh, so the mark is the shape of a Lily… Wait, just what’s got Alea so riled up?”

“I-It’s nothing, absolutely nothing!”

“… The area where the mark appears differs from person to person.”

“Oh? Then where’s Alea’s?”

“… Do you want to know?”

“Hm? Well, yeah.”

“… Well Alea’s is…”

“MEI!”

Unable to bear it any longer, I covered Mei’s mouth with my hands. There was no way I could let them know―that the mark had appeared on my bottom.

When we finished our explanation, Simone tilted her head as she spoke.

“Well, I guess I get it… But how’s that any different from the two of you holding back? No matter how exceptional the two of you may be, I don’t think it’s right to force a handicap like this.”

Simone seemed unhappy with the fact that our true strength was being suppressed. Rather than out of her personal pride, it seemed she was pitying us.

“Please don’t misunderstand, Simone. We’re okay with things like this.”

“… Mhm.”

“What do you mean?”

“We see this as a good challenge for us to overcome.”

“Challenge?”

Simone’s face had a question mark painted all over it.

“Well, I don’t mean to brag, but the number of students who could hope to match me in my swordsmanship would be rather limited.”

“Well, yeah, you are considered the God of the Sword.”

“That’s right. However, with the limiter, I have to look for ways to still perform under those imposed limits.”

“… I suppose so.”

“… Mei feels the same.”

“So, to us, these limits are a unique chance for us to learn.”

When I said that, I felt Simone’s gaze bore into me. Using all of her attention, it was as though she was scrutinizing every detail to see if I was putting up some sort of front. Then, she gave up after realizing that it was not and breathed a deep sigh.

“… Got it. If you two are okay with it, I guess it’s fine. Sorry for sticking my nose where it didn’t belong.”

“I’m glad that you’re so understanding.”

“However!”

“?”

“…?”

Simone’s tone took a sharp shift. Mei and I both directed our attention toward her, wondering what had happened.

“However… Since you two have accepted this handicap, I’m not going to hold back! I’ll do everything I can to beat you, so be ready!”

When I saw Simone’s face as she huffed and puffed making her determination and competitiveness clear, I was convinced that she and I would become great friends.

“Why yes, of course!”

“… Mei won’t lose either.”

“L-Lily will do her best too.”

Just as the conversation was about to wrap up,

“Ah… Oh. Rele, isn’t it still a bit too early for snack time?”

“!? A monster!?”

When an amorphous form slipped out from my bag, the students around us began to stir.

“Wait! She isn’t a monster! She’s just a familiar! Isn’t that right, Alea?”

As the crowd around us readied their wands to attack Rele―a baby water slime―Simone stood in their way.

“… Just as Simone says, Rele is Alea’s familiar. She means no harm.”

“A familiar!? This is the first time I’ve seen one!”

“Oh, she’s right, the core is gold.”

The other students calmed down after hearing Mei’s explanation, and now just stared at Rele in curiosity. Rele herself remained unconcerned of their glares and instead just observed her surroundings at her own pace.

“Now that you mention it, Claire-sama kept a familiar too, didn’t she?”

“More accurately, that was Mother Rei, but that’s right, my Rele and Mei’s Laire are daughters of Relaire, the water slime my mothers kept in their company.”

“Mei, you have one too?”

“… Yeah, she’s quite timid though. Laire, come on out.”

When Mei drew a circle with her staff, a silver slime cutely popped out from the circle.

“Woah, that’s rare! This little one's a metal slime!”

“… Simone, you’re well informed.”

“W-Well yeah.”

Laire was a metal slime, possessing a very tough silver body. This species, however, was rather famous for being timid and thus very rarely showed themselves before people. As though to prove that, when Laire noticed how many people surrounded her, she quickly hid behind Mei.

“Hm… I think I’ve got it. I feel that Rele might have the ability to heal?”

“Oh? I’m impressed you could tell. That’s right, This girl just loves medicinal herbs, she’s a Heal Slime.”

Water slimes had the ability to eat a variety of things and absorb the associated properties. Rele absorbed many medicinal herbs and became able to use healing magic.

“Then Laire eats… like, junk?”

“… That’s correct. She likes anything metal. She’ll even gobble down knives.”

On top of her naturally durable body, she regularly consumed sharp objects making her very resistant to physical damage.

“Ah, then it’s just as I thought.”

“W-What were you thinking, Simone-chan?”

“The reason the two of you chose these two as your familiars.”

Simone crossed her arms as she explained her thought process.

“Alea’s familiar is a heal slime, she can use healing magic. Absolutely perfect since Alea excels at the sword, but can’t use magic herself.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“On the other hand, Mei’s metal slime specializes in defense and can act as Mei’s vanguard. Mei just wants to cast her spells from the back, so again, they’re a perfect match.”

“… Correct.”

I found myself very impressed by Simone’s sense of perception. Considering what happened with her cultures and refinement exam, while she had a clumsy side, she was actually rather sharp. Just as I was about to praise her observations,

“Ooh~ Just what you’d expect from a demon! Must really be knowledgeable about their own kind.”

A voice from someone who didn’t even try to hide their scorn called out from the crowd.

“Who was that!? Just now, who was the one who insulted my friend!”

Making my anger clear, I scowled and scanned the area. I couldn’t figure out who it was, but now that I had spoken up, it didn’t seem they had any intention to insult Simone further.

“Alea, it’s fine.”

“No, it is not! I won’t let such insolence pass, to the very least, not while I’m here!”

“Really… I’m fine. Come on, the bell’s gonna ring. We should get to our desks.”

“Simone…”

“As long as people like you, who do have a chance of understanding me, do make the effort to… That’s more than enough for me.”

With a fragile smile that I wasn’t used to seeing on her, Simone sat down at her desk and prepared for our next lecture.

“A-, Alea-chan… Now’s not the time.”

“Lily-sama, not you too. Why?”

“T-The, the p-prejudice against demonkind isn’t something that can be solved so easily.”

“That’s…! I mean, Simone possesses mixed blood, she isn’t a demon―”

“Could you say that to the face of someone who’s lost their family to demons, Alea François-san?”

The voice that suddenly addressed me did not come from a place of blame or criticism, but one hoping to enlighten me to something. The voice belonged to an older man in spellcaster’s garb.

“Pardon me, but may I ask who you are…?”

“I am the one in charge of this grade, Trid Magic.”

“Oh so you’re… No, that’s not important right now. Could I ask what you meant by what you said?”

“Did you not understand?”

“Unfortunately not.”

“In that case, that will be your homework. You can submit your answer to me whenever you’d like. Well then, today’s representative, if you would please.”

“S-Stand!”

After that, our lecture began as it normally would. This teacher, who introduced himself as Trid, lectured us on magical theory. His lecture was both easy to understand, but also very detailed.

Unfortunately, I was unable to commit even half of what he taught to memory.

“To the victims who’ve lost their family to demons…? Why yes, I suppose I could?”

But―

But if it were Lily-sama, I was sure that she’d feel some hesitation over that. That was something Lily-sama possessed. Something important that she did, but I did not. That’s the feeling I got.

However, just what that ‘something’ was, was still too difficult for me to understand.