[V3C20] Tia Grows Up
Translated by Jodas 3: The Fateful BrothersApprentice Mage Rukiye Sorge sat before the worktable and, while wordlessly mixing the paints, she thought back to the exchange earlier.
(……Maybe I was a little harsh there.)
Rukiye was satisfied just being able to work as a magical device artisan, so she had little interest in forming interpersonal relationships. If anything, she wanted people to leave her alone if possible.
It didn’t interest her whether or not Tia got into a fight with Julius.
Regardless, she couldn’t forgive her for damaging something an artisan made.
(How much time do you think it takes just to work the metal and jewels in that bracelet? It takes an insane amount of work to make a suitable base for a magical device! What kind of idiot just throws something like that to the ground!? Actually, maybe Julius is the bigger idiot for pushing something like that onto a child who doesn’t know how much things are worth, hoping it’ll make him friends! Just what do these people think magical devices are!?)
Just remembering it pissed her off, so she refocused her energy on her hands to keep mixing the paint.
At the table to her side, Management Office Director Kappel and his assistant Barrett were discussing about the angle of the Magical Flying Device’s wings.
Rukiye was happy to be in an environment where people spoke to each other so passionately about magical devices like this. It almost made her consider staying overnight in this workroom.
At that moment, the door flew open with a loud thud.
Waddling briskly into the room came the white-haired girl who’d run out a few minutes ago — Tia Vogel.
“Pefu, pefu” After running back into the same room as before, Tia caught her breath as she looked around the room.
Director Kappel, Barrett, and Rukiye. Confirming the same people were here as before, Tia spoke up.
“What I said earlier was wrong! Relying on a magical device isn’t disgusting, it was frustrating! I was frustrated that I had to rely on a magical device because I couldn’t fly on my own! But still…..”
That feeling of frustration for relying on a tool didn’t go away.
However, now that she was aware of the frustration inside her, she could chew on it and swallow it.
Pushing that frustration deep into her stomach, there was something she had to address.
“I wasn’t properly thinking about the people who made that device, and I’m sorry.”
She was speaking to all three of the people there, but for some reason both Director Kappel and Barrett moved in sync to look at Rukiye.
Rukiye, being stared at by two adults, darted her eyes around uncomfortably, then muttered.
“……So, what’re you going to do? The Magical Flying Device. Will you use it, or not?”
“I’ll use it. I want, to use it.”
Since coming to the Wedge Tower, she’d been helped by Wren and Sevil tons of times. She had felt happy to receive that help.
When she was helped by tools, she should try not to forget that feeling.
Tia closed her eyes, and spoke to her own heart.
(That feeling of ‘thank you’ towards that kind someone who made this handy device for me. That’s important. Very important.)
Deciding her resolve and opening her eyes, she only saw the upper half of an old man’s face directly in front of her eyes.
Tia shrieked.
“Pyofuu!?”
“You said it, right? You said you’d use it, right? Great, then let’s give it a whirl! Barrett! bring your notepad!”
“Ah, you know, I think maybe we should take it a little more slowly……. Sure thing, boss.”
Kappel responded to Barrett’s negative attitude with a shout of “You fool!”
Then he quickly shuffled around behind Tia’s back and pushed her by the shoulders towards Barrett.
“Behold! Look at this kid’s hope-filled eyes!”
Tia’s eyes were currently busy searching for possible threats.
Disregarding Tia’s nervous chirping and her battle stance, Kappel kept talking without pause.
“Are you trying to crush the dreams of a pure-hearted child!?”
“No, but, the safety……”
“You’ll be there, so no problem, right?”
Kappel’s statement elicited a deep sigh from Barrett.
“…..Yes, yes, I’ll do everything I can. Sheesh, at least this grandpa is honest about his desires…..”
After making a series of adjustments to the Magical Flying Device, Kappel led Tia and Barrett outside.
Rukiye continued with her paint-mixing work in the workshop, but looking at her from outside the window, she’d moved to a different seat than before. She now sat somewhere from which she could see out of the window.
Tia waved at her, but Rukiye didn’t wave back.
“Now, without further ado, let’s show you how this thing works!”
Brimming with excitement, Director Kappel showed off the magical device in his hands.
To put it simply, the Magical Flying Device consisted of a metal box with metal boards acting as wings strapped to the sides. To make the box easier to wear, it had a leather belt attached to it.
“Put this on! Pour mana into it! Then wind will come out and you’ll float so all that’s left if to balance yourself! That’s it!”
“Director, be more specific…..”
“You fool! When explaining something to a kid, the key is to make it as simple as possible without using any specialized jargon. Anyway, come on, put it on!”
Responding “Okaaay,” Tia hoisted the Magical Flying Device onto her back. In addition to the shoulder straps, a belt ran across her chest to keep it in place. It would be dangerous if it wasn’t secured in place like that.
The magical device on her back was reasonably heavy. Tia was strong, so it wasn’t an issue for her, but considering that it was meant for flying, she would have thought a lighter device would have been a better choice.
In reality, Director Kappel thought the same way.
“Making it more lightweight is our next objective. But, it could become more unstable if we lighten it too much. Getting the balance just right is the hard part…… Alright, the belts are good to go! Now try pulling the lever on the side of the box.”
“Lever?”
“The thing sticking out of the side of the box.”
As he said, Tia patted around until she grasped something sticking out, then pulled. When she did, she heard a THUNK sound come from her back.
She fearfully looked behind her to see that the folded metal wings now spread wide to her sides.
“Piyo, so cool! The wings fold out!”
“Yes they do, yes they do! It would be annoying if you were walking around cramped spaces with those wings sticking out.”
Certainly, if she were to walk around in tight spaces with her wings spread out, she would definitely bump into people and things. He thought it through pretty well.
This must have been what Ella meant when she talked about ‘the kindness of the people who made tools.’
As Tia relished in feeling that for herself, Kappel raised a fist and shouted with force.
“More importantly, transformation is awesome! It’s romantic! You aren’t a true artisan if you spend all your time worrying about functionality!”
‘What about the kindness of the creator?’ Tia thought.
Barrett smiled dryly as he interjected.
“Director, romanticism won’t put food on the table. Please take the user’s needs into account.”
“Hmph! I don’t care about the user’s needs! I make what I want to make! Let those rascals at the Finance Office do all the annoying worrying about budgets and whatnot! Gahahahaha! I get to make what I want and make money doing it, so I can’t stop laughing!”
Touched by Ella’s earnest feelings, Tia had thought to never forget her gratitude towards those who made tools for her.
That feeling had been blown away with incredible speed.
(There sure are all kinds of humans out there…..)
In this moment, Tia took one step towards adulthood.
To that Tia, Kappel declared gleefully.
“Now, it’s time for the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Come on and pour some mana into that bad boy!”
“Piyo, right, Director Kappel. I’m not good at pouring mana; it all comes out at once. In practice today, the paper just fell to pieces, so will this device be okay?”
“The paper fell to pieces? Oh, you were doing that kind of practice, huh? ……Did they let you use the paper with high mana resistance afterwards?”
“I did. It worked fine with that one.”
“Then there’s no problem. This magical device is designed so that, no matter if you pour a lot or a little mana into it, it will just bounce back any mana it doesn’t need. If anything, we need to install a lot of mana conductors to help people who don’t emit enough mana use ti.”
Basically, if someone like Tia poured too much mana into it, it would bounce that extra mana right back, and if someone like Ella couldn’t emit enough mana, it would help her bring that mana out. It was really well made.
“As long as you don’t try to push as much mana as possible into it, it won’t break so don’t worry about it!”
“Piyopp!”
With an energetic chirp, Tia started to pour her mana into the magical device on her back.
If she was in her Harpy form, she might have broken the device, but in her human form it was just barely fine.
The device on her back made a light fwoosh sound.
Then, Tia’s body lifted up off the ground……. Then, the next moment, propelled by the wind blowing from the magical device, she started tumbling head-over-heels in midair.
She was flying, spinning all the while.
“PyoeeEEEEEEEEEEHHH!!””
This wasn’t good.
Tia stuck out her chest and stretched her arms out to balance herself.
The force of moving her chest turned the front flips into backflips; and because the direction of the wind nozzle shifted, she was tossed through the air, spinning the whole time.
It was as if she had been shot out of a fountain.
“PEFUBUUU!!!!!!!”
After being thrown into the air, Tia felt someone catch her body. It was Barrett. It seemed like he’d come to her rescue with flight magic.
While Tia’s eyes still spun in circles, she asked.
“Piyo…. Mister Barrett…..this is, different from the ‘flying’ I know……Pefu…”
“Yeah, well, it’s more like doing somersaults in midair…….”
Barrett lifted Tia onto his shoulders, then gently glided back down to the ground.
After being set back on solid earth, Tia huffed and puffed. Kappel quickly closed to distance towards her.
“Wonderful, wonderful! ……Your method of attaining balance in midair was absolutely astounding! And with such a light body and not fearing the heights at all! You’re exactly the kind of person I need……!”
After confirming that there was no damage to the magical device on Tia’s back, Kappel declared to her with glimmering eyes.
“Alright, let’s adjust the angle of the wings and try it again! We’ve still got a long way to go!”
“Pefuvuuuu!?”