Chapter 29
I’m lying down, reading several books in the underground reading room of the Imperial Academy’s library.
The first book I read today was:
“An Introduction to Spatial Magic Even a Monkey Could Understand”
However, right on the Introduction page, it says:
“This book only helps you understand it; whether you can actually use it is up to the individual.”
Hmm, I see.
First of all, this magic is impossible unless you have the <Space> attribute listed in your skill magic list.
…But I have it.
This book was on the first basement floor of the underground reading room, which is accessible to anyone. So that means the basics of this magic aren’t particularly rare, right?
<A common application is <Item Box>. This involves designating a dimension to store and retrieve objects. While an object is stored, magic power is continuously consumed to maintain that space. Unless one has a magic power level equivalent to an elite wizard like a Court Mage, it is difficult to store large quantities of items.
To visualize it, think of magical bags or pouches. Those are either produced by skilled wizards who can enchant items with the Item Box ability, or created by imbuing them with magic circles.>
A magical bag… I wonder if Mom’s waist pouch is one of those. Probably.
That mustard-colored pouch is attached near my butt as I lie here on my stomach. In terms of size, it would be completely stuffed with just a long wallet, a smartphone, a handkerchief, and a pocket pack of tissues. Yet right now, it holds an infinite number of things.
Let me try focusing on the space inside it and putting one of the books in front of me into that space. Ah, I can feel it going in. The book that was in front of me has disappeared.
Now, I’ll take the book out from the other dimension and place it back in its original spot. Done.
I repeat that several times. They say magic study is like sleight of hand; repetitive practice is important.
Next, I take a cup out from the waist pouch and use magic to fill it with ice.
Then, I put the cup with ice directly into the same space where I stored the book. It vanishes from sight.
I roll around a bit on the floor, which is slightly cushioned, like the kids’ corner of a large supermarket.
Since no one’s watching, I’m not embarrassed. But it feels hollow in a different way.
Well, after rolling around, I lie on my stomach again and take out the cup with ice.
It’s exactly as it was when I put it in. The ice hasn’t melted or increased the amount of water droplets, nor has a single piece of ice tumbled out or been left behind in the space.
Now that I think about it, you can put things directly into the waist pouch too.
If I were to take my backpack out from inside the waist pouch and put ordinary items into it, it would be a disaster without the flap closed, right? I remember my pencil case contents spilling everywhere once, and worst of all, a marker cap came off and stained my notebook fluorescent pink.
But such accidents don’t seem to happen with the Item Box.
I look at the “Monkey” series book again.
It says living things cannot be put into an Item Box.
Apparently, the air density in this other dimension is different from normal space. If you put food in along with some air (including on your hands), it will rot. However, if the space is created by compressing a large amount of magic power, time stops, and the state of matter is preserved. For example, cold things stay cold, hot things stay hot, raw food doesn’t rot, and fermented foods stop fermenting. If you store wine, even if the production date is in the past, it will retain the flavor it had when stored.
I see, I see. Might be good for creating an alibi… No, that’s not it, Shun-chan! I retort to myself.
Well then, let me put the cup with ice in again and see what state it’s in by evening.
<Now, regarding the capacity of the Item Box, once you’ve used it to some extent, you should be able to grasp your own capacity.>
Huh? Grasping capacity? I don’t know yet. Do I need to keep putting things in and taking them out a few more times?
<Next, a representative spatial magic is Teleportation. You can only go to places you have been to before. Using this requires considerable magic power.>
The other day, I managed to teleport from this reading room to the first basement floor. But ‘places I’ve been to before’? For example, could I go back to Polygon?
I stand up barefoot, picture the book room at the orphanage, and close my eyes.
“Huh? Shunsuke?”
“Really? I thought he went to the Imperial City with Tei-nii?”
I hear familiar voices and open my eyes.
Ah, it’s Yone-chan and Chiyo-chan.
“Ouji? Wow, is that your school uniform?”
“Really, it fits you, so cool!”
Matsu is here too.
“O-Ouji-sama.”
“Hey, Macchan. Yeah, it matches the Crown Prince’s, right?”
I pat the cat-eared head I haven’t seen in a while. Lately, I’m the one getting petted all the time.
“Nya.”
Purr purr
“It looks good on me? Thanks.
I was just practicing some magic.”
“Magic practice?”
“Might have been a failure. Well then.”
Saying that, I somehow managed to return to the library basement.
Teleportation is super convenient! And I don’t feel tired at all like the book said I would. The distance from Polygon to here is three days by carriage, right?
<To use Teleportation effectively, using a door can be helpful.>
A door? This room doesn’t have a door. The floor above does, though.
Thinking that, I tidy up the scattered books and go up one floor.
Then, I picture the door on the third basement floor connecting to the door on the first basement floor, and open it.
Whoa! It worked! This is easier to visualize than the teleportation I did the other day. This is a cinch!
So, does that mean I can go directly back to the Sea House?
I go back down, open the door again, and this time in front of me is a room with a view of the sea and a large canopy bed placed prominently.
I close the door and return to the library.
So easy. But I can only go to places I’ve been before. And I guess I could prepare my own door… Ah, better not make it a pink door. That would overlap with the blue cat-shaped one.
If I just go to all sorts of places beforehand, I could go anywhere, right? If I were to become an adventurer, I could visit guilds all over the place.
That’s right, I wonder if I can go to my room in Tokyo…
I try opening the door several times.
Whether I focus on my room as I left it on Christmas Eve morning, or the living room where Mom might be, the other side remains the library’s underground reading room.
Feeling a bit down, I walk back down to the library basement. For some reason, I don’t feel like moving by magic anymore.
So, even using magic, I can’t go back. To Tokyo.
“Ouji, are you feeling down about something?”
In the dim light, the purple dark magic spirit is stroking my cheek.
The slump after the joy of mastering spatial magic is pretty harsh, even for me.
It seems I was crying, having thought about Tokyo for the first time in a while.
Maybe homesickness is hitting me again.
It’s a good thing I’m a kid now.
“Thanks for worrying about me. It’s just… I remembered my mom.”
“Is that so? There, there.”
Hehe, your hands are too small, it tickles.
That night, maybe because I still seemed down, Alisa slipped into my bed.
Honestly, having something soft and warm nearby might have been comforting. I’d never admit it out loud, though.
It’s weird, I don’t have any memories of sleeping with my mom.
A few days later, on a day off, I’m in my own room reading a spatial magic book I borrowed from the underground reading room. The borrowing procedure? I just need to say a word to the professor. Pretty lax.
Today’s theme is <Another World>.
The condition for using this is to have the protection of either the God of Creation or the Wind God.
I have the Wind God’s protection! Don’t know why, but I do. However, it seems those with the God of Creation’s protection can maintain a vaster space with less magic power.
But for now, even if it’s small, can I use it too?
Let’s see… <Visualize Another World as a diorama of a life-sized scene.
Create another room for yourself in a different dimension. At first, you must firmly visualize the contents of that space, or Another World will not open.
Furthermore, Another World uses hundreds of times more magic power than something like Item Box. The magic power required is 600.>
Huh? My magic power is way more than that, like by an order of magnitude or something.
For now, maybe I’ll try creating a small, door-equipped box… a room about 6-tatami mats in size.
Using the door to my room’s toilet, I visualize a single box and open it.
“Ah, the toilet is gone.”
No, no, why am I visualizing a toilet?! My 6-tatami room has become 1-tatami!
I open it again.
This time, a box-like room appears with plank flooring, exposed concrete ceiling, and walls that look like bare concrete.
It has four corners.
I take off my shoes and cautiously step inside.
I see, I can enter this one.
Before, when I tried sticking my face into the Item Box, I was repelled. I could put my hand in for a moment, though.
Behind me is the door I came through, but its design is different from the usual toilet door.
I grip the doorknob and return to my room. Next, I open the door again without thinking about anything, and the toilet is back. Good. Right now, losing the toilet would be more troublesome than gaining a new room.
After that, I tried visualizing various things and opening the door, finally settling on a space that looked like a concrete garage or warehouse.
Maybe I’ll use this as a workshop of sorts. I take out the two second-hand chairs and table I bought during my stay at Margan Dormitory and place the cup with ice I’d left in the Item Box the other day. Yep, it hasn’t melted at all.
So I can access the Item Box from within Another World. Convenient and interesting.
Leaving that space as it is, I return to my room.
That night, I barged in on Sebastian, who was having a solo nightcap in his quarters with the leftover grilled squid I made for dinner and some white wine.
“Sorry to disturb you while you’re relaxing.”
Sebastian, in his casual clothes, still gives off a bit of a ‘mildly delinquent older guy’ vibe even in loose clothing.
“What can I do for you?”
“Do you know anywhere that sells fixtures?”
“Fixtures?”
“I just want a door.”
“What will you use it for?”
“A little magic practice.”
“In that case, we have some doors left over from a previous renovation. They were kept because they were relatively clean and not discarded. Right this way.”
“Okay.”
I follow him to a large storage shed near the sea, where there are several doors.
Doors are heavy when they’re not installed, you know.
Among them was a door still with its frame. It had a frame like a toy block set and was a single-leaf door. This one might be a bit unstable, but it looks like it can stand on its own with the frame. The door’s color and shape look like a delicious milk chocolate bar, and most importantly, it’s not pink!
“Can I try it out?”
I set the door up freestanding in the warehouse and pull it towards me. Whoa, it feels like it might fall forward… but I can open it.
“Oh my, Young Master’s room.”
Sebastian peeks in too.
“It worked, didn’t it?”
It connected from the storage shed on the first floor to my room on the third floor.
“So Young Master can use spatial magic as well.”
“Yeah. I’m still practicing.”
“If you can do that, then…”
“I can do this too. Item Box.”
I deliberately chant and put the door away.
“Marvelous.”
“Thank you.”
“However, that door was a bit unstable, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I’ll have to be careful using it.”
“Then let me find and attach partition feet. I’ll prepare them in the coming days, so please leave the door here until then.”
“Is that okay?”
“It’s my pleasure.”
Just two days later, I got my own personal Anywhere Door… err, I mean, a door for spatial movement.
Well, I only take it out when I can’t find a door nearby.
