“Hmm — doesn’t go fully holographic, huh?”
I tilted my head, staring at the projection. When I cast it directly, the result is stereo. So why…
A newly-learned Null spell — [Mirage]. Plainly put: a magic that creates illusions.
For a test I conjured an illusory Kōhaku. From any angle — front, back, sides — it was Kōhaku exact. I could move her at will, but illusions can’t touch anything physical. A ghost illusion would be terrifying. Imagine one drifting out of a wall.
I enchanted my smartphone’s video playback app with [Mirage] — could that turn it into a hologram? Let’s try, I thought.
“Works fine head-on, but…”
Dead center in the room, animation was playing on a large screen projected from the phone. But viewed from the side, it was a flat, paper-thin image. Operates as a projector, basically. Even just being able to project into open air is wild, but.
“Hngh… so video data alone can’t carry it all the way.* Just going to have to use it as a projector, maybe.”
While I was mulling it over, knock knock on the door.
“Touya-nii-chan, lunch is—uwah, what is that!?”
Renee opened the door and froze, eyes locked on the animation hanging in midair. Kōhaku had come in with her and was staring too. No entertainment like this on this side of the world.
“H-hey hey, Touya-nii-chan, what is this!?”
“Hmm — a moving picture-card story, I guess. Projecting it with magic.”
“Wow—”
Renee was riveted, eyes sparkling. The animation was an old foreign one — animals chasing each other. Almost no dialogue, simple story, easy to follow.
She sat down in a chair, completely captured. Won’t be moving from there. Short film, under ten minutes, fine. I looked over — Kōhaku was watching just as intently. Weird tiger. Vacuum cleaners and refrigerators show up in this one — things people here wouldn’t recognize — and she doesn’t care. Maybe they’re filed under “magic devices” in her head.
As the punch-line ending was about to land — knock knock again at the door. Ah — bad feeling.
“Master? Renee-chan’s not coming back, so I cam — uwah, what is thiiis!”
Cécile-san opened the door, saw the projection, and was already running in. Bad direction, this. As expected, she dropped down next to Renee and started watching too.
When the episode ended, all three of them — Renee, Cécile-san, and Kōhaku — turned to me with what’s the next one? expressions. I gave up, set continuous playback, and went out for lunch. Even if I leave the phone behind, it’s [Program]‘d so it’ll return to me whenever I call. [Apport] + [Gate] combo. Anti-theft measure, just in case.
On the terrace, everyone had already started eating. Today’s lunch: club sandwich, onion soup, salad, and cheese.
I sat down, clasped my hands — itadakimasu — picked up a club sandwich, and bit in. Mm — good. The chicken and tomato are juicy in a way that’s just unfair.
“Where are Renee and Cécile, I wonder?”
Lapis-san poured juice into my glass with a slight frown over the two missing women. At this rate they’ll be in trouble — let’s drag Lapis-san into the same hole.
“They’re helping me with some magic. Don’t worry about it — Lapis-san, you should go take a look at my room too.”
“Hmm…?”
Lapis-san left the terrace looking utterly confused. She won’t be moving once she sees it either.
“What are you doing this afternoon, Touya?”
Elze raised it over post-meal tea.
“Yae’s katana should be done today, so I’m picking it up in Eashen. — Right, when should I go give a proper greeting to Juubei-san and Nanae-san? Ah — and Elze’s and Linze’s uncle, too.”
“You can put us off, really. If they find out we’re getting married into the same house as the Belfast princess, uncle and aunt are going to faint.”
Elze and Linze hail from this kingdom’s western neighbor — Reefless Imperial Sovereignty. They grew up in a small farming town on Reefless’s eastern edge — basically right against Belfast — called Colette, raised by an aunt and uncle who ran a farm. Their parents both died from illness when they were small.
“Even so, we should go meet them. You’ll want to report it at your parents’ grave too, won’t you?”
”…Thank you, Touya-san.”
Linze, across from me, smiled brightly.
“Anyway — let’s go check on the maids.”
After the meal I led everyone to my room. As expected, all three were glued to the animation. Kōhaku was on Renee’s lap, watching, just as excited.
Elze and the rest were caught the same way; we watched one full episode together before I cut the app off. No good place to stop otherwise.
To choruses of complaints, I promised another screening after dinner — and finally got them to disperse.
People in this world really are starved for entertainment. Once they grow up, maybe they just stop “playing.”
Then again, in this world there’s so much you have to do just to stay alive — maybe there’s no room for it.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
I took Yae and transferred to the Eashen swordsmith.
“Excuse me — I’m here to pick up the katana.”
“Aye, you came. They’re done, as promised.”
The master came out from the back holding two blades — a long and short pair in vermilion-lacquered scabbards.
Yae took them, drew the long one on the spot, and checked. The silver blade shone brilliantly, showing off a beautiful hamon (temper line).
“Light, indeed. Mithril, of course.”
She tested it with two or three sharp swings — hyun hyun — then sheathed it. Set it with the wakizashi at her hip, lowered her center of gravity, and re-drew it like an iai cut. Fast.
“No issue. A fine blade, indeed.”
“Thanks.”
The master grinned at Yae’s praise. His reputation for skill is earned, then.
I opened [Storage] and pulled out the reward mithril — twice the amount of what I’d left for the work. As I handed it over, the master gave me a surprised look.
“Hey, this is a fair bit more than necessary, isn’t it?”
“It’s fine. I’ll probably bring you more work, and I’d like to be remembered favorably.”
”…Aha. Well, if you put it that way.”
He laughed, hefting the mithril. Treating it as a down payment. With this kind of skill I’ll have plenty to ask of him going forward.
We thanked the master and left.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
After dinner, with everyone pushing come on, come on, I started the video app with a three-hour cap.
In the darkened room, a big screen lit up. Same series as earlier, but this one was a full-length — about an hour. Fantasy setting rather than modern, so easier for people on this side to slide into.
In the room: Elze, Linze, Yae, Yumina; the maids Lapis-san, Cécile-san, Renee, and Cesca; Frio-san and Claire-san; Lime-san. Kōhaku, Sango, and Kokuyō — the full summoned trio — too. A pocket movie theater. Hack-san’s on gate duty, so he’s the only one left out — feels bad.
Everyone’s so absorbed. I’d already figured this world was thin on entertainment, but — maybe sports like baseball or soccer don’t really exist here either? Games, manga, plays. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen anything like a novel either. Biographies, sure, but…
Hm? If sports are rare — then sports day? They don’t have that here either, maybe. Footraces, sure, the town kids do those. But the rest? Mounted-battle game, bread-grab, obstacle course. Oh — relay. A whole-town one, divided into red and white teams. Could be fun.
I sat watching everyone watching the animation, ideas turning in my head.