Thirtieth Spell: Star Festival

"Sorry, Inku," Higa said to the floating dragon-like creature made of paper. "Ryuji-Kun and I will try to keep our voices down."

"You had better," the paper creature said angrily. "If I hear you talking too loud again, you're both out!"

As Inku floated away to another shelf, Haru asked Higa, "What is Inku exactly?"

"He's a Kyōrinrin, a yokai made entirely of scrolls and papers that have been discarded by scholars of the past," Higa explained. "So he values the sanctity of the library more than anyone here in Mahoutokoro."

Grabbing cups of tea from the Bunbuku Chagama kettle, Haru and Higa took a seat in the farthest corner of the library.

"Why does Gen have a giant toad named Nuru?" Haru whispered. "She never mentioned having a pet when you and her came to visit me and the Dendes."

"Nuru the Ōgama was originally mine when she was a no bigger than a tadpole," Higa said. "But after I…tried to avenge my father, Gen took custody of her. And then recently, she let Dōmeki-Sama borrow Nuru."

"For what? Is the toad guarding something?"

Higa raised an eyebrow. "What gave you that idea?"

"Why else would the headmistress let a giant toad in the school? And after me and Hikari raN from Nuru, Hikari said she noticed the toad was standing in front of a second door in the storage house."

"So is Hikari a friend of yours?"

"Ugh, no! She's been mean to me since I accidentally burned her hand on the M Line train!"

"How did that happen?"

"She didn't believe I was an Osozaki, and asked me to prove myself. I cast the Firelighting Charm, but it got a little out of control."

"I can relate. That's similar to how I first met Ayane Maiya when we started attending Mahoutokoro together."

"You mean the scary Kōsen lady with the blindfold?"

"Ayane wasn't as scary back then. In fact, she was practically afraid of everything due to being born blind."

"That's why she wore the blindfold. Is there a spell that can fix her eyes?"

"Unfortunately, there are some things magic can't fix."

Haru then felt pity for Ayane, despite how intimidating she was at the inn.

"Now I've got to catch up on all the chores I missed while being detained by Ayane," Higa said as he got up from the table. "But feel free to drop by my place near the landing platform if you ever want to visit your uncle Higa."

"Even though you're not really my uncle?"

Pausing, Higa replied, "We may not be related, but we're still family."

"Family? What is that for someone like me?" Haru walked past Higa and left the library with a dark cloud hanging over his mind.

The way Higa dodged my questions about the toad makes me think he knows more than he's letting on, Haru thought. And he still won't tell me what happened when he tried to avenge his father's murder. It's like he doesn't trust me! So why should I trust him in turn?


Soon, it was July and the students in Mahoutokoro were preparing for the Spring Semester Finals at the end of the month. And for the remedial students, they had the added pressure of succeeding their finals for the chance of getting into the regular classes sooner. The only caveat was they would have to take summer courses to catch up with the curriculum of the regular classes by the time the Fall Semester started. But the main thing that was on everyone's minds was the upcoming Tanabata or Star Festival.

"Did your Manai family celebrate Tanabata?" Rui asked Haru the week of the festival.

"Not really, since me and Daichi weren't allowed to stay up super late," Haru said.

"Basically it's the day when the stars Orihime and Hikoboshi meet in the sky," Rui explained. "Though Manai astronomers call the stars Vega and Altair."

"And what's the big deal about that?" Haru asked.

"Legend has it long ago, Orihime and Hikoboshi were a witch and a wizard that lived on different sides of a river," Rui described. "While Orihime specialized in Weaving Magic, Hikoboshi was an expert on Herding Magic which allowed him to control multiple heads of cattle. When the two locked eyes across the river, they instantly fell in love. But as they focused more on each other, they neglected their daily chores with Orihime being unable to concentrate on her weaving while Hikoboshi's cattle ran everywhere.

"So Orihime's father Tentei, who was a powerful wizard known as the Jade Emperor in China, decided to enchant the river to prevent Orihime and Hikoboshi from physically meeting. But after Orihime pleaded, Tentei agreed to allow the two to only meet on the seventh day of the seventh month each year. Then their story became immortalized in the stars."

"And today we celebrate their annual meeting with an on-campus festival that includes food stands, games, and pinning one's wishes on trees," Cheng added.

"That sounds like fun," Haru said.

Of course, the teachers didn't make the students' chances of going to the festival any easier by loading them with homework to do over the weekend. Fortunately, Haru's studious habits gave him an edge allowing him to complete his homework by the time the festival started. But realizing he didn't have any special yukatas to wear, he reluctantly went to Higa's cottage hours before the festival was supposed to start.

"Do you have a yukata that I can borrow for the festival?" Haru asked.

"I might have something," Higa said and went to the closet in the one-room space inside his cottage home. "You going with anybody?"

"Just my friends Rui and Cheng," Haru replied. "Nayu might join us later if she can get her Charms homework done."

"So you don't like Hikari, but you consider Rui a friend. Do you know if she like-likes you?"

Remembering how Rui blushed when Hikari accused her of secretly liking him, Haru wasn't sure how to answer Higa's question.

"You don't have to say anything," Higa responded. "Sorry I assumed."

"No, it's okay. I actually wanted to apologize for walking out on you in the library two months ago. That was not the right thing for me to do."

Higa walked over Haru and squeezed Haru's shoulders. "I know you're in a lot of emotional pain right now, so I understand how you feel. But I'm here for you! Remember that."

To be continued…