120th Spell: Mysterious Scepter

Upon hearing the name 'Warumo,' the crowd of witches and wizards inside the Kiyokusuri Apothecary suddenly became frightened and whispered nervously.

"What exactly do you mean 'Warumo-uragi has struck again,' Kashiki?" Gimu Rikyan demanded of the elderly wizard in the green robe with the newspaper in his hand.

"It says here in the latest issue of the Maichi Yosoku that Warumo-uragi murdered Tamanoya-ue, who was living under the alias Mikoto Shinabe, and took the real Jinsei Stone from him!" Kashiki said breathlessly.

Gimu frowned. "Let me see that paper you have."

Kashiki didn't hesitate and gave his newspaper to Gimu. From where Haru stood, he could see the headline printed in large letters:

JINSEI STONE CREATOR TAMANOYA FOUND MURDERED IN HOME, WARUMO-URAGI SUSPECTED

"'On the verge of his 1,307th birthday, Tamanoya was found dead in his mountain hut by his housekeeper yesterday morning,'" Gimu recited out loud. "'Based on initial findings by the Kōsen, they believe Tamanoya was killed by a fast-acting poison that was found inside his teacup on a table near the hut's fireplace. This is further evidenced by the fact that there were no signs of a struggle, and no money was taken. Yet one important thing was missing from Tamanoya's hut: the Jinsei Stone.

"'One of the three Sacred Treasures, this magical item is known for its life-giving properties as well as making its wielder both immortal and invincible so long as the wielder has the stone on hand. Now because Tamanoya didn't have the stone on his person according to the housekeeper, this was probably how the murderer was able to kill Tamanoya so easily. As for the murderer's identity, Kōsen Detective Ayane Maiya suspects it to be none other than Warumo-uragi, who would most benefit from taking the Jinsei Stone as he is believed to be existing in a weakened state of being following his defeat in 1955 by Mahoutokoro Headmistress Anzu Dōmeki.'"

The article then went on to explain Tamanoya's quiet life in the mountain village he was living in under the fake identity Mikoto Shinabe and Dōmeki's recently failed attempt at capturing Warumo using a fake Jinsei Stone she had placed initially in the Gaikin Bank and then transported to Mahoutokoro prior to the infamous attempted break-in at Gaikin.

"But I thought the Jinsei Stone was considered lost along with the other Sacred Treasures," a tall wizard pointed out. "So what was the Jinsei Stone doing with Tamanoya to begin with?"

"Maybe it was eventually recovered like the Subemitō Mirror that Mahoutokoro uses to sort its students into Clans," suggested a middle-aged witch in a pink kimono.

"Or Dōmeki was trying to trap Warumo again using the real Jinsei Stone this time and things didn't go as planned," another wizard with gray hair speculated before shaking his head in disappointment. "I swear that old bag is just trying to relive her glory days from when she defeated Warumo the first time."

"Dōmeki-sama isn't an old bag!" Hikari said boldly. "She's one of the greatest Sorceresses in the world and is doing everything in her power to prevent Warumo from starting another war with the Japanese Ministry of Magic!"

"War?" Haru was confused. "What war?"

Hikari groaned. "Did you not read the chapter in Advanced Japanese Magical History on recent events? It happened after Britain's Grand Sorcerer Albus Dumbledore defeated the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945."

Haru vaguely recalled the fact about Dumbledore and Grindelwald battling each other in 1945. But this war Hikari was talking about in relation to Warumo eluded his memory for some reason. So he figured Hikari must have read ahead like she always did and this information would be covered when the Spring Semester started in earnest.

"Is that something which was covered last term, or will be?" Rui asked Hikari, like she read Haru's mind.

Groaning, Hikari said, "This is why you two barely skirt by in your classes! You need to study between each semester, so you're better prepared for the lessons beforehand."

"That's actually good advice," Gimu interjected as he tossed the newspaper back to Kashiki. "What is your name?"

"Um, Hikari…Genma," said Hikari in an unusually quiet voice.

"Hikari," Gimu looked thoughtful. "Doesn't that mean 'Light'?"

"Y-Yes, Sir," Hikari responded nervously.

"Such a pretty name!" Gimu complemented. "I look forward to seeing more of you at Mahoutokoro, Genma-chan."

"Mahoutokoro?" Haru looked at Gimu with surprise. "You're going to be there?"

"Why yes!" Gimu stated. "I will be replacing my grandfather Popuri-dono as Mahoutokoro's designated Healer."

"But if that's the case, why are so many of your products on our list of school supplies for this year?" Gyoku asked.

Looking down at the Watakas' youngest child and only son, Gimu made a mischievous grin. "I'll let you find that out when you arrive at Mahoutokoro next week, little boy."

This mildly irritated Gyoku. But his mother Meru ushered him and his sisters to the side so the line of witches and wizards that still wanted to have their books signed by Gimu could keep moving. While that was going on, Haru, Hikari, and Daizō independently searched for the products on their school supply lists before the Wataka siblings joined them as their parents talked among themselves.

Later, Haru and the Wataka siblings returned to Wataka Mansion where they took their newly purchased supplies to their rooms before joining Meru for dinner. As Haru was changing from his regular clothes to his formal yukata, something fell out from under his blue jacket. He looked down and saw a small flat shaku-style scepter on the floor made of ivory. A red string was wrapped around the base of the scepter with a translucent jade bead attached to the string's end that had a cloudy texture. Yet the more Haru stared at the bead, the cloudy texture inside the bead seemed to pulsate like it was alive.

To be continued…