132nd Spell: Chomping Cabbages
The next morning, the whole school was talking about nothing but the incident with the loud booming sound and Bambō being electrocuted. Some of the students even found out about the message Bambō wrote via the Eavesdropping Spell, causing them to question the Seiryu students about the Well of Mysteries and Seiryu's Heir. Yet the Seiryu students remained tight-lipped and refused to give answers.
"I think they know what the message refers to," Rui speculated while glancing at the Seiryu Table during lunch. "Why else would they not say anything?"
"But how can we prove that?" Haru asked. "It's not like we're friends with anyone in that Clan."
Unable to answer, Rui said nothing further. Then in Herbology, the effeminate male teacher Parupu Sabe took the class of 201A out to the school's garden on the north-facing side of the island. Cautiously, they approached a row of cabbages with orange-tinted leaves.
"For today's class, we are going to harvest the Chinese Chomping Cabbages that have been growing since winter," Sabe said. "Now who can tell me what Chinese Chomping Cabbages can be used for?"
Immediately, Hikari raised her hand.
"Yes, Genma-chan?" Sabe acknowledged.
"Chinese Chomping Cabbages, or Jucài, are often used as projectile weapons as they have sharp teeth beneath their leaves," Hikari said. "But they've also been used in a salve than can cure burns no matter if it's caused by electricity or fire."
"Very good! Ten points to Suzaku!" Sabe declared. "Now here's an extra-credit question: which European Potion uses Chinese Chomping Cabbages as an ingredient?"
Nayu raised her hand. "Skele-Gro!"
"Correct!" acknowledged Sabe. "15 points for Byakko!"
"Skele-Gro?" Haru had never heard of such a thing, even from the textbooks he read for class.
"It's a potion used to grow bones back," Sabe explained. "Now since these Chomping Cabbages have full-grown teeth, I will be having you all wear special Dragon-hide gloves inlaid with Goblin-wrought silver before harvesting them so your fingers don't get bitten off."
"But isn't Goblin silver hard to come by in Japan? Because I've heard it's quite expensive to import," Daizō pointed out.
"Yes, though one can obtain them through the proper channels." Sabe said cryptically as he flipped his long silken black hair away from his pretty face.
That must be what Higa was getting in Māreroji, Haru realized in his mind.
After the students put on the special gloves, they each stood in pairs on either side of a Chinese Chomping Cabbage. While one student grasped at the roots of the cabbage, the other pulled it out from the dirt by holding both sides of the cabbage's outer leaves. The sharp teeth in the cabbage's center immediately snapped at the student pulling them from the dirt, but the other student held onto the roots preventing the cabbage from lunging forward. Each cabbage was then placed into a wooden box lined with fertilized dirt that Sabe closed shut and carried with him back to the shed where all the gardening tools were kept.
"Do you think Sabe had us do that so he wouldn't have to harvest all the cabbages himself?" Sumi wondered. "I mean, he's presumably going to use them for curing Bambō."
"Well, that would make sense," Hikari agreed before sighing. "If only I could use those cabbages for a kampo that could change my hair color back…."
After Herbology ended, the students of Class 201A went back to their classroom where Denshō Ishi the talking rock yokai was waiting for them.
"BEFORE WE BEGIN HISTORY OF MAGIC TODAY, DŌMEKI-SAMA HAS REQUESTED THAT I GIVE YOU ALL AN EXPLANATION OF THE WELL OF MYSTERIES AND SEIRYU'S HEIR SO YOU STOP HARASSING THE SEIRYU STUDENTS!" Ishi stated. "THOUGH I WILL KEEP THIS EXPLANATION SHORT OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE SECRETS OF THE SEIRYU CLAN!"
Surprised by this, everyone remained silent as the Magic Circle backdrop was tapped by Rui this time since Ishi was too short to tap the Magic Circle backdrop himself. This caused all the plants in the classroom for Herbology to disappear and be replaced by an ordinary classroom.
"IF YOU RECALL FROM YOUR LESSONS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL, OR REMEDIAL CLASSES FOR SOME OF YOU, MAHOUTOKORO HAD FOUR FOUNDING MEMBERS WHO WERE THE AVATARS OF THE FOUR AUSPICIOUS BEASTS THAT REMAINED AFTER THE BEASTS RETURNED TO THE STARS FOLLOWING THEIR BATTLE WITH YAMATA NO OROCHI!" Ishi began, eyeing Haru, Seita, and Nayu among the class. "THEIR NAMES WERE BANRI BYAKKO, SACHI SUZAKU, GINKO GENBU, AND SORAI SEIRYU! BUT WHILE THREE OF THE FOUNDERS DECIDED TO TRAVEL TO OTHER PARTS OF THE ASIAN CONTINENT TO SHARE THEIR MAGIC WITH OTHER WIZARDS, SORAI FIRMLY BELIEVED THE POWER OF THE NATIVE JAPANESE WIZARDS WAS STRONGER THAN WIZARDS FROM ANY OTHER COUNTRY! AND SO SORAI AND HIS CLOSEST FOLLOWERS BUILT A HIDDEN WELL IN THE SCHOOL KNOWN AS THE WELL OF MYSTERIES THAT HOUSES A DANGEROUS CREATURE WHICH ONLY THE HEIR OF SEIRYU CAN CONTROL!"
"What kind of creature does the well hold?" Hikari asked.
"And has the Heir of Seiryu ever been identified?" added Sumi.
Ishi looked annoyed. "DID I SAY YOU COULD ASK QUESTIONS?"
Embarrassed, Hikari and Sumi bowed their heads. "We're sorry, Ishi-sensei!"
The Yonaki Ishi paused before continuing, "TO THIS DAY, THE WELL OF MYSTERIES HAS YET TO BE FOUND AND THE CREATURE THAT LIES IN THIS WELL HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED! SAME GOES FOR THE HEIR OF SORAI SEIRYU, THOUGH IT WAS BELIEVED THEY WOULD MOST LIKELY BE A DESCENDENT OF SORAI'S LINEAGE!"
Haru was surprised to hear this as he recalled his birthfather's family the Ryujis were distantly related to Sorai Seiryu, making him think he could possibly be this alleged Heir of Seiryu. But assuming that whatever attacked Bambō last night was this creature from the Well of Mysteries, how did he control it from afar and who were his so-called 'enemies'? Questions like this kept Haru's mind occupied during the rest of Ishi-sensei's regular History of Magic lecture including the origin of that chilling voice he heard that no one else in the library did.
To be continued…