119th Spell: Gimu Rikyan
As the line to the Kiyokusuri Apothecary continued to move steadily forward, Rui told Haru and Hikari the story of how her parents Meru Wataka and Ata Peru met. Before Meru became the head of her family's Sudaumi trading company, it was originally run by her father Yari, who was also Rui's grandfather. He ran Sudaumi with an iron fist and forced Meru to do all kinds of work for him as his personal assistant to 'prepare' her for when his successor was chosen, which would be Meru's future husband. Then one night while Meru was doing an inventory check at the Sudaumi piers in Tokyo, she saw Ata preparing to jump into the ocean and used magic to stop him from committing suicide.
It turned out Ata was a Manai salaryman who was working a dead-end job that he couldn't stand but didn't have the integrity to quit. So Meru offered him to work for Sudaumi, which broke the International Statue of Secrecy. This made Yari angry, especially when Meru made it clear she intended to marry Ata against her father's wishes. But after Ata proved himself through a series of challenges and swore to not reveal anything about the Wizarding World to other Manai, he was given Yari's blessing to marry Meru and become his successor.
"Your dad sounds like a nice guy," Haru remarked. "And yet he managed to tame an intimidating Bakotsu like Moeru no problem."
"His kindness was what won Moeru over, who originally belonged to my grandfather Yari," Rui said. Then her eyes got misty. "But eleven years ago, Dad took a Manai airplane to China for a business trip. A terrible monsoon overtook the plane, causing it to crash into the South China Sea. While the plane was recovered, there were no survivors."
"That sounds awful," Haru said sympathetically. "Now I understand why you and your older sisters didn't want to talk about your dad when I asked during Obon last year."
Rui said nothing further as she quietly dried her eyes. Hikari briefly looked upset, but she hid it with a definitive frown. Then the line continued to move forward until Haru, Hikari, and Rui along with their families were finally inside the Kiyokusuri Apothecary.
It was a relatively small open space with various herbs and spices displayed on racks along with sets of acupuncture needles, bamboo cylinders, and pre-made Kampos. Now the central part of the space was occupied by a small wooden table where the young man depicted on the book covers the crowd carried stood in the flesh. He ran a large hand through his blue-black hair and regarded the crowd with a charismatic smile, which made the witches blush while the wizards looked mildly annoyed.
"Oh, my," Rui said as she partially looked at the young man. "Is that Gimu Rikyan?"
"He looks better in person than he does on the books," Gaane remarked as she blushed along with her twin sister Fuyou.
"Get ahold of yourselves!" Peri insisted. "He's not that attractive."
"Agreed," Hikari said. "I've seen better-looking wizards."
"Where?" Haru asked, not buying what Hikari was saying.
"Um, around," Hikari said, turning away to hide her rosy cheeks from Haru.
"Excuse me," said a smooth velvety voice.
Looking back, Haru was surprised to see the young man known as Gimu Rikyan staring directly at him.
"Sorry," Haru apologized. "I didn't mean to talk out loud."
"Are you the Boy Who Vanished?" asked Gimu Rikyan in the same smooth velvety voice Haru heard before.
"Y-Yes," Haru said nervously.
To Haru's surprise, Gimu suddenly moved around the table he stood at and walked over to him. Amazed at how tall Gimu was, Haru could only stare up at him not knowing what to say.
"Such a brave boy you are!" Gimu said as he beamed down at Haru. "I read the Maichi Yosoku's article about how you were saved by Popuri-dono, who fought Warumo in Mahoutokoro's underground caverns where a fake Jinsei Stone was being used as bait by Dōmeki-sama to trap Warumo with. But alas, my poor grandfather died during the battle with Warumo and is now buried at Mahoutokoro…."
"Grandfather?" Haru's eyes widened. "Popuri was your grandfather?"
"Indeed he was," replied Gimu. "Piku Popuri was my mother's father, and I learned a great deal from him in the art of magical healing. That is why I started my own business, as I hope to honor his legacy—especially in light of his passing."
While the crowd inside the apothecary clapped in politeness, Gimu pulled Haru aside and posed for a picture taken by a nearby photographer using a small vertical camera that looked like the kind used in the 1920s. Then the book-signing event continued as the members from the crowd each met with Gimu to have their books signed, which he did using an enchanted fountain pen that released ink forming his signature in midair before landing on the inside of the book cover.
"Rikyan-san," Meru said once she and her family reached the front of the line. "I'm Meru Wataka, head of the Sudaumi Trading Company."
"Oh, yes, I remember you!" Gimu responded. "We spoke over crow mail about a business meeting, didn't we?"
"Yes, we did," Meru stated. "Is today not a good time for that? You do seem awfully busy."
"Unfortunately, my day is fully booked," Gimu apologized. "But I promise to let you know my next available slot so we can discuss selling my products overseas."
Meru seemed somewhat disappointed, but she hid it with a polite bow. "Very well. I shall wait for your crow to let me know when we can next meet."
"Are these your children?" Gimu abruptly asked, eyeing Rui and the rest of her siblings.
"They are," Meru said proudly.
"I didn't realize you had so many, yet you look quite stunning for a mother of five," Gimu complemented. "And I must say your children are quite adorable!"
While Meru was stunned, her children blushed from bashfulness as the crowd made a series of 'aww' noises around them. Suddenly, the elderly wizard in the green robe that Haru met at Tamaneko last year burst into the shop with a newspaper gripped in his hand.
"Everyone, Warumo-uragi has struck again!" shouted the elderly wizard in the green robe.
To be continued…