The Last Magic Chapter 12

12: Tanaka 2

The Mystery Research Club had a welcome party for new members just like any other club, but instead of taking place at a cheap tavern, it was held at a hotel venue. Distinguished alumni and alumnae had gathered, making it far too formal to be called a simple drinking party. I was told that these graduates were covering most of the expenses.

"Being able to show your face at this gathering as a graduate is proof of being a successful sorcerer," 

Kikuchi-senpai taught me, making me realize that the world of sorcerers wasn't so different from general society. The Mystery Research Club I had imagined was supposed to be more like a secret society, but there was nothing like that at all—it was quite worldly.

I was nervous when I wore an unfamiliar suit and gave a greeting on the stage, but afterward, with alcohol flowing, I was able to relax my shoulders a bit. Observing carefully, I realized that nobody was really interested in the new students—it had become a place for sorcerers to exchange information among themselves.

Still not used to the Mystery Research Club's atmosphere, I was finally able to have various conversations with the senior members. I mainly talked with Kikuchi-senpai and Kono-senpai. Being the president and vice-president respectively, they were more sociable and easier to talk to compared to other members.

According to them, the Mystery Research Club indeed wasn't actively recruiting new students on purpose. New students had to prove themselves worthy of membership by managing to find the Mystery Research Club on their own. The post-it note stuck on the door was apparently a small bit of consideration from Kono-senpai, who thought "I wouldn't be able to get in if I were them."

When I asked what Kono-senpai had done when she was a new student:

"When I got accepted to university, I was introduced to the Mystery Research Club through a friend's connection," 

she said with a slightly embarrassed expression. In other words, it was through connections. That Kono-senpai had come to the welcome party in a chic black pantsuit dress, showing the kind of modest cuteness that would appeal to plain men.

"To live as a sorcerer, you have to use everything available. Whether it's your parents' connections, your appearance, information from the internet—anything. Of course, making your own efforts is included in that, but among this year's new students, Tanaka-kun was the only one who truly found the club room through his own power. And you were the last one to arrive," 

Kikuchi-senpai laughed at the corners of his mouth, as if pitying my clumsiness. He was wearing a black suit perfectly, not looking like a student at all, practically blending in with the alumni.

"But you knew I was coming beforehand, right?" 

When I pouted at Kikuchi-senpai's mean-spiritedness:

"The world of sorcerers is small. Which family's child is taking entrance exams, who passed, who failed—such information naturally reaches our ears to some extent," 

he brushed off lightly. The world of sorcerers seemed to be a terribly closed place with no regard for personal information. My parents were supposed to have distanced themselves from magic, but information might have leaked through some relative.

"But that kind of bluffing is what's required of sorcerers. It's important to make people think you've used magic even when you haven't. Even the fact that I knew your name beforehand—if I said I 'foresaw it with magic,' people who don't know better might be convinced. And such accumulation is what enhances a sorcerer's mystique, even if the magic itself isn't that impressive."

"That sounds like a con artist," 

I said. Having learned magic mostly self-taught from books, Kikuchi-senpai's words seemed impure to me.

"Deception is also part of the stage setup," 

Kikuchi-senpai wasn't shaken by my provocative words.

"Some sorcerers incorporate magic tricks into their repertoire. Even historically famous great sorcerers might have used group hypnosis. Magic isn't about pretty ideals. We're trying to live in that kind of world."

"Then is the credential of being a Mystery Research Club graduate from this university also part of that stage setup? If you can use magic properly, it seems like you wouldn't need to belong here."

Despite having become a member myself, such words slipped out. Perhaps I was rebelling against the frivolous atmosphere of the venue.

"Of course credentials are important. That's just human nature. Otherwise, why would TV constantly say 'Tokyo University graduate so-and-so'? Credentials create people's impressions. Also, being a Mystery Research Club graduate serves to satisfy our own sense of elitism. Thinking you're special for being a sorcerer, and then trying to be even more special for being a Mystery Research Club graduate. People may preach equality, but they continue to seek to be special themselves."

"Then why didn't you just make a Mystery Research Club at Tokyo University? That would be an unquestionable university brand."

If it's about satisfying elitism, Tokyo University would undoubtedly be at the top.

"There was a similar club at that university, but there weren't enough graduates to form a faction. Excellence in academics alone isn't enough. Besides, magic is inherently unorthodox. There's a proper degree to everything," 

Kikuchi-senpai twisted his mouth sarcastically.

"But while academic ability can be moderate, it's better to have good looks if possible. Like her, for instance."

Following senpai's gaze, I saw Nagumo Sakurako, who was a new student like me. Rather than beautiful, she was androgynous and dignified. But such appearance made her all the more eye-catching. She was also the woman who had captivated my heart at first sight. Not the raw emotion of falling in love, but a more solid kind of affection. Having been told about the Mystery Research Club by Kurosaki-san, a high school senior, she had already become a member of that club room before even enrolling—an elite, so to speak.

She had come to this occasion wearing a kimono. A white kimono with a silver-like luster. It complemented Nagumo-san's black hair beautifully, and drawn by that beauty, a crowd had formed around her. It was completely different from me, whom nobody approached.

"I guess that's what you call innate talent," 

I said. The people who had only given me perfunctory greetings were desperately trying to draw even one more word from her. If I had been in their position, I might have done the same thing.

"That's right. But Nagumo-san is more sincere about magic than anyone else. She apparently never misses her daily training. She never drinks alcohol, and despite the fairly expensive food being served, she only touches fruit. She's thoroughly trying to be a sorcerer, even if it's unclear whether that's truly effective for magic."

Kikuchi-senpai's tone was somewhat cool, as if to say she was a party pooper.

While it's commonly said that alcohol isn't good for the body, it's also been whispered since ancient times that it doesn't have a good effect on magic either. It's also said that meat should be avoided in food choices. However, whether this is true hasn't been verified. Probably no one will do so in the future either. While magic is said to have been deconstructed in modern times, it still belongs to the realm of mystery.

That said, most current sorcerers, like the people at this venue, drink alcohol and eat meat. They probably think it doesn't matter if magic's effectiveness drops a little. They think it's fine as long as it works minimally. Even if magic time extends a bit, it's not a big deal, and if an originally small magical flame becomes even smaller, maybe nobody would notice.

Even I, though still underage, had been drinking beer as it was offered to me. When it comes down to it, my consciousness isn't that high either.

But Nagumo-san alone was training daily and aiming for greater heights. She probably had a clear purpose for magic, which everyone around her acknowledged.

This is how a sorcerer should originally be, and it was both dazzling and enviable.

That's probably why Kikuchi-senpai thought bitterly of that brilliance.

---

Although Nagumo-san and I were in the same club, we weren't particularly close.

We did talk and exchange opinions about magic, but we were fundamentally different. To begin with, unlike typical university students, she led a stoic lifestyle.

She would return home early at night and go to bed, wake up before sunrise in the morning and engage in magical training. She wasted no time, concentrating on classes at school and gathering information about magic at the club, greedily searching for anything that might benefit her.

I couldn't do that. I handled my studies moderately and efficiently, earned pocket money through well-paying part-time jobs introduced by club seniors, and sometimes went out drinking with close friends.

At first, I thought about working hard at magic, but after joining the Mystery Research Club and being confronted with reality, my thinking changed to believing that doing it moderately well was enough. Kikuchi-senpai and the others probably followed the same path. Not everyone can become like Nagumo-san.

However, such a person as me and Nagumo-san came to have a connection.

Around the time I became a second-year university student, everyone had smartphones, watching YouTube videos became commonplace, and YouTubers—video content creators—became popular.

Watching their videos, I thought: "What if I turned magic into video content?" Of course, there were already people uploading magic videos, but perhaps because their presentation wasn't very good, none of them had impressive view counts.

So I felt like I could make it if I entered the field now.

I tentatively asked the club seniors for their opinion:

"Sounds good, doesn't it? There are already people doing it," 

they said without any particular opposition.

I immediately set out to create videos. I already had a computer, and I could get by with an inexpensive camera for filming. At worst, I could substitute with an iPhone.

The first video I made was "Tried Having a Barbecue with Magical Fire."

It was simply trying to substitute magical fire for barbecue kindling. The magical fire only lasted 10 seconds, couldn't properly ignite the fire starter, and even when it did catch fire, I was tired after casting the spell and couldn't properly fan the flames to make them bigger.

After struggling, by the time the charcoal caught fire, our borrowed location had run out of time, so we ended up cooking and eating the ingredients at home.

But honestly, I had expected this outcome. Magical fire was harder to use compared to lighters or fire starters. However, among popular videos, there was a tendency for viewers to find it funny when things didn't go well, so I thought it would be just right for getting reactions.

After filming came video creation. Since I liked working with computers, I could learn video software operations without difficulty. Imitating popular YouTubers, I created an impactful thumbnail with the provocative text "I'll show you magic's true power!"

Then I trimmed it to an appropriate playback time and added captions and background music, but the work took 8 hours.

But the completed video turned out reasonably well, and when I uploaded it online, it got about 500 views in one day. I thought that was a good number for a first try.

I continued uploading videos like "Analyzed the Components of Water Made with Magic," "Tried Generating Electricity with Lightning Magic," and "Fell from a High Place but Managed with Wind Magic" at a rate of one per week. The view counts gradually increased, and after about three months, I was getting 10,000 views.

At this point, I became recognized by club members, and I felt like a proper YouTuber. I finally felt like I had found my place.

However, I was also discovered by older sorcerers—alumni and alumnae—and received protests saying I was "desecrating the secret arts." Moreover, video content ideas weren't exactly abundant, and I was showing signs of hitting a wall.

(Is it okay to continue like this?)

While I was worrying about this, Nagumo-san was the one who approached me.

"I want to try making videos too," she said.

Honestly, I was surprised. I thought Nagumo-san was going to live properly as a sorcerer.

"I can't really recommend it, you know? The reaction from the older people isn't good."

"I'll explain properly to the alumni. You see, I want to convey the amazingness of magic through videos. To dispel the negative image that's existed until now. If that's the case, there's no reason to be criticized, right?"

Would it really go that smoothly? The more conscious and high-minded a video is, the less it tends to attract attention.

"Also, I want to try making money with videos. In the future, I mean."

At those words, I was wide-eyed. Nagumo-san didn't seem like the type of person who would try to make money from videos.

"Only some YouTubers are profitable, you know? I think Nagumo-san could earn plenty as a sorcerer in the future."

"If I devoted myself to it, that might be the case. But to live as a traditional sorcerer, I'd have to spend considerable time and effort on non-magical aspects. I understood that well after entering this university. But then I wouldn't be able to use time for magical training. My purpose is ultimately magic. If videos could generate income, I'd have relatively more freedom with my time, right?"

"It's not that easy to monetize..." 

I started to say, then found myself staring intently at Nagumo-san's face.

With this eye-catching appearance, it might work. While content is most important, looks are better than not when it comes to supplementary elements.

After considering various things, since I was also at a point where I needed a boost, I decided to teach Nagumo-san video production know-how on the condition that she would appear in my videos.