Reading Magic
Kathe’s explanation of the dragon books made sense.
Those who wrote and those who read had so much time.
“I see. It is not only your size but also your lifespan that has an effect on how you make books.”
“It is food for thought.”
Philly said profoundly.
“That being said…”
That was no good for me.
It was wonderful to have so much information. It was almost like a dream come true.
However, it would be difficult to read it all.
Philly and I would not live so long.
And we also had a time limit, as the dragon settlement was being attacked.
“This would take way too much time…”
Even Philly, who was full of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, was troubled.
Dorgo looked at us and said,
“Kathe. Why don’t you tell them which parts of the book they should read?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t act dumb. I told you before.”
“I remember that you told me. But I don’t really like doing this kind of thing.”
“Kathe.”
“Very well then.”
Kathe took in a deep breath.
“It is not as if we dragons have nothing to do all of the time.”
“Oh? Is that right?”
I said rudely. But it was because Kathe always looked like she had nothing to do.
Dorgo was always busy, so I knew that it was not true that all dragons were like her.
“Yes, that is right.”
Kathe said, not seeming to mind my comment.
“During our long lives, there will be times when we have nothing to do. And those are the times we relax and read books.”
“I see. I am very envious of you.”
“Yes. But when we are busy, we do not have time to read through entire books like these.”
“Even when you are a dragon? Well, that makes sense.”
When there is something specific you want to know, such a huge book would be inconvenient.
“Of course it does.”
“So what do you do when that happens?”
Philly asked. Kathe replied enthusiastically.
“We have a way. And I will teach this magic to you.”
“…Magic. I am not good with magic.”
“In that case, I will do it for you, Philly. But first, I shall teach it to Locke.”
And so Kathe taught me the magic.
It was magic that allowed you to search through the books for specific words.
“By doing this, the letters on the page will glow. It is very convenient because you can see the light from the outside as well.”
“Huh. That’s neat.”
“Locke. You try it once.”
And so I used the magic that I had just learned.
Parts of the book started to glow.
“Ooh. That is amazing. You were able to do it in one shot. It took me quite a while to learn it.”
“It’s because you’re a good teacher, Kathe.”
“Kahahaha! Thank you.”
After doing the magic, I started to search the book for the information I needed.
“Philly. What do you want to know?”
“Let me see…”
Philly told Kathe, and Kathe used magic to search for it.
And like that, they read the book as a team.
You just used magic to search for words and then checked to see if it was the information you were looking for.
Still, it was tiring work.
By the time we were finished, it was already evening.
“I… I… I cannot think of anything else.”
Kathe said as she slumped over the desk in exhaustion.
“Thank you for helping us, Kathe.”
“Thank you!”
Philly was also tired, but not as much as Kathe.
“Oh, no. Don’t mention it.
Then Dorgo said,
“Kathe. You did well today.”
“It is very rare for you to praise me, dad.”
Kathe said with a weak smile.
She really was tired.
“Kathe. You are so tired now because you were so lazy up until now. Look at Mister Locke.”
“Hm?”
Kathe looked at me.
“Mister Locke used magic to search, then read the information and used magic again. In other words, he did the same amount of work that you and Philly did together.”
“Locke…are you really human?”
“Of course, I am human.”
“Humans are frightful creatures…”
Philly said,
“Mister Locke is special.”
“Yes, Mister Locke is different. Abnormal. Kind of like a monster…”
Kathe’s description was quite mean.
“And so are you, Philly. Your brain moves so quickly.”
“Really?”
Philly looked surprised.
“I was also reading what you were reading, Philly… And I could not keep up.”
“Well, I do like to read a lot.”
Said Philly. Dorgo shook his head.
“Miss Philly. The speed at which dragons read is supposed to be faster than humans.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“Even if we ignore the fact that Kathe has been so neglectful and lazy, reading faster than the wind dragon ruler… I had heard you were a genius of alchemy, but I am still surprised.”
“You are exaggerating, but thank you.”
Philly said bashfully.
“Locke. Philly. Do you think you can make a good magic tool now?”
“Yes. The magic circuits are all laid out in my head now. What about you, Philly?”
“I am also prepared. The materials… As long as we are only making one.”
It seemed that we could finally start making it.
