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CHAPTER 4 – I’M JUST A REGULAR PERSON, CAN I BATTLE THE MOST POWERFUL WIZARD?
PART 02
——
As I wished to speak with Satsuki alone, I tried to persuade Iris to leave the room for a while. Her tail thumped angrily against my thigh the entire time, and when she finally left, it was in an extremely grumpy mood.
Everything was just too complicated for me to explain
 Furthermore, I still hadn’t come up with a good way to tell Satsuki about the mix-up at the abandoned factory
 So I decided to let her tell her story first.
“I know you probably won’t believe me,”
Before she began, Satsuki gave me ample warning with a disclaimer.
“No, it’s alright. I think I’ll believe almost anything after what’s happened today.”
Wizards, aliens, beings from another world, entities from the future
 I’d already met them all.
“?”
Satsuki looked dubious, but I signalled for her to continue, commenting that I would explain later.
“I’m
actually a magician.”
“I see.”
From the moment I saw Satsuki fly out from the phone, I had suspected as much. It was probably her magic that had connected the call between us as well.
My childhood friend looked doubtful, probably wondering why I seemed to accept her confession so easily.
“Rekka, you’re acting really weird. You usually hate anything that seems out of the ordinary.”
“I still love being ordinary, but it doesn’t mean I’ll reject anything that isn’t.”
I might be enbroiled in extraordinary things now, but I was still an ordinary person inside. Harissa and Iris were, too.
“Besides, you’re the one who said it, and I won’t doubt you.”
Satsuki blinked in surprise, before she looked away quickly.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing
 Stop staring at me already.”
Her face was partially covered by her hair, but I detected a faint blush on her cheeks.
“
Did I say something wrong?”
“No
 I’m just so happy. I always worried that you won’t believe me, and would think I’m weird and dislike me.”
“Why would I do that? We’re childhood friends, right? And you said ‘always’?”
“Since we were in nursery school.”
“What!?”
This girl! I couldn’t take it anymore! Just how stubborn and deliberate she must be, to have harbored this anxiety alone for all this time?
I decided that I really needed to rescue Satsuki.
“Anyway, what’s up with that Messiah guy? He’s a wizard too, right?”
“Yes. He’s after the Great Magic of Creation that’s been passed down through my clan.”
“Great Magic of Creation?”
That’s right. Messiah had called Satsuki the “daughter of Creation”.
“In short, it’s a magic that allows the user to access the Akashic Records.”
“
What are the Akashic Records?”
R stared at me in disbelief as I interrupted Satsuki once again. Well, sorry for being clueless!
“The Akashic Records is a compilation of everything that has occured from the beginning of time up till now. With it, one is able to understand all past mysteries, as well as extract valuable information lost to history. Even the events which are happening at this moment are being recorded, which means that it is entirely possible to access top-secret knowledge, such as a nation’s war plans, if I so wished.”
Even with Satsuki’s thorough explanation, there were still some things I didn’t understand, but the implication of her last sentence was striking enough. It was a powerful, yet dangerous magic she possessed.
“But that’s if I wish to use it for evil means. On the other hand, if I find out about an impending tragedy, I have the means to try to stop it. That is the reason why my clan has been passing this magic down through the generations, in order to safeguard the world against destruction.”
“
That’s amazing.”
I had nothing but words of amazement to describe this majestic purpose, but Satsuki looked slightly pained.
“But I didn’t want to inherit this magic. I wanted to be an ordinary girl, so that I can always remain by Rekka’s side. I just wanted to have an ordinary romance. If I didn’t have this magic, I won’t be targeted by Messiah like this
”
“
Sorry for being insensitive.”
I’d said it myself just now, that those who embrace extraordinary things are still ordinary people inside. And I, of all people, understood how ordinary Satsuki is. The Great Magic of Creation was really too heavy a burden for someone like her.
“No, Rekka, you needn’t apologize,” Satsuki said as she shook her head.
“Those who should apologize are people like Messiah, who wish to use the Great Magic of Creation for their own evil purposes. They are the reason why my clan always had to hide away like criminals
 But I may not be able to escape this time. Messiah is well known to be the strongest wizard of the era.”
Satsuki smiled in a self-deprecating manner.
“There are rumors that he killed a genie and stole all its magical powers, which made him strong enough to blast entire mountains to pieces. I can never match up to him.”
“But Satsuki, you managed to escape his clutches at the abandoned factory, right?”
“It’s because I’ve been training specially for that situation
 But Messiah definitely possesses a more powerful magic. I won’t be able to escape forever.”
“Then how about hiding here? I mean, we’re not even on Earth anymore.”
“No. Messiah has my parents as prisoners. He’s enjoying holding them as hostages and hunting me down, but I don’t know what may happen to them should I continue to evade capture.”
“Oh! Your parents are
 I see.”
Leaving her parents to Messiah was not an option. With both running and hiding out of the question, Satsuki’s defeat to Messiah seemed imminent. He was well known to be the strongest wizard of the era, afterall. Hearing her story, it seemed impossible that she could ever best him.
“So
 what exactly is that Messiah guy after? Is there some book with instructions on how to use the Great Magic of Creation?”
If Messiah was targeting her, then Satsuki must possess something he wanted. Maybe I could think of an idea to counter him once I knew what he was after.
“Messiah is after
me.”
But Satsuki’s reply was something I never expected.
“Huh?”
Seeing my dumbfounded expression, Satsuki started to explain.
“Once Messiah seals the Contract of Creation with me, he would gain the power to access the Akashic Records as well.”
“What kind of system is that? If only it didn’t exist, then you won’t be in this situation now.”
“Well, children inherit half of their DNA from each parent, right? So in order to ensure that the next generation will be able to access the Great Magic of Creation, both parents need to be possess that power on their own.”
I see. Now that made sense.
But
 Huh? Wait. So that meant that the Contract of Creation
 It couldn’t be.
“Yes. The one who seals the Contract of Creation with me will become my life partner.”
“W-what~!?”
I could feel a few blood vessels bursting in my head from all the shock.
“That pretentious noble bastard! I’ll kill him!!”
“Calm down, Rekka.”
Satsuki waited calmly for me to settle down before she continued.
“I’m so glad you’re feeling so worked up for my sake, but you can never win against Messiah. You’re not a wizard, just an ordinary person
”
“Grr
!”
It was true. It didn’t matter that I had this supposedly special “Namidare Lineage” in my blood. In the end, I was still just a powerless regular human. I’d never have the power to stand up against a wizard.
But I’d never let that man have Satsuki!
“
But there’s a way out of this.”
Satsuki exclaimed with determination as she moved closer towards me.
We were seated on a large sofa, but she slid close, till our shoulders were touching. I gulped.
Satsuki looked at me, a blush on her cheeks, and I suddenly felt nervous.
“A way out?”
Satsuki’s face turned even redder.
“If Rekka
seals the contract
with me, before he does.”
“Y-Y-Y-You and me? C-C-Contract?”
“The moment I was born, my parents lost the power to wield the Great Magic of Creation. Therefore, I’m the only person in the world who can wield it now. Besides, I can only seal the contract with one person. If Rekka can seal it with me before Messiah, then he would stop targeting me.”
“Erm, wait a minute! I get the idea, but when you talked about becoming life partners, did you mean
”
My mind immediately conjured up erotic images.
Seeing my suspicious reaction, Satsuki seemed to realize what was running through my mind. Turning red as a cooked lobster, she turned angry.
“Rekka, you idiot! O-Of course we won’t do anything like that so suddenly! I-I’m not a pervert!”
“I-I see. I’m sorry. So it’s something simpler?”
Hearing that, I felt a vast sense of relief.
Beside me, R clicked her tongue in annoyance.
I warned my brain not to jump to any more conclusions as I cleared my throat and asked.
“So, how do we seal the Contract of Creation?”
“

With a kiss.”
“Huh?”
“
A kiss.”
No matter how many times I asked, her answer remained the same.
“You mean kisu
the fish?”
“No
the other kind of kiss.”
What other kind?
I hadn’t realized that Satsuki had moved so close that she was leaning heavily against me, pressing me against the sofa and preventing any escape.
“Rekka, do you find kissing me
disgusting?”
“Definitely not, but that’s not the point!”
In my panic, I tried to think of a way to stop her.
“It won’t be good if we kiss just like that
 I mean, I’ll be taking advantage of you.”
“
That’s not true.”
“Huh?”
“I won’t ask this of anyone but you, Rekka.”
Satsuki’s face was getting closer.
“S-Satsuki
?”
“I’m OK, because it’s Rekka
”
“Erm, well, actually
”
“Only you, Rekka.”
My mind was a blank. What should I do now? Share a kiss with my childhood friend? Huh? Why was this happening?
“Kiss now, kiss now.”
R cheered as she clapped her hands. Shut up, you!
Satsuki’s lips were almost upon mine.
I knew I should stop her, but I didn’t know how. My brain was not functioning, and unable to think, I allowed my body to react on its own.
——
Notes:
Kisu is the common name for the Japanese whiting fish.