Chapter 3: Bubble Gum And Candy / A Decision

They sat there for around an hour.

Charm finally shook her head, slapping her cheeks.

“Fine. Fine, explain. I’m ready.” Charm said

“Leaf, are you ready?” Rin asked

Leaf gestured a few times

“Yes, I’m not slow like Charm is.” Leaf gestured

“Okay, well. The reason you can’t release mana is due to a flaw in your creation. You aren’t supposed to have mana valves until you are linked with another mage. You are an artificial secondary Ark component. Now, personally, I don’t know much more about Arks than what dad’s told me, but I understand the basics. The reason you’re flawed is because they tried to make you stronger than a natural Ark. Ah, screw the science stuff. You can fix this by either fusing with a mage, using items that absorb mana like a sponge, or learning to release magic. That last one isn’t exactly practical for everyday life, since it requires periodically exploding something with magic, until you learn some proper release techniques. The first one will stabilize your mana valves, but it might take quite a long time to find someone who is compatible. And even then, it still needs to be released often, since it shares your mana capacity and skills between the two of you. The best option is to use mana absorbing items. That’s usually extremely expensive, since they cost a lot, and eventually get used up as a disposable item. Thankfully, I have a solution. My dad has a shit ton, so I’ll get him to send me some. Give me a second.” Rin said, walking out of the room and dialing a number on her cell phone.

She came back into the room a few minutes later, holding a massive stack of large cardboard boxes.

She dropped them next to the bed and opened one.

“Here, chew on this. Don’t swallow it.” Rin said, handing leaf a wrapped piece of gum.

Leaf took it, following Rins instructions.

“Gum? I thought it would be something like a necklace or mystical artifact. But it’s just gum?” Charm asked, surprised.

“Yeah. I thought the same thing. It isn’t just gum, there's quite a few different candies in here. The gum is just the easiest to use for most people. Apparently, the gum draws out mana from the body, creating small pockets of mana inside of itself. Sometimes they pop open when you chew, releasing it out into the air. It’s one of the better ones, but it does still wear out and stop working after a while. Leaf, try blowing a bubble with it occasionally, as well. There’s two reasons for that. First is that it can release more mana from the pockets, causing it to last longer. Second is to tell if it's changed color or not. The gum will take on the color of the mana you store. In the case of neutral mana, it goes from pink to gray. Once it changes completely, it's used up. Sometimes it can be hard to tell. If you aren’t sure, just change it out.” Rin said.

Leaf made a few gestures, embarrassed.

“Huh? Oh!! That explains a lot. How did your tongue get cut off like that? And where did you learn sign language? They definitely wouldn’t bother teaching that in the project that created you.” Rin asked.

“There was a nice old lady who was very kind to me during the experiments. She helped teach me sign language. The reason I got out at all was because of her help during one of the breaches that happened whenever one of us went insane or couldn’t control themselves. She helped me and a few other kids escape. I don’t know what happened to her. Me and my friends split up and ran. I don’t know how I got here. I’m lost. And I don’t know what I should do.” Leaf gestured.

“Why not find a way to get adopted or something? Rin, that would work, right?” Charm asked.

“No, it wouldn’t. Thankfully, I have a solution. It’s up to Leaf, but I can forge everything you need, get you an apartment, and send you to a school. Let you live like a normal person. It’s partially our fault that any of this happened in the first place. We weren’t as vigilant as we should have been. My dad went to go check up on possible areas that they could have been testing at, and I can ask my mom to help with the rest of the work.” Rin said.

“Isn’t it hard to forge illegal documents in America?” Charm asked.

“I have no idea. I’ve never had to even ask. The place I was going to send her to is Japan. We have a lot more influence there. Or, rather, we have absolute authority there.” Rin said.

“Wouldn’t Leaf have to learn Japanese?” Charm asked, skeptical of Rins offer.

“I’m pretty sure she can understand a variety of languages. Leaf, you understand Japanese, right?” Rin asked.

Leaf made a few gestures.

“She understands it better than English.” Rin said.

“Oh. Well, she did seem to have a few problems understanding some of the stuff I said. I guess Japanese is your native language, then, Leaf?” Charm asked.

“I’m not Japanese, I’m Korean. So it isn’t my native tongue. However, I am equally fluent in both Korean and Japanese.” Leaf gestured proudly.

“Rin, do you have to use an announcer's voice whenever you translate her words? And what do we do if her tongue got cut off?” Charm asked.

“I don’t think there's anything we can really do for now. Anyways, Leaf, what do you want to do?” Rin asked.

Leaf looked at Charm inquisitively.

“I think it would be a better idea for you to go, instead of staying here. Rin would have an easier time helping you if you went there.” Charm said.

Leaf gestured decisively.

“All right, I’ll get that all arranged. It might be up to a month before I can get anything ready. I’ll contact you guys then. Also, Leaf, can you make sure Charm gets her work done? I need to grade it soon.” Rin said.

Leaf gestured, confused.

“Oh. I teach at the college. While me and Charm are friends, and both of us are the same age, I’m actually her professor. Of course, I’m also a student at the same time, since I’m working on getting another degree.” Rin said.

“Like father, like daughter, as they say. I’m working on it, Rin.” Charm said, sighing.

“Still, Leaf, keep an eye on her for me. I have to head out again. I’ll see you guys later.” Rin said, leaving.

They both sat there for a few minutes, silently.

“Wait, how am I supposed to understand you?” Charm realized.

Leaf scribbled グーグル翻訳 on the notepad.

“I don’t know how to read that. I’ll just use a translator thingy.” Charm said.

She took a picture of it with her phone.

“Oh. Well, then. Helpful.” Charm said, sighing.