338 338 That's Not A Witch
Once everyone was finished, Wolfe looked around at his handiwork with pride. Very few women in the Academy now couldn’t use any magic whatsoever. Those who had failed to awaken were either on the older end of the scale or had no magical blood in them at all.
Among the crowd of aspiring Witches working at the Academy, Wolfe had found a few who were from Magi families with no Witch blood, so they would be able to channel mana but never create any new spells on their own, and he had made a mental note to talk to them before he left.
He had cleaned out the blockages in their mana flows, but they should be made aware that they weren’t defective Witches because they weren’t Witches at all.
“Alright, I think that’s everyone. Now, I need you, and you and those three to come to talk to me in private for a moment. It’s about your inability to activate an aura.” Wolfe explained, with a look at Peach that he hoped she would understand as ‘this was not to be a public conversation’.
“You heard the man. We’re all finished up here, so go shower, and you can get back to your duties. Wolfe, you can take the ones you needed to talk with to the Staff Lounge. There is nobody in there now that Christa has returned to her room.” Peach instructed, signalling the staff to begin to disperse.
The girls of the Advanced class looked sad that they wouldn’t get to talk to Wolfe any longer, but they could always look for him at dinner after he had finished with his business.
If they hadn’t managed to awaken their aura, they would want to know why right away as well, so the students could understand why they had to wait.
The Magi women followed Wolfe to the staff lounge, where he closed and locked the door, then activated the charm on the door to block sounds in and out.
“What I have to tell you all needs to stay strictly confidential for your own safety. Everyone was pretty accepting of me after I was cursed as a Demon, but only after I was cursed and considered a Familiar.
The reason that none of you activated an Aura is because you either have no Witch heritage at all or because the Magi lineage is so dominant that your body never had the chance to form the necessary organ for aura creation.
All of you are Magi descendants, and you will be able to channel mana starting right now, but you will never be able to create a new inscription on your own. To do that requires a Mana Focus, which apparently is incompatible with female Magi.” Wolfe explained.
One of the girls raised her hand. “First, I would like to say that I know Male Witches have it worse, but that is utter bullshit. Why should we be deprived of the ability to create spells just because of our gender?
Secondly, do you know why we’re incapable of forming a Mana Focus?” She asked.
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What you can do is channel mana. I am going to give you each a small collection of Inscriptions before I go so that you can use basic magic of your own, like armour, a basic attack spell, and [Detect Hidden], to let you see through basic disguises and find hidden items.
Through trial and error, we have learned that the spell even works to find your glasses when you don’t have your glasses on, so I know some of you need them.” Wolfe added, lightening the atmosphere.
“So, we will be able to activate inscriptions that someone else makes? That’s still pretty useful.” One of the cooks sighed.
“It can be. You will have to hide that you’re using magic or use magical items, though. Most Magical Items around the Academy have a mana crystal in them so that they can be activated by lousy witches or non-magic users.
I’m sure you all know the ones I mean, like the magical mixers and such in the kitchen. Only now you can do it on your own and not deplete the charge in them. If you do it quietly, everyone will think that someone else has recharged it, and you can make your life easier.
Are there any other requests that you would like to make? What magic would you love to have here that simply doesn’t exist within the Academy?” Wolfe asked.
They thought about it for a moment, then one of them raised her hand. “I think that what we need more than anything at the Academy is actually domestic magic. If you could make a spell that vacuums a floor and changes sheets in an instant, it would cut my workload in half.”
It was clear that she was joking, but Wolfe actually knew a spell for that. It was easy enough to focus and identify the bedding to bring to the hamper for the housekeepers and only a bit harder to focus on making the bed with fresh sheets. Cleaning the floor was one of the simplest Air Magic spells, and he could do that with little more than a thought.
“You think you’re joking, but I can actually do that. Of the five of you, only one is in the kitchen, and the rest are in housekeeping, so I can make up inscriptions to gather sheets, remake the bed with the fresh ones, and clean the floors.
It’s limited since I can’t use Water Magic, so I can’t have it mop the floors for you, but a Witch here in the Academy could make that easily enough, and then you could use it. The problem is I don’t know who you could trust to help you out and not turn you in to be cursed as a Demonic Familiar.
Demonic Familiars are highly valued since they’re so much more powerful than most other Familiars, which means there will be some temptation there as soon as others find out that you’re not Witches.
It worked out alright for me, but I was strong enough to overcome the bond, and I got lucky with two Witches who didn’t hold a grudge against Demons. I wouldn’t want to risk that with you all. But since you can’t store mana, the Inquisitors would likely have to catch you red-handed to get a conviction.”
The housekeepers all nodded in agreement. “We will take what you can give us.”