Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 046. Magic (1)

The old man’s grandchildren…

In other words, Pais and Kori ate their meals properly just as Anagin instructed.

Not only on the first day they decided to accompany him, but also the next day when they stopped by a village to ask for directions to the city, and the day after that as well.

Well, it was natural. Anagin had said he wouldn’t travel with idiots who couldn’t even feed themselves, so even if they had to force it down, they had to eat.

What could someone who couldn’t take care of their own body possibly accomplish?

Let alone kids who said they wanted to avenge their grandfather.

Anyway, although they ate reluctantly at first, once food went into their mouths their appetite returned, and soon Pais and Kori were able to eat normally. During that time, they finally revealed their names.

“I’m… Kori. And my little brother is Pais.”

“Huh?”

"We just hoped you would call us by our names..."

“Uh… no.”

Anagin responded in his usual crooked manner, but even so, Kori was recovering enough to introduce herself and her brother.

And that wasn’t all.

“Breakfast is ready.”

Thanks to eating properly and walking every day, Kori now helps Sphinx prepare their meals.

She had recovered enough strength to do things on her own.

“What’s on the menu?”

“Barley porridge! And we grilled the fish and deer we caught earlier!”

“Alright, I’m coming.”

“Yes!”

Hearing Anagin’s reply, Kori ran back.

Anagin stepped out of the shallow river, dried himself with a towel, and headed toward Sphinx, Kori, and Pais.

As Anagin left, only the bounty hunters who had come for him remained by the river, lying there with broken legs.

“Ughhh….”

* * *

“I’ll teach you how to sling stones.”

After finishing the barley porridge, grilled fish, and whole roasted venison that Sphinx, Kori, and Pais had made, Anagin suddenly made the announcement.

Well, “announcement” was generous. It was closer to a notice.

Pais and Kori, who were helping Sphinx clean up after the meal, blinked.

“Stone… slinging?”

“Yeah. What I did this morning. You saw, right?”

Of course, they had.

When Anagin woke up craving meat, he put a stone into a sling, spun it, and threw it—killing a passing deer.

Thwack!

Its skull shattered instantly.

Thanks to that, Pais and Kori learned how deadly a sling could be.

“Out of nowhere?”

Sphinx asked, watching Anagin spout something weird after a good meal. But her wording was wrong.

It wasn’t “out of nowhere.”

“Why’re you surprised? They need some way to fight, don’t they?”

If this were just an ordinary journey, it would be different, but unfortunately, it was not.

Pais and Kori were traveling with Anagin for one reason: To avenge their grandfather, who was murdered by the Forest Brotherhood.

And then there was Anagin himself.

A practitioner's family had placed a bounty on him.

The bounty hunters with broken legs lying near the river were proof enough.

Whether they liked it or not, the two kids needed a way to defend themselves.

And Anagin judged stone slinging to be the most efficient method.

Even children whose bodies weren’t fully grown could deliver enough power, and ammunition was easy to find.

He thought about better options, but in the end, the sling was the most reasonable choice.

When Anagin explained this, Sphinx only frowned and was unable to argue.

She wanted to stop him… but she knew he was right.

'She's soft on kids.'

Anagin thought as he watched her.

But that was that, and this was this. He wasn’t going to change his mind.

Even children had to take responsibility for their choices. If they chose to fight, they had to learn how.

“Take one each.”

Anagin handed Pais and Kori the slings he’d made whenever he had spare time. He’d unraveled the magical tool, Stretching Rope, and rewoven it into slings.

They hesitated, but accepted them.

“They look crude, but they should work well enough.”

“Th-thank you.”

“Thanks, big brother.”

The two bowed their heads, gripping their slings.

The sight of two tiny children expressing their gratitude was enough to make anyone smile, but unfortunately, their audience was Anagin.

“If you’re really thankful, start practicing now. I’ll teach you how to throw.”

“Right now?”

"Then, when do you want to do it? Should we ask the bandits to wait because you're not ready yet?

The teasing tone made the kids frown, but they shook their heads.

“Then go pick up stones. About a hundred each.”

“O-one hundred?”

“You need to throw at least a hundred times. You don't want to?"

Kori knew he wasn’t actually asking a question.

She shook her head, took Pais by the hand, and went to pick up stones.

Watching them walk off, Sphinx muttered:

“You could’ve at least given them a cloth bag to carry the stones, mister.”

“They need to learn to think for themselves and say it out loud. If you spoon-feed everything, they get soft.”

Anagin answered based on his master’s teachings.

Sphinx stared at him for a moment… then sighed.

“Haa, so strict… Can I ask just one thing?”

“What?”

“It’ll take a while for them to collect a hundred stones, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And there’s this much washing left.”

“Yeah.”

“And obviously you’re not gonna help, right?”

“Yeah.”

“…Is it strange that I’m starting to get angry?”

“Pinku-Pinku.”

“What?”

“You’re the prettiest when you’re washing dishes.”

“Can you shut up?”

* * *

While Sphinx happily washed the dishes.

Kori and Pais returned with the stones. One hundred each.

“Oh.”

Anagin was a little surprised.

Stones might be lying all over the ground, but picking out one hundred pieces that were the right size for throwing was no easy task.

You needed sharp eyes to spot good stones, quick feet to reach them, and above all, stamina.

Even more so without any cloth to carry them in.

But Kori and Pais overcame that handicap and returned faster than Anagin expected.

‘Maybe because their grandfather was a practitioner?’

Whatever the reason, it wasn’t bad.

Sharp eyes, stamina, and footwork—those were all essential for fighting. With just those trained properly, they could avoid a pointless death.

‘Worst case, they run. If they don’t die, it’s not a loss.’

“Watch carefully.”

Anagin spoke to the siblings, who were sweating buckets from gathering stones, then carved an X-shaped mark into a tree about fifty meters away.

Then he returned, took out his sling, loaded a stone, spun it, and threw.

Swoosh-!

A sharp sound as it cut through the air.

The stone shot forward and embedded itself right in the center of the X.

“You two will both throw stones at that tree today. Exactly like I did. You throw at least a hundred times, and at the very least, one stone has to hit.”

Once the requirements were given, Kori carefully asked:

“Um… what if we can’t hit it…?”

"What do you mean, what if? You just throw again until you hit it. At least a hundred times each. You'll be the ones retrieving the stones."

Kori and Pais both looked shocked at the unexpectedly harsh training. It was far more demanding than they imagined.

But Anagin didn’t intend to take it easy on them. If they couldn’t endure even this, then they were better off quitting now.

“If… if we can’t do it, what happens? If even one of us fails?”

Kori asked cautiously, not so much out of fear of failure, but to understand the consequences.

“Then, because of you two, we stay here for the rest of the day. And if either one of you fails, we don’t leave. Both have to succeed.”

“Ah……”

“Why? Want me to go easy on you?”

Kori hesitated, then corrected her expression.

She hadn’t forgotten the point.

Anagin wasn’t doing this out of boredom or malice. He was trying to make Pais and Kori capable of pulling their weight when fighting the Forest Brotherhood.

They chose to follow him. Lowering the intensity now would make no sense.

“No…! It’s fine! We’ll succeed quickly!”

Kori steeled herself.

Pais, watching his sister, braced himself as well.

With resolve set, the siblings recalled the stance Anagin showed them and began throwing stones.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Thwang!

They placed stones in the sling, spun the cords, and released.

Overall, the posture was decent for a first attempt.

Whizz! Whizz!

They didn’t hit the X or even graze the tree, but no one got good on their first try.

Feeling discouraged, they glanced back at Anagin behind them.

He scolded them:

"The target is in front of you. Why are you looking behind? Focus!"

Kori gave a tiny nod, then resumed practice. Pais followed.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Thwang!

Putting effort into every little detail.

Anagin only corrected small mistakes from time to time, watching quietly.

“You’re all working hard.”

Sphinx returned from her war against the dishes.

Her arms held a huge basin piled with cleaned bowls, pots, and cooking tools.

With four people, there were simply more dishes to wash.

Knowing this, Kori paused and apologized to her.

“Ah, sis. Sorry.”

“It’s fine, keep practicing. Pinku-Pinku likes doing dishes.”

“No, I don’t, mister.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“I said I don’t.”

"I told you before, I can do this all day. You like washing dishes."

“Fine. I like doing dishes. Are you happy now?”

“Yeah, happy. You’re the prettiest when you’re washing dishes.”

“I’m really sorry……”

Kori apologized on Sphinx’s behalf, overwhelmed by Anagin’s nonsense.

Sphinx patted her head.

“Don’t mind it. It’s not your fault. It’s mine for not noticing what a jerk he is.”

At that, Kori apologized again and returned to her practice.

The sound of stones cutting through the air repeated for a long, long time.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Thwang!

But none of them even grazed the tree, let alone the X.

By the time they’d nearly thrown all one hundred stones—

“Isn’t this too harsh?”

Sphinx voiced her concern.

No matter what, asking kids who had never used a sling before to hit something fifty meters away…

Fifty meters might sound short, but it was a long distance.

“Even on Rhodes Island, beginners start with targets twenty meters away… Fifty is too far, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what Rhodes Island is, but it doesn’t matter. They don’t have that kind of luxury.”

It was a cold remark, but it wasn't wrong.

In a situation where they didn't know when they might face the Forest Brotherhood.

If he went easy on them because it was tough now, they might pay the price in blood instead of sweat.

Sphinx knew that too, so she said nothing more.

“Sis, we’re okay! We’ll succeed soon, so please wait just a little!”

Kori shouted as she went to retrieve the stones.

Throwing over a hundred stones left her drenched in sweat.

“Hmmm…….”

Sphinx crossed her arms and hummed deeply, then seemed to come to a decision as she made a suggestion to Anagin.

“Is it okay if I teach the kids some magic?”

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(T/N): Just got back from my holiday break. I know my greetings are a bit late, but still—Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, guys! Let’s go, FIGHTING 2026!!!