In the Middle of Training to Become a Wizard

The boys have finally gotten hooked on "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End."

Originally, I was the one watching it bit by bit on Netflix around February. From there, my second son got hooked and watched it at a steady pace, and recently my eldest son joined in too. And so, I was completely left behind and stopped watching it.
(Because they kept watching ahead and spoiling it for me...)
(I wanted to watch it quietly by myself and enjoy it...)

Contrary to her cute appearance, Frieren is incredibly strong. She possesses both overwhelming magical power and a high level of experience.
On the other hand, she loves collecting trivial spells that are completely useless in practice, such as a spell to say tongue twisters without biting your tongue, or a spell to keep shells out when cracking an egg... No, rather than saying she likes collecting trivial spells, it seems she is a magic geek who loves magic in general, magic itself. That gap is also one of the reasons why the kids are so obsessed with it.

The other day, I was preparing dinner.
I wanted some soup, so I made a simple chicken bouillon soup with bean sprouts and seaweed.
I wanted a bit of color. Okay, egg drop it is. It looks nice and adds protein. Above all, my eldest son likes egg drop soup.
I took an egg out of the fridge. I cracked it into a small bowl.
Oh...

You can guess what happened,
a shell got in.


If I had the grimoire for the "spell to keep egg shells out" that Frieren has, I definitely would have used it.

I had seen somewhere that if you wet your fingertips with water, the shell will stick to them and come right out, but I didn't really want to put my fingers in, so I did my best to pick it out with chopsticks.
Actually, now that I look it up, it seems you get the same effect if you wet the tips of your chopsticks. Oh, that would have worked too. I'll try that next time.


I suddenly wonder.
If Frieren's grimoire was a "spell to easily remove egg shells that have fallen in," does that mean I've already obtained it?

I bring the soup in the pot to a rolling boil over high heat. I add the beaten egg. Swish.
Then I hold back for a moment. Because I always mess up when I interfere here.
With a calm mind, I stir once with the chopsticks. Don't overmix. Turn off the heat.

Okay. It's not the best, but it's a passing grade.
When I did it the other day, the egg drop consistency was so perfect that my second son, who was watching next to me, gave me a round of applause. (I thought so too.) Even a housewife who is bad at cooking can increase what she can do after 10 years. Is it like training?
Or maybe, from my second son's perspective, this is also magic. The magic of being able to make egg drop soup beautifully without it getting cloudy. Frieren, I also had a spell that I had properly acquired, even if it might be small and seem boring to others.

When I think about it that way, everyone can use some kind of magic.
My eldest son has the "magic to solve a Rubik's Cube on all six sides."
I think that's a pretty advanced spell. By the way, my husband can use this magic too. What an amazing party.


My second son has the "magic to cook delicious rolled omelets."
On bento days, he gets motivated, wakes up early, and makes them. Wonderful. Far from being boring, he was a magnificent wizard! I think he is the one in the family who demonstrates the most interest, initiative, and creativity regarding food. Keep it up.

My current goal is the "magic to play Ravel's Sonatine with a beautiful tone."
Until now, I felt the hurdle was too high, so even though I liked Debussy, I had never properly challenged myself with Ravel. But in my second week of reading the sheet music, when I was able to play it as written, unexpectedly beautiful resonant sounds rang out, and for a moment I had the illusion that a spell had been cast.

I'm still too inexperienced and the magic breaks in an instant, so I face the keyboard and practice a little bit every day. I know that the real wizards might be the composers who created such music.


It's not necessary for work, I'm not performing at a recital, and if you ask whether it has any practical use, it doesn't. But wanting to be a wizard who casts beautiful spells, I open my sheet music again today. Sometimes I get tired, get bored, play Totoro or Anpanman, and then come back to it. I'll try a little harder.

Oh, right, there was one more spell I'm challenging.
The "magic to make the sound of a sneeze go 'kushyami'."
The master for this one is also my second son.

I tried it too, but he said, "Hmm, you're almost there." Apparently, mine is still "hakkushyami." The point seems to be to suppress the "ha" at the beginning as much as possible and pronounce it starting from the "ku."
The master's sneeze is perfect, and it's a shame I can't have you all hear it here. If you're interested, please practice, and if you become able to use the magic, please let me know.
(What is this conversation about?)
(A story about how boys are still like this even when they reach the upper grades of elementary school.)

Or rather, they are doing it seriously, very seriously. That's why I think they'll be able to use magic, says the mother who is a great wizard.