Chapter 4: The Aust Ducal Estate and the Birthday Celebration (1)
Full Chant and No-Chant exist. Full Chant means that a mage recites the incantation to activate and cast the spell, while No-Chant completely omits that procedure and activates the magic directly. Looking at it this way, No-Chant without Full Chant would naturally seem better. However, there was a major flaw in this.
First, one might think that Full Chant incantations are less efficient than No-Chant ones, but in reality, that is not the case. Second, Full Chant incantations demonstrate far superior performance than No-Chant ones.
I myself had previously used the Friction Decline spell, which reduces surface friction, cast by Alcas using No-Chant, but it was only because I had to use No-Chant so that the opponent wouldn't notice and prepare countermeasures in advance. Originally, when activating magic, reciting the incantation to perform Full Chant would produce a much stronger power. In other words, No-Chant meant that the effect was applied as a significantly weakened version compared to partial or full chant, meaning the magic was cast.
This was a common knowledge that every mage who learns magic in this world knew, including not only the current hundreds of years ago but also the past.
'Magic is fundamentally inseparable from the verses of the incantation. Moreover, magic includes the consumption of mental power.'
Mental power consumption. When a mage concentrates their mind to cast magic, it is inevitable that their brain tires. It was a given, but if mages overuse magic carelessly, their brains can overload and they can lose their mind or collapse. This was what was called mana exhaustion.
'Considering the efficiency of magic, Full Chant is generally the most balanced in efficiency compared to No-Chant. While it shows performance a bit inferior to full chant, it increases the accuracy, range, and power of the magic hitting, and it can manage the mana more stably and efficiently with minimal consumption.'
No-Chant, trying to use it quickly, sometimes omits one of the basic processes of magic development and uses up the mana in chunks, wasting it inefficiently.
'Well, in the past, the drawbacks of No-Chant could be sublimated close to Full Chant by everyone, raising accuracy and stability to activate magic.'
So, practice is needed. By repeating the number of times magic is cast, one builds up proficiency. Just by doing that, a mage could raise the accuracy and stability of No-Chant close to Full Chant, excluding power and range.
It was at that time when I was thinking such thoughts.
Knock knock
“Who is it?”
-Butler, Simon. The head of the family is looking for you.
“Are you looking for me, head of the family?”
With the knock, the person who found him in the study was none other than Simon, the head butler of the Phoenix family, the dedicated butler to the head of the family. And Simon conveyed that the head of the family was looking for the fourth son, me.
'Why would the head of the family have business with me?'
The current head of the Phoenix family, who is also my father in this life. Sunlight von Betelgeuse. The name Sunlight is literally meaning sunlight, the sun, the lord of all things.
“......”
* * *
Knock knock, Head of the family. Free. I came because you called.
“Enter.”
Creak, the door opened, and Free, who entered, saw the current head of the Phoenix family sitting on one side of the study room with his back to the wide windows. He was Sunlight von Betelgeuse. To express him in one word, it was blazing scarlet. An individual with an appearance reminiscent of a blazing volcano. Even though I knew he was a mage, he had a sturdy build and a robust body with red hair. Moreover, his mustache was red. It seemed like he resembled Alcas the most. His eyes that looked exactly like that.
Free bowed his head in greeting.
“I greet the head of the family.”
“Yes. Let's get straight to the point. In about a week, we plan to hold a birthday party for the only daughter of a martial arts hall in the capital of the empire, borrowing it from the Aust Ducal Estate.”
“...A birthday celebration at the martial arts hall in the imperial capital, for the daughter of a ducal family?”
“Originally, I was going to bring my eldest son Iolth, but since things were busy, I decided not to attend. So, the reason I'm telling you is that the daughter there is the same age as you.”
“......”
Free realized the meaning of the words.
“...Understood. I will prepare without any shortcomings until then.”
“Think well. I will have the exact schedule delivered through the head butler Simon.”
“Yes, then I will take my leave.”
He bowed his head in thanks to the head of the family and turned to leave the room.
Then, the head of the family, Sunlight, was left alone in the study room.
“......”
He stared at the closed door for a while. Then, he stood up from his seat, put his hands behind his back, and stood in front of the window looking up at the clear blue sky. While doing so, he quietly muttered a sound he could only understand alone.
“After all, it's that bloodline...”
The head of the family already knew. The events that occurred between the fourth son Free and the second son Alcas. Because there were countless people in the family who acted as his eyes and ears.
“...Not bad. At just ten years old, not only did he master magic by self-taught, but he also made Alcas, who is five years older than him, retreat alone.”
He judged that the magic was also quite cunning and intelligent in its mind. The magical talent was also undoubtedly admirable, but the real surprise was the mind of that young child in that place, that situation. A mere ten-year-old child had early realized the position of the family and himself, and actively utilized it to make the opponent retreat quietly without doing anything on the spot. It was not something a young child should show yet. It was a unique innate talent that only those who stand above others could show, along with brilliant strategy and intelligence, or charisma-like qualities.
The head of the Phoenix family had muttered alone.
“...If I'm not careful, it could affect the existing successor structure. It's a bad thing.”
Despite having heard about my son's outstanding talent, the head of the family seemed not to like it much.
A few days later.
A row of carriages following, with another double-headed carriage with the phoenix mark of the Phoenix family engraved, and several knights in red armor of the family, mages riding horses, departed. The destination from the estate was none other than the martial arts hall in the capital held by the Aust Ducal family. In the carriage was the head of the Phoenix family, Count Sunlight. Following right behind was a double carriage with Free alone. The distance from the Phoenix Count family to the imperial capital was only a few days.
* * *
The Arhen Empire, home of the Phoenix family. One of the two ducal families holding the left and right arms of the Arhen Empire. The Aust Ducal Estate.
The Aust Ducal family was the only knight family that still mainly chose swords rather than magic. Or it was called the Sword Saint family, and the current head of the Aust family was a master of the continent's strongest sword saint in reality and name.
In that place, the current head of the Aust Ducal family, Aust von Aust, had early realized that their ducal family should not continue as it is, as the current knight family system.
The study room of the Aust family.
“What are you talking about! Suddenly asking me to learn magic out of the blue!?”
“Please understand. The flow of the times is the era of magic. Now, our knights also need to know how to use magic instead of swords.”
“...What!”
Aust von Aust was quite a wise person. He also had wisdom and insight to read the times.
“Aura. I have an indescribable apology to you. However, from your young age, we have to change this existing framework little by little. Eventually, our Aust family will be able to establish a solid foundation and framework suitable for such times.”
“...No! I like swords! It's the best to be good at swordsmanship, to sweat and hone the sword to build up skills! And, and...”
“...Aura.”
Pure white ponytail. Blue-green eyes. A young girl of just ten years old with a beauty mark beneath her eye. She spat out with teary eyes as if shouting her last words.
“I want to become a knight like my father!”
Aura von Aust left only that word and turned her body, fleeing from the study room.
Bang!
“...”
Hearing the harshly closed door, the father left behind, Duke Aust covered his face with one hand and poured out his current miserable feelings.
“Haaah.... What should I do about this?”
He was not just the continent's strongest sword saint in reality, but simply the father of a single daughter. The birthday celebration to be held at the Aust Ducal family this time. For such a daughter. It was also intended to connect the daughter with prestigious magic families early by reading the flow of the times. But at least now, his daughter did not seem prepared at all to accept such things.
“Truly difficult... What should I do...”
A father's heart was originally not easily understood by young children. ......The conflict between the father and daughter of the Aust family was also gradually deepening.