Chapter 434: This is Why Fantasy...(3)
Chapter 434: This is Why Fantasy...(3)
If Einstein had heard this, he wouldn't have just torn up his theory of relativity; he would have chucked it straight into the trash. Statements that defied all logic kept popping up, but somehow, we managed to move past them.
I wasn't a science major; I was a humanities guy. On top of that, I knew absolutely nothing about the magic of this world. No matter how hard I tried to explain things, my words were useless in front of Cecile and Arwen.
Still, just as I had done with my family, sharing snippets of knowledge about Earth elicited a similar sense of wonder.
The fact that airplanes and steamships could operate solely on mechanical power without mana or magic was, in itself, practically 'magic' to them.
Furthermore, Cecile and Arwen were a Demon and an Elf, respectively. Both races were ones whose very lives were steeped in magic.
Just as 'tools' are an inseparable part of human existence, magic held a similar position for them.
Perhaps that was why, when I asked if they could use Teleport without magic, I received a counter-question instead.
"Isaac, can you write without hands?"
"……It would be pretty difficult, wouldn't it?"
"That's what magic is to us. It feels like an inseparable tool, like our own hands and feet."
I nodded, accepting those words. At the same time, I couldn't help but think one thing.
As expected of these broken, OP races. While other races struggle and toil to develop science, these guys just snap their fingers and get it done with magic.
The reason they viewed Teleport—something nearly impossible on Earth—so casually was likely because of that. Their starting point was just different; there was no helping it.
If someone like Hitler or Stalin had been born in Helium or Albenheim and, furthermore, started a Race War…… the mere thought was horrifying.
'Looking at history, it wouldn't even be strange if they did appear.'
Helium had been persecuted by all races for over a thousand years, and Albenheim had lost a war against the Human Alliance, forced to accept humiliating terms.
It was an environment where someone with extremist ideologies could easily emerge. In fact, the Radical Faction of the Demon Tribe had already appeared in Helium.
If the radicals had taken complete control of the government, they would have likely tried to seize the entire world. Albenheim would have fought desperately to stop them.
If those two clashed, wouldn't it flow similarly to a fantasy version of the German-Soviet War?
As I was lost in these thoughts, Cecile suddenly asked a question, as if something had just occurred to her.
"Then, Isaac, even if you add up the age from your past life, you're still younger than us?"
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. That's right."
"What did you say you'd do about Mari, Miss Adele, and your family? I'm fine with you calling me 'Noona,' but it might be a bit awkward for them."
"Don't worry about that. We decided to just keep the titles as they are. This life is what's most important, after all. I haven't told Adele Noona yet, but that's what I'm going to ask of her."
Of course, I had been a bit hurt when Mari called me a child, but I let that part slide smoothly.
They say people adapt to their environment; as I immersed myself in this world, my mental age naturally followed suit.
If I had been older, it might have been different, but since I died young in my prime 20s, it wasn't much of an issue.
"Alright. Make sure you keep calling me 'Noona' from now on. Got it?"
"I was going to anyway…… but is it really something to care that much about?"
"Of course it is. Hearing you call me 'Noona' is just so…… Haa."
Cecile stopped mid-sentence and shuddered. Then, she closed her eyes and let out a feverish breath.
It was a reaction that felt somewhat erotic yet filled with a sense of accomplishment—an inscrutable response.
While I stood there bewildered, Cecile opened her eyes and looked at me with an expression of pure ecstasy.
I flinched slightly at her moist, red eyes, but her subsequent comment left me dumbfounded.
"It's just so…… so thrilling."
"……Thrilling?"
"Yes. It's hard to explain, but it's thrilling. I'm practically the only Demon who gets called 'Noona' by Xenon, right? Besides, if you were to whisper 'Noona' in my ear…… I don't think I could contain myself."
"Uh…… okay."
"Th-that is certainly a peculiar taste. I much prefer the way things are now."
Even Arwen, who was of a similar age, seemed unable to understand Cecile, her expression ambiguous.
Her face had reddened at the allure Cecile was radiating, but seeing her scoot her butt away, she clearly found it off-putting.
Anyway, the issue of titles was easily settled. What remained were stories about my world.
Setting aside science and technology, their greatest interest was 'culture.' Not the traditional culture of individual nations, but the culture that had spread worldwide.
For example, the 'films' that Helium was currently spearheading.
"You're saying there's a way to create a background separately instead of acting in an actual setting?"
"Yeah. Thanks to that technology, we can indirectly portray various time periods, settings, and even the past and future. For the record, I don't know the method. Just know that such technology expanded the spectrum of film."
"That's a truly wonderful idea. It means that with that technology, you can manipulate the appropriate background and environment at will. I'll have to contact the Matrix Theater Troupe soon."
As is well known, Helium supports the film industry at a national level. Furthermore, since the release of a film at the last Xenon Festival, they have been pushing forward with a large-scale film adaptation of the Xenon Biography.
However, I wondered if CG could be replaced by magic. CG isn't about creating the background from the start; it's work done on a computer after all the acting is finished.
Looking at Cecile, who was already deep in planning, I spoke up quietly. I felt a more detailed explanation was necessary.
"However, the background isn't created while acting. You place a special screen behind you, and after all the filming is done, you create the background as a form of post-processing."
"Is that so? If the background isn't created from the start……"
"I believe Mirage Magic could be applied to that part."
"Huh?"
Arwen, who had been listening quietly until now, spoke up. Both Cecile's and my eyes turned toward her.
As the attention gathered on her, Arwen looked back and forth between us, then offered an explanation with a confident smile.
"The method you described is very similar to Mirage Magic. It is one of the spells researched by historians to better understand the past in detail. It is particularly useful when investigating ruins."
"Mirage? How does it work?"
"It is a high-level spell, so it is difficult to explain in words. However, I can say that while it cannot be touched, like a mirage, it can certainly portray a situation vividly."
Instead of filming in advance and then working on it like the CG I mentioned, it was a way of creating a virtual reality from the very beginning.
She explained that if this were used well for large-scale war scenes, it could significantly reduce the unnecessary waste of manpower.
In particular, she noted that the part in the Xenon Biography where Albenheim is occupied would absolutely require this magic, as the World Tree explodes.
Hearing that explanation, I wondered what kind of crazy magic that was, but then again, this was a fantasy world.
It was a truly startling and shocking idea—forgetting about CG post-processing and instead filming while expressing virtual reality through magic.
'If Christopher Nolan heard this, he'd be foaming at the mouth.'
I wasn't just saying that; Christopher Nolan is famous for prioritizing realistic directing. Everyone knows the anecdote about him blowing up an actual building for a hospital explosion scene.
By the time I was left stunned by the thought, Cecile seemed equally taken aback.
Demons had strong 'firepower,' but they were somewhat lacking in 'delicacy' compared to the Mirage Magic Arwen mentioned.
Since Helium had been isolated from the international community, their foundational academic knowledge was bound to be somewhat lagging.
"I-is that really possible?"
"Of course. If Helium requests it, our Albenheim is more than willing to comply. We will gladly accept, provided it is for the Xenon Biography."
"……Let's discuss this slowly, just the two of us, later."
"Understood. It sounds like it will be an interesting conversation."
I wanted to join that conversation too, but as a Muggle who knew nothing of magic, I figured I should just stay quiet. I picked up my teacup with a somewhat resigned heart.
When talking to Mari and my family, I felt a subtle sense of superiority, but in front of these two, I was nothing more than a human performing tricks.
It was impressive enough that they had introduced high-quality films in an era that hadn't even seen an Industrial Revolution, but they even used magic for plays.
No wonder scientific development was slow. If you can solve everything with magic, why would you need science?
"Is there anything else besides movies? Even simple games are fine."
"Games…… the only one that comes to mind is Baduk?"
"Baduk?"
There was a game here similar to 'Chess,' one of Earth's board games. In fact, it had the exact same rules as Chess, just with a different name.
On the other hand, there was no Baduk or Janggi. No matter how hard you looked, there was no country similar to those in the East, so they simply didn't exist.
Anyway, while I wasn't sure of the origins of Baduk, it was generally thought to have come from China, and it was particularly famous for being a game that could ruin lives.
Even if it was an old-fashioned game, it was a 'devil's game' that, once you fell for it, you could never escape.
The anecdote about Guan Yu playing Baduk while having his bone scraped to remove poison is very famous.
At first glance, it shows Guan Yu's superhuman mental strength, but the fact that he chose to play Baduk out of all things was already an omen of its nature.
"Yeah. Have you ever seen words like these in the Xenon Biography? 'By the skin of one's teeth,' 'laying the groundwork,' 'shooting oneself in the foot,' 'a matter of life and death.' Things like that."
"Ah. I have seen those. They were unfamiliar terms, so I didn't know what they meant at first. Fortunately, I came to understand them thanks to the footnotes you provided."
"Those terms originally came from Baduk. I didn't coin them myself."
Since Baduk didn't exist, those expressions naturally didn't exist either. However, since there were no other terms that could express those concepts as well as they did, I just created them.
Because of that, critics had made quite a fuss about me 'creating new words,' which was honestly quite embarrassing.
While it was true that I had created the words themselves by combining the local language, it was no different from just taking what already existed.
I had learned Baduk as a child, so I knew the rules. In fact, the rules themselves were so simple it would be strange not to know them.
The problem was that the number of possible moves was insanely high. I looked back and forth between Cecile and Arwen and asked tentatively.
"I can show you what it's like, but I'll do it a bit later. The rules themselves are easy, but it's a much more difficult game than you'd think."
"Understood. We can play it later when I speak with Princess Cecile."
"Before that, why don't you try winning at board games first?"
"Ha. Do you truly not realize that I was going easy on you back then?"
When did they even play board games? I barely managed to stop the two of them, who looked ready to fight at any moment.
If they started playing Baduk in this state, I had no idea how far things would spiral. That was how addictive Baduk was.
Regardless, I continued to tell them about various other cultural aspects. Since they were races that used magic like their own limbs, they seemed more interested in culture than science.
One of the things that came up was sports—specifically, 'Soccer.'
Games played with a ball are widespread regardless of the country. It was just that 'sports' as a concept didn't exist.
"Using only physical ability without mana-based reinforcement? It's interesting, but……"
"Wouldn't Beastkin be too strong then? Especially Dwarves; they'd be at too much of a disadvantage. It seems like it would be rather limited."
The problem was that it wasn't fair. Dwarves were at a disadvantage in most sports due to their unique physique, while Beastkin were far too advantaged.
Even Leona, who looked delicate on the outside, weighed over 80kg. They weren't even in the same weight class.
Because of that, it was obvious that sports-related activities would only flourish among Humans, Demons, and Elves. So, we decided to just move past that.
"Hmm…… I think it's about time to wrap this up. Is there anything else you're curious about?"
"Let me ask one thing. Actually, this is what I was most curious about."
As soon as I made the suggestion, Cecile spoke up, lightly raising her hand. Arwen also flinched for a moment before slowly lowering her hand.
When I turned to look at Cecile, she took a leisurely sip of her tea and then quietly set it down.
Unlike the somewhat boisterous atmosphere of a moment ago, the mood was now incredibly serious. Even the aura emanating from her was unusual.
Curious about what kind of question she would ask, I let the corners of my mouth turn up slightly. Cecile looked me straight in the eye with her deep red gaze.
Just as I was thinking about how beautiful she was, she spoke in her characteristically alluring voice.
"Isaac. You said your world is one where only humans exist, without any other races, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then, was everyone equal? I'm curious if there was discrimination on a racial level, rather than discrimination arising from status or ability."
"There is."
I didn't say there was; I said there is. Not past tense, but present progressive.
Cecile seemed to have noticed this as well, as her expression turned quite flustered. She then asked me in a hurried tone.
"Wh-why? Didn't you say science and culture were much more developed there than here? Democracy? Anyway, thanks to that system, the class system completely disappeared, didn't it?"
"In exchange, power didn't disappear. Furthermore, democracy gave birth to another class system called capitalism. It's not quite right to say it completely vanished."
Socialism and communism were born to completely dismantle that, but as everyone knows, they have now faded into the shadows of history.
In terms of the system itself, the intent was good, but the ones who implemented it were the Soviet Union and Stalin.
Of course, that was regarding 'status.' There were indeed people who were persecuted not just across 'nations,' but on a 'racial' level.
"You asked if there's discrimination on a racial level, right? That's still going on today. People face all kinds of discrimination and contempt simply because their skin is black."
As you might expect, I was talking about Black people. Nowadays, the moment you discriminate, you'll be cursed out, but unfortunately, racism hasn't disappeared.
And the sad part was that this was actually better than it used to be. Hearing my words, Cecile murmured in a shocked voice.
"If their skin is black…… aren't they Southern People?"
"Similar."
"I heard there's a trend of not picking fights with Southern People……"
As Cecile said, the Southern People were a race close to Black people, living in the desert country of 'Gultan' or acting as nomads.
And they were incredibly strong. I wasn't just saying that; they were a race that perfectly fit the term 'warrior race.'
Perhaps because they had survived tenaciously in the desert and even fended off the surrounding monsters, they were truly powerful.
Fortunately, they weren't ill-tempered; in fact, they were quite polite and were cooperating with the Minerva Empire.
Furthermore, there were rumors that the Southern People's help was needed to cross the Grey Desert.
In any case, as long as you didn't provoke them, the Southern People were as reliable as could be, but if you made them your enemy, you were as good as finished.
"That's only by the standards of this world. Where I lived, they were discriminated against for various reasons."
"Who on earth would do such a thing?"
"If I explain that, it'll get too long, so I'll skip it. Besides, didn't you guys have slavery here in the past too? Humans are all like that, I guess."
"Is it as if humans are the root of all evil……?"
When she put it that way, I had nothing to say. Humans here had other races to deal with, so discrimination between human ethnicities was less severe, but on Earth…… let's not go there.
Anyway, while Cecile complained of a headache, I turned my gaze toward Arwen.
As soon as our eyes met, Arwen seemed to understand what I meant. She nodded and then spoke.
"It was something I had been curious about for a long time. Do you remember the speech you gave me?"
"Of course I remember."
"Then, who was the one who gave the first speech you gave me, not the second? The first speech left a stronger impression on me than the second."
"Uh……"
I was momentarily speechless. Because the second speech I gave her was adapted from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
"It was a speech that seemed to uplift a people in despair and, furthermore, give them a sense of pride. Who on earth was it that gave such a masterpiece of a speech?"
"……"
The first one was a speech delivered by a one-balled man with a mustache.
'……What do I do?'
In the end, I told her she would find out when I released a book later. It wasn't a lie; it was the truth.
"I look forward to it. To see who gave such a speech. You say it will appear in your next book?"
"……Yeah."
"Then they must be a person with a powerful presence. Surely they must be."
Oh, he definitely had a presence. For sure.