Another Law of Mana
The silence was broken by the faint resonance of a thin string.
My fingers glided softly over the fretboard. 2-5-1
A chord progression flowing from the subdominant (2nd), to the dominant (5th), and resolving to the tonic (1st) among the seven diatonic chords.
The foundational progression in music theory spilled out in melody.
I could've used the IV-V-I with the 4th as subdominant instead, but...
I preferred the stable sound of the 5th descending, so I happily chose the 2nd over the 4th.
Chords began to spread through the tense room, and Garvan's eyes, folded across his chest with a bored expression, slowly widened.
This was on another level from the single chord he'd heard three days ago.
This bizarre flow, where sounds connected like stepping stones racing toward the next destination, fundamentally differed from the chaotic noises he'd heard his whole life.
Luna, too, slowly straightened her languidly leaning upper body.
Her platinum eyes, half-closed in disinterest, now obsessively followed my fingertips.
A fresh intensity bloomed on her face, filled with ennui.
Finally, the last chord faded with a long reverb.
Like the déjà vu at the workshop, a profound silence descended over the mansion.
In this eerie hush where no one could speak first, I cautiously broke the ice.
"...Um, Luna? Uncle?"
At my call, Garvan snapped back to reality with a fake cough.
Pretending nonchalance, he fiddled with his necktie and glanced at Luna.
"Ahem! See, Luna? What'd I tell ya? Pretty good, right?"
Luna didn't answer.
She stared at me intently for a long moment, then lightly snapped her fingers in the air.
A transparent glow rose from her fingertips, sweeping over me like a wave.
It was the grand mage's probing spell, meticulously verifying something.
"Cecilia, play it one more time. Just once more~"
Languor lifted slightly from her voice, replaced by a strange fervor.
As I plucked the strings again, Luna conjured intricate magical geometric patterns in the air during the performance.
With each repetition, her face filled with astonishment.
"...Impossible."
Luna's eyes flashed wide.
She sprang from the sofa and rushed toward me.
"How did you do this? What's the principle behind it~?"
The world-weary demeanor from moments ago was gone.
Luna circled me like a curious child, eyes sparkling, then snatched the guitar with telekinesis and began analyzing its structure far more meticulously than before.
"I get how the sound works. The string vibrations amplify inside this wooden box. But... it doesn't make sense. How can mere vibrations like this cause this phenomenon~?"
"Is there... a problem...?"
As I asked in confusion, Luna spun toward Garvan with the guitar hovering, scolding him.
"Garvan! You didn't notice either, did you~? You blockhead old dwarf!"
"What? Why're you yelling at me outta nowhere! I was shocked too!"
"Shocked is all~? It's mana efficiency! While this kid was playing, the mana efficiency in my mansion improved—slightly, but unmistakably~!"
At her words, lightning struck Garvan's mind.
Three days ago, after I left the workshop, that odd sense of wrongness while working.
The question 'Why does hammering feel so light today?' finally clicked.
It hadn't been his imagination.
"I didn't change the nature of the mana or the casting method. Same spell, same way, but less mana consumed! This is a revolution—a revolution!"
Is it okay to say 'revolution' in the Empire...?
Before my doubt could linger, Luna's moonlit eyes gleamed with curiosity.
She shook my shoulders, unleashing a barrage of questions.
"Interfering with someone else's magic to assist it? That's a first in my life. Interference usually means disruption or cancellation. For assistance, the caster's and assister's will, intent, and spell structure must align perfectly!"
Luna drew magical circuits in the air with her fingers, continuing her explanation.
"Take a basic flame spell, for example~. If the assister intervenes while the caster is thinking about the direction or shape of the fire, what happens if the target shifts even slightly? The mana clashes and explodes! That's why support magic is dismissed as useless in real combat~!"
Her voice rose higher.
She snatched the guitar from my arms again, peering into the soundhole as she muttered.
"At best, a higher-grade mage forces mana into a disciple during lessons, or low-grade mages act as human batteries dumping raw mana into a superior one! But this isn't that brute-force method."
Luna shook my shoulders again.
"It reinforced the foundation of my magic system without touching the structure at all. How is that possible? Reading someone else's will or intent perfectly is impossible. Is the basic framework or direction fundamentally different from existing support magic? Huh~?"
Overwhelmed by the grand mage's intensity, I could only gape wordlessly.
I'd never dreamed a simple chord progression could affect this world's magic system like this.
"Uh... that... I..."
With zero magic knowledge, I had no answer.
I floundered, shooting Garvan a desperate plea for rescue with my eyes.
Luna, clinging and shaking my shoulders, noticed my blank expression and released me with an oh.
Tongue sticking out apologetically, she plopped back onto the sofa.
"Sorry, sorry~ I have this habit of charging in without thinking when I see something amazing~. Now, calm down and answer me~."
With time to gather my thoughts, I finally steadied my ragged breathing. My mind was a mess.
Music helping use mana more efficiently? Unimaginable to me, but when the grand mage of this world said it with conviction, I had no choice but to believe.
"...Luna, I think you're misunderstanding. What I did wasn't magic. This is music."
At my correction, Luna tilted her head.
"Music? Come to think of it, Garvan called it music earlier too. Music is that... thing where they bang metal bars in the street and shout loudly, right~?"
"That's not music, that's noise! An insult to music! Music isn't mindless yelling—it's governed by strict order and laws."
"Order and laws, huh..."
Intrigued by my firm tone, Luna propped her chin.
"So, you don't know the principle behind boosting others' mana efficiency either? You just played according to those laws you mentioned~?"
"Yes, exactly. I made this instrument just because I love music. I had no idea it had side effects like this."
"What to do with this..."
Luna tapped her lips, deep in thought, then abruptly proposed.
"Cecilia, show me your best magic spell. I need to see your mana flow directly~."
My best magic? The only spell I could use was the sound barrier I'd self-taught.
Awkwardly, I extended my hand, deploying a spherical barrier around me.
Luna's platinum eyes sharpened again, scanning my magic.
"A type of ward... no, a derivative? Fascinating. You cast this without knowing any magic theory, right?"
"...How did you know?"
Stabbed right in the core, I asked in surprise, and Luna chuckled.
"The way you handle magic is like people from ancient times before theory was established~. Normally, without theory, you can't even cast, let alone efficiently. But yours is oddly efficient. Like you're intuitively shaving down mana~?"
Her spot-on analysis gave me chills.
Looks like a kid, but a grand mage with centuries of experience.
Luna continued.
"What's your mage grade~?"
She asked casually, like it was trivial.
I hesitated, then answered.
"6th grade..."
"Hmm, lowest is 9th, so higher than expected~?"
At her words, I unconsciously furrowed my brow.
If 9th is the lowest, 6th is just three steps up.
In my past life's college entrance exam grades, 6th grade was prime 'study harder' territory.
Just 6th grade. Too shabby to show off in front of a grand mage...
As my face visibly darkened into a sullen expression, Luna, who'd been watching me, suddenly burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
"Pfft! Haha! What's with that face? You think 6th grade is low right now~?"
She laughed till she nearly choked, patting my shoulder.
Her eye level matching mine as she laughed felt oddly intimate.
"The... numbers go down as rank rises, right? So 6th is a bit below average?"
"Ahaha! Cecilia, you're a total newbie in this field~? Do you know how few mages in the Empire even have grades? Tens of thousands fumble with scraps of mana unranked. The numbers drop exponentially higher up. At your age, 6th grade puts you among the elite commoner mages~."
Wiping tears from her eyes, Luna continued.
"6th grade at your age? Not genius level, but prodigy whispers wouldn't be out of place. Of course, to me, you're still adorably green~."
Now fully convinced, Luna hopped off the sofa and gripped my hand tight.
"Cecilia, I really like you. Let me make a proposal~."
Her platinum eyes gleamed with greedy excitement.
"I'll fund your activities, teach you advanced sound-related magic myself~. I can even promote your music under my name. In return!"
She shoved her face right up to mine.
A sweet, citrusy scent wafted over.
"Play for me a few hours a day. And this... uh, what's it called?"
"A guitar..."
"Guitar? Hehe, cute name~. Anyway, lend me this guitar so I can study it thoroughly. Sound good? Not a bad deal, right~?"
Bad deal? Financial backing from a solid patron, one-on-one lessons from a grand mage, and promotion. Overwhelmingly beneficial for me.
"I'd be grateful, but... wouldn't this be a loss for you, Luna?"
"Nonsense! I've been bored out of my mind lately—this fun toy... er, friend is a huge win for me~!"
At Luna's bright reply, I finally relaxed and smiled.
Grand mage Luna von Estovan.
With this small, dangerous? patron by my side, purifying this world's noise into music didn't seem so impossible.