Chapter 51
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Finding the Reason for the Beast Tamer's Arrival
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I need to find out why the beast tamer is coming.
Bielle might know the reason, or she might not.
But if she's been sticking close to Professor Prezel, she must have picked up on some subtle hints.
Even if she can't tell me directly what it is, I can infer the rest and piece it together.
'A cleverly tossed question to grasp that possibility.'
"Professor Prezel's been going out a lot lately, from what I hear. Do you know what she's up to?"
"Well, Professor Prezel teaches elemental magic application in natural element studies, you know. That's what I'm learning too."
I nodded as if I knew that already.
"So she does things like natural element expeditions. Seems like she's collecting samples for her research data."
Bielle shrugged her shoulders.
"Has she done this kind of thing before?"
"It used to happen a lot in the past. Lately, it's been less frequent, but... maybe she's making up for lost time. Truth is, Professor Prezel's research has hit a bit of a wall."
As she said that, Bielle let out an "Ah" and covered her mouth.
"Please don't tell anyone about this. It might be sensitive."
"A professor's research progress is sensitive stuff, of course I won't."
"Thank youuu...."
She dragged out the pronunciation, her voice trailing off in relief.
Then she immediately asked why I was curious about it.
"But why do you ask?"
"I went out of my way to visit, and she's not here. Just wondering what she's so busy with."
"Is that so?"
"And those natural element expeditions—are they done outdoors?"
"Ah, yes. Is there something else bothering you?"
"There's precedent from the practical session."
Bielle nodded, then firmly stated there wouldn't be any issues.
"Professor Prezel is strong, after all. She'll probably be fine."
I nodded and pretended that settled it.
No need to press further and arouse unnecessary suspicion.
"Then, can I ask a bit about natural elements too?"
"Um... I'm not trying to dismiss you, Professor Aiden, but that's specialized knowledge."
'Does she think I wouldn't understand?'
Or maybe she doesn't want to reveal Professor Prezel's movements?
My head suddenly grew complicated, and I tapped the desk irritably.
The metronome-like regular tapping sound filled the gap in our conversation.
Professor Prezel's movements were highly likely connected to the beast tamer.
In each route, the places where Professor Prezel spent her time differed.
Her actions revealed which route had been selected.
'If it's simply to keep me pinned down...'
If that were the reason, there was a high chance she'd set traps to keep me from moving easily.
In other words...
'She'll take the students hostage.'
That would tie my feet down, and while pretending to procure funds, she'd drag out negotiations to smuggle out the academy's ancient books.
The stolen ancient books would serve as foreshadowing for later, but for now, it wasn't a bad deal.
After all, even if there were some battles in the process of subjugating the academy, the safety of non-resisting students would be guaranteed.
But if it wasn't that case...
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
'She'll charge in without regard for my reaction. That's probably it.'
The heretical mages had found some kind of document in ancient ruins.
A document about purity that would drive them mad.
They call it a tunnel, but honestly, there's no reason for heretical mages to suddenly attack a peaceful academy.
Professor Prezel volunteering as an insider was just to receive research data from the heretical mages.
'In the original, the tunnel was just a jab after the heretical mages found a document about Elise.'
No matter the route, they find the document and invade the academy, but the routes branch and difficulty increases based on the document's interpretation.
In the first route, like this one, with a low interpretation rate, the heretical mages—who don't know where or what exactly it is—take hostages to go after the ancient books.
Ri Sete Academy has numerous ancient books, relocated and stored in the secret library.
Since even professors can't enter that storage area, their goal is to steal the ancient books to boost the document's interpretation rate.
Conversely, in the second route, you could assume they invade having interpreted key parts of the document.
The Creator of Providence, the lake spirit. Or Aiter.
The heretical mages decipher these three terms.
They correspond to Radon, Elise, and the currently implemented rune.
In the academy's back mountain, before Providence, a spirit lives, and that spirit knows the rune's whereabouts.
Once you grasp the document's core, there's no need to obsess over ancient books anymore.
For heretical mages, the rune is gospel-like salvation.
They come with war-like forces and raze the academy until they find what they want.
'The best would be to prevent them from interpreting the document...'
But interpreting the document is a definitively occurring event on the heretical mages' side.
That sets the wheel of fate turning, reilluminates myths, and expands the game's stage.
It's just that in the first route, the player gets a bit more time—that's the difference, but the end result is the same.
Depending on which of the two routes is chosen, Professor Prezel's movements diverge.
'In the first, she has to grab the students hostage before I can respond, so the main academy building.'
In the second route, confirming the document's contents becomes paramount, so the back mountain where Elise is.
As my gaze sharpened, Bielle cautiously opened her mouth.
"If you're still curious... simply put."
Bielle cutely clenched her fist and cleared her throat.
"We call it element utilization, but in nature, elements don't neatly divide into just the four elements."
As she spoke, she sequentially created dirt, water, air, and fire at her fingertips, then dispersed them.
"Natural elements are complexly composed. Water has air in it, fire needs air—just like that, they're organically interconnected. However."
She paused after "however," letting the moment hang.
"The moment mana infuses them, things get weird. Air that's dirt, water that's fire, fire that's air, burning water, glowing dirt—impure states of natural elements in all sorts of messy forms."
The dispersed elements suddenly merged strangely, forming a bizarre shape.
"Unlike before, when we thought fire as fire and water as water was purest, as mana levels rise, we've found fire that's water, water that's fire. Element utilization is ultimately..."
"Decomposing them?"
Bielle beamed.
"Exactly. Dismantling, analyzing, and utilizing. And taking it further, questioning 'why?' as elements combine."
She added an explanation.
"Currently, we believe all elements derive from a single primordial element. One paper shifted the entire ideology. What was once impure is now pure."
More precisely, it's in the process of becoming pure.
She tacked on that afterthought and launched into an enthusiastic monologue, looking intrigued.
I'm listening to this on purpose because whatever Bielle knows was likely explained by Professor Prezel.
And Professor Prezel would have been tipped off in advance by the beast tamer.
If Bielle knows a lot, it means both Professor Prezel and the beast tamer know too.
As I recalled the game settings in my head.
There have always been many standards symbolizing elements.
'Babylonian, ancient Greek elements, Indian philosophy's tattva, the five elements and five phases, medieval alchemy's tria prima—all benchmarks symbolizing elements.'
But they all have one thing in common...
"The essence of all matter. Called Akasha, or tattva, or Wuji, and in the four elements, it's ether."
Bielle added an explanation about variant ether.
"The traditional ether was a fundamental substance encompassing the four elements, unformed, so it's closer to Akasha—the superior concept governing all sub-concepts—than the original ether."
Of course, ether now encompasses sub-concepts as a superior existence too.
She added that and sparkled with excitement around her eyes, saying how fascinating it was.
"Among ethers, the upper layer is Aiter, the lower is Aer. What we focus on is Aiter—the ever-shining. The origin that combining elements eventually reach... or so we hypothesize."
"The end feels a bit lacking."
"Can't be helped. We don't have facilities to infuse that much mana into elements, and just dumping mana won't turn Aer into Aiter."
Because that requires converting matter into immaterial form.
Mana, being immaterial, can become matter like soil or water, but matter can't become immaterial.
It's a hierarchical concept.
Mana is above matter, so convertible; matter below mana, so not.
Aer and Aiter explain this on a grand scale.
'And among them...'
Aer is mana, Aiter a purer state of higher energy source than mana.
'In the original, it was called pure energy body.'
This pure energy body is the power enabling rune use.
Acquiring Aiter is the first gateway directly tied to runes.
What Bielle is explaining now—the ancient elements, Aer, Aiter—is exactly what's in the document.
Bielle added one more thing.
"This is the elemental studies perspective. Theology calls Aiter the god of light, science sees it as a medium for light, or just upper and lower air—nothing special."
"But elemental studies views it as the origin?"
Bielle answered.
"Yes, the most supreme and pure state. The universal element that could transform into anything, enabling ancient humanity to use runes. Lab-made ether that's fire-yet-water feels artificial. So, natural expeditions are unavoidable."
I paused here, lost in thought.
Chewing over one phrase.
The most supreme and pure state. The universal element that could transform into anything, enabling ancient humanity to use runes.
The document's core.
I slowly opened my eyes.
'They've interpreted it.'
Professor Prezel is a heretical mage.
Heretical mages crave the pure state.
And the ether forms seen in nature are considered close to purity.
Professor Prezel has ample reason for her expeditions.
"Fascinating."
"Yes, really fascinating."
Pretending to ponder, I tossed out a line.
"What about magical beasts then? The magic they emit. Purple-stained earth. Isn't that all a single color binding natural things together?"
At that question, Bielle's face twisted.
She mumbled vaguely, artfully dodging the taboo topic.
"...All academic circles have issued statements that magic contamination isn't a pure state. It's dangerous to research, and permits are hard to get."
"But you think there's a commonality."
"......"
Her silence was all the answer.
Purity doesn't have to obsess over shining things.
Whether pale or black, if it's a single color, it's surely pure, untainted by foreign substances.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
"Is Professor Prezel collecting elements in the back mountain?"
"Huh? Well, yes, but... how did you know?"
'She figured out what's in the academy based on the document.'
A high spirit named Elise lives in Ri Sete Academy's back mountain.
That spirit is a living witness from the golden age, the era of pacts, before Providence existed.
And the Radon corpse she holds divided the rampant ether era before Providence into elements under the yoke called Providence.
'Natural element expedition?'
Professor Prezel is probably setting up summoning circles all over Spirit Mountain.
The heretical mages have interpreted the document's core.
'The beast tamer is really coming.'
They'll turn the academy upside down to find Elise.
Until they locate the gate to the spirit realm where she resides.
...Elin might be in danger.