If You Want to Promote Something, Ban It
Kalaksil and Isrban were the most infamous rival nations in the entire Wirod Dimension.
A powder keg waiting for a spark.
Which was precisely why the Valrod Empire kept both of them under constant, wary watch.
And then combat mages from those very nations had suddenly brawled it out in the wastelands—leaving a flood of casualties in their wake.
Overnight, the attention of the entire continent locked onto that fight.
Don't tell me…
Are they starting another war?
If the two of them had been some pair of backwater kingdoms tucked into a remote corner of the map, nobody would have cared who bloodied whom. The problem was that these two nations sat astride the greatest maritime trade route in the entire dimension.
The moment they started swinging at each other in earnest, that route was almost certain to be cut—and if that happened…
Logistics across the whole dimension would grind to a halt. An inconvenience of historic proportions.
The Valrod Empire immediately dispatched envoys to both nations.
While the envoys were doing everything in their power to mediate, they began to hear a single name repeated again and again.
"Soulnet?"
"Yes. I'm not certain what it is, but I am told the mages of our country use it quite frequently. Apparently a dispute broke out there, and that dispute led to the duel."
"So what, specifically, is Soulnet?"
"I don't know. Ask the mages of the Valrod Empire. I heard it was developed on their side."
"Developed by imperial mages?"
Upon receiving the envoys' report, the Emperor summoned his court mages at once and asked them about Soulnet.
"So you're saying they artificially created a simplified dimension, and within it one can call up and view text and images… a magic of that sort?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Precisely so."
"And how does one connect to it?"
"A simple Level-1 spell is enough for immediate access."
"Is that so?"
After long deliberation with his court mages, the Emperor arrived at a single conclusion.
"Interesting."
"Yes, Your Majesty. It is a rather remarkable piece of research."
"Which is exactly why it's dangerous."
"Your Majesty?"
"Is it not, in effect, an unregulated forum for free debate? Anyone can come, anyone can write, and anyone who knows a Level-1 spell can connect and read it on the spot. Grievances against the imperial house. Plots of treason and conspiracy. Even research and information on forbidden magic—any of it could leak out of a place like that."
To the Emperor, this was no mere new study or magical technique.
It was a dangerous object that could shake the very foundations of power.
"And we have a convenient pretext. The duel between Kalaksil and Isrban will serve nicely. Judge it unlicensed magic enabling the exchange of harmful information. Have it destroyed."
"But Your Majesty—this is, in fact, a research achievement of the Black Magic Tower. If we move against it carelessly, the mages will rise up."
"I am well aware, which is why I would not touch it under ordinary circumstances. Conflict with the magical community profits us nothing. But this one is worth the cost even so. Consider what happens once this magic spreads among the majority of Our subjects."
The Emperor was adamant.
"Destroy it. I will bear every political burden myself. Carry it out."
"As you command!"
And so an official decree was delivered to the Black Magic Tower.
"Eldrad Kamion, Lord of the Black Magic Tower—receive His Majesty's command!"
"…What is this about?"
"This is His Majesty's order commanding the destruction of Soulnet—the magic of Elsi Bwener, Official Mage of the Black Magic Tower! You have one week! Failure to destroy it within that period will be treated as treason!"
"Treason?! Treason?! This is a fully legitimate research achievement of the Magic Tower! There is not a shred of treasonous intent! You mean to prosecute this under the laws of treason?"
"We do. The order has already been given. Comply. Refuse, and you will be dealt with severely. That will not serve the Black Magic Tower well either."
The Lord of the Black Magic Tower stared up at the sky for a long time with the expression of a man about to lose his mind.
But what choice did he have?
The survival of the Magic Tower, or a single research result belonging to one of its mages.
Which one had to be sacrificed was obvious.
"I will obey the command."
"I will say it once more: the period is one week. See that it is done within the week!"
"As ordered."
The Lord of the Black Magic Tower sought out Elsi Bwener with a grim face.
"Elsi. The order is to shut down Soulnet within one week."
"What? But this is already a recognized research achievement of the Black Magic Tower, isn't it? Isn't this interference with the Tower's autonomy?"
"I know. But the imperial house is taking a hard line. They say they will handle it under the treason statutes. In the worst case, it could go as far as beheading."
"B-beheading?"
"Yes. So shut it down. If the Black Magic Tower is to survive, this is the only way, Elsi."
Elsi Bwener lowered his head with a desolate expression.
He had no other answer either.
"Understood. I will post a notice for the gallery members. I'm sorry for causing this kind of trouble, Tower Lord."
"Nonsense! Don't you dare apologize. This is not your fault. Your research was fresh and original. It even earned a Golden Ring, did it not? That means every mage who saw it marveled at your idea. This is simply… bad luck."
The Tower Lord looked bitter as well.
What else was there to do?
That day, a notice went up on Soulnet's Magic Gallery.
A bleak, bitter ending.
And so, one week later, Soulnet was closed—vanishing into the pages of history…
…vanish into history…
…vanish…
The possibility that it would not disappear had begun to take shape.
The suppression of magical research.
It was a theme that cut straight through the long, bitter history of friction between power and the magical world.
The comments under Elsi Bwener's notice climbed past the thousands.
And then—
"Your Majesty! A formal protest has arrived from the guilds!"
"Envoys from Kalaksil and Isrban have come! They've issued a statement demanding that the injuries of their mages not be used as a tool for magical oppression!"
"The major Magic Towers are filing protests!"
"The guilds have announced they are prepared to strike! Your Majesty—there are signs the great merchant houses mean to join them!"
Beyond the Valrod Empire, the entire Wirod Dimension began to catch fire.
And in that blaze, the whole continent learned one thing.
"Protect Soulnet!"
"Soulnet is legitimate magical research! Ordering it destroyed is absurd!"
"…So what exactly is Soulnet?"
"I heard the Black Magic Tower developed it."
"What kind of magic is it, that the imperial house would issue a ban? They usually won't even touch most magics, just to avoid friction with the magical community."
"I'm not entirely sure myself… but supposedly you can upload text and images, and view the text and images other people have uploaded."
"What? That actually sounds fun just hearing about it. How do you connect? Do you know the method?"
They learned of Soulnet's existence.
The Emperor of the Valrod Empire sat with his face twisted into a look of pure misery.
"This is the worst."
He had meant to handle it as quietly as possible.
He had never imagined that a single post on Soulnet could detonate a crisis of this scale.
The fatal problem was that Soulnet was magic that had already been awarded a Golden Ring.
Colliding head-on with the pride of Rune's Round Table had sent events careening into the absolute worst form imaginable.
A shutdown?
Forced enforcement was still possible.
Hammering the Black Magic Tower under the treason statutes was still possible.
The problem was that the very existence of Soulnet had already spread across the entire continent.
People's attention should never have focused on it.
People should never have known.
Now that they knew, even shutting it down was a problem.
"The method for creating Soulnet was already published as a thesis before Rune's Round Table, was it not?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. That is correct."
"Which means that if we shut it down, other Soulnets—under different names—could appear purely as an act of protest? If an apprentice could build one as a graduation thesis, then Archmages and high-ranking mages certainly can."
"…Precisely so."
"Withdraw the shutdown order."
"Are you certain, Your Majesty?"
"At this point, simply leaving Soulnet alone is more profitable. One large mass is easier to control than a swarm of Soulnet knockoffs running wild. Leave Soulnet as it is."
The Emperor raised the white flag.
And so, even after a week had passed, Soulnet was not shut down.
The Magic Gallery erupted in cheers.
But that was not the end of it.
Vast numbers of posts, accessible the moment you knew a single Level-1 spell.
Traffic began pouring into Soulnet in an explosive flood.
The imperial house of the Valrod Empire had, entirely by accident, given it the greatest advertisement imaginable.