The Millennium Capital (1)
“Aigoo. Thank you so much for helping me.”
“It was nothing.”
The middle-aged mage I had rescued kept bowing his head over and over. The gesture was intense, but anyone who had just crawled back from the brink of death would probably react the same way. Leon sheathed his spotless blade and spoke to the man.
“I’m sorry. I’m still weak with holy arts.”
“Not at all. I had a recovery potion. Thanks to you, I’m alive.”
The middle-aged mage shook an empty bottle. It was no exaggeration to call recovery potions a second life. In a situation like this, few things were as reassuring.
I left the middle-aged mage behind and examined the mercenaries who had slammed their foreheads to the ground. We hadn’t actually fought them. The moment I appeared leading my wooden soldiers, the mercenaries had immediately prostrated themselves.
“No wonder. We traveled for over a week without meeting a single mercenary. I thought something was off, but they all ran away the instant they saw my wooden soldiers?”
“If I saw a wooden person driving a carriage, I wouldn’t even look twice.”
“This is inconvenient.”
“It’s not like the mercenaries had any worthwhile magic anyway.”
“Still, it was fun to shake them down.”
I jingled my lantern and recited the Three Principles of Magic to the mercenaries.
"Do you possess magic?
Are you willing to share it?
Or do you intend to transfer it?"
“…….”
“None, I see.”
As I clicked my tongue in disappointment, the middle-aged mage approached with a smile.
“There’s no way those traitors would have learned any useful magic. Please take mine.”
I calmly questioned the middle-aged mage who had been betrayed by his own companions and barely survived.
“Elemental aptitude?”
“Water.”
“That’s a fine elemental aptitude. Any signature spells?”
“Just take them all. I’m planning to quit the mercenary life anyway.”
“I’d love to, but taking everything is impossible. I’ll only pick one.”
I could only obtain a single spell through trade. Of course, if I forced it I could take more, but that would inflict irreparable damage on the other party. It had to be exactly one.
“Then… hmm.”
The middle-aged mage pondered for a moment before listing his spells. I selected the one that bound opponents with water.
Water Binding Rope
A spell that restrains targets with ropes of water. High binding strength. Minimal concentration required after initial cast.
“The trade is complete.”
“What do you plan to do with those people?”
“Well. Do as Mister Polan wishes. I’ve lost interest.”
I answered casually. I truly no longer cared.
“Ehh?”
“Are you serious?”
Chris and Leon both jumped in surprise. What was with these two? I narrowed my eyes.
“What’s with that reaction?”
“Lady Ruina, you’ve never let anyone live before. We assumed you’d do the same this time.”
“That’s because they were aiming for my life. Anyone who draws a sword should be prepared to be cut by one.”
I could not die. Not until I had learned every magic in existence. That was precisely why I had reincarnated into this world. Naturally, I never let anyone who targeted my life off easily, but this case was different. They hadn’t tried to kill me—they had tried to kill Polan. The moment our eyes met, they slammed their heads to the ground. From my perspective, there was no reason to kill them.
“Lady Ruina. Is it really all right to leave scum like this alive?”
“They’re the type who commit robbery even on the Imperial Road. My own character is questionable, but what can I do? These people no longer have anything to do with me. So what would you like, Mister Polan?”
“Still, we traveled together. I’d like to hand them over to the authorities alive.”
“Then do so. I also—”
“What’s going on here?”
A sudden voice made me turn my head. The owners of the voice were two men on horseback. They dismounted and approached us. After glancing at the mercenaries still pressing their foreheads to the dirt, they asked quietly.
“Were you attacked?”
“More precisely, Mister Polan was betrayed and nearly killed.”
“Are you certain?”
“Pardon? Ah, well, you see…”
I stepped back and left Polan to handle the two men. It was obvious who they were. The spear and shield that guarded the empire while patrolling the Imperial Road connected to the capital. Imperial knights.
“This worked out well. Handing them to imperial knights will make things simpler.”
I whispered to Chris and watched the situation unfold. After hearing the full account from Polan and Leon, the two knights immediately ordered their soldiers to restrain the mercenaries. I nodded at the clean resolution. As expected, if you were going to be robbed, it was best for it to happen on the Imperial Road. My knowledge had increased.
“Thank you so much.”
“Next time, prepare better magic.”
“I will train diligently.”
After parting with Polan, I examined the magic I had obtained from him.
With a flick, a rope of water bound Leon. He stared at me silently while tied up. I smiled.
“How is it?”
“I would appreciate it if you refrained from using people as targets for magic practice.”
“How is it?”
“The performance itself is excellent. Unless one concentrates holy power, it’s difficult to break.”
Even a trained swordsman like Leon found it hard to snap with raw strength. This would be quite useful in actual combat. I practiced various other spells as well. One nice thing about Polan’s magic was that once activated, it consumed almost no concentration.
That was when I tested various flame spells inside the lantern.
“Lady Ruina! Let’s set up camp here!”
Chris slowed the carriage and shouted. The sun was just beginning to set, so the timing was perfect. I climbed down from the carriage, dismissed the wooden soldier, and approached Leon.
“Sir Leon.”
“What is it?”
“Please teach me swordsmanship.”
“Swordsmanship?”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t that I had gained some profound realization from the recent battles. While polishing my refinement magic, a thought had suddenly occurred to me: at this rate, the refinement magic would remain exactly as it was until the day I died. And for someone who loved magic, that was absolutely unacceptable. I needed a breakthrough, and the path I envisioned was learning the sword. After all, apprentice knights learned swordsmanship before magic for a reason. Probably.
“Teaching you isn’t difficult.”
“Perfect.”
“I’ve learned many styles of swordsmanship. Which would you like?”
“Something ordinary is fine.”
“The standard knight curriculum uses the longsword. I’ll lend you mine.”
I accepted the sword Leon offered and drew it. Leon picked up a nearby tree branch as a practice weapon and slowly began to speak.
“The essence of swordsmanship ultimately comes down to one thing.”
Leon pushed my blade with his wooden stick. I didn’t resist and smoothly withdrew it.
“This time, Lady Ruina, push against me.”
When I pushed the stick with my sword as instructed, Leon’s wooden weapon retreated. He explained.
“If you push, it retreats. If you pull, it follows. This is the beginning of swordsmanship, and everything else is an application of this principle.”
“Action and reaction.”
“If you’ve taken that to heart, the next is the application of force. The part of the blade closer to the hilt carries more power but is blunter. The farther from the hilt, the less power but the sharper it becomes.”
“The principle of leverage.”
“Thinking about what I just said will make you too slow. It must be hammered into your body so it comes out as naturally as breathing before it can be used in real combat. If that becomes ingrained, the next step is distance perception. I’ll explain that later.”
“Understood.”
I swung Leon’s sword from above to below and activated the magic.
"Shine."
"Blue Night."
⟨ Refinement ⟩
The magic overlaid onto the blade imperfectly. Maintaining the refinement spell that looked ready to scatter at any moment, I swung the sword. The blade flowed. The sword tracing through the air felt like a meteor shower. Blue refinement magic scattered across it like falling petals. It was a spell built on the water element.
Come to think of it, the magic I had just obtained was also water-based. Did I have some deep connection with water? Water. Water, water, water. Water, sword, meteor shower, blue, cold. Flowing.
Suddenly I stopped the sword. Then I opened my right hand.
Splash.
Water poured from my palm. I cried out in shock.
“Water is coming out of a person’s hand!”
“Water is coming out of Lady Ruina’s hand!”
“Have you obtained a new element?”
Leon’s eyes widened. Multiple elemental aptitudes were an incredibly rare talent. I was slightly surprised myself. Because I had never possessed multiple elemental aptitudes. In other words, this was…
By acquiring magic through trade, I had naturally awakened the corresponding element? To think Kelton’s Balance magic even had such a function. I had never expected it.
I played with the water element—which would be considered zero-tier in the hierarchy—for a while before clenching my fist and muttering.
“The refinement magic that was supposed to make me grow is the same, but my elemental aptitude has increased.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? I heard multiple aptitudes are an incredible talent.”
“Well…”
From what I could vaguely sense, my current state wasn’t quite at the level people would call an overwhelming multiple aptitude, but it wasn’t bad. I picked up the sword in a good mood. Today I would swing it exactly a thousand times before sleeping.
*
“Lady Ruina! We’ve arrived!”
I had been lying in the luggage cart with my eyes closed. At Chris’s call, I sat up. A sight more splendid than any city I had seen in my previous life, more brilliant than any city from the modern era, entered my vision from afar.
Eternia. We had finally reached the imperial capital of the Eterno Empire.