The Millennium Capital (3)
I woke up late in the ancient capital and tidied my hair before heading down to the inn’s hall alone.
“Lady Ruina? You’re up?”
“And Lady Chris as well.”
Chris was already there, sipping whiskey in broad daylight. I frowned at the sight of such debauchery and took a seat at her table.
“Lady Chris, drinking at this hour is hardly appropriate. One honey mead, please!”
“Shouldn’t your words and actions match until I’ve even answered?”
“I couldn’t help myself.”
I quickly downed the honey mead along with a potato salad.
“As expected of the capital. The food quality is exceptional.”
“It’s where all the world’s delicacies gather. Though the prices are steep.”
“The honey mead tastes the same as always.”
“It’s made with holy methods. The flavor never changes, no matter where you are.”
“It’s nice that it’s consistently delicious. Another potato salad, please.”
I ordered five more potato salads before rinsing my mouth with milk. Then I muttered,
“Now that I think about it while drinking this milk—where is Lord Leon?”
“Who knows? He didn’t come back yesterday either, did he?”
“He must be busy gathering information. A paladin who’s awakened holy power can stay up for days without issue, after all. It looks like we won’t be running into Leon for a while. He’s a persistent man.”
“How persistent? Enough to keep watch every time I do something?”
“That’s because Lady Ruina keeps doing strange things.”
“If we’re talking strange, Lady Chris is stranger.”
I placed a lantern on the table. Fwoosh. After activating a soundproofing spell, I slowly brought a pipe to my lips.
“Lady Ruina? Why the sudden soundproofing? Planning to have a ladies’ chat?”
“Lady Chris really does say the oddest things sometimes. No particular reason. It was just noisy.”
“Oh?”
Only then did Chris notice that my spell was different from usual. Normally, soundproofing kept our voices from leaking out, but this time it was blocking outside noise from coming in.
“No one can hear us either, so feel free to speak your mind.”
“How curious. So, Lady Ruina, are you dating Lord Leon?”
“You’re really forcing the topic, aren’t you?”
“Talking with Lady Ruina is comfortable even without conversation. I wonder why?”
“Because neither of us has much interest in the other.”
“Ah, I see.”
I exhaled smoke and gazed at the flame inside the lantern. The magic I currently possessed could be summarized as follows: several pure elemental spells and applied elemental spells I had learned directly from the fire element; the Refinement magic and water-element binding magic obtained through Balance; and my unique magics, Balance and Growth. In such a short time, I had acquired quite a lot.
I had discovered the traits of “Fairness” and “Devouring” within the fire element. It was a common belief that a mage’s magic reflected their life. And it was true. So why had I obtained Fairness and Devouring? Fairness made sense when I looked back on my life, but Devouring… Could it have been influenced by my attempt to eat fire? That was possible. The initial elemental trait a mage awakened strongly reflected their life, but subsequent traits were greatly influenced by immediate experiences. It was plausible.
I manipulated the flame inside the lantern. Spells activated through the Fairness trait were strengthened upon repetition and restriction. Repeated actions became rules, and restrictions were woven into them. After carrying the lantern every day, I gained an advantage when casting magic on it. That rule soon evolved into the restriction that “any magic I learned directly must be activated inside the lantern,” meaning fire magic simply wouldn’t activate anywhere else. I wanted to add more restrictions, but they weren’t something I could impose at will. Restrictions were merely the natural evolution of rules completed through repetition.
Well, even now my fire magic was powerful and efficient enough to be unbelievable for the third rank. The Fairness trait had the weakness of being vulnerable outside pure elemental magic, but I had compensated for that with the newly acquired Devouring trait. There were no major issues.
I activated various fire spells inside the lantern and considered the next stage. Beyond Seeing Rank, Hand Rank, and Connecting Rank lay the fourth rank—Equal Rank. Equal Rank required the mage’s understanding and mastery of the element to reach the level of assimilation. It was also the first rank where one was treated as a proper mage. Though the more one examined that phrase “proper mage,” the more absurd it became. To non-mages, what did the fourth rank even mean? Even a zero-rank mage was still a mage. There was no such concept as “from which rank onward one became a proper mage.” Thus, the phrase hadn’t originated from ordinary people’s standards. It had come from the perspective of omniscient high-ranking mages. Influenced by them, a culture had emerged among mages where those below the fourth rank walked with their shoulders lowered. In any case, the fourth rank was my next step. However, it wasn’t my goal. My goal had remained unchanged since I first understood this world’s magic system. The fifth rank—Attained Rank mage. That was my current primary objective. Whether one possessed their own magic. Whether one had discovered something within themselves. These two things separated the fourth and fifth ranks, which was why the fifth was called Attained Rank. Only those who had found their own path could reach it. From here on, even a lifetime of effort wouldn’t suffice without talent. It was completely different from the fourth rank, which anyone could reach through effort.
Thanks to Kelton, I was using a unique magic, but normally, unique magic wasn’t something one could wield so casually. Only after pushing oneself to the extreme and discovering the name engraved upon one’s soul could one obtain it. I imagined my own unique magic. Kelton’s was Balance, and Flora’s was Growth. So what would mine be? Since I collected magic… Collection? That sounded plausible.
“Lady Ruina? What are you thinking so deeply about?”
“I was thinking about Lady Chris. If Lady Chris becomes a fifth-rank mage, her unique magic’s name will be Greed.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“It’s a good thing.”
After even imagining a succubus’s unique magic for her, I stood up. The mouth inside the lantern’s flame vanished, and sound returned. In the now-noisy inn hall, Chris spoke.
“Lady Ruina? Where are you going?”
“I’m stepping out for a bit.”
“Where to?”
“There’s only one place I’d go after coming to the capital, isn’t there?”
“A gambling den?”
I knew exactly what image Chris had of me. I resolved to gift her salt and holy water someday and opened my mouth.
“A chess club.”
“Lady Ruina plays chess too?”
“I’m the greatest chess player in history. I’ll be back after a quick game, so just know that.”
“Have fun.”
With Chris seeing me off, I left the inn. There were quite a few Arcana chess clubs. I stopped by one that wasn’t members-only. It was rather upscale, and upon entering, the gazes of various gentlemen turned toward me. I paid the entrance fee and sat at an open table. I liked purpose-driven clubs for this reason. There was no wandering around unsure of what to do.
“New here?”
Someone sat across from me and spoke. Welcoming newcomers seemed to be a common habit in any group.
“It’s my first time in the capital itself.”
“An Arcana chess player from another region. How intriguing.”
We exchanged brief greetings and immediately began arranging the pieces. Conversation wasn’t necessary among Arcana chess players. Then I paused upon seeing the man’s hands. Burn scars. He also paused upon seeing mine.
“So, the young lady is a fire mage as well.”
“Are you one too, sir?”
“A fire mage, yes.”
“It’s nice to meet a fellow practitioner here.”
“I agree.”
The man grinned and spoke as if in agreement.
“A mage ought to feel their own magic with their hands at least once. How else would they truly understand what magic is?”
“Exactly.”
“I fully felt my first spell with my hands, and that sensation is still vivid. I could say it’s thanks to that experience that I became a third-rank mage. What about you, young lady?”
“I’m similar. I felt magic with my entire body.”
“I see. With your entire… what?”
“My entire body.”
The man blinked, then finally shifted his gaze to my face, previously hidden by the robe. His mouth fell open.
“Are you in your right mind?”
“Weren’t we fellow practitioners?”
“Don’t lump me in with you. You’re a complete lunatic.”
The man recoiled in disgust and moved his pawn one square forward. A Cloaked Knight. This traitor. Traitors couldn’t be left alive. I cooked him with a Magician’s Gambit and brought the pipe to my lips. A commotion erupted around us.
“Vance didn’t even get a chance to resist. Who is that girl?”
“No idea. But if that crazy Vance called her insane, isn’t she actually dangerous?”
“Next opponent?”
I called for the next challenger in a languid voice. But no one sat down. Why? Had they been intimidated by my skill? Just as I wondered whether I needed to wager money like the young master had done before—
“I’ll take you on.”
Someone sat across from me. A woman. Though her hair and eyes were ordinary brown, her face was strikingly beautiful. The moment I saw that rather pretty appearance, I muttered inwardly.
How would a woman play chess?
“……”
“……”
“““……”””
The chess club was instantly engulfed in silence. Then someone behind the woman briefly released killing intent. It was truly brief, and directed only at me. Thanks to that, I realized something.
Judging by the atmosphere, I hadn’t just thought that—I’d said it out loud, hadn’t I? Hmm. Since it was a mistake, shall we let it slide amicably? Thank you.