The Vortex (1)
In the distant past, when the first emperor set out on his journey to bring an end to the Age of Mythology, one of his companions was the Avatar of Desire. A famous anecdote involving that Avatar is how she fought the Apostle of Sloth for an entire week, but that story would take too long to tell, so let’s skip it. Instead, let’s talk about the Holy Grail.
Crafted from the bones of the Avatar, the Holy Grail contained countless powers: immortality, healing, abundance, purification, and wisdom. Truly, it was an object that could grant most human wishes the moment it was obtained. Unfortunately, the Holy Grail had one fatal flaw.
It did not exist in this world.
“Still, the adventures we’ve had together are a kind of treasure in themselves. We’ve gained friendship, love, and happiness. That’s enough, isn’t it?”
“Lady Ruina. What are you suddenly talking about?”
“Just saying it out loud.”
“Anyway, you said even a fake Holy Grail would be no different from the real one. You told me it was made really well.”
“There’s no law saying a fake can’t surpass the original.”
I had pondered Adelian’s suggestion for a moment. Would the Holy Kingdom even acknowledge a fake Holy Grail if we brought one back? That was what worried me. If they wouldn’t, I had planned to just receive treatment from Adelian instead of worrying about loyalty. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that.
Though it was called a fake, it was an item recreated using equivalent materials. In essence, it was no different from the real Holy Grail.
“Lady Ruina. But a fake is still a fake. What if the Holy Kingdom rejects it?”
“No matter how much of a mess the Holy Kingdom is, I doubt they’d go that far.”
“You never know.”
“Then it can’t be helped.”
“Really?”
If they rejected it, there was nothing we could do. It would simply be unfortunate.
“Lady Ruina.”
“Yes?”
“Last time you said the same thing, then suddenly ran off to find the Second Prince, didn’t you?”
“It couldn’t be helped.”
“So from the Holy Kingdom’s perspective, it was unfortunate.”
“It couldn’t be helped.”
After finishing our conversation, Chris stretched with a clink of her cooking pouch and muttered.
“I really wanted to see the real Holy Grail. Too bad.”
“It was consumed during the Great Invasion. What can we do?”
Even after the first emperor ended the Age of Mythology, humanity faced many crises. The Great Invasion was one of them. Since it was an event that nearly led to the world’s destruction, it wouldn’t be strange at all if the real Holy Grail had been completely consumed at that time.
I put my pipe in my mouth. Jerry immediately appeared beside me with a soft rustle. I put the pipe away. Jerry blinked.
“Lady Ruina?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you take out your pipe and then put it back?”
“To call you, Sir Jerry.”
“Why did you call me?”
“Because I was bored.”
We were currently camping. Noa was practicing magic, Muran was boiling some bizarre liquid, and Leon was quietly staring at the burning firewood. Since Jerry was nowhere to be seen, I had briefly used summoning magic.
“So that was summoning magic.”
“What were you doing?”
“I was scouting the area. This is a dangerous region, after all.”
This place was deep within a forest. Areas like this, far from the capital, were home to countless monsters, so there was always the risk of encountering enemies. Our party was a luxurious combination—one 4th-circle mage, two 3rd-circle mages, one paladin, and one 2nd-circle mage—so we could pass through without issue. Ordinary people would have avoided it entirely.
Jerry muttered, “We’re in such a hurry that we have to take roads like this.”
“What can we do? They say if we’re late, there won’t even be any broth left.”
I recalled Adelian’s advice. He had said that if we arrived late, someone else would take the Holy Grail. In that case, we had to hurry. I thought about our final destination.
The easternmost part of the Empire. The territory bordering the Beast Kingdom. The Paltran Marquisate. That was our ultimate goal this time.
“I wanted to quietly snatch just the Holy Grail, but it’s a shame that won’t be possible.”
Considering what I had heard from Adelian about the state of the Paltran Marquisate, quietly obtaining the Holy Grail was impossible. We would inevitably have to get involved in the commotion.
With that, I organized my thoughts about what would happen upon arriving at the Paltran Marquisate and sat down beside Leon.
“……”
“……”
“Lady Ruina. Do you need something?”
“No?”
“That doesn’t look like a ‘no’ face.”
“Your observation skills have improved a lot.”
“We’ve known each other for several months now.”
There wasn’t anything particularly important I wanted to ask Leon.
“Sir Leon.”
“Please speak.”
“Once we find the Holy Grail this time, you won’t have to wander around suffering anymore. What will you do after that?”
“After that… I will return to the Holy Kingdom and follow God’s will.”
“I see.”
That was a relief. I had been worried he might have been influenced by Chris and decide to go on a gold-hunting journey. Those two had been getting along suspiciously well lately.
Poke. Poke.
Someone jabbed me. It was Chris.
“Lady Ruina.”
“Yes.”
“Are you sad about parting with Sir Leon?”
“What I’m sad about is your cooking, Lady Chris. When will it be ready?”
“Soon.”
After giving that short reply, Chris quickly ladled stew into bowls and distributed them. Once she had served me, Leon, Muran, Noa, Jerry, and Ferant, she filled her own bowl and spoke.
“You seem to be in a good mood lately, Lady Ruina.”
“I’ve had some stress-relieving incidents recently.”
“What kind of incidents?”
“This and that.”
“Just what did you do in that tower?”
It wouldn’t matter if I told her, but since she was so curious, I suddenly felt like keeping it a secret. She should have listened when I tried to tell her last time.
Muran, who had taken a spoonful of stew, whispered.
“…If it’s Lady Ruina, she probably experimented with alchemy magic.”
“That would be you, Lady Muran.”
This kid thinks everyone is as obsessed with alchemy magic as she is. I don’t like alchemy magic. I just like it along with everything else. There is a clear difference between those two statements.
“Master keeps trying to eat fire element, that’s the problem.”
“I don’t eat it.”
“You twist your body because you want to.”
As expected of my disciple. Her observation skills are excellent.
Leon let out a small sigh.
“I don’t know how we ended up with a group like this.”
“That’s because you, Sir Leon, innocently ate the food a mercenary gave you and—”
“It is entirely my fault. I apologize.”
Leon bowed his head with impressive speed. His reaction time really was something.
I looked over the party. It really was a bizarre, mismatched combination. A merchant obsessed with gold—Chris. A paladin obsessed with justice—Leon. A mage who had sold his soul to lighting cigarettes—Jerry. An alchemist lost in her craft—Muran. And on top of that, the future Archmage—me. It was practically a collection of nothing but peculiar people—
“However, isn’t it thanks to Lady Ruina’s passion for magic that you’ve achieved your current accomplishments? To receive recognition from the Archmage at such a young age is no easy feat—”
I jumped in surprise and turned around. Oh right, this guy was here too.
“Sir Ferant.”
“What is it? Do you have a request for me?”
“No.”
One of the top three mysteries I had encountered in my life. Why was Count Reihartel’s legitimate son and runaway teenager Ferant still adventuring with us? Why had he followed us instead of going sightseeing in Arginel? Of course, since his next destination was the Beast Kingdom, we had decided to travel together, but every time I saw Ferant’s face, that question would suddenly pop into my head.
When is this kid going home?
Well, he’ll probably play around for a while and then go back. Leaving home is always harder than it looks.
I ate a spoonful of stew and checked my own condition.
Magic was the power to understand elements and then twist the laws of the world based on that understanding. It required not only elements but also powerful imagery, mana, and design ability. In the end, though, the most important factor was one’s understanding of the elements.
As one’s understanding of the elements increased, so did one’s control. The better one understood an element, the greater one’s control over it became, allowing the use of even more difficult magic.
Circle rank and mana quantity were unrelated, but circle rank and control were closely linked. Therefore, it was accurate to say my current control was at the level of a 3rd-circle mage.
Thanks to the nature of Balance, my control in certain fields was exceptional, but I still couldn’t use 4th-circle magic. Case in point, I still hadn’t learned the Roaring Wheel.
However, I would occasionally display magic that surpassed my limits. The ‘Steel Yi’ summoned using Growth magic was a prime example.
Balance was an extremely strange magic. You might have noticed, but the fact that I could casually activate so many different spells was actually quite bizarre. These days I possess aptitudes for the four major elements as well as wood-attribute elements, but originally I only had the fire element.
Even back then, I could casually cast water-attribute and wind-attribute magic. Even though I had no way to supply water-attribute or wind-attribute mana to those spells.
I finally understood why Adelian had warned me. Balance was a magic that casually crossed the boundaries of human limits. If a magic like this wasn’t dangerous, then there was no dangerous magic in the world.
That would have been the normal conclusion.
But I wasn’t worried. There was no special reason. As I had told Adelian, this was something Kelton gave me. So it was fine.
I lifted my head. I was about to tell Chris to go wash up—
“Uwaaaaah!”
At the familiar scream, I shot up from my seat. It was a magic acquisition event!
I rushed to where the scream had come from, rescued the mage who was about to be killed by a monster, and made an offer to the other party. Would they be willing to share or transfer the magic?
“Sharing… that would be fine…”
Even though I had saved their life, transferring the magic entirely seemed to be too much of a burden. Sharing really is the sweet spot. The psychological burden is relatively low. Of course, since the shared magic disappears if the original owner dies, I would prefer a transfer. Transferred magic remains mine even if the original owner dies.
Ding!
Wind Bird Creation Magic
I tested the newly acquired magic by creating a bird of wind, then dispelled it. This journey is starting off very smoothly. I feel great.
*
“Everyone! I’m in a good mood! Today’s on me—I’ll treat you all big time!”
“Lady Ruina. No matter how many times I say it, this is a campsite. There is no village nearby.”
“I know.”
While listening to the two women’s conversation, one person thought to themselves.
‘Balance? It appeared in this era? And she’s even grown it to the point where sharing is possible?’
Someone who had been observing the two women—from a distance, to be precise, the silver-haired woman wearing a robe—licked their lips. After so long.
A magic they desperately, madly wanted to steal had appeared.