Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Veronica (4)
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It was from my childhood.
Not long after Master had taken me in and I had become part of the Shinomiya family.
That time—a turning point in my life—was when I was diligently learning Shu Arts from Master.
"Disciple, what do you think Shu Arts is?"
"Hmm... Isn't it a simplified version of magic?"
Shu Arts.
To be honest, it was a power I'd never heard of before.
Not magic, but Shu Arts?
I even thought inwardly that "Shu Arts" sounded more like sorcery. After all, my master, Shinomiya Karen, dressed in what you'd call traditional Japanese attire if we were comparing to Earth.
But Master stroked my head as if to say my thinking was wrong.
"Wrong. Magic and Shu Arts share the same roots but branch off in different directions—they're distinctly separate powers."
"Same origin, but different branches...?"
"That's right."
At first, I couldn't quite grasp it.
I thought if the roots were the same, weren't they just the same thing?
"Cheeky thoughts, disciple."
"...I don't really get it, Master."
"It's good that you're honest. It's only natural not to know."
Master explained that Shu Arts shared the same roots as magic but was a power forgotten in this world.
More precisely, Shu Arts was so difficult to handle that it was passed down only to a tiny fraction of humanity.
"And that tiny fraction is you, Master?"
"Yes. Excluding myself and the prior Shinomiya bloodline, there are no others who wield Shu Arts."
"Hoo..."
Then a sudden curiosity struck me.
So what exactly was Shu Arts, and why was it so hard to handle that only a handful of people could use it?
Master stroked my head once more. Then she pulled my head firmly into her chest. Since I was small back then, my face ended up buried right in her bosom.
...It was soft.
"Listen like this, disciple."
Still stroking my head without pause, Master began her explanation.
"Both magic and Shu Arts were created by humans to emulate dragons. In the beginning, there was no distinction between magic or Shu Arts—it was just one power."
"Dragons... Are dragons strong?"
"They are. I've only seen them two or three times myself, but to humans without power back then, they were no different from gods—utterly beyond challenge."
"And now...?"
"The same even now. Of course, someone like me is the exception."
"......Whoa."
She was badass.
Could she really fight a dragon?
"I would win."
"...For real?"
"Believe in me, disciple."
"......Wow."
Master was even more incredible than I'd imagined.
As I marveled there, buried in her chest, Master cleared her throat lightly and continued.
"Anyway, it started as one power. But as time passed, ancient humans split it into two paths."
The first was magic: systematizing that nameless power and refining it to suit humans.
And the second was...
"Shu Arts: drawing closer to dragons by wielding power in the same way they do."
...
"You're not a mage?"
"No."
I am not a mage.
"...Then, the power you've been using all this time...? Wait, during your duel with Ferris, it looked like you were using magic...... Eek...?!"
She suddenly shuddered from the ticklish sensation washing over her. Her legs gave out unwittingly, and she ended up leaning into Aren's arms...
"Ah... Eek... My, my body... What are you... doing to me...!?"
"Don't worry, Veronica. It's just a temporary phenomenon from our senses synchronizing."
It's true.
Why would I do anything weird?
Aren stroked her head just as Master had done for him in his childhood, to help her relax.
After stroking for a good while, the odd sensation finally left her body, and Veronica slowly pulled her head away.
"Haa... Haa..."
Her legs trembled faintly. She frowned a few times, then looked up at Aren with narrowed eyes.
"...Let go of my head."
"Calmed down now?"
"...I'm calm, so take your hand off my head already."
He stopped stroking her head and released her from his embrace.
Of course, their interlocked hands remained clasped.
"...Let go of my hand too."
"Can't do that. We've finally synchronized our senses—if I let go now, we'd have to start over. Or do you want to?"
I'd be fine with that.
It wasn't intentional, but her letting out those strange moans while trembling made for quite the sight.
"......No."
"Then I'll keep holding on."
"...Fine."
She fell silent for a while. Though she'd pulled away from his chest and they weren't as close as before, their hands were still joined.
The softness and warmth of a man's hand—her first time holding one—muddled her thoughts.
'...No.'
Get a grip, Veronica.
Steeling herself, she looked up at Aren again. He was rubbing her hand with a gentle smile.
"...Explain. What exactly are you trying to tell me by doing this? If you're not a mage, then what are you?"
"Of course."
First off, Aren definitely wasn't a mage.
He was a Shu Arts practitioner.
"...Shu Arts?"
Veronica's face twisted as if he'd spouted nonsense.
"...Are you messing with me? Shu Arts that only barbarians use... That's your power?"
"No, no."
Shu Arts? Not that.
Not sorcery—Shu Arts.
That was the power Aren wielded.
"Shu Arts...? What's that?"
"Magic's twin brother."
"...Pardon?"
'...Twin brother?' she murmured softly.
"Didn't I ask about the origins of magic earlier? Shu Arts shares the exact same origin as magic."
"...?"
"Same roots, but it branched off separately—that's Shu Arts."
So, twin brothers.
Fraternal ones, that is.
"...I've never heard of it."
"That makes sense. It's a power only a select few can wield."
"Like some secret sect?"
"Something like that."
Except.
"It's a power truly impossible for anyone not chosen."
More precisely, the efficiency was poor. Far too inefficient for ordinary mana users.
Since it pursued a direction opposite to magic—emulating dragons, who were practically idols—it was only natural.
After all, it used mana in the exact same way dragons did.
A method that didn't mesh well with human bodies.
"...So who exactly are these chosen ones?"
"It's a constitution. More precisely, those with these 'eyes'."
Right then, Aren's red eyes began to glow.
Eyes shaped like overlapping circles, the kind that seemed to suck your mind in if you stared too long.
"Right now, only my master and I possess them. Without these eyes, Shu Arts lacks proper efficiency."
Without the 'eyes', every use of Shu Arts caused massive mana loss. Like pouring water into a leaky jar— that's what happened each time.
Unsurprisingly, Shu Arts practitioners without the 'eyes' suffered severe mana exhaustion, and naturally, they vanished from the continent.
...Except for the Shinomiya family, and Aren.
Veronica was speechless for a long while after Aren's explanation.
"...Let's say everything you say is true."
"It is."
"Then isn't it pointless? I don't have those eyes you and your master possess."
"It's not pointless."
Inefficient, sure, but Shu Arts could still be used. In fact, the Shinomiya forces included units that wielded it without Aren's or Master's constitution.
However.
"I'm a mage. Not a Shu Arts practitioner."
To Veronica, it still sounded meaningless.
Of course, Aren just shook his head.
"That's why I synchronized our senses. You can't wield Shu Arts yourself, but I can share my senses and guide you forward."
"Guide me... forward?"
"Yes."
Her strength was rapid computation speed and precision.
'Multi-casting optimization.'
She'd already demonstrated high-level multi-casting during their entrance exam spar.
So, Aren planned to leverage that strength.
"...Is that even possible?"
"It is, as long as I'm by your side."
"..."
"Hard to believe just from words, right? So let me show you."
Aren locked eyes with Veronica and began channeling mana. The sticky mana flowed into her.
Once more, her body heated up, her senses sharpening acutely.
And at some point, as if crossing a threshold, the world looked different.
"This is the world I see."
"...Ah."
What she felt was omnipotence.
Right now, nothing seemed impossible.
She could control each speck of mana floating in the air.
The mana in her body responded with unprecedented finesse. She could feel the mana circuits threading through her veins across her entire body.
...
'...This is.'
The world... you see...?