Chapter 649: Interlude. A Tale for the Simple Folk
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 649: Interlude. A Tale for the Simple Folk
Kelvin Celsius's psyche was the most ancient of them all. It was so worn that it creaked and sputtered, unable to even manifest properly without the aid of other relics.
But some memories are more persistent than others. Humiliation in front of a crowd, or a sudden, shocking event—these things remain like stains on the mind, resurfacing from time to time.
-Please… stop…
Even for Kelvin Celsius, whose consciousness was faint, this was a topic she could not simply ignore.
-I’m… not the great person you all think I am!
-What?
Shame.
Even after death, she still possessed it. So much so that words of reverence for her would jolt her awake as if from a seizure.
-What are you saying? Too much modesty is just off-putting, Kelvin.
-I never expected to meet you like this, but it is an honor to see you, even in this state.
However, the psyches here all belonged to those who had become relics while holding immense pride in Celsius. They looked up to Kelvin with unified reverence.
Kelvin’s body trembled. All the other relics revered her, yet as she shivered in the middle of the Relic Shrine, it was as if she were being bullied by a mob.
It looked fun, so I decided to join in.
“Everything I heard and saw in the Celsius family was about your greatness. I was even attacked for supposedly corrupting the Laws of Providence. It’s strange. Even if only half of your achievements were true, you’d still be a great figure.”
-No. That’s… Everything I did was…
“Why not? Surely someone didn't go around impersonating you, did they? If not that, then…”
I tilted my head and asked.
“Did you impersonate someone else?”
I asked on a whim, but Kelvin couldn't answer readily. Shaking her head back and forth, she spoke as if sobbing.
-It wasn’t my will. By the time I realized it, people were praising it as my achievement. But it wasn't my accomplishment…
“What? That can't be. If it wasn't your accomplishment, then whose was it?”
Kelvin’s psyche wavered violently. Her consciousness, which had slumbered within the relic, was trying to show me something.
Her memories unfolded, centered on the Relic Shrine. A desolate plain, a pitch-black night sky, and countless twinkling little stars.
Just before I flowed into Celsius's past, Kelvin confessed in a low voice.
-Fahrenheit.
Back when the Mage Federation was not yet a nation, not even a place fit for people to live. A not-so-distant past when refugees built shacks and barely survived, without any real civilization to speak of.
There was a missionary named Rene.
A respected missionary, she became an apostate for smuggling out the knowledge collected by her mission. But even as an apostate, she was still respected, because she never used that knowledge for herself. Rene wandered through refugee camps, taking in orphans and teaching the children to provide them with a means to survive.
How to find water.
How to make fire.
How to read maps.
How to count the stars and read the sky.
And, how to live together with others.
Though her fair face grew rough from the biting winds and wrinkled with the passage of time, she never stopped her work. Believing that knowledge was the power to enrich everyone, she spread it far and wide.
Celsius was one of her many disciples.
One with no particular talent.
Rene had countless disciples. They had learned much but still thirsted for knowledge, remaining by Rene’s side to seek greater wisdom. They were called the Magi, named after the Saintess of Origin and the wise men from the East who blessed her, and this would later become the origin of the word ‘magician.’
The name of the sages from the scriptures was not given in vain. They were truly brilliant, and with their knowledge, they changed the world.
It’s said that every finger hurts when bitten, but there is still an order to them. Among the disciples, there was one who was exceptionally capable.
His name was Fahrenheit.
The Magus of Flame, the most needed power in these cold, arid northern lands.
He was a man like a flame. He ignited quickly and burned brilliantly. He cooled just as fast, but no one shuns a fire for its lack of persistence. Among Rene’s disciples, Fahrenheit shone like a star, standing before all others.
Flames are coveted by all, but they are just as dangerous. There were many who came seeking to steal or win over Fahrenheit’s Unique Magic, and attempts at kidnapping and threats were frequent.
Not that it mattered, since everyone who tried was burned to a crisp.
Fahrenheit wasn't just skilled in combat. He was also deft with his hands and even used this talent in his research.
“Hotness? Heat? That can also be represented by a number. See the mercury in this glass tube? It’s risen higher than before. This is a measure of how much heat has entered the mercury.”
His footsteps left flames in their wake, and civilization blossomed from the melted ice. He may not have been the smartest or the greatest, but Fahrenheit was the most powerful magician.
“If you’re going to copy me, do it right, Celsius.”
And Celsius was less a disciple and more a follower, merely picking up his scraps.
Fahrenheit melted sand with his flames to create glass. He possessed the power to handle destructive flames with precision, crafting various tools from the glass. Celsius could understand a few of them, but she couldn't even begin to guess the purpose behind the others.
“The reading went below zero? What’s the big deal? Just write down the value below zero. Why are you making such a fuss over something like that?”
“I told you to be careful because that flask has boiling oil in it. You didn't know it was hot? Do you only realize something is hot when you can see it bubbling furiously?”
“Just think of it as sand piled up high! It’s only natural for it to flow from a high place to a low one!”
It was too difficult. It was a struggle just to keep up. When he unleashed his power, she had to risk her life just to get close, and she had to study day and night to understand. Whenever she couldn't figure it out and asked for his guidance, Fahrenheit would teach her with heavy sighs.
She was never his match to begin with, but at some point, Celsius gave up on even competing. Instead, she decided to become a translator.
The language of a genius is different from the language of the simple folk. Celsius muttered self-deprecatingly as she proceeded with her ‘translation.’
Fahrenheit, who controlled fire, melted sand to make and use glass. But glass was fragile, and only Fahrenheit could craft such precise tools with it. Celsius took the useful glass inventions Fahrenheit created and remade them with more easily obtainable materials to give to the people.
“Such a thing exists! Celsius, you are quite skilled with your hands!”
Fahrenheit drew scales according to his own standards, but they were only easy to read for him, a man for whom calculations happened automatically in his head. Celsius redrew the scales and adjusted the units. The common people were thrilled with the easily understood markings.
“In your honor, we shall call this the Celsius from now on!”
Fahrenheit always looked to the heights, but the higher you are, the more dangerous the fall. Celsius headed for the low places. To the freezing point rather than the boiling point, because cold was less dangerous than heat. Unlike him, who stored heat in boiling alcohol and mercury, Celsius found a stable method of heat storage.
“It’s warm… Thank you…”
All of it was a byproduct of Fahrenheit’s work. All Celsius had done was to reinterpret his achievements into the language of the simple folk. It was nothing great.
But the people revered Celsius, one and all.
Just as they were more fervent for a saintess than for the god she served.
-I just gave it a name. I’m telling you, I didn't discover it.
The recollection ended. Even so, the cheers calling Celsius’s name still echoed in my ears.
The simple folk failed to recognize the genius, and instead worshipped the first Celsius, who had merely brought them his language. Every time, Kelvin Celsius hid herself in shame.
That was all there was to it.
A much more trivial and insignificant story than I expected. I said.
“You became a relic, so you must have a Unique Magic, right?”
Having a Unique Magic means you were at least the level of a full-fledged mage. In those days, that would have been even rarer.
-My Unique Magic only came into being to withstand Fahrenheit. I had to protect myself to observe his research up close. Besides, it’s not a psyche impressive enough to boast about… Those other relics are far greater.
“From what I heard, you compressed an immense amount of heat into a tiny crystal.”
-That heat belonged to Fahrenheit. My power was only to receive that heat. Everyone misunderstood… calling me the magician of burning ice…
She even got a cool nickname. Though she herself looks like she’s dying of embarrassment. Oh wait, she’s already dead.
“Anyway, this is unexpected. To think this is the real Celsius.”
After hearing the whole story, I was disappointed.
The Celsius domain. Magicians with a sense of superiority greater than any other. The relics and rules they sought to protect above all else.
I understood, but seeing this slightly twisted psyche, I thought there would be some grand twist hidden within.
“There’s no twist at all.”
At that, Kelvin shrank even further and said.
-…That’s right. There’s no twist that surpasses your expectations. I am…
“You were a great person after all, weren't you? Tsk. What a waste of time.”
I thought there’d be some heart-wrenching story, but after hearing it all, it was just a humblebrag. It’s just her bragging.
“You had a teacher, you had friends, you had people who worshipped you. You achieved things. Later, you even established a domain and lived well. Even after death, you’re still revered. That’s a completely satisfying life, isn't it? I don’t get why you became a relic.”
Kelvin answered, oblivious to my sarcasm.
-Yes. Objectively, I was lucky. I received more than I deserved for my abilities… I chose to remain as a relic because I wanted to repay that kindness, if I could.
“Ugh, how annoying.”
I’m speechless. You have nothing you want to change, no wish you want to fulfill. You just became a relic while holding onto this needless shame.
-Why are you annoyed?
“I was expecting someone who claimed that the simple folk who don't know magic are no better than pigs and dogs. That would have been much more exciting.”
Kelvin replied in horror.
-What a terrifying thing to say. How could that be? We learned from Priest Rene. She was closer to the truth than anyone, but I’ve never seen a more humble person. Naturally, we should follow her example.
“But magic is the power of the special. Something the foolish can’t even dare to imitate.”
-That’s true.
Huh? She was speaking so timidly until now, but now she’s saying the opposite?
-It is the power of the special. Like Fahrenheit or Priest Rene. Truly special people accomplish great things with that power. Not simple folk like us…
“Simple folk?”
-Yes. When I was under Priest Rene, there were many other ordinary disciples like me. We used to call each other ‘the simple folk.’
So at first, ‘simple folk’ wasn't a term magicians used to look down on civilians. Its usage has changed a bit now.
-What is specialness? Why don’t we have such talent? We mocked ourselves and despaired. Many even gave up on learning simply because of their inferiority complex.
“There was no need for that, though.”
-I’m one of those who gave up. Rather than exploring the lofty truths, I translated the answers provided by a genius. Even though the achievement itself wasn't mine.
“That’s not giving up. That’s finding your path. Because you made an achievement.”
It wasn't fun, but I had accomplished my goal. I closed the psyche Kelvin was projecting and said.
“You wanted to be special, too. You wanted to understand the genius. You wished to stand alongside them.”
-That’s right. But I failed.
“But you succeeded. You gave the public, who were far less capable than you, a chance to understand a genius. Thanks to you, other people didn't have to feel that despair.”
You transmitted knowledge that would have otherwise never been passed down. Isn't that enough of a contribution?
-It’s not my achievement. I merely passed on someone else’s.
“That is the achievement.”
-It’s Fahrenheit’s achievement.
“Passing on his achievement is your achievement. To say a saintess is nothing because she only conveyed the word of God would be blasphemy, wouldn't it?”
Kelvin seemed to grasp the nuance of my words but muttered, as if unsatisfied.
-Fahrenheit wasn't a god, no matter how great he was…
She points that out even now. So it was an inferiority complex, not admiration.
But that’s the important part.
“That’s right. He would have been nothing more than an ordinary human. If it weren't for you.”
-…Me?
“If it weren't for you, he might have become a god. You were the one who treated him as a human when he was on the verge of being forgotten, neither understanding nor being understood. Thanks to you, the achievements, techniques, and knowledge he left behind became human.”
I always say that I’m ordinary. That’s not modesty or humility. To be ordinary is to be human. It means you are within that category.
It would be more of a problem if I were the one calling myself special. That would be like saying I’m not treating myself as human.
“You didn't fail to catch up to the genius named Fahrenheit; you grabbed him by the coattails and pulled him down to the level of humanity. You kept him from becoming detached from other people. That’s a pretty amazing thing to do. Don't you think?”
-When you put it like that, it sounds like I did something bad…
“It was a good thing. Your intentions aligned, didn't they? We usually call something that helps both parties a good thing, right?”
-Both parties?
I nodded.
“Because Mr. Fahrenheit would have wanted you to do so.”
-Fahrenheit did?
“If he didn't, he wouldn't have shown you the research that contained his life’s work, would he? He even explained it to you, in his own way. Surprisingly, he relied on you, too. He could solve the problems, but explaining the solved problems simply is another matter entirely.”
Thanks to Celsius, Fahrenheit was able to avoid becoming too special. She brought his discoveries, which were detached from the public, into reality. It may not seem like much, but that was everything.
“Turning the special into the ordinary. And spreading it to everyone. That is your achievement.”
Even if the Celsius family tries to make the rules themselves something special.
Kelvin thought for a moment, then asked.
-Fahrenheit… he had a bad personality and looked down on people, but… did he actually want to be understood?
“Everyone does.”
-How foolish. It’s not that difficult a task.
“Mr. Fahrenheit probably thought the same thing as you. ‘Why can’t they do this? It’s not even hard.’”
Kelvin laughed, relieved. I could see the knots of resentment in her psyche unraveling, one by one.
Kelvin Celsius sank down again in the middle of the Relic Shrine, hugging her knees. Her form was still blurry, but it was shining with a particular brilliance.
-Still, I’ll remain for as long as I can.
“Go ahead.”
-What about you? You can leave whenever you want, can’t you, King of Humans?
Well, that’s true.
I can't read the thoughts of a relic, but you don't need to read a tool's mind to use it, right? You just use it.
“Farewell, Kelvin Celsius. It’s nice to see a book with a proper ending for a change. It leaves a lasting impression. A little lacking in the dopamine department, though.”
-Farewell, King of Humans.
Kelvin fell asleep again amidst the other relics. As she entered a long dream, she murmured in a hazy voice.
-I’m glad I remained, even like this. As long as I’m here, you never know what other encounters might await…