Chapter 382: Magic (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 382: Magic (2)
Alon’s birthday, which had been quite boisterous in its own way, came to an end.
Three days had passed since that strange incident the very next morning, where a seemingly disgruntled Seolrang had lunged at Yutia only to be slammed into the floor with a pathetic squawk.
“Please process these documents—”
“I’ll take care of it, Brother.”
“And this one too—”
“Ah, I’ll do it, Mentor!”
“What are you talking about? I was waiting first!”
“Huh? But I’m the one who received the papers?”
“That’s because you cut in line!”
For some reason, despite his birthday being over, the guests showed no signs of leaving. Thanks to them, Alon was living a very noisy life.
“…….”
He stared at the scene before him.
A sheet of paper was being pulled taut from both sides, looking as if it might tear at any moment. Ryanga and Seolrang were glaring at each other, each gripping one end of the document.
Alon couldn't help but let out a sigh.
It felt quite surreal to see others bustling about his office instead of Penia and Evan, who usually assisted him with paperwork. Alon himself didn't quite understand why they were acting this way. Even Penia had mentioned that their behavior was highly unusual.
However, Alon soon discovered the cause of their strange behavior.
It seemed to be because of the title ‘Nuna.’
To be precise, it was because they wanted Alon to call them ‘Nuna.’
Naturally, Alon had no intention of calling anyone that. From his perspective as someone who had lost thirteen years of his memory, all the women appeared to be older sisters to him. However, considering his ‘previous’ self, using such a title felt incredibly awkward.
When he first saw Yutia, the word had slipped out instinctively. But since he was technically of a certain age himself, he felt too embarrassed to consciously and boldly call someone ‘Nuna.’
Crash!
Just as he was lost in thought, Seolrang and Ryanga stormed out noisily.
“……For people who have a specific goal in mind, they certainly aren't acting the part,” Penia, who had joined the paperwork at some point, muttered.
Alon inwardly agreed. He had almost accidentally let the word slip with the calm Magrina and Historia, but Ryanga and Seolrang felt so far removed from the title that the thought didn't even cross his mind.
“……More importantly, is it almost finished?”
“Hmm—it seems so. I think we’ll be done once we process this.”
“It strikes me anew, but there really is a lot of paperwork. Did the original me always suffer under such a murderous workload?”
At Alon’s slightly fed-up reaction, Penia replied, “No? It wasn't this much in the past.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I was here, and in fact, Alexion handled almost all the tasks related to the territory.”
“Ah, that man…….”
In the game, he was a middle-aged man living a ruined life in the slums of Laxas. Why on earth was he living the life of such a diligent salaryman here? Alon nodded, recalling that he had wondered about this before.
“Then why is there so much now?”
“Well—as you’ve seen while processing them, there are a lot of matters regarding ‘Divine Land’ and ‘Diplomacy.’”
“Mmm, that’s true.”
Alon recalled the contents of the documents he had processed so far. It was just as she said.
“Silli is currently managing ‘Divine Land,’ but we’ve reached a point where we need to establish a system so it can operate properly even without her, which is why the paperwork has increased. As for ‘Diplomacy’—it’s because of the Divine Blood.”
“The Divine Blood…… I see.”
“Yes. Actually, there are far more reports than there are things to approve, aren't there?”
“That’s true.”
Alon nodded. Most of the diplomatic documents that had come in were reports. And they didn't look to be in very good condition.
“It seems the Divine Blood are starting to move in earnest. As you saw in the reports, no place has been attacked yet, but the number of unique entities is gradually increasing.”
“Which means it’s time to start being careful.”
“Exactly. That’s why the number of documents you need to check is increasing. Especially reports like these—it’s best for you to verify them personally, so they get sent up to you.”
Penia pointed to a stack of reports about two knuckles high. Alon let out a low groan.
‘……I need to hurry.’
His thoughts deepened as he gauged the time remaining.
* * *
Three days later.
The people who had gathered at Alon’s house began to leave one by one to return to their respective places.
“See you next time, Mentor!”
“Right.”
After seeing Seolrang off last, Alon processed some paperwork and then moved to the 2nd Office with Penia faster than usual.
Today was finally the day. The day to confirm if the inspiration Alon had gained from Yutia would be useful.
“Phew—”
As Alon let out a breath upon arriving at the 2nd Office, Penia, who was reading a document beside him, spoke up.
“First of all, there are no major issues with the magic formula.”
“Now it all depends on how well I can manifest the magic.”
“……I suppose so. Though, of course, it’s possible it won't manifest if our hypothesis is wrong.”
Alon closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and created a sphere above his hand. A simple Mana Orb, something any 1st Tier mage could manifest, appeared with a faint light.
‘The reason we recite Phrases is to utilize the Laws, right? Then is there a need to actually say them out loud?’
Along with that thought, Alon recalled Yutia’s advice.
The reason Alon hadn't been able to find a way to supplement his magic until now was that he felt forced to use Hand Seals and Phrases. These mandatory actions inevitably increased the casting time of his magic.
Yet, he couldn't just omit them. The moment he removed the Hand Seals and Phrases, he would become nothing more than an ‘ordinary’ mage.
While he was stuck in this dilemma, unable to reach a conclusion, Yutia’s words had provided him with great inspiration. Her words had broadened his perspective, which had been narrowed by the obsession with ‘supplementing’ the existing method.
“Fuu—”
Fundamentally, the reason Alon used Hand Seals and Phrases was for the destructive power of the magic. But looking deeper, the reason he performed those actions was to reach the Law engraved by the Divine Blood.
It wasn't that the power increased because he used Hand Seals and Phrases; rather, by performing those two actions, he reached the ‘Law,’ and by utilizing that Law, he gave his magic its unique properties.
In short, there was only one point. Hand Seals and Phrases were merely the means to reach the Law.
And what Alon was about to do now…
‘Let’s try it.’
…was to change that ‘means.’
Staring intently at the Mana Orb in his hand, Alon closed his eyes and began to gather mana once more. What he was attempting was a slightly different kind of magic than what he had used before.
The magic he was creating now was simply intended to produce a ‘sound.’ Specifically, a ‘sound’ that was very similar to Alon’s own voice.
In other words, instead of speaking the words himself, he was testing whether he could replace that means through magic.
Exhaling calmly, Alon delicately tuned the magic. To produce a sound as close to his voice as possible, he had to adjust various parts in real-time.
Concentrating with his eyes closed, Alon finally manifested the perfectly tuned magic.
──Refraction.
Along with a light sound of breaking air, the magic manifested. A slightly peculiar vibration resonated through the air. Alon opened his eyes.
“It… seems to have worked?”
Along with Penia’s voice, he saw it.
The small sphere that had been resting on his hand had turned into dizzying lines, drawing a small linear pattern.
* * *
“The hypothesis has been confirmed. What do you plan to do now?” Penia asked immediately after confirming that Alon’s hypothesis was feasible.
“Which part are you referring to?”
“The direction of the research. Now that we know the magic can be activated just by mimicking the phrases with magic instead of your mouth, do you plan to research ways to cram the phrases in?”
Alon replied, “I’ll have to research that part as well, but I suspect it’s just one step in the process.”
“……One step in the process?” Penia tilted her head. “If you succeed in cramming the phrases into a single spell, wouldn't that mean you’ve succeeded in supplementing the weakness?”
“You could look at it that way.”
She wasn't wrong. His goal was to minimize the time it took to use Hand Seals and Phrases, and the hypothesis he had just discovered was enough to solve the problem he had been agonizing over in one go.
“However, that’s not what’s important right now.”
“……That’s not what’s important?”
“What’s important here is the fact that the magic can still be used even if the ‘means’ is changed.”
Of course, the experiment Alon had just conducted was indeed to confirm if magic could be used as a ‘means.’ But that was merely a byproduct.
What Alon truly wanted to confirm was the ‘means’ itself. Whether the magic could be manifested through a ‘means’ other than the mouth. That was the core of what Alon wanted to verify this time.
And he had succeeded. This implied one thing: the ‘means’ used to reach the Law did not matter.
And that meant…
“If reaching the Law itself is what’s important, regardless of the means used to get there, then it means I can change the ‘means’ to whatever I want, doesn't it?”
“What do you—?”
The ability to change the means at will.
Penia, who had a blank expression for a moment at those words, suddenly widened her eyes as if she had realized something.
“……No way!”
Instead of his usual expressionless face, Alon showed a deep, confident smile.
At that same time, in the Kingdom of Phildegrin.
“Oh my—Magrina hasn't even returned yet, but you’re quite early.”
“I have a bit of business to attend to.”
Line and Yutia were facing each other with smiles on their faces. And on one side, hidden in the shadows…
“…….”
Hidan was secretly trembling as he watched the scene.
However, the two of them stared at each other as if they didn't care about Hidan’s anxiety.
“So, what kind of business brings you here? You could have just left it to me.”
“Hmm—it’s something I’m perfectly capable of doing myself.”
“Coming here to work and to tease me at the same time…… is that it?”
At Line’s smile, Yutia replied with a smile of her own.
“What are you talking about, Line? Why would I tease you?”
“I don't think you’re asking because you genuinely don't know.”
“Ah—are you talking about how you couldn't make it to Teacher’s birthday? I have no reason to tease you for that, do I?”
“Is that so?”
“Of course—it’s not like anything would have changed just because you showed up.”
“……That sounds a lot like teasing to me.”
“Oh, does it?”
Yutia’s remarks. Though they sounded kind and seemingly meaningless, there was an undercurrent suggesting a profound hidden meaning, causing Hidan to instinctively curl his body.
His intuition told him that the moment a few more words were exchanged, he would likely have to run for his life.
However.
“Well—then it can't be helped. If you’re going to tease me like that.”
Contrary to Hidan’s expectations, Line didn't seem particularly angry. Instead, she looked at Yutia with a serene expression and pulled something out.
Soon after…….
[Yutia…… Big Sister?]
The moment the Marquis Palatio’s voice flowed out from the storage magic tool, the relaxed smile vanished from Yutia’s lips.
And then.
“I was originally going to just give this to you—”
Crack!
The magic tool in Line’s hand began to fracture with a sharp sound.
“—but I think I should play a little prank of my own, shouldn't I?”
Her words followed with a refreshing tone.