The Sun Over Franz
The sun shining on Franz. The day that never ended. The sun that seemed as though it would continue forever finally set. Until the moment a new sun rose.
“Ughhh.”
I’m exhausted…. This is the first time I’ve pushed my magic power this far. In between, I ate nutritional supplements made from the specialties of the Great Mountain Range or focused on recovery with Grace’s help. The sun I maintained for nearly twelve hours, from late evening when the sun had set until sunrise. The coming-of-age ceremony itself had ended at dawn, but since I was already doing it, I endured until sunrise to last until the very end. I still remember forcing strength into my trembling lower body in front of the nobles who looked almost shocked at the end. But I couldn’t relax yet. Among the nobles who had come here, those with long journeys ahead were still staying in the castle. Still, I planned to rest properly in the morning, so I remained lying in bed.
—Click!
While I lay half-unconscious with the blanket pulled up to my face, the door opened with a soft click. My eyes half-opened in a drowsy haze. It was dark in front of me, so I was startled, but then I remembered I had the blanket over my head. At this hour, I had told everyone not to approach……
“Umm…. Who is it?”
If it were urgent, they would at least announce who was visiting. But someone had simply walked in. When I tried to lower the blanket at the approaching presence, that person grabbed it tightly.
“No, I don’t know who you are, but suddenly entering someone’s room is—”
“……It’s embarrassing.”
“……Princess?”
A voice that had grown familiar recently slipped into my ears. My dazed mind snapped awake. Wait, right now……. What exactly are you doing?
“Wait, wait!”
No matter how I looked at it, this was not okay. A royal princess in a man’s room? This was dangerous. And now I understood why no one had informed me. She had snuck in!
“You even put up a barrier! This is really dangerous, Princess Amelia!”
There were quite a few nobles staying in the castle. Of course, with the distance between rooms, it would be hard to notice, but if I was preparing for the worst, this was truly risky. I immediately raised a barrier around the room with my magic power.
“Haa….”
What the hell was this situation? Lying in bed with a blanket over my head, and the princess right in front of me. It was a truly unfamiliar experience. When I sighed, I felt her body flinch. If you’re embarrassed, then don’t do it….
“So, Princess. What brings you here?”
“……Uh. A-are you angry?”
“Of course I am.”
From the way her voice shrank, she probably knew this wasn’t right. What had she been thinking? Through our conversations so far, I had come to understand her to some degree. Though she wasn’t yet of age, as royalty she must have received the appropriate education, and in truth I had seen no shortcomings in how she handled conversations with me.
“So… can I lower the blanket now?”
“Umm…….”
The force holding the blanket weakened. Taking that as permission, I slowly lowered the blanket I had covered myself with. Princess Amelia had approached right beside the bed and was bowing her head. Her ears were slightly flushed, enough to be visible, and seeing that expression from someone usually so expressionless made me suddenly remember how young she actually was.
“Haaa. You must never do this again.”
“Sorry….”
She glanced up. Our eyes met. Startled, she quickly bowed her head again, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“So what’s the matter?”
“……To repay a favor.”
“A favor?”
I looked at Princess Amelia blankly. She seemed to have calmed down a little and raised her face to meet my gaze. It was the usual Princess Amelia. Still, her cheeks remained faintly red, as if the embarrassment hadn’t completely faded.
“You can repay that later. There’s no need to sneak in like this.”
That was true. Starting from saving her, there were many things I could receive. I had no intention of squeezing every last drop, but since I had done this much, I would take what I was owed. I had already told her that in advance. Yet Princess Amelia shook her head.
“No. This is my personal favor.”
“Personal favor?”
“I won’t say there were no benefits gained from helping me……. But it was something you didn’t necessarily have to help with.”
Therefore, a favor felt personally, unrelated to royalty or country. Its repayment.
“Even so, suddenly like this….”
“……A letter arrived through a territory close to Bahn.”
“Ah, yes. I know.”
It hadn’t been kept particularly secret. Trade usually centered around lakes and rivers. There was no way there wasn’t a city that served as the hub of that trade. Naturally, there were connections with Bahn, and through conversations with Princess Amelia we had already exchanged letters through them and received replies. Of course we had needed to contact them urgently, but for the sake of information control and plausible excuses, the letters had to be delivered in secret. Now, after barely managing to exchange various pieces of information…
“Negotiations with Brahms’ royalty are also finished. The Duke of Bahn, Sharinear of the Red Shark, will come in person.”
“Sharinear.”
……Honestly, I didn’t know her. I had heard the name, but there was no way I would have detailed information about a foreign duke….
“She will also be serving as my escort……. Once she arrives, there won’t be time to speak freely anymore. So…….”
Princess Amelia looked at me as she spoke. It wasn’t an illusion that her black eyes looked slightly wet.
“I want to repay the favor to you one last time.”
“Hmm…….”
If she put it that way, it was hard for me to react any other way. The sudden visit……. Well, I could forgive it.
“Alright. So, exactly how do you intend to repay this favor?”
She had called it a personal favor. Unrelated to noble or royal status. At my words, Princess Amelia closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Then she opened them.
“Do you know that no one has ever possessed solar magic power until now?”
* * *
“Until now, no one has obtained solar magic power…… There has never been one who dominates the sun. Why is that? Have you ever thought about it, Leoric Franz?”
“That is……. I’ve never heard of it.”
In the past, countless magic power holders had challenged the position of the sun. Naturally. An existence that always looked down from the sky. A symbol of overwhelming power. Combined with lightning, everyone had coveted it.
“Many dreamed of the sun, but all of them failed to handle it. Why? Numerous families—from counts to marquises, dukes, and even kings—aimed for that position. The hierarchy of the sun was that high.”
Naturally. Even on Earth, everything that symbolized the sun was extraordinary. In Greek and Roman mythology the chief god wielded lightning, yet the sun god Apollo still held a status befitting that rank. In Egyptian mythology and Japanese mythology alike, that position could not be compared to ordinary gods.
“Many dreamed of that position. But at best they were merely shining flames. In the age of gods, many called themselves sun gods, yet could they truly be called the real sun gods?”
Even if this world’s technology had developed in a unique direction, in the end there was no proper scientific system in place. Most knowledge remained monopolized by the upper class, and it was not uncommon for hard-won research to be passed down in secret only to vanish when a bloodline ended. In such a world, teaching knowledge to someone outside the family was a dangerous act. Should I stop her?
“It’s fine. In the first place, we already possess sea magic power.”
“Umm.”
Princess Amelia answered that it was all right, perhaps sensing the hesitation in my expression.
“Moreover, you already hold that seed.”
“Seed?”
“The sun you unfolded. That is not a miracle possible even for a Marquis-level mage who has reached the limit of simple magic power quantity. Even if that bloodline possesses characteristics related to flames or light.”
The Artificial Sun came to mind. That had been……. Nothing more than something I modeled after what I had seen in novels and comics from my previous life.
“I don’t know the reason, but your magic power has begun to change little by little.”
At those words, it came back to me—the light of my magic power gradually shifting in color.
“In my view, the hierarchy of the sun you will obtain is not far off.”
“Uuuumm.”
“I can’t guarantee you’ll obtain it with only the knowledge I’ve shared, but it should help.”
When obtaining a unique magic power, its characteristics were determined in several ways. For example, the Bahnia clan’s research into the sea. The Franz clan’s foundation in the Golden Lion faith, inspiring awe in those around them. Or traits naturally determined by a clan’s innate nature, such as Boraeng or Hemilion. Of course, research and faith alone had limits, so both had to be pursued together.
“Do you know why fruit falls from a tree?”
An apple here? Perhaps because my expression had turned strange, Princess Amelia looked flustered.
“T-that’s definitely not a strange story. You probably know this much too, right? It’s quite a famous tale. Our Bahnia clan, while researching the sea, realized among the knowledge we grasped that the ebb and flow of the tides is not simply related only to the sea, but also to the sun and moon floating above this land and sky.”
Ugh, I never thought I’d hear about tidal differences here. In other words, gravity…… was it? No, what was the term again? When had I learned this? My science knowledge from school had grown vague. This world definitely understood gravity, but I never expected them to know about tidal differences as well. I couldn’t explain it properly even if I tried. I’d already forgotten most of it. I knew it had something to do with the gravity of the sun and moon, but that was about it.
“Honestly, I don’t know how much help it will be to you, who seems to have already realized it unconsciously…….”
Princess Amelia’s explanation was roughly similar to what I already knew. Starting from gravity, moving to heliocentrism, revolution, the circulation of water and atmosphere……. I never thought I’d hear such things here. Of course, it was only rough knowledge, and some parts were dressed up in vague terms. Probably even Princess Amelia herself didn’t fully understand it. Even so, I hadn’t expected research to have progressed this far.
“……Umm. Your reaction is bad.”
“Yes?”
Perhaps because I had made a strange face after not expecting to hear such a story here. Princess Amelia looked at me with a subtle expression.
“Did you already know?”
The princess looked sulky.