Episode 647
Episode 647
Yet Alsicle showed no signs of stopping his magic.
Gainando swiftly cut the flower from the tree branch while being pelted by snowballs.
'Ugh. Just you wait.'
Brushing off the snow, Gainando made a firm resolution.
Once he got juniors of his own, he'd definitely work them just as hard!
"Did you get everything?"
"Yes."
"Good. You used a silver sickle, right?"
"Uh, I used a bronze sickle..."
"You do know Red Moonflowers lose their potency unless cut with pure silver?"
"...Yes."
Instead of explaining further, Alsicle swung his staff. Immediately, another barrage of snowballs came flying.
"Climb back up there. Now. Not going?"
"Argh! Aaah!"
"This time, make sure to use a silver sickle! Are you slacking off on purpose?"
"I'm not!"
Alsicle returned with a bruised Gainando in tow.
As soon as they passed through the mansion's door, Gainando sniffled and scurried over to his friends.
"What's wrong?"
"That mage is completely insane! He kept getting angry about the materials I brought!"
"Einrogard's like that too, isn't it?"
"...He got mad because I cut the Red Moonflower with a bronze sickle!"
"Wait, you actually used bronze instead of silver?"
"Wow. That's pretty bad."
When Yoner, Ratford, and Nilia all turned to stare in shock, Gainando shook his head vigorously.
He'd made a mistake telling these bottom-tier beings.
"Lee Han! Lee Han! Outside—"
But Gainando's friend was already deep in conversation with Alsicle.
Gainando glared at Alsicle's fluffy-looking head with eyes full of hatred.
He wanted to hurl a bone right at it!
"Wardanaz. I thought you were researching Music Magic—why are you working on something else?"
Alsicle asked, puzzled.
He'd even taken on menial tasks to help with the Music Magic research, only to find Lee Han doing something entirely different.
"Ah. I finished that earlier."
"...What?"
"I deciphered and analyzed the sheet music, then added new lyrics and performed it. It turned out pretty well, so I'm thinking of researching other Music Magic in this direction from now on. Thank you again for your help."
"Good. That's great—wait. Hold on!"
For a moment, Alsicle nearly let the excessively polite response slide—but he quickly snapped back to attention.
What did he mean by "finished earlier"?
And what was this about adding new lyrics and it "turning out well"??!?!
"From the beginning! Explain from the beginning!"
"Huh? But I don't think Lord Pengerin would find it very interesting..."
"Now!!"
"Understood."
Given Alsicle's murderous aura (and the fact he still hadn't brushed off the snow clinging to him), Lee Han quickly launched into his explanation.
So, during the Fake Kingdom era, mages would craft instrument Artifacts to cast Music Magic, select a single composition to practice for decades, and use resonance phenomena to supplement their lacking power...
"Fascinating! That's an interesting approach, isn't it?"
"Right? So I tried performing it with new lyrics, and it worked pretty well."
"...Don't skip ahead—finish explaining properly!"
"Why are you getting angry...?"
Flustered, Lee Han continued.
Since Music Magic is heavily influenced by the caster's emotions, the Fake Kingdom-era lyrics were too difficult to use as-is, so he worked with friends to create new ones...
And it just worked!
"...That's it?"
"Yeah. It worked fine."
"......"
Alsicle hung his head in defeat.
What kind of insane talent was this?!
In the time it took him to gather herbs outside, this kid had casually revived a long-lost ancient magic...
"Lord Pengerin? Are you alright?"
"No, I'm not."
"Did Gainando give you a headache?"
Lee Han asked with genuine concern.
Gainando was definitely the type to induce headaches in first-time acquaintances.
"...That's not it. Anyway, let's hear it. Can you perform it again for me?"
"Yes. It's not particularly difficult. Just a moment."
Lee Han picked up the violin he had placed beside him. Then he called out to his friends.
"Can you help with the chorus?"
"Chorus?"
"When I practiced earlier, I noticed the effect increases when someone sings along beside me."
"I see. How intriguing."
Alsicle showed interest in the characteristics of the lost ancient magic they were reviving.
Indeed, it was fascinating how different it was from the current Empire's magic system. 'This will make for great conversation material when I attend the magic symposium later.' The mages at the symposium would surely find this story highly amusing.
Especially since the practitioner was a second-year student at Einrogard.
This would also benefit the Wardanaz family. Having their reputation spread among the Empire's other mages was no small matter.
Alsicle barely stopped himself from showing too much enthusiasm.
After all, true nobility performed good deeds quietly and discreetly.
Alsicle was, after all, a dignified noble of the Pengerin family.
"Shall we begin?"
After signaling to his friends, Lee Han started playing. Since it was the instrumental prelude without lyrics, only the sound of the violin echoed.
As Alsicle listened, thinking 'For a Wardanaz, he really can do all sorts of unusual things,' he suddenly froze.
The slow, deliberate music carried mana within it.
And not just any mana—it was mana infused with the Dark Element!
"??!"
Just as described in the spell's notation from the score, as the surrounding area began filling with Dark Element mana, Alsicle was genuinely astonished.
Though he'd taken an interest in Music Magic, he hadn't valued it highly—yet here it was, effortlessly dominating the area.
"Wardanaz. Wardanaz."
"Yes?"
Lee Han stopped playing.
His friends glared at Alsicle with irritation. They had been preparing properly, only to be interrupted abruptly.
"S-sorry. I was suddenly curious. Is that violin perhaps the Artifact you mentioned earlier?"
"Ah. As expected of Lord Pengerin. You're suggesting I modify the violin into an Artifact to enhance the spell's effect, right?"
"...No. I was just asking because the sound carries mana."
"Oh."
Lee Han awkwardly realized he'd jumped to the wrong conclusion.
"In my observation, certain songs that resonate with the caster unconsciously absorb and release mana. There have been documented cases when researching Music Magic nearby."
"But those are extremely rare occurrences, usually when dozens of people sing together in a trance-like state."
"True."
"But right now, you haven't even started singing—you're just playing the violin."
"Correct."
"Then how is it carrying mana?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself."
"...S-sorry. Continue."
Alsicle suddenly felt foolish for interrogating a mage who had only studied at Einrogard for a year.
If Wardanaz had known the answer immediately, he'd be an Archmage by now... 'I ended up probing without thinking.' Talking to him often made Alsicle forget he was dealing with a junior mage and mistake him for a peer.
The performance resumed. As the prelude ended, Lee Han slowly began singing the lyrics. The surrounding mana density started rising.
"Praise the sacrifice of the freshmen, O mages..."
"??"
Alsicle doubted his ears.
The lyrics had changed far more than he expected.
He had assumed Lee Han would only correct typos or awkward phrasing, but...?!
"Wait—no. Sorry. Keep going."
Alsicle tried to stop him but hesitated under the students' glares.
Lee Han continued singing the lament for the newly enrolled freshmen of Einrogard.
The melody was so solemn and mournful that Alsicle found himself unwittingly feeling a sense of reverence.
"What did your seniors see? —They saw the demons of hell and those demons walking among us."
"What did your seniors see? —They saw the Lich Archmage commanding his forces to attack the students..."
"No. Seriously, just a moment!"
Alsicle stopped the friends who were exchanging verses with Lee Han in a call-and-response song.
By now, the effects of the music magic had already spread to some extent around them. Despite the sunlight pouring through the stained glass at midday, the area was dim as twilight due to the lingering dark element.
"Ah. We were just getting to the good part."
Nilia expressed regret.
She had personally come up with the next lyrics herself, so she felt particularly attached to them.
Lee Han, with an expression suggesting he understood why Alsicle had stopped them, asked,
"Are you surprised that we can create a phenomenon of dominating the area with such a primitive method?"
"...That is surprising too! But that's not it. The lyrics—aren't the lyrics strange?!"
It was the kind of song that, if performed anywhere, would halve the number of Einrogard's new students.
* * *
After calming down, Alsicle advised them not to sing this song in front of the Skeleton Principal.
Only then could they finally discuss the music magic properly.
"Truly fascinating. Wardanaz. I hope you continue researching this magic in your second year as well."
"If I have the time, I will."
Of course, Lee Han had no intention of delving that deeply into music magic.
He had only mastered Praise the Einrogard Freshmen so diligently because its effects were exceptionally useful.
The ability to temporarily dominate the surrounding area was an effect he couldn't achieve with his current magic.
Compared to that, the other music magics... 'Their effects were a bit ambiguous.' The music magics he had collected while wandering around with the Skeleton Principal weren't particularly impressive.
They weren't unusable, but not worth obsessing over either. 'He seems reliable, though.' However, Alsicle was pleased with Lee Han's answer.
Seeing such a serious attitude, he thought he might even invite Lee Han to give a presentation on music magic at the academic conference by the end of his second year.
Alsicle raised his staff, pushed away the remaining dark element in the air, and brightened the surroundings.
Then, recalling what Lee Han had been doing earlier, he tilted his head in curiosity.
"What were you up to earlier?"
"Ah. I was just inspecting some of the artifacts I have."
Even near-permanent artifacts weren't invincible.
Meticulous checks and maintenance always led to better performance.
Moreover, someone like Lee Han, who owned so many bizarre artifacts, couldn't afford to neglect them.
The Bracelet of Ten Thousand Demons, the Black Magnetite Sword, the Behemoth Necklace storing various spells, the staff housing a wood spirit...
Alsicle watched Lee Han's maintenance with interest.
Truly, as expected of the Skeleton Principal's successor—his artifacts were also fearsome and grotesque.
"What's that stone embedded in your staff? It looks quite menacing."
"It's the Frost Giant King's Gemstone."
"...How on earth did you...?"
Alsicle, who had been looking for something more ordinary, spotted a peculiarly shaped helmet.
"What's that helmet? Doesn't seem like an ordinary artifact."
"Ah. The Helmet of Wisdom."
Lee Han said it as if he had forgotten about it.
It was a useless and sinister artifact he had picked up in the school's underground dungeon—no one knew who had made it.
He had tried to sell it at a shop but was refused, so he just kept it with him...
"It's not bad, though?"
"The professor modified it so it doesn't hide the truth anymore, but fundamentally, it's a sinister artifact."
"That's hardly a problem."
Alsicle looked at him as if to say, What are you talking about?
Avoiding something just because it was dangerous wasn't the way of a mage.
"You must have gotten a lot of help from this helmet in Einrogard?"
"Actually, except for once during the flood, I never really used it. And even during the flood, it wasn't much help."
"...Wait, seriously?"
Alsicle removed the cloth covering the helmet and woke the slumbering artifact.
At last! The time has come to borrow my wicked wisdom!
"Greetings, Helmet."
The owner has changed! Finally!! You've made an excellent choice. The previous owner was a wicked, cunning, meticulous fool! Don't believe a single word that fool ever said!
"I'm right here, Helmet."......
The helmet quietly turned off its glow and tried to disappear.