Void (1)

The castle of Baron Manfred.

I opened my eyes in the bed of my own room.

Rolling my gaze toward the window, I saw that the sun had long since passed its zenith — the sky was already bleeding into sunset.

Just how many hours had I slept?

Muscles all over my body were screaming in protest. All I had done yesterday was walk around here and there, yet I ached as though I had been through a full march drill.

This damned frail constitution.

Phrases drifted through my mind.

This was a trait I had seen in Luke's Biography as well.

Dark mages possessed many techniques that dealt devastating damage in exchange for consuming life force. This trait was used to offload that life-force cost onto companions assigned to a support role. It was mainly employed to further shorten the time required for short-term combat.

Of course, it was also possible to dump damage received from enemies onto your allies — but that was simply being a burden to them.

With this trait, I could make someone else pay the life force that my curses kept siphoning away.

But unlike a game, where the only consequence was a shrinking life bar, reality demanded payment in health and lifespan.

Was there anyone who would do that for me?

Perhaps I had acquired a trait I would never use in my entire life.

I had successfully acquired the Curse of Obsession.

The silver dagger that had served as the ghost's catalyst lay on the table. Perhaps because it was a curse that had arisen by chance, it had been easier than expected. Maybe because the subject was already dead — unlike when I transferred the Curse of Emotionlessness, I hadn't needed any hair.

Still, just in case, I had tied some of my own hair and set it aside.

The problem was that I couldn't Alter it.

I could guess the cause.

"Insufficient mana."

When I Altered the Curse of Illusion, it had been a curse that was one with my own body — knowing the principles of dark magic I had learned from Maria had been enough. But the Curse of Obsession had never been mine to begin with, and when I tried to rewrite its formula, something felt lacking.

I was fairly certain that something was mana. The problem was that I had no idea how to handle mana.

"The Void."

I knew the lore surrounding mana from Luke's Biography.

The human body cannot produce mana on its own. It must be drawn from the Void. The Void does not exist in reality, yet it is connected to the mental world of every human being. To draw more mana, one must reach deeper into the Void — and to do that, one must elevate one's spiritual plane.

What elevating one's spiritual plane actually meant, I had no idea. Spiritual attainment ultimately depended on talent as well, but a demon-worshipper like Karl could hardly be lacking in that department. If I just figured out the method, I could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠make it work somehow.

There was someone nearby who knew a great deal about mana.

None other than my younger sister.

"Clara Manfred."

As a 2-Star World Mage, she would of course be thoroughly familiar with drawing mana from the Void. Asking Clara might resolve everything simply — but I wanted to save that as a last resort.

While dealing with the ghost incident, Clara had seen how much I knew about sorcery. Sorcery was a form of death magic, a branch of dark magic. If I started asking her about mana on top of that, she might get the idea that I was seriously trying to become a dark mage.

Or rather — was it even a misunderstanding?

Turning curses into one's own power and wielding them was, in a sense, exactly what a dark mage did.

My becoming a dark mage wasn't an enormous problem in itself. The Lumenic Church, the continent's largest religion, simply classified dark magic as heresy. In the Laviart Empire, to which the Manfred Barony belonged, dark magic was not illegal.

Even so, no one would look kindly on a family member becoming obsessed with dark magic.

Besides, I didn't desperately need the help right now. Having acquired the Ark of Curses — a trait that only got better the more curses you had — I was simply building up power because there was no harm in it. A hobby, so to speak.

I'd try on my own first, and if it truly didn't work out, I'd look for another way.

"Maybe I should look for a book…"

Baron Manfred's castle did have a library. Aside from a handful of people, almost no one here had anything to do with studying, so visitors were rare. Still, Mother had brought all sorts of books from the city — there ought to be at least something on the fundamentals of magic.

For all I knew, there might even be a few heretical texts of the sort that circulated in the countryside.

The church of the Manfred Barony.

Priest Thomas was writing with bloodshot eyes. It was a letter requesting reassignment to another parish.

"Damn it… why the hell did I ever come to a backwater like this…"

Thomas had wanted to become a bishop. That was why he had willingly accepted the posting to the Manfred Barony — a mission to spread the doctrine of Lumenic across land only recently annexed by the Laviart Empire, and to establish it as a proper parish. He would make the Manfred Barony a new diocese, become its first parish head, and, as the man who had expanded Lumenic's reach, take his rightful seat upon a bishop's throne.

But this savage land, which possessed nothing that ought to exist, was unbearably inconvenient. The peasants who followed native superstitions like the Goddess of the Black Swamp were unbearably unpleasant.

And then the ghost incident had happened.

The ghost, it turned out, had been a young woman he himself had known. It was the villagers who had driven her to become one. The village chief had seized her husband's property; the youth association leader had tried to take her body.

How was he supposed to live on the same land as such ignorant, wicked people?

And he could not stop thinking that if he had gone even once to check on the young couple — to see whether they were adjusting to rural life — things might have turned out differently. He should have done exactly that. Instead, he had been intoxicated by the way the peasants fawned over him.

Thomas had come to a realization.

He was the sort of man who needed only to move beneath someone else's authority, following instructions. He was not a man who could sit upon a seat of power and bear responsibility for anything.

Now he simply wanted to return to the fold of a great parish.

Lumenic had provided him with nothing. Even this church was nothing more than an abandoned manor, roughly rebuilt and put to use. The Church clearly had little interest in this region. The whole thing had been a token gesture — a show of caring even for a place this remote.

He should have known from the moment they appointed someone as incompetent as himself.

"…The ghost matter was resolved by the Baron's second son… This place has no need of help from the likes of me…"

"Father!"

Just as he was finishing the letter, someone shoved open the church doors and strode in. Judging by the armor, it was one of Baron Manfred's men.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"What is it?"

"His Lordship requests your assistance, Father! He says it's urgent!"

"Wait just a moment."

Thomas held out the letter to the white dove perched on the windowsill. The bird took the letter in its beak and vanished in a streak of light.

That thug of a baron who looked less like a lord and more like a bandit chief. He had no desire to meet that beast again either.

He earnestly hoped this would be his last task in this place.

The library in Baron Manfred's castle.

There was no librarian, and it didn't seem to be managed at all. Barely half the books were even shelved in their proper places.

I had found a few volumes related to magic and was sitting at a desk reading them when my maid Sophie approached with a plate of sweets and a teacup.

"Young Master. I've brought you a snack."

"…Is it all right to eat in the library?"

"Uh, uhh… I-is it not allowed? Everyone else eats their meals here, though…"

Sophie looked as flustered as if the most basic common sense had just been denied. Eating food in a place that ought to be kept quiet and orderly. It struck me anew how difficult it was to believe this was truly a residence of nobility.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Still, if everyone else did it, I had no reason to hold back.

"They didn't allow it in the sanatorium library. I didn't realize it was fine here. Thank you — I'll enjoy it."

"Yes!"

"Brother? You were in here?"

Clara's voice came suddenly. My younger sister was pushing open the library door and stepping inside.

I hastily shoved the magic texts I'd been reading onto a nearby pile of books and picked up a fairy-tale volume that someone had left lying around.

"Clara? What brings you here…"

"What else? I came to the library to read. Hmm… but you're having tea alone in here…"

Perhaps because she had attended the Academy, the sight of someone eating in a library made her uncomfortable.

"Sorry. I wouldn't have done this in the sanatorium library either."

"Ah, no — it's fine. I know perfectly well what our household is like. It's just… it reminded me of how you used to share snacks with me. May I join you?"

"Of course. Sophie, would you bring something for Clara as well?"

"Yes, right away!"

Sophie bowed to the two of us and left the library. Clara pulled a chair over beside me and sat down.

"What were you reading?"

"…Ah. A book about the Goddess of the Black Swamp."

I had grabbed a book at random without looking at the title, which was why my answer came late. The Goddess of the Black Swamp was a native faith that had existed on this land since the days when it was still lawless territory.

"Hmm… Do you actually believe in that sort of thing?"

"No… But it's the superstition of our own territory, so I figured it couldn't hurt to know about it."

"You've been taking a lot of interest in the territory's affairs since yesterday. Are you eyeing the baronial title?"

I hadn't expected that particular misunderstanding. I had absolutely no intention of shoving Cain and Clara aside to become the second Baron Manfred.

"Hardly. How could a sickly person like me take on the role of lord? Has Father said anything about succession? Will Cain take over? Or you?"

"Hmm… Let's talk about that later…"

Clara continued pressing with a faintly suspicious look in her eyes.

"You mentioned the sanatorium library earlier. Did you read a great many books there as well?"

"Not a great many. There simply wasn't much else to do."

"You said you learned about curses from a friend at the sanatorium."

"I did."

"Did that friend of yours happen to teach you vocabulary and grammar as well?"

What was she getting at with this question?

"No. I only learned about curses. I don't think that person was particularly well-educated."

"Hmm…"

Maria had almost certainly never received enough schooling to teach anyone vocabulary or grammar.

"Brother. You've changed so much. The way you used to tremble in constant fear… the way you used to ramble about hallucinations no one could understand… the way you couldn't do anything on your own…"

"Y-yeah. I caused nothing but trouble because of the curse."

"…And the fact that you couldn't read."

"…"

"You were illiterate, Brother. You were so tormented by the curse that you never had a chance to learn."

Karl had been… illiterate?

The writing system of this world was certainly not one I had known. And yet I had read it fluently without the slightest difficulty. I had assumed that was Karl's linguistic knowledge at work.

Something was very wrong.

Clara was staring at me with an expressionless face. Thanks to the Curse of Emotionlessness, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠maintaining my composure wasn't difficult — but I still couldn't think of what to say.

"That's…"

"Yesterday, the diary you took from the vault. You read it without any trouble at all. Your subordinates didn't seem to notice, but."

The next instant—

"Ghk—!"

I couldn't immediately grasp what had happened. A powerful impact radiated from my back through my entire body. Something bound my arms and legs; I couldn't move.

Clara, straddling me, looked down with a strangely flushed face and opened her mouth.

"You… are you really my brother?"