Chapter 33. Now I Can Dominate You.
Chapter 33. Now I Can Dominate You.
Magic was the collective term for "phenomenon manipulation"—using the physical forces generated by mana to manipulate objects.
Contrary to the common perception that it was all-powerful, in reality it demanded the knowledge and skill to control and regulate physical forces according to human will.
To push it further—decomposing matter, affecting a wide area—the rule was that one had to gather as much mana as possible into a single point.
And the most stable way to induce that phenomenon was to operate the controlled physical force in the "form of a ring."
This was the concept of the Circle, the very measure of a mage's caliber.
The creation of a Circle was an essential rite of passage for anyone who entered the study of magic to be truly acknowledged as a mage.
"......That's absurd."
And even if I had no great skill in magic, I at least grasped the basics.
I already understood that creating a Circle required an immense amount of training and investment, and above all, a natural, sensory talent.
And yet, you could create a Circle merely by drinking a potion?
Skipping every previous step entirely?
"Heh, you don't believe me, I suppose."
"No, it's just... I don't know much about magic, but wasn't this impossible until now?"
"From now on, it's possible. Why else do you think I rose to the rank of Archmage at a similar age to you?"
A snicker. Ymir let out a laugh and puffed up with pride, crossing her arms.
In reality, producing a finished product the moment you obtained a sample was nearly impossible, but she had already constructed a staggering number of hypotheses about the witch's power.
She had simply discarded attempt after attempt because she lacked confirmation of success.
But as luck would have it, several of her existing hypotheses held parts similar to the sample's properties, and by continuing her research based on that, she had succeeded in stably producing a test piece.
So it wasn't entirely meaningless. All the work she'd done until now.
"Something like this... is it really all right to give it to me?"
Perhaps I had a vague understanding of that solitary effort. I looked down at the potion bottle in my hand with complicated feelings, then asked, my voice laced with concern.
Whatever it was, it was needless worry—or so she seemed to think—and she answered with a chuckle.
"Don't you worry~ If it were a permanent effect, maybe, but something made to be volatile doesn't really have side effects. You just feel a bit tired once the usage time ends. As long as you don't overuse it, it's not a problem......"
"You researched this seriously."
My voice came out more complicated than I'd intended as I cut in, while she was trying to explain there was no danger.
A twinge of guilt flickered in her eyes. It seemed I couldn't take lightly what I now held in my hand.
"I may not have known you for long, Ymir, but I still know how seriously you researched this. Wasn't the reason you were uncooperative with people like Berdia or Serika because you were that desperate and fervent?"
"......So, my sincerity is such a burden that you can't accept what I made for you?"
"......."
My expression hardened as I hung my head. Watching the strength gradually leave my hand that gripped the bottle, Ymir's brows furrowed.
"Yes, as you say. I'm just a porter who can't do anything but odd jobs......"
"Right, a porter who can't do anything but odd jobs."
Ymir twisted her hand around mine, stopping me from letting go of the bottle.
That one act alone was something she did not with telekinesis, as she always had, but with her own hand. Her aversion to me had diminished that much.
"You've had more than one or two experiences feeling helpless at that sort of thing, so didn't you go out of your way to help me, too?"
And more than that, I'd driven the decisive wedge into her research. I could tell she felt sincere gratitude for my courage and passion.
"That's......"
"People make a certain mistake sometimes."
But at the same time, I caught a hint of pity in her expression.
"...A mistake?"
"Thinking that if you just work hard, anything is possible. And if it's not possible, then you haven't worked hard enough."
The fact that a witch-based dungeon had appeared nearby, that I'd siphoned blood from its corpse, that the blood from that corpse had properties suited to her research......
In the end, the only effort I'd made was "trying with desperate persistence."
If even one of those things hadn't lined up just right, far beyond simply failing, I might very well have lost my life.
"The world is wide and people are small. Within that wide world, what a person can do is nothing but a tiny, trifling thing. And even then, everyone gathered in one place wants different things, so to expect only your own desires to be fulfilled would be a terribly arrogant act."
A wrong environment, a social system left in a broken state.
Ymir was a person who considered those things no different from a natural disaster for humans. Would you call someone a useless idiot just because they couldn't break through a disaster like a typhoon or a tidal wave with their bare body?
In a sense, perhaps that kind of perception posed a greater danger to humanity than the axis of evil called the Demon King's Army.
"But even if you teach people that, what answer would there be? The bastards who actually build that environment in the first place do nothing but wallow in their own shit."
You could say her perspective on the world was greatly twisted.......
Yet she believed in that ideology, so objectively she could never be called a "good person."
Others saw only her talent and achievements and believed she was suited for the saviors known as the hero party, but her own actions were completely devoid of affection for humanity.
"But still......."
But because she was that kind of person, she could assert that the world wasn't all pure and clean.
"Still, if something you could call breathing room existed for people like you, who see effort alone as the answer...... then at least the chances of you dashing your head against the hard ground and dying would drop a little."
"......."
"......Ah, was it a bit unexpected for me to say such embarrassingly mushy things?"
Belatedly realizing her own words, Ymir smiled bitterly and abruptly turned her head away from me.
"Well, don't get the wrong idea. It's not like I made this for anyone's sake."
It wasn't a lie.
It wasn't a lie.
"I just hate the world. I made this just to give the finger to the bastards who insist this kind of world is right, because they piss me off."
"......Is that, how it is?"
"If they won't listen to words, you have to shove the facts down their throats. So, what do you think? With this, I've smashed every bit of common sense you know. Let's sit back and watch who's right from now on, that kind of thing."
In the end, it was an act committed in a fit of temper, without considering the consequences.
But she did not regret it.
Because from the very start, she had done it to free herself from a past trauma.
The world had made her see such things, so if that world was thrown into chaos by her achievements, wouldn't that also be a satisfying revenge?
"So there's no need to thank me. If anything, I'm saddling you with the responsibility for research that might warp the world. I won't force you......"
Still, if I couldn't take part in this, I didn't have to touch it.
Just as she was wrapping up her speech and considering retrieving the potion, I uncapped the bottle and brought it to my mouth.
Gulp, gulp.
The contents of the bottle slid smoothly down my throat. The fizzy carbonation and sharp sting would normally have been revolting, but I swallowed the drug without any hesitation.
As if our serious talk just now had solidified some resolve within me.
"......Drink slowly. No one's going to snatch it away."
Why the trust in me, felt through that sight, made her heart stir, I couldn't say—but she looked oddly pleased.
With an awkward laugh, Ymir rose from her seat.
"You should start feeling the effects on your body in about ten minutes, so get ready then and come straight out to the backyard. Then we'll test how effective the drug you just took really is......"
"Wait, hold on a moment."
I called out to Ymir, who had been about to leave. She stopped her steps for a moment, turned back to look at me, and asked.
"Do you have something to say?"
"No, well... Is it all right if I ask a slightly strange question?"
"A strange question?"
I caught a flicker of suspicion in her eyes.
Tight with tension, I swallowed dryly and carefully asked her again.
"Ymir. Do you... perhaps like me?"
"......What?"
"I asked if you like me."
A direct question.
If it were a thrown ball, it was a fastball flying straight for its target.
—Smack!
An inexplicable irritation flashed in her expression, and she immediately used telekinesis to strike me hard across the cheek.
"W-why?"
"No, sorry. It just pissed me off a bit."
The same excuse I'd used.
It was preposterous. When even her only friend was now nothing more than a stranger, could she really harbor a positive emotion toward someone now? I doubted it.
"Ah, no, that's not what I meant......"
"Then what did you mean?"
Ymir gathered mana in her fist.
Faced with that twisted expression, I stammered for a moment, then timidly voiced my thoughts.
"I was asking if you like me, not as a man and a woman, but as one person to another."
—Smack!!
"Why this time?!"
"No, that was also a bit annoying."
Whether it was a male-female relationship or a human-human one, the problem was me expecting such a thing from her at all.
Tch. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, and I put on a pitiful expression, scratching the back of my head.
"...Aha, so this kind of thing was rude too, huh?"
"If you're aware it's rude, don't bring it up, man."
Ymir raised her hand with a sharp motion.
But seeing me flinch at that, Ymir let out a short laugh and pulled back her telekinetic power as much as she could.
"Well, still......"
And then she stroked my head. Like an adult soothing a child.
"I don't dislike you. A guy like you."
Foolishly good to a fault.
But because I was that kind of person, perhaps I was the one most qualified to be the first to enjoy the fruits of her achievement.
If no one guided me, like her friend, I would eventually careen toward ruin. But conversely, if there was someone to guide me, I might just be able to do something of my own will.
"......So you don't, dislike me?"
"Yeah, that's about it. So don't go expecting things from now on. We have to be in the same party going forward, besides......"
If it was this man.
Perhaps, through the opportunity she had given me, I might become someone's sun, just like her friend had once been.
"I see. So you didn't dislike me."
I gave a bright smile, as if that alone was enough.
That smile felt clearer in that moment than the sunlight shining through the window.
Wearing that smile, I spoke toward Ymir.
"I'm glad my hard work paid off. Because now I can dominate you."
"Heh heh, don't be too happy. It's your own fault for pushing your way back in even when I pushed you away, so I'm going to work you to the bone from now on......"
Snap. And then.
The moment her half-joking words cut off.
"Just now, what did you say?"
Belatedly registering what I'd said, Ymir turned around. In that instant, snap! My fingers flicked.
And in that moment, the power radiating out from me began to suppress Ymir's mind.