Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Choice and Focus
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"So, are you okay? Your face has looked weird for a while now. It seems like your facial muscles are twitching independently on each side...."
"Yeah. It still stings."
Tolrari vigorously rubbed his face with both hands.
"Still, it's much better than at first. It's probably the aftereffects of chugging four bottles of brain acceleration elixir at once, right?"
"Reckless. If it had been five bottles instead of four, you might've died. Or ended up a vegetable."
"Admitted. Anyway, I liked the Triple Magic. It didn't work on the count, but it still felt good to succeed."
He felt good even in the midst of that?
As expected, a magic nerd thinks completely differently.
Triple Magic, huh.
I'd already heard a rough explanation from him.
Divide the brain artificially into two domains—that much is Double Magic—and then run high-speed calculations in each to generate a new third domain.
Fire off three Tempests simultaneously using that, and that's Triple Magic.
Simple in words, but realistically, it's a concept that's hard to even imagine.
Only a genius among geniuses like Tolrari could come up with it. Of course, he achieved it by downing four bottles of brain acceleration elixir in one go.
"This time, the matchup was bad. If it had been fire instead of wind, wouldn't that one shot have ended it?"
"You think? Anyway, the result sucked, so I'm depressed. Feels like I wrecked my health for nothing."
For nothing?
No. Absolutely not.
Just proving that Triple Magic beyond Double Magic is possible was a huge help to me.
Why?
You think I'm going to chug brain acceleration elixirs and use Triple Magic too?
Of course not.
The key point is that, without extra effort, a third domain already exists in my head.
The lich's mana crystal.
Up until now, I'd been using it like a mana storage tank....
But what if I apply Tolrari's method here?
Bingo!
I haven't actually tried it, of course, but I'm already convinced it should work pretty well.
But what to do about this?
I don't have just one mana crystal inside me—I've got three.
If I activate them all at once....
Not Triple Magic, but Quadruple Magic.
Or even Quintuple Magic?
"What's wrong, Your Highness? You suddenly went quiet. Worried about my health?"
She looked a bit sorry but also pleased. I nodded without denying it.
"Magic's great, but take care of your health. No more reckless stunts."
"Hehe. I'm fine. Even though I said that, the aftereffects aren't bad. In fact, I gained a new trick?"
"A trick?"
"Look at this. My face moves completely independently now?"
Then she started twitching her eyebrows alternately with a time lag.
Hmm....
What to call it—it's some bizarre personal skill that makes me uncomfortable just watching.
Can a human face really move its left and right sides so separately? Isn't that the aftereffect right there, not the absence of one?
......Anyway.
The reason I was lost in thought for a moment wasn't concern for Tolrari's aftereffects—sorry.
What insane firepower would five Tempests fired simultaneously produce?
Thanks to that, a tech tree that I could never start no matter how urgent flashed through my mind.
The 'Fire Spirit King' route.
Yeah? If I play this right, I could do it right now?
* * *
Before that, my first planned routes were the 'Wood Spirit' route and the 'Arch Wizard Trombone' route.
The Wood Spirit route first: go straight to the elves, take their 'test,' and gain their recognition.
Compared to improving relations with the dwarves via gifts and alcohol, then using them as a connection to the elves, this is extremely radical and risky.
But since I've decided to speed up the clock hands, I have no choice but to take that level of risk.
If successful, I can immediately add the 'Wood Spirit Dryad' to my spirit magic.
Plus, expand my domain beyond the Eternal Forest and aim for the core of a new ancient beast, the 'Ancient Bear'....
For now, scrapped.
More precisely, not scrapped—postponed in order.
I don't know what otherworld monster might pour out right now. Power reinforcement is urgent, but the problem is that Wood Spirits lag behind Rock Spirits in raw firepower.
Wood Spirits have their own value, sure, but if I can get a powerful spirit right away, that takes priority, right?
Next, the planned 'Arch Wizard Trombone' route.
Among the four Arch Wizards in the empire, Trombone is the only one who has never betrayed humanity.
Thanks to that, he was a reliable ally who always shone in the final wars against the otherworld.
But at the start of the regression, Trombone's whereabouts were unknown, making it impossible to build a relationship.
It takes at least five years to meet him for the first time, and about eight years to fight together properly.
But with the situation so urgent this time, I planned a new route using a shortcut to recruit him quickly....
But this one's passed too.
Even knowing the shortcut, finding the currently missing Trombone requires wandering the continent for at least a fortnight.
Of course, I miss that old man's fire skills right now. Fire attributes are one of the few things that work decently against otherworld monsters.
But if it's the same fire attribute, obviously securing the Fire Spirit King first is better. Doesn't mean I'm giving up on Trombone.
Right. This isn't an opportunity cost issue.
It's just prioritizing things I can eventually get with time.
"Yeah. My getting stronger comes first."
"......Your Highness?"
"I'm leaving for three days starting today. Four at most. Everyone stay at the mansion and prepare for any contingencies. With Tolrari and Dabi together, you can handle most enemies, right?"
I smiled at both of them. An Arch Wizard and a Knight Master—what a combo that swells the chest just hearing it.
"Yeah. Leave it to me, Your Highness. I'm confident this time."
"Are you heading north by any chance? But according to plan, we need to make contact with the dwarves...."
"Not north."
I shook my head at Dabi.
"The异族 alliance can wait. I need to get a spirit first."
"A spirit? Do you mean the Wood Spirit you mentioned before? But that requires elven permission, so it should take a long time...."
"Not that one—another spirit. You know Lukkar? He tipped me off. In this situation, there's another spirit I can contract faster than the Wood Spirit. He said he'd make the connection."
"Lukkar—the Rock Spirit Your Highness summons. Indeed.... Connections between spirits."
Dabi nodded in understanding. Of course, it's a lie I just made up.
"Seems like it. Take care of the mansion while I'm gone. The troupe training too."
"If it's training, we'll ramp it up to something more practical. But I'm worried about the White Knight Order's summons."
"Ignore them until I return. If it's urgent, let them come handle it themselves. Then, since time is of the essence...."
No need to delay now that the goal's set. I stood up and assigned missions one by one.
"One thing before I go. First, Tolrari?"
"Yeah, Your Highness."
"You know Rune?"
"Yeah. The little girl living on the third floor of the mansion."
"She's a mage too. Just passed her Awakening Ritual. While I'm gone, if nothing happens, guide her a bit."
"Teach magic? I'm not great at that."
"Do your best. She's an aspiring future Arch Wizard. We need to raise her strong. Give her proper training."
"Got it. I like little kids. I'll work her hard with pleasure."
"......Not too hard. Next, Kyle?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Kyle replied with a tense face. This guy expects some intense training.... Sorry. Not this time.
"You know the alcohol we were going to take north but brought back?"
"Alcohol? The high-grade stuff we bought in bulk before?"
"Entrust it to the merchant guild and send it up as planned. Somehow make contact with the dwarves, say it's a gift. No special requests. Just say it's a gift from Prince Claude."
"......Understood."
Kyle nodded with a slightly disappointed face. But what can be done? You're the only one I can ask here.
"And hurry with buying materials for the growth elixirs I mentioned before. The head maid says we're already short."
"Already? The first batch I handed over was a huge amount...."
"You know our maids' skills? Also handle distributing the finished elixirs yourself. Focus on the most underdeveloped, low-fertility areas in the Verit territory."
"The selection's already done. Looks like I'll be traveling the territory a lot for a while."
"Count on you. And Didi?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Keep up the night walks like now. And tell Reggal: if something happens, don't chase after me like this time. I'm crossing the sea this time."
"The sea, you say?"
Didi showed a surprised expression for the first time today. I nodded with a smile.
"Yeah. The sea. Not heading to another continent or anything."
"......Understood. If Reggal judges that an enemy we can't handle without Your Highness appears, what then?"
"It won't happen in the next few days, but.... Then run."
"......"
"Reggal's got good instincts, so leave the decision to him. If he senses something more terrifying than that Infection Lord, tell everyone not to fight—run. Abandon the mansion if needed and go as far as possible. Got it?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Good. Next, Linen."
"Yes, yep. Your Highness."
Linen, with his full chin beard, straightened up tensely. I still can't believe this guy's younger than me.
"The Holy Lance. It's plenty good now, but research if you can boost its power more."
"Pardon? What do you mean...."
"Right now, it just paralyzes hit enemies, right? Try throwing multiple at once or in succession to stack the paralysis. See what happens. And Trimum?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Until now, I've had Varis handle Linen Corps support exclusively, but now we'll mobilize several to test amplifying Holy Lance's power. Multi-stacking Shield of Light might yield different results."
"Uh...... yeah."
That was exactly what I was going to say. We haven't known each other that long, but we click perfectly.
"Good. Last, Meredes...."
"Your Highness. Sorry to interrupt."
Then Meredes, who hadn't said a word from start to finish, stepped forward.
"My deepest apologies for the rudeness. But before you leave, I must say something."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Have you heard of spirit possession?"
She stared at me with a face more expressionless than usual—no, extremely serious.
Spirit possession?
"First time hearing it? What's that?"
* * *
"Good. Heh heh. Perfect."
A middle-aged man with a red nose tip laughed as he emptied his glass.
At a glance, he looked like a common country farmer, but he was one of the empire's four great Arch Wizards: Trombone.
But his true self-identity wasn't as a mage, but as a brewer.
"This will change the world's liquor scene. Heh heh. Ahahaha!"
The golden liquid filling the bottle filled his heart with abundance.
Its identity: a strong distilled millet liquor.
But it solved the flaws of existing distilled liquors.
No aroma, no scent, and the peculiar harsh bitterness from high proof.
But age it for years in empty wine barrels?
"Kuh, longer aging will make it even better. If it's this good after just six years...."
Though the process is long and costly, if the result is this good, it's worth the effort.
For a drinker.
For someone who truly loves alcohol like him, they'd save several times the usual money for this.
"Hey, brewer! Heard you distilled in the morning—how'd it go?"
Then the door opened, and an elderly man entered. Trombone raised his hand toward the elder and shouted.
"Success! The taste is killer!"
"Really? Worth aging it six years in the basement. Oh, give me a glass too?"
The elder smiled broadly and took the glass Trombone held up.
This was a small rural village in a corner of the Albius Kingdom.
Albius lay beyond the Jairut Mountains forming the empire's western border.
Not much exchange, but one of the few nations with some contact. Here, Trombone hid his identity and operated as 'brewer Locke.'
The elder was the village chief, a benefactor who managed the barrels whenever Trombone was away.
"Oh, this is...."
The elder who drank widened his eyes in admiration. Trombone nodded happily and asked.
"How is it? Amazing, right?"
"Amazing. Who knew that bland, harsh liquor could turn so fragrant."
"All thanks to the chief managing the barrels. My thanks will be generous."
"Thanks? One sip washes away all worries. Forget thanks—just give me a few bottles. I'll savor them till I die."
"A few bottles? I'll give you a whole barrel.... Huh?"
But at that moment.
"Guh...."
The elder suddenly rolled his eyes white and collapsed.