Divine Talent
The incident where I defeated Eunhwa, a Star of the Creation Society, was to be announced as Nephthea's achievement. [The Queen’s right hand. She single-handedly drove away the Creation Society, which had plunged the continent into terror.] That single rumor alone was an opportunity to elevate the Allied Kingdom’s prestige.
In truth, I was the one who first persuaded her to accept this arrangement. There was no need to overthink it; it was simply the best way to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control. A civilian defeating a member of the Creation Society? Not only would I be hounded by overwhelming attention, but the entire village would suffer the same fate. And if any followers of the Creation Society came seeking revenge, there would be no defense against them. In every respect, concluding this event as her accomplishment seemed the wisest course.
…Or so I thought.
It seemed Nephthea could not accept the proposal as it was. In the end, we reached a compromise on the condition that she would reveal the full truth to the Queen and no one else. She showed no sign of yielding any further than that.
“This has gotten rather complicated.”
This event had caused far too great a divergence from the future I knew. Hmm… at this point, returning things to their original course seemed nearly impossible. I felt as if I were sprinting blindfolded across a frozen lake. Perhaps the time had come to stop predicting the original story’s flow and start plunging directly into it.
— You must find the method of prediction yourself.
…Wait. Could those words have meant…?
— Creeeak.
The moment the door opened, a scream pierced my ears. It was Nephthea. For the record, I had been sitting on the heart-patterned bed with my shirt off, striking an awkward pose.
“I can’t reach the wound on my back no matter how I stretch. Besides, this is my room. Isn’t it a bit much to scold me for taking off my clothes?”
“P-please don’t forget that I’m also staying in this room…!”
Even while panicking, Nephthea cautiously approached. As usual, I handed her the healing adhesive patch and quietly bared my back. I heard her short sigh, then she sat down beside me with an expression that said she had no choice.
“Haa… Because of you, Noriel, touching a man’s body no longer feels strange to me…”
“…Could you please choose your words more carefully? You’re the one who insisted on nursing me for three whole days.”
“How could I leave you when I was so worried?! And besides! Back at the palace, I spent every day shut away in my laboratory, so I’ve never been this close to a man before…!”
“Hmm. Then perhaps this is a good opportunity to practice interacting with the opposite sex? After all, you’re at the age where you’ll be getting married soon—”
—Smack!!
Nephthea slapped the adhesive patch onto my back with surprising force.
“Ugh?! I’m still a patient here?!”
“Real patients don’t have the energy to crack jokes!!”
Even so, my physical condition had improved considerably since then. It was all thanks to the healing magic she had cast on me day and night. Still, I would need to remain in the village a few more days before making a full recovery.
“Weren’t you supposed to be at the restoration site today? You said there was a mountain of work because you destroyed so much of it.”
“I-it’s almost finished now! I just gave the final report to the knights who were dispatched yesterday.”
Knights? …Asera hadn’t come, had she?
“Oh, that reminds me—the intelligence agents urgently dispatched through Her Majesty’s Eye of the Constellation have arrived. Should I just hand you over to them?”
“……I was completely in the wrong.”
“Hehehe, so this is what it feels like to have someone by the throat. Not bad, is it?”
Nephthea hummed with a triumphant expression. She looked more like a witch than a mage. While I rubbed my stinging back, she finished her final preparations.
“Ah. If the restoration work is nearly complete, that means today is the day you leave.”
“…Yes. My duties on-site are mostly wrapped up…”
At her answer, I turned my gaze. In front of the door sat her bulging travel bag, packed with luggage.
* * *
Snort.
The sound of a horse’s breath scraping against the ground. Behind it stood a large wine-colored carriage. Its obviously luxurious exterior drew glances from every passerby.
Clunk.
Nephthea opened the carriage door, stepped inside, and set her bag down in the corner of the sofa. She seemed accustomed to it; she must ride in carriages like this often.
“Hmm. Couldn’t you have come in something like this last time?”
“When I heard about Wiblame, I rushed out without even having time to arrange for a carriage…”
Given her personality, she probably dashed straight out from the palace without a second thought.
“Still, thanks to that I was able to meet you, Noriel. So in the end, it was a good choice, wasn’t it?”
“…Sigh. You’ve become quite the smooth talker.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
If she added the ability to bewitch people to that appearance of hers, it would be dangerous. Her future suddenly seemed a little frightening.
“That’s right! I have something to give you, Noriel.”
“? For me?”
Nephthea rummaged through her luggage bag and handed me something with a soft thud. It was a small, rugged leather pouch. The moment I opened it and looked inside, I was rendered speechless.
Gray Moss. The very thing that had triggered this entire chain of events.
“This is…”
“I happened to find it while cleaning up the site. Most of it had burned away, so this was all I could salvage… but I remembered how much you cherished it when you were selling it.”
“Thank… you. I had forgotten about it myself.”
As I stared at it, a complicated mix of emotions washed over me. I had come all the way to this village just to sell this. In the process, I ran into Nephthea, caught Eunhwa’s eye with a single word, and somehow survived a brush with death to reach this point.
Gaining such precious connections was undoubtedly a joyous thing. Yet the hellish experiences I had endured were ultimately because of this very item.
Rustle. I ran my fingertips over the dry moss. So the future could be twisted this dramatically by a single small factor.
I tied the pouch shut again and held it out to her.
“…I won’t need it anymore. Please take it back with you, Nephthea.”
“This? Ah… you mentioned before that you planned to use it to treat an illness, right?”
“To be precise, signs of the disease should have already appeared in the northern provinces. Use it there. It may be a little late, but it will still be a great help in containing the outbreak.”
“…? Huh…??”
At the time, Eunhwa had foretold that although the plan had been delayed by variables, the disease would still spread. From her tone, it seemed someone else would be the one to spread it. I had a rough idea who that might be… but rushing out right now to stop it was realistically impossible. After all, the original pandemic had been triggered by the Lunar Festival. With the festival canceled, proper early response should allow us to overcome it without major incident.
…Originally, I had planned to use this to line my own pockets. But seeing how little remained, it seemed this item and I were never meant to be connected.
“Hmm…”
Nephthea tilted her head, glancing back and forth between me and the Gray Moss. Then, as if having made up her mind, she nodded.
“I understand. I don’t fully comprehend everything, but if it’s your words, Noriel, I’m sure it will be helpful.”
“Thank you. My credibility seems to have risen dramatically in just a few days.”
“Hehe, even if it’s a lie, I can simply hand you over to the intelligence department and be done with it.”
There it was again—that terrifying statement. Spending time with this woman might mean living with a constantly clenched heart for the rest of my life.
Nephthea walked past me a few steps, then reached out toward empty air.
“Wisp—”
Plop!
The air rippled like a wave across water’s surface. At the same time, a small sphere of water with fluttering wings formed above it. She whispered something quietly to the round fairy, then entrusted it with the pouch I had given her.
Gulp.
The fairy swallowed the pouch—nearly its own size—in one bite, then shot into the sky and glided smoothly toward the horizon.
“Is that the one that whispered in your ear during the last battle? So it can be used like that too.”
“I need to stay a few more days to investigate Olpia Village and the traces of damage. This way will be much faster and more reliable.”
Magic supremacist, huh. I was envious.
Magic…
Wait. A question suddenly occurred to me.
“This is a personal question, but why do you always chant or recite an activation phrase whenever you use magic? Can’t you just cast it silently?”
Flash!
A brilliant light burst from Nephthea’s eyes. It was the look of a professor who had found an excellent pupil.
“Hehe, asking such a fundamental question. You truly are extraordinary from the roots, Noriel.”
“…Pardon?”
She exhaled through her nose and raised a finger.
“Because magic is directly connected to imagination. As you said, it is possible to cast silently without chanting. However, uttering specific words or incantations allows the desired magical form to manifest far more quickly and precisely.”
“…Could you explain it more simply?”
This time she wiggled her finger playfully.
“Then, imagine a large, gray creature with big ears.”
“Huh? Hmm…”
What was she getting at? I followed her instruction and pictured a vague, lumpy shape in my mind.
“Now, imagine an elephant.”
“……Ah.”
At my reaction, her face brightened as if to say, Exactly.
“That’s it. Rather than struggling through a vague mental image, simply speaking the word or incantation allows the form to be imagined instantly, which simplifies the magic. Do you understand now?”
“Ohh…”
That made sense. They probably didn’t want to shout embarrassing phrases every time they cast spells either. I hadn’t realized it from behind the game screen, but it seemed this was their own evolutionary method.
Nephthea looked at my enlightened expression with satisfaction and walked back toward the carriage.
“Even lectures like this would cost money to attend elsewhere, you know? Hehe.”
“The world really is harsh.”
“That’s not what I meant at all?!”
Was she about to leave now? I followed behind her to see her off and stopped at the entrance.
“?”
For some reason, Nephthea hesitated instead of climbing into the carriage. She fiddled with the door handle, stealing glances at me. Did she have something else to say? The way she kept lightly kicking the dirt with the tip of her shoe suggested as much.
“What’s wrong? Did you forget something?”
“N-no, it’s not that… It’s just… well…”
What is it? Just say it already. I wanted to go back and have a cold beer.
When I stared at her intently, she flinched. Then, as if steeling herself, she cleared her throat a few times and slowly turned her head.
“I-if it’s alright with you, Noriel…!”
“??”
“In the name of the Allied Kingdom’s Royal Archmage… I-I could take you as my disciple…?!?!”
“…Pardon?”
What was this nonsense? An entirely unexpected development had just sprung out at me.
“Is that a good thing?”
“?!?! Yes?!?! Do you have any idea how many people are lined up waiting to learn magic from me?!”
“Well, I wouldn’t know.”
“Requests come from the Kingdom, the Empire, and even the Holy Forest Kingdom?! I-I may not look it, but I’m quite well-known!!”
Nephthea shouted, slightly indignant. More surprising was that even the elves had made requests. If her name reached that far, she really must be impressive.
“…Hmm.”
A brief silence fell. For that short moment, only the sound of wind sweeping across the plains could be heard. Nephthea continued watching me nervously.
…Magic, huh.
It wasn’t that I had never considered it. I too had once desperately tried to use the original story’s techniques and obtain power for myself. But—
“Someone of your caliber would see it at a glance, Nephthea. Do you truly believe I have any talent for magic?”
“……That’s…”
Her eyes wavered, unable to find their footing.
“As I thought, I don’t.”
“I-I could make it work somehow! I could guide you at least to the lower levels! So…!”
“And how long would that take?”
“…At best… s-seven years or so…”
Seven years at best? The efficiency was utterly destroyed. Wouldn’t it be more effective to just keep training my muscles as I had been doing? That was what it meant to lack talent. Even to reach the same stage, those without it had to climb hundreds of times more steps just to glimpse the same ceiling. For those without talent, even the choice to walk that path felt unbearably heavy.
…Wait a moment. Talent?
A face flashed through my memory.
“Then, on the other hand, how can you recognize someone overflowing with talent?”
“Talent…? Hmm… The core of magic lies in the circuits engraved on the body, so we usually judge by the peculiarities of that area…”
Circuits. The human pathway through which contracts with gods could be formed. And the one person I knew who possessed an exceptionally unique constitution.
“For example, something like Circuit Reflux Syndrome?”
“Ah! Yes, exactly! Though rare, that kind of… Wait. Noriel. By any chance, did you know someone who suffered from Circuit Reflux Syndrome…?”
“Yes. An acquaintance of mine had it. She was about eight years old? She came down with that illness—”
“E-e-e-eight years old?!?!”
A scream of pure shock rang across the plains.
“I-is it really that amazing?”
“Are you insane?!?! Even the geniuses at the Royal Academy cough up blood for over three years just to open a single circuit, and you’re telling me an eight-year-old child suffered from reflux syndrome?!?!”
“W-well, that level of—”
“Yes!! That level!! No, that’s not just a case study—that’s something that belongs in the history books! It’s a disease that only manifests after completely skipping over the entire process of opening the circuits in the first place!!”
As expected. Nephthea’s reaction confirmed the suspicion I had held.
In my childhood, when Dohesi had shown those symptoms, I too had found it strange. After all, in the original story, it was an illness that only afflicted hero-class figures. It had been used merely as a device to prove the strength of a handful of geniuses. So for such a disease to manifest in a mere eight-year-old child? It was only natural that it had remained a rather suspicious detail.
“If you’re heading to Olpia Village, could I ask you one favor?”
“Pardon? A favor…?”
If things had come to this, then what I needed to do was clear.
“Please stop by the shop called ‘Dreaming Odd’ that I told you about before. When you go there… you’ll find a woman with short brown hair around my age.”
“…She’s the one who suffered from the reflux syndrome you mentioned…”
“Yes. If what you said is true, she’s far closer to a brilliant talent than someone like me with no aptitude. So if you have the time, I’d appreciate it if you could take a look at that girl named Dohesi.”
When I set out to see the world, she would undoubtedly follow me. But if that happened, could she still expect to grow as a mage? Even I couldn’t bear to let such talent—enough to make Nephthea gasp in shock—go to waste.
“B-but… I wanted to stay with you, Noriel…”
“I ask this of you sincerely.”
I bowed deeply, showing my genuine feelings. After a moment of hesitation, I heard a long sigh.
“Haa… You really are an underhanded person. Just like last time—if you say it like that, who could possibly refuse…?”
“It’s because it’s you, Nephthea, that I can act this cute.”
“What exactly does that mean…!!”
She must have finally sorted out her feelings. Nephthea climbed briskly into the carriage and leaned out the window.
“I understand. Since it’s your request, Noriel, I will personally examine her in the name of the Royal Archmage. Leave it to me.”
“You don’t need to make such a grand resolution… but thank you all the same. I’ll be counting on you.”
Goooo—
The carriage door closed smoothly in response to the flow of mana. Through the glass window, I could see Nephthea’s face. From the shape of her lips, it looked like she was saying:
I’ll see you again. Truly, it was a precious connection.
—Snort!
At the same time, the horses began to move slowly across the plains. I continued watching until the carriage completely disappeared from sight.
If it was her, she would fully support Dohesi’s talent. Hmm. If the timing worked out, I might be able to reunite with Nephthea when I return. It would be nice to share a beer mug again when the chance comes.
“……”
—However.
One question remained.
When I played through the original story, I had never once seen the name of an NPC called Dohesi. Of course, it was a game world. There were bound to be countless residents the player could never interact with individually. But if she possessed talent shocking enough to make Nephthea react that way, the story changed. Shouldn’t she have made her presence known somehow? Why had Dohesi, who had remained a nameless NPC, been given such an enormous gift?