[An invention of pure mana appears in Yuren. Zektine praises it as worthy of being called art]
[The addicts of the Floating Island still lingering around the exhibition hall… What drew them in?]
[Unknown mage Vervaldi, a talent surpassing Decailane? Will the hierarchy of the magic world be shaken once again?]
Just as Deculein had predicted, every headline in the continental press and magical newspapers was now pouring attention onto the “Magic Crystal Core.”
It was noon, warm sunlight streaming through the window.
Epherene, likewise besieged by a flood of drowsiness, fought a desperate battle against sleep and barely managed to come to her senses.
“……”
Swallowing a yawn, she glanced back at her supervising professor.
Deculein.
His gaze was fixed on some enormous scroll.
Since yesterday, every time he came to the office, it had been that scroll. He spent the entire day staring at that huge bundle covered in bizarre, alien-looking writing.
What on earth was that thing for?
“……I’m going to the library to study.”
1/19
As expected, there was no answer to that either.
Epherene shrugged and left the office, heading down to the library.
“There are a lot of them.”
Perhaps because the semester was in full swing, there were many mages. There were baby-faced freshmen, and there were also half-dead wrecks.
Epherene found a seat among them. She placed a thick book on the desk.
“Scientific Operations I”
It was a basic textbook for students of the Imperial University’s Department of Science. In truth, she had already learned about half of it, but she could not see any ideas worth referencing.
That was because all of it described only science that “claimed to be an aid to magic.”
“……Phew.”
After studying about six pages, she shook her head.
This was not enough.
She needed a work that contained the laws of this world in their purest form.
Not as an aid to magic, but as science that stood upright on its own, analyzing nature itself—in other words, “natural science.”
“Is there nothing like that somewhere?”
Epherene rose sluggishly and walked to the information desk.
“Librarian.”
“Yes?”
“By any chance, are there any new science books or journals coming out these days?”
“Ah~ yes?”
The librarian pondered for a moment while looking at Epherene.
Well, it was probably rare for a mage to ask for science books.
“Hmm… one moment… There is one new release.”
“A new release?”
“Yes. A-37, number 1,503. Go have a read.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Epherene bowed her head and walked toward A-37.
A-1, A-2, A-3… Passing the shelves one by one, she arrived at A-37.
As befitted a shelf for science books, it was made of shabby wood, but Epherene traced along the spines with her finger as she searched.
And then.
“Hm?”
She tilted her head.
“Number 1,502.”
The book numbered 1,502 was there. It was definitely there.
However, the next one was not 1,503, but somehow 1,504.
Only 1,503 had been skipped clean over.
“Where’s 1,503?”
To the mutter she had unconsciously let slip, an answer came back.
“It’s here. Number 1,503.”
“……?”
A voice that sounded somewhat young, yet for some reason gravely serious.
Epherene turned that way and flinched in surprise.
There was a certain child standing as though buried in the shadowed corner of the bookshelf, reading book number 1,503.
“Wait, you’re… Lia?”
Lia of the Red Garnet Adventurers. The girl whose name and photo occasionally appeared in Adventurer’s Journal.
Epherene smiled first in delight.
“It’s been a while! What brings you here? And why do you have that?”
The label numbered 1,503 was in Lia’s hand.
Did this girl like science too?
Epherene smiled for no reason and peered at the cover.
“Let’s see, the title of that book is…”
“Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, Volume One.”
In a voice unlike herself, terribly stiff.
Lia answered.
“Abbreviated, it’s called ‘Principia.’”
* * *
…Lia had been staying in the capital lately.
In truth, not the capital, but the Imperial Palace.
It was because, after displaying her own measure of achievement in the cursed old mansion, she had gained the attention of Emperor Sophien.
As a witness to prove the crimes of the Altar, including Sirio and Jailen, who were locked in the underground prison, she had also secured a fairly nice guest room in the Imperial Palace.
Thus, she had been resolving various minor and major Imperial Palace quests within the palace and building up her growth value, but of all days, today.
Today, she was especially bored, so she had come outside.
Her destination was the library of the Imperial University.
She had entered with her adventurer’s identification merely to read some novels, and discovering “that book”—having “that new release” catch her eye—was purely coincidence.
Or perhaps it had been fate.
[Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, Volume One]
Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.
The moment she saw the cover of that book tucked among the shabby wooden shelves, the moment she opened it and took in the complex, subtle formulas revealed within—
Lia’s heart pounded.
“……This is modern knowledge.”
Even someone who had never studied could tell.
No, in fact, she was not someone who had never studied.
She had graduated from a four-year university that was considered fairly prestigious, and she had not neglected self-improvement either. Naturally, she had not given up on math or science.
That was why she knew.
More precisely, she realized the “possibility.”
“Is there… another one? Other than me?”
The possibility that, in this world, there existed another “modern human” besides herself.
“Hm?”
It was then.
Epherene’s voice flowed into Lia’s ears as she stood in shock.
“Where’s 1,503?”
Epherene was looking around the shelves, searching for number 1,503.
Lia swallowed and said,
“……It’s here. Number 1,503.”
“Hm? Wait, you’re… Lia?”
At that, Epherene’s eyes widened, and she smiled first.
“It’s been a while! What brings you here? And why do you have that?”
Lia carefully examined the expression of the girl who clapped her hands in delight.
Epherene tilted her head and peered at the cover of Lia’s book.
“Let’s see, the title of that book is…”
“Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, Volume One. Abbreviated, it’s called ‘Principia.’”
“……Principia?”
Epherene tilted her head.
At that moment, Lia let out a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t this person.
Well, of course it wouldn’t be Epherene.
Lia quickly relaxed her expression.
“Yes.”
“Hmm… I’m not sure what it is, but I need that. Are you going to read it now?”
“Yes.”
“Then let me just read it for a moment… Hm? You’re reading it?”
“Yes.”
Modern knowledge discovered in this game world.
And Epherene, who was searching for that knowledge.
Lia would not waste this moment, so coincidental and yet so fateful.
“Really? Then I’ll…”
As Epherene hesitated, seemingly a little flustered, Lia said,
“There’s only one copy of this in the library.”
“……Oh, really? Then I’ll wait until you finish.”
“Or, um. Would you like to read it with me at the Imperial Palace?”
“……The Imperial Palace?”
At the word Imperial Palace, Epherene placed a hand on the back of her neck, seemingly taken aback.
“Yes. I’ve been staying at the Imperial Palace lately. I’m being favored. Because I’ve been handling all sorts of chores and stuff.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Would you like to come to the Imperial Palace with me today? Let’s read this together there.”
She scratched the crown of her head for a moment as though pondering, but soon smiled.
“I’m fine with that~ Anyone with an interest in science is welcome anytime. After all, all of it will become material for my thesis.”
* * *
Today was Wednesday.
The day Sophien’s lesson took place.
However, rather than going to the emperor first, I was now in Rohakan’s vineyard.
The moment I confirmed Epherene was heading down to the library, I had come here immediately through the “mirror.”
“My disciple. It’s been a while~”
“……”
And Rohakan, whom I met today, was even younger.
A young man in his early to mid-twenties, younger than I was now.
Gradually growing younger, with death not far off, he smiled at me.
“What brings you today?”
“……I met the Final Believer.”
The Final Believer.
That was the official title of the final boss.
The last remaining relic of the divine era in this world.
Rohakan, who understood what that meant, nodded and stroked his chin.
“I see.”
“Therefore, my coming here is also related to that.”
I held out the divine-language scroll to him.
Rohakan’s eyes widened.
“……Goodness. What in the world is all this?”
A long, enormous scroll that looked like a rolled-up carpet.
The moment he saw it, Rohakan let out a hollow laugh, and I said,
“It is the divine language used by believers in the past. The linguistic system the Altar so desperately coveted. I would like your advice on this—”
“I don’t know languages either.”
“……”
“Give it here. I’ll at least unfold it once.”
Rohakan spread open the scroll.
As his eyes swept over the characters written on it, his brow furrowed.
“I don’t understand a single thing. Here. Take it back.”
He returned the scroll without reading it for long, and I held it to my chest, my lips twitching.
Rohakan scratched his hair.
“Hoho. Sorry. There are things even I don’t know. I don’t know everything. If I knew everything, I would be a god. Isn’t that right?”
“I will return.”
I turned my back. Rohakan hurriedly grabbed me and said,
“Now, now. Disciple. You come after so long, and you’re this cold—”
“The continent has no time. Let go.”
“……Tsk, impatient fellow. Then go find Sophie.”
“……”
I turned back to Rohakan.
He smiled while holding onto my sleeve.
“The answer should be close at hand. Is Sophie not a child who possesses every talent on this continent?”
The interpretation of the divine language.
Could something that would never be possible for me alone become possible with Sophien?
I had never thought of that.
Of course, Sophien held the potential to master every field on this continent, everything a human being could do, but…
“……He is Sophien’s greatest enemy.”
“I know. Rather, that is exactly why you must join forces with Sophie.”
Rohakan spoke simply.
A certain four-character idiom surfaced in my mind.
“Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.”
“Yes. That’s the one. If you wish to destroy an enemy, you must know the enemy.”
“You may become assimilated with the enemy in the process.”
“……Trust Sophie.”
He released my sleeve. Looking into my eyes, he continued.
“Of course, it will take a long time. As you said, Sophie may end up resembling him. However, if the two of you join forces, if you study together, what would there be that you could not accomplish?”
As Rohakan said that, his face was full of smiles.
Rather than gentle or benevolent, he looked like a mischievous prankster.
“The power of love is great, Deculein.”
Love.
I did not properly understand the meaning of that vague emotion.
Deculein’s heart was with Yulie, and because of that, it hurt more with each passing day. Every night, her face came to mind, and my heart resonated with her pain.
On the other hand, Kim Woojin’s heart was with Yu Ara.
While missing the girl who had spent many long years with him as friend, family, and lover, he had also, in one sense, given up.
This was the difference between Deculein’s and Kim Woojin’s mindsets.
Kim Woojin could, however painfully, forget and give up, but Deculein did not.
He would break, but he would not bend.
“I merely pledge loyalty to Her Majesty.”
…However, within the emotions where those two selves were mixed together—
Love for Sophien did not yet exist.
“Not you. I mean Sophien. Sophien loves you.”
“……I know.”
“More than you know. Perhaps she may come to love you even more than you love yourself.”
I did not answer.
I only nodded, turned around, and trudged out of the vineyard.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the very moment Rohakan was freely discussing “Sophien’s love” with Deculein—
“How curious.”
Emperor Sophien herself was absorbed in the image emitted by a crystal orb. So much so that she uttered the words “how curious” for the first time in a long while.
“The ‘Star of Mana,’ is it?”
The finest exhibit of the Yuren Magic Exposition, given the moniker “Star of Mana.”
A single masterpiece that had transformed the Yuren Exposition, which might otherwise have passed by dully, into the hottest and most intensely overheated exposition of all time.
“This invention is said to be causing an enormous stir among the public lately, Your Majesty.”
Ahan lowered his head as he answered.
“Along with its appearance, as though pure mana had been condensed, and its truly miraculous function of learning on its own, even the Imperial Mage Tower’s faculty is currently all but empty.”
Indeed, it was true: nearly all of the faculty of the Imperial Magic Tower had left for Yuren.
Moreover, because of the rush pouring down from the Floating Island like a tidal wave, a single night’s lodging in Yuren now cost at least a thousand elne.
“……It still hasn’t been revealed who made it?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. They say he merely unveiled it, then immediately fled.”
“Mm. Thanks to that, Creto’s invention has been buried.”
It was unfortunate for Creto.
He had submitted an item to this exposition, but of all things, it had been thoroughly overshadowed by this “Star of Mana.”
By now, perhaps he was holed up somewhere crying.
“……Still, if not for Us, who would pay that fellow any mind? Purchase his invention for a high price under an anonymous name. And put out a search for this mage called Verbaldi as well. If we can recruit him, he will be a useful talent.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“By the way, is that Deculein fellow not interested in such things? His father’s name is being bandied about in an unfavorable way.”
Sophien smiled faintly.
This unknown mage named Verbaldi was already being treated as a talent who had surpassed even Dikailen. The Floating Island and the Magic Tower were searching for him with their eyes ablaze.
“That is—”
Knock, knock—
—Your Majesty. The instructional mage Deculein has arrived.
So the tiger truly did appear when spoken of.
Before the meeting, Sophien hardened her expression. Ahem—she cleared her throat.
“Enter, Professor.”
Today, as emperor, she intended to sternly reprimand Deculein.
The question Deculein had suddenly thrown at her back in Yuren—whether she loved him—that insolence would not be passed over lightly.
Creeeak──
The great door slowly opened.
Yet beyond it, Deculein was holding some sort of carpet in his arms.
“I greet Your Majesty.”
Sophien, who had been about to speak sharply, furrowed her brow the moment she saw that ridiculous sight.
“……What is that?”
“This is a language.”
“A language?”
“Yes. I thought it would be good if I could learn it together with Your Majesty, so I brought it.”
He walked forward with upright steps and set the scroll down.
Hmph—Sophien snorted and asked in return.
“There is no language in this world that We do not know. Nor do We need to learn one.”
“Yes. However, for that very reason, Your Majesty’s counsel and talent are essential.”
“……Essential?”
Deculein was unexpectedly humble.
No, she had never seen him this humble in her life.
Even back when he had nothing to his name, he had maintained that arrogant posture.
“Yes. I hope to master this language together with Your Majesty.”
Together with Your Majesty.
That single sentence piqued Sophien’s interest.
“You mean this is not a lesson?”
“Yes. It is to learn together, and to acquire it together.”
Deculein’s attitude as he said so was quite serious.
Sophien, taking on that atmosphere as well, asked solemnly in return.
“What language is it? Is it so important?”
Deculein’s ensuing answer was more than enough to stir Sophien.
“It is the divine language of the Divine Age, which the Altar has been searching for so desperately.”