32 - a magical lecture by a mad scientist
My name is
I never wanted to come here again, but I had no choice but to complete my mission to leave school early.
We entered the messy room and told Professor Tia that we both wanted to belong to her.
"I see. ....... I see that my enthusiasm has finally been conveyed to you. ......"
"I'm happy for you, Dr. Ruseyanel."
"Yes, yes, Mr. Porcos. This will keep the lab going until they graduate. Don't let them get away!
"Ugh, I'd rather you just disappear..."
"What did you say, Mr. Porcos?
"Hiccup, no, nothing. ......"
Sorry about that, Uncle Sweaty. I know you've got your own problems, but you'll just have to put up with me for a while.
So let's have a welcome party. You've already decided on your classes, haven't you? Then there's nothing more to do during orientation."
If that's the case, I'd like to go home now, please?
A little nudge on my arm.
"Thank you again, Hurt. I didn't expect such a welcome."
No thanks to me at all.
"Well, I'll do my best to prepare a delicious meal for you today. There, there, Mr. Hurt, don't look so disappointed. I'm a good cook in spite of my appearance. Creative cooking!
A creative cook who prides himself on his cooking. I have a bad feeling about this.
Mr. Porcos, would you prepare the tea? Did you leave the tea leaves at ...... in the laboratory?"
I wondered why he was there, but the sweaty old man left the room with a satisfied look on his face.
I was not going to be released for a while, and I did not feel at home in the messy room, but I had no choice. I gave up and moved the books and other things lying on the sofa when I sat down.
"Geez!
Mr. Porkos, the sweaty old man, screamed.
"Did something happen? Let's go."
I wasn't interested at all, but Iris pulled me into the hallway and I ran into the room at the end of the hall.
There was a...
"Isn't this the ...... nobleman?"
A certain Schneidal, who had been involved with me and Iris, was lying on the ground with white eyes. He is bound behind his back. In front of him, Mr. Porcos was hunched over.
What a mystery!
Who killed him?
"Mr. Porcos, what's the matter with your loud voice? Oh, I forgot. Oh, I forgot he was here."
How could the little Dr. Glasses be the culprit? And he confessed to it without a trace of shame.
I guess this lab's going down the drain.
Murder is a serious crime in this world. And you're dealing with the heir to a marquis. I don't care what the circumstances are, he can't escape the maximum punishment.
Wait! Wait! Are you sure you're not mistaken? He's just passed out, that's all."
Oh, yeah.
"Last night, you came to see me out of the blue. <
Nobleman, you picked the wrong person very badly, didn't you?
"Yes, just as well. Since we're here, why don't we use him to give us a lecture on ancient magic?
Professor Tia happily approached Schneidal.
"Iris. Yes, I will call you Iris, following your example, Hurt. Come over here and touch his right shoulder.
Knowing that this was the injured area, Iris approached the area with a reserved hand.
"Hmm? Is this ...... something hard, stuck to it?"
"Do you see it?"
"No. The feeling is clear, but I can't see it. I can feel that something is there, but the boundary is vague.
"Wow, that's still great. I have no idea. It's completely colorless. To the touch, it feels like a cylinder about two centimeters thick. The diameter is larger, so I should say it is a disk. The same thing is on the back.
Professor Thia took a pen from his pocket.
"Now, here comes the interesting part. If you do this, you can see ......."
He brought the pen close to the disk-shaped ward and stabbed it on his shoulder. Schneidal's body jumped.
He passed through the transparent disk. After trying various methods, it seems that non-living things can pass through it.
Well, you know, it gets in the way of bandaging and clothing and so on. I set it up that way.
Hurt, do you know what this is?
I don't know.
I'm gonna have to play it fast and loose here.
"What about you, Iris?"
After thinking for a while with a tense face, Iris blurted out a few words.
"Don't tell me it's creation magic ......? No, you fixed it with special conditioning in a certain area."
"You are indeed the top in the written exam. Yes, the existence of ancient magic is documented in the literature. It is an area where modern magic is impossible.
Well," Professor Tia continued in a casual tone of voice with shocking words.
"In short, it's a ward (・・・・)."
"What?"
The surprise is Iris's. But I was surprised too. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! You've been spotted.
What makes ancient magic so different from modern magic? Mr. Hurt."
"It's a very old magic."
Don't sigh like this. Iris answers, prompted by his eyes.
"It is not bound by any attribute. It's what we call attribute-free magic."
"Good answer."
Well, I knew that. That's why I'm pretending to my dad and the others that I'm studying it. I can't take you seriously because I have to pretend I'm a dropout. Really?
"Warding magic is also non-attribute magic. However, most researchers consider it to be an aberration (・・・・) from modern magic. But the latest research - well, I'm the one who is advocating it - says that it is more natural to consider warding magic as a branch of ancient magic.
"But doesn't that mean that the magic that flourished in the past is now reduced to basic auxiliary magic?"
"A lineage, you say? As it turns out, we modern wizards can only use ancient magic as an aid."
Oh-ho. So I'm using ancient magic, not boundary magic? Though it's not a copy, it's the body.
"Amazingly, a day and a half has passed since this magic was applied."
"Nonsense. Even warding magic requires magic to maintain. It won't last half a day if the wizard isn't around.
"Don't apply the common sense of modern magic to ancient magic. I'll show you later, but there are some references in the literature that lead me to assume that it doesn't require magic to maintain. Well, I guess you could say I'm the one who noticed it.
With a smug look on his face, Professor Tia continued, "Anyway.
"This is the magic used by mythical monsters. Even the great sage Grunfeldt would be pale in comparison. The only people who would be able to use it today would be ...... the Demon King, whose magic level is said to have reached 100. If you know ancient magic, that is.
"......"
"But alas, the Demon Lord is no more. I hate the Princess Flash, but I'm amazed you were able to defeat her. If the Demon King had his way, he could have reduced King's Landing to ashes in an instant.
"There is a limit to the power of ...... one. We are better as a
"I guess that's one way of putting it. From what I've been told, I can only assume that the Demon Lord was either very careless or intended to lose from the start."
"......"
"Oops. Wasn't this the son of a member of the team that defeated the Demon King?"
Hm? Oh, you mean me. But my father was a diversionary unit so he didn't fight the Demon Lord directly. I think.
But from what you just said... It's hard to believe that I'm using ancient magic.
I mean, the magic level has to be really high, right? I'm a level 2 fish. I'm pretty sure that's the case, because that's what I was measured with triple-digit readings.
But the story itself is interesting.
My warding magic seems to be more akin to ancient magic. Then, if we pursue the ancient magic, we can apply it in various ways.
It might not be a bad idea to welcome Professor Tia to the castle when the lab collapses.
I'll record this in my brain and pass it on to my main body.
I'm getting off track here. Anyway, it is very likely that what was cast on the heir of the Hafen family was ancient magic. If that's the case, it's curious, isn't it? Who in the world used this magic?"
Professor Tia thrust a sharp gaze at Iris.
"...... It wasn't me. I can't do this kind of advanced magic."
"Hmm. He doesn't sound like a complete idiot. But you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
"I can't ...... tell you that. I promised him that I would <
It's like saying you know. Look, Professor Tia, you look happy.
"He", right? I see. You seem pretty serious about this, so I guess I shouldn't ask any more questions. Then I guess I'll have to ask someone who seems to know.
With a look of genuine delight on his face, he twirled the pen in his hand,
Zakk.
"Geeeeaaaahhh!"
"Doctor what are you doing?
Mr. Porcos, who had been on tenterhooks the whole time, is in a panic as the pen pierces Schneidal's right shoulder.
I don't mean to sound like I'm the only one, but isn't he a bit of a prick to the heir to the marquisate?
"He didn't say
Huh? But I didn't keep the nobleman in the dark, did I? I don't know.
Anyway.
"You're fainting again, aren't you?"
Poor Schneidal screamed and then collapsed in a heap of bubbles.