The Chronicles of a Lost Man in His Forties Founding a Nation ~Commonsense is Hindering Me From Becoming TUEE~ - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Magic Board

 

A blond beauty is gazing at me with moist eyes and hanging onto my next words. 

This situation, if considered by itself, might or might not be quite erotic. But I currently haven’t the time to entertain such thoughts. 

So what is it that she’s trying to say? 

If my ‘wizardry’ is a set of techniques that could be learned and used by others, then it would void all meaning from the ‘magic’ that she’s worked so hard to acquire…… that is what I think I hear. I see, this really could destroy the Magician Guild. 

More like, if that’s really the case, then I should be the one to dogeza and apologize. 

But well, uumu…… I don’t actually know. Although it’s true that Gio’s wizardry is something that my game master friend and I had thought up, it wasn’t actually real until I came to this world. However, the settings notebook that The Guardian used as reference should indeed have contained instructions for how to become a level 1 wizard (I should know, I was the one who wrote them). 

If someone in this world tries putting those instructions into practice, they might actually succeed. But of course, The Guardian granting wizardry to me alone as an exception, and this world’s residents being incapable of using it, is also a very real possibility. Would the latter be a relieve for her? 

This is all just my suppositions, though. I don’t profess to understand the female mind. 

“...... Is there something you’re uneasy about?”

For now, I try to probe for more information. 

“‘Uneasy’...... I guess it could be called that. I feel like the world that I’ve always believed in is under threat of collapsing from its very foundation up.”

“I see.”

My deduction might have been spot on. 

…… At this point in time, I also don’t know the truth, so let’s just honestly tell her so.

“Indeed there are techniques to wizardry. However, I have never tried to teach anyone, so even if I do teach someone, whether or not they can actually use it…… To be honest, I have no clue. However, I fully understand Clau-...... your unease. The reason is because I, too, am uneasy.”

(T/N: Quick Japanese lesson. When you speak to someone of equal status as yourself, you’re supposed to address them by name, not the ‘you’ pronoun. However, when speaking to someone below you in status, the pronoun is used instead to emphasize that difference in status by keeping that distance. That's why Gio re-worded himself.)

“Is, that so?”

My words cause Claura to blink. Along with relief at the absence of a definitive answer, I also detect interest in the second half of what I said. 

“The possibility of the world that I’d believed in collapsing…… From my point of view, the ‘magic’ that you people use is more than enough to be considered a marvel. After all, I did almost get killed by the magician Jyagul……”

Half of that was my true feelings. The other half was to make sure that there was no drop in trust due to my inability to provide an answer by expressing my empathy——it is one of my dirty secrets to success as a salaryman. 

“...... It’s true that this conversation won’t go far with me asking all the questions.”

Claura shows me a small smile. 

This is perfect timing. Let’s ask her the things about magic that are bothering me. 

(T/N: Lol she limited herself to just one but he’s gonna ask all of his?)

♥♦♣♠

“In the first place, magic is the technique to manipulate the magical power circulating within oneself in order to manipulate the power hidden in the natural world.”

In response to my question, Claura answers in her usual self-important tone. 

“Only 1 in 10 humans are born with magical power inside and the innate ability to feel its circulation. Without this talent, it is impossible to become a magician.”

“I see. Those who possess magical power are also able to see other people’s magical power, I assume?”

“...... That is right. I could tell just by looking at you that you have absolutely zero magical power.”

(T/N: Which means it’s impossible for Gio to use magic.)

Putting that aside, she just said that magic is power hidden within the natural world. My wizardry is the calling of the power of chaos from beyond nature in order to alter reality, so the two are fundamentally different. 

“Does that mean that anyone born with magical power can become a magician?”

“That is not the case. Despite possessing magical power, if the person is incapable of seeing the ‘magic board,’ they cannot be called a proper magician.”

Another word that I've never heard of before. Magic board? 

Though struggling the whole way, Claura gives a faithful explanation of ‘magic board,’ which is apparently a phenomenon that can be perceived only by magicians. The following is a summarized version of what I learned. 

As magician apprentices continue their training to sense and control magical power, ‘something like a window frame with glowing words written in it’ appears in their light of sight. This ‘something like a window frame’ is called the magic board (it apparently has a much longer proper name), and the words that show up are called ‘magic characters.’ The reading, understanding, and rearranging of magic characters is the foundation of using magic. Even among those who possess magical power, being able to see the magic board is a stringent requirement that only 1 in 10 pass. Within Lelis, there are only a total of 12 official magicians. 

“As an example, my magic board is currently showing, aside from aggregate magical power numbers, the characters for fire, wind, whip, and arrow. If I am to combine these magic characters together in my mind…… I could select the fire and whip characters and strongly visualize a whip of flames striking an enemy—the result would be the spell {Fire Whip}. That’s pretty much how it’s done.”

“Hou…… I see……”

Magic is surprisingly quite systematic…… 

“By the way, when you saw my phantom horse, you were quite surprised. Is it because magic is only ever used for attacking?”

“...... More like, I still can’t get over how wizardry can cause such weird effects.”

Claura gracefully shrugs her shoulders. 

“Ahh, speaking of which. This is something I heard from that Jyagul guy, but would you happen to know what ‘Afalsal’ is?”

I keep on using polite speech out of habit. It seems that it will be a while before I get used to the mask of a great wizard. 

(T/N: For the past while Gio has been using polite speech and then correcting himself. Just adding the desuka → kana distinction to the name → pronoun thing from earlier.)

“Ahh, that…… It is an island country of sorcerers that lies far to the west. They are a pure-blooded race that has been inheriting a unique kind of magic, which they call sorcery, from ancient times. Most likely, he saw you doing magic-like things without having any magical power and thought that you were related to that dubious bunch.”

A unique magic…… 

I feel like the more I ask, the more questions I end up with. 

But well, this is what it means to learn about the world, I suppose.