TL/ED – Miso
Library.
I went to find the librarian. In the end, I had hit a wall.
“I can understand it, but I can’t accept it. It feels like I’m forcefully cramming knowledge from another world into my head.”
“In order to understand, you must first acquire mana. However, Jern cannot use mana.”
Dersia answered while reading her book, without even sparing me a glance, as if it were only natural.
I could not understand her words, so I asked again.
“Are you saying I cannot use mana because of my Inner World?”
“Hmm…”
“The only thing that separates a wizard from an ordinary human is the ability to store mana. The act of using that stored mana is what we call magic.”
“Where does mana come from?”
“It is naturally generated everywhere in the world. Of course, there are a few places where mana is scarce. But a place completely without it does not exist. The difference in a wizard’s skill certainly lies in their level of magical studies, but the most fundamental distinction is the Astral Wheel that stores the mana.”
“Astral Wheel…?”
“Yes.”
I met eyes with the librarian.
Dersia looked at me, and I looked back at her.
Her eyes were so beautiful that I must have stared a little too long without realizing it, because her expressionless face wavered slightly.
“Perhaps… do you not know what an Astral Wheel is?”
“Ah.”
Could this be one of those things?
The kind of knowledge a noble is not supposed to be ignorant of?
If I claim to know, I will be lying. If I admit ignorance, I may be suspected.
As I grew tense, imagining the worst outcome, suddenly the flow around Dersia changed.
No, the currents shifted.
In reality, nothing had happened, yet the currents I felt were swirling around her, forming a massive whirlpool. When I stepped back so as not to be swept away, she approached me.
Was she trying to kill me?
“Do not worry. This flow of mana will not harm you.”
“…Right.”
It did not seem like Dersia intended to harm me. For some reason, even though the currents that had been pressing against me turned into such a massive vortex, it had no effect on me.
Dersia came very close, bent at the waist, and grabbed my cheek.
Then she thrust her face forward, as if about to kiss me.
I resisted with all my strength.
“T-this is a violation of Imperial law. I am still a minor…”
“…Do not say such nonsense. Just look into my eyes.”
“Your eyes?”
In Dersia’s eyes, something sparkling was swimming in a circle.
It was such a peculiar sight, impossible to see in an ordinary creature, that I was mesmerized until she gave an explanation.
“You should see small stars. How many are there?”
“…I see nine.”
“The number of stars represents the total amount of mana one can store. Since I have awakened nine stars, I am at the stage of Nine Stars realm.”
“Is that high?”
“Currently, there are fewer than thirty wizards who have reached Nine Stars realm. So yes, I am at a somewhat high stage. Yet even I have not reached the Celestial Realm. Do you know why?”
“I think it is because reaching the Celestial Realm is extremely difficult.”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“Because reaching the Celestial Realm is really, truly, sincerely difficult.”
“…”
My cheek still held in her hand, I glared at Dersia.
Unfazed, she released me, returned to her seat, and continued speaking.
“It is no exaggeration. The Celestial Realm is the world of Ideals. A world where a wizard’s Enlightenment stands above the laws and order of this world… in other words, an entirely new world. A wizard who reaches that place has created their own world, thus is comparable to a god, and in respect we say they have touched the heavens.”
“Yes, I understand very, very, very well that it is sincerely difficult. But what does that have to do with me being unable to use mana?”
“A wizard absorbs pure mana from this world that can become anything, stores it, and uses it. Then where would a wizard who has reached the Celestial Realm store mana?”
“…They would store it in the world they created themselves.”
“Half right. They have no need to store mana. They simply project the mana of their created world into this one. The Astral Wheel becomes meaningless. What difference does it make if one has nine stars, or ten? In the night sky of the world they created, there would be so many stars that even if you counted for a thousand years, you would never finish.”
I roughly understood what Dersia was saying and nodded.
“You said the difference between the Inner World and the Celestial Realm is whether you are the master of the world you created, or its adversary.”
“That is correct. Jern cannot draw mana from this world. Perhaps from your own world, but not here.”
“So, this movement I call currents is my mana and my magic?”
“That is also correct. Which is why no one in this world can teach you about mana. Any knowledge I possess would not apply within your world.”
“Huh…”
I moved the currents and made a book float.
To be honest, I was not even sure if this was truly magic. I thought it might just be some kind of trick or loophole.
“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do with this.”
“The world is not so simple that a newly awakened wizard, only a week past their Awakening Fever, could fully understand it. If it had been designed so simply, it would collapse in less than a second.”
“Hmm… then how do normal wizards gather mana?”
“Even if you learn, it would be of no use. Since the laws of your world are different, it would be impossible to predict what might happen. I cannot recommend it.”
“Still, I want to at least try. I have nothing else I can do right now.”
“…Mana can be gathered simply by breathing. Since it has not been long since your Awakening Fever, under normal circumstances, you would already have accumulated a certain amount of mana.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But in reality, you should not have even a trace of mana. Just as the body structures of a creature that lives underground and one that lives in the sky are entirely different, so too are the wizards of this world and the wizard that is Jern…”
Half ignoring her words, I pulled out a beginner’s magic book and opened it.
She may be an excellent librarian, but once she starts talking about something she knows, she talks far too much. It seemed better to just half-listen and let her go on.
While flipping through the most basic spells, I came across something interesting.
Luminescence. A spell that created a small orb of light to illuminate the surroundings. If I could use this, it would be very useful. At the Orphanage, it was difficult to light fires, making it unsuitable for reading at night.
Following the instructions, I focused my mind until I felt a twinge in my wrist, imagined the sun, and,
Pop-
“Uwah, this is exhausting.”
It suddenly felt as though all the energy had been drained from my body. Still, I succeeded in creating a glowing orb above my hand.
Proudly, I held it up and showed it off.
“Look, I made this. Do you think I have talent?”
“…?”
Dersia stared blankly at the first magic I had ever conjured for quite a while.
“This is impossible.”
“But I did it.”
“I can’t understand at all how you, Jern, who lives in that other world, can use the magic of this world. It is the same as a mole without wings flying through the sky.”
“Well, strange as it is… I still did it.”
“This is not something to be dismissed so easily. Could it be that your mind has not yet fully adapted to that other world…? No, if you fell into your Inner World immediately after your Awakening Fever, then your world should have already been completed…”
After listening to Dersia mutter to herself for about ten minutes, I brought up the main point.
“So, can I learn magic or not?”
“…Come here for a moment.”
When I stood beside her, Dersia looked intently into my eyes again.
“Would you try using magic once more?”
“Yes.”
Once again, I created the orb of light.
With a dazed expression, Dersia muttered,
“It’s really there… I see one star.”
“Really? Why can’t I see it?”
“That is not something visible to one’s own eyes. In any case… it should work. Since you’ve manifested a star, you can now learn magic in the normal way.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard good news since becoming a wizard. So now I can just self-study?”
“It will be difficult. Learning magic through self-study is something you only read about in novels.”
“If I don’t have a teacher, what else can I do then?”
“What? You could just go to the Academy.”
“How do I get there?”
“Jern.”
Dersia looked at me and said,
“You are not a noble, are you?”
“…”
I was found out.
I whistled and looked away, pretending indifference. Dersia sighed and put down her book.
“Let us hear the story then.”
“…I am sorry.”
“You have done nothing against me, so it does not matter. Besides, I was not asking for an apology.”
“The truth is… I was born an orphan at the Orphanage next door-”
I laid out my short life story, and Dersia rolled her eyes with an expression of disbelief.
“You certainly have courage. Do you know the punishment for impersonating a noble?”
“Yes. I heard the tongue is cut out.”
“Were you not afraid?”
“I am this young. Surely they would not really cut it off. If I cried and wet myself, they would let me off.”
“Indeed…”
Dersia nodded slightly, then quickly came to her senses and shot back sharply.
“If you truly intended to deceive nobles, you should have gathered more knowledge. Nobles are required to enter the Academy without exception.”
“And what if one is a commoner?”
“If you’re a Special Student, there’s a possibility.”
“Could I become a Special Student?”
“No. If you had that kind of talent, there is no way I would not know it.”
“…”
“If we are being precise, there is a way, though not impossible. Try this instead.”
Dersia taught me a trick. It seemed more useful than I expected, so I nodded and expressed my thanks.
“Thank you. I keep receiving your help.”
“Think nothing of it.”
“…Please lower your speech. You know now that I am a commoner.”
“I do not speak casually to anyone unless I am close to them.”
Dersia shifted her gaze back to her book. I watched her for a moment, then suddenly asked a question.
“Dersia nim.”
“Yes.”
“You are not really a librarian, are you?”
Dersia froze for about ten seconds before answering.
“…That is correct. How did you know?”
“The Empire is not foolish enough to use one of the thirty Archmages in the world as a librarian.”
“Hm. I have been told my weakness is that when it comes to matters of magic, I lose my composure and say things I should not.”
“You seem to be quite an extraordinary person. Why are you helping me?”
“I have only ever given advice. I have not directly helped you.”
“Well, that is true. But why give me advice at all? I cannot do anything for you.”
“You are, in the end, on borrowed time. To show a little mercy to someone like that is…”
Dersia suddenly paused in the middle of speaking.
As though analyzing her own words.
“…No, that is not it.”
“Yes?”
“Jern. I have a certain interest in you.”
Dersia looked at me with eyes whose focus I could not discern.
“You were born with a peculiar constitution. Truly… peculiar.”
“Ah, so that is what piques your interest.”
“No. That is peculiar as well, but what I am interested in is your disposition.”
“Disposition…?”
“Yes.”
The gaze she gave me, as though staring at an inanimate object, to be honest,
“If you ever meet your end one day, I want you to return to this library. That will be the price for the advice I give you.”
“…Why?”
“When the end inevitably comes, I want to see with my own eyes what you choose in your final desperate struggle. I am curious how efficiently meaningless it will be.”
“…”
…That made me feel a little offended.