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Episode 134
Magic
“King Rosyth, I’m returning to Lezzah then.”
Alexio bowed to me.
It costs money to maintain an army.
After seeing the aftermath of the war with Aldo’s execution, there was no reason for Lezzad to maintain the army any longer.
I guess they want to break up as soon as possible.
“I see. By the way, Mister Alexio.”
“What is it?”
“Are you planning to serve my country? It would be a shame to let a man of your caliber end up as just a mercenary captain.”
Well, our country is not a small country.
I’m not very good at war.
I’ve gained some experience, so I can fight against ordinary generals.
But if our country is to expand its territory, we will have to fight with opponents like General Curio many times.
We may be forced into a two-front war in the future.
I want someone who can take Bartolo’s place when that happens.
I’ve learned enough about Alexio’s capabilities from this war.
Nothing would be more reassuring than if he were to serve me.
“I owe a debt of gratitude to Lezzad for taking me in. I have abandoned my homeland, but I am not so ungrateful that I would leave the country that accepted me without permission.”
“So, you’re not going to take me up on my offer.”
“Indeed, if I serve you, I may be able to lead a more prosperous life. You are a great King. Led by you, Rosyth Kingdom will grow more and more. Riding a winning horse, that’s the right answer.”
“Hmm?”
“If you think so, why do you refuse?”
Lezzad is a land of merchants.
No one would blame Alexio for leaving Lezzad for profits.
There is a big price to pay for retaining good mercenaries and generals.
Lezzad also knows that very well.
I don’t think he needs to worry about it.
“The most important thing to me is my wife, and the second most important thing is my child. If you become a powerful man, you will have to deal with more enemies. Sometimes you may have to abandon your family for the sake of your country. That’s what being a soldier, a general, a noble is all about. It is the duty of those who bear the responsibility. But, I am not prepared for that. I can’t put my country before my family. So, I cannot accept your invitation. Please forgive my rudeness.”
Really…?
Well, if that’s the case, I guess I don’t have a choice.
All right. I’m sorry to keep you. I don’t want to force you. If you need anything, please let me know. I’ll help you as much as I can. If you change your mind, you’re welcome to come to my Kingdom anytime.
“Thank you for your kindness to me, even after I ignored your kindness.”
Alexio bowed again and walked away.
How do I get that guy out of Lezzad?
“So, I’m home safe and sound. Father-in-law.”
After returning to my home country, I first visited the former King Rosyth.
I hadn’t seen my father-in-law in a while, and he seemed to be in good health.
“The air and water here is clean, and it’s quiet. There are hot springs here. My son in law has taken over the troublesome job of being the King. I am in perfect health.”
My father-in-law laughed at that.
“And I can’t die until I see my great-grandchildren.”
“Haha,…good luck with that.”
I chuckle.
Great-grandchildren means that, at the very least, Anos and Fiona have to come of age.
Fifteen years to go.
“Enough about my life span. I want to hear your story. All about the course and end of the war, from your mouth.”
“I understand.”
I nodded.
“The most surprising thing was that Merlin the witch was from my hometown.”
“Hometown? What do you mean?”
His father-in-law frowned at him.
Huh? Didn’t we talk about this?
I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone about it.
I don’t think talking about it will do me any harm though.
Just because I don’t talk about it doesn’t mean that it is harmful.
If this were a monotheistic country, I would be chased being labeled called, “Evil man! You are a curse!” But in the Adernia Peninsula, this kind of story is so tolerant that people will theorize, “I am the son of God, and my mother had an affair with God.
The quickest way to explain the source of my knowledge is to talk about reincarnation.
That’s what I’ve been thinking.
So I thought we were talking somewhere else.
The one who knows the details is Master Griffon.
Tetra, Ron and the others know a little from Master Griffon.
Or was it?
Have I talked to Julia about it? Since I haven’t talked to my father-in-law, I mightn’t have talked to Julia either.
“I’m sorry. I’ll explain everything from scratch.”
I carefully explained to him about reincarnation.
After all, it was nine or ten years ago.
I don’t remember, but I think I ate a centipede.
“For me, the fact that you ate a centipede is more shocking than your previous life. Is it edible?”
“It was bad.”
It tasted indescribable.
I don’t want to eat it again.
I was out of my mind at the time.
“But, well, that explains your childhood cleverness.
Father-In-Law muttered and then meditated as if he was thinking a little.
He then suddenly opened his eyes.
“So, Merlin is a reincarnator too?
“No, I think it was a metastasis. I think her body is still Japanese.”
In fact, the facial structure was that of a nostalgic Japanese.
Her skin color was also yellowish, different from the white Gauls.
Well, there are mongoloid races here too, so it is possible that she reincarnated as one of them.
“She doesn’t die, you know. Even if you pierce her heart with an arrow or stab her with a sword, her body regenerates immediately. Maybe it’s a blessing. How can I kill her?”
“I think if you burn her to ashes, she will die. There’s no such thing as immortality. It’s probably just a powerful regenerative ability.”
Father-In-Law considered this.
I certainly don’t think immortality is possible either.
There are immortal characters in mangas too, but they always have some kind of weakness.
But it’s real.
Maybe she really is immortal.
“Master Griffon knows more about such things than I do, doesn’t he? Ask him.”
“Yes, he does. He seems to know everything.”
“Let’s stop talking about Merlin for now.”
“There’s still time. Tell me about your hometown.”
“I understand. You can ask me anything.”
After greeting my father-in-law, I headed to the temple first.
This is the temple that I ordered to be built.
In case you’re wondering, I’m supposed to be the son of Mares, the god of war.
I had to go and report my victory to God.
Afterwards, I made my triumphant return to the capital.
The carriage I’m riding in is a four-horse carriage, decorated with gold in many places, a national treasure of the Rosyth Kingdom.
The carriage was pulled by a large, good-looking white horse.
First, the King’s guard, led by Ron and the others, walked in the front.
Then I show up in a carriage, flanked on either side by Bartolo and Raymond.
Behind them are wagons carrying the spoils of war, prisoners of war, ivory, and loot, followed by the great nobles and heavily armed infantry.
I waved my hand and the people cheered.
The soldiers and the people are all proud of themselves.
“Long Live Your Majesty!”
“Long Live Your Majesty!”
“Long Live Your Majesty!”
The people chanted as such.
The Kings of the small and medium-sized countries of the Adernia Peninsula do not use the honorific title of Your Majesty.
After all, he has even less authority than some nobles.
Neither the feudal lords nor the people give much importance to the King’s existence, so they do not give him honorific titles.
But now, I am indeed being called by an honorific title.
“Your Majesty… you’ve been summoned.”
Bartolo says with a grin.
I nodded.
He draws his sword and raises it to the sky.
The sword shone beautifully in the sunlight.
“All Hail His Majesty, The King!!!”
Today, for the first time, I understood that my position as King had been solidified.
“It’s been a while Master Griffon.”
After my triumphant return, I visited the Romalia Forest, the forbidden forest where Master Griffon lives.
All the former members of the village are here today.
All of them were holding jars of alcohol in their hands.
Julia and Tetra were not holding alcohols, but holding their babies, Anos and Fiona, in their arms.
“Ron, Seyon, get ready.”
“Yes!”
Ron and Seyon placed the large, shallow-bottomed bowl they had brought with them in front of the Master Griffon.
We poured our drinks in there.
There will be three kinds of sake this time.
“Wow, all of you came… but only alcohol?”
Master Griffon complains.
Don’t worry.
I also brought some snacks.
“Master Griffon. This is the deer I killed.”
“This is the boar I killed.”
Roseward and Gram placed the chunks of meat they were carrying on their backs into the bowl.
I lightly sprinkled salt and spices on the lump of meat and presented it to Master Griffon.
“We brought fruits as well.”
Lulu heaped up the fruit she was carrying on her back and presented it to Master Griffon.
Alcohol, meat, fruit.
It was a sumptuous meal.
“Hmm, you know your way very well!”
Master Griffon smiled with satisfaction.
He’s probably smiling. His face is an eagle, so I can’t really see the change in expression.
“Those babies over there, are they your son and daughter?”
Master Griffon turned his attention to Fiona and Anos, who were being held by Julia and Tetra.
Julia and Tetra walked up to Master Griffon.
“This is my daughter, Fiona.”
Julia shows Fiona to Master Griffon with a slightly strained face.
Julia is not very close to Master Griffon, so she must be nervous.
Tetra, on the other hand, is smiling.
“This is my son, Anos.”
Master Griffon brought his beak close to the two sleeping babies, who were sleeping peacefully.
He poked them on the cheek with his beak.
“Whether it’s of a man, a boar, or a deer, babies are cute things. Take good care of them.”
I know.
If they live up to three… they’re not going to die.
I can only pray to God about this.
“Now, tell me what’s going on.”
Afterwards, we talked to the Griffon about what we had been up to lately, about war, politics, and of course, our daily lives.
Because of my position as the King, I can’t usually talk to Ron casually.
But just for today, we drank, ate, and talked with Master Griffon.
As we were talking, we decided to go swimming in the lake together.
That’s the lake where I met Julia.
Master Griffon is a cat (lion) and a bird, so he doesn’t like water.
As a result, the day was closed for now.
Ron and his friends carried Master Griffon’s dishes on their backs and headed for the lake.
The only ones left are me, Julia, and Tetra.
“Master Griffon, tell me about Merlin, who we talked about earlier.”
“I don’t mind, but are you sure Ron and the others are okay with this?”
“I’ll explain it to them later.”
Ron, Roseward and Gram don’t like to talk about difficult things.
Blessings, fairies, immortality, agelessness, otherworldliness.
They don’t have much understanding of the story.
They would be bored, and it would take a long time to explain each of them.
We’re better off without them.
It would be more efficient to talk about it all together later.
“Was Master Griffon close to Merlin?”
“Close? Well, I guess you could say close. Not as close as I am with you, though. Five hundred years ago, we used to see each other frequently. Well, from my point of view, she was just a kid beside Etzell…”
“Who is Etzell?”
“Chief of the Khalifa tribe. They called him the Great King.”
“The Khalifa?”
I tilted my head.
I’ve never heard of them before.
“These are the people you call the Flat-Faced. They came from the far east and conquered Gaul, Germanis, Hexpania, and the entire Adernia Peninsula. They are mounted nomads.”
Flat-Faced?
The ancestors of Muzio and the other Alvans who conquered the Adernia Peninsula five hundred years ago, I believe.
“What was he like?”
“He was just like you.”
“”I see.””
Tetra and Julia shouted together.
What do you mean, like me? I have no idea.
“I thought I heard that Merlin was the wife of the chief of the Flat-Faced Clan.”
“She was indeed his wife. But I don’t think she ever had children.”
Hmm
I can’t imagine anything.
“But I heard that it was Merlin who killed the Flat-Faced Chief.”
“I don’t want you to ask me that because I’m the one who was most confused when I heard about it. She was a really good child. Just like you guys.
Well, since Master Griffon says so, there can be no mistake.
Well, you never know what could cause people to fall out of favor.
Maybe he was having an affair.
What? Am I gonna get stabbed someday for having two wives?
“It doesn’t really matter about that hag and her husband, does it? Almus. It’s about Merlin’s immortality now.”
“Yes. We came to ask you how that hag could be killed.”
Don’t call her a hag.
She looked like she was just seventeen.
“Her blessing is just a powerful regenerative ability. Burn it or destroy its soul and it dies.”
“So, you’re saying she is not immortal?”
“Of course. Immortality is the realm of magic. Little boys, fairies have no such power.”
Magic?
Not sorcery but magic?
“What is magic? Master Griffon.”
Julia asked what I was most curious about.
“Magic is not a step beyond sorcery, but the final destination. It is the reproduction of God’s work by human hands. Originally, sorcery was a failed form of magic. Merlin systematized it and made it practical. Today, sorcery is being studied as a useful technology, but originally it is just a byproduct of magic.”
Come to think of it, Julia told me that sorcery was created by Merlin.
She said she was the world’s oldest sorcerer.
Is that what she meant?
“How can you be sure Merlin hasn’t reached magic?”
“Actually, I’m Marilyn, the magical girl!” And for some reason, Merlin in a pink frilly dress passed through my mind.
“Oh, I can tell. Magic is a taboo that rewrites the laws of the world. If anyone tries their hand at it, they’ll feel it firsthand. Of all the people I know, only one has ever succeeded in making magic happen.”
Master Griffon gives a distant look.
“A woman succeeded in stopping time though she herself died at the same time.”
So that’s how difficult it is.
At any rate, Merlin is not immortal. She can be killed.
“Is this enough for you?”
“Well, we’ll be on our way.”
“Wait!”
Julia and Tetra spoke up and held me back.
What the hell?
“Master Griffon! Please tell us more about magic.”
“What do you mean by ‘Laws of the World’?”
Julia and Tetra asked with shining eyes.
“Hmm, are you curious? All good sorcerers ask me these exact questions when I tell them about this. I suppose it’s the instinct of the sorcerer creature. They want to explore the truth of the world.”
I’m not interested in that.
What’s the fun in that?
The person who created the spell. The great genius couldn’t get it to work even after 500 years.
It’s impossible, of course.
Instead of thinking about that, I think it would be more constructive to think about the menu for today’s dinner.
“I don’t know much about it. All I know is that one must know the truth of the world in order to use magic.”
“Truth?”
“What is it?”
Julia and Tetra looked curious.
“I was told that if I could access the Akashic Records, the world’s memory that contains everything about the world, and decipher even a small part of it, I could open the door to magic. That’s all I know. If you wish to study it, you may do so. I don’t care about the laws of the world. It’s enough that I sleep, eat, and occasionally talk to people like you.”
Magic List
Reanimation of the Dead, Duplication of the Soul, Stopping Time, Going Back in Time, Space Transference, Prediction of the Future, Immortality, Creation of Something from Nothing, Transmutation of Matter (Like Turning a Stone into Gold), Perpetual Motion Machines, Rewriting the Laws of Physics, Etc.