Chapter 5 - A Mysterious Beauty Full of Suspicion, Sorcery and Magic
“Ahh… my head is dizzy…..”
I woke up, shortly after I had passed out.
But my head is still heavy and my vision is still somewhat blurry.
“How long was it since then….?Is Hecate here…?”
I was about to call Hecate, who might be nearby when I realized what had happened to me.
“Where am I?”
I was not in the courtyard where I was supposed to be, nor in my room, but in a mystery…..pitch black place.
“Is this a dream…?”
It was pitch black as far as the eye could see, and I wasn’t sure if I was standing or floating.
“Ouch…I can feel pain here…Does that mean it’s not a dream…?”
I pinched my face to check it out, and sure enough, I felt pain.
What does that mean?
I’m sure that I used magic, ran out of magic power, and passed out just like that. ……
“I don’t know.”
I looked around once more.
It’s still pitch black all over, and I don’t know exactly what’s there.
However, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
“The Goddess Room…?”
It is a place that appears in “The Apostles of Arinasia.”
However, it is a place that the protagonist and his comrades visit when they receive an oracle from the goddess in a dream, and in short, it is a place that can only be visited during an event….
“But it’s clearly not the same place.”
The Goddess Room in the game, in contrast to this place, was all pure white, and I could sense here was a solemn atmosphere.
I rather wonder why I thought this space was similar to the Goddess Room.
“…There’s nothing to do.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in this mysterious place, and nothing’s happening.
It was a meaningful space, and since I was a reincarnated person, I was nervous in my heart that something would happen, but it seems that events like the main character won’t happen.
“O father of magic, With your mighty power, grant me the power to cut through my foes–Wind Edge.”
I tried reciting the magic that Hecate taught me earlier.
Then, a wind blade appeared from the tip of my outstretched right hand and disappeared into the pitch black.
Hmmm, it seems that magic can be used even in this place.
However, this time I did not faint from running out of magic power.
It is hard to believe that the amount of magic power has increased in the current time.
But this is not a dream.
Hmmm, I don’t know. Seriously, what is this place?
“O father of magic, With your mighty power, grant me the power to cut through my foes–Wind Edge.”
Since I had too much free time, I decided to practice magic repetitions for the time being.
After all, it’s repetition that is important. It’s one of the few lessons I learned as a kid.
“O father of magic..With-”
“Oh, you’re up to something interesting.”
“Wow!?”
I was about to cast my magic spell for the hundredth time when I was suddenly approached by a voice.
The voice was low, but it was probably a female voice.
I turned my head vigorously in the direction of the voice.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
There was a lady there.
A demon lady who, like me, had a horn like a demon sprouting from her temple.
She had black hair and crimson eyes. The facial features were so well-defined and beautiful that I might have stared at her for a while if I hadn’t spotted her in a place like this.
“Tell me your name.”
The mysterious lady was sitting on a luxurious throne-like chair that had appeared before I knew it and said in a pompous tone,
“F-Friedrich Riggle Asmodai….'”
I was so overwhelmed by the sense of intimidation that I answered truthfully.
Who is this woman? I’ve never seen her before in “The Apostles of Arinasia….!
“I see.”
“…..?”
But after hearing my name, the woman did not ask me anything more and fell silent.
Unable to bear the silence, my mouth opened on its own.
“Ah, um. You are…?”
“Huh? Ah, I see. It was polite to say each other’s names. I hadn’t talked to anyone in a while, so I forgot.”
“Long time…?”
“My name is Keeka.”
“Miss Keeka.”
“Hmm…”
After saying this, the mysterious woman – Keeka – fell silent again.
What? Self-introduction over?
“Um, what exactly are you…”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I don’t have any memories other than my name right now.”
“Memories ?”
“I know that somebody has sealed me up, but I don’t remember anything more than that.”
Memory loss.
“What the heck is this place?”
“Well, I’ve been here for a long time, but even I don’t know what this place is.”
“It’s been a long time… You said something like that earlier, but how long have you been there?”
“I stopped counting after a thousand years”.
“what!?”
So, this woman named Keeka has been trapped in this empty space with her memories sealed for over a thousand years! ?
Somehow, it’s kind of pitiful…
“How did that happen?”
“Now then. Since my memories are sealed, I don’t even know. More importantly…”
Keeka took off her back, which had been attached deeply to the throne, and bent it sharply.
The look in her eyes seemed to be full of interest and admiration for me.
“You were doing something interesting just now.”
“Interesting….?”
“Ah. Just when I thought I was chanting something, a blade of wind appeared. It looked like magic, but what was that?”
“Eh? Of course, That is sorcery.”
“Sorcery? What is that? Is it different from magic?”
“Eh, uh…? Is there a difference between sorcery and magic?”
“At least what you just did is close to Sorcery, but it’s not that.”
…If you think about it carefully, although the word “sorcery” appears in “Arinacia’s Apostle”, the word “magic” does not appear.
Everyone called it magic, and the official website and strategy guide also described it as magic.
The difference between sorcery and magic.
What…is this?
“Magic…can be invoked by chanting.”
I tried to tell her a simplified form of what I had just learned from Hecate.
Then Keeka put her chin on her hand with a sour look on her face.
“Chanting…? Chant it again and show me.”
“Sigh….O father of magic. With your mighty power, grant me the power to cut through anyone–Wind Edge.”
The wind blade appeared and flew away, just as it did before.
“Wow… That’s interesting.”
Keeka’s eyes narrowed.
But my question was still unanswered.
“By the way, Miss Keeka, can you use magic?”
“Ah. Something like this.”
Keeka waved her right hand in the air as if it were a natural movement.
Then, a blade of wind appeared…
“Huh?”
I opened my mouth with a gasp.
Cause, you know, right?
The present keeka didn’t even chant at all, just waved her arm in a light movement.
“The reason is that the same thing can be done with “Wind Blade “. ……
“Magic is the ability to freely manifest one’s magical power in this world.”
“Freedom, freely…?”
“Magic power can become anything. Fire, water, wind, and lightning. Besides that, it can also be earth, plants, and even living things.”
“W-wait!?”
Earth!? Plant!?
In other fantasy stories, there would be “Earth Magic” that send clumps of earth flying, or “Grass magic” that make plants grow.
However, none of these are present in “The Apostles of Arinasia”!
What is this? What the heck is going on??
Isn’t this the world of “Arinasia’s Apostle”!?
“Can I ask you something next?”
To be honest, I don’t have time to answer Keeka’s question right now, but her eyes were sparkling like a curious little girl’s, so I silently encouraged her to continue.
“In the chanting you mention, the words “Father of Magic” who is this?”
“Eh…?”
If you ask me, then surely.
I am sure that the Father of Magic means the creator of magic, right?
However, I don’t know of such a existence. At least it wasn’t in “Arinacia’s Apostle”.
“Hmm, you don’t know? The magic…. you speak of, perhaps it is a kind of sorcery….that uses chanting to help humans successfully pull off magic.”
“…?”
“That is to say, by chanting, thy magic power moves of its own volition and is transformed …… into the wind blade I mentioned earlier.”
If you put it that way, it could certainly be true.
When I chant, I get the sensation that the magic inside me starts to move on its own.
In other words, does that mean that chanting in magic helps…to easily activate magic?
“When asked, ‘What is 9 times 5?’ instead of adding 9 five times separately, I can just remember the product so the multiplication table is easier to solve… something like that?”
Instead of manipulating the magic power by yourself one by one, if I just say the word “chant”, the magic power will move on its own according to the chant. ……?
“Hmm. That’s probably your understanding.”
“I see… huh!?”
I didn’t say it out loud, did I?
“Don’t underestimate me. It’s easy to see into other people’s thoughts.”
“Oh, that’s magic too…?”
“Ah, I was said to be a magical genius.”
Keeka laughed like an innocent little girl who’s just had a successful prank played on her.
I thought she was arrogant, but I didn’t know she had that side of her. Isn’t she too much greedy?
“So that’s how it is. In other words, the “Father of Magic” or whatever, created something called “magic” so that those who can’t use sorcery well can do something close to it by chanting.”
Before I could swallow the rather risky situation that the person I was facing could read people’s thoughts, I changed the subject.
“So there aren’t many people who can use sorcery?”
“Huh? Ah, that’s right. There are only a handful of people who can use it. There were even people who were persecuted just for being able to use sorcery.”
That was also a different word from “Arinacia’s Apostle”.
In the story, it is clearly stated that only two out of three people can use sorcery.
The motive is unknown, but if the “Father of Magic” created magic because he wanted to let those who could not use sorcery use magical objects, as Keeka says, then it seems to make sense.
“Isn’t it interesting? I’ve been bored for a long time, but I never knew that something called magic existed in this world. Thank you, Friedrich Riggle Asmodai.”
“H-ha…”
It’s kind of strange to be thanked for just telling people what you know.
But Magic and Sorcery?
This was a concept that was not in “The Apostles of Arinasia”.
Oh! Maybe this is a special ability that only I have – a cheat skill!?
“Miss Keeka! I wonder if I can use sorcery!”
“Hmm?… that would be impossible. I’m still a genius at sorcery. I can tell who can do sorcery by just one look.”
“Gah…”
What a mess.
After all, villainous aristocrats have no choice but to rise up through steady efforts like villainous aristocrats…
Just when I thought there was no point in staying here any longer
“Are you interested in creating your own sorcery?”
“….what?”
Keeka asked with a genuinely happy smile.