Saikyou Mahoushi no Inton Keikaku (LN) - Volume 17 - Chapter 94

Ninety-Fourth Chapter: Mental Scars

A year passed, and it had really been a densely packed year for a certain first-year in Alpha’s Second Magical Institute. Students were gradually moving from vacation mode to standard school life.

But a single corner of the campus was drenched in raw tension. In it stood a mysterious, altar-like structure, and students seemed to quickly walk past it while looking away, as if determined to ignore it.

It was a memorial.

Dante’s terror attack on the Institute had shocked not just Alpha but all seven nations. The unprecedentedly cruel magical crime had cast a dark shadow over the hearts of the people, so a white marble table had been placed at the gruesome scene for people to leave flowers. The monument was now buried in flowers offered by all seven nations.

It was like a symbol of the pain that was built up in their soul.

However, now that the danger was past and forgotten—perhaps thanks to Alpha’s top brass’s information control or perhaps because society was simply quick to forget—the incident, which had been the hottest topic around, was quickly falling out of people’s minds.

But there was still evidence that things would never disappear nor heal completely.

While it couldn’t be accurately measured, the number of students dropping out of the Institute before classes officially restarted was proof of that. Incidentally, most of those who decided to leave the prestigious Institute on their own were commoners rather than nobles.

Their naive ideals and dreams about Magicmasters and becoming heroes for their nation after graduating and garnering people’s adoration despite being commoners had been mercilessly crushed by the bloody reality they had been forced to face.

However, the Institute gathered and nurtured the elites, so it didn’t particularly pursue those who left. To the Second Magical Institute, everything was simply taking its natural course, and returning to normal.

Or perhaps that was how the entire world worked: excluding those who had fallen due to the cruel hands of natural selection, those who remained were pushed forward to be incorporated into the huge wheel of fate. It was an unavoidable sorting of destiny.

This was the kind of thing that would be solved with time.

And at the Institute, there were others who’d been caught in the wheels of fate...people who had no connection to the baseless delusion of peace but who had been dragged in without even a chance to catch their breath. Even after they had been shown the cold and cruel reality of the world, it was impossible for them to give up on everything and do nothing.

In the girls’ dorm, Alice looked at Tesfia with a reluctant, uneasy expression. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you? I can be absent from a lecture.”

Tesfia had received a message that the arbitration of nobility, the Tenbram, would be officially held. So she needed to hurry back to the Fable household.

The Tenbram was a mock war to settle disputes between nobles. It was in the form of a game to avoid endless, bloody battles to determine each other’s legitimacy.

This Tenbram was an agreement between the Womruina and Fable families to determine two things with the outcome: the first was the engagement between Tesfia Fable and Aile von Womruina. The second was Alus’s transfer to another organization, or more accurately, whether Alus would fall under Womruina’s command “by his own will.”

However, Alus was still Alpha’s strongest military force and the current rank 1. Would it really be possible for him to leave the military and become a private soldier for one of the three great noble families?

Alus’s position was too unique to be able to laugh it off as completely out of the question. After all, extrajudicial measures were currently applied to him all too often.

The military was indebted to Alus, who’d been sent to fight on the front lines since childhood. And he was using his own achievements and the time he’d spent in the military as a shield to let him retire from the military. It was why he was currently at the Institute.

With the Governor-General himself acknowledging that, Alus was a position similar to someone with dual citizenship. He was incredibly close to being a soldier while also being a student. This made it hard to conclude which laws applied to him, and Womruina had the social and political standing to possibly get their way by emphasizing his free will as a student.

An exception among exceptions, Alus was the embodiment of a walking extraterritoriality. In fact, neither the Governor-General nor even the ruler, Sisty, had been able to tame his selfish nature. And now he had put himself in the middle of the uproar.

Thinking about it, Tesfia, who’d gotten Alus involved in the first place, couldn’t possibly run away from this fated encounter against Womruina. So she took Alice’s hands in her own and squeezed them as she smiled, addressing her worried best friend in an easygoing manner.

“It’s okay. You’re worrying too much, Alice. Listen, Al accepting Womruina’s suggestion means that he is absolutely confident that he can win. While I may be unreliable as a general, Al isn’t the kind of person who would let himself get caught up in a game where he’s at a disadvantage. He probably thinks it’s just a good way to kill time.”

She’d be lying if she said that she wasn’t feeling uneasy, but when she thought of Alus’s calm face, she was able to retain her composure. She was convinced that there was no need to worry and that she wouldn’t have a panic attack like that time Aile had stimulated her trauma with a strange spell.

Minasha, Tesfia’s personal maid, stood behind her next to a cart loaded with suitcases. She nodded firmly. Tesfia’s other personal maid, Hest, was as expressionless as usual, looking into the distance as if bored. Unlike Minasha, who had her hands full with the luggage, she wasn’t carrying anything. Perhaps that was because she was also Tesfia’s bodyguard.

Alice looked at the two servants and worriedly spoke up once more. “Well, if you say so, maybe that’s true. But Al himself left in the morning and still hasn’t come back.”

“Well, yeah...” Tesfia could only vaguely reply. She’d thought he would be coming with her to the Fable household, but he’d just taken Loki with him and said that they’d group up before leaving.

He probably had an idea of some sorts, but she was still a little anxious. Knowing Alus, she had a bad feeling that he might be late for even the Tenbram.

“Surely Al wouldn’t get caught up in some strange incident on the day of the Tenbram...right?” Tesfia quietly whispered.

And having perhaps sensed that, Alice responded with a wry smile. “Normally you’d think there’s no way of that. But that’s what I’m worried about too, considering everything that’s happened so far.”

Alus had a tendency to get caught up in incidents, or he had an ability to attract them. Either way, the two girls’ hunches had a habit of being right, so thinking about it again made them restless. Especially since this time, Alus’s presence at the Tenbram would be gigantic.

“Maybe he’s cursed. He must have gone to get exorcized.”

Despite trying to laugh it off, Tesfia ended up sighing. She didn’t want to think about the possibility, but if Fable were to lose the Tenbram, it would likely have something to do with Alus not attending for some reason.

In the next moment, Alice looked at Tesfia with a serious expression and declared, “Fia! The next time Al returns, you have to capture him!”

Her ability to capture him was questionable, but that level of precaution was almost necessary, so Tesfia nodded at Alice’s words. She wasn’t sure that she’d be able to control someone as willful as Alus, but she at least resolved not to take her eyes off of him.

After adding “keep an eye on Alus” to her list of tasks, she relaxed her shoulders and smiled.

“Keep up with your training, Alice. I’m a step ahead of you at the moment.”

Her face was so smug when she said it, Alice awkwardly scratched her cheek.

Tesfia then put her finger on Alice’s chest. “Al taught you a new spell right? Show me when I come back.”

That air of triumph loosened Alice’s expression and transformed it back to her usual smile. “Yeah, okay. I’ll master it in no time. So hurry on back, together with everyone, okay?”

Tenbram was held by nobles, so unless they were an elite among the military, a mere commoner student like Alice wasn’t able to participate. If not for that restriction, Alice would have participated right away no matter what anyone said.

As Alice tended to let her negative feelings show, Tesfia purposefully frowned as she said, “I want Al to teach me a new spell too. I know... Maybe I’ll just ask him to make one for me too.”

Tesfia dressed it up like a brilliant idea, but she knew that it was an unreasonable demand. Alice had an affinity for the light element, which was still lacking in research and had few spells, which was why there was room for Alus to come up with new spells one after another. She felt perhaps being exposed to Alus’s genius and magical knowledge on a daily basis had numbed her common sense.

Alice answered with a dry laugh, and they ran out of things to speak about. Silence fell between them.

“Uhm... Go on, send me off already, Alice.”

“Right, yes. It’s not good to worry too much.” Alice grabbed hold of Tesfia’s shoulders, spun her around, and pushed against her back. “Hurry up and finish it and come back home, Fia. Or it will affect your upcoming exam.”

Tesfia seemed to have forgotten all about that and let out a groan. Prompted by Alice once more and with Minasha pulling her away, Tesfia forcibly composed herself despite staggering.

Tenbram was the first step she’d have to take to come back. Having been able to speak with Alice, her steps felt lighter. So as though going on vacation, the redhead turned around and told Alice, “See you later,” waved and smiled as if to say there was nothing to worry about, and left the Institute.

◇◇◇

The military hospital was one of the greatest hospitals in Alpha.

Healing magic was an innovative technology and was constantly being studied, including its application for civilian medicine, but precious healing Magicmasters mostly prioritized healing members of the military.

As healing Magicmasters stood on the front lines, they were far more likely to be hurt, and because of that, they had far more data and experience compared with civilian doctors. So if someone wanted the greatest treatment in a nation, it was impossible to ignore the military’s healing Magicmasters.

And in terms of personnel, military hospitals had the majority of healing specialists. Alus and Loki were currently visiting one such military-run treatment facility. It was a large hospital with specialist wards on its vast site, employing a number of renowned healing Magicmasters.

A luxurious treatment room, better than anything you could get in all seven nations, was on the top floor of the hospital. After all, the room incorporated a magic circle to ensure the full effectiveness of healing magic on the patient as well as a smooth healing process. On top of that, there were vital sensors, expensive treatment equipment on the walls and ceilings, and even devices for sterilization. The room offered a complete package allowing for large-scale healing magic, precise surgery, and postoperative care.

It was so perfect that the room alone was equivalent to a large hospital, but if there was a flaw, it was that it was rather dreary. It was also expansive, and it would be lonely to spend a long time hospitalized here.

That said, the room was still furnished with the highest conceivable amenities, and with a few more furnishings, it could practically be transformed into a luxury hotel suite. Alus stepped inside with Loki.

“Hmm. You don’t really see this level of equipment often, even in the military,” Alus muttered as he glanced around the room.

He bent down to examine the flooring before immediately standing back up to stare at the ceiling and the complex equipment installed on the walls. His actions would no doubt look eccentric to an outsider. As a visitor to this room, he was behaving far too freely.

“Sir Alus, I don’t believe evaluating the facility is our purpose here.”

Loki typically affirmed everything Alus said, but even this was too much for her. She sounded exasperated. It didn’t matter, though. Alus was very curious, and her words went in one ear and out the other. Loki shrugged and decided to leave him to it while she greeted the patient lying in the bed.

“How are you feeling, Ms. Felinella? Here is a get-well gift. Sorry for it not being more thoughtful,” Loki said as she put a large basket on the bedside table. It weighed quite a bit, and Loki reeled as she lifted it. Inside was a mountain of colorful fruit.

She caught an orange-like fruit that had started to fall off the mountain as she was carefully positioning the basket. She couldn’t very well let a get-well gift fall to the floor.

“Th-Thank you, Ms. Loki.” Felinella maneuvered into a sitting position and gave Loki a beautiful smile as she thanked her. “And you too, Mr. Alus,” she added with a smile, but she seemed to be wanting to say something else, and Loki could easily guess what.

“Well, I knew that you wouldn’t be able to eat all of this on your own,” said Loki.

Alus and Loki weren’t the only ones who had brought a present. The room contained piles of gifts from visitors. As large as it was, the room still had plenty of space, but it no longer felt as dreary.

Felinella probably would have put them away, so they might have arrived just today. Not only was there a frightening number of fruits placed on various tables, there was a large fridge in the corner of the room, likely already packed full of get-well gifts. It was to be expected for the Socalent family, one of the three great noble families.

“Yes, I just had some of it moved to a different room where my luggage is being kept too. I do feel sorry for the nurses... Ah, but I will enjoy the fruit that you two have brought. Uhm, would you mind if I had some now?”

As a lady, she didn’t want to appear immodest by greedily devouring the fruit, but her embarrassed words were enough to shake off the heavy air hanging over the room.

“Of course. I will peel it for you... Which would you like?” Loki picked up a nearby fruit knife and picked out a few fruits from the basket.

“Thank you for your help, Ms. Loki. And thank you for coming to visit too, Mr. Alus.” Felinella spoke with her glossy lips and a soft smile, and it was enough to stop Alus from curiously looking around the room and make him come towards the bed.

Alus dragged a nearby chair over and sat down as he spoke. “I heard you were seriously injured, but you seem to be doing okay. Fia and Alice were pretty banged up in that incident too, but the military sent a special healing Magicmaster, so they are well on their way to feeling better. It’s unfortunate you were caught up in it too, Feli.”

Vizaist had been pursuing Dante and the other escaped convicts, so it made sense to assume that Felinella had been part of the surveillance net, especially since she had directly given him information. But he didn’t think that Felinella’s injuries were a result of having been cornered. With her skills and judgment, it would be easy for her to avoid any reckless battles.

In reality, she’d come into conflict with one of the stronger of the escaped convicts, Mir Ostayka, and had been seriously injured, likely as a result of her sense of duty urging her to take action. In other words, she’d been unable to restrain herself.

It was the kind of screwup Alus only perceived because he’d worked with Vizaist behind the scenes. Moreover, because Vizaist doted on Felinella, he would only let her work as an intelligence operative rather than a combatant. So her top priority should have been finding information rather than fighting the enemy. However, if she got too enthusiastic about the mission and made the wrong decision, she could find herself on the front lines and exposed to danger.

“It’s important to know when to pull back. You were unusually reckless, Feli,” Alus said, as if having understood everything. “Sure, such experiences are the gateway to becoming a first-class Magicmaster, but it’s not worth it.”

Soldiers, especially Magicmasters, were often compared to the idea of a person walking around with their heart exposed. That was just how big the risk was.

Felinella might have been an intelligence operative, but when it was time to go on a mission, there was practically no difference between an intelligence agent and a combatant to Fiends and vicious criminals.

Suddenly, Alus sensed a stare and turned around to look. There he saw Loki looking as if to say, “Like you’re one to talk.” He’d realized as much...but it seemed like he could use some proper introspection.

“Sorry, that was a little too preachy. And I’m not one to talk,” he said.

“That’s right, please don’t tell me you have already forgotten about the Devourer. You of all people should refrain from being reckless, Sir Alus,” Loki said as her silver hair shook, and all Alus could do was agree with a wry smile and pat her head.

“Besides, if you use logic, Ms. Felinella returned alive, so it’s all right, isn’t it? Not to mention that it was an injury related to an important mission, so I don’t think you can place too much blame on her,” Loki continued.

Indeed, in the world of Magicmasters, many tended to sell their lives cheap. So paradoxically, surviving made you right.

Even the talented could lose their lives through a twist of fate, and the Outer World was a place where such things happened regularly. Compared to the normal military, which only faced people, Magicmasters had an overwhelmingly lower survival rate, and those who survived repeated brushes with death underwent explosive growth.

The principle of the survival of the fittest cast a further aberrant bias that the person on the top was the absolute strongest. That was the truth in the world of Magicmasters and the conclusion everyone reached after repeated missions in the Outer World.

“It’s okay. Mr. Alus isn’t wrong. It’s true that I was being impatient.” Felinella smiled, but her expression looked frail.

She’d already reflected on her actions, and she’d been aware of her lack of strength. She could only call her decision to pursue Dante and Mir Ostayka to the Institute’s underground portion a mistake in judgment.

Felinella had been made keenly aware that she’d overestimated her own strength.

She later found out that while Alus was gone, the Institute’s greatest fighting power, former Single Sisty, had been unable to do anything due to all of the students being taken hostage. In that situation, no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t overcome the situation on her own.

Stopping Dante was one thing, but stopping Mir hadn’t been worth the risk. In the end, Alus had been able to stop Dante’s plot by defeating him, but based on how Dante moved, the weakened Sisty and Felinella could have both lost their lives.

Seeing Felinella fall silent, Loki urged Alus with her gaze to encourage the girl in the bed.

“Well, I guess I misjudged your abilities too. Mir was rather skilled as well. If she had joined Dante, I wouldn’t have lost, but it would have been a much bigger pain. While you went beyond an intelligence mission, you really helped,” Alus said, averting his gaze, aware that he had done something that didn’t suit him.

Felinella’s eyes opened wide, and a graceful smile appeared on her lips. Alus wasn’t sure if he’d been able to reset the heavy atmosphere, but she at least looked more at ease.

Alus let out a sigh of relief and changed the topic as Loki skillfully peeled an apple. “That said, you did good to take down Mir Ostayka. She’d killed dozens of high-profile soldiers and Magicmasters, and her criminal record suggests that her skills were in the Double Digit class. And being connected to the underworld, she must have had considerable skills at killing people as well.”

Changing the topic was fine and all, but he ended up taking it in the direction of his own interests and concerns.

While Felinella was skilled, she shouldn’t have had the power to contend with a magical criminal of that level. Moreover, the Institute trained Magicmasters who would fight Fiends in the Outer World. The curriculum didn’t put much weight on techniques used against people.

While Vizaist could have instructed her on that part, some things didn’t add up. Luck played a big part in a battle to the death, so if she were to say that she’d been lucky, Alus wouldn’t pursue the matter any further.

However, Felinella nodded as if she’d known she’d be asked about it. She had no intention of hiding anything from Alus. “Yes, it certainly wasn’t someone I would be able to beat as I am now. So I used the Socalent family’s secret technique. And my current state is the price for that.”

Loki wordlessly put the peeled and sliced apple on a plate and left it on the table.

“Thank you, Ms. Loki.” Felinella straightened her back and took a bite of one of the slices.

As she was a noble lady, even the sight of Felinella eating a slice of apple was picturesque.

Alus put his hand on his chin and fell silent for a bit. Even he was a little hesitant—going any further would touch on the Socalent family’s secrets. It was one thing when it came to normal nobles, but he pondered if it was really okay for him to cross that line when it concerned Felinella.

After a momentary pause, Alus smiled a little. It was too late asking for that now. He was close with Vizaist. They’d both attended the Institute, as senior and junior, and they’d been on the battlefield together as well. Most of all, her soft smile told him that she would not only accept his curiosity, but even seemed to invite it.

“Then let me ask: Is that secret technique of yours something like an inherited spell? Is it how Vizaist reached his current position in a single generation?”

Inherited spells were something like trump cards for the Fable family and other long-standing noble families. They helped to protect their prestige and power base. Because of that, they weren’t recorded in the Magic Compendium either. Like their private forces and super high-class AWRs, they greatly contributed to the continuance of the families. It was generally accepted that the more renowned the noble family, the more magic they had researched on their own and hidden away.

However, Felinella nodded her head at the important question all too readily. Frankly it was a bit anticlimactic even for Alus.

“It is just as you say. As one of the three great noble families, the Socalent family also has something that could be called inherited spells. But as an upstart family, we haven’t had the time or funds to research compared to the other families. Besides, my father hasn’t told me how he got the magic formula, but he is bold and lively, as you know. While it’s secret for now, it doesn’t seem like he is planning to keep it only within the family forever.”

Well, it was certainly true that it was rare to be able to monopolize a spell just by keeping quiet in the modern world of magic. Research into spells was more advanced than in the past, and with more diverse research, many of the advanced spells of the past were on the level of intermediate spells of today.

Even the Fable family’s inherited spell, Icicle Sword, could be copied by someone well-versed in ice magic without too much difficulty. If necessary, Alus could cast the main component of Icicle Sword—a large sword of ice—albeit at a slight cost to its appearance.

That said...

“Even so, Mir was unable to hold her own against it. Not to mention that considering Lord Vizaist’s personality, there’s no way the inherited spell would be a half-hearted, boring spell,” said Alus.

“Really?”

Alus nodded at Loki’s sudden question. Having spent years together in the military, he had a good grasp on the man, and an inherited spell that someone as shrewd as him had developed in a single generation was enough to grab Alus’s interest.

The only military organizations Vizaist had led were the former special squad that Alus had been part of and the current intelligence agency. Aside from that, he’d almost never had direct command over a squad, and he’d only really participated in operations as a temporary commander.

Still, Lord Vizaist’s spell... I wonder what it’s like—what the magic formula is like and what its power is like...

As Alus entertained those ideas, Loki asked another question. “Ms. Felinella, are you sure about this? Isn’t this a secret that is like a lifeline to a noble’s house?”

Felinella once more smiled at that question. “It’s okay if it’s you two, Ms. Loki. I am sure my father will allow it as well,” Felinella continued with a mischievous giggle. “Besides, don’t you already know a little about our family’s secret technique?”

That surprised not just Loki but Alus himself. “Hmm? What do you mean?”

Felinella tilted her head in confusion at Alus’s reaction. “Oh, my father said that he received a hint about this spell from Mr. Alus in the past.”

“Sorry, but I have no memories of it whatsoever,” said Alus.

Felinella smiled wryly at his curt answer. “Uhm, well, I’m not entirely sure it could be categorized as a spell. Mr. Alus, do you happen to know about magic dresses?”

A distant look suddenly appeared on Alus’s face. “Ah yes, there was a period when Lord Vizaist asked about that. But I didn’t give him any completed theories, just an idea. Hmm? So that’s the spell that took down Mir? He managed to implement it?! What’s its rank? And its special characteristics?”

Felinella gave a slight exasperated laugh when she saw Alus lean in, his eyes alight.

“That’s right. My father took the idea further and made it a reality. And since it’s not in the Magic Compendium, it doesn’t have any categorization or rank.”

“I see. Then it would be boorish of me to ask any more.”

He was claiming to have given up, but it was clear that Alus’s interest was now entirely on magic dresses, and his eyes were lit up with a childlike curiosity.

“Not at all; if it’s Sir Alus and Ms. Loki, I will secretly let you in on it,” said Felinella.

She put her index finger over her lips, but the gesture seemed to embarrass her, as she blushed and let out a cough. Loki self-consciously readjusted herself in her chair. From here on out, they would be talking about top secret things not to be told to anyone.

“It’s okay, there’s nobody listening in,” Alus whispered to Felinella after confirming through magical means.

Felinella nodded and lightly raised her right arm. As Alus and Loki stared, the light of mana began to gather around her wrist. Eventually the mana took on color and a presence, turning into “something.”

It only lasted for ten seconds or so, but to Loki, who gulped and observed with wide eyes, it felt like minutes. Next to her, Alus narrowed his eyes, fascinated by the sight created by the Socalent family’s secret technique.

The noble lady had been wearing a simple patient’s gown, but now it was like she was wearing a miracle itself.

The magic theory dyed the world, weaving a dreamlike raiment. A glowing sleeve materialized from the back of her hand to her elbow.

“So this is the magical dress...or more accurately clothes made of mana given special characteristics. The term refers to the technique itself. Seeing how it’s materialized given mana, it might be similar to a kind of summoning magic,” explained Felinella. However, it was more rooted in reality than summoning magic, and the phenomenon was far more durable.

Loki’s eyes were open wide, as she had practically frozen into a statue. She eventually pulled herself together and looked back. Her eyes locked with Alus’s, hoping for an explanation from the person she most respected.

Alus slowly obliged. “I finally remembered the details. If I recall, I was once asked my opinion on an interpretation of a Relic, an ancient description. There I recalled two or three descriptions from an ancient tome and told him about them. Even I thought it was just an armchair theory, but it looks like he made that theory into reality.”

“I believe so,” said Felinella.

Vizaist had probably just told her that Alus’s idea was just the starting point without going into the details, so she gave a vague answer as she undid the magical dress’s partial manifestation.

Alus had been busy at the time Vizaist asked about it, so he hadn’t done any in-depth research on the subject, but Vizaist, who wanted a powerful inherited spell, must have been different.

“Well, no matter. What surprised me more was the structure of that magical dress,” Alus said.

“But, Sir Alus, wasn’t there somebody in the Seven Nations Friendship Magical Tournament who used magic similar to a magical dress?” Loki asked.

But it had been Felinella who’d worked as the Second Magical Institute’s mediator at the tournament. “That would be Fillic Argan. I was surprised by that too, but strictly speaking it was different from a magical dress.”

Alus hadn’t watched the match, but she was referring to the first-year competitor from Rusalca who was Jean Rumbulls’s disciple. Wearing an armor of dark magic, he had been able to fight more than equally against Loki.

Loki furrowed her brow at Felinella’s explanation. “If it’s different, was he using summoning magic, then?”

This time Alus answered. “Yeah, most likely. There are methods of clothing your body with summoning magic. It’s impossible without an aptitude for it, but there was supposedly a Single in the past who fought by covering their body in summoning magic. But it’s pretty much suicidal.”

Doing it for an instant was one thing, but moving around with summoning magic covering your body for a longer period of time was insanity. Since the structure of the spell would exist within the body, a slight mistake risked tearing your very body apart.

That’s probably why you need an aptitude for it, but what kind of disposition do you need for it...? There’s a limit to rare characteristics, thought Alus.

In terms of people with an aptitude for it, there might even be fewer than those with magic eyes.

“Sir Alus, what is the difference, then?” Loki asked, pulling the topic back on track.

“I only know of the concept of wearing summoning magic but not any details. But to summarize it, the body’s movement should be dependent on the structure of the spell. There’s also the problem of controlling the spell’s coordinate axis while it is manifested.”

Loki found it unusual that Alus would be so vague and tilted her head. But Alus could only shrug.

“Normally that’s what it’s like...although there might be people like Fia who rely on instinct,” he said. He thought of Zepel, which was an ice attribute spell that required a complete grasp of the coordinate axis and precise mana control, but Loki didn’t seem to understand.

“Ha ha, that’s true, but that’s her cute and strong side. I suppose you could call it natural talent...” Felinella said, gently covering her mouth while smiling.

It was true that Tesfia was unconsciously performing aberrant feats. She might have had excellent grades, but that natural airhead with red hair was a good example of there being a fine line between stupidity and genius.

“That’s overestimating her. But if that sort of thing could be done with the ice attribute, it would explosively increase her physical abilities. It could become a powerful weapon in her next battle. Although it’s a bad match for the ice attribute,” Alus said, referring to the summoning magic. “However, Feli’s magical dress is different. It’s been proved valid and I’ve seen it with my own eyes. While I just had a quick look, the principle probably works by...”

Alus paused and glanced over at Felinella. She wordlessly nodded, granting him permission to explain.

“From what I’ve seen, the magical dress is close to some type of spell, although its role and special characteristics are different from existing spells. I’d say it’s closer to a virtual AWR than a spell. No, since it materializes, I guess it would be strange to call it virtual... Anyways, it’s another step or two beyond the support functions that conventional AWRs have. When it comes to processing mana information, it’s like having an AWR become one with your body. But there are still some things I can’t figure out.”

Alus wrapped up with a sharp stare, and Felinella’s expression grew tense for a moment.

And after taking a moment to calm down from her astonishment, she slowly answered. “To think you would figure out so much right away. Are you sure that you only gave my father an idea, Mr. Alus? Maybe you already knew about magical dresses?”

“No, I really don’t know much. If I were to say I’ve seen a similar magic technique described in an old book. Naturally, it wasn’t called a magical dress either.”

Having read all kinds of books, Alus remembered a description in an old book, but even he had thought the idea was too far-fetched.

“Then allow me to add something else. This magical dress is the Socalent family’s secret inherited spell, but there’s a possibility that it exists for other attributes as well. I remember my father mentioning that when examining a Relic about magical dresses,” said Felinella.

“For other attributes too...? No, I see. Each attribute has its strengths and weaknesses, but there’s theoretically no attribute that can’t use summoning magic or some other type of magic that could be worn. So it wouldn’t be strange for magical dresses to exist for all attributes...” Alus muttered to himself and then fell silent.

He turned to Felinella. “Feli, you said Lord Vizaist wasn’t planning on monopolizing that technique forever, right?”

“Yes, it seems he has no intention of treating it the same way as other noble families treat inherited spells,” said Felinella.

“But doesn’t that mean that you will give up on the privilege of nobility?” Loki asked in surprise.

Felinella only smiled. “It is just as you say, Ms. Loki. But my father is an unusual person, as you might have noticed. Incidentally, he discovered a Relic on magical dresses for water and fire attributes, so with enough research those could be made a reality.”

“I see...” said Loki.

“The Socalent family has a magical dress for wind, as I just showed you, but as Mr. Alus immediately noticed, even with an affinity for wind it’s not something anyone can use. Even with my father providing the funding, it’s not believed to be something that could be generalized to that level...unfortunately.”

“But why not?!” Loki asked.

This time Alus answered her. “Probably because of the characteristics, the magic formula is abnormally unique. From what I’ve seen, Feli’s magical dress is practically an original technique.”

Relics’ magic formulas were typically written with characters from ancient times. These were known as Lost Spells.

For example, in the spell Phoenix, there were differences between the Relic version and the version using the modern system. They were ancient magic.

Nobody could answer why such things could be found. However, since Relics were typically incomplete, the Lost Spells were deciphered, and the missing portions used modern magic formulas to replicate the spell.

“The magical dress must have been a spell from an incomplete Relic. To put it simply, it has practically no basic formula that is used by all attributes. Meaning that there’s a completely different route that needs to be taken for every attribute, and every formula has to start from scratch. Since no formula has a common part, the number of tries needed to put together a working formula increases exponentially. Even the new spell I made for Alice used some non-attribute-based formulas to supplement it. Without that, you would need a large number of people to research for about a decade or even decades to create something,” Alus further explained.

Compared with mountain climbing, the normal magic system had the route for climbing the mountain partially complete already, so you could ride halfway up on a vehicle and only have to climb the last stretch on foot.

But the situation was completely different for the magical dress. There was no route whatsoever, and it wasn’t even clear where the peak was or if it was even the mountain you were supposed to climb.

“So how did Lord Vizaist accomplish it in such a short amount of time? The wind magical dress is already complete...” Loki said.

“It would be impossible if you think about it normally. It could be simple once you find the right way. And he probably used a different method in his approach or...” Alus said vaguely, because he wasn’t sure himself.

If his prediction was correct, he would actually touch on the Socalent family’s secret, and he’d be stepping into a troublesome situation.

In the past, Felinella had declared that she would seduce him. And if Vizaist got serious about it, it would put Alus in a bad situation. Even if it didn’t lead to marriage, it would most certainly bring the possibility closer because once someone learned the family’s secrets, the best move was to bring them into the family.

Felinella smiled brightly as if to dispel his concerns. “To put it simply, you store your own mana information in the formula.”

Felinella cut deep to the heart of the secret, then spoke no further about it. From how she shared no additional information, it was clear she’d drawn the line. It wasn’t so much refusal to share as it was consideration.

Although, with all of the specialist lingo Loki couldn’t understand much of it, she sensed as much. So she lowered her head and thanked Felinella for her consideration. “Thank you very much, Ms. Felinella.”

Alus remembered supplying a few ideas that could make it a reality. Several of them were hints that came not from Relics but different old books. “I see. So when Lord Vizaist approached me that one time, it was to probe for the practicality for that. If I recall...he called it attribute refinement.”

Incidentally, attribute refinement indicated a unique way of raising Magicmasters. It was also a kind of secret language that only Alus and Felinella could understand.

“Yes. The year I started learning magic, the attribute had already been completely refined. The mana used was limited to the wind attribute. And in order to learn to use the magical dress, I used a special method to store my mana information from a young age, gradually gaining control...” Felinella softly reflected on her harsh past. It was clearly a painful memory. “To be more accurate, it’s a method to change the makeup of my mana.”

It wasn’t just an accumulation of detailed reasoning that was a useful approach for creating new magic. It was the exact opposite: theoretical leaps using aberrant creativity.

In order for Felinella to use the magical dress, her mana pathways had to be destroyed and reconstructed, a truly aberrant method.

When someone lost an eye, sometimes the vision in the remaining eye developed in an unusual way. Felinella had accomplished something similar with her mana by damaging her own pathways and forcing them to regenerate and be more active.

In other words, she had forcibly changed the characteristics of her own mana. It was said that the younger one carried out that practice, the better, but at the time Felinella was already ten years and some months old.

Because of that, she must have experienced excruciating pain.

Felinella spoke about it with a smile, but Alus’s expression was more complicated. By understanding the secret technique, Alus could easily imagine her dark past and pain.

“As I showed you before, the magical dress is a garment. A collection of magical parts connected to your internal mana,” said Felinella.

“In other words, the magical dress is directly connected to your body’s mana pathways,” Alus said as if to make doubly sure.

Felinella nodded and continued speaking. “Yes. You use a mana needle to sew it to the body. It’s a lot of work to say the least.”

Loki gulped. Felinella called it a lot of work, but it sounded more like torture. Loki couldn’t just ignore that, so she timidly asked, “Uhm, isn’t a magical needle a completely different situation than simply using a surgical needle and thread to stitch the skin...?”

“Yes, but it is difficult to explain,” Felinella said, and covering her mouth with her hand she leaned closer to Loki’s ear.

While she was whispering, Alus could hear her say, “It is like sewing something foreign directly to your nerves.”

Pain associated with mana was on a different level from the sensation of pain one normally felt. It was like the soul was being ripped apart, and it was said to be the most painful thing a human could experience. It could make someone with a weaker mind go insane.

“So there you have it. A magical dress isn’t something that can be attained so easily.”

“I see,” Loki said and idly tossed an apple slice into her mouth.

Alus fell silent.

He understood that Vizaist had imposed such a thing on his beloved daughter because of unavoidable circumstances. He had elevated the Socalent family within a single generation, and noble society would often call them upstarts behind their backs.

Having climbed up to their current position as one of the three great noble families, having an unshakable power was a necessity, even if it meant pushing such a harsh method on a young girl.

“As you might have sensed, using the magical dress comes at a price, Mr. Alus. A strain on the body and damage to your mana information... All my body needs is rest, and as for the latter, it can heal over time as long as it’s not overused,” said Felinella.

The magical dress temporarily linked the body and mana information, practically turning a portion of the body into an AWR, but the price of this secret technique was that it shaved away at the body to perform miracles.

Elise, a Kurama executive who’d attacked the Institute once before, had carved a magic formula into her skin to crudely turn her body into an AWR. It’d be next to impossible for an ordinary person to charge a magic formula into their skin. Even if they managed, it’d only function for a few days at best, but her body’s characteristics had made it possible.

“Yeah, it won’t cause permanent damage to your mana information as long as you only keep it active for a short period of time,” said Alus.

Felinella nodded, but Alus gave her a stern look. He narrowed his eyes and spoke bluntly to the girl in the bed, who looked like she was bracing herself. “Feli, I’m not sure if you understand this or not, but I feel like I should say it, so let me make this clear. The magical dress shaves away at a Magicmaster’s life to create a technique to temporarily transcend your limits.”

Felinella seemed to take him seriously and nodded with resolve. “So you think so too, Sir Alus. My father also researched the risks but was never able to verify it. So he made sure that I don’t use it unless absolutely necessary. Even that time it was like I’d lost myself, like my emotions flowed out and took shape.”

“I see. Feli, I acknowledge your abilities, but you are still a student and not an official member of the military. That made me curious about how you’d managed to overpower someone as powerful as Mir Ostayka.”

There, Loki seemed to catch up and timidly asked a question based on her own interpretation of the subject. “While it might have a cost, if it enhances your body, isn’t the magical dress just like my Force?”

“No, it’s in a different dimension. Force enhances your body, but a magical dress enhances your magic. It turns your body into an AWR, creating a situation of hyper specialization,” explained Alus.

Magicmasters had affinities for attributes due to a bias in their mana information, but it wasn’t like they couldn’t use any other attributes. For example, Tesfia was good at the ice attribute, but she could still use the others to a degree.

The biases caused them to be better at certain attributes. If specializing in a single attribute and being able to make full use of all the spells that belonged to that attribute was considered a one hundred percent affinity, Tesfia’s affinity for ice magic was around seventy percent.

However, Felinella with her magical dress was probably...

“This isn’t something as simple as bringing out latent potential. When using the magical dress, Feli can probably use expert-level wind spells with ease. Her affinity might even be over a hundred percent.”

Alus plainly spoke of that greatness, but Felinella shook her head, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“There’s still the matter of understanding magic formulas, and the wind attribute is really diverse. So it’s not like I can easily use everything...not to mention the problem of my amount of mana,” she said.

That said, the spell that had defeated Mir, First Material, was closer to ultimate-level magic than expert-level. But Felinella couldn’t say with any confidence that she had mastered that extraordinary magic.

With her serious nature, she considered her magical dress to be a concept similar to doping. Moreover, the shape it had taken in the battle against Mir had been a manifestation of her maidenly desire, appearing in the form of a wedding dress.

As a maiden in her teens as well as a noble lady, having her feelings so blatantly exposed was embarrassing.

However, the price was too great. She’d only used it for a short while during her fight against Mir, and now she was stuck in bed for a month and it was uncertain when she would even be able to use normal magic again. She wasn’t in this hospital simply because she’d been injured in the battle.

“Hmm...I see. I finally understand. A magical dress really is an unbelievable technique,” Loki muttered. Her eyes shot over towards Alus, then back at her future rival lying in the bed. She coughed. “Ahem, you see, I also learned to use an ultimate-level spell the other day...”

Loki was being competitive, but perhaps Felinella didn’t pick up on that intent.

“My, now that is amazing! Wouldn’t that rank you around the higher level of Double Digits then, Ms. Loki?” Felinella asked, bringing her hands together and praising Loki, who blushed awkwardly.

Unfortunately, reality wasn’t so simple.

Even if Singles were extraordinary, for Triples and Quad Magicmasters, rankings were only a rough estimation of a Magicmaster’s strength. While there was an exact measurement for students, Alus and Loki knew that it didn’t hold up against a truly strong opponent.

For example, the strength of Elise and the other executives of Kurama, as well as the vicious magical criminals Dante and Mir, couldn’t be measured by rankings.

The biggest influence on rank was the number of Fiends one defeated and the class of those Fiends. Without practically living in the Outer World, one’s ranking wasn’t going to suddenly rise.

However, it would be rude to bring that up here. Instead, Alus quietly watched as his silver-haired partner’s pride swelled from Felinella’s honest praise.

“You really are amazing, Ms. Loki.”

“Not at all, Ms. Felinella, you’re the amazing one...!”

A pointless game of elevating each other began, the two girls chatting and laughing cheerfully. Perhaps because she didn’t have many visitors close to her age, Felinella looked more lively than usual.

But there was no end in sight if they were left alone, so Alus carefully timed his interruption.

“That aside...Feli, did you hear anything from Lord Vizaist? I heard he took over the investigation into Morwald from Aferka.”

Felinella apologetically shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’ve been hospitalized since the attack. I haven’t seen my father for a while, and it’s hard for me to make contact from here.”

Having worked under Vizaist, Alus knew that well. When he was in the middle of a mission, it was exceedingly difficult even for family to make contact with Vizaist. That didn’t seem to change even when his beloved daughter was hospitalized.

“So he’s the same as usual, huh? Well, no matter... I was just wondering if he might have shared something.”

“I see. Could that have something to do with the Tenbram perhaps?”

“So you’ve heard about that, then.”

Finding Alus’s unexpected expression funny, Felinella smiled brightly. “Heh heh, it is the first Tenbram in a while, so it’s a hot topic, you know. It might not be publicly disclosed, but any noble with sharp ears is probably paying attention to it. Especially when two of the three great noble families are involved.”

While they might not be patrons of or have hostility towards Womruina or Fable, a lot of nobles had some kind of stake in the outcome.

Some were hoping for an opportunity, others were proactively trying to support one or the other, Felinella explained. Mostly, the situation threatened to shake the very foundation of the nobility in Alpha.

“Even more so with Mr. Alus involved... Why not go at it without reservation?” Felinella asked, all emotion disappearing from her face for a moment. It was the poker face she rarely showed. That was proof she had qualities that went beyond just those of an honors student and a noble lady.

Alus could only let out a slight chuckle in response. “That was my intention from the start, but I didn’t expect to hear you say that. I figured that the Socalent family would stay neutral.”

There was a reason there were three great noble families as opposed to two. They worked exquisitely with each other to balance the nation, not just in politics but in many other manners as well.

As if trying to escape Alus’s piercing stare, Felinella turned towards the window. “There is no longer any doubt that the Womruina family was involved in the Aferka incident. They have crossed the line a family supporting the future of Alpha should have never crossed. I believe you should settle things promptly.”

If the Womruina family were only behind Aferka’s rampage, it could be settled behind the scenes. But if they’d led escaped criminals into Alpha as well, their crimes were too large to atone for.

That had created a tragedy that included deaths in the Institute and had dragged in not just Felinella but her beloved juniors Tesfia and Alice too. Womruina’s folly had inflicted deep wounds on them that would not heal anytime soon. To her, this went beyond noble society. They were a poison that ravaged Alpha as a nation.

“That’s true, the Tenbram is not just about my course of action anymore,” he agreed.

Alus wasn’t a noble, but even he understood what Felinella was talking about. They wore the mask of former royalty, but on the inside, Womruina was now no more than a cornered beast.

And an injured beast with no escape would fight back no matter what it took, which meant that someone needed to swing the blade to stop them before they did any serious damage.

But Alus looked beyond that good and evil or their public appearance. Simply put, Alus had taken an interest in the strange proxy-warlike game that was the Tenbram.

Behind it was Womruina’s second son, Aile. And even with Alus’s powers of perception, there was a part of the boy that he was unable to see.

He had a feeling that he wasn’t as full of worldly desires as Morwald, but if possible, Alus would like to step into the same arena as him and see where his eccentric thoughts pointed. Alus saw the Tenbram as a dusty old relic of the past, but he was curious to see what kind of plots and calculations Aile had in store.

But Alus wasn’t like a hunter that enjoyed purposefully cornering an injured beast. What he wanted was to further his understanding of the unknown, and he had an interest in the strange and twisted personality and the dangerous balance of complex, conflicting qualities that the boy was hiding.

That said, he also understood that someone needed to bring the hammer of justice down on their folly. And he understood that he shouldn’t be the one to take that responsibility.

Alus had pretty much no interest in justice. Nor was he planning on being its executor. He didn’t have the passion or qualifications for that either.

Alus was interested in Aile, but he saw him as a saboteur, a plunderer who threatened to steal Tesfia away after Alus had taken the time to raise her. Frankly, that didn’t sit right with him, and he wanted to prevent it.

His motives were simple and irresponsible, like a child swatting away the hand trying to steal its favorite toy. As long as he could do that, it didn’t matter what else happened.

And so, Alus’s attitude towards the Tenbram was a complex combination of personal factors and not wanting to get caught up in the quarrels between nobility.

Alus grimaced. He found explaining himself a pain. “Don’t expect too much. It’s not in my nature, and I guess that I shouldn’t go that far.”

Felinella gracefully smiled at him. “Of course. I will cheer for you from here.”

“Yeah, you just recuperate here, but I’m sure you’ll get good news before long.”

Felinella giggled as if to say that she’d be waiting for it. And with that, Alus said that it was time to leave and took Loki with him. Their next destination was the Fable family. Preparations were necessary for the coming Tenbram.