Tensei Shite Inaka de Slowlife wo Okuritai - Chapter 571

Different ways of thinking about magic

Gideon collapsed at Ra-chan's straightforward question.

「Shut up! Just you wait! I will gain more chant cancellation skills than you and one day I will master the use of chantless spells!」

　Ra-chan's eyes widened in shock at Gideon's parting remark.

　He simply didn't think that his older brother, who was older than him, couldn't do it.

　…Yeah, this might be more affecting than being teased in some weird way.

　He wasn't going to be made fun of, but it seemed like more had happened than Gideon had feared.

"It's hard to cancel a chant, you know?"

"That may be easy for an ordinary person like Rana, but it's easy for a genius like me."

　Ra-chan has kept up with my strict psychic training and has successfully become able to cancel spells. Considering that she has this much magical skill even at the age of four, I think she is a genius, but in the Misfeed family...

But maybe that's not the case?

"Come on, Alfried. Teach me about canceling the chant."

"But first, could you please explain to me the principles of activating the magic you know, Master Gideon? What you mentioned briefly last night?"

　I seem to remember him saying that magic is the refinement of magical power and magical language.

"What are you saying now?"

"Please, please."

　Even if you ask me to teach you, I honestly don't go to a magic school or anything like that, and I think Gideon has far more knowledge of magic than me. The fact that he can't cancel spells means that he doesn't know how to cancel spells or use them.

Perhaps you have a wrong understanding of chanting?

"Magic is the power that is activated by refining magical energy and weaving spells, which is a magical language. It is impossible to make a phenomenon occur by skipping the command form of a spell."

　Gideon had a suspicious look on his face, but when I pressed him more, he reluctantly and carefully explained the magical theory he'd told me about last night.

　After hearing that, I involuntarily tilted my head.

"Hmm, that doesn't seem to match the definition of magic I know."

"...What do you mean?"

"Magic is a wish, and the chant varies depending on the image each person has, so doesn't that mean the manifestation also varies?"

"What kind of vague definition is that? Isn't it like saying that magic is activated by our imagination?"

"Yes, that's exactly right isn't it?"

　At least I can activate magic with it.

"I believe that chants using magical language are merely a way to supplement people's imaginations, and that command formulas exist to stabilize magic... [Fireball]."

　As an experiment, I imagined a fireball and channeled magical power into it, and a fireball was born in my palm.

"That's, that's stupid...!?"

　The magic manifested without chanting, and Gideon stepped back in shock.

　Gideon's eyes widened as the fireball he created became larger, elongated, and took on the shape of a small dragon.

"So now you understand that you can manifest magic through your imagination?"

"So what I've been doing has been just learning standard magic for ordinary people to use?"

　Gideon's body trembling violently as he squeezed out the words.

　I understand what you're trying to say, but it's a bit harsh.

"No, magic that is created through imagination has many unstable aspects, so I think it's important to have magic that can always produce a stable output at a stable speed. Imagination is a surprisingly tricky thing, and even a slight deviation from your imagination can make it difficult to achieve your goal.

This can result in different phenomena appearing, or you can be forced to consume unexpected magical power."

　When it comes to actual combat, such deviations can be fatal, so I think magic that can be cast reliably at any time is a wonderful thing.

　Well, I'm used to casting spells without chanting, so I almost never chant because chanting makes the magic unstable.

"Can Rana also do this with the vague theory that Alfried is talking about?"

"Yes, you can. [Psychic]"

　Ra-chan removed her own hair tie and used a psychic to suspend herself in the air, cancelling the chant.

"Wh, what did you say...?!"

　Gideon looked as if he had just witnessed a mysterious phenomenon.

　Seeing her brother like that, Ra-chan has a pleased look on her face and ties her hair up with a hair tie.

　However, it seems she couldn't tie her hair properly, so it ended up in a rather unstable twin tail.

　Not only are the top and bottom hairs misaligned, but the strands on the left and right are different sizes. Ra-chan herself must be aware of this. She touches her own hair with a look of dissatisfaction.

"Al, tie it."

"Okay."

　I took the hair tie from Ra-chan and carefully tied her platinum-colored hair up.

"Okay, now you're cute."

"thank you!"

　Ra-chan smiles happily, probably because she's happy that her hair is now even on both sides.

"...How can you tie your hair even though you're a man?"

"I do my sister's hair on a daily basis."

"No, that's a servant's job."

　Is that really the case? At least in the Slowlet household, it's the younger brother's job.

　Thanks to Eleonora's training, Silvio can now do simple hair arrangements.

"Now, Master Gideon, why don't you try casting a spell using your imagination?"

"Ah, yeah. That's right. You ordinary people are showing it. There's no way I can't do it!"

　Gideon spoke confidently and drew a short staff from his belt.

"Fireball!"

　He shouted the name of the spell aloud, but not even a magic circle, the telltale sign of a spell being activated, appeared at the tip of Gideon's wand.

""""

"[Fireball] [Fireball]"

　Gideon repeatedly called out the name of the spell, but there was no sign of a fireball appearing from the tip of his staff.

　Ra-chan and I watched him with blank expressions.

　I don't know what to say to him after he said such bold things.

"There must be some kind of mistake. If Lana can do it, there's no way I can't... Hey! Bring me the magic doll!"

　When Gideon gave the order, the servants nearby came clumsily bringing out a black object. What they set down on the ground was a humanoid target clad in full black armor.

"It doesn't seem like an ordinary target."

"I had the royal blacksmith process adamantite, which is strong and highly resistant to magical powers, to create it. It won't break even with a little magic."

　Adamantite was a pretty high-end item, right? It wasn't even used for weapons or armor, it was just used as a target.

"Or rather, why would you bother to bring out a target?"

"It's not fun unless it's an offensive spell."

　It would be fine to just fire water balls or fireballs at the target without having to throw them at it, but Gideon doesn't seem to like that.

　Well, if that's what's most comfortable for the person, there's no point in complaining.

"How about this time! [Fireball]!"

　Gideon aimed his staff at the magical doll, but no fireball was fired.

"Looks like it's no good."

"Ugh, so my brain has been contaminated by the uniform magic of an ordinary person without me realizing it..."

　It may sound harsh, but Gideon seemed to have quickly accepted his inability to cancel chants.

　It's understandable. It would be difficult to suddenly imagine magic.

"First, let's take the time to understand that magic can be created through imagination."

"...That's right. Okay, Alfried, try casting a spell on the magical doll so that I can recognize it."

　Although he recognizes his own lack of ability, it seems his condescending tone hasn't changed.

　It's actually quite refreshing to see such a consistent attitude.

"Sure."

　If Gideon saw the same kind of magic as his being performed with the Cancel Incantation skill many times, he would be able to develop a strong understanding that magic could be cast with the imagination.

"But before that, that magical doll won't break that easily, right?"

"I told you it uses adamantite, which has high magical resistance. There's no need to worry."

　That being said, I wonder how much defensive power it has.

　I don't have much experience using magic on adamantite, so I'll try increasing the power a little.

　I raise my right hand.

　A magic circle appears and small flames converge on the palm of his right hand.

　The generated fireball is small, but due to the compression of magical energy it has high density and power.

　Although the power of this spell was child's play compared to the one aimed at Baghdad, even a magical doll made of adamantite should be able to withstand it.

"Fireball"

　Behind me, Gideon let out a slightly taken aback cry, but I ignored him and abandoned the chant, firing off a fireball.

　With a whoosh, my fireball shot straight towards the magical doll and hit it directly.

　And then, the magical doll exploded.

"Huh?"

　I rushed over and saw that the magical doll had been blown into pieces.

　It's gotten to a point where there's no room for excuses.

"Gideon-sama, the magical doll is broken..."

"Of course! If you release a spell with that kind of magical power density, it's bound to break, no matter how adamantite the magical doll is!"

　Huh? I thought they were trying to tone it down a bit after what happened in Baghdad.

　Maybe it's because I don't have much experience using offensive magic, but it's difficult to adjust the power.

"Amazing! I've never seen anyone other than Dad destroy a magical doll before!"

　Ra-chan's eyes sparkled as she looked at the broken magical doll.

　Apparently, Schugel can also cast magic powerful enough to destroy a magical doll.

　As expected from the head of the Misfeed family and head of the magic academy.

"...Um, what about the repair costs for this?"

　It was a custom-made item made by the royal blacksmith using this much adamantite. It couldn't be cheap.

"Hmph, I'm not so petty as to charge a fee for destroying a single magical doll. I'm someone who's been taught magical techniques after all."

"thank you"

　The servants lined up additional magical dolls to demonstrate the wealth of the Misfeed family.

　It seems like there really is a lot of money in some places. I envy them.

　If I were richer, I would like to collect high-quality materials, make high-quality toys, and live an elegant, slow life.