C381. Magic (1)
Alon watched Ryanga.
Her eyes, lost and aimless, only trembled for an instant...
Tak—
Without a word, she got down from Alon's knees, took a few steps forward...
Chut—
And she disappeared right before his eyes.
It all occurred too fast.
Alon, who was staring blankly at the spot where Ryanga had been, remained silent for a good while with an expressionless face, before opening his mouth.
"Penia."
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
"The people close to me... have they always been a bit strange?"
"Hmm... in a sense, you could say that."
"...What does that mean?"
"Well, there are several reasons."
As Penia was responding...
"Huh? I went out for a moment for a matter at the auction house, did something happen?"
Evan, who had gone out to run an errand, returned.
"Nothing serious. It seems the news that the Marquis lost his memory has spread a little."
"The news about the Marquis?"
"But it's nothing to worry too much about. I don't think it has spread very far."
Penia told Evan everything that happened that day.
After listening to it all, Evan murmured a "hmm" and then evaluated:
"Well, I'd say it fell a bit short of what I expected."
"...This falls short of what you expected?"
"Yes."
"...Were you the one who told everyone I lost my memory?"
"Huh? Of course not. Why would I go around saying the Marquis lost his memory?"
Evan shrugged his shoulders.
"When I said it fell short of what I expected, I was referring to the reaction."
"The reaction?"
"Yes. Honestly, I thought that if they found out the Marquis lost his memory... something more would have happened."
"...Something like what?"
"Well, for example... a kidnapping?"
Evan said a terrifying word with total naturalness.
Alon frowned, thinking it might be a joke.
"...You're not joking?"
"Why would I joke?"
Evan confirmed it seriously.
"...Well, it's possible."
When Penia, who was listening to the conversation, also nodded, Alon's confusion increased.
"What kind of thirteen years did I live...?"
A deep sigh escaped from his mind, already filled with chaos.
Dinner time arrived.
Those who tried to fulfill their own agendas by taking advantage of Alon's memory loss finally bowed their heads before him.
And Alon ended the situation by letting it slide as if it were unimportant.
After all, he hadn't suffered any real harm. And more importantly: the little pranks they pulled on him were things easy to ignore, because...
The gifts they brought him were extraordinary.
...Of course, that gift is a bit too much, but oh well.
While looking from the balcony at a statue that was undoubtedly much larger than the one from the morning, Alon turned his gaze toward the bustling dining hall.
The first thing he saw was:
The newly arrived "new" pet being trained enthusiastically by Blackie, while Basiliora ate fervently from a plate.
Then he saw Nangwon and Deus conversing surprisingly harmoniously, and Historia watching Blackie in silence.
And finally, Ryanga and Magrina whispering something with a suspicious air.
A landscape completely framed within a peaceful daily life.
For Alon, who had lost thirteen years of memories...
Even if they told him stories about them, he had no personal memory whatsoever, so feeling something special would be the weird part. But still, looking at them, he felt a warm tranquility in some corner of his chest. As if that scene felt strangely familiar and dear to him.
That contradiction itself seemed curious to him, though only for a moment. Then, looking at the night sky again, he scratched his head and sighed.
He had been turning the matter over in his mind continuously...
But he still couldn't find a way to complement his magic.
"...Is there even a method?"
The magic that Alon needed to reinforce had very clear limits.
To use magic, he had to establish a link between the Phrases and the Seals.
And thanks to uniting Phrases and Seals, he obtained firepower incomparable to that of common mages.
In other words, the basis of Alon's magic—his "power"—existed only thanks to the limitation of Phrases and Seals.
If he gave up that law, his magic would simply become normal magic.
In short, what Alon was attempting was practically impossible.
"Master?"
Just as he was sighing with those thoughts, he heard a voice.
He turned toward the direction of the sound...
"Sister Yu—"
He bit his tongue hurriedly.
Although Penia had already explained the relationship between them more or less, the first memory he had made him almost slip up and call her "noona" out of pure habit.
He didn't see the deep disappointment that passed through Yutia's eyes upon hearing his unfinished sentence.
"You can speak to me however you like," said Yutia, quickly changing her expression.
"No, even so—"
"No, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. So tell me whatever is most comfortable for you. Any way of calling me is fine."
Yutia smiled sweetly.
But despite the smile... Alon felt that she wasn't entirely smiling. A strange sensation that only lasted an instant.
Then he averted his gaze and spoke:
"You, why did you come ou...? No. Why did you come out?"
"It seemed to me that Master was worried about something. May I ask what your concern is?"
"...It's about this state of mine."
"This state?"
"Yes. 'I' sealed my memories to complement my magic. But..."
He was going to say "because I have no creativity," but he hesitated.
If he spoke about that, he would inevitably reveal more about himself.
And according to Penia, Alon and Yutia had known each other for thirteen years.
But... would he really have told her about "his previous world"?
Probably not.
"Ah... so you're worried about magic," Yutia summarized.
Alon's train of thought broke, and he replied:
"Exactly."
"Hmm... perhaps the answer lies in the Marquis's memories."
"In my memories?"
"Yes. For example..."
Yutia's characteristic bright red eyes remained thoughtful for a moment.
And then she smiled softly.
"For example... storing magic."
"Storing...?"
Alon repeated her words.
It wasn't that he had never thought about that.
After all, he had the Ho-Gap-Tu, which could store a specific magic.
And he also knew, from the fantasy worlds he had read, a spell called Memorize.
But none of these possibilities was the answer he was looking for.
The Ho-Gap-Tu could only store one magic and could only be cast once.
And the unlimited Memorize of novels was impossible to implement in this world.
"Even if it were theoretically possible... in practice only one could be stored."
That is, the same thing he already had.
Therefore:
"It's not that I haven't considered it, but it's impossible."
"Really?"
"Yes. Theoretically, magic can be stored, but only once. And only before using Reverse Heaven."
"Why?"
"...It's a complicated concept, but to 'store', you would have to keep it in the mana orb."
"And if Reverse Heaven increases mana, the preconfigured magic could go out of control... something like that?"
"With enough research the risk could be avoided, but initially, yes."
Yutia remained silent for a moment.
"But... does it really matter if it's just one?"
"...It doesn't matter?"
"Yes. The problem is the Seals and the Phrases, right?"
"That's right."
"But Seals already has the Ice Seals, right?"
"...Yes, but the Phrases are still Phrases."
"Hmm..."
Yutia chose her words and then said:
"......Then... why not create the Phrases with magic?"
"...Create... the Phrases?"
"The reason Phrases are recited is to use the laws, right? So... why say them out loud?"
Alon frowned.
"That's obvious..."
He was about to refute her. But then he remembered something.
Something he had never been able to do.
Something he had never tried.
And in that instant...
"...Well, I don't know it very well either, I just said it without thinking," added Yutia with a quiet smile.
"No. In fact, it's worth a try."
"You think so?"
"Thank you."
"I'm glad to be of help. I wanted to help Master."
Without erasing her smile, Yutia said:
"It seems you need to keep thinking, so I'll go in first."
And she walked away toward the dining hall.
While Alon repeated the inspiration Yutia had awakened over and over...
"Hmm?"
Suddenly he realized something.
An idea that had passed too naturally...
But was strange.
"...Did I ever tell her that my problems were the Phrases and the Seals...?"
Without realizing it, Alon stared fixedly at Yutia inside the dining hall, interacting with the others.
In conclusion...
Seolrang, in just a few hours, had already arrived in Teria, the capital of Asteria.
For two reasons:
One, because Asteria was much faster than Colony.
The other, because she knew that the Asteria City Hall operated later than Colony's.
Although the documents she carried were from Colony, it didn't matter.
Because in the member countries of the United Allied Kingdom...
Unless it was a law issued directly by the king, they all followed the laws of Rosario.
So Seolrang arrived in Teria at the speed of light. And happy not to have been caught by Yutia, she ran to the City Hall.
She checked the marriage form several times, fearing that Yutia might be waiting for her in some corner. She entered the building and looked around.
Yutia was not there.
Only then did Seolrang let out a sigh of relief. Then, full of expectation, she handed the marriage form to the official.
And then...
"...I'm sorry, but we cannot process this document."
"Huh...?"
The answer was a refusal.
"Uh... why?"
"Ah... didn't you know? A week ago Rosario announced a change: now, to validate a marriage registration, all the people who signed it must present themselves together."
The official explained, unsure.
In that instant...
Several keywords passed through Seolrang's mind:
Rosario.
Cardinal Yutia.
Marriage form.
Yutia without stopping her.
And by putting the pieces together, Seolrang arrived at the truth easily.
"T... this i-is a t-trap..."
She murmured with a broken voice.
From somewhere far away...
She could hear the laughter of someone who had twisted the law just to stop her.
