What kind of absurd talk is this? That there are no foxes in the North. That no one has ever seen one.
“I’m looking at one right now.”
I gestured toward the door with an indifferent attitude. There sat a fox, still swishing its fluffy tail, reacting to our—or more precisely, my—voice.
“Does that thing look like a tiger to you too?”
No matter how you look at it, it’s a fox.
When our eyes met, the small beast opened its mouth and roared.
—Kyaang.
Look at those rice grain-like front teeth and those ceremonially existing fangs. It looks more distant from a tiger than an eighth cousin.
I yawned leisurely and looked down at the fox, which was smacking its lips. It had no idea what the men standing in front of the office desk were talking about regarding it, with eyes that were merely innocent.
Far from knowing where it had lived or what it had been doing, I’d even heard that it had never been discovered in the North before. It might really be a magical beast, yet strangely, it didn’t feel threatening.
‘Is it because it’s rather docile?’
It seemed to get along well with Lenox, and although I didn’t know why, when I kept it nearby earlier, it seemed like good energy came out.
…Well, its appearance is at least acceptable too.
So I thought I’d leave it as is for now. If I was really worried, it was just a matter of me paying a bit more attention.
“Leave it. I’ll send it out when spring comes anyway.”
“…Is it correct to send it away when the weather clears?”
“Well then, should I keep it for thousands and thousands of years?”
I crossed my arms and replied sharply.
“I won’t become attached.”
The fact that none of those in the office believed those words was something I only learned much later.
***
After finishing lunch, I headed to the training grounds as usual. Normally, I would warm up, do strength training, and then continue sword training following Wieg’s guidance, but today was different.
“Are you ready, Your Imperial Majesty?”
“Yes.”
Sitting down, I looked at the sword placed on my lap and took a deep breath. Then I raised my head and gazed at the mage standing upright.
“Let’s begin.”
Today was the day to learn how to imbue magical power into a new weapon.
Training the body wasn’t simply about moving well. It was also about learning what potential one’s body had and, conversely, what limits it had.
And this body possessed quite useful reflexes. It also had the advantage of being able to steadily build up from the basics without bad habits ingrained in it.
On the other hand, there were also disadvantages. It inherently lacked stamina, and no matter what I did, there was also the limitation that muscles wouldn’t properly develop. In terms of actually having to swing a sword while armed, this couldn’t help but be a significant weakness.
So to solve this problem, what I chose was magic swordsmanship. By using magical power, I could reduce the weight of weapons and, furthermore, wield a sword in a more useful way in actual combat.
Conveniently, I had possessed Achille Lowyn Fel Betius from <Pavane for a Dead Princess>. That Achille, who had no luck with people, no character, no fortune, but had an incredible amount of magical power.
So I had decided to learn the basics of magic swordsmanship from him, whom I had seated as Lenox’s magic teacher.
“First, we’ll start with bringing out magical power. The method of operating magical power, as Your Imperial Majesty knows…”
“I don’t know.”
“Pardon?”
I answered while trying my best not to show my embarrassment.
“I said I don’t know. I only learned that I was a mage from being told.”
“…”
“So think of me as, um, someone who came from a world where magic doesn’t even exist. Start from the assumption that I know nothing.”
At those words, the mage asked with a flustered expression.
“…Could such a person exist?”
Why not? You’re looking at one right now.
Fortunately, the mage was diligent. Despite looking like he couldn’t understand at all, he began explaining faithfully.
“Mana circuits are usually formed in a shape that supports the lower part of the heart. And as they grow, they come to fully protect the heart. If you close your eyes and concentrate, you’ll feel something inside your solar plexus.”
“What and how am I supposed to feel it? Like indigestion?”
“It’s a bit different from that. If you calmly listen to the presence inside your body, you’ll naturally feel it.”
What’s different and what am I supposed to naturally feel? I closed my eyes, puzzled.
And.
“…Oh.”
I really felt it. A presence quietly rippling from the very center of my body.
I felt a mysterious sensation that was hard to describe—flowing like water, swirling like wind, then settling delicately like ice crystals.
“Now try to think of pushing it out to both your fingertips. Flow it along the paths inside your body.”
“But this isn’t actually water, so how…”
Never mind. There was no need to understand the principle or use any tricks. The moment I wished for it, as if responding to that will, it flowed to my fingertips and condensed into a blue light. Like magic.
Unlike me, who was quite surprised, the mage was calm as if he had expected this.
“Excellent, Your Grace the Grand Duke. Now try gathering it into a size about the size of a fingernail.”
“Like this?”
“Now try dispersing it with the feeling of breaking it down strand by strand.”
“Mm.”
“Then what about this? Try thinking of wrapping the entire sword with thinly drawn-out magical power. With the feeling of coating it with a thin film.”
“Hmm.”
“You’ll see a transparent gem above the handle. Would you try condensing power there?”
I stared at the blue sparkling gem.
‘More than I thought…’
Isn’t this too easy?
Everything was done on its own before I even tried to make an effort. Following my instruction to teach as if teaching someone who knew nothing, it seemed he was starting with things easy enough for even a child to do.
“You’re really amazing.”
So I was thinking he was generous with encouragement too.
“What you said earlier must have just been modesty. You spoke so seriously that I thought it was real.”
No. It wasn’t modesty. I was serious. It was real.
“If you can freely handle magical power outside your body, learning magic swordsmanship is only a matter of time. First, let’s try applying it by thinly surrounding the weapon to reduce its weight.”
I began trying things one by one following the mage’s kind instructions. Contrary to my expectation that it would be difficult, progress was made without obstruction.
When the sword became so light that it felt like it was stuck to my hand, an honest impression popped out of my mouth.
“Isn’t this working too easily?”
Then the mage answered firmly.
“It’s not easy. Your Imperial Majesty is just good at it. Most mages take a month just to control the magical power they’ve brought out.”
“Hm?”
“And it takes an additional month to load it onto an object.”
Added together, that’s 2 months? I just finished everything in 2 minutes.
“The young His Imperial Majesty the Emperor was also amazing, but Your Grace the Grand Duke is truly… This level of skill would be counted among the best in the Felwood Empire.”
The mage’s eyes were sparkling like someone who had discovered a gold mine.
“Why has such skill not become known until now?”
I smiled softly and thought.
‘He must have hidden it.’
Achille had spent his entire life in the Imperial Palace. Showing one’s hand in a place swarming with enemies would be no different from advertising to be killed.
Power that couldn’t be taken responsibility for couldn’t be a blessing, so he hid it and hid it as much as possible. It seemed he had at least that much sense.
“Magic is ultimately a power that originates from within oneself and follows the heart.”
The mage explained with a serious attitude.
“So depending on how it’s used, it can be trivial or it can be infinite. With power like the sea, you might at best break a single spoon, or with something the size of a fingernail, you might split a cliff.”
“Can that really happen?”
“Theoretically, yes. If you perfectly control magical power.”
“What do you have to do to perfectly control power?”
“Well, there are several conditions. First of all…”
The mage smiled. Somehow, it seemed like he pitied me a little.
“…You must be healthy.”
It was the moment the first red light turned on in magic lessons.
