Foreigner Volume 4, Chapter 30

Volume 4 Chapter 30, Discovery ~ 04

　The next morning.

　Before breakfast, Satoru, Leia, and Riko put their foreheads together and looked at the map, considering the route to Ares, which they had decided to take as their destination. This map of the world, which he had taken from Leia's labyrinth, was not to scale and the data was out of date, so to be honest, it was not very reliable, but Rico said that there were few proper maps of the world in this world. In a world where wars between countries are still common, a map is a valuable piece of information. With that in mind, it's no wonder that properly surveyed maps are so rare.

「First of all, it would be nice if we could buy Rico's night camping gear and food.」

「There's a town of some size called Reyeld. Considering yesterday's pace, we should be able to get there before the third koku.」

　It was not on the map. But it was a town near Galhassan, so Rico must have known about it. Where is it roughly? he asked, roughly comparing it to the map. She said it was on the way to the town of Ares, so it should be no problem to stop by.

「Hmm, ......, my Lord.」

　He have been looking at the map together with Leia, and she looked up.

「I think it's time. Why don't you try Minerva's "Mimicry"?」

「Well ...... If the teacher gives me permission, as a student, I can't say no to that.」

「All right, we'll go as usual until we get near Reyeld. When we get close, let's get off and give it a try.」

　With Leia's advice, we start preparing to leave. Minerva had procured food as usual. However, as was the case last night, there was a hint that she was not thinking about Rico. The meat was not a problem since there was enough for one person, but she had only brought one fruit.

　She didn't mind having Rico on her back, but she was probably reluctant to do so because Satoru had welcomed her. But Rico didn't mind at all.

　Today, Rico was again quickly processing the meat, showing that she could be useful in the area of cooking. Leia is not much of a cook and Minerva only eats raw, so Rico's presence is appreciated. However, Satoru is a little sad that the cookbook he bought in Galhassan is going to waste.

　A little over an hour later, when the town of Reyeld came into view, Satoru led Minerva below. The town of Reyeld is surrounded by granaries, and there is no place to hide if they get too close.

　As soon as they got down, Leia-sensei crawled out from the shadows and began her lecture on magic.

「Since this is a good opportunity, I'll explain about the mixed nature of magic. With the exception of some simple magic, most magic of intermediate level and above is a mixture of formulas. Interestingly, of the eight types of magic, "rijutsu" makes up the majority of the combinations. For example, the art of "Mimicry. This is a chanting magic, which incorporates "Grant", "Perpetuating", and "Spell-breaking" in the chanting. The effect will be neat. How hard can it be? If you only use mimicry, only your appearance will change, and as long as you remain in that appearance, your magic will continue to be consumed. The effect wears off when the magic power runs out. Next, you can mimic another person by adding the "Grant" art, which is the basis of the "Rijutsu", to the "Mimicry" art. However, this also disappears when the magic power runs out, and the effect wears off in a few seconds if it is just a quick application. Are you beginning to understand? Right. That's why you need a permanent spell. The amount of magic you need to use at one time is quite a bit higher, but by putting this on, you can stay in your "Mimicry" body. Of course, there's no problem if you leave it as it is, but you can't go back to it unless you break the spell. That's where the "Spell-breaking" comes in. If you or the person who has been affected by the spell chants the word or says the words "Spell-breaking," you can break the "Mimicry".」

　The lecture of the "The Great Magician," Leia-sensei, continued.

「As you can see, depending on the combination, magic can change in any way. The Academy of the Wise in Ares, the highest academy on this continent, publishes a book every five years called the "Dictionary of the Art of Magic", which introduces new magic and chanting, as well as the origins and structure of magic.The dictionary of magic that I have is a bit old, but it explains everything from the basics to applications in the easiest way possible. It's possible to supplement it with a dictionary of the magic system, and I buy it as it's published, but it's basically just a further development and application of what I've learned from the Magic Compendium.」

　To be honest, Satoru only half understood what she was talking about, but he understood that the effect would only be real if various additions were added to the basic techniques. Rico raised her hand.

「Question, sensei.」

「What is it Rico?」

「What happened to the art If a art requires a combination of two things, and one of the elements is not perfectly trained?」

　To Rico's question, Leia-sensei nodded in satisfaction.

「That's a good question. In this case, the art will not be activated. However, magic power will be consumed. If you try to use magic that you can't use, you'll only lose magic power and get tired.」

「If you don't have a background in logic, it's impossible to develop magic to the intermediate level, huh」

　The majority of combination granting is Rijutsu, so you need to have a talent for Rijutsu to develop.

「That's the case, but most of them have a basic level of rijutsu. There are a few people who only have a background in rijutsu, but the number of people who can't use rijutsu at all is about one in a million. Although it is called a beginner's level of rijutsu, there are many things that form the foundation. The theory of evolution of magic is how to combine them and develop the art efficiently according to your background.」

　Oohhhhh~ The two students clapped their hands in praise of their teacher. Leia "Hmm-hmmm" and her face become smug.

「Anyway, most of the magic is performed by consuming magic power through talent, depending on imagination and concentration. Just as my Lord used the "Roar" at Galhassan's guild on the spur of the moment.」

　Rico's eyes widened at Leia's confession.

「What? Was that a spur of the moment thing?」

「Oh. I never taught my Lord that art.」

「It's fine isn't it? Because it worked out.」

　It was just a simple idea that went well when he tried it. But it really only worked by chance, and since the art involved Rico and Leia, it was fortunate that the two were not harmed. Aside from Rico, Leia had no choice but to respond with a frown.

「Anyway, as I thought in the training of the four elements, my Lord only needs a little imagination.」

　If Satoru tried to make a normal water ball, he would only need a drop of imagination.

「The art of abbreviating the imagination is called chanting. If you know chanting, even if you don't know the role of the root of the magic, as long as you have the background, the magic will be activated. The chanting and wording is a way to eliminate the mixture of imagination and magic. If you have magic power and talent, anyone can use magic by chanting and putting words on it.」

「Considering Satoru's extraordinary soul, does that mean that as long as he chants and puts words on it, he can use magic at will?」

「That's what I mean.」

　Riko understands things very well for someone with little education. Even if she doesn't have a solid academic background, she has knowledge that is backed by experience.

「. ......What? Then you could have use "Mimicry" Galhassan when you entered the town, couldn't  have you?」

　Leia shook her head left and right at Satoru's question.

「No, I couldn't have done it anyway at that time. I told you, it's an advanced physical magic that I can't use. In fact, it was a mutation of a physical magic that was supposed to work only on the user, but by combining it with a "Grant" it could be applied to others. My book of magic did not contain any chanting for the art of mimicry.」

「Oh, I see.」

　If you don't know it in the first place, there is no way to apply it.

「So, now. Luckily, there was a book of magic that I bought in Galhassan that had the chanting of mimicry in it. ...... It's rare to find the chanting of advanced magic in a book, you know? There are many people who excel in physical magic, most of them famous warriors and swordsmen. With a few exceptions, such as "Shrinking" and "Expanding," up to intermediate level magic, it only affects the practitioner. It's only at the higher levels that you can affect others, but there's no reason for a warrior or swordsman, who can manage on their own, to learn a art that affects others. The author of this book also wrote this book because he was afraid that if things continued as they were, there would be no one left to teach the advanced physical system.」

　As usual, Leia has a long way to go when she gets into the "Knowledge" mode.

「If you know how to chant, then you don't need to train your imagination, right?」

「Indeed, there are many people who do not learn the basics of magic and use chanting as an excuse. If you know how to chant, the magic will work according to your talent. However, if you do that, you will never be able to use magic without chanting. It is only when you understand the logic of magic and are able to use it that the path to chantlessness opens up. When it comes to a battle, how useful is a sorcerer who has to recite chants?」

　That's why she had Satoru train his imagination.

　However, Leia did not deny chanting itself. There are ways for a person without much soul or talent to make use of magic in their daily life, and it is too risky to use only your imagination to perform a art like "Slavery" that involves many different arts.

　It was thoughtful and reckless.

「Hmmm, ...... That magic. I'm only doing physical arts too.」

　Although she doesn't necessarily have to, Rico is one of the students in Leia's magic course. However, since her talent is only a very ordinary one, she often has trouble keeping up.

　The instructor gave a reproachful look at the serious but talentless student's lament.

「Hah? What are you saying? It's true that you're not very good at the four elements, and you're most skilled at physical arts, but you have a certain talent for the rational arts as well.」

「Eehh? Is that so?」

　Rico was surprised by Leia's words that she hadn't thought of.

「I've already told you that only one in a million people has no talent for the arts. Good grief.......I wonder what kind of education young people are getting these days.」

　*Pfff* Satoru erupted in laughter. He can't help but laugh when Leia, who is the youngest in appearance, brings up the subject of age. Indeed that she's much older than him, but...

　Leia looks at Satoru with a frown as he bursts out laughing.

「Hey, Leia. I think it's inevitable that Rico, who was not blessed with a good upbringing, was not blessed with a good education.」

　As Satoru pointed out, Leia said as if she remembered.

「It's true, as you say. I'm sorry, Rico, for being so inquisitive.」

「Y-You can't help it?」

「It can't be helped, I guess.」

　Leia's language is quite old-fashioned. Satoru can still vaguely understand it, but the less educated Rico seems to have trouble understanding it at times.

「Let's get back to the point. I said that Rico had a certain background in the arts of logic. This is because Riko's specialties, such as "Contraction" and "Light work," are arts that can only be used with a background in rijutsu.」

「Heeeee~......I didn't know that.」

　She gave a small chuckle to Rico, who buzz with honest admiration.

「Now that your soul has increased, I think you can master the elementary level as long as you train........I'll explain it a little easier to understand」

　Leia sat back down and turned to Rico.

「When you run fast like normal, can you stop suddenly?」

「I can't, that's impossible.」

　Rico immediately shook her head.

「So what about when you're moving through a "Contraction"? It should be faster than normal running.」

「I can stop. ...... Huh? That's strange, if you think about it.」

　When you move in a "Contraction", inertia is ignored. Rico uses her imagination and concentration in that area, without chanting. It's not something that comes from learning, it's something that comes from experience.

「To put it more precisely, there is the science of "control" on board.」

「Magic ignore the laws of physics, like inertia. When you think about it, magic sounds like cheating.」

　Satoru snorted. A running person or object can't suddenly stop. Magic that completely ignores the laws of physics in his original world is often surprising.

「Hmm? My Lord, can you repeat that, please?」

「Inertia and physical laws. I'm not an educated person, so I can't really explain it, but ...... Well, we've talked about energy before, remember?」

「Indeed.」

　The positions of teacher and student have been swapped.

「There's a lot of energy riding on things and phenomena. Inertia is what makes it impossible to stop suddenly. Another obvious one is gravity.」

　Satoru flicked the coin with his fingernail and sent it flying into the sky. Eventually, the coin falls and settles in his palm.

「See, when you throw something upwards, it falls down. This is because this place has gravity.」

「It's kind of hard to understand, but I get the idea, yep.」

「That make my eyes opened. My Lord's way of thinking about the world is very helpful.」

　Satoru wondered if he was in trouble now. Riko was not well educated, but Leia was an expert in magic. The knowledge she has is more than just vast. If he told her about the laws of physics in his original world, there was a risk that the common sense of this world would be overturned. However, there was no way he could stop explaining now.

「So, what are these physical laws?」

「That one is more difficult to explain: ....... It's like a promise of power working in each」

　Satoru groaned, "Hmm". Satoru is also a high school dropout. Even in junior high school, his grades were not good - or rather, they were not good. It's not that he was unserious, but he was the type of person who couldn't get his grades up because he couldn't get the knowledge into his head or he wasn't good at following directions. It is quite impossible to ask such a person to talk about the laws of physics.

「For example, when two magic arts collide, the one with the stronger magic power wins, right?」

　He clashed his right fist with his left fist and spread his right hand out with a bang. Leia and Rico both nodded.

「The idea is that one side's energy is winning. What happens if they have the exact same magic power?」

「What do you mean?」

　Rico didn't seem to understand. She looked back at the magic expert.

「Disappear, though rarely.」

　It is almost impossible to have the exact same soul size in this world. Even if the same chant is used to invoke a art, there will be differences, albeit at the margin of error level, depending on the nature of the soul. The concept of annihilation is only a legend, and it takes a lot of learning to understand it. It's not surprising that Rico doesn't know about it.

「In order to eliminate the energy of one side, it would take an equal or greater amount of energy to eliminate the other side..........I wonder if that's the right way to put it.」

「Hooo」

「The point is that the energy that should be there is being erased by magic. It's not possible in my world.」

「...... Hoou.」

　Satoru chuckles at his inadequate explanation, but Leia seems to have grasped what Satoru was trying to say. She twisted her neck and began to ponder. She began to mumble and write on the parchment, though she did not imitate Satoru, who wrote in his notebook at every turn. Hmmm As Leia began to groan, Rico looked at Satoru with an expression that was a mixture of dismay and respect.

「You know, you said that you are uneducated, but in your world, are you uneducated even if you have that much knowledge?」

「Of course, it varies from country to country and region to region. In the country I was in, it's a common level, you know?」

「Ueeee~, ...... I'm glad I wasn't born in the world where Satoru was.」

　Satoru chuckled. In fact, if he had to choose between Leia and Rico, he would say that Rico would probably be the one to adapt to modern Japan. Leia, because of her powerful soul, tends to rely on magic in any way. In this respect, Rico does not live a life that relies entirely on magic.

　Leia, who had been grumbling while writing on the parchment, finally looked up.

「.......I'll leave it for now. I'll think about it later」

　In the moving shadows, while Satoru and the others slept, Leia had plenty of time to think.

　She put the parchment, ink, and pen away in the shadows, and took out a book instead, opened it to a page with a bookmark inserted, and held it out to Satoru.

「This is the chant for "Mimicry". Can you read it?」

「...... Oh, I can read them just fine.」

　Reading is no longer a problem. He's still a little confused when he's asked to write, though.

「What should I be careful about?」

「After "I", you have to put the whole of your name and the pronunciation of the last word. Like putting a clause on the second note.」

「Understood.」

　Satoru stood in front of Minerva, book in hand. Guru? He smiled gently at Minerva, who gave a questioning growl.

「There's nothing to be afraid of. Just be quiet and accept it.」

「Guru.」

　Minerva hung her head and closed her eyes as if to accept Satoru's art. She is a very obedient flying dragon. In response to Minerva's resolve, Satoru closed his eyes, calmed his mind, took a deep breath, and began to read out loud.

「『I, Satoru Kasahara, command you.

　Under the vow of Amalie.

　I shall receive the words of congratulation that bear the curse of time.

　Transform the beast before you into the form of a human being as it should be in this world.

　"Mimicry".』」

「Waah. ......」

　In response to Satoru's art, Minerva's huge body glowed faintly, and Rico couldn't help but exclaim.

　Minerva's huge body became smaller and smaller, and gradually changed into a human form. Her skin was yellowish, slightly white, similar to Satoru's, and her long, dark indigo hair, wavy and loose, was the same color as her scales. Her eyes are the same color. There she was, a beautiful woman of unusually shiny flesh, with a magnificent naked body.

　It looks like the operation was a success. Minerva looked at her limbs curiously, then tilted her head and opened her mouth to Satoru.

「Danna ......sama?」

「She spoke!?」

　Leia's surprised voice. Minerva ran towards Satoru with a joyful look on her face, and hugged him with all her might.

「Danna-samaaa!!」

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