WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Knight Commander of the Doomed Heroes ◈
Chapter 14: Peaceful Days (9)
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“How can we compress mutually repulsive magical power far enough? And how can we keep it stable once compressed?”
A frontal assault.
Facing the mages whose eyes gleamed like blades and arrowheads, I made the problem clear.
Then, as though charging alone on horseback into enemy territory, I began with the conclusion.
“The answer is simple. We don't compress it. Higher-order magical power was never compressed magical power.”
For a moment, a confused, awkward hush fell over the hall.
One mage's muttered words rang out especially clearly.
“What? That's the same conclusion as the Academy's research report.”
As though those words were a signal, voices erupted throughout the hall. Like soldiers surrounding an enemy commander and thrusting their spears at him.
“See? Didn't I tell you? Even Lord Revel couldn't find another way this time.”
“Wait. So he really gathered all these people just to repeat a conclusion we already have? A genius like Lord Revel? Someone of his standing?”
“It's because of his standing. Whenever something doesn't make sense, you can usually assume pride and reputation are involved.”
“Hah. I really don't get it. Why should I waste a trip here because some important person has issues?”
“Quiet down. At least hear him out before you criticize him.”
“What's there to hear? We already know the answer.”
“Come. On. Let's be quiet.”
“Quiet, my ass. Damn it. If I've wasted my precious time here, I'm not letting this go. I'll file a complaint with the Law Enforcement Department and the Round Table Council.”
One third of the audience was loudly expressing their complaints.
Another third seemed uncertain, but disappointed in me.
The remaining third tried to calm the room while watching me. Their eyes held a certain faith. Surely this wasn't everything? There was more, wasn't there? Right?
I raised a hand to settle the noise, then drew a picture in the air with magic.
“But my conclusion is completely different from the Academy's. The Academy favored the possibility that higher-order magical power is fundamentally different from the ordinary magical power we use. I, on the other hand, still consider both to be the same magical power. I will now explain why.”
At that, a plump mage pushed up his glasses and spoke bluntly.
“But didn't you say it wasn't compression? What else could it be, then? Well... Magic advances by getting things wrong ten times and barely getting one or two things right along the way. I understand that you're upset because this report disproved your magical power compression theory, Lord Revel, but you don't have to force things like this... You really don't.”
The mage drew his brows together, his expression quite earnest. As though I was so pathetic and embarrassing that he could hardly bear to listen.
I was inwardly incredulous, but kept my expression calm as I asked a question. Clear meaning was the basis of communication, after all.
“I don't have to force things like this? I'd like you to clarify what you mean. Are you saying that I'm adding needless arguments to the report because I can't bear to lose face?”
“...Ah. Yes. Well. That's about right.”
He flinched at my direct question at first. Then, apparently deciding he had no reason to back down, he clasped his hands and leaned forward, agreeing with me.
“I see. I understand your meaning. But I'd prefer you to hear me out before you speak.”
Faced with that reasonable request, he nodded and leaned back in his chair. His cheeks wobbled slightly.
I resumed my explanation, drawing in the air again.
“We do not compress magical power. To understand that statement, you must first understand that magical power has a phase.”
I created two parallel planes in the air, one above the other.
“I will call the upper plane the interface of principle.”
Blue particles swept across the upper plane like waves.
“Magical power exists on the interface of principle.”
Next, I reached toward the lower plane.
“I will call the lower plane the interface of reality.”
On that lower plane, I drew mountains and seas, the world we lived in.
“We and our physical world belong to this interface of reality.”
Having said that, I swept my hands through the particles of magical power flowing across the interface of principle.
As the particles moved, they cast various complex shadows on the interface of reality below.
“Magic is created when magical power on the interface of principle is projected onto the interface of reality. You must first understand this model. If anyone has questions, I will take them now.”
A crowd of mages raised their hands.
I gave the floor to the first person to do so.
The first mage asked without hesitation.
“It's an interesting model of the world, but... Haven't you built it rather too freely from your own imagination?”
No. That was criticism rather than a question, and I didn't think it deserved much of an answer.
“My own imagination? You wouldn't ask that if you'd read the theory of magical power I presented last time.”
“I have read it.”
“Then I suppose it was a little too difficult for you to understand.”
“What did you say?”
The mage's face reddened.
The hall grew noisy.
“Wow. Lord Revel isn't holding back. A personal attack?”
“But honestly, you couldn't ask that question if you'd read his work on magical power theory.”
“What are you talking about? I've read it too. What's that got to do with this? He can't answer, so he's just using his authority to shut the question down.”
“Are you serious?”
“Are you serious?”
Arguments broke out throughout the room.
I sighed.
Even the Academy, supposedly home to Estel's finest minds, amounted to no more than this.
Why was the human average so low?
Fortunately, there was one person here who could understand everything I said precisely. Someone I deeply disliked, but whose ability was outstanding.
“May I ask a question too?”
Eihen Giheis. The only person here who could address me as an equal.
When I nodded, he asked his question, his red eyes gleaming.
“The interface of principle and the interface of reality. They seem unfamiliar at first, but you've actually made the assumptions in your earlier theory more concrete, haven't you? Magical power exists in a different phase from reality. You've simply linked that to a model of the world and given it a new visual form.”
“Exactly.”
“Yes. In that case, it isn't an arbitrary claim. Everyone praised your argument about magical power's phase as flawless, after all. It matched every observation we've made and every magical theory recorded in history without a single contradiction.”
“Those capable of recognizing it would have done so.”
“But here's the thing. I understand that you've developed your magical power theory further to create that model. Still, it doesn't change much, does it? Isn't it already a failed theory? One this report disproved?”
I couldn't help smiling at that question.
I truly enjoyed telling Eihen he was wrong.
I was right.
You were wrong.
I always fought and worked so hard to say those words.
“I will answer that question now.”
I placed both hands on the interface of principle.
Then, as though gathering sand, I swept my hands across it to collect the magical power.
Hummm.
At first, the magical power gathered readily. But once it reached a certain density, it would gather no further and began resisting my hands.
“This is the problem. Because magical power repels itself, we cannot compress it beyond a certain point.”
Yes. Magical power repelled itself. No matter how much force I used, my palms vibrated, unable to meet.
This was what the Academy's report had proved. Unless we applied infinite force, we could compress it no further.
“But what if we do this?”
If you forced more pressure onto a syringe whose contents could no longer be compressed, the syringe would break, and air would escape through the gap.
In the same way...
What if I broke through the phase?
In other words, what if I changed direction?
I turned my hands, presenting their edges.
Then, as though slicing a cake, I cut vertically through the interface of principle.
“Huh...?”
Eihen braced his hands against his desk and sprang to his feet.
Riiip!
The edges of my hands tore through the interface of principle. I pushed magical power through the opening.
The magical power poured down through the gap and was absorbed into another membrane between the interface of principle and the interface of reality.
Eihen struck his desk with a Bang! and shouted.
“So! The compression of magical power is actually an illusion. What really happens is that magical power overlaps as its phase changes?”
Eihen was grinning, his teeth showing. He had always enjoyed this sort of intellectual game.
“Precisely. This world has a deep structure made of thin membranes stacked in layers. We exist on the outermost membrane, the interface of reality, but magical power can exist on every layer. When magical power reaches the next layer through a wound in an interface, it overlaps layer upon layer as it is projected onto our world. Those overlapping shadows make it look compressed to our eyes.”
Excitement entered my voice as well. I, too, had always enjoyed pursuing new discoveries.
But not every mage felt that way.
Several raised their hands to ask questions. As soon as I gave permission, their questions came at me sharply.
“An interesting model. But isn't it too speculative?”
“Don't you lack the means to prove that model? Even proving that the world is divided into the interface of principle, the interface of reality, and all those other layers seems difficult.”
“In this age of doom, the virtue of scholarship lies in practical use. What practical magical effects can we expect from that hypothesis?”
Their questions were sharp, but carried little weight.
A smile formed on my lips before I knew it.
Seeing it, Eihen gave a slight start. Then he turned toward the mages who had just asked their questions with a look of pity. He knew. I had never lost a debate like this.
I reached out to answer their doubts.
“I will answer by showing you the magic myself. The method is simple. It begins with perceiving what lies beyond the interface through insight as sharp as a blade. Once you succeed, you can tear through the interface and push magical power into the gap, sending it to the next layer. Just like this!”
I drew all my magical power up onto my hand.
Hummmmmm!
Flames of magical power vibrated, burning an ever brighter blue.
Shining as though about to explode,
shimmering as though about to melt,
blue enough to stain everything around them.
From the very center of that magical power, compressed to its limit...
“There...”
I finally drew out a single, very special grain of magical power, no larger than a millet seed.
Whoosh!
I scattered the blue magical power that had served its purpose and absorbed it again. What remained above my hand was a new kind of magical power, closer to sky blue than deep blue.
“I call this two-layer magical power. The ordinary magical power we use remains only on the interface of principle. But this magical power reaches the layer directly beneath it as well. It overlaps across two planes in total. That is why I call it two-layer magical power. It is completely identical to angelic magical power.”
I gave it a light flick, sending it drifting slowly around for everyone to see. It would circle the great hall once, then return to my hand.
“...It's higher-order magical power.”
“...It has the same wavelength as angelic magical power.”
“It's real. A human has created higher-order magical power.”
“It actually works? This...?”
The mages whispered in shock.
I savored their astonishment as I drove my final point home.
“What we absorb through an angel's blood is not actually angelic magical power, but the wound carved into the interface itself. If we compress ordinary magical power around that wound, we can obtain angelic magical power more easily than I just did. Of course, the amount will be limited by the wound's size. But that wound may also grant us the insight to glimpse the next layer.”
I explained it all step by step.
How this knowledge would let us use angelic magical power efficiently.
How we could manipulate magical power overlapping across two layers to cast higher-dimensional magic.
“...With this knowledge, we could make our magic far more powerful.”
“It should be much easier to hunt twisted angels now, shouldn't it?”
“The knight orders will become much stronger. Enough to replace a hero in their first or second year...”
“Who was it that said this wasn't practical?”
I looked around the hall.
Some people's eyes shone.
Some gazed in admiration.
Others quietly avoided my eyes. Those were the ones who had criticized me earlier.
Then my gaze reached Eihen.
He looked almost dazed. Without even blinking his red eyes, he stared endlessly at my sky-blue magical power, still floating gently in the air.
I asked him a question.
“What do you think, Headmaster? Does it still seem as though nothing has changed?”
Eihen gave a bitter smile.
He held up both palms, then bowed his head.
“No. I'm sorry. I was wrong again. How can this even be possible...? Revel. While everyone else was crawling on the ground, you alone were looking up at the sky. You were the true genius.”
So said Eihen, the greatest genius Estel had seen in a hundred years.
Honestly, it felt wonderful.
But, well...
I didn't actually think I was smarter than Eihen.
I had simply kept stubbornly believing that there could be no difference between the heroes and us. And I hadn't readily assumed that some unknowable force was at work in this world.
That was probably what had allowed me to make this discovery.
And yet...
One question still remained.
The way to tear through the interface of principle and see the next layer was to “perceive” the world's depth through keen insight.
In other words...
Unless you understood and perceived that the world was fundamentally like an onion made of many layers, obtaining higher-order magical power was impossible.
I had barely managed it through angelic magical power.
The angelic magical power I absorbed through an angel's blood was itself a wound carved into the interface. Thanks to that wound, I had been able to catch a small glimpse of the next layer.
But then...
Just...
How...
Did the heroes obtain higher-order magical power?
Without doing anything.
Without any special insight.
Simply, naturally.
Every one of them.
They kept digging into the next layer until they finally reached reality itself.
How was that possible?
Did simply existing allow them to understand and perceive the deep nature of this world?
If...
That really was the case...
Were they truly human?
“What am I thinking...?”
I shook off the absurd thought that had suddenly crossed my mind.
There had to be something. Something I didn't yet know.
Some unknown effect caused by traveling between dimensions.
I quickly gathered up the paper I had laid out.
With that settled...
It was time to return to my real work.
“I haven't attended to the Order's affairs for days.”
Still, I had gained more than enough to justify the time spent.
By rebuilding my theory of magical power, I had thought of a new way to use angelic magical power.
One that could immediately increase our fighting strength by at least ten percent.
With that much strength, we should be able to keep hunting angels with only minimal rest between battles.
“I can protect Soyeon's peaceful days. As long as no apostle descends.”
We could fight.
In place of the heroes.
Again and again. As many times as it took.
I couldn't help smiling.
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