WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 634: Mafia Game

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Richard had a quiet but stupid father and a tenacious but stupid mother. They made a perfect pair. They loved their child in the same stupid way, too.

He felt stifled, as though he were wearing clothes that did not fit. He believed he was different. If he could only leave this outcast district behind, then perhaps the glittering Celsius family would be where he belonged.

If he had not been born in the outcast district. If his parents had possessed even a little will. If he had been given even the slightest opportunity. Richard believed he could have become something greater.

Did they say Heaven helps those who help themselves? An opportunity came to him. A mage had descended from the floating castle to teach everyone equally. Missionary Casas told him about it, and Richard seized the chance to sneak into the academy.

The cold reality he encountered at first left him discouraged, but the mage was neither arrogant nor base.

He was simply cold.

"You have talent. It is too precious to throw away, but too troublesome and uncertain to take in."

The mage coldly acknowledged the boy.

"If you had received a proper education in an ordinary school district, you would have become a mage without much difficulty. Depending on your efforts, you might even have reached the floating castle. But you grew up in this outcast district, and you are utterly lacking in foundational knowledge. The day you properly learn magic will never come."

Richard knew it too. Nothing he did now would be enough.

The outcome had already been decided somewhere completely unrelated to him.

"I cannot say you lack effort. Arcane furnaces, mana lamps, ice crystals... Every one of those things is made with magic. They are too expensive for an outcast to own, and you cannot even provide enough mana to use as fuel. What could you achieve by studying for a brief time after labor, in a dark house while groaning from hunger and thirst?"

From a simplistic perspective, even fools could use minor magical devices.

Yet they could not maintain them. Their mana was too weak to draw out their full performance, and most of all, they had no money. Even in the Arcane Federation, where magical devices were widespread, outcasts could not use them freely.

"On top of that, magic-book crystals for learning magic can only be read by someone who already knows magic. Is that not ironic?"

Magic was needed to learn magic.

That contradictory reality was the greatest wall separating the boy from magic.

"You do not have the talent to overcome an obstacle of that scale. But that does not mean you are lacking. A seed cannot be blamed for failing to bloom in bitter cold."

Richard nodded. It was right in every respect. Blaming one's environment was an excuse? Even that excuse was a luxury for outcasts. For them, not just magic but even life itself was a right they needed permission to enjoy.

"I will not teach you white magic. Your talent is not special enough for me to nurture and support you for three months. To me, you are extremely ordinary."

Three months. It was by no means a short time, yet Richard was moved enough to cry.

The greatest mage Richard had ever seen had declared it. With three months and sufficient support, Richard had the talent to become a mage in three months. He was several times more talented than the ordinary students at a mediocre academy like that.

"Instead, I will teach you ritual magic."

When he heard the words ritual magic, Richard felt repulsed. He vaguely knew that the Arcane Federation was a nation of white magic and that other kinds of magic were poorly regarded.

Still, he did not feel more resistance than necessary.

That was because Richard did not even know what ritual magic was.

"Ritual magic uses greatly simplified hand signs and chants to invoke phenomenon-class magic within your body. Its effects are weak, but it can help you overcome many of the problems troubling you. You will be able to activate magical devices, and light magic will let you read magic-book crystals. By learning ritual magic, you will stand at the starting line. Will you accept?"

The mage was telling only the truth. If Richard could overcome the vague fear of this new kind of magic in his heart, power would certainly be his.

Facing the devil's offer, Richard asked, "How long does it take to learn ritual magic?"

The mage looked directly into Richard's eyes.

"One hour."

* * *

Richard learned ritual magic. It was not especially surprising. Though there were differences in quality, the Arcane Federation's education level surpassed that of the military state, especially in magic. In that field, it excelled beyond anywhere else in the world.

Richard, who had managed to overhear magic lessons here and there despite being an outcast, was no exception. He had always had a mind for study, so he quickly learned something as simple as ritual magic.

"Set. Ri. Lux."

Bright light poured from Richard's fingernails. Having gained the magic he had yearned for so deeply, Richard spoke with a hollow expression.

"Was magic always this easy?"

"Even idiots learn white magic. It would not make sense for ritual magic, which is easier than that, to be difficult."

It was only natural that controlling one's own body was easier than controlling a machine. I gave him a brief explanation.

"Ritual magic uses your body, especially your fingers, as a catalyst. In white magic, they would serve as a magic wand. Like gemstones used as catalysts, their structure is damaged as the price of exerting mana."

Mages used gemstones as catalysts because their structure was uniform. Different types of gemstones emitted mana suited to different kinds of magic, and the same procedure produced the same effect no matter who cast it.

A gemstone's mana was like bricks. Firm, uniform elements for building a fortress.

The body's structure, on the other hand, was uneven compared to gemstones and deteriorated over time. It was closer to an ominous, damp lump of flesh.

If white magic built towers from bricks, black magic sculpted lumps of flesh. Flesh might be better for shaping a human form, but only white magic could create miracles as vast and systematic as towers.

"Use too much fire magic, and your fingers will be burned. Use too much water magic, and your fingers will swell and burst. Use too much light magic, and your fingers will soften. Use too much lightning magic, and you will be electrocuted, dulling your senses. Each has its own risks, so use it without damaging your body. If you abuse it, you may have to cut off your fingers."

"...I think I learned this for nothing."

"That is right. Ritual magic was not chosen as the mainstream because it was not useful enough. It is fine while you are using your nails as sacrifices. Their performance is relatively uniform, and even if mana wears them down, they grow back. But avoid using your fingers as a medium whenever possible. If you lose your fingers, you will lose ritual magic as well."

I had mostly used my fingers because I needed to keep my nails in good condition for card tricks. Still, I had warned him quite severely, but there was no need to worry too much. His fingers would not be damaged unless he used it excessively.

"Remember. Ritual magic is a tool as well. Your future will change depending on how you use it. And..."

Richard looked regretfully at his right hand, so I added one last thing.

"If it comes to it, you can simply choose not to use it."

"What?"

"You can learn white magic without using ritual magic. Or use ritual magic only to overcome your difficulties, then continue learning white magic as you have been."

"I can learn white magic after learning ritual magic?"

"Of course. Ritual magic and white magic are both only tools. Is it not natural to begin with a convenient tool, then gradually replace it with a more difficult and better one?"

People believed that someone who learned black magic could not learn white magic, but that was not true. It was only because dullards who lacked the intelligence to learn white magic often received black magic through shortcuts.

His dream was not over yet. He had learned black magic, but his potential remained open. As I said, he had only gained a good tool.

"...All right!"

Richard sprang to his feet.

"Thank you, Teacher. Whatever this is, what matters is that I have magic now. I can read magic-book crystals now."

Until then, he had possessed no way to read them. Now that he had learned ritual magic, things were different. If he shone light toward the crystal screen and illuminated a magic-book crystal, a page from the magic book would appear exactly as it was.

Richard had magic now. Even if it was wicked black magic, its wickedness would serve him.

"I'll try."

Richard left the mission with firm resolve. He intended to use his newly gained power.

Silence settled over the mission after the boy disappeared. White light seeped through windows made of ice that never melted. The statue of the Holy Maiden, half-covered in shadow, silently looked down at us.

Then, after a while, loud thumping came from the confessional. The wooden door flew open, and Missionary Casas came tumbling out, tightly bound. Casas's eyes bulged as they shouted loudly enough for the whole mission to hear.

"Y-you damned wretch! Teaching black magic to an innocent child... Mmgh!"

"I'm sorry, Father! Please bear with it for a moment!"

The housekeeper came out after Casas, repeatedly apologizing as they gagged the missionary. I stopped them with a gesture before they could drag Casas back into the confessional. The housekeeper watched my reaction, then cautiously let the missionary go.

Having regained the use of their mouth, the missionary pointed at me with their eyes and shouted.

"Are you out of your mind? Do you even know what black magic is?!"

"Of course."

"Black magic is forbidden knowledge that destroys the self! It is wicked, terrible power that defiles the soul! And you taught it to a lamb who came to this church! That will send both you and Richard to hell!"

I shrugged.

"You did not stop me until I was halfway through teaching ritual magic, either."

"That was because I did not know it was black magic!"

That was right. Ritual magic was simple in form, and the phenomena it produced resembled white magic, so it was difficult to recognize it as black magic at a glance. To fools without mana-sensing abilities, it looked exactly like white magic.

"To think there was a secret technique for passing down black magic without even performing a ritual...!"

"Oh, you know about rituals too?"

"Of course I do! Everyone knows that wicked black mages tempt people with power so they can use them as sacrifices!"

Why was black magic considered easy magic? Because it used the body as a catalyst. It was obviously easier to handle one's own body than a tool.

But two kinds of people chose that path.

Sacrifices who learned black magic from another black mage after undergoing a ritual, such as a procedure that turns the body into a catalyst.

And black mages who commanded countless sacrifices.

To Missionary Casas, I must have looked like the latter. They must have seen me as a villain who would tempt an ignorant child, give him power as an excuse, then later steal his body.

But their expectations were wrong.

Ritual magic was not that kind of black magic, and I was not that kind of black mage.

"I did not do anything to Richard's body. You watched the whole thing yourself."

"Th-that cannot be! You must have used some kind of evil trick!"

"Give me a break. I only fiddled with his arm in front of you. What trick could I have used? This is a church, and the Holy Maiden's statue is watching us. If you sensed something, you would have stopped me already. Would you not?"

Why else would I have come directly into a church and taught black magic in front of a missionary?

It was common knowledge among law-abiding citizens that it was not a crime if nobody saw it.

Put another way, if you wanted to commit a crime, you needed to create a witness. If that witness was a sincere, righteous, and honest missionary, all the better.

"But the dark, ominous mana I saw was definitely black magic!"

"Normally, the military state's ritual magic can only be used after having a bio-terminal opened in the body. That is similar to the ritual you spoke of."

A bio-terminal was the trace of a procedure that turns the body into a catalyst. The military state used it like a resident registration card, though that was only its outward purpose.

Teaching ritual magic to children who knew nothing. Carrying out every sort of taboo on criminals. All of that was possible because they had bio-terminals.

"But I can imprint the method of using the body as a catalyst without leaving any trace on it. Just as you saw."

I was the one who had restored Tyr's memories. With the lightning thief and Tyr's Demon God now at hand, imprinting ritual magic on the nerves of an ignorant child was no difficult task. My Demon God did not even leave side effects or traces.

The missionary who had watched from nearby knew that better than anyone.

And he knew what it meant.

"That is impossible... Th-then that means..."

"You finally understand."

Now then. There was one black mage here. He bore no trace of having undergone a ritual, nor had he become someone else's doll through drugs or curses. Outwardly, Richard was only a talented, clever child.

Then what basis was there for defining this child as a black mage?

"Without leaving a trace, without any change at all, he has only gained a piece of knowledge."

'That man does not bear Richard any ill will...! He actually has goodwill toward Richard! He truly made this choice for Richard's sake!'

Ritual magic? What if Richard did not use that magic, too insignificant to even be called black magic? What if he stayed still, no different from an ordinary outcast?

"Could the Arcane Federation tell who was a black mage and who was an innocent citizen? On what basis would they judge them? How would they punish them?"

'The ill will he bears is toward the Arcane Federation's order itself!'

A society that existed for learning magic. Unequal education. And the excluded outcasts.

Those born into the cycle of ignorance at the very bottom of that class, completely abandoned by magic and unable to climb back up. What if they gained the power and knowledge the Arcane Federation did not want them to have?

"Would they have the right to crush the outcasts they excluded with their own order?"

I put the question to the missionary.

Footnotes:

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