WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 686: Story of the Past. Witch Hunt - 3

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What Principia had discovered was not a Demon God.

It was magic.

It was blasphemy against the Demon God, bringing that mysterious power down into the realm of technology.

That was why Rene was delighted.

It was not a Demon God. Rene had helped Principia in a purely academic field, and the result was remarkable enough to surpass most Demon Gods.

Symbols and diagrams. Drawings and equations. Magic was completed using axioms anyone could understand. Demon Gods were no longer a special power. Though limited, magic could be wielded freely even by ordinary people.

Principia was a genius who outclassed even other mages. So exceptional that, rather than awakening innate arcane or seeking a Demon God, he had focused on dismantling and analyzing the power of Demon Gods. Rene spoke with heartfelt respect.

"So this is why you never replied, even though I wrote to you regularly for the past five years."

"I'm sorry about that. It looked like it would be quick in my calculations, but it wasn't easy."

"No one had ever walked this path. You were the first to take a step forward, Professor. No one will be able to dismiss you now."

Any mage would immediately recognize the greatness of this achievement. They would be ashamed of having ignored and slighted Principia.

"Even if you haven't awakened innate arcane, no one will be able to point fingers at you. It's practically as if you possess another Demon God."

"...Innate arcane? That?"

"Innate arcane is power bestowed upon people by God. But magic is power you have gifted to humanity, Professor. I will respect you forever."

"No, that's..."

Rene had consoled and praised Principia at once, yet his expression was strange. As he scratched his head and considered how to respond, a passing assistant spoke up.

"What? Priestess, you didn't know? Professor Principia already has innate arcane!"

The unexpected revelation left Rene mildly shocked.

Innate arcane was a power gained by pursuing a single mental image with near obsession. Principia had established many theories and even founded magic because he was so capable, but he had not conducted much research uniquely his own. His exceptional talent had become a poison instead. Even a little investigation brought results, so he could not devote himself to one thing.

That was how Rene had understood Principia.

"...What? But Professor Principia hasn't done any separate research since that day."

"Research isn't the only way to awaken innate arcane! Last time, Professor was walking while lost in thought, staring up at the night sky. He didn't notice a pit beneath his feet and fell in! After floundering around for a while, he awakened innate arcane! It was the funniest awakening in the world!"

"...I told you not to say that."

"But it's funny. A sage who sees through the universe couldn't spot one little pit and ended up floundering around in it! Ha ha!"

As the assistant snickered, Principia muttered in annoyance.

"If you couldn't even do your job as an assistant, I would've thrown you out long ago."

Even an unprecedented genius had such careless moments. Rene smiled faintly and asked out of courtesy.

"That sounds like a disaster. Were you all right?"

"I was fine. It wasn't that deep, so I got out easily."

"For the record, I pulled him out! You have no idea how much trouble I had that night! I couldn't see a thing, but I could hear Professor screaming. I came to help, and he kept demanding that I pull him out faster. I finally got him out while getting covered in mud, then he asked for cloth to clean himself with and a bonfire! Honestly. If I hadn't been an assistant who respected Professor, I would've just run away and left him there!"

"That's why you still haven't been thrown out."

Their conversation sounded less like that of a professor and assistant than that of old friends. There probably was not much difference.

Perhaps because the assistant had spent too long under Principia, they had not awakened innate arcane despite their abundant talent. They had no room to pursue research of their own while helping Principia. It was as though they were hidden beneath Principia's enormous shadow.

Yet the assistant was free. Rene secretly envied them.

"What kind of innate arcane did you awaken, Professor?"

"It's not finished yet, so I don't really want to show it..."

"I want to see it. No, I need to see it."

"It's nothing special. Really."

Principia looked around and happened to find an apple. He casually picked it up and dropped it. Like every other object, the apple was affected by gravity and fell toward the thickly carpeted floor.

Far more slowly than usual.

"This is the power. I can change the speed at which something falls. I made it slow because it would be a waste to ruin the apple, but I can make it faster too."

"They say it's innate arcane about falling because he awakened it after falling into a pit! Ha ha!"

"...Ugh."

Rene smiled faintly as well.

Certainly, Principia's innate arcane was not that remarkable. It seemed so trivial that it was hundreds of kilometers removed from a Demon God.

Babel had countless innate arcanes that ignited flames, stirred winds, or caused vibrations. To Rene, it truly seemed as though Principia had gained a minor innate arcane through a chance event.

"Then I'm relieved. There won't be any danger of getting hurt because of your innate arcane."

"...That sounded like you were saying my innate arcane isn't anything special."

Principia grumbled, but there was nothing he could do. Innate arcane contained one's life, but it was not something one could choose.

Principia found explaining and persuading others tiresome. Rene took charge of spreading magic. With the help of the assistant, who hurried back and forth, she made magic widely known throughout the Arcane Federation.

Magic was useful and revolutionary technology. Not everyone could understand and use it, but even if only one person in a hundred learned it, a community's chances of survival rose sharply. Under the new order of magic, this land gradually developed into the shape of a nation. It was all thanks to magic.

And sweet honey attracted insects.

The Marigold vassal state approached Babel. Held responsible for the Counterfeit Gold War and attacked, the Marigold vassal state had fractured into pieces. Some of its remaining forces fled to the Arcane Federation.

The Marigold vassal state was the nation with the most advanced alchemy, commerce, and industry. It was also Principia's homeland. Many scholars came from the Marigold vassal state or had close ties to its nobles.

They might have been war refugees, but their roots all lay in either the Empire or a vassal state. While the scholars could not bring themselves to take a harsh stance, the fleeing duke behaved as though still a duke.

"This power called magic is truly marvelous. It is on an entirely different level from the tricks of druids or the deceptions of alchemists. With this power, restoring the vassal state will be easy."

Babel was fundamentally a gathering of scholars. They could not take a strong stance against a duke accompanied by soldiers.

Even if they had, it would have been useless. Innate arcane or not, an aura wielder's spear and sword were fast and sharp. They would be killed before they could resist.

Rene, a cleric, was at least able to step forward and answer.

"Your Highness, Gold Duke. Magic is the light of truth bestowed by God for those who must survive in harsh lands. To use this sacred and blessed power as a weapon, that is..."

"Silence. General."

The general strode over, seized Rene by the back of the neck, and forced her down. Papers scattered, shrill screams and shouts rang out, and the threatening sound of swords being drawn filled the room.

"A bishop only ever gets in my way. Why do you only tell me no? Why didn't you protect my nation with that precious tongue of yours?"

The duke who had lost a nation showed no mercy. Having seized control of Babel through force, the duke looked around and barked at everyone.

"I will not say it twice. Create weapons with magic! Weapons capable of crushing all six vassal states!"

The Gold Duke proudly patted Principia on the shoulder and declared.

"My relative and teacher, Principia, will oversee the entire process!"

Principia was a scholar to his bones. He had no interest in power struggles and lacked the courage to defy the duke. He also had a personal connection with the duke, so he could not treat them coldly or stubbornly.

To begin with, Principia found conflict with others exhausting. It was not that he submitted to authority. He simply tended to comply with others' demands to avoid conflict itself.

Opinions were divided among Babel's members as well.

"I don't like getting involved in war, but the Marigold vassal state was friendly to scholars. It was the other vassal states that killed many scholars, including Professor Lavoisier."

"Let us end this age of madness and irrationality with our own hands."

"The power we possess is astonishing. Don't you want to test it at least once?"

"We can't live on this land forever. Wouldn't working with the duke be best if we want to return safely to our homelands?"

For various reasons, the mages supported the duke. Those who opposed the duke were a minority, including Rene.

"Using this power to harm others... We can't do that."

"W-what if something goes wrong? We'll all take the blame. We'll all be arrested and executed!"

Yet alchemists were still being executed throughout the Empire's sphere of influence. The product of madness that would later be called witch hunts was constantly seeking a chance to cross the Arcane Federation's borders. Opposition gradually lost its strength.

The opponents went to the territories they were responsible for and shut their doors. Those remaining in Babel united behind a single purpose.

"But can we make weapons to defeat enemies with magic?"

They raised a practical concern, but Principia dismissed it.

"Uh... Hmm. There won't be any chance of losing. I have something in mind."

"Something in mind?"

"I'll show you. We have a few to spare."

Principia led everyone outside.

He called for the assistant. With hollow eyes, the assistant brought a telescope and assembled it skillfully. After pointing toward one part of the sky, the assistant gave Principia a series of words that sounded like code. Principia nodded and cast magic.

Flash.

Light flickered, but nothing happened.

Principia did not look like someone who had failed. He traced lines with his fingers as though calculating something, then nodded.

"It worked. I think it'll take about two days."

"Two days?"

"Yes. Contact the Gold Duke. Tell the duke I used magic, so they should come back in two days."

Magic whose result only appeared after two days? Could something like that really be called attack magic?

The assistant relayed the message to the Gold Duke, and as expected, the duke flew into a rage. The Gold Duke shouted that this was not a lecture or an academic journal, and that in two days, the enemy would have more than enough time to capture a castle.

But then...

Two days later, upon seeing the reply that came from the distant sky, the Gold Duke, like everyone else, was left speechless.

A star fell, embroidering the sky.

It was a moving star. Trailing a long tail behind it and burning like a firefly, it plummeted toward the ground. The sight of a meteor shower falling in a single streak was unimaginably wondrous. Someone might have looked upon that meteor and made a wish.

Yet that meteor would grant no one's wish. What it answered was the casual request of a Demon God.

The meteor drew closer. Its light grew larger, tearing through the dark night sky, raising a thunderous roar, and pressing down upon the world. A low-flying meteor swept over their heads.

No, even saying it swept past them was an illusion. It was still very far away. Yet before a cosmic collision, that "very far away" meant nothing.

The meteorite drove into the continent at an angle, and a powerful shockwave spread from the impact site. The glasses in their hands shattered from the aftermath alone. Solidly frozen ice broke apart as though it were nothing.

Death? No, what had brushed past them was extinction. The tip of a power that could make an individual's tragedy seem insignificant had grazed them. A terrible shudder ran through everyone.

Rene realized she had misunderstood.

It was not merely an ability to control the speed at which something fell.

This was a Demon God.

"Will this do, Your Highness the Gold Duke?"

Principia, who had recreated an ancient extinction to some extent, answered calmly as though it were nothing.

Footnotes:

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