Chapter 11

Even with graduation only a month away, my days were passing by in a perfectly ordinary fashion.

“In the realm of assassination as well, magic has little effect when used in isolation.”

The lecture was about the relationship between magic and assassination. It was essentially a private lesson with Merlin; the only students were Leo and me.

Since I needed the knowledge for criminal investigation, I had asked him to teach us these niche topics, and Merlin had graciously accepted.

“Magic takes time to activate. Its range is also not particularly great. One might think, then, that it could be used for assassination. That line of thought has existed since ancient times. If one chants in close proximity without being noticed to launch a one-sided attack, the disadvantages of magic vanish, right? It is quite easy to understand.”

“Easy to understand, but wrong,” Leo interjected.

“Precisely. First and foremost, there is the issue of the instantaneous ‘firepower’ required for an assassination. Only a handful of people who have mastered magic to its absolute peak can kill a target in a single instant. At that point, it’s simply not suited for the task. If you’re going to master magic specifically for assassination, you’d be much better off just carrying a concealed knife.”

“Then what about an assassination from a situation where a knife wouldn’t work, even at close range?” I asked.

In response to my question, Merlin replied, “Hmm, are you talking about an assassination through a wall, for instance? Well, if there is a peephole or a window in that wall, one should simply throw a knife through it. It would be far easier to master the art of knife-throwing than it would be to master magic to the point of killing from such a position.”

“What if there are no peepholes or windows?” Leo pressed further.

“It’s a non-issue. In short, you’re suggesting trying to assassinate someone with magic without knowing the situation on the other side at all? Impossible. The reason is simple: the magic itself won’t activate. This is also the reason why the range of magic is so short; you cannot use magic unless the conditions of the area where you intend to manifest it are perfectly clear to you.”

“Eh!? Really?”

Having never tried such a thing, I was surprised. Leo, on the other hand, just nodded silently. It seemed he had actually attempted it before.

“There are two reasons. First, magic is entirely dependent on mental imagery. If you don’t know the state of the area where you’re casting, you would have to imagine the surroundings in addition to the spell itself. The amount of mental data you’d have to visualize becomes astronomical. Second, magic will not take form if the image is too far removed from reality.”

“Ah, right.”

That made sense. I nodded. I had actually tested that part myself.

For example, no matter how hard I tried to visualize “cold fire” or “hot ice,” they never manifested. Furthermore, even in this world, anatomy has developed to a certain degree; healing and enhancement magic don’t work well unless you visualize the actual internal structure of the human body. (By the way, the structure of the human body here seemed to be basically the same as in my previous world.)

In any case, while it’s not obvious because science isn’t very advanced in this world, scientific laws—principles—do firmly exist in the background. If you try to use magic to cause a phenomenon that contradicts those laws, you fail.

“In other words, even if you try to visualize the scene on the other side of a wall and then cast magic, if your mental image differs from the actual reality, the magic won’t trigger.”

“The more I hear about it, the more inconvenient magic sounds,” Leo grumbled, almost despite himself.

“Of course it is. That is precisely why researching it is so interesting,” Merlin said cheerfully in his raspy voice, bringing the lesson to an end.

As we left the classroom, we ran right into Kirio, who had apparently just finished her own classes.

“Oh, Kirio!”

“Ah, Van, Leo.”

Kirio, whose atmosphere had become significantly softer than before, came pitter-pattering over to us.

“Did your class just end too?” I asked.

“Yep! Pretty much,” Kirio nodded.

Kirio has been focusing her specialized studies on medicine and anatomy. It seems she was influenced by Leo’s and my theses; she’s now fired up about changing the fields of medicine and healing magic, which currently lack systematization and rely mostly on intuition. She claims she wants to use it to save as many people as possible.

“She’s like a puppy,” Leo remarked from behind me, saying something rather cryptic.

“Huh?” Kirio shot Leo a look with those sharp eyes I hadn’t seen in a while.

Of course, Leo wasn’t one to be flustered by that; he simply wore a broad grin.

“Setting that aside, Van, that book is a huge topic of conversation right now.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, that.” I scratched my cheek, feeling a bit bashful.

“That book” refers to a co-authored work by Leo and me. Ever since the day we showed each other our drafts, we had been polishing our ideas through friendly competition.

I had introduced our paired theses to Merlin, who had taken a liking to me, while Leo used his influence as the Head of House Baal to introduce them to many influential nobles.

The initial result was a total defeat.

The high-ranking nobles praised Leo to his face, saying it was “splendid” as expected of the Baal head, but in reality, they just ignored it. Merlin liked the thesis immensely, calling it a “text that will change the world,” but even when he introduced it to the royal court, it seemed nobody would even discuss it.

“They’re probably scared,” was Leo’s take. He said that the people clinging to the archaic systems controlling this country were terrified by how radical our ideas were.

But Leo’s actions after that were incredible. After getting permission from Merlin, he released our theses as a general-interest book co-authored by us. Naturally, he used the full power of the House of Baal to back it.

It hit the general bookstores just a few days ago.

And just like that, the book Investigation and Trial are Dead became the talk of the town. Furthermore, Leo had been relentless within its pages, dedicating over half the volume to arguing that “this new proposal aligns with divine teachings,” thoroughly arming himself with theological theory.

It worked. Word of the book was apparently spreading even within the Church. Even the nobility couldn’t afford to ignore a book that was gaining traction among both the common citizens and the clergy.

Honestly, Leo isn’t just powerful; he’s a master of picking the right fight.

“So, it’s a hit, huh? It’s almost embarrassing.”

“Now, it’ll be a sight to see how those rotten nobles react.”

Leo gave a sharp grin and closed his eyes. He was likely simulating their possible moves and calculating how to force them to acknowledge his thesis in response.

However, the news brought to us that night seemed to be something even Leo hadn’t simulated.

While the three of us—Leo, Kirio, and I—were having dinner in the dorm cafeteria, Merlin did something rare: he actually walked into the dining hall.

“Oh?”

I was the first to notice and called out. Merlin approached our table, his black robes trailing silently behind him.

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”

“Principal? Why are you here?” Kirio asked, surprised.

“Mm, perfect timing. Van, Leo, it’s about your thesis. You know that the version you published as a book has gained quite a reputation, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah, I guess.”

I felt a twinge of anxiety, unsure where this was leading.

“It seems to have dragged something unexpected out into the open. Kirio, this concerns you as well.”

“Eh? Me? Why?” Kirio looked blankly at him. And for good reason.

“You are aware of the commendation ceremony held for the top students one week before graduation, yes?”

“Of course. Let’s see… the ones being honored this year are me, Leo, Kirio, and…”

“Meijin’s idiot son. It seems Bob barely made the cut,” Leo said with an amused chuckle. He really seemed to find Bob entertaining.

I suppose it is a bit funny; Bob apparently couldn’t stand losing to us and put in a desperate, last-minute effort to catch up in the rankings.

“Barely? He actually overtook me in the overall score by a hair at the very end,” Kirio sighed. “I have to at least respect that level of sheer tenacity.”

Still, it was a surprise to me that he actually made it to the commendation. His attitude is terrible and his personality is the epitome of an arrogant noble, but he has real skill and works desperately hard. He’s a strange guy.

“Yes, those four. And this year, there will be guests at the ceremony.”

“Guests?” Leo raised an eyebrow. Apparently, even he hadn’t heard about this.

“They wish to meet the two who wrote that much-discussed book. It’s the King. The King and Queen of Shark—and the Princess, the reincarnation of the Saint, will be with them.”

I was stunned. But while I was shocked, the reactions of the other two—Leo and Kirio—were truly something to see.

Kirio turned pale and froze completely. On closer inspection, she was trembling ever so slightly.

Leo, too, lost his usual boldness. His eyes were wide as he stared at Merlin, seemingly unable to believe what he’d just heard.

“Your attempt to involve the Church seems to have backfired. Or perhaps it’s turned out for the better,” Merlin said, looking at our stunned faces with amusement. He left the cafeteria laughing before we could even formulate a reply.

Impacted by the news, we could only watch his back as he departed in silence.

We weren’t the only ones frozen. Every student eating around us who had overheard the conversation had stopped moving.

Then, chaos erupted.

Dragging the still-dazed Leo and Kirio along, I fled the cafeteria.

“I can’t believe it… to have an audience with the King, the Queen, and… and that Princess Victie…”

In my room, where we had taken temporary refuge, Kirio spoke the moment we were inside. Her cheeks were flushed as she stared blankly into space.

So this is what meeting the King and Princess means to a noble, I thought, realizing the weight of it all over again.

“As Merlin said, trying to involve the Church backfired,” Leo said, regaining his composure. He rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“It’s Victie. She’s royalty, but she’s also the reincarnation of the Saint. She’s vital to the Church. Don’t you see? The fact that the royals—especially the Princess—are attending the ceremony is likely the result of a tug-of-war between the nobility and the greedy clergy. It shows how much attention that thesis is getting. Both sides are trying to use it to drag the other down.”

It was an open secret that the secular authorities and the Church clergy were locked in a muddy power struggle while pretending to respect one another. It made sense: the King and the Church were moving in at the same time to gain an advantage. As a result, Princess Victie—the key player for both sides—was being brought along.

“There will probably be other nobles there too, and the Church crowd will show up under the pretext of ‘protecting the reincarnation of the Saint.’ You’d better stay on your toes, Van.”

As he spoke, Leo was clearly thinking hard. I knew immediately—he was looking for a way to use this chance to get the thesis officially recognized by the top brass of the Kingdom and the Church.

“Oh, who cares about that? It’s Princess Victie! The reincarnation of Saint Fata! This is the highest honor imaginable!” Kirio began twirling around the room with a dreamy, uncharacteristic giggle.

Leo watched her with a look of slight disdain.

“Is meeting Princess Victie really that much of an honor? I’m her so-called childhood friend, and I don’t see her as such a grand existence. If anything, I pity her.”

Leo had a distant look in his eyes. Perhaps because his tone sounded so lonely, Kirio stopped her twirling without getting angry.

“What do you mean, ‘pity’?”

“Exactly what I said. Just because she looks identical to Fata, she’s had no freedom since the day she was born. She’s caged by the Church as a Saint and treated by her parents as a pipeline to the clergy. She’s a pathetic woman. Because she shares the Saint’s appearance, she isn’t even allowed to show her face to anyone except a limited few.”

Ah, right. The Church forbids idol worship. Therefore, no one is allowed to see the form of God or Saint Fata, and depictions of them are forbidden. I suppose that rule applies to the Princess as well, since she’s said to be the Saint’s living image.

Wait… something’s wrong.

“Huh?”

At the same moment, Kirio tilted her head.

“If you think about it, that’s strange. Leo, if no one knows what the Saint looked like, how can they say Princess Victie looks exactly like her?”

Exactly. I hadn’t thought about it before because it didn’t concern me, but logically, it made no sense.

“Good grief. I expect it from Van, but even you don’t know?” Leo looked exasperated. “Even if your house is on the verge of vanishing, you’re a noble; I thought you’d at least have heard the rumors.”

Leo suddenly cut himself off and closed his eyes, sinking into his own thoughts.

“Hey, Leo?”

No response.

“…Right,” Leo eventually muttered, opening his eyes. “Alright, let’s do that.”

“D-do what?” Kirio asked, visibly unnerved by his creepy behavior.

“Never mind that. More importantly, Kirio…” Leo narrowed his eyes, a small, mean smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. It was a rare, spiteful look for him.

“W-what?”

“More importantly, Kirio… you should drop that attitude of being so overjoyed to meet the King and Princess. Do you intend to stay shackled to your status as a noble forever? If you keep that up, you’ll never be able to follow through on your own will—or ever hope to voice what your heart truly feels. If you’re constantly worrying about your ‘House,’ you’ll find it impossible to do what needs to be done.”

“Wh—?! What? I don’t even know what you’re talking about! You’re an idiot!”

Her eyes turning red for the first time in a while, Kirio trembled with rage. Her ears and neck flushed deep crimson as she stomped out of the room.

I stood there dazed by her sudden outburst and exit.

“Maybe I was a bit too mean. Well, I’m heading back too.”

And with that, Leo left as well, leaving me alone and completely bewildered.