TL Note: Just wanted to clarify the portion about the physical strength in the status; I keep forgetting to mention this since the status hasn't come up in a while, so Ill just mention it now.

That strength can also be translated as HP. The same goes for magic power in that it can be translated as MP. But I didnt translate them like that, because the author never referred to them like we would normally refer to HP and MP. Also the magical strength in the prologue is just magical power.

For example: this character does X damage, and this one only has X HP, so hell probably die if he doesnt dodge the attack.

Anyway, after checking the internet for a bit, I found out that the way to interpret HP in these settings is to treat the HP like this:

A character with high HP would receive an otherwise fatal attack, and live by barely dodging it.

But a character with low HP would just take it and die.

In other words it's just a rough indicator of how long a character might last in a fight, nothing specific. Magic power on the otherhand is now clearly being treated as MP. But we've been going at it as magic power all this time, so let's just keep that. And as for strength, I'll just translate that as health, so it pairs up nicely with magic power.

In any case, apologies for the confusion, I'm reading along with you guys, so there are times when I don't really know what the author is intending, and I term things wrong.

Also, regarding maze and labyrinth. The town of departed spirits is a labyrinth, and the maze referred to in this chapter is definitely a maze. At least according to the words used in the RAW anyway.

TLDR: In status: Strength -> Health; Magical Strength = Magic Power;

Town of Departed Spirits is a labyrinth; the maze referred to in this story is a maze.

Volume 3 Chapter 26

The next day.

I woke up early, and left the town with the others, pa.s.sing through a canyon known as Troll Canyon.

The Troll Canyon is a large canyon located west of the country. Its a maze that has naturally formed after many years.

The roads narrowed as we entered the canyon, and tall cliffs could be seen at every direction.

As this canyon is at the border of the country, there is a fortress watching over the border west of Teressa at this canyon. The Town of Departed Spirits that we will be going to however, is located north-west.

Its about a 2-day walk from Teressa. We cant ride on horse to go there because of all the cliffs, so well have to go on foot with a rope in hand.

I have to say though; this is quite a valley. I just cant help but look around at everything.

Then having noticed me, Remiri-san asked,

Is it your first time seeing this kind of scenery? [Remiri]

Yes. Its amazing. I wonder how much time it actually took for such a place to form naturally. [Ryouma]

This one took around 1,500 years. [Remiri]

Eh?

1500 years? Only?

Can something like this be made in such a short period? [Ryouma]

True, its definitely a short time to create a valley. But that only holds true for natural valleys. [Remiri]

This isnt natural?

Was this valley made by humans? [Ryouma]

Remiri-san looked a bit worried for a moment, then she said,

Mn Well its definitely influenced by man. But its also wrong to say that it was intentionally made by man. Actually, this place used to be the training grounds of a G.o.dchild. And because of the influence of his magic, the ground changed. [Remiri]

Interjecting, Sebasu-san continued,

Our country was at war when this canyon was created. Just as the country was about to be destroyed, a child of G.o.d, carrying great magical power appeared. Records speak of his absurd and powerful magic.

At the G.o.dchilds training, mountains would be born, the earth would be split, broken, and washed away in heavy rain and waves. Because of that, this canyon and the surrounding mountain district were born. [Sebasu]

Haa!? An otherworlder created a canyon with his magic!? No way Ah, wait This might be that peerless magician that Gayn and the others were talking about. He was also supposedly around during wartime too

How crazy was his magic though, I wonder.

Can you do it too? [Remiri]

No way! [Ryouma]

No way I could! Dont put me together with that guy! Wait, actually, since there was a guy who could do something like that, I guess its only a given that they would be cautious with other G.o.dchilds If anything, I suppose I should consider myself lucky for not being persecuted.

As I thought that to myself, I felt like I remembered something. But right before I could remember that something fully, a magical beast attacked us, so I focused on that instead.

The beast that attacked was a harris crow, a bird-type magical beast. There were 20 of them. Its an E Rank magical beast, so theyre not that strong. But with the place being so narrow, itd be better to attack them with magic instead of weapons. But just as I was thinking to do just that, s.h.i.+va-san had already gone ahead to use a weak tornado with little killing power to drive them away.

That sort of weak opponent; you can just scare them away with a little bit of power. Theres no reason to actually waste magic power fighting them. [s.h.i.+va]

I see, thank you very much. [Ryouma]

Dont mind it. Something like this, I can do as many times as needed. After all, you made me realize that Im still more than capable! Ha Ha Ha! [s.h.i.+va]

Somehow, s.h.i.+va-sans a bit different compared to yesterday. Rather than cheerful, I guess you could say hes more lively now.

We walked through the canyon with s.h.i.+va-san in the lead. From time to time, we would cross rivers, climb cliffs, fight magical beasts. It was in this way that we proceeded until the sun began to set. We looked for a place that was a roads width wide, big enough for us to make camp. There we decided to rest.

Being at the bottom of the valley, there was little moonlight, and as soon as the sun had fully set, the whole area was submerged in darkness.

Remiri-san then began to use magic.

Ryouma-kun, this is a good opportunity, so Ill teach you a light attribute magic now. [Remiri]

Thank you very much, please do, master. [Ryouma]

You dont feel like calling me oneechan? [Remiri]

Please teach me, master. [Ryouma]

I called her master a second time, and Remiri-san made a sulking face.

Fine. Until you decide to call me oneechan, Ill be strict on you! Im not going to hold back at all because Im not as nice as Elize-chan. [Remiri]

Yes! By the way, why did you suddenly mention the madams name? [Ryouma]

Oh, didnt I mention it? I used to be Elize-chans teacher on magic. [Remiri]

Really? I didnt know. [Ryouma]

Thats right. And not just magic, I thought her all sorts of things too. Because of that, Ive actually also met with her daughter many times, but Elize-chan has a bad tendency of being overprotective. [Remiri]

Ahh I can somewhat understand.

Anyway, lets start. First, Ill show you how to do it, so pay attention. Holy s.p.a.ce [Remiri]

Remiri-san released light and magic power as she chanted that. Using not only my senses, but also using my magic detection, I saw a cube of magic power appear with Remiri-san at its center. Its center was teeming with magic power. It was somewhat similar to barrier magic.

This is an intermediate magic of the light attribute, Holy s.p.a.ce. With this magic, you can temporarily create an area where weak undead, like the zombies or the skeletons, wont be able to enter.

The duration and the size of the barrier depends on your ability. Also, stronger undead will be able to enter the area affected by Holy s.p.a.ce by force, so be careful. Now, how about you try it yourself. Creating a small s.p.a.ce thats at least big enough for one person to sleep in will be good enough for your first try. [Remiri]

Just as Remiri-san said, I gave it a shot. Using light attribute magic power, with the same concept as that of barrier magic, I designated the area. And as I filled the designated area with light attribute magic power, I visualized the image and chanted the magic words.

Holy s.p.a.ce [Ryouma]

I invocated the magic according to the image in my mind, but its a lot more difficult to control compared to barrier magic. How to put it A normal barrier magic is like a wall, with the magic power as water inside it, but this one is closer to that of a cloth. Water cant pa.s.s through the wall, so it just stays inside, but with a cloth, the water seeps out. If I let my concentration up for even a moment, the magic power within the designated area spills.

Well, in any case, I seem to have successfully casted the magic, so I asked Remiri-san to confirm that, saying,

Remiri-san, how is it? [Ryouma]

To which Remiri-san replied with a hint of disappointment somewhere in her voice.

Its a success. You succeeded at your first try. Congratulations in succeeding at learning Holy Spell Even though it was supposed to be the hardest magic amongst the intermediate cla.s.s spells to control. [Remiri]

You know I can hear what youre mumbling there at the end of your sentence, right!? Asking for something so unreasonable, did you really want to be called oneechan that much?

I thought that to myself as I looked at Remiri-san. Then noticing my gaze, Remiri-san brought up a new topic.

Ah, umm Well for the meantime, since you succeeded with Holy s.p.a.ce, lets try to perfect it this time around. [Remiri]

If theres a place that can be improve, then lets.

Please take care of me. [Ryouma]

Before that, can you show me your status board? [Remiri]

Status board? What for?

Anyway, I brought it out just as she told me too. And then she told me that she wanted to see how much magic power Im using by looking at the value of my magic power before using and after using the magic.

Incidentally, elementary magic costs around 50 to 999 magic power, intermediate magic from 1000 to 4999, and advanced magic from 5,000 up.

Holy s.p.a.ce being an intermediate magic, consumes somewhere around 4,000 to 4,900 points of magic power. But my previous successful cast of Holy s.p.a.ce apparently consumed too much power. When I went to check how much magic power I used after casting Holy s.p.a.ce again, I found out that I had used over 10,000 points of magic power.

The more the magic power, the longer the duration, but the 4,000 to 4,900 points of magic power are already supposedly more than enough to last a night. So naturally, using enough magic power to last several days for a place you wont be staying in for more than a night is a waste, right? Or so said Remiri. It makes perfect sense though.

Incidentally, a similar method is being used at the imperial capitals academy that Elia is studying at, but the standards are far lower. For example, if casting a fire ball would normally be considered efficient at 100 points of magic power per volley, and thus be considered a pa.s.s. In order to allow the n.o.bles to have good grades, the school would let them pa.s.s even at a consumption rate of 500 points of magic power per volley.

With that kind of standard, the students use enough power to cast five volleys, but cant even cast more than one volley. Something like that might not matter at the academy, but if they do something like that out in the real world, theyll run out of magic power quickly. Which then effectively makes their magic useless. So Remiri-san says that in order for me not to suffer a similar fate, I need to train properly.

After that I practiced Holy s.p.a.ce for a bit, adjusting it repeatedly. And eventually I managed to keep the duration up while keeping its consumption to only 4,900 points of magic power.

Actually, I could lower the magic power even back when I first used it, but this magic takes a bit of skill. That so-called skill is the distribution of magic power. Without that, this magic wont work.

When activating Holy s.p.a.ce, one needs to fill the designated s.p.a.ce with magic power, while controlling that magic power with another force of magic power. If the magic power that controls the magic filling the s.p.a.ce is too weak, then the magic power will leak out, causing the effect of the spell to weaken, fail, or consume more magic power.

After practicing the spell for a bit, I started to change the image in my mind from that of barrier magic to that of a balloon. After which, it became much easier to cast.

Its thanks to my huge reservoir of magic power that I was able to train up to this point. After all, I was already close to my limits by the time I managed to properly keep my magic consumption in check. If it was a normal magician, it wouldve taken him at least several days.

According to Remiri-san, its possible to become so efficient at ones control of magic, such that one would be able to cast magic with the same effect but at a lower cost. Right, I should continue to practice even more.

By the time I finished training, we were able to have our supper immediately because Sebasu-san made supper early.

After we finished eating, they talked about the G.o.dchild who created this canyon. They noticed how interested I was this morning, so since there was time to spare, they decided to talk about it.

Come to think of it, didnt I remember something around that time? What was it again?

Ah, well whatever. Lets just hear their story first.

Hmm where should I start The name of the G.o.dchild who created this canyon is Masaharu. That name has now become rather famous because of his tyranny though. [Rheinbach]

Tyranny? [Ryouma]

At that question, s.h.i.+va-san answered.

Yes, tyranny. You know that he appeared when the country was in dire straits, right? [s.h.i.+va]

Yes, Ive heard of it. [Ryouma]

At that time, the king was desperate to break through that situation, so he wished to gain the power of that G.o.dchild at all costs. So much so that he ceased to care about appearances.

So the king spread a lie that the G.o.dchild was his illegitimate child, gave him a cordial welcome, and then bound him to the country as part of his war chest. [s.h.i.+va]

So that otherworlder, Masaharu, became royalty, huh?

There were three children before the king, so it was believed that there would be little chance of Masaharu becoming the king. But then one of them was betrayed by his allies, while another went out to war to encourage the soldiers, only for himself to die. And the last one was killed by an a.s.sa.s.sin from an opposing country. Then the king himself after winning the war through the use of his adopted child that he turned into knight-commander, and after making use of another G.o.dchild, died of illness right after the war. [s.h.i.+va]

So, then No way [Ryouma]

s.h.i.+va-san silently nodded, then he continued,

Masaharu inherited the throne. [s.h.i.+va]

Seriously? Didnt anyone protest?

Of course, there were those who were against Masaharu becoming the king. But after the war, he was hailed as a hero because of his achievements. And even the commoners were aware that he was the kings illegitimate child, so rather than find some reason to take the position from him, it was decided that it would be best for him to become king instead. [s.h.i.+va]

Then Remiri-san interjected, adding,

The n.o.bles then thought to turn Masaharu into a puppet. After all, despite his power, he was a coward and an obedient man. [Remiri]

Theres no doubt about it, that Masaharu is the peerless otherworlder magician. A hero, and at the same time, an otherworlder and a coward. Its exactly as what Id heard from Gayns group.

After that, I asked them how Masaharu acted, and apparently he did whatever he wanted. So I guess he really was a tyrant.

But then again, although it wasnt implemented, he did try to enact a number of policies, such as compulsory education, free healthcare, and pension for those who cant work.

That kind of thinking isnt strange at all for someone like me who lives in modern j.a.pan. But as for whether this world can understand that way of thinking or not is another story. There were many who protested against him, and he met those with his two powers as a king and as a powerful magician, silencing any who stood against him.

The n.o.bles who plotted to turn Masaharu into a puppet, were left unable to do anything but find ways to compromise with the king. [s.h.i.+va]

The man they were against was not only the man who saved the country, but also the man who could overturn the battlefield with his magic alone. Moreover, each time he would leave for war, he would say, Ive casted a self-destruct magic on myself. So if ever I should die, Ill be taking the opposing nations with me. Whether that self-destruct magic of his could take the other nations with him is true or not, it was a fact that his magic was beyond the understanding of people, so no one tried to do anything foolish.

The one exception was the other G.o.dchild who was referred to as a hero. His name was Shuu. He was a strong knight wholeheartedly trusted by Masaharu. And unlike the other n.o.bles, he didnt fear Masaharu, and exchanged opinions with him.

It was he who aided Masaharu and mediated between him and the n.o.bles; an irreplaceable person that allowed compromises to be made.

In the end, it wasnt until four years later until Masaharu was to be succeeded. During one of his trips, an a.s.sa.s.sin attacked him, and he died. The only thing that remained of him was a giant hole thats believed to be the effect of his self-destruct magic. Of course, neither the a.s.sa.s.sin or the servants, or the escort knights, or the horses and the carriages were left. Not a scar, nor trace could be seen. All of them had vanished. [s.h.i.+va]

An a.s.sa.s.sin, huh? Its true that Masaharu might be a tyrant, but its not like I dont understand his feelings His methods might have been bad, but I cant deny him either without hearing his side first.

An academy was built in the capital instead of the compulsory education. And the fact that anyone can enter as long as they pay the fees seems to be very much like him. So its not like he didnt anything for the people at all.

There are many good people whos helped me out, but for Masaharu, he might have had no one else but Shuu beside him. And even if he did become a part of the royal family by his own will, he was still only wanted for his power. After he became king by chance, the n.o.bles tried to turn him into a puppet. If I was in his place, I too would have relied on my powers alone, and tried to threaten others to protect myself.

After I thought those things, I said,

Rheinbach-sama, Sebasu-san, truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything. [Ryouma]

They were startled at my words, but continuing, I said,

I just realized it now, but Im really glad that the first people I met were members of the Jamil Household. [Ryouma]

Continuing, I told them that I imagined myself in a situation where I had no allies, surrounded only by people who wanted to take advantage of me. Hearing that, the two understood.

Theres really no reason for you to be grateful, you know? And besides, Elias been much more cheerful since meeting you, Ryouma-kun. [Rheinbach]

Really? So Elia! [Ryouma]

Oh, right! What I remembered this afternoon was Elia! Elias ancestor is that peerless magician, meaning Masaharu should be her ancestor according to Gayn. But wait a moment If thats the case, then madam is royal family? But then again, they are the household of a duke, so I suppose its not that weird.

Something the matter? [Sebasu]

Suddenly stopping mid-sentence, Sebasu-san became concerned, but I just told him that it was nothing.

After that, the conversation s.h.i.+fted to Elia, and this time I was thanked. They were grateful for me becoming Elias friend, and helping her make friends.

Elia possesses an enormous amount of magic power, making it difficult for her to control her magic, resulting in her causing a number of accidents. Exaggerated rumors of her spreads causing many of the n.o.ble children to fear her. And eventually, even the children who were her friends started to evade her, staring at her with eyes full of fear. Not long after, Elia herself grew to fear herself.

So thats why

So what happened then? [Ryouma]

Around the time Elia learned how to successfully use elementary magic, she learned how to control her powers, and the rumors petered out. But its still not something that could be forgotten completely. Making friends is another story, but if its just acquaintances then theres no problem. [Rheinbach]

Ojousama had to endure being stared at with fear by her good friends, so she was hesitant to make friends herself. But after becoming friends with Ryouma-sama, that fear has mostly faded. [Sebasu]

I didnt really do anything noteworthy though. And besides, we were only together for such a short while. [Ryouma]

Sebasu-san and Rheinbach-sama shook their heads at that response.

Even though I just did whatever I wanted? It was only now that I came to understand the situation too

That you did not fear Ojousama, looked at her face-to-face, and accepted her That is more than enough. [Sebasu]

Thats right. Ryouma, you are the impetus that allowed Elia to take her first step. For her to ask you to become her friend on her own volition Honestly, I was shocked at that time, but at the same time, I was relieved. Besides, I heard that youve been helping her make friends recently as well. [Rheinbach]

Ahh, its about Miyabi-san. She mentioned in her letter that theyve become friends, but it looks like she mentioned it to her family as well.

Then in that case, youre welcome. But you know Elia couldnt have made friends unless she moved by herself. [Ryouma]

Ill take their thanks for the meantime, but Elia was definitely the one who worked hard.

You were able to make friends because of me! Is not really something I feel like throwing my chest out for If it was around seven or something, then maybe but it wasnt really anything like that.

I was thinking of all sorts of things like that, but since storytelling was mostly done now, I went ahead and slept.

TL Note:

King Ryouma and Queen Elia, anyone? :D