Leave a comment

That evening, I was taken back to Raum by Maxwell. Cortina had naturally already returned to her own home, so she wasn’t in his mansion. Mateus had been given some work to do, so he wasn’t there, either.

“Now then, Reid.”
“What is it, being so serious…”
“Well, yesterday…”

Thus, Maxwell explained to me the situation with Cortina. It was quite unexpected for me to find out that she was under so much stress. As a strategist, her fortitude was a tower above the rest. I believed that to be the case.

“Didn’t expect that from Cortina… As for Elliot, it was within expectations.”

The reason I used the name Haumea and also left a proof of my connection with Maxwell was in a way to drag Elliot out.

If he found out that I was involved in it, he would naturally stick his nose into it, which also meant that this matter of sacrifices would get intervened by the power of the state.

If the kingdom decided to get involved, then they’d have a hard time escaping no matter how well they can hide. The real problem was Cortina.

“I would not say that this is the limit of how long you can keep hiding it, but she would be too pitiable if you do not bring salvation to her heart already.”
“I really do feel bad about this, but I just can’t… Hey, isn’t there some way to learn Polymorph faster?”
“As if there would be. Moreover, that spell has its share of flaws.”
“Flaws? I never heard about that. Actually, you never used it during battles now that I think about it.”

Rather, not just battles, I don’t remember him using it even during normal times even once. Maybe it was due to the flaws that he mentioned.

“That is correct. For one, that spell can only be used on the user. This is why I can’t just cast it on you.”
“And that’s why I’m trying so hard to learn it, huh.”
“And… It changes your body forcibly, do you understand? In the worst case, it can cause enough pain to make you faint.”
“That much!?”
“Yes, that is why it is impossible to use in battles. Losing consciousness there would be quite dangerous. And it is painful enough that you would not want to use it even outside of battles, if you could help it. No one would use it for no reason.”
“Seriously… Still, I’m sure I can endure it.”
“I hope that will be the case. But learning it comes first.”
“Even if you say that, that spell’s ranked high up even in the high-ranked spells.”

At present, I barely scratched the surface of the middle ranked spells. I lacked quite a bit of skill for a high-ranked spell like Polymorph. Naturally, since I was already at mid-rank at eleven years old, I was already considered a genius.

Even so, it was not enough to match up to the urgency of the situation.

“Wait… Hold on a moment.”
“What is it, Reid. Did you think of something?”
“Yeah. Look, people who can’t use teleportation magic can still teleport by using magic circles, right? Can’t we use an external factor to assist with casting Polymorph the same way?”
“External factor… You say?”
“Like, we discovered a ley line some time ago, right? What if we cast the spell there, would that help?”
“We buried that place though.”
“Please, you can easily dig it back up.”
“Hmm…”

I didn’t believe that would really allow me to use the spell. However, maybe this old man could think of something using the information I provided.

He started to ponder for some time while putting a hand on his beard. Then finally, he raised his head and offered a suggestion.

“You do know that you would not be able to use it so easily, right?”
“Of course.”
“It could only serve as a trigger at best.”
“Pretty much.”
“Not on the Polymorph level… But there is someone that experienced what you are describing. I am talking about Den.”

Now that he brought it up, I thought back on Den. Because he made his nest above a ley line, he underwent an evolution and developed a high intellect for an Ogre. He should currently be taking shelter in my hideout, and living quietly there.

Certainly, it could be said that the ley line’s influence caused him to undergo a change from an ogre into a new species.

“As you said, it is possible to supplement a spell if you borrow the power of a ley line. However, that would only be in terms of making up for the lack of magic power.”
“That’s not enough?”
“It seems that you have forgotten, but you have no problems when it comes to the magic power amount itself. What hindered the growth of your ability was instead your problem with the release and control of your magic power.”
“That’s true. So the ley line is basically useless?”
“At present, yes. But thanks to this I have thought of a plan that could overcome this.”
“A plan to overcome… So there’s a way?”

As expected, he seemed to have thought of something. I looked at him filled with expectations. If this went well, I could dispel Cortina’s anguish.

“Yes, think of Light Magic Items, for example. Those can be used even if you are not a magician.”
“If they didn’t, an average person wouldn’t be able to use them.”
“Right, in other words, they can be used even if you cannot use the spell itself. Magic Items make that possible.”
“Magic Items… Aste, huh!”

He was a Magic Item specialist. He had both deep knowledge and the skill to implement it. Certainly, if it’s him he might just be able to make a Magic Item loaded with Polymorph.

“I see, and he’s already aware of my circumstances. If he’s willing to help, there’s no one more reliable than him!”
“Right? And he is cut above the rest when it comes to creating Magic Items. There is no one better than him for cases like this.”
“True. In that case, we should quickly—”
“Wait, where do you think you are going?”
“Where, you ask? To Aste, obviously.”
“You have just returned to Raum. At least show your face to Cortina first, she is your guardian!”
“Oh, whoops.”

If we didn’t contact her and didn’t return until late night, she would obviously worry. While Maxwell was indeed accompanying me, I was still a kid in body. I had to stick to the curfew.

“First show your face to Cortina and tell her about Fina as well. That should help distract her from her feelings somewhat.”
“Okay, I’ll do that.”
“After that—Let us see. Come to this mansion once again when night comes. You can just tell her that you have to come at night because the ritual spell you are learning is related to the stars, and she should let you do that.”
“Again with the technical stuff…”

By stars, he meant the rotation of them. Depending on the ritual, the position of the stars was important to the spells. And that meant that they had to be done at night.

It was a good excuse for me to slip out of the house.

“I will write a note too. With that, you should have no problem leaving the house.”
“But what if she says she wants to escort me? Since I’d be leaving at nighttime, that could easily happen.”
“Hmm, in that case, ask that Finia accompany you instead. She is also my disciple, so there should be no problem to come here while also protecting you.”
“And, when she comes here, we’d still have to deceive her somehow, right?”
“I will tell her to do some cleaning. We can tell her we have to go somewhere while she’s busy doing that.”
“Will it really go so well?”
“If this goes well and you turn back into Reid, head over to Cortina by yourself. I will make sure to keep Finia in the mansion.”
“That would be appreciated, but we don’t know if this would even work.”
“We will know when the time comes.”

He responded with a scheming smile.

Thus, It has been decided that we would visit Aste.