by Dojyomaru
In order to show them there was nothing to fear, I gave a small smile and waved the piece of paper.
“I was just reading the regular report from Julius.”
“From my brother?”
“Yeah. ...It seems that Fuuga’s reclaimed a city inside the Demon Lord’s Domain.”
I laid the documents on the table, and rested my chin on my hands as I explained, “The Eastern Union of Nations is in an uproar over it. Fuuga was no more than the king of a minor nation, but now his name echoes like thunder.”
When I said that, Roroa cocked her head to the side.
“Hmm... Sure that’s impressive, but it’s still just one city, right? When the Empire sent their expeditionary force, they must’ve gone in deeper, but no one ended up makin’ that much of a fuss over it...”
Yeah. I largely agreed, but the way they interpreted it on the ground was different.
“Ever since Madam Maria took the throne, the Empire has been cautious about launching an expedition. If the greatest of mankind’s nations will not act, then we’re all forced to sit quietly and watch. That’s why they’ve worked to maintain the status quo and keep the situation from deteriorating further, but if you look at it another way, it meant there was no chance to break out of the situation. Now they’re getting good news for the first time in a long time.”
“The people are more excited than the accomplishment merits... Is that what you’re saying?” asked Juna.
I nodded to her as Hakuya spoke up, too, “In addition, the Union of Eastern Nations is an amalgamation of many small to medium-sized states. The fear of the demon wave externally, and the haphazard system of alliances and familial ties internally, makes acting with unified purpose difficult. Even if a ruler like Your Majesty, Madam Maria, or Sir Gouran were to try to make their country better, those fetters would get in the way.”
“It’s easy for the nail that sticks up to get pounded down there,” I said.
“Hmm,” Hakuya nodded. “Is that a saying from your world, sire? It’s quite apt... There are limits to what they can accomplish so long as they remain a country of small to medium sized states. They have no bright outlook, and the nation is enveloped in a feeling of entrapment. That is the current situation in the Union of Eastern Nations.”
“And that feeling of entrapment is fertile ground for the rise of a ‘great man.’”
When a society felt trapped, the people would look for a great man who could break through whatever was holding them back. The sort of entity who could use radical means to smash everything and let them stand up anew.
Oda Nobunaga, Cao Cao, Napoleon... These men all held the potential for greatness, but what made them great men was the people of the era they were born into. Their actions, which would have been considered massacres in peacetime, were deemed necessary by their people, and that was the birth of their status as great men.
If I thought about it now, the lack of notable resistance when Sir Albert gave me the throne was a manifestation of the people’s desire to change the plight of their directionless country.
The people placed their hopes in the words, “the summoned hero.”
With Liscia’s support and some words from Maria, I was able to pull myself back from the brink, but if I had kept trying to role-play being a king any longer... I might have been forced into the same “great man” position as Fuuga.
“The report from Julius indicates nearly all the refugee soldiers serving under Jirukoma have joined Fuuga’s forces now as volunteers. With the exception of a small number who, like Jirukoma, married Lastanian women, they all wanted to flock to go to Fuuga’s side.”
“That’s a real hit to the ol’ manpower. Is my big brother and big sister’s country gonna be okay?”
Roroa looked worried. Her relationship with Julius was mending, and she got on well with his wife, Princess Tia, so she must have felt uneasy.
“They’re fine,” I said with a laugh, trying to reassure her. “I told them to flee to the Kingdom if they have to.”
“You told that to Sir Julius, who was once, even if only for a short time, the Prince of Amidonia...? I apologize to Lady Roroa, but I cannot recommend stoking the fires of potential strife like that,” Hakuya said, frowning.
Roroa looked like she wanted to say something, but she must have understood Hakuya’s point and didn’t voice her displeasure.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” I told Hakuya with a shrug. “Machiavelli said, ‘People will forget the harm you have done them, but they will never forget the women and the money you stole.’ Right now, the most important thing Julius has is Princess Tia. For as long as her safety is guaranteed, Julius won’t get his priorities out of order. That’s what I felt when I actually met him.”
“...Very well. Let us trust in your eye for people, then.” Hakuya looked me directly in the eye as he backed down.
He must have wanted to be sure I wasn’t simply being soft on Julius because he was family. I couldn’t have been more grateful to Hakuya for taking on an important role that would only hurt him. If I didn’t have someone like him at my side, I wouldn’t be able to have confidence in my own decisions.
With that conversation sorted, I decided to change topics.
“Now then, partially as a means of preparing for Fuuga, there’s a project I’d like to push forward.”
“Oh! It’s finally time to get movin’ on that, huh!”
“Hee hee, I’ve been looking forward to it ever since I heard about it.”
Roroa and Juna smiled happily.
Hakuya, meanwhile, shrugged in exasperation. “I understand this project is likely important, but is there a need to make it such an overblown affair? It’s an experiment for the country, is it not?”
“Well, sure, but it should make for a fun image. Since we have the opportunity, why not put it on the Jewel Voice Broadcast, and let the people enjoy it, too?”
“...I have to acknowledge my lack of knowledge in these matters, so I will defer to your decision, sire, but please ensure you do not forget the original purpose of all this.”
“Yeah, I know,” I said, standing up as Hakuya impressed his point on me. “All right, now let’s make it a big, fun experiment.”
◇ ◇ ◇
“Magicium.”
This substance was said to be the key to the appearance of magic in this world.
Magic was divided into six elemental types: fire magic, as wielded by Carla and Hal; water magic, as wielded by Liscia and Juna; wind magic, as wielded by Aisha; earth magic, as wielded by Kaede; light magic, which could heal external wounds; and dark magic, which encompassed all the powers, like mine and Tomoe’s, as they did not fall under one of the other groups.
It was an important element, and yet we knew hardly anything about magicium. Even Doctor Hilde, a member of the three-eyed race, who each bore a shining third eye on their forehead that allowed them to see with the precision of an optical microscope, was apparently unable to see this magicium. I didn’t know if that was because it was invisible, or because it was so incredibly small that even the three-eyed race couldn’t see it, and we would need an electron microscope.
When things were this unclear, I almost began to doubt the very existence of the stuff, but if I considered the connection Mother Dragon had hinted at of continuity between “this world” and “that world” where I had once lived, there had to be some reason for the emergence of magic. There were various feats we could do here that couldn’t be done in my former world.
In that world, there was a cause and effect relationship between all things. There had to be a “cause” that resulted in the “effect” of magic emerging, so I thought that “cause” was magicium.
The other point I had learned about magic was that its power was greatly diminished over the ocean. Even water magic, which was less affected than the other elements, was affected to at least some degree near sea water. This was why Excel had once been called, “the mage who is unbeatable anywhere the
re is fresh water.”
It had become established as common sense that magic did not work well near the sea. That was also why firearms, which had been ignored for use on land because they were inferior to magic, had still been studied by the Navy.
Because of all this, I had hypothesized that magicium’s effects were limited by nearness to the sea. The fact that magic could be used with fresh water, but not with sea water, was interesting. If fresh water was good, but sea water was bad, it was almost like you-know-what, right? If so, perhaps magicium was... No, I didn’t have enough to go on just yet. I could go on about my conjecture, but I couldn’t be sure of it. It needed to be studied more firmly.
Some months ago, when I was thinking this, a research proposal for a certain experiment came to me from Ginger’s Vocational School. I was in the midst of preparing for my coronation and wedding ceremony at the time.
“The Work Songs Society?” I cocked my head to the side as I looked through the report Ginger had brought to me in the governmental affairs office.
Ginger’s Vocational School did more specialized research, focusing on the kind of things they wouldn’t handle at an academic institution like the Royal Academy. That could be skills like cooking and singing, or more esoteric topics that would be wasted on the Royal Academy.
Though, recently, Ginger’s Vocational School had catalyzed a shift towards supporting more unique research at the Royal Academy. Competition was an important factor for academic development. I wouldn’t tolerate them interfering with each other, but surely a close competition between the two was to be welcomed.
The thing that Ginger had brought to me on this occasion was also something that had been wasted on the Royal Academy, and drifted over to Ginger’s Vocational School instead.
Ginger nodded in response to my question. “Yes. The Work Songs Society. The formal name is ‘The Society for the Study of Work Songs.”
“By work songs, you mean those songs everyone sings while they’re working?”
“That is correct.”
In essence, these were songs that laborers tended to sing in place of shouting as they worked. In terms of ones I would know, there was Asadoya Yunta, which I had learned in elementary school. I seemed to recall that was a work song. Hmm, studying the work songs of this country, huh?
I was a little curious about what there were... but still...
“I think it’s interesting as an object of ethnological study, but was this something you needed to come all the way to the castle about?”
“Oh, no, this isn’t simple ethnology.” Ginger hurriedly shook his head.
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“According to the head of the Work Songs Society, some of the songs that the common people sing seem to have the effect of increasing the potency of magic.”
“Singing makes magic more effective, you’re saying?”
It sounds like something out of a game, but is it possible? I thought, but on more careful consideration, from the perspective of my old world, wasn’t this world of swords and sorcery already kind of like a game?
Madam Tiamat had suggested there was some temporal relationship between that world and this world, so was something so absurd possible? I was only half-convinced, but Ginger shook his head strongly.
“No, it seems the effect is gained by listening, not singing. The effect doesn’t affect all magic, either. There are songs suited to specific spells. For instance, a work song used in the quarries affects the magic used when extracting stone. It doesn’t work on other magic... like, say, the enchantments placed on weapons.”
“So listening to the woodcutters’ songs makes you better at magic used for cutting down trees, and so on?”
“That’s right.”
“I see. That’s fascinating.”
Did that mean if they were listening to the most famous woodcutters’ song from Japan, their logging magic would get stronger? No, that was an enka song, not a work song, huh.
Hmm... At the current juncture, I couldn’t really be sure if this was incredible or not.
“It’s an interesting thing to focus on, but... I can’t decide if it’s a worthwhile thing to study or not,” I said. “I’d like to get an opinion from Juna, since she’s a singer, and from an expert on magic, too.”
“That makes sense. I think that would be good.”
“So, could I ask you to come back with the head of this Work Songs Society someday soon? I’ll bring together the people who can make a decision.”
“Understood.”
From there we moved on to a discussion of Ginger and Sandria’s upcoming wedding. They had apparently been having problems, so I gave Ginger some advice, and arranged behind the scenes for things to be set up for him.
With that done, I went back to thinking about the plan Ginger had brought me again.
Now, who was I going to need other than the loreleis...? Ah, I know of one.
“Aisha,” I called out to her as she was standing guard by the door.
“Yes, sire?”
“Send a messenger to Genia’s dungeon workshop. Have them tell Merula, who is involved in the drill research project, to appear at the castle.”
“Yes, sir. I understand.”
Having left the Spirit Kingdom of Garlan and dappled with a variety of magic cultures, primarily enchantment magic, Merula Merlin was an expert in all things relating to magic.
If I showed her this report, how would she react? I was kind of looking forward to it.
◇ ◇ ◇
“I do not believe it’s impossible,” Merula said, not seeming particularly surprised.
It had been some days since then, and a new group of people had been gathered in the meeting room at the castle.
The members other than me included Liscia, who had come to help because the children were having an afternoon nap; Juna, who had been called as an expert on music; the high elf Merula; and Souji, the worldly bishop who had for some reason insisted on accompanying her; as well as the central figures of this gathering, Ginger and the head of the Work Songs Society, Morse Butchy.
I was surprised by how large Morse was. He stood easily over two meters tall, and was pretty thick, too. But, more than that, he had the face of a walrus.
He was a member of one of the five races of the snowy plains, which made up the majority of the population in the Republic of Turgis, the walrus race. His family had apparently immigrated to the Kingdom in his grandfather’s time.
This man was more rotund than Poncho, and was wearing an academic uniform, so I couldn’t help but think, What fantasy movie did you escape from, buddy?
On top of that, the moment we met...
“Ohh, Your Majesty. I am most honored to have received your invitation on this occasion,” said Morse. “It is an honor beyond anything I deserve that you know about our research.”
His low voice overflowed with a dandyism that I would not have expected from his walrus face, so I was quite surprised upon meeting him. It was so good I instantly fell in love with it. From what I heard, he wasn’t just a researcher, he was also a bass singer.
From there, I received a thorough explanation of the Work Songs Society’s activities from Morse. They had gathered work songs from all over this country, and had been satisfied just to be able to record them. However, when they tried using magic while singing a work song used in the forge, they got the feeling it had increased the power of their flame magic. Did songs have the power to affect magic?
With that thought, ever since then, the Work Songs Society had been studying which songs had what effects. As a result, they began to learn that the mental image was what was important.
If you listened to a song that made you envision roaring flames, it would strengthen your fire-type magic, and if you listened to a song that made you envision a raging gale, it fortified your wind-type magic instead. The key point here was that songs that were about a quietly burning flame, or a gentle breeze would instead lower the power of the assoc
iated magic. That was presumably because of the mental image, too.
“A strong image will strengthen the magic, while a weak image will weaken it,” Merula said, following Morse’s explanation. “And the simplest way to conjure that image in people’s minds must be through song.”
“Is it possible for a song to affect magic?”
“Yes. It’s pretty commonly said that image is important in magic.”
Merula stood up, and began writing on the prepared blackboard.
Person’s Head → Will → Magicium → Reaction → Phenomenon
Person’s Head → Strong Will → Magicium → Strong Reaction → Large Phenomenon
“In regards to the system of magic in this world, it is said that first you convey your intention to manifest a spell to the magicium, and then the magicium responds to that will by triggering a phenomenon. Though the all-important magicium’s existence has not been proven, it is clear that magic is manifested by our will. The size of magic each person can use differs, but in most cases, they can adjust their power at will.”
Oh, yeah. My Living Poltergeists had a limit on the number of things it could control, but that didn’t mean I need to control all of them all of the time. I could control just one thing, too.
Satisfied she had convinced me, Merula went on, “This will could also be referred to as the ‘image of using magic.’ With a stronger image than usual, we can see that the magic’s power is increased. This is something that is on display in spell names.”
“By spell names, you mean... the attack names that Liscia and Aisha shout? Ice Sword Mountain and Sonic Wind, was it? Oh, and there was Water God Calling, which Excel showed us in the Kingdom of Lastania.”
“Yes, but... when you say it like that, it’s kind of embarrassing.” Liscia sent me a resentful glance as she blushed.
It apparently was embarrassing to have her attack name pointed out by someone else. My own Living Poltergeists sounded a bit like a name that a kid in middle school would come up with, too.
“But, normally, manifesting magic doesn’t require you to say the spell name aloud,” Liscia commented.