Next Life – Chapter 28

(Now, what’s the reality?)

After Lovisa and Emma left, Marius decided to use magic on the chairs they had been sitting on. He had some doubts about this incident. Marius had been happy thinking he was trusted because he had barely used magic, but upon reflection, it seemed strange. Why could they trust him so much without being wary? Of course, this could be rephrased. How did they “know Marius wasn’t using magic?” The answer would likely be that they were monitoring Marius 24/7. However, his current body, possessing the power of a Sage, didn’t perceive magic. When he was Ryuji Yamada, he was an Ordinary Person and wouldn’t notice if anything was done to him, but Marius Tuban couldn’t be fooled. This made the possibility of Magic Items more likely. Perhaps a type that could detect the activation of magic from a distance? The kingdom’s defenses seemed low at first glance, likely because they were confident in the power of Magic Items and had seen results. So, if Marius used magic now, it would surely be detected, but he wasn’t worried.

“I was thinking of using Psychometry to learn about the history of buildings and such,” he had prepared as an excuse. By combining “Read Sink” and “Psychometry,” he could read the thoughts and feelings of the two women on the chairs they had occupied. Since he hadn’t told them about this, they had no choice but to believe his excuse. Even if they could detect the activation of magic, they couldn’t detect the type. No matter how ordinary Marius was, he wasn’t foolish enough to reveal all his information to someone with whom he hadn’t built a complete relationship of trust. If everything had gone according to plan, it would have been impressive, but Marius had acted entirely on impulse. He had only wondered why Lovisa and Emma showed such unsettling trust, and then realized that he could use “Psychometry” as an excuse.

(It can’t be helped that I’m being monitored…) He wondered how much of the truth they were telling him. More accurately, it might be better to say that what he had suppressed deep in his heart had burst forth. The trigger was the gap between the attitudes of Lovisa and Emma and the King’s reaction. They had probably fulfilled their roles faithfully and perfectly. That’s why they had instilled doubt in Marius, which was ironic. The reason doubt hadn’t grown before was the thought: why would they lie when Marius could easily tell if they did, especially after being so surprised by his power? However, looking back, even Bernhard III’s surprise could be interpreted as a result of false information. Bernhard III, like Emma, would have foreseen this outcome if Marius had acted consistently, but Marius hadn’t thought about anything complicated. That’s why he missed it.

(Combine [Psychometry] and [Read Sink]!) As he touched the spots where their bottoms had been, he could still feel a faint warmth on his palms, but his worldly desires were not stimulated. White light flowed between his hands and the chair, and fragments of information poured into Marius’s brain like a torrent. The torrent of information assembled itself in his mind like a puzzle, transforming into the complete picture Marius had wanted to know. First, Lovisa’s affection for Marius and her wariness: almost none. And what she had said so far… all true. Next, Emma. Affection…微妙 (subtle/ambiguous), wariness… normal. And what she had said so far… all true. He had gotten along with them little by little, and they had given him indirect warnings, all of which turned out to be true. Marius let out a deep sigh.

(What am I doing?) He suddenly felt ashamed for doubting them, but shook his head and told himself it was progress. The one to be suspected was probably the King, but wasn’t that a natural decision for a King?

(Hmm, I’m so inconsistent.) He scratched his head vigorously. It felt like the repercussions of jumping into a world he had never known were hitting him all at once. New things kept coming up, and he felt like his mind couldn’t keep up.

(For now, I should be wary of people like Wilson.) Wilson, whom Marius no longer respected. He guessed the King, who had been quite shaken, had learned his lesson. He had to remain vigilant because they might stab him in the back if he let his guard down. However, for Marius, who was originally an Ordinary Person, it was impossible to be vigilant 24/7. He was still just a person with the specs of “Sage Marius Tuban.” The beneficial phenomenon of his mind being pulled by his body showed no signs of occurring.

(Well, even if I’m ambushed, I can defend against whomever is here.) If there were a martial arts master of level 150 or higher, or a magic user of level 200 or higher, he couldn’t afford to be so carefree. He would have had to break a sweat thinking of ways to neutralize them. He couldn’t yet conclude whether the levels in this world were low, or whether Filat’s level was low.

(For now, I’ll practice magic with Raymond and Emma.) Even at this point, Marius remained carefree. It was difficult to feel tense when even Yaders, the strongest person he knew, was over 120 levels apart.

Upon arriving at the training ground at the appointed time, Marius found not only Emma, Raymond, and the soldiers, but also some noble young ladies he recognized.

(The thoughts of these nobles are completely nonsensical…) Their bizarre ideas were beyond Marius’s comprehension, but he decided to use “Read Sink” without hesitation. Thoughts like “To get closer,” “To deter other girls,” and “What kind of past do they have?” mixed together. There were some girls with strange thoughts, but for the most part, it seemed to be driven by noble ambition to “become good friends with Marius.” The drawback of “Read Sink” was that it could only read a limited amount at once; in this case, he couldn’t read their deepest thoughts, but he understood the situation. It was no wonder the magical soldiers looked annoyed. Raymond looked as if to say “Oh, dear,” and Emma seemed so composed that Marius suspected she might have been the mastermind behind this whole affair.

“Let’s start with ‘Stealth’,” Emma said in a calm voice, completely ignoring the atmosphere. “Hide your magical power from the enemy! [Stealth]!” He could sense the magic activating, but it seemed to make no difference. Emma continued dispassionately. “[Fire]!” A fireball the size of Marius’s face appeared. There was no surge of magic power when the spell was cast; it looked as if the fireball had simply appeared in front of him.

“This is amazing.” Marius was genuinely impressed, and the soldiers erupted in cheers. The noble ladies, perhaps not understanding the significance, remained silent. Mastering this would allow for surprise attacks with magic, which would normally be impossible. However, since Emma and Lucas were the only ones who had mastered it, he figured there must be some kind of drawback.

“The duration of the effect changes depending on the amount of magic power infused. For me, it’s only about five seconds,” Emma explained. As she spoke, her magic power became perceptible, and the soldiers marveled again. With such a drawback, it would be difficult to use effectively and might not be worth the effort to master. Following the usual pattern, if Marius imbued it with enough magic power, he expected it to last for an hour. So, he tried to imitate Emma’s incantation while holding back considerably.

“Hide your magical power from the enemy! [Stealth]!” Nothing happened. Raymond frowned, and surprised voices came from the soldiers, while the young ladies sighed in disappointment. Emma, as if she had seen it coming, gave calm advice.

“I see… Marius-sama is not accustomed to this incantation. You’ll be able to do it with practice.” It was a moment that made him realize the importance of getting used to the incantation. He might be able to do it with no incantation, but it wouldn’t be good to do so in front of this group.

“Hide your magical power from the enemy! [Stealth]!” The spell activated, and he felt as if his body was enveloped in an invisible membrane.

“Ah, it worked.” Everyone except Emma exclaimed in unison. Emma, though she didn’t voice it, had her eyes wide open. Being able to do it on the second try seemed like incredibly fast progress. Had they intended to wait until Marius succeeded? It might have been better for his mental health to succeed quickly.

“Magnificent! As expected of Marius-sama,” Emma said, recovering first and offering words of admiration filled with awe. Raymond, recovering next, began to clap, and the soldiers and noble ladies all joined in. When the applause died down, Raymond stepped forward.

“Next is summoning,” he said.

“Huh? Summoning comes first?” Marius couldn’t help but ask. In cases like this, wasn’t it Marius’s turn to teach? Raymond, sensing his doubt, gave a wry smile.

“It’s embarrassing to say, but it looks like we’ll have more time if we teach Marius-dono first.” Emma and the noble ladies maintained their composure out of politeness and remained silent, but the soldiers nodded sheepishly.

“If that’s the case, I’ll gladly accept your kind offer.” Raymond began to explain summoning. Summoning is the art of making a contract with a defeated monster and commanding it. The caster themselves must defeat the monster they wish to contract with, but it doesn’t have to be a one-on-one fight; a party that includes the caster can defeat it. However, there are rare monsters that wish to fight the caster one-on-one, or will contract without a fight. There are two key elements for a summoner. First, learning the special language to communicate with monsters. Second, creating a space to house the summoned beasts. The latter, in particular, is crucial for contracting with good familiars. The tedious explanation continued, and the noble ladies looked bored. Perhaps they weren’t whispering because they had been educated as ladies. As Marius closed his eyes and imagined creating a new space within his body, as he had been taught, the air outside became noisy. “Oh?” he thought, and at the same time, the sound of a bell echoed directly in his mind.

“Is this a wartime alert?!” Raymond and Emma cried out, and while everyone else was in an uproar, Marius was the only one who couldn’t grasp the situation.

(Wartime alert? Like an air raid siren?) As Marius pondered alone, a middle-aged man ran into the training ground.

“Raymond!” Marius didn’t know it, but this was Gares, a magical soldier battalion commander of the same rank as Raymond. “Urgent message from the intelligence soldiers! Hordia has declared war on our country! An army of 150,000 has begun its advance!”

“What?!” Hordia was the largest country on the Taliant Continent, bordering Filat, and their relationship had soured in recent years.

“Impossible! The Demonplay is in two weeks! Have they forgotten the unwritten rule!?” For a month before and after the Demonplay and the Martial Arts Tournament, there was an unspoken agreement not to engage in combat. This was natural, as they were held as a substitute for war.

“Complain to Hordia’s mad king! Hurry with the preparations! Marius-dono, you and Emma-dono, go to His Majesty’s side at once!” The unspoken agreement, which had been in place since the first tournament, was now broken. The royal palace immediately became chaotic.