We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
A family of Sorcerers.
“Teacher Creacio, please teach me sorcery!”
The capital city of the Armēdo Kingdom. In a district of the castle town, not far from the still-rebuilding Royal Castle, stands that house.
Amidst the magnificent new stone mansions, stood a single, unpretentious wooden mansion.
Even so, “unpretentious” was only in comparison to the surrounding mansions; it was still several times larger than a regular house in terms of grounds and building.
I energetically knock on the entrance of that wooden mansion.
Then, a familiar woman appears, opening the door.
“Oh, Elnea-kun. What brings you here?”
“Creacio, it’s been a while!”
Creacio, whose black hair is beautiful, guides me inside, having visited without any prior notice.
Perhaps because it was newly built, the interior of the building was filled with the pleasant scent of wood.
“What’s wrong with coming here suddenly? I recall you saying you wanted to learn sorcery?”
“Yes. Please teach me sorcery, Master Creacio!”
Creacio smiles with a chuckle at my intensity. While doing so, she leads me to a room overlooking the spacious garden.
“Whoa. This room smells like various herbs, doesn’t it?”
“Was it a scent you dislike, Elnea-kun?”
“No, not at all. It feels calming, like being deep in a forest. I prefer natural scents like this over perfumes.”
In the garden visible from the window, Creacio’s husband, Slaton, and his dragon mount, Duranel, were engaged in a scuffle. …No, perhaps they were training affectionately?
Turning my gaze from the lively garden to the interior, it’s immediately clear that this room is a special place.
Along the walls, shelves lined with numerous small drawers are set up.
The desk is covered with tools I’ve never seen before, including instruments for grinding herbs and minerals, and stacks of firewood with a mysterious scent.
The floor is not carpeted, nor is it even a wooden floor. Like an earthen floor, the packed earth is exposed.
And on the earthen floor, circular formations and complex patterns had been drawn with colored sand.
“Fufufu. You seem very curious?”
“Yes. This is my first time seeing a sorcerer’s room and carefully observing their tools.”
Creacio, being the same age as me, has the most sisterly disposition among all of us who attended school.
She doesn’t get angry at my sudden visit, nor does she rudely ask “Why?” when I suddenly declare I want to learn sorcery.
She acts thoughtfully and has guided me to this room related to sorcery.
Ah, however.
She gets angry immediately when Slaton does something foolish!
“Elnea-kun.”
“Yes.”
Creacio prompts me to sit down by spreading a mat on the earthen floor. But I’m fine sitting directly on the dirt, so I just sit down.
Creacio also sits directly on the earthen floor.
And as we both sit down, Creacio says,
“I believe you learned the basics when you were attending school. But you know, to wield sorcery, innate talent is necessary.”
“Yes, I know. Without harboring magical power, sorcery cannot be used even if one imitates rituals and spells, right?”
Creacio nods at my answer, as if to say, “Well done.”
“Then, knowing that, you still want to learn sorcery?”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I don’t want to be able to use sorcery. I just want to gain knowledge of sorcery.”
“So, you’re driven by some necessity?”
“You’ve guessed correctly.”
As expected of Creacio.
She seems to have somehow grasped my situation from my fragmented words alone.
“Then,” Creacio prompts me.
“Shall we meditate?”
“Yes.”
I obediently comply.
I assume a seated meditation posture, close my eyes, and deeply quiet my mind.
“Everything begins with meditation.”
“Yes. Dragon arts and magic arts are the same, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are. By meditating, one calms the spirit and enhances concentration. This is common to all arts.”
When I meditate, I can immediately feel the presence of dragon veins. Not only that, but I’ve also become able to sense Creacio’s breath, the spirit of Slaton and Duranel, and even the flow of the wind and the breath of the world.
“Your meditation is truly wonderful, Elnea-kun. When I close my eyes and meditate, I can clearly feel it. It’s as if you’re connected to the world, how should I put it?”
“I’m happy to hear you say that. Thank you.”
It seems Creacio is also meditating. And she can certainly sense my presence.
“By the way, Elnea-kun. Can you see the surrounding scenery while you’re meditating?”
“Mumumu, what do you mean? I can’t see the scenery if my eyes are closed… But I can feel the surrounding presence?”
“Is that visually, or…?”
“No, it’s by feeling.”
Slaton was sent flying by Duranel. Slaton tumbled disgracefully and is in agony.
Ah, it seems a guest has arrived. But it looks like a maid has gone to attend to them.
And so on, I can perceive the presence of a wide area. However, I don’t “see” it visually.
In other words, I’m just replacing what I perceive with images in my head.
I sense a nod from Creacio in response to my answer.
“Indeed. Usually, just feeling the presence is amazing, but… Elnea-kun. I can see.”
“Huh? You can see your surroundings even with your eyes closed?”
“Yes. However, it’s a little different from normal. You see, I can see colors.”
“Colors?”
“Yes. Various colors. For example, let’s see. Normally, you emit a very gentle color, Elnea-kun. When I close my eyes, it appears as green to my vision. But when you start meditating like this, it suddenly begins to shine brilliantly. Connecting with the earth, it spreads as if filling the world. When grass, trees, and animals are enveloped by your brilliance, they take on a happy color… However, for you right now, I can see a slightly muddied color. A shadow, or perhaps a stagnation. I suspect you have something you’re troubled by, don’t you? And you’ve come to visit me seeking a way to resolve that worry?”
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
Ruiseine, who possesses Dragon Eyes, can visually perceive the flow of dragon energy.
She told me before that the dragon energy I draw from the dragon veins shines green.
However, that is only related to dragon veins and dragon energy; she cannot see my own magical power or mana.
Are the colors Creacio sees during meditation related to such things?
“If you ask me, the world is overflowing with colors. Even a seemingly ordinary blue sky, when meditated upon, is a complex entanglement of red, purple, black, and white. And not just people and the sky, but all grass, trees, wind, and earth have various colors.”
“Meditation makes the world feel more lively.”
“Rather than *feel*, I *see* it visually.”
“I see.”
It’s a mysterious story.
When I close my eyes, my vision becomes completely dark. But Creacio can see an entirely different world by meditating.
“Sorcery, you know, is taught as the act of interfering with these vibrant colors.”
“Then, can all sorcerers see various colors like you?”
“Fufufu, actually, that’s not the case. That’s what makes it difficult.”
Creacio tells me the basics of sorcery.
“I say this about myself, but… it’s said that only sorcerers with very limited innate talent can see these various colors.”
“So, you’re a first-class sorcerer, Creacio!”
“Fufufu, thank you.”
“But then, what about sorcerers who can’t see colors?”
If they lack the talent, normally they wouldn’t even be able to become practitioners.
In the case of sorcerers, being able to see colors is just a category for those with limited talent; even those who can’t see them are still accomplished sorcerers, right?
Creacio’s presence can be felt as she nods at my question.
“Your question is valid, Elnea-kun. And that’s where the history of sorcery lies.”
Creacio says.
Sorcery is an art passed down through generations.
Those who can visually perceive the colors of the world when they close their eyes are extremely limited in talent, and the vast majority cannot.
Nevertheless, the Human Race wields sorcery.
No, they *must* wield it.
This is because the Human Race is weaker than other races and is subjugated.
They cannot perceive colors. But they can harbor magical power.
So, can those who cannot see colors still find a way to use sorcery? If they can, they wish for more powerful spells, more effective spells. And it is precisely these trials and errors that constitute the history of sorcery, she says.
“I said sorcery is about interfering with the colors of the world, didn’t I?”
“Yes.”
“To put it simply… as I said earlier. Your current color has a muddiness to it.”
“Is it that worries are seeping out as color? I’m not consciously aware of it myself.”
“Yes. Even unconsciously, it always appears as color. And sorcerers can see that color and interfere with it.”
In other words, you can’t hide your worries or secrets from Creacio.
Slaton, don’t do anything you’ll regret!
“For example, let’s say I were an evil sorcerer. And I interfered with your muddied color. What do you think would happen?”
“Mumumu. I don’t know much about sorcery, so I don’t know?”
“Fufufu, yes. You came to learn precisely because you don’t know. So, I will tell you. Your current worries would be amplified, and your spirits would sink. Not only that, but you might lose your motivation and eventually become bedridden.”
“Such a thing is possible with sorcery!?”
Awesome, sorcery.
Although it’s said to be less flashy than dragon arts or magic, its effects are astonishing.
“Conversely, I can also reduce the muddiness and lighten your spirits. If we were in a battlefield, I could invigorate allies or instill fear in enemies.”
“But,” Creacio continues.
“Don’t you think such effects would be meaningless if you couldn’t see color?”
“If I didn’t have muddied colors, would sorcery have no effect even if you interfered?”
“I can’t say it wouldn’t have an effect. After all, I can just mix in colors. However, it’s certain that it would consume more magical power than necessary.”
“I see. If you could see the color, you could interfere with it from the start, but if you couldn’t, you’d have to first try interfering and then add color if it didn’t work, which would be troublesome.”
“Exactly. And adding colors that aren’t there is extremely difficult, and consumes a lot of magical power. Furthermore, there are affinities between colors, some repel each other, and some blend well, so the spell must be cast delicately. But when you want to achieve an effect somehow, that’s where inherited knowledge comes in handy.”
Sorcery rituals use many tools such as cursed tools, herbs, fragrant herbs, fragrant wood, stones, earth, water, and alcohol.
Not only that.
They use formations and patterns drawn on the earthen floor, sing complex incantations, and are more complex and difficult than the arts used by other races.
And, according to Creacio, there is no “correct” answer in sorcery.
“When I try to interfere with your color, Elnea-kun, how to change the color or what color to add… the means differ for each sorcerer. And there are thousands, tens of thousands of such means, with no single ‘correct’ answer. There might be an optimal solution, but only those who have mastered sorcery know it.”
Sorcery has an almost infinite number of variations.
Therefore, sorcerers constantly research and pass down their findings to their descendants.
“But, you know, humans are greedy. They want to monopolize what they discover through research, whether it’s their grandparents, parents, or themselves. That’s why they don’t readily teach their discoveries or magical techniques to others. They tend to want to pass it down to their precious children or grandchildren.”
“No, I understand that feeling. I believe that knowledge and experience gained from sorcery are precious treasures. Therefore, I think the desire to give precious treasures only to precious people is correct.”
“Fufufu, thank you.”
Sorcery is an art passed down through generations.
Therefore, the ritual procedures differ for each family line, and the cursed tools used also vary. The magical techniques are complex and are not easily stolen by others.
“That’s probably why you took Slaton in as a muko-yōshi (husband taken into the wife’s family), Creacio. Because you want your children to inherit the ancestral knowledge not as warriors, but as sorcerers.”
“Yes. When we eventually have children, I intend for them to definitely walk the path of sorcery. Well, if they possess magical power, of course?”
“Don’t worry, your children will surely possess amazing magical power! Ah, could it be… are you pregnant!?”
“Unfortunately, not yet.”
Creacio’s laugh can be felt through her closed eyelids.
“By the way, Creacio, I understand the basics of what sorcery is now, but I have a question. Slaton’s sword’s blade grows larger with your magical power, and Listea fights by making her magical power burn like a flame, right? How does that relate to this talk of colors?”
In response to my question, Creacio ends her meditation, saying I’ve noticed a good point.
And she stands up.
“Kukukuku. Elnea. That, I, the great me, will teach you through experience from now on!”
“Ouch!”
Slaton, who had been thoroughly defeated by Duranel in the garden, enters the room after finishing his training. And in a fit of misplaced anger, he playfully restrains me.
“Hey, what are you doing talking so friendly with my wife!”
“Gahhh, it’s not like that. I was talking to Creacio…”
“Slaton, what are you doing to Elnea-kun!!”
Creacio, who had stood up, unleashes a powerful punch at Slaton, who is trying to drag me out to the garden while hugging me.
