Ch.387Sorcery (1)

The invention of the internet greatly contributed to creating the term ‘global village.’ No matter where you are in the world, as long as you have internet access, you can communicate and do various tasks.

However, this also brought side effects, namely anonymity. Anonymity is like a double-edged sword, and its consequences are clearly visible.

Celebrities dying due to malicious comments, or the increase in criminal sites like illegal gambling, and so on.

In that sense, I’m glad there’s no internet here. If there were, I’d probably be receiving all sorts of insults right now.

Actually, if the internet existed here, it would mean that culture had developed to that extent, so it wouldn’t matter much.

Still, I don’t want to see my fans dividing and fighting each other. If they just fought among themselves it would be one thing, but innocent people could get hurt too.

I did briefly consider changing the storyline, but quickly dismissed the idea. People would likely complain no matter what changes I made.

For now, staying quiet seems like the best option, but I still have one powerful weapon left.

That’s the threat of going on hiatus, which worked well before. If I say I can’t write because seeing fans fight is too distressing, they’ll quiet down on their own.

And if I add the finishing touch by saying my heart hurts too much, that I’ll take responsibility since this happened because of me, it would cause a different kind of uproar.

Fortunately, nothing like that has happened yet. There was news about adventurers causing trouble, but it was quickly resolved.

Afterward, they seemed to realize they were in the wrong and started to show more restraint, and while the demon worshipper subjugation was delayed, it wasn’t canceled.

“Oh my…”

Despite all this, my daily routine remained unchanged. Today too, I became completely exhausted after receiving special training from my father.

You can probably guess how difficult the training is if even I, who pride myself on my stamina, end up completely drained.

Originally, the goal was just to be able to take care of myself, but as time passed, father’s ambitions grew stronger.

He says that while I don’t have the innate talent of Dave and Nicole, my concentration and stamina more than make up for it.

But conversely, that means I have to use that much more stamina.

*Swoosh*

While I was resting on the bed, something gently tickled my face.

It felt like a large brush moving back and forth across my face. I wrinkled my nose and opened my eyes.

When I opened them, I saw a tail swaying above my head. I knew who this tail belonged to.

“…Leona?”

“Hehe.”

When I turned my head and called her name, Leona revealed her snow-white teeth and smiled playfully.

She was lying on the bed with just her tail swaying. I ruffled her fluffy chestnut-colored hair.

In response, Leona made her characteristic purring sound to express her joy.

“Were you bored waiting?”

The reason Leona came here was because I had something to discuss with her. But unexpectedly, the training took longer, so she had to wait for a while.

Leona grinned at my apologetic question. Her golden eyes curving like crescent moons was truly charming.

“I wasn’t that bored. Thanks to that little one.”

Everyone knows who the little one Leona mentioned is. After hearing her answer, I barely managed to lift my head to look in that direction.

Arwen was sitting on a soft sofa in a proper posture reading a book, while Marie sat in a chair across from her, also reading.

She was educating Arwen by having her ask Marie questions if there was something she didn’t understand.

“Mom. Mom.”

“Yes? Do you have a question?”

“Yes. What does ‘behold’ mean here?”

“It means to look at. Similar words include gaze, stare, glare, and watch.”

“I see. But why are there so many similar words? Wouldn’t one be enough?”

“Each has its own place to be used, dear.”

Just like that. I smiled contentedly watching Arwen receiving her education so obediently.

As Leona said, given her origins, Arwen’s talents were far from ordinary.

She remembered everything she saw or heard once, and even her basic physical abilities were extraordinary.

Perhaps she’ll soon be using magic too. Father has been keeping an eye on Arwen’s talents, and I can predict what future might unfold.

‘I just need to make sure she doesn’t go astray.’

Her talent is already overflowing, so my job from now on is to teach her not to deviate from the right path.

I stared at Arwen quietly reading her book for a while, then shifted my gaze.

Leona was looking at me with wide, alert eyes. It felt like a large cat was guarding me.

*Pat pat*

“Purr. Purr.”

When I actually patted her head, she made her characteristic purring sound. Like last time, it seemed Leona’s affectionate behavior had increased recently.

I heard she says I smell good. Not like lilac or peach, just a good smell.

It’s probably the influence of the “Pure Blessing” I received from Hirt. Beast-folk are born with animal senses and instincts, so it’s highly likely.

After stroking Leona’s head for a while, I slowly got up from the bed. If I stayed lying down, I’d probably fall asleep.

“Why don’t you rest a bit more?”

When I got up from the bed, Leona suggested with a disappointed expression. She wagged her tail as if asking for more petting.

I chuckled at her expression but shook my head. I already felt bad for making her wait, and I couldn’t make her wait any longer.

Besides, even though I was tired, it wasn’t to the point of passing out. At times like this, I was proud of my sturdy stamina.

“No, it’s fine. I should get to work. I’ll pet you more later.”

“You’ll brush my hair too, right?”

“Of course.”

“Alright. Hup!”

Leona raised her upper body with just her core strength, without using her arms. As expected of a beast-folk, her basic physical abilities were superior.

Seeing that, I suddenly wondered how our night activities would proceed. What kind of appearance would she show?

For reference, it’s just that her heat cycle is coming in two weeks, which is why I’m having these thoughts, not because I’m a pervert.

Considering it would be like combining Adelia’s stamina with Cecilly’s bad cycle, I predicted it would be a difficult night in many ways.

“Our Ariel. Have you been studying hard?”

“Huh? Ah! Daddy!”

Eventually, I headed to the prepared seat and called for Ariel. Ariel smiled brightly at my call, tossed her book aside, and ran to me.

Then she hugged me. Thankfully, unlike last time, she didn’t fail to control her strength and headbutt me in the groin.

I gently stroked her head and shifted my gaze to Marie. She was looking at Ariel with an expression that seemed to say “what can you do?”

It’s understandable since anyone watching would think we’d been separated for days. For reference, the training only lasted about 3 hours.

“Our Ariel is such a daddy’s girl. Did you miss daddy that much?”

“Yes! I missed you, daddy.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s sit over there first.”

There’s a separate reason I called Leona, besides Ariel. I headed towards Marie’s side while holding Ariel.

Leona also sat across from us, ready for the conversation. Naturally, Ariel was on my lap…

“Ouch, ouch. Could you not pull my ears?”

“Then can I eat them?”

“No! It hurts when you bite!”

…or rather, surprisingly, she was with Leona. Not just sitting with her, but clinging to her.

It seems she’s interested in the animal ears and tail that only beast-folk have. Even now, she’s only focusing on the ears and the swaying tail.

Marie immediately called Ariel, but Leona said it was fine.

Rather, she said she felt more comfortable now because Ariel was full of natural energy.

“Anyway, you wanted to know about sorcery?”

Leona brought up the topic with Ariel sitting on her lap, playing with her tail.

I nodded at the question. The reason I called Leona and Marie was none other than sorcery.

Currently, the ability used by demon worshippers is neither magic nor divine power, but sorcery. And beast-folk primarily use sorcery, not magic.

Although Leona is not a purebred but a mixed blood, as the child of the chief, she knows a lot about sorcery.

Lastly, since Marie has been officially announced as my fiancée, she’s a target for demon worshippers. She needs to hear this for her own protection.

“Yes. I was almost in danger because of the sorcery used by a demon worshipper. Fortunately, Ariel helped resolve it well, but you never know. They might threaten me with another sorcery when Ariel is temporarily away.”

“This child resolved it? What kind of sorcery was it?”

At that question, I explained everything that happened at that time. However, I added that it wasn’t certain and was just speculation.

Since then, I’ve read books related to sorcery, but unfortunately, there was hardly anything proper.

Strangely, most of them were lost. Even when I asked Arwen, she found almost nothing.

I don’t know why they were lost, but currently, the only thing to rely on is stories passed down by word of mouth, that is, oral tradition.

“I see. Possession… Originally, possession is mainly done by spirits who couldn’t resolve their grudges or evil spirits, so this is strange.”

“You don’t know either?”

“It’s not that I don’t know, it’s just unusual. It’s rare for the target of sorcery to be the caster themselves. Plus, that person was probably talented in sorcery. More than that…”

Leona trailed off and shifted her gaze to Ariel sitting on her lap. Ariel was still busy playing with Leona’s tail.

“She ate the spirit and purified it… Come to think of it, since she’s also a child of Hirt, it’s not impossible. Nature has the ability to purify itself even when it’s polluted.”

“There’s no harm to Ariel, right?”

“If there were, symptoms would have appeared by now.”

That’s a relief. I sighed with relief. I was worried that there might be a problem with Ariel, but it seems it was just a groundless fear.

Then all that’s left is countermeasures. Magic isn’t an issue because there are excellent magicians around, but sorcery is a different matter.

Wasn’t there a similar incident before? An assassin who tried to ambush me by breaking through the academy’s security magic.

I suspect that the assassin not being detected by the security magic was also a kind of sorcery.

“First, do you know what sorcery is?”

“Of course.”

“Then do you know what the most basic power needed to use sorcery is?”

“Isn’t it mana?”

Mana is the source of this world and energy itself. Divine power is a separate force given by gods.

With mana, you can make your body stronger, and with mana, you can activate magic.

In terms of past life, it’s similar to electricity. So I expected that sorcery would also need mana.

“That’s not entirely wrong. Most offerings in rituals contain high concentrations of mana. Even the human sacrifices committed by demon worshippers are essentially the same as offering mana. But the offering isn’t the main subject.”

“Then what is it? Faith?”

“It’s similar to faith, but different. It’s belief itself.”

A very cult-like answer came out. Faith is also belief in a god, but what Leona said is too abstract.

Belief. Explaining this word was really simple.

Seeing my expression of incomprehension, Leona smiled as if she understood everything. It seems that sorcery is quite complex.

“I think I know what you’re thinking. You’re right. That’s why there’s a perception that sorcery is similar to gambling.”

“It’s too abstract to grasp. So does that mean people with deep faith have talent in sorcery?”

“No. The belief in sorcery refers to the act itself of believing that I can do this. On the other hand, faith is something you can have because the god you believe in exists.”

The placebo effect, or “if you desperately wish for something, the universe will grant it.” Is that it?

I tilted my head, feeling like I both understood and didn’t. This wasn’t just me; Marie also blinked her eyes.

Seeing that we couldn’t easily understand, Leona scratched her cheek and gave us an example.

“Let me give you an example. Look, there’s a sprout on top of this cute child’s head. Can you see it?”

“Yes.”

“Can you pull it out?”

“No.”

The sprout on Ariel’s head cannot be pulled out. This is something many people, including myself, have tried several times.

When we applied strong force, Ariel said it hurt, so we stopped, and we were too scared to try cutting it.

So now we treat it like hair, deeply embedded hair.

I don’t know when that sprout will grow, but I think it will grow as time passes.

“I understand. Now, watch this. Here’s a sprout that can’t be pulled out. However, the concept in sorcery is to help me pull out this sprout.”

“By offering sacrifices through rituals?”

“That’s right. Then, even though I’m just applying force as usual…”

Leona playfully grabbed Ariel’s sprout and pulled it upward. Normally, this would be just to give us an example, but.

Pop!

With a very cute sound, the sprout was pulled out. It wasn’t pulled out by the roots; the stem was cleanly broken in the middle.

As soon as the sprout was easily pulled out, I, Marie, and Leona stopped all actions and stared blankly.

The atmosphere was instantly filled with silence, and no one dared to speak first.

And Ariel, who didn’t seem to mind that the sprout was pulled out, was looking at us with a blank face.

Swoosh!

In the silence-filled atmosphere, another sprout sprouted on Ariel’s head.

As if it had never been pulled out, a very fresh and vibrant sprout.

Leona looked at it, made a sour expression, and then hastily opened her mouth.

Seeing her sweating profusely, it was clear she was quite flustered.

“Ta-da! How about that? It came out cleanly, right?”

How did she do that?