Ch.388Sorcery (2)

I’ll say it again, the sprout growing on Ariel’s head cannot be pulled out.

Whenever others, including myself, tried to pull it out, it wouldn’t budge as if its roots were deeply embedded, even when applying strong force.

Naturally, I was too scared to even attempt cutting it with a knife. So we decided to leave the sprout alone.

But look at this now. In Leona Lions’ hand is Ariel’s sprout.

What’s more, another sprout had already grown from the spot where the previous one was pulled, as if it were being refilled. How on earth is this possible?

“…Ariel?”

“Hmm?”

“That… doesn’t it hurt when that lady pulled out what was on your head?”

I barely managed to speak in this utterly incomprehensible situation. I had so much to say, but Ariel’s condition was the priority.

She looked at the sprout in Leona’s hand after hearing my question, then shifted her gaze back to me.

Then, as if she didn’t understand what I was talking about, she tilted her head and blinked her golden eyes.

“It doesn’t hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt?”

“No.”

It’s good that it doesn’t hurt, but I’m so confused that I don’t even know where to begin.

Could this also be a type of sorcery that Leona mentioned? Or is there something else at play?

I alternated my gaze between the sprout in Leona’s hand and the newly grown sprout on Ariel’s head before carefully speaking.

“Um… Ariel? Could you lower your head for a moment?”

“My head?”

“Yes. I need to check something.”

“Like this?”

Ariel lowered her small head at my request. The sprout on her crown was standing upright and fresh like a roly-poly toy.

I carefully grabbed the sprout and pulled it gently, wondering if it would come out easily like it did for Leona.

But unlike before, the sprout wouldn’t budge at all, as if it had become a pine tree. Even when I applied more force, nothing changed.

“Hmm… it’s not working?”

“Let me try.”

Marie took over after I let go, but the result was the same. Even when she pulled strongly enough to uproot it completely!

After Marie finally let go, Ariel slowly raised her head again.

She seemed completely unfazed, her expression full of confusion about what we were doing.

“…How did you do it?”

I sincerely asked Leona. She had pulled it out so easily, as if plucking a weed, while Marie and I couldn’t do anything despite our efforts.

I couldn’t tell if there was something special about her, or if this was truly another aspect of sorcery.

Leona seemed a bit bewildered by the situation too, awkwardly smiling while scratching her head.

“Hahaha… well, I don’t know? I just earnestly wished for it and it worked?”

“Is that what sorcery is?”

“I told you. The source of sorcery is belief. And this belief must not contain any doubt. For example, you can’t think ‘Can I pull this sprout?’ You have to say, ‘Please let me pull this sprout.'”

Leona offered an easy-to-understand explanation while holding the sprout in one hand. But at the same time, I had doubts.

Her pulling of Ariel’s sprout seemed more like a joke than something done with sincere intent.

When I questioned this, she responded with apparent embarrassment.

“Honestly, I was surprised too. I didn’t expect it to come out so easily. Like you thought, it was closer to just giving an example.”

“Can you try once more?”

At my request, Leona gave a skeptical look before placing her hand on Ariel’s head again.

Then, just like before, she grasped the stem with her thumb and index finger, and flicked her wrist lightly.

Pop!

The sprout stem broke off so easily. A moment later, another sprout grew from the broken part with a “shwooop” sound.

Seeing the same phenomenon happen again, Leona made a disgruntled face and started looking at me nervously.

I felt the same way and was at a loss for what to say first.

“…Want one?”

“…Sure.”

I might as well take one sprout. I carefully accepted the sprout that Leona shyly handed over.

Meanwhile, Ariel, the source of all this trouble(?), was busy looking back and forth between us with wide, curious eyes.

She seemed to be reading our inner thoughts, but fortunately, perhaps due to effective education, she didn’t speak them aloud.

“A-Anyway, do you understand what sorcery is now?”

“The example was so clear that it makes it feel even more profound.”

“Same here.”

The power to make the impossible possible. That’s probably what sorcery is.

Though it seems simple, it becomes more profound the deeper you delve into it—a mysterious power with no discernible limits.

Unlike magic, it can defy natural laws, but it’s unstable and imperfect.

“That’s just how sorcery is. It’s also why humans, unlike in the past, distanced themselves from sorcery and adopted magic instead.”

“Then why did beastkin distance themselves from magic and adopt sorcery?”

“It’s awkward for me to say this as a beastkin, but beastkin are simpler in their way of thinking, aren’t they? As simple as they are, their beliefs are strong and untainted.”

That explanation makes perfect sense. Beastkin only established their civilization 300 years ago, so their old culture remains strong.

Notably, their political system starting with the Warchief is still intact, and during their founding ceremony, everyone performs ancestral rites.

Shamanism, commonly known as folk religion. That ideology is deeply embedded in Animus, which is why sorcery predominates.

Moreover, as Leona said, beastkin dislike complexity and have a simple aspect, making sorcery suitable for them.

Of course, this doesn’t mean beastkin are ignorant. They just dislike complexity and are combative, but they’re certainly not dull-witted.

“It’s also likely that demon worshippers are proficient in sorcery because of their characteristic fanaticism. I don’t know who they believe in, but without divine power, they naturally turn to sorcery.”

“Have beastkin ever resurrected the dead or performed possession?”

“Absolutely not. Necromancy is a desecration of the deceased, so we obviously don’t do it. As for possession, it’s something that happens to the person casting the sorcery. Through possession, we receive advice or judgments from ancestors. As you mentioned earlier, there have been no cases of sorcerers actively possessing others.”

Indeed, possession is typically something one experiences passively, not an ability one actively controls. That demon worshipper Ariel ate must have been a special case.

But after hearing this, I became curious. Leona said they receive advice from ancestors through possession.

This too, if you think about it, goes against the natural order. Specifically, souls that still wander in this world.

“But you said you receive advice from ancestors?”

“Yes.”

“Are your ancestors’ souls still in this world?”

“They’re not here, but in Valhalla?”

As everyone knows, Valhalla is a place from Norse mythology. It’s a paradise for warriors, a place only the brave can go after death.

Like Alfheim’s capital Yggdrasil and the beastkin cultural practice of Holmgang, this world has traces of Norse mythology everywhere.

There are too many differences to claim a connection with Earth, so I’m treating it as mere coincidence for now.

Anyway, I became slightly curious after hearing Leona’s story. I’ve read many books, so I know about Valhalla.

“Valhalla is a paradise that only the brave can enter, regardless of race, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And those warriors receive blessings from the gods and are reborn as angels.”

“Correct. You really do know a lot.”

Then why aren’t angels being born? I wondered about this and looked at Ariel.

Ariel is an angel born through an extremely special case, so she should be considered an exception.

Also, if there are souls classified as angels as Leona said, but they aren’t being born, there must be some internal issue.

In fact, no angels have been born since the Demon War except for Ariel. Despite countless warriors being born and dying during that time.

But that’s not important right now, so I should just keep it in mind. There’s no point in digging too deep into it.

“So can you still bring ancestral spirits through sorcery?”

“It’s possible. I can do it too if the conditions are met. Want to try?”

“Not to that extent. I was just wondering if there’s a way to defend against demon worshippers.”

“There are ways. Like using ancestral spirits as guards, or making talismans.”

“That’s a bit…”

The former makes me feel too guilty. I hesitated slightly but became curious inside. What kind of bloodline does our family have?

Our family bloodline is certainly not ordinary. Our bodies are as sturdy as beastkin, so what must our ancestors have been like?

In addition, we have martial arts passed down through generations. We must be far from an ordinary family.

“Just try it once. Judging by your father, your ancestors must have been remarkable people?”

Leona urged me with a curious expression and voice.

Her golden eyes sparkled with intense anticipation.

“I’m getting curious too. Your father, you, and everyone else. You all have extraordinary bodies. Plus, you have outstanding talent in martial arts. And the history of your family before becoming nobility is quite mysterious. With red hair, you should have stood out, but there are hardly any such rumors.”

Not only Leona but Marie joined in too. Honestly, I felt the same way.

Just looking at my father, the Red Lion, who was even offered the position of a count, what must our ancestors have been like?

Currently, it’s a peaceful era, but before that, there were constant internal conflicts. Territorial wars broke out frequently, and there were also frequent disputes with the Kingdom of Teres.

Add to that the border areas where barbaric beastkin occasionally conducted raids. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the current peace is built upon countless corpses.

In such circumstances, not standing out is strange in many ways.

“Hmm… I’m curious too, but isn’t it a bit much to use ancestors as guards?”

“You just need permission. Of course, getting that permission is up to you.”

“Don’t ask for permission, just try it once. Wouldn’t your father-in-law be curious too?”

“Hmm…”

After a slightly long deliberation, I decided to give it a try. First, I need to get permission from my father.

“Go ahead.”

I received permission too easily. Is this really okay?

“If possible, I’d like to call my father.”

“Why?”

“I need to know where he died so I can make a grave.”

“…”

I’m not sure if this counts as filial piety.

As we were preparing everything one by one.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

Ariel suddenly started pulling out the sprouts on her head randomly. It’s quite fascinating to see new ones grow each time she pulls one out.

No, that aside, is this okay? It’s fine for Ariel to pull them out herself, but doing it like that doesn’t look good to anyone.

“A-Ariel?! What are you doing?!”

“Huh? I thought Leona needed more sprouts.”

“T-That’s true, but can you pull them out too?”

“Yes. Want more?”

“No! No! No! We don’t need any! Big sister is sorry, so please stop!”

We could probably make a side dish with those.