Ch.5353. New Knowledge

I returned to my room and let out a sigh while stretching my body.

I relaxed my muscles, which had become stiff from exerting myself because of the Grand Mage’s disciples.

[Good work.]

The Dark Spiritmaster appeared quietly, finally able to talk. She had completely avoided being present earlier because I had glared at her several times to stay put.

I glanced at her and asked while taking off my jacket.

“Did you see anything when Elenoa was asleep?”

The Dark Spiritmaster firmly denied it.

[Nothing at all. Is there really an evil spirit inside her? The more I look, the more I think there isn’t.]

“……”

When I closed my mouth, the Dark Spiritmaster approached me gently, pretending to take my jacket.

Since she obviously couldn’t actually hold it, I ignored her and hung it on the coat rack.

Looking annoyed, she crossed her arms and asked me instead.

[What about you? This field is actually much more your specialty than mine.]

I knew it.

I knew she wouldn’t know anything.

Still, I had to ask.

Because.

“I, too, can’t see anything.”

I couldn’t sense any evil spirits, monsters, or any kind of energy at all. I had suggested the princess get a good night’s sleep thinking I might see something when she was asleep.

Yet I saw nothing, which left me rather perplexed.

“……”

I sat down in a chair and crossed my legs, but soon felt like having coffee or tea, so I got up again.

The room was equipped with simple tools for me—tea leaves, coffee beans, a grinder, and a teapot.

Normally I would brew tea, but tonight I needed to stay awake, so I started grinding coffee beans.

Drr drr drr.

As I turned the hand grinder, the rich aroma of coffee tickled my nose.

Suddenly, I thought of Findenai.

After I told him his tea tasted like pig urine and to never touch tea again, he recently developed a taste for brewing tea and kept bringing it without me asking.

The problem was that it all tasted terrible. Honestly, it was just lukewarm water.

‘He must be doing well right now.’

They’re probably tackling a high-difficulty dungeon, but with Aria and Findenai’s combination—

They’re considered the strongest in close combat, so the more I think about it, the more my trust in them grows.

Yes, I just need to do well here.

To proudly walk the kingdom as a necromancer, I need to solve this case.

After brewing the coffee, I sat back down in the chair. The Dark Spiritmaster was looking at me, clearly annoyed.

[Since you couldn’t see anything either, it doesn’t seem related to evil spirits, right? I heard the Saintess failed too, so it seems the problem isn’t spiritual but something else.]

“……”

[Wait, is she really having nightmares in the first place? Could she just be mentally ill? Maybe she’s delusional?]

“…Is there any way to enter someone’s dream?”

I was also thinking something was strange, so I wanted to enter her dream directly.

The Dark Spiritmaster answered with a peculiar expression.

[How could there be? Soul-to-soul communion might be possible, but entering dreams is impossible. We don’t even know how dreams work in the first place.]

“That’s true.”

As I pressed my lips together and fell into thought, the Dark Spiritmaster, who had been watching me, suggested sympathetically.

[Let’s escape at dawn.]

“Hm?”

I wondered what she was saying so suddenly, but she was completely serious.

[This isn’t a problem we can solve. It’s not even our field. So let’s run away. Black Mages are used to running away anyway.]

“Sigh.”

Useless words and worries. I didn’t think it was worth responding to as I took a sip of coffee.

Being in the royal palace, the coffee was impressive in taste and aroma despite being brewed by an amateur like me.

[I’m telling you we can’t stay here!]

As I kept my mouth shut, planning to explain everything at once, the door opened and two people entered.

King Orpheus and Grand Mage Rockpellican.

Normally I should be the one visiting them, but right now I was essentially a prisoner.

Moreover, I was considered high-risk after defeating the Magic Tribunal Judge, so they didn’t want me leaving this place, which was no different from a prison.

I didn’t mind though, as it was comfortable for me.

“So, how is it?”

King Orpheus immediately asked me about my progress. His face held a faint hope.

So I answered honestly.

“It’s not related to evil spirits. Like the Saintess’s failure, necromancy also couldn’t reveal what being appears in the princess’s dreams.”

“Ah……”

[Are, are, are you crazy?!]

King Orpheus looked disappointed while the Dark Spiritmaster was shocked that I would say such a thing. Failure of the trial would likely lead to execution again.

But I continued without stopping.

“However, a solution is possible.”

“A solution is possible?”

“Hooh.”

[What?]

The king, the Grand Mage, and the ghost all looked at me simultaneously. It was convenient to explain everything at once.

“While it’s impossible to confirm what that being is, the problem is ultimately the princess’s ‘dreams,’ isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“We just need to eliminate the dreams themselves.”

It’s not a perfect solution.

We would still be in the dark about whatever was living inside the princess, but solving the problem itself was possible.

“Is that possible?”

To King Orpheus’s question, I spoke calmly. Composure inspires trust in others.

“Yes, it’s possible. There are beings in this world that exist as spiritual concepts, different from magical beasts.”

“Spiritual concepts?”

“It’s natural you wouldn’t know about them as they’re extremely rare. In any case, I plan to use one.”

The bone insects created by Maalks.

The angel created by the Septima girl’s wish belonged to this category.

Just as a strong will like an evil spirit’s grudge activates mana in place of a physical body.

Monsters or thought-forms can also take shape from accumulated wishes.

“The monster I will create is called a Mak, a creature that eats nightmares.”

As I mentioned before, this unique monster has an elephant’s trunk, a bear’s body, a cow’s tail, and tiger claws.

I heard it’s called Baku in Japan.

Since King Orpheus couldn’t follow the conversation, Grand Mage Rockpellican intervened.

“Are you saying you’ll simply create something with a concept by yourself? That’s in the realm of creation. No matter what magic is, that’s impossible.”

He was right.

What I was attempting was essentially creation.

While bone insects or Septima’s angel were concepts established by many people gathering together, the Mak was a concept that existed only within me.

“The difficulty is high, but not impossible. It will take time, but with royal support and the Grand Mage’s help, it’s possible.”

Of course, it was an absurd attempt. But I had already seen successful cases in my family’s basement.

And this place had even more excellent mages, facilities, and resources.

Plus.

My greatest confidence came from having an item with cheating-level performance—Lemegeton.

“It doesn’t need to be perfect. It’s enough if we can use it just once.”

I wasn’t trying to create a perfect weapon like the bone insects, but rather a one-time nightmare-eating monster.

The two men were puzzled about dealing with an undefined concept.

But I answered firmly.

“This is to save this country’s princess who has suffered for years. Doctors? Clergy? Even the Saintess and I, a necromancer, have failed.”

I looked at King Orpheus.

His fists were already clenched, determined to save his sister, so I lit the fuse.

“That’s how difficult the situation is. We need to face the impossible head-on.”

* * *

After yesterday, the plan proceeded rapidly.

Under the king’s order to do anything to save his sister, the research officially began under the Grand Mage’s leadership, but in reality, I would be leading it.

After all, only I had knowledge and understanding of the monster called Mak.

After changing clothes and going outside, the Grand Mage’s disciples were waiting for me with still-annoyed expressions.

To move around, I had to be flanked by these two people.

It was quite inconvenient, but unavoidable.

As I was walking with that thought, Princess Elenoa suddenly appeared from around a corner.

We—myself and the disciples—immediately bowed to her as she was a princess, but Elenoa cleared her throat awkwardly and spoke.

“Deus, is this reality?”

“Napoleon Bonaparte. He was a French soldier who became emperor through the coup of 18 Brumaire.”

Having prepared this information, I delivered it smoothly, and Elenoa listened blankly before tilting her head.

“France? Napoleon? Am I the only one who doesn’t know?”

She shrugged and asked the disciples beside me, who also awkwardly shook their heads.

“We, we also don’t…”

“It’s our first time hearing about it.”

“Hmm, interesting.”

The princess nodded and passed by us, looking more at ease.

She seemed to think it was some kind of simple story I had made up.

But after that, Princess Elenoa kept finding me unexpectedly.

During meal times.

“D-Deus? I just dozed off for a moment? I-is this reality?”

“There was a website called YouTube where many videos were collected. I used to use it frequently.”

“You-what? Vid… What are you talking about?”

During research.

“Deus! Is this reality right now?”

“There’s something called the theory of relativity proposed by Albert Einstein. It’s an important theory explaining the basic laws of the universe.”

“…I really don’t understand at all.”

Even in the evening when I was returning to my room.

“Is this reality, Deus?”

“…There’s something called a cell phone. It’s a versatile item that can take pictures, send messages, and make calls.”

“Hmm, what an unusual item.”

Elenoa nodded with satisfaction. She was about to turn around and leave, but.

I stopped her.

“Princess, do you simply enjoy hearing these stories?”

“Wh-what?!”

Elenoa fluttered about dramatically, asking what I meant. Her face turned bright red as she waved her hands.

“Th-that’s not it at all! I’m asking because I need to confirm if this is reality!”

Despite her words, seeing her embarrassed expression, I could somewhat understand why she was behaving this way.

Meeting me allowed her to easily recognize reality, naturally relieving the stress she had been under.

She kept seeking me out as if addicted to that feeling.

“I-I-I’m going now!”

Whoosh!

Watching her turn and leave, I thought I would be bothered quite frequently.