episode_0044

20,000 miles under the sea.

If you calculate the number accurately, the novel, which can be translated as 200,000 Leagues Under the Sea, is an adventure novel filled with science fiction imagination by French writer Jules Verne. This novel, which explores the new technology of submarines and the unknown space of the sea, has become an immortal classic symbolizing the romance and passion of adventure.

Jules Verne’s science fiction imagination was not just fantasy.

Rather, it was similar to genres called hard SF in modern times. Of course, by modern standards, stories about flying to the moon in a cannon or that there is a cavity at the center of the Earth may sound like nonsense… .

Jules Verne actively used science and statistics in the process of deriving such ‘fantasy results’ and created a story full of confidence.

So, I had to do the same when translating this novel.

It is about deriving fantasy from reality. And I knew one person who could play this role well.

“This is Chief Mage Millie Cléan… . I’m the chief… .”

“Yes, yes. Chief wizard. I’m calling you here again to ask for some ‘advice’.”

“I understand… . There will be no one else who can help you like me… .”

Millie Cléan, the chief mage of the Gray Magic Tower.

His personality was a bit disappointing… The vastness of his abilities and knowledge was certain. Combining her knowledge with the various testimonies received from the sailors on the upper deck, she would be able to create a ‘science fiction adventure novel’ that would be quite believable even to people in this world.

“Is that a novel I can read? ? Herodotus’ new work… ?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Hmm… . It’s good… .”

Millie Klein spoke very slowly, but she read quickly.

I’m a pretty fast reader, but she was even better than that. The word ‘genius’ was truly appropriate.

She read the manuscript in an instant and smiled with satisfaction as she put the paper down on the desk.

“This is good… . I really like it… . For my taste, it might be better than detective novels or the Conan saga… ?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes… . I especially liked it because it was full of very new magical ideas and knowledge… . The method of deriving it is also very reasonable… . Did Herodotus also study magic?”

“No.”

“Then I will teach you… .”

“I decline.”

“First of all, I have to talk about what magic is… . To explain this, I think it would be good to first hear about the reason why I fell in love with magic… .”

Ah, it’s late.

Millie Klein began to tell her story, her tired eyes sparkling with dark circles.

Although it was said to be about magic, most of it was self-bragging.

But there were also some pretty interesting stories. For example, it was a story about the technological civilization of this world, firearms, magic locomotives, and airplanes.

“Because the wizard of the Gray Magic Tower deals with probability… You can’t kill a wizard with a gun… .”

“Yes?”

“If gunpowder is used, a misfire may occur, the structure may be delicate, so it may break down in an instant, and the orbit is one-dimensional… As long as you fly in a straight line, there are plenty of possibilities for simply misaiming… . It’s not surprising if the barrel explodes or the range is much shorter… . That’s why wizards are called the military’s natural enemies… . The more complex a device is, the more it is nothing more than scrap metal to a wizard… .”

“Mmm. Then isn’t the army useless as long as there are wizards?”

“That’s just what they say, it doesn’t mean they really can’t kill… . The odds are a little more equal for wizards, but in the end they are equal for everyone… . If you overlap and overlap the trajectories made of lines, you will ‘definitely’ not die… ? That’s why the empire is making every effort to standardize its official firearms… . Standardization is statistics, and statistics is possibility… . Magic is ultimately a reproduction of an event… . So, we are harmonizing the standards, establishing a protocol, and training against human-shaped targets to increase the probability of hitting… .”

It was a strange story.

Isn’t standardizing weapons, establishing rituals, and mastering them through repeated training something that should be done in the military even if there is no magic? It was certainly a ‘meaningful’ action in terms of increasing the probability of winning, but it was the same even without a ‘magical’ miracle.

I remembered the story I heard from her the last time we met.

If something is possible with magic, it should ultimately be possible without magic. I felt like I understood a little of what that meant.

“If it is difficult to understand… , um… For example, let’s say a slayer appears and kills ‘all’ humans in the world… ?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Then, magically, that person has the right to determine the ‘certain death’ of any person… . That kind of thing is called ‘transcendence’… .”

“If you’ve already killed all the people, isn’t this power ultimately meaningless?”

“That’s right… .”

“Then what is the meaning of transcendence?”

“Hehe… , That’s why a trick is needed… .”

“Hmm?”

The head wizard laughed, wondering what was so funny.

It was a smile that felt a little gloomy because it was shadowed by dark circles and tangled hair.

“Any person is half the same as their parents… . In that case, it can be said that a child is born with ‘half’ of the potential of each parent… ?”

“Yes.”

“If the monarch of a great dynasty kills half of humanity, passes that potential on to his children, and those children become kings and kill half of the humanity of that era again, and they have children through incestuous marriages and take over their grandfather. If they pass on both the inherited potential and their own potential… And if you repeat this for generations… .”

“… … .”

“Wouldn’t work be a lot more fun? ?”

The wizard paused for a moment and sipped black tea.

Then, I picked up the kettle and tried to pour more black tea into the cup, but the kettle was also empty, so only a few red water droplets fell.

The wizard frowned slightly and pushed the teacup aside.

“Well, in reality, it’s not this simple and no one would make such a foolish attempt… . Ah, there are similar cases. The fact that the emperor of an empire has the ‘right’ to be respected by the subjects of the empire is not necessarily a rule of law… . In particular, in the case of the previous emperor, he purged quite a few nobles, so that atmosphere must have permeated the imperial family… ? So it’s hard for wizards like us to even go near the royal family… . Hehe… . Because I felt like I was standing in front of a snake eating people… .”

The wizard trembled as if remembering something. My complexion seems to have worsened a bit.

Now that I think about it, I felt a similar vibe from ‘Princess Is’.

Feeling like a frog in front of a snake. Fear of being a prey in front of a predator.

I thought she was just nervous because of the power she had, but it may also have been some magical law at work.

“You can boil tea in a kettle, but you cannot boil tea in a teacup, which is also a limitation of magic… .So it’s really fun to read a novel full of magical ideas like this… . Hehe… . There are some nonsense, but… There are some things I want to experiment with… .”

“Is that so?”

“Would you like to visit Magic Tower sometime? ?”

“Uhm, I will decline for now. Because I’m going to be busy with writing.”

“It’s a shame… . Well, all I have to do is give some advice… . Could you please give me some paper… ?”

“Yes, yes.”

Millie Klein nodded and began consulting in earnest.

The story, told in a scientific and magical way, drew attention away from the many fictions hidden in the shadows through the fiery clarity of its style. Anyone looking at the flickering flames can have no doubts about its heat.

The sparkle of embers, the surrounding darkness sparkling yellow and red, and the shadows moving as if dancing.

As the style became clearer, the story became more vital. Because adventure novels were novels that dealt with the unknown, they were closer to a torch that burned the darkness rather than a lamp that illuminated the way.

There is no doubt or fiction there.

[“Tyrants have no right to rule the sea. They will claim evil rights above the surface, fight against each other, devour each other, and bring down everything with fear. But 30 feet below the ocean floor, their power will cease, their power will decline, their dominance will be in vain!”]

[“The sea is free!”]

Only freedom was evident.

The freedom that no oppression can tie us to one place. That was the beauty of adventure novels.

It was the beauty of romance and the sparkle of progress.

Jules Verne led us to the sea.

“Mmm! It’s much better… .”

“Thank you for the good advice. Chief Mage Kleang.”

“My advice is always excellent… . Because I’m a senior… .”