The next day, just past noon, Scarlet and I sat at the round table in the palace.
“This concludes my report on the Duchy of Parta’s first reparations,” she said. “I have confirmed that the amount has been paid in full.”
“Great. Financial matters are all in your hands.”
“Understood.”
“One thing from me,” Lardon said.
“What is it?”
From my response, Scarlet immediately knew that Lardon had spoken. She straightened her back. Her respectful demeanor grew more apparent whenever Lardon was involved.
“Ask her how much leeway she thinks Parta has. An estimate will suffice.”
“Lardon’s asking approximately how much leeway you think Parta has.”
Scarlet deeply bowed, then straightened her back once more. “The reparations were paid fully in gold coins.”
“Hmm. And that is relevant to my question in what way?”
“She’s asking how that’s relevant to her question.”
“It is common practice to store money as gold coins, which are smallest in size. Thus, gold coins are also typically used when paying in large amounts,” Scarlet explained.
“I see...”
“Okay. Go on,” I prompted, instead of passing on Lardon’s words. Though Lardon had asked the question, I was also pretty curious now.
“Had they not enough gold coins saved,” Scarlet continued, “they would have had to gather funds from other sources. In which case, they wouldn’t have been able to pay fully in gold coins.”
“In other words, fewer gold coins in their payment indicates their shrinking savings?”
“So, fewer gold coins means fewer savings?”
Scarlet bowed. “Precisely.”
Lardon seemed satisfied with her answer. To be honest, this was also pretty eye-opening for me, so I was glad she’d asked.
“Very well. They still have much leeway, then, as we expected. Continue cornering them.”
“Uhh... She said...” I relayed it all verbatim. Since this was Lardon’s order, I figured it was best to pass it on exactly.
“Understood.” Scarlet bowed deeply then left the room, and with that, I was done with my official business.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Though I was king of this country, I didn’t usually have much work on my plate. Most of the time, Scarlet and Reina—sometimes even Gai and Chris—would drop by to report, then I’d just assign the task to them, and that was that. Case in point: the meeting I just had with Scarlet.
Now, I could get back to thinking about magic like always.
Amelia had shown me new horizons. There were so many possibilities awaiting discovery with the combination of her song and my aria now at my disposal. All that was left was for me to think of specific ways to utilize it.
I was able to cast 199 spells simultaneously... What else can I do with it?
“New horizons, hmm?” Lardon suddenly remarked.
“Huh? What’s up?”
“Shall we have a little talk?”
I tilted my head, perplexed at her sudden proposition.
Some time later, I left the city and revisited the concert hall. With me were two girls. One was Amelia, standing right by my side. In front of us on the opposite end of the stage, arms folded, was Lardon.
“Er...” Amelia turned to me with a bewildered look, casting Lardon a quick few questioning glances too. “What are we doing here, Your Majesty?”
Her confusion was understandable. I’d told her that I needed her help and brought her here, but I didn’t actually know what I needed her help with. I was just doing as Lardon said.
“I’m not sure either,” I admitted. “Lardon, what’s going on?”
“Well, I thought you would better understand in practice,” she explained. “Power Missile should suffice as a start. Fire as many as you can at me.”
“Uh, okay... Sure.” I turned to Amelia. “I’d like to cast some magic. Could I ask for your cooperation?”
“Oh, of course...” Though she still looked as lost as me, Amelia assented to my request. Lardon had said “as a start,” so we both figured it was best to go step by step.
She approached her eighty-eight-string zither that had been left on the stage and set her fingers over the strings. Soon, the venue was filled with a melodious mix of the zither’s colorful notes and Amelia’s smooth voice.
Sensing the rise in my mana, I chanted an aria under my breath then cast the spell exactly as Lardon ordered it. “Power Missile, 199 rounds!”
Before the dense rain of magical arrows, Lardon didn’t move an inch. Just as I was starting to get worried, she finally held out her right hand and unleashed a cluster of mana. It looked like a power missile, but it was clearly much denser and more compact than mine.
That single power missile and my rain of power missiles clashed in the air, kicking up a huge explosion that shook the entire venue and swallowed the stage in a smoke cloud.
“Eek!”
“Amelia!” I hurriedly put up an Absolute Force Shield in front of her to protect her from the shock wave.
Eventually, the blast died down and the smoke cleared, revealing Lardon standing with her arms folded once more. “Well?”
I blinked. “Huh? Oh, uh... That was amazing.”
Her single attack canceled out my barrage of 199 power missiles. It was an impressive show... But I already knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Lardon was amazing. Naturally, I had to wonder what else this was all about.
Before I could ask, however, Lardon continued, “My singular strike and your multicasted spells were evenly matched.”
“They were,” I agreed.
“What of your singular strike?”
“Huh? What do you—”
“Allow me to share some facts with you.”
“Uh, sure...” What was it this time?
“Most mages can use an aria.”
“Well, yeah.” It was a simple ritual that boosted mana, after all.
“However, only one in a hundred—no, a thousand can multicast.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“In that case, what do most mages chant arias for? Hmm?”
“They... Oh!” I finally understood what Lardon was getting at. I slapped my cheeks with a groan. “Ugh. Am I an idiot?”
Lardon chuckled in amusement, whereas Amelia looked at me strangely. “Your Majesty...?”
With a laugh of disbelief, I cursed my own foolishness. This concept wasn’t even entirely new to me. Yet at some point, I’d somehow begun equating “more mana” to “more quantity” only.
But I could also use my amplified mana on just a single spell. It took much more to reach this realization, and for some reason I’d been averting my eyes from it—but without a doubt, there were just as many new horizons awaiting on this side as well.