Naïve child that I was, I never once thought for myself. I was nothing more than a machine moving to make the Demon Lord’s—the magic circle’s—ideals come to fruition.
I steal a peek at Julius. Did he know the state of things in Gaea? Maybe it’s just me, but he looks more dejected than usual, like a shadow has been cast over him.
“I was really lucky to be picked up by you, Lady Elle. My life would have been over if not for you… To be honest, I didn’t have the will to continue living in Gaea.”
“You used to be a merchant, right?” I say, trying to recall the day I abducted him. “I remember finding you near a broken wagon.”
What events led to the moment I brought him home with me? I practically kidnapped anyone I found looking sad and miserable, so I know squat about their backgrounds.
“I was already at the bottom of the pit of despair that day. I was out peddling my wares after my wife had just died of illness, when bandits attacked me and I lost everything. I barely managed to survive and was hanging on to life by a thread when you descended from the skies and landed before me, Lady Elle. I haven’t forgotten a single detail about that moment till this day. You suddenly appeared and said, ‘You belong to me starting today! Meaning you belong to the Demon Lord! So put your heart at ease! I shall make you happy!’ And then you kidnapped me without letting me get a word in edgewise.”
Oops, I said something like that? And, Jasper, please don’t use a high-pitched voice to repeat the things I said. It’s creepy.
“Haha, that’s nostalgic. Lady Elle said the same thing to me.”
Oh, past me, did you have to repeat the same thing to Canna? Where’s your originality?!
“It seems like everyone Elle abducted were unfortunate souls Gaea had turned a blind eye on. Is that right?” Julius inquires of Canna.
“Yes, that’s right,” Canna says with a nod. “All of us had lost hope in Gaea. Lady Elle showed up at our darkest moment. She was so adorable and cute I thought I had already died and an angel had come for me.”
Canna is calling me an angel without even blushing!
“I’m a far cry…from an angel. My actions had little thought behind them… I simply took people I found looking hopeless… But I’m super lucky. I should be hated for whisking you all away without your consent, but you have accepted me with open arms.”
“We are the ones who are super lucky, Lady Elle,” Canna emphasizes, making me feel extra bashful.
“Luck isn’t the only factor,” Julius puts out there.
“It’s not? What do you mean?”
“You likely sensed the magic particles in them, Elle.”
“Magic particles? Aren’t those the base of all magic?”
We use magic when we cast spells. Magic particles make up the base of magic. They’re invisible to the naked eye, but I learned from a young age that the particles dissolve into food and the air, and that we can cast spells by redirecting the magic converted from the particles inside our bodies through magic circles and incantations.
Magic particles are an absolute necessity for us sorcerers.
“Correct. And magic particles come from negative human emotions, such as sadness, suffering, despair, and jealousy.”
What’s indispensable for sorcerers is born from negative human emotion…?
“I’ve never heard that before.”
I know I don’t act like it, but I am one of the Four Grand Magi of the sorcerers’ kingdom. I’ve studied enough about sorcery and magic to last three lifetimes. And someone of my caliber has never even heard rumors of what he said.
“Only a handful of people have noticed the source of magic particles. After all, it’s not included in Analia’s curriculum. We were gathered as toddlers in the facility and taught about sorcery, but our lessons didn’t cover everything, and it’d be wise to assume not everything we were taught was correct.”
Sincerity burns in Julius’s eyes. He isn’t lying.
I see. He has a point. We grew up under the magic circle’s control. It’s not strange for us to have reached this point in our lives unaware of hidden truths.
“I was full of fear and suffering before you showed up, Lady Elle,” Canna adds to the conversation. “Does that mean Lady Elle reacted to the magic particles born from my misery and that’s what led her to me?” she asks Julius.
“That is exactly what happened. Sorcerers are extra sensitive to magic and the particles it consists of. Train enough as a sorcerer and you can see the flow of magic. Only once in a blue moon is someone able to see magic particles. But we can sense them. It’s highly likely Elle’s subconscious reacted to the magic particle effusion.”
When he puts it like that, it makes sense why everyone I kidnapped turned out to have been forsaken by Gaea. So it was more than just luck, coincidence, and good intuition.
And if what Julius said is true, then…
“…Okay, so if magic particles are born of negative emotions, then the Demon Lord is purposely dragging out the war with Gaea to increase the particle production?”
The magic circle I found in the Demon Lord’s room was working toward a country where magic would eventually control the people it urged into furthering the development of magic. A huge source of magic—of magic particles—is necessary to make that happen.
“Elle…you are surprisingly smart.”
Julius’s comment is made even ruder by how surprised he looks.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise! I was a member of the Four Grand Magi, too, you know! It’s only natural that I’m smart! I obviously have the ability to make correct guesses!”
“Hehehe. Lady Elle often acts on her instincts, but she surprisingly uses her head a lot, too.”
Even Canna used the word surprisingly with me…
“As Elle said, the Demon Lord went to war with Gaea to increase the number of magic particles. The only reason why the war has dragged on between Gaea and the overwhelmingly more powerful Analia is because the Demon Lord always gives the order to delay the killing blow when it counts,” Julius explains.
I knew it. The whole war has seemed strange for a while now. Analia and Gaea are on completely different scales when it comes to military might, and yet the war never ends.
“Did my spell go out of control because there’s more magic particles in that town than elsewhere?”
“Most likely,” Julius confirms. “As it stands, your body naturally stores quadruple the amount of magic compared with other sorcerers. You absorbed even more by breathing the air in town, creating more magic within your body. Using magic without compensating for the difference when your body is overflowing with it will result in what you saw back there.”
Is that what happens? I did have a similar sensation to feeling full after eating a hearty meal since setting foot in Eugstein. Actually, I feel the same kinda fullness right now.
Hmm? Something below us is bothering me. Running with that feeling, I peer over the side of the flying carpet. There’s a small…village?
“Look over there. There’s a village…”
“Oh, you’re right, my lady. There is a small village. Ah, but from the look of it, the fields are barren and ravaged…”
“The magic particles…,” Julius mutters with a bitter look.
“Something about it is pulling on me. Hey, I want to stop here. I want to get off at that village,” I say, overcome with the impulse that I can’t just pass by.
“What do you plan to do there?” Julius asks, a stringent edge to his voice.
“I don’t know. But I’m bothered.”
“You’re bothered because magic particles are overflowing from the village. Particles gathering in those numbers can only mean they’re facing a dire crisis. What do you hope to achieve by going to such a place?”
“I don’t—”
“Let me remind you that we are Analian fugitives living in hiding. We should avoid all contact with nearby villages.”
“I know! I know…that. I-It’s not like I’m planning on doing anything rash. I just can’t shake this troubled feeling, so I wanna take a look. I’m just gonna take a little peek!” I promise and give the order for the carpet to descend from the sky.
“We can only hope it will end at that,” Julius says under his breath. I pretend I didn’t hear him.