After a small commotion passed, Arthur, his voice hoarse from shouting too much, brushed his disheveled hair back and lightly nudged Lina.
She had been drooling, imagining all the things she could get from Lucy, but when Arthur approached, she shrank back in horror.
...Am I really that filthy a creature?
Arthur was slightly hurt by Lina’s shock, but she paid no attention to it, brushing off the spots where she had come in contact with him and continued speaking.
“First...”
The voice that had sounded disgusting only moments ago now carried an air of authority, befitting the position of the owner of the forest.
If they hadn’t witnessed Lina’s earlier perverse actions, everyone in the room would have looked at her in a completely different light.
“Show me the magic you’ve cast, Joy. Only then can we begin the conversation.”
“Yes.”
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Joy recalled the magic she had performed in front of the alchemist.
The memory was incredibly vivid.
It was the first miracle Joy had ever created, the spell that made Lucy finally call her by her name.
Joy opened her eyes and let out a hollow laugh as she looked at her tangled magic circle.
Was this really such a sloppy spell? It’s surprising it even activated at all.
Thinking of it as a near gamble, Joy infused her magical power into the circle.
The magic circle glowed brightly, signaling the upcoming phenomenon, but...
“...Huh?”
Nothing happened in the room. Everything remained as it was, with no change at all.
“Joy. Did you make a mistake?”
“I didn’t make a mistake, you perverted prince. The magic was properly activated.”
“Do idiots like you always make mistakes without realizing it? Check it again.”
“I’ve already checked. The magic was definitely activated properly.”
“Then why is nothing happening?”
“How should I know?”
While Joy and Arthur bickered, Lina stood quietly, observing the flow of energy in the room before taking a pipe from her pocket and placing it in her mouth.
The smoke infused with Lina’s power spiraled upward and naturally dissipated into the air.
“Hm.”
Lina continued to experiment, releasing smoke in various ways.
Sometimes the smoke moved according to her will, but other times, it simply dispersed into the air.
“You’ve made something interesting.”
With a single word infused with power, Lina’s gaze captured everyone’s attention as she pulled back the gray smoke.
“This is not simply a spell that cancels out the power of the Void. It touches on something more fundamental.”
The way the Void’s power shows illusions is based on deception.
When standing above the Void, everyone is the same—a being of nothingness. So if you place the Void’s power above, it naturally causes others to fall into error.
This is why dealing with the Void’s power is so tricky.
What can one feel from a being that is nothing?
That’s why those who vaguely cover themselves with the Void’s power can be distinguished, but finding someone who completely controls that power is nearly impossible.
“This magic is a spell that grants presence to what is nothing.”
Joy’s magic wasn’t perfect yet. It was a spell created on the spot to deal with the situation, so that couldn’t be helped.
However, the concept and potential imbued in the magic were astonishing enough to make even Lina admire it.
“Hmm.”
Looking at the magic circle with furrowed brows, Lina thought for a moment before shaking her head.
“This is beyond the scope of what I can help with.”
“...What?”
Just moments ago, Lina had been holding her pride high, but now she stepped back, and Joy, surprised, asked for clarification.
However, Lina’s response didn’t change. She continued to chew on the end of her pipe and spoke with a slightly sharp tone.
“When I said I would help, I thought you were asking for advice based on existing spells.”
Lina wasn’t a magician.
The power she wielded was her own, and the magical knowledge she possessed had been accumulated naturally over many years.
If Joy had presented a more conventional spell, Lina could have easily used her memories to give an appropriate answer.
But this was different. This magic, created specifically to counter the Void’s power, was beyond her knowledge.
“If you want more, though...”
“You foolish man. Do you think I would gamble with an opportunity to take something left behind by Lucy?”
“...”
“Truth be told, I’d love to flaunt it and steal the items, but since you’re Lucy’s friends, I’ll speak honestly.”
Lina dismissed Arthur’s pressing questions with a casual wave and then glanced toward Joy.
Joy, still staring at her magic circle, blinked in confusion.
It seemed like she hadn’t fully understood what Lina had said. Was it that she didn’t even realize the type of magic she had created herself?
“If I’m to give any advice at all, it would be this: no matter whom you ask, you won’t easily get advice on this kind of magic. It’s been centuries since the Evil Gods vanished from this land. Do you really think there’s a magician who knows how to deal with that power?”
Lina’s firm statement made Joy’s face fall with confusion.
To need a great mage who had lived since the Evil Gods descended—such a person seemed like something out of a fairy tale.
No matter if they were trustworthy or not, it was hard to even imagine someone like that existing in reality.
Joy, feeling helpless, glanced at Phoebe, who was at the forefront of the church’s front lines against the Evil God’s followers.
“Sorry, Joy. Among the church members, it’s rare to find anyone with knowledge of regular magic. Even those few are too busy with church duties right now.”
“What about the other two?”
“Do you think they have those connections?”
“Do you think they do?”
“...I guess so.”
Having been told this was a dead-end, the atmosphere among the group turned gloomy.
At this point, it wasn’t about whether they could try harder or not.
“...Huh?”
It was then that Phoebe, who had been mumbling to herself, suddenly lifted her head and turned her gaze toward the door.
“Phoebe, what is it?”
“I can feel Lady Lucy’s divine power.”
“...What?”
“Oh no. Where is she?”
“Wow. It’s Lucy.”
“Right outside the door.”
Bang! With the door slamming open, the group, caught off guard by the sudden situation, froze when they saw Lucy Alrn standing outside.
What surprised them even more was Lucy’s reaction.
Blinking as she looked around at her friends, Lucy wore a look of disdain as she sized up the situation.
“...Gross.”
With a slam, the door closed, and after a second of frozen silence, the group rushed to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Lucy! Wait a moment!”
“Lady Lucy! Please listen to us!”
“It’s only the perverted Prince’s fault!”
“Shut up! Why are you always blaming me when we already agreed on this!”
Caught by their friends, I returned to the room and relayed the situation to Lina and my companions.
Most of it wasn’t difficult to understand, but there was one thing that made me tilt my head.
“Grandfather. Is it really that hard to create magic specifically?”
<...Didn’t you know?>
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on ƒreewebɳovel.com.
“How would I know? I don’t know anything about magic.”
Other people might misunderstand, but it’s strange that even my grandfather misunderstands.
I’ve seen with my own eyes when I take magic exams, the power of Dice God that I borrow. It’s odd that he doesn’t know about it.
<...I thought you had been guided by the divine.>
“Ah.”
So it’s all been an excuse about divine guidance when something’s too bothersome to explain. I never expected that.
I was simply too clueless, so I asked Joy to handle it, never thinking it would be this difficult.
Wondering if my friends misunderstood, I asked them, and they all nodded.
“...Lady, is that not true?”
“Of course not. Stupid saint. I just casually suggested it, you know?”
Upon hearing the truth, Joy sighed with resignation, Phoebe blushed, and Arthur awkwardly cleared his throat.
Freya... well, she seemed as clueless as usual.
In the awkward silence, I wondered what I should do.
If what the foolish fox said was true, Joy’s magic clearly had the potential to solve the current problem.
The problem was that even the person who created it didn’t know how to materialize it.
Hmm. Someone accustomed to fighting the Evil God’s power and a skilled magician could help...
I did have one person in mind.
“Idiots. Prepare to head out next week.”
“...Do you have a plan?”
“Yes. Unlike you, pathetic Prince, who can’t do anything but whine, I’m competent.”
I had been meaning to visit them anyway, so now’s a good time. I’ll go meet the person who made the miracle with my grandfather.