Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 143: Combination
“This is Shukuma no Ren.”
Lucius said.
The Shiki (ceremonial) magic practiced by Lucius and the others includes techniques to master things like Sanren (three techniques), Shinou (four abilities), and Ichijo (unity).
One of the three techniques, Shukuma no Ren.
It is a training method to enhance the concentration of magical power in the magic core, which in turn improves one’s magical capacity.
Typically, it is done in pairs. The trained mentor stores magic power from their partner, compresses it, and then returns the compressed energy, gradually increasing the power concentration in the individual’s core.
However, there are restrictions with Shukuma no Ren.
If there is a magic core that has not yet been contracted with a Shiki, the external magic power may mix with the core, causing a mental rejection reaction. In the worst case, this could lead to a state of mental incapacity.
Therefore, Lucius, who had not yet contracted with a Shiki, could not perform this training.
But now…
Magic power flowed into the four magic cores, compressed to an extent that was unprecedented.
“Is this why holy warriors and priestesses have such high magic capacities?”
Lucius mused.
Priena agreed.
“Holy warriors use their magic weapons, and priestesses perform something similar in their temples. Usually, it takes about a year to master magic compression!?”
This was no surprise, though. Lucius had been manipulating magic power inside his magic sword since he was three years old.
Still, he had tried to recover the magic he had poured into his sword before, but it had never resulted in increased power or a stronger sword.
“Was it because the magic sword… was broken?”
It made sense when he thought about it.
He had never seen the spear users like Pallavis using Shiki.
Furthermore, it had been said before that only priestesses could contract with Shiki. Therefore, the holy warriors likely hadn’t contracted with Shiki either.
If that were the case, there should be an alternative training method comparable to Shukuma no Ren that didn’t require a Shiki contract.
Lucius looked at the twin swords resting in his palm.
If this method was for strengthening magic weapons, it made sense.
It also explained why there was so much more magic power than in the kingdom.
In the kingdom, it was customary to only practice Zouma no Ren (Magic Increase) until the age of ten, and after contracting with a Shiki, they would spend years harmonizing their magic before beginning Shukuma no Ren.
However, the holy warriors and priestesses of the Republic must have been performing both Zouma no Ren and Shukuma no Ren from a young age, simultaneously increasing the size of their magic cores and improving the concentration of their magic power.
Lucius couldn’t help but smile.
–This is far better.
He had practiced Shukuma no Ren after contracting with four Shiki in the mental world created by Samael.
However, the results had not been great.
This was because Lucius’ magic core was too large.
Even without increasing the power concentration, there was no one with enough magic capacity to fill his magic core, which had already reached level 1.
Now, with this method, he could achieve as much as he wanted by himself.
And he could also simultaneously train the magic sword.
It was truly a case of “killing two birds with one stone.”
Lucius had always been good at slow, steady work like this.
“Still, it’s a bit unfair. No wonder the Republic has so many strong people with high magic capacities.”
“Yeah, the kingdom’s method is more about creating people who mature slowly but steadily.”
Priena replied.
“Mature slowly?”
Lucius asked.
“Apparently, the kingdom’s method is about growing the magic core as large as possible, or so my father said. Even high-ranking priestesses like the Great Priestess only have magic cores that are about level 2 at best.”
“Level 2? Really?”
Lucius was incredulous.
Yesterday, he had met two Great Priestesses in the temple: Karina, the Great Priestess of the Fire God Agni, and Naviya, the Great Priestess of the Thunder God Indra. It was hard to believe that these priestesses, who had more magic power than Lucius, who possessed four magic cores and one false core, were only at level 2.
“Yeah, really. To get back to the point, the kingdom’s method has the drawback that most people can’t achieve it. Once in a while, someone like Lucius comes along who manages to reach level 1, so it continues. But seriously, achieving all four magic cores… that’s just insane.”
Lucius ignored Priena’s cryptic comment and returned his gaze to the twin swords.
–With this, I can dramatically increase my magic power.
Samael’s manifestation, his trump card, was currently incomplete. There wasn’t enough magic power to manifest it fully, and it was a double-edged sword—once it was used, Lucius would be drained of magic power.
Increasing his magic power was essential for the upcoming battles.
Lucius suppressed his excitement as he continued circulating his magic.
The magic power in his cores gradually became more concentrated.
While some of the power would need to be replenished, the feeling of growing magic power was nostalgic. It was something he had felt every day until he was ten.
As his excitement grew, Lucius slowly increased the compression rate of his magic.
“Lucius, calm down. You need to go slower.”
Priena cautioned.
–More, I can do more.
Lucius focused on compressing his magic power as much as possible, much like when he concentrated the light of his treasured sword.
As he compressed the magic power, he tried to create it inside the magic sword.
When he reached out with his right hand to receive the compressed magic…
“Lucius, wait! That’s too much—!”
Priena urgently reached for the magic sword as she called for him to stop.
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, Lucius felt a strange sensation, as though his body was floating.
His consciousness separated from his body and seemed to drift somewhere far away.
It wasn’t that his consciousness was fading, but it was sharp and clear, enveloped in a strange feeling, like being in a dream world.
The world around him seemed to be filled with white mist.
–Where is this?
In the all-white world, a distorted, water-like membrane appeared.
The distorted lines intersected and formed an image.
Suddenly, color rushed back into the world.
It was a tatami room of about fifteen tatami mats.
On the wall, beyond an open frame, hung several black-and-white photographs.
“This is…?”
At the back of the room, there was a grand Buddhist altar with large chrysanthemums and orchids.
Near the back of the room, a small, shabby altar stood in the corner, devoid of flowers, Buddhist implements, or bells. Only a small memorial tablet lay at the back.
In the foreground, there was a fallen portrait.
Lucius picked up the portrait and turned it over.
–Brother?
The person in the portrait was his older brother from his past life.
“I can’t help but feel nostalgic.”
“Considering that it’s already been over 15 years since I reincarnated, I suppose it’s only natural.”
“However, the scene I am seeing now is still the same as it was back then, frozen in time.”
“Do you still have lingering attachments to this world?”
A voice called out from behind, and I immediately turned around.
There stood a girl in a black sailor uniform. She was a bit older than the current Lucius, around the same age as the previous life’s Yoichi, and was standing on the tatami mat.
“Who are you?”
“I’m your older sister. Don’t you remember?”
The girl smiled. Her smile was coldly beautiful.
“…I don’t have an older sister. Only a brother from my previous life and a younger sister in this life.”
I reached for the sword at my waist. But my hand passed right through it.
The reflection in the shoji glass was still from my previous life, and I wasn’t holding a sword. I was just an ordinary high school student.
I watched the girl who claimed to be my sister with caution.
Then, I realized something.
I had a sense of déjà vu with this girl.
“I’ve… seen you before.”
When was it?
It was probably when I was called by the next heir of the Orleans family, Crane, and stayed at Lord Strauss’s castle.
— I also saw this in a dream before.
Thanks to that dream, I came up with the idea of turning the northern region into a financial state.
“Of course. I’ve been with you the entire time, Yoichi.”
“…What does that mean? And where is this? Is this some kind of spiritual interference?”
The girl in the sailor uniform smiled.
“It doesn’t matter. What’s important now is what you must accomplish.”
“Accomplish?”
“Don’t you remember? Your ‘devotion.’ More specifically, I’d love it if you could create a system for ‘devotion.'”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Just as it sounds. Nobles risking their lives to imbue magic, or priestesses sacrificing their lives for the world — that kind of thing. It’s something that Yoichi created in his past life. But you, in your current state…”
The girl stared at Lucius as if evaluating him.
“It seems you’re more focused on personally ‘devoting’ yourself rather than creating a system. If you rewrite things the same way, the results will change just slightly.”
“…What are you talking about? Who are you?”
“Hehe. Well, it’s just a matter of individual differences. But controlling Samael — that’s another kind of ‘devotion.’ So, as your older sister, I’ll give you a reward.”
The girl put her finger to her lips.
“The hint is ‘puppet.’ Well then, goodbye.”
She waved her hand.
Immediately, the world began to crumble, and the unclear world gradually took shape.
“Wait a minute!”
As I called out, my consciousness suddenly snapped awake.
I was back in the corner of Musoumura, where I had been earlier.
— What was that just now…?
In the midst of confusion, something soft suddenly clung to me.
“I’m so glad!!”
The hard surface of a mask pressed against my neck.
“…What happened, Priena…? Ouch, that hurts!”
My head throbbed as if it were splitting open.
Looking around, I saw the girl, Sai, who was a candidate for a priestess. She was lying on the sofa, seemingly asleep, covered by a blanket.
“…Is it morning?”
Sunlight streamed in through the window.
After having dinner, I had done some training using magic weapons.
Then, after dreaming for two or three minutes, it had turned into morning.
— What’s going on?
I pressed my throbbing head and tried to sort things out.
“That’s right, I compressed the magic power and…”
“That’s right! Why did you compress the magic power that much!? Are you an idiot!?”
“Priena? What happened?”
“The spirit imbued in the magic! If you compress and absorb too much, your ego will keep expanding and it’ll eventually be too much for your mind to handle! If you’re not careful, you might end up in your own world, and your consciousness will never return!”
Magic carries spirits. Therefore, it’s considered dangerous to absorb a large amount of magic from others or from the world because the spirit will mix and become unmanageable.
But apparently, even your own magic can be poisonous if you overdo it.
If your own spirit continues to inflate excessively, you’ll likely lock yourself in your own mental world.
It’s like self-induced hypnosis that’s too strong.
“… Everything has a front and a back, doesn’t it?”
With a wry smile, Sai, who had been awakened by Priena’s voice, approached.
“Are you okay? You suddenly…”
Sai gently petted Lucius’s head.
She had probably been so worried about Lucius that she ended up sleeping in the living room instead of the bed.
“Thank you. I worried you, didn’t I?”
Priena interrupted their conversation.
“Don’t overdo it! You need to slowly increase the magic power bit by bit, and instead, reduce the time little by little!”
“Sorry, sorry. But slowly, huh? I wonder how long it’ll take to fully compress the magic power.”
“Well, at least ten years.”
“That’s too long. Is there a way to shorten it?”
Within a year, the Empire would likely invade the Kingdom again.
Even the world’s rulers wouldn’t wait for Lucius to finish his training.
“There’s no way.”
Priena sighed deeply.
“I see…”
Lucius, while rubbing his head, remembered something.
—That’s right… The girl mentioned something about using ‘puppets’ as a hint.
It was something the girl claiming to be his sister had said.
It could just be a hallucination, but almost simultaneously, a question began to form in his mind.
“Come to think of it… how do the people of the Pandora Union increase their magic concentration? They do it using puppets, right?”
Lucius looked at Sol, who was quietly sitting in the corner of the room, and tilted his head.
“Sol wouldn’t know, I guess.”
The puppet Sol holds Lucius’s memories. In other words, what Lucius doesn’t know, Sol doesn’t know either.
To find out how it’s done, Lucius would have to contact the puppet clan Kyrgyz in his city, Bulgia, but there’s no way to reach them.
If he carelessly sent a subdragon, it would only raise suspicion among the people of the Sanctuary.
Just as he was about to give up, a red light began to shine from his right hand.
As the magic power flowed from his right hand into Sol, Sol became enveloped in a faint red light.
‘Concentrate the magic power into the puppet and return it to the body via the false core.’
Suddenly, Sol, with more clarity than usual, started speaking.
Lucius quickly moved to shield Sai, the priestess candidate, from the red light. If his guess was correct, that light was poison.
“Sol… No, Samael, huh?”
‘Lilith uses my magic stone as the core. It’s easy to make her a vessel.’
“Lilith? Ah, you mean Sol. So? Do the people of Pandora use puppets to compress their magic power?”
‘Indeed.’
Lucius immediately used his connection with the magic power and commanded the puppet Sol as he filled it with magic power.
Soon, Sol received the magic power, and the compressed magic was returned to the false core.
But it wasn’t what he had expected.
“…Hmm. It’s subtle. Actually, the amount is too small…”
‘Normally, a puppet moves by receiving the caster’s magic power. Compression is just a side effect of the magic flow. On the other hand, a puppet can be maintained indefinitely when not used in battle.’
Samael, speaking through Sol, responded.
“So Pandora uses it constantly?”
The people of Pandora likely use puppets to perform the “Shrink Magic Refining” continuously.
It was a different method from the Republic’s, but it made sense that they had a lot of magic power.
“Hmm, but if you absorb too much magic power, wouldn’t it be the same as a magic sword?”
‘That’s why we use the false core to channel it.’
“…False core?”
The false core—actually, the parasitic slime—is a fragment of the labyrinth’s core.
The labyrinth has the function of purifying the magic power that has absorbed too much emotion and spirit. It’s an ancient device maintained by the dwarves to preserve the world.
—Wait a minute…
“Could it be… that the false core also has the ability to purify the spirit mixed in with the magic power?”
Sol nodded, and the red light disappeared.
Samael likely returned to Lucius’s right arm. Sol, now with a puzzled look, looked around.
With that aside, Lucius reflected on Samael’s words and began to compare the magic sword and Sol one by one.
A magic sword can compress a large amount of magic power, but because of the severe mental contamination, it can only do so for a short time.
A puppet, on the other hand, can only compress a small amount of magic power, but by purifying the spirit, it can be maintained for a long time.
Two opposite characteristics.
“Could it be… if I combine them…”
Lucius handed Sol one of his twin swords, the white sword.
“Sol, receive my magic power through the magic sword.”
Sol quietly nodded.
Lucius poured magic power into the black sword in his left hand.
Since the black and white swords were originally one pair of magic weapons, their magic power would naturally synchronize.
Sol absorbed the magic power flowing from the white sword, and began to return it to Lucius’s false core.
Lucius waited carefully, his attention focused.
Even as the magic power flowed back, there was no anomaly.
The flow continued smoothly.
“There’s no problem…”
Lucius carefully began to slowly increase the compression rate of the magic power.
Even then, there was no headache or sensation of losing consciousness.
—I’ll try it.
Lucius exerted his maximum power, compressing the magic power and infusing it into the magic sword.
The compressed magic power was returned from the puppet Sol to the false core, then from the false core to the magic core throughout his body.
Lucius continued to maintain it for a while.
—No problems.
In fact, two things began to happen instead.
One: The concentration of magic power in his magic core continued to increase.
Two: The magic power flow through the magic sword became smoother.
“What are you doing, Lucius?”
Priena and Sai, who had been watching curiously, asked.
“I combined the techniques of the Pandora Union and the Sangala Republic. I think… I can probably increase my magic power in a short time.”
“What does that mean?”
The two looked at him, clearly confused.
“I compress the magic power with the magic sword, then channel it into my body via the puppet and false core. That way, I can circulate the concentrated magic power for a long time.”
Sai still seemed confused, but Priena, though she wore an iron mask, couldn’t hide her shock.
“Huh!? Wait… What!? I don’t understand!!?”
It was no surprise.
On one hand, it was a technique used only in the Sanctuary, which didn’t allow any external intrusion.
On the other hand, it was a technique held secret by clans even within their own country. And it was from a different continent altogether.
The techniques that were never meant to mix had been integrated right before their eyes.
As a result, the common sense they knew had been completely overturned.
“When we return to the kingdom, I’ll give you a puppet, Priena. Also… would it be possible to bring back the method for creating magic weapons to our land? Or maybe export puppets to the Republic?”
Lucius muttered ominously.
It was as if he was already planning to make this new discovery public…