Kays Translations

Chapter 8: Start! Resonance Class!

“Alright, let’s get started with the lesson right away! Please!”

Professor Shirayuki bowed deeply.

I remained in my gym clothes and took a seat in the front row on a white chair for the time being.

First, it seems Professor Shirayuki will explain what “Resonance Magic” is.

Professor Shirayuki looked at the notebook placed on the lectern and began speaking.

“Itsuki-kun, do you know what ‘Resonance Magic’ is?”

I tilted my head, wondering why she had a notebook. It turns out she’s taking notes on how to proceed with the class. It’s rare to see someone being analog like that nowadays.

While thinking about such things, I responded to her question in the corner of my mind.

“Magic that can return someone who has turned into ‘Generate’ back to normal…?”

To be honest, that’s about all I know.

But when I tilted my head, Professor Shirayuki applauded.

“Y-Yes, correct! Full marks for you!”

In response to my question, Professor Shirayuki raised her face and answered.

Is that really worthy of full marks, sensei? Could it be that you’re referencing “Let’s praise anyway” that you found on the internet?

Is thinking like that distorting my thoughts too much?

“But, th-that’s not all. Itsuki-kun, have you heard of the terms ‘Sensory Sorcery’ and ‘Infection Sorcery’?”

“Sorcery…? Not magic?”

I was caught off guard by the teacher’s counter-question and stumbled for an answer.

I suddenly wondered what this conversation was about, but since I was being asked, I had to respond.

When it comes to sorcery, it’s usually associated with curses.

The only image of curses that comes to my mind is straw dolls.

“Yes, it’s sorcery. Originally, it was a concept coined by James Frazer, a Scottish anthropologist, and it falls under the category of ‘Sympathetic Sorcery’.”

“Sensei! I have a question!”

As Professor Shirayuki suddenly started speaking rapidly, I quickly interrupted her.

Dangerous. If this continues, even though I’m the only student here, I’ll fall behind in the class.

To the surprised look on Professor Shirayuki’s face when I stopped her, I asked:

“What is this ‘Sympathetic Sorcery’?”

“Um, well… ‘Sympathetic Sorcery’ is…,”

Professor Shirayuki returned her gaze to the notebook and flipped through it.

Then, she stopped at the third page and her face lit up.

She’s an easy-to-understand person.

“The proper explanation is written in a book called ‘The Golden Bough’… B-But to put it simply, it’s the definition of sorcery that Mr. Frazer mentioned earlier. For example, when you hear the word ‘curse,’ what comes to your mind?”

“Straw dolls…”

Setting aside whether modern elementary school students think of such things, the first idea that comes to my mind when I hear the word “curse” is exactly that.

So when I said that, the teacher made a gesture.

“That’s a good example! In straw doll curses, you put the hair of the person you want to curse inside the doll and drive in nails. By attacking something that resembles a person, the damage is inflicted on the person… It utilizes the curse of sympathetic sorcery, where similar things share the same nature.”

“I see…”

I’m not sure if I really understood or not.

To someone like me, Professor Shirayuki continued.

“The curse of infection is similar in nature. In ancient Japan, it was customary to receive a person’s hair when they set off on a journey to pray for their safety. This is called ‘infection sorcery.’ It involves using a part of the target’s body to cast the sorcery.”

Suddenly, I became confused.

So when I tilted my head, the teacher hurriedly changed the topic.

“‘Resonance’ is magic that utilizes these concepts. F-For example, look at this! Take a look!”

Saying that, the teacher took out an apple from her bag.

One side was a model, and the other side was a regular apple.

“An apple…? Is that it?”

“Y-Yes. Now, with this…”

Saying so, Professor Shirayuki created “Silvate Threads” in her right and left hands respectively, and she entwined them around the apple… connecting the threads.

“I heard Itsuki-kun possesses the ‘True Eyes.’ Can you see that the two ‘paths’ have connected on the apple?”

“…Yes. I can see that you have connected the ‘Silvate Threads’ now, sensei.”

“Thank you.”

Saying that, the teacher detached the ‘Silvate Threads.’

At that moment, the ‘Silvate Threads’ faintly shimmered with a rainbow-like glow.

“Now, these two are ‘resonating.’ So, if I were to destroy this side of the apple…”

Saying that, Professor Shirayuki entwined the ‘Silvate Threads’ around the model apple and cut it apart with ‘Trait Transformation: Blade.’

In the next moment, the model apple was sliced without making any sound.

But it’s not just the model apple that was cut. The regular apple placed beside it was also sliced with the same cut, even though the teacher didn’t use any ‘Silvate Threads.’

“Eh, wow!? Amazing!”

“This is the foundation of ‘resonance.'”

I couldn’t help but lean forward and raise my voice.

In response, Professor Shirayuki returned a relieved expression.

That expression seemed to say, “I’m glad it went well.”

No, but this is amazing.

If they are ‘resonating,’ then even without extending the ‘Silvate Threads,’ in other words, without directly attacking, it should be possible to purify monsters. That means we wouldn’t have to engage in magical battles like just now by stepping forward. In other words, the probability of dying would decrease!

I couldn’t contain my excitement at the discovery and instinctively asked Professor Shirayuki.

“Sensei! Isn’t ‘resonance’ amazing? With this, we can resonate monsters and dolls, and safely purify the monsters by destroying the dolls from a secure location!”

“Well, um… It’s true what Itsuki-kun is saying, but ‘resonance’ isn’t that versatile.”

“…?”

Huh?

“Well, for starters, not all monsters are humanoid. In such cases, ‘Resonance Magic’ using dolls won’t work. And even if they are humanoid, if they are monsters skilled in magic, they can overwrite and erase the ‘resonance.’ “

“Overwrite…”

“Y-Yes. They can transfer the ‘resonance’ that was on themselves to regular people, and if we unknowingly use magic, it would cause trouble for ordinary people…”

That’s certainly true.

That’s the case… But I wonder if we can’t tell when our own magic is being overwritten or when the ‘resonance’ has transferred?

Curious, I decided to ask about it.

“Do you not know at what point the ‘resonance’ transfers from the monster to a person?”

“If you undergo training, you’ll be able to tell, but the time spent on that training could be better used for practicing ‘Attribute Modification’ or ‘Trait Transformation’ to become a stronger exorcist. ‘Resonance’ is that kind of magic.”

As the teacher apologized, I groaned.

How pitiful indeed.

Well, it’s an unpopular magic, and considering that there are hardly any exorcists who use ‘resonance,’ I had already thought that its usability might not be that great, but this is quite something.

As I swallowed my breath, the teacher added more.

“The advantage of using healing magic with ‘resonance’ is that it doesn’t require much knowledge, but in return, it consumes a lot of magical power, so the advantages don’t really become advantages. It’s an unpopular magic, isn’t it… Ahaha…”

Is this really a laughing matter, Sensei?

“But, but! There are definitely good aspects too! When it comes to helping children who have turned ‘Generate’ from prolonged contact with monsters, there’s no other choice but to use the ‘resonance’ magic. Wh-what I showed Itsuki earlier was a method of using ‘resonance’ for attacking, but if used in a gentle way, it can save people.”

“I see…”

I nodded to the hurried explanation of the positive aspects of ‘resonance’ from Sensei.

Indeed, that’s true.

I don’t want to die myself, and in the same way, I don’t want anyone I know to die.

Even if it’s an occupation with a high mortality rate like being an exorcist… No, precisely because they’re exorcists, I don’t want anyone to die.

My motto in this world is ‘kill before you are killed,’ but there are situations that can’t be resolved by focusing solely on offense.

That’s why I came here.

Not to avoid death myself, but to prevent others from dying.

“Th-though ‘resonance’ magic is unpopular and inconvenient like this… Will Itsuki still attend the three-day class?”

That question surely tested my determination.

“Yes! Please, I’m counting on it!”

I nodded vigorously with all my heart.

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