🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 26
At Jerome’s words, the mages seemed to come to their senses and began speaking one after another.
“Illusion magic, you say…?”
“C-Could you show it to us again?”
“Where on earth did you learn such a thing?”
The shock of the illusion magic Elijia had just displayed must’ve been immense. Questions were fired at her from every direction.
But Elijia asked back nonchalantly,
“Oh? Is it really that impressive?”
To that question, the mages responded in a flurry.
“Of course! It’s creation-type magic, after all!”
“To put it simply… what Lady Elijia just did is the kind of unconscious computational process that violates the Third Law of Hetalph. And if that law breaks down, then the First and Second Laws become theoretically invalid too! In other words, this could redefine the basic principles of magic entirely—!”
“Hey, Kevin. Calm down! You’re overwhelming the lady!”
Even the sight of mages frantically trying to stop a fellow mage who was passionately rambling. The chat window lit up with excitement at the scene.
lol that mage is losing it XDD
That guy is definitely a magic theory nerd lol
Unnie’s magic would win a Nobel Prize in that world hahaha
“…I’ll just explain it myself.”
A while later, once the mages had finally been calmed down, Jerome spoke up. Being the Vice Tower Master and someone familiar with Elijia, it was probably best that he spoke on everyone’s behalf.
“First, let me explain why everyone is so interested in illusion magic.”
“Go ahead.”
Elijia nodded. She’d heard that illusion magic was considered so difficult it was practically a legend, but she didn’t know why it was so hard. She was curious about the reason.
“First of all, magic that draws something using light is very rare.”
“But light-based magic is pretty commonly used, isn’t it?”
That was true. There were many spells that manipulated light—simple ones like Light, or offensive spells like Beam also fell under the light category.
“Yes. As you know, spells like Light or Beam are widely used. But illusion magic is a little different. You need the ability to manipulate light to its absolute limits.”
“…This?”
I just thought of it like projecting an image with a beam projector or something.
Coming from a world overflowing with dramas, films, TV, and tablets, Elijia didn’t find the magic all that special.
It wasn’t even expensive either.
Judging from the low skill unlock cost—where harder and more dangerous magic usually cost more—the system itself didn’t seem to consider illusion magic particularly advanced.
But—
For the people of this world, it clearly held an entirely different weight.
“Yes. I don’t even know how to begin describing it, but the illusion you created was incredibly realistic. And it wasn’t even Memoria magic, was it?”
Memoria—a type of magic that records real situations and plays them back. At a glance, it might seem similar to illusion magic in that both show visual projections.
“But Memoria simply stores and replays something that actually happened, whereas illusion magic creates the illusion from scratch.”
“……”
“To create such a detailed and realistic illusion without any delay… that kind of processing power is almost impossible for a human being.”
The ability to render the universe without hesitation. Jerome couldn’t help but question whether that was even possible with a human brain.
“More importantly, how did you manage to depict the universe? Even with a telescope, it’s hard to see clearly.”
“Ah, um… that’s…”
Maybe I shouldn’t have picked the night sky?
What she had casually chosen to depict was the night sky and the Milky Way. She’d never seen them through a telescope herself, but people from modern Earth often saw space in videos on TV. Not to mention, illusion magic users in Seiros Saga often used night sky visuals just because they looked pretty—so she’d simply gone with something familiar.
But I guess for people in this world, it must’ve seemed incredible.
In a world where things like satellites, spaceships, or even advanced telescopes weren’t yet common, it was only natural that people would be astonished at how she could depict nebulae and star clusters so vividly.
“This is just… whew.”
Jerome rubbed his forehead, seemingly unsure where to begin. After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Elijia and spoke as though making a firm decision.
“My lady, I apologize for the repeated requests, but this is a matter of great importance… You may need to meet with the Tower Master directly.”
“The Tower Master?”
“Yes… Unless you’d prefer not to…”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to…”
Elijia shook her head. She was actually quite curious about the Tower Master. No one knew what they looked like or what kind of personality they had—it was all very mysterious.
“…But, the Tower Master does exist, right?”
“…Pardon?”
The question slipped out of Elijia before she realized it. Jerome looked flustered, so she quickly added,
“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it! It’s just that Sir Plumen is always the only one acting on behalf of the tower…”
“Ah, well, the Tower Master doesn’t reveal themselves for security reasons. It’s understandable to be uneasy.”
…So it’s a security thing.
Was it like a state-level secret agent?
High-ranking officials connected to national security often hid their identities. Considering the empire’s military power was heavily tied to the magic tower, it made sense that the Tower Master would remain hidden. Likely, only the highest-ranking nobles and royals even knew.
Elijia quickly apologized.
“I’m sorry if that was a disrespectful question.”
Asking if the head of the Magic Tower even existed—it was understandable if they took offense. But perhaps Jerome had gotten used to Elijia, or maybe it truly didn’t bother him. Either way, he shook his head with a calm expression.
“Not at all. Still, since you might be meeting the Tower Master soon, it’s best to prepare yourself mentally.”
He smiled kindly and thought to himself,
I should probably not mention that the Tower Master already seemed interested in her…
In fact, the reason the test had been arranged so quickly was because of a special order from the Tower Master. If they saw today’s results, they might become even more interested.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Jerome’s expression stiffened.
But come to think of it… the Tower Master might not be the only one who takes an interest. Things could get noisy from here.
An unprecedented illusion mage had appeared.
The Magic Tower, the Imperial Palace, and even the high society might all begin to show interest.
Ah, right. There’s one more place.
Jerome narrowed his eyes. There was exactly one more place that would definitely care about such matters.
…The Temple will surely take notice as well.
“Illusion… magic, you say?”
“Yes. We’ve just received word from the Tower that someone capable of illusion magic has appeared.”
Meanwhile, in a dazzling prayer room adorned in white and blue, priests dressed in ceremonial robes were whispering among themselves.
“Illusion magic, of all things.”
“It’s true, High Priest. It may sound unbelievable, but the information is solid.”
“……”
The man addressed as High Priest looked surprisingly young.
A handsome man with blue hair. His priestly robe was similar to the others’, but an additional gold-embroidered sash marked his elevated status.
Watching him closely, the reporting priest spoke again.
“A-And the person in question is reportedly none other than Elijia Sempherion!”
“Ha…”
The High Priest let out a sigh of disbelief.
The surrounding priests also gasped and began murmuring.
“E-Elijia? As in… the infamous youngest daughter of House Sempherion?”
“Oh, Goddess Priness…! How could this be!”
“Goddess Priness…”
The priests let out sighs one after another. Had Elijia seen this, she probably would’ve shouted, “Wait—my reputation is that bad?! Is my fame score, like, -999?!”
“That unruly Sempherion lady is the rumored illusionist? It’s hard to believe.”
“I’m telling the truth! Are you doubting my intel?”
“It’s not you we doubt, brother, it’s just…”
The priests whispered amongst themselves, still clearly shaken. Then, one of them cautiously raised a hand and turned to the High Priest.
“High Priest, if I may speak…”
“Go ahead.”
Despite the confusion, the High Priest nodded kindly. Encouraged by his expression, the priest continued.
“C-Could it be… that Lady Sempherion might be the Saint spoken of in the legends?”
“W-What are you saying?! That’s absolutely impossible!”
For the first time, the High Priest snapped. His uncharacteristic reaction left the other priests stunned into silence.
“R-Right… Of course.”
“She’s probably just a highly talented mage who learned illusion magic.”
The priests all nodded quickly in agreement. The High Priest watched them for a moment, then finally spoke again.
“Let’s keep this knowledge to ourselves. If the palace or the Tower learns we’re aware, it might draw unnecessary suspicion.”
“Understood, High Priest.”
“We swear upon the name of Goddess Priness to keep this secret.”
Pleased by their loyal responses, the High Priest nodded. As he exited the prayer room, he whispered to the assistant priest beside him.
“…Things are unfolding strangely. I didn’t expect people to already be anticipating the Saint’s appearance.”
Once he confirmed that no one else could hear, he murmured again.
“Of course, I too await the Saint who will bring peace to this chaos. Not some scandal-ridden noble girl—but the true Saint.”
“The true Saint?”
At the assistant’s question, the High Priest replied with certainty.
“Yes. She will descend soon.”
He added softly,
“The legendary Saint—Frillien.”
