Episode 647

However, Alsicle did not stop casting spells.

Gainando, hit by snowballs, quickly cut the flowers on the tree branch.

‘Grr. Just wait and see.’

Brushing off the snow, Gainando vowed.

He would absolutely boss his own juniors around just like this when the time came!

“Did you get everything?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You cut it with a silver sickle, right?”

“Uh, I cut it with a bronze sickle.”

“Don’t you know that Red Moon Flowers lose their power unless you use pure silver?”

“Yes.”

Instead of explaining, Alsicle swung his staff. More snowballs started flying his way.

“Hurry up and go again. Aren’t you going?”

“Argh. Aaaagh!”

“This time, cut it with a silver sickle! Are you slacking off on purpose?”

“I’m not!”

• * *

Alsicle returned with Gainando, whose face was bruised from the snow.

As they crossed the manor’s threshold, Gainando sniffled and immediately ran to his friends.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s a total mad wizard! He kept yelling at me to bring back more ingredients!”

“Doesn’t Einrogard do the same?”

“…He got mad because I cut Red Moon Flowers with a bronze sickle!”

“Don’t tell me you cut them with bronze instead of silver?”

“Wow. That’s a bit much.”

Yoner, Ratford, and Nillia all stared in shock, and Gainando shook his head vigorously.

He realized telling this group of friends had been a huge mistake.

“Lee Han, Lee Han! Outside…”

But Gainando’s friend was already talking with Alsicle.

Gainando glared at Alsicle’s fluffy back of the head with hateful eyes.

He wanted to toss a bone at him!

“Wardanaz. I thought you’d be working on music magic, so why are you doing something else?”

Alsicle asked, confused.

He’d gone to the trouble of helping with errands to support the music magic research, only for Lee Han to be working on something else.

“Oh. I already finished it a while ago.”

“…What?”

“I decoded the score, interpreted it, wrote new lyrics, and performed it. It turned out pretty well, so I’m planning to try researching other music magics in this same direction. Thank you again.”

“Great. That—wait a minute!”

Alsicle almost let himself be swept up by the overly polite reply but quickly regained his senses.

Finished already? What was he talking about?

And what did he mean by saying the new lyrics and performance went well?!?

“From the beginning! Explain everything from the start!”

“Huh? I didn’t think Pengerine would be interested enough to—”

“Quickly!!”

“Understood.”

Because Alsicle’s presence was so intense (and he still hadn’t brushed off the snow from outside), Lee Han quickly started explaining.

So, the wizards of the old Ga Kingdom made artifact instruments to cast music magic, picked a single piece, trained for decades, induced resonance, and filled in the lacking power…

“Fascinating! That’s an interesting idea.”

“Right? So after playing it with new lyrics, it worked pretty well.”

“…Don’t just gloss over everything else, say the rest properly!”

“Why are you getting mad…”

Lee Han, flustered, continued explaining.

Since music magic was heavily influenced by the caster’s emotions, the Ga Kingdom lyrics were hard to use as they were, so he made new ones with his friends…

And then, it worked!

“…That’s it?”

“Yes. It worked well.”

“……”

Alsicle hung his head in despair.

What kind of crazy talent was this!

He’d gone out to gather herbs and by the time he’d returned, Lee Han had already revived a lost ancient magic…

“Pengerine? Are you alright?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Did Gainando give you a headache, by chance?”

Lee Han asked seriously with concern.

Gainando could certainly give anyone who met him for the first time a headache.

“…It’s not that. Anyway, let’s hear it. Can you perform it again?”

“Yes. It’s not even that hard. Just a moment.”

Lee Han picked up the violin he’d left nearby and called his friends over.

“Can you help with the chorus?”

“Chorus?”

“When I practiced, I noticed the effect increased if others sang along.”

“I see. How interesting.”

Alsicle found the unique characteristics of this ancient, now-lost magic fascinating.

It was definitely fun, given how different it was from the current Imperial magic system.

‘Now I have more stories to tell at the magic society later.’

The magic society’s wizards would find this story entertaining as well.

And if the subject was a second-year student at Einrogard, even more so.

This was good for Wardanaz as well—he’d gain a reputation among other Imperial wizards.

Alsicle stopped himself short of bragging.

He knew it was more dignified to do a good deed quietly, without seeking attention.

Alsicle was the epitome of the noble grace of the Pengerine family.

“Ready to start?”

Lee Han signaled to his friends and began playing. Since it was a lyricless prelude, only the violin’s sound rang out.

Alsicle, listening and thinking “For a Wardanaz, he sure knows how to do all sorts of things,” was taken aback.

The slow music held magical power.

Magical power mixed with dark element!

“???!”

Just as the text described, Alsicle saw the surrounding area fill with dark-element magic.

Although he was interested in music magic, he hadn’t highly valued its potential—but to so easily dominate an area’s field?

“Wardanaz. Wardanaz.”

“Yes?”

Lee Han stopped playing.

The friends threw annoyed glances at Alsicle. They were preparing properly when he suddenly stopped everything.

“Sorry, I got curious. Is the violin the artifact you mentioned earlier?”

“Aha. As expected of Pengerine. You’re suggesting I convert the violin into an artifact to boost the magic’s effect, right?”

“…No. I just asked because the sound had magic power in it.”

“Oh.”

Lee Han, having guessed wrong, felt awkward.

“In my opinion, some songs that suit the caster naturally embed and release magic unconsciously. There are cases locally where this has been documented for music magic.”

“But those are extremely rare, and usually only when dozens of people sing together in a trance.”

“Right.”

“So right now you haven’t even started singing, and you’re just playing the violin.”

“That’s correct.”

“So how did you imbue it with magic?”

“I’m not really sure myself.”

“…S-sorry. Continue.”

Alsicle realized he was badgering someone who’d only studied magic at Einrogard for one year.

If Wardanaz already knew these answers, he’d be an archmage by now…

‘I questioned him without really thinking.’

As they talked, it became easy to mistake this junior wizard for a peer.

The music resumed. As the prelude ended, Lee Han slowly began singing the lyrics. The density of magical power in the area began to rise.

“Praise the sacrifice of the freshmen, oh wizards…”

“??”

Alsicle couldn’t believe his ears.

The lyrics were way too different.

He knew they’d been revised, but he’d assumed only typos or awkward phrasing had been fixed…?!

“Wait… No. Sorry. Keep going.”

Alsicle almost stopped him, but quit after meeting the students’ glares.

Lee Han went on, singing a song of mourning for the new students of Einrogard.

The melody was so grand and sorrowful that Alsicle couldn’t help but feel reverent.

“What did your senior see?

-They saw the devils of hell, and those devils walking around.”

“What did your senior see?

-The arch-lich leading an army and attacking the students…”

“No, seriously, just wait a sec!”

Alsicle stopped Lee Han and the friends singing the chorus.

By now, some of the music magic’s effects had already spread. Thanks to the dark element, even though sunlight poured through the midday stained glass, it felt as dim as sunset.

“Ah. That was the best part.”

Nillia was disappointed.

She had added the next lines herself and felt attached to them.

Lee Han, suspecting he knew why Alsicle wanted to stop, asked,

“You’re surprised this kind of primitive technique can really create a domineering field effect, aren’t you?”

“…That is surprising! But more than that—aren’t the lyrics strange?!”

If they performed this somewhere, half the Einrogard freshmen would quit on the spot.

• * *

After calming down, Alsicle advised Lee Han not to sing this in front of the skeleton principal.

Only then could they finally talk about music magic.

“Truly fascinating. Wardanaz. I’d really like you to study this magic during your second year.”

“If I get the time, I’ll give it a try.”

Of course, Lee Han didn’t actually intend to dig too deeply into music magic.

That -Praise Einrogard’s Freshmen- song was something he worked hard on because the effect was so good.

The temporary territorial dominance it produced was an effect Lee Han couldn’t replicate with his other magic.

As for other music magics…

‘Their effects were a bit underwhelming.’

The effects of the music magics Lee Han had collected while traveling with the skeleton principal weren’t that impressive.

He could use them if he had to, but there was no reason to put special effort into them.

‘Reliable, though?’

Still, Alsicle looked pleased with Lee Han’s answer.

With that level of commitment, he might be able to invite him to present on music magic at an academic conference by the end of sophomore year.

Alsicle lifted his staff and swept away the lingering dark element in the air, clearing the surroundings.

Then, noticing what Lee Han had been doing before his arrival, Alsicle tilted his head.

“What were you doing?”

“Oh. I was checking some of the artifacts I have.”

Even semi-permanent artifacts weren’t truly invincible.

The more meticulous the inspection and maintenance, the better the performance.

And in Lee Han’s case, he had so many strange artifacts that he couldn’t help but worry about them.

The Bracelet of Ten Thousand Demons, the black magnet sword, the Behemoth necklace which held all sorts of magic, a staff possessed by a wood spirit…

Alsicle watched Lee Han’s maintenance with interest.

It was only natural for the skeleton principal’s heir to collect such sinister and bizarre artifacts.

“What’s that stone embedded in your staff? Looks ominous.”

“It’s the original stone of the Frost Giant King.”

“…How on earth did you get that…?”

Glancing around for something more ordinary, Alsicle’s attention was caught by a “uniquely” shaped helmet.

“What about that helmet? Doesn’t look like a normal artifact.”

“Oh. That’s the Helmet of Wisdom.”

Lee Han replied as if he’d forgotten about it.

He’d picked it up in the old school dungeons. Nobody knew who’d made it, but it was a useless, wicked artifact.

He’d tried to sell it to a shop, was refused, and just kept it…

“Not bad.”

“My professor modified it so it doesn’t hide the truth anymore, but at its core, it’s still a wicked artifact.”

“That’s not really a problem.”

Alsicle gave him a look as if to say “What are you talking about?”

Avoiding danger wasn’t what made a wizard.

“You must have benefited a lot from that helmet at Einrogard?”

“Actually, except for during the flood, I hardly used it at all. Even then, it didn’t help much.”

“…Really, that little?”

Alsicle brushed away the cloth covering the helmet and woke it up.

At last! Time for me to share my wicked wisdom!

“It’s good to meet you, helmet.”

The owner has changed? At last!! Truly an excellent choice. The previous owner was a wicked, crafty, cunning fool! Don’t believe a single word the previous owner said!

“I’m standing right here, helmet.”

……

The helmet quietly turned off its light and tried to disappear.