Chapter 283: The Meaning of Magic (Patreon)

"Not good! I've never seen Minus this angry before! You two, get out of here quick! I'll hold her off!"

The Troupe Leader shook a black staff, shaped like a conductor's baton, out from his sleeve and deftly cast a layer of Defensive Magic.

He'd known Minus for a long time now, and he was certain — in her current state, she really could kill someone.

"Seems I really am an elf with no talent for taking on disciples."

The ferocity drained from her face, calm returning as her wild golden hair settled back over her shoulders.

The killing intent vanished in an instant, and the tent, which had been on the verge of collapse, stopped shaking.

Minus sat back down on the tatami.

"Held it in, did you?"

Nanoda relaxed her stance as well.

"You're right. What does it matter if I've lived a thousand years? In the end, it's all just boredom one way or another. Revenge, training — that's been enough. Nothing so remarkable about it."

Minus picked up her pipe and took a slow draw.

"These days I don't use my magic for fighting. Magic should make everyone smile and be happy — that's what my magic means to me now.

"Minus."

For a moment, complicated emotions crossed the Troupe Leader's face. It was rare to see the elf set aside her pride like that.

Magic that brought people joy — Minus had never forgotten that promise.

"You there, the green-haired girl — I apologize. I only did what I did because you're a gifted Mage. I thought that, under my teaching, your magic might one day help even more people. Anyway, I'm sorry."

Minus scratched at her tangled hair. Her stiff tone and careless expression made the apology feel a little insincere.

Übel said nothing in reply, and the atmosphere turned briefly awkward.

"All right, everyone! Let's forget that little unpleasantness just now — tomorrow will be an even better day!"

The Troupe Leader hurried to smooth things over between the two sides — that had genuinely been the biggest scare of his life. On one side, customers who had to be treated as gods; on the other, a furious colleague. It had been an absolute nightmare of a standoff.

"White-haired one, one last question — how was the Magic Troupe's performance? Did you enjoy watching it?"

"Not bad. This child liked it too."

Though Nanoda didn't much care for this elf, she still had to acknowledge the Magic Troupe's performance. She could see the possibilities in the magic — these performance spells had clearly been refined and revised countless times.

"Mm, it was beautiful. I enjoyed watching it."

Übel, however, had not forgiven the elf who had insulted her master and her master's teacher.

"You there, Troupe Leader! Did you hear that?!"

Minus shouted it at the top of her lungs.

The Troupe Leader blinked, then broke into a relieved smile. Now he understood why Minus had changed.

"Thank you, Minus." "Thank you both, honored guests."

The Troupe Leader bowed to each side in turn, a broad smile spreading across his painted, patterned face.

"Honestly, if we kept pressing the matter now, it'd just make us look rude. Let's go, Übel."

"Mm."

The Troupe Leader watched Nanoda and Übel go. "You're welcome to come again for our next show."

Nanoda's only answer was a raised arm, waving back at him.

Once she was sure the two of them were gone, Minus, who had gone quiet, finally spoke up. "That white-haired one — she's not human, is she."

"Huh?"

The Troupe Leader was completely lost, hearing that.

"I can confirm it now. That one's the same kind as me."

"Same short temper, you mean?"

"No — the kind that's killed more than a few people without blinking an eye. And now, just like me, she's gone and set her own limits on herself."

"That sounds kind of terrifying, if you ask me."

"Lady Yuna is definitely stronger! That golden-haired elf really gets on my nerves!"

On the way back to the inn, Übel kept grumbling about it.

"The meaning of magic, huh."

Nanoda murmured the thought with a meaningful sigh.

Magic that brought people joy — for someone like her, who just wanted a quiet, stable life, that wasn't such a bad thing.

"What do you think, Lady Nanoda? Between Lady Yuna and that rude elf, who's stronger?"

"In close combat, Yuna would have the advantage. But that elf's magic... odds are Yuna wouldn't be able to handle her.

Seeing that Übel looked a bit skeptical, Nanoda added, "That's just my honest assessment. Elves are a long-lived race, after all — the gap in Mana capacity is simply there."

"Then what about you and that elf, Lady Nanoda?"

"Eh? Me?"

...

Gaderia. Qual's magic laboratory.

Today, as always, the Great Demon known as the Sage of Corruption, Qual, was hard at work researching and innovating his new magic tools.

Sheets of paper covered in bizarre symbols lay scattered carelessly across the table.

A group of Demon Race assistants tidied up the workspace while poring over Qual's magic notes with great interest.

"Such difficulties at every turn."

Qual studied his staff closely, muttering to himself. "If the stored Mana capacity is too great, the vessel's strength won't hold. But if the vessel's strength is too high, it hampers the efficiency of inscribing the magic circle, slowing the proper casting speed..."

Creating a magic tool capable of large-scale destruction was, it seemed, an almost impossible task.

The small magic cannons mounted on the city gates were already the limit of what was achievable.

But in the Sage of Corruption's vocabulary, when it came to magic, "give up" simply wasn't a word he knew.

Obsessed as he was with magic, he had already begun trying to create new materials.

If Nanoda had been there, she surely would have called Qual's research "alchemy."

Besides creating materials, Qual's other current research subject was — Magic-Nullifying Crystal.

This kind of ore could not only disrupt a Mage's control over Mana, but also completely nullify magic within a certain range.

On top of that, Magic-Nullifying Crystal was extremely hard — impossible to reshape through casting.

Occasionally, small fragments of Magic-Nullifying Crystal broke off naturally from a deposit during formation, and these were prized as tools for hunting Mages.

Qual gazed out through the window into the distance.

If not for Nanoda, his magic would probably already be decades behind that of Humans — barring some breakthrough ahead of schedule. The day the seal broke would be the day he died.

By now, Qual had improved Killing Magic and studied sealing magic and barrier magic.

"Qual, why do you keep researching magic all the time?"

Jane, her head blown wide open from just having tested the power of a staff-shaped magic tool, asked the question with a face that was now nothing but a mouth.

"Because magic is everything to us, the Demon Race! The path of magic has no end! One day, this old sage will create magic to rival our King's!"

"The King? You mean Mother?"

"That's right. You may not have noticed, but over these years this old sage has made a major discovery. Her magic has grown powerful enough to influence the very world! Just what kind of magic could that be? One day, this old sage will unravel it completely and step into that whole new domain — the realm closest to God!"