Chapter 303
“Strange…”
While I was inwardly shocked by those words, Maria’s eyes widened seriously.
“Strange? Which part?”
“Hmm, for example, you are very tall…”
He was about to say more but closed his mouth. It seed he couldn't choose his words. Well, it would be ambiguous to point it out. Maria, as if he had expected it, answered seriously.
“This is the appearance of a person from the future. It is not strange, but extrely natural. After all, humanity has always progressed.”
“I do not believe that humanity has always progressed. In any case, let's put that aside. So everyone in the future becos this tall? The tallest among us is 5.1 Pied de Roi.”
I was montarily flustered. Right, this was before the tric system. As I recall, 5.1 is a little over 165 cm, which, considering the average height, would be perceived as around 170 cm to 175 cm in modern tis.
Archduke Maria nodded without any hesitation.
“Yes. Everyone becos like this in the future.”
“Hmph… Why? How did this happen in just 200 years? The people from 200 years ago were not much different from us.”
“That is because our humanity has developed a new body. In a direction that brings us closer to Christ.”
The 60-year-old Old Human shook his head and stroked his chin.
“Becoming closer to Christ just by growing taller? In my view, this statent is not logical at all. You say you are from the future, but you seem like soone who would only attend a church with a spire?”
‘This ancestor’s sarcasm is impressive.’
“Of course, height and Christ are completely unrelated. That lies in other factors.”
The other nobles just had expressions filled with doubt. The 60-year-old Old Human, perhaps because he had already witnessed a crazy sight, pointed out as if to say, 'let's just hear him out'.
“This question might be a little offensive, but is the fact that you all look like n also related to that?”
“It is an expected question, so I am not offended. It is easy to misunderstand, but if you look closely, we are very different from your male counterparts. We just look that way because we are tall.”
‘…What a stretch…’
Nowadays, Old Humans have also grown much taller, so in the case of tall Old Humans, even New Humans have trouble distinguishing them. It’s the sa from the Old Human’s perspective. As expected, the 60-year-old Old Human shook his head.
“Different, you say. Hmm, in my view, you all, no matter how I look at you…”
“No? It is just a misunderstanding. We et the eligibility requirents to set foot in this club.”
‘Nobody has brought that up yet.’
It seems he’s afraid of being kicked out. Honestly, if it were , I would have kicked out the nonsense-spouting people the mont they arrived, but seeing the patience they've shown by listening this far, it doesn't seem like they'll kick us out now for being male ghosts—isn't the biggest problem the fact that we're 'ghosts' in the first place? Then again, if we had co in our New Human attire, we would have been kicked out before we could even make our case, or they would have disbanded the eting.
“Very well. For now, let's assu that. But you walk rather strangely.”
It’s surprising that he has already caught that. It must an that everything about us looked strange in their eyes.
“By strangely… how exactly do you an we walk?”
“When wearing a dress, it is important not to walk too fast. We are nobles, are we not? You should let your body naturally follow the movent of your legs, so you relax your shoulders. Isn't that common sense?”
“No? We walk quickly.”
“Why?”
“Because that is what it ans to be a person of the future.”
“……”
This is why he ca up with the 'person of the future' concept, and he’s really using it to its full potential. The 60-year-old Old Human, perhaps thinking it would be a waste of breath to argue, or perhaps really having nothing to say, just looked at us with a displeased expression and asked.
“Do you not have a lady-in-waiting? Do you not need a servant to take off and arrange your hat and gloves?”
“We cannot bring a lady-in-waiting to a secret occult eting.”
“Hmm.”
The 60-year-old Old Human nodded with a look that said that made sense.
“And we can do it ourselves. If one were by our side, we would ask for help, but is there a need to have one with us at all tis?”
“Is that also because you are people of the future?”
“That is correct. In the first place, people of the future do not dress as complicatedly as you do, so we can do it ourselves.”
The Archduke said with a look of pride.
It’s true. The attire of the nobility has been continuously simplified from the late 18th century to the 19th century. This is related to the rise of the citizen class, and to shorten this long history, however it is because thrift and moderation beca virtues as the nobility criticized the vanity of the royalty and the bourgeoisie criticized the vanity of the nobility. People from the 18th century might faint if they saw the attire of people from the late 19th century.
They exchanged glances and then made a gesture with their eyes with serious expressions.
‘Could it be working?’
The 'person of the future' concept? 'They're from the future, so it's possible'? No, rather, is this subtle difference making us look more like people from the future? Is it really happening as the Archduke said?
‘Are they all crazy…’
A mont later, they said they needed to have a eting and kicked us out.
Maria put on a trustworthy expression and went outside. Then, he tapped the earring artifact and amplified the sound coming to him. I tried to follow his lead.
‘And now they're having a eting about this.’
Isn't it obvious that they should be kicked out?
I can't keep up with the sentints of people from the past. No, in the first place, what can I expect from people who believe and research that they can use magic in a world without magic?
After a little while, the sound of conversation from inside beca clear.
[Looking at them, it seems to be true.]
“What do you an, 'looking at them'?!”
Archduke Maria cast a sound-dampening spell and clutched the back of his neck. He probably thought that Old Humans looked stranger—since people usually think they are the most normal—and was dumbfounded by the criticism. I patted his shoulder and said.
“Stop denying it and accept it now.”
[In all my life, I have never seen such tall people. Whether their words are true or not, they did appear before us like ghosts, and the fact that they are wearing clothes unprecedented in history is also very concerning.]
[So you're saying they're really from the future? Really?! How is that possible?]
[The occult we are studying is also sothing that is not possible in the first place. Who knows. Maybe they really are… from the future.]
‘No… it's true, but you believe it?’
It's true that they sent their souls from the future. And it's also sothing that is said to be theoretically possible in occult studies. But they believe it? Of course, since the occult teaches that it's possible, it's believable. All occult believers sincerely wish that such a spiritual phenonon would happen to them at least once, so while it sounds crazy to an occult layman like , it's not an impossible thing in their minds. To think of this organization in a 21st-century way, it's like an organization that claims, 'We are convinced that intelligent life like us lives on Mars, and we are sending signals to communicate with them.' They are people who cannot be understood from a common-sense perspective. But still, they believe this? Of course…!
‘…Ah, I don't know anymore.’
At this point, I'm seriously wondering if the other people are normal and I'm the crazy one.
[So that's what you thought. Their attire is certainly very peculiar. Judging from their possessions and accessories, it seems certain that they are wealthy nobles, but their clothes….]
[…If they are truly mages from the future, they would be a great help to our research. Could it be that our research will succeed, and we will be able to use magic in the future?]
[Perhaps. For now, they are won, right? They look like teenage boys….]
“……”
One of them is right, and the other is definitely not. Now the only problem is . Suddenly, my conscience is pricking like crazy.
[Their height makes their bones thicker, which might make them look that way. Wasn't there a story about a mage whose height reached the ceiling in the prophecy we deciphered a few days ago? And no matter how you look at it, I can't explain where they ca up with such attire unless they are really from the future. Perhaps the nobles of our world in the future will really go around looking like that.]
[Their aesthetic sense is quite poor.]
“……”
Don't react realistically in such a strange way. I don't want to hear this from people who were just talking about so prophecy.
‘I want to go ho.’
The psychological damage is great in many ways. I don't want to be in a ghost state anymore. Perhaps noticing that I was getting haggard in real ti, Maria patted my shoulder as if to tell to get a grip and nodded seriously.
“That's not comforting at all.”
“Why? Our calculations were correct. Look at that. They're not believing it as much as expected, but at least the suspicion is gradually clearing up as I calculated, isn't it? It was a good thing to go with the 'person of the future' concept instead of無理acting as an Old Human of this era.”
‘I should never set foot in the field of occultism again.’
Is this what you call 'not believing'? How easily did you think they would fall for it? Maria is a good person, but I am not the vessel to accept him.
Just then, the door finally opened. It was a long eting for the Archduke, but an extrely short one for . They gestured to .
“Please co in. We have decided to listen to your story for now. Now, I am Charlotte de France. I am the president of the Éclat Littéraire here.”
The 60-year-old Old Human said, clasping her hands. Seeing the na de France, this person is a mber of the House of Bourbon.
“So, what did you co here to tell us?”
Good.
Whatever the process, I've made my entry. It's ti to move toward the goal. While Archduke Maria answered them, I checked their nas on the status window.
[Joséphine d'Orléans]
[Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne]
[Thérèse de Rohan]
[Victoire de Caulaincourt]
‘The families are…?’
I read the information of the remaining four and suppressed the urge to let out a dry laugh. All the old high-ranking families of France were here.
Even the imperial family of the Third French Empire as of 1898 is included. They are not the imperial family now, but they are a family that will beco the imperial family in the future.
‘The most crucial problem here is that the number of descendants will be enormous.’
There are only eight of them now, but later, the number of humans who inherit their blood will reach hundreds. There is no guarantee that all of the ancestors of these eight people told their families what happened at the Éclat Littéraire, but there is also no certainty that they all kept their mouths shut, so for now, I have to investigate everyone.
“Can all people from the future use magic like you?”
“That is not the case. The vast majority are complete non-mages. Even among the few mages, most are culturally called non-mages because they only have an organ called a core and cannot use magic fully.”
The conversation between Maria and the nobles continued. And so, we successfully had our first eting, relatively smoothly.
We left the royal palace and entered a narrow alley in Paris. Archduke Maria, who had turned off the material plane projection artifact, leaned against a wall and closed his eyes. He wasn't actually closing his eyes, but I could clearly feel his intention to concentrate his mind. As soon as he did, as if on cue, Emanuel's voice was heard.
[…coming back. 3, 2, 1.]
“…!”
I was standing there blankly when I felt like soone grabbed my hand and threw into the sky.
“How was it?”
‘…Coming back is a bit different from going. Is it harder to enter the body than to leave it….’
As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Emanuel's face. Archduke Maria was already frantically recording what he had seen today in his notebook.
I organized my thoughts, cast a sound-dampening spell, and answered.
“I never want to experience that again.”
“Haha. Good. Please stop Maria's out-of-body experiences like this.”
“I can't do that.”
“Why?”
I was certain. I threw off the tight-fitting jacket that was suffocating and said.
“Sothing has co up.”
“What?”
“The out-of-body experience. I learned it first with strange terms like astral plane and out-of-body experience, so I'm sure I haven't gotten a grasp of it yet…”
I looked up at the ceiling, stroking my chin, and then asked him.
“Your Highness Emanuel. What is a 'world of only Magic Power'?”
“Isn't that the astral plane. Why do you suddenly ask?”
“I have heard the words 'world of only Magic Power' from soone else before. From soone who had no connection to out-of-body experiences at all.”
“Who?”
“There is soone. A senior from school.”
“You said you went to Princeton.”
“Yes.”
I answered vaguely and stroked my chin.
A world of only Magic Power. The astral plane… It's just the astral plane in theosophical terms. It's a term whose precise aning has been tarnished by my queasiness about occult maniacs and the outdated concepts that have stuck to it.
The key features of the astral plane that I learned while studying theosophy, held captive by the Archduke, are 'a world that transcends the past, present, and future', and 'emotion'. Maria von Österreich-Este's personal judgnt of the essence of the astral plane is 'a world of only Magic Power'. It slls familiar.
Right, doesn't Pleroma touch people's emotions and convert them into new Magic Power, Vitriol? But this is not all that's bothering .
‘…Ah, I think I'm starting to get it.’
It shimrs vaguely before my eyes. Is there a causal relationship, or is it a coincidence? The possibility that the thief is Pleroma, or the possibility that it's not Pleroma, holy relics, jewels, spiritual rituals, a world of only Magic Power, unique ability replication… There are clues, but they are all fragnted, so I can't seem to connect them.
The point to note here is that such a world of only Magic Power is not a concept exclusive to the occult. The magic academic world also claims that a 'world of only Magic Power' exists, and the na they call the world of only Magic Power is 'B-world'.
Doesn't that na sound familiar? Richthofen explained his transformation ability by describing the world of only Magic Power as the B-world. From this, another Pleroma mber with a similar ability to Richthofen flashes through my mind. The fact that the magic academic world assus the existence of the B-world but has no understanding of it, and therefore, I must find out about the B-world in so way, also ca to mind.
‘…Hmm.’
Good. I understand.
As I suspected before, Maria von Österreich-Este did not die in an accident.
Then where did all the records and belongings left by Maria von Österreich-Este go? The records of that field, which the magic academic world dismissed and ignored as a heretical study, where did all of Maria's efforts to breathe life into the formulas and aphorisms that were nothing more than a pile of letters in ancient docunts, go? Although he himself did not know the principle well, he was a talented person who applied the magic studies system to the nurous occult spells that were nothing more than the empty dreams of Old Humans and actually implented them. But why was his technology not left at all in the world 12 years later? Simply because he died young?
That hypothesis has a low probability.
“Your Highness Emanuel.”
“What, you don't want to do another out-of-body experience, do you?”
“No, even if I don't want to, I have to do it for a few more days. It's not that.”
“Then?”
“Suppose Your Highness is facing the worst situation in his life, and soone he doesn't want to et cos looking for him.”
“Yes.”
“The premise of this is that sothing major has happened to or His Highness Maria, and we will never be able to see Your Highness Emanuel again.”
Emanuel frowned with a look of disbelief.
“Why such an ominous…”
“But let's say soone ca to investigate us. Your Highness would refuse to et that person because you don't want to.”
“……”
“What would it take for Your Highness to et that person?”
“If he tells to take it like a Bavarian, I'll et him.”
He smiled, pushing the lid of his cigarette case. I stared at him and then let out a similar laugh.
“Ha… There's no answer.”
“Why are you saying this?”
“……”
“Tell . There must be a reason why you suddenly stand up and say this. If it's a field I know, I'll give you advice.”
I looked at Emanuel, who was placing a handkerchief on my forehead, which was sweating from the B-world travel disguised as an out-of-body experience. He just raised his eyebrows as if to tell to hurry up and talk. I opened my mouth with no expectation.
“To be honest, I firmly believed that this was the most disconnected thing I've done so far…”
“……”
“It seems my judgnt was wrong. It feels like no matter which door I enter, it all converges to a single point.”
To be honest, it wasn't difficult to watch the crazy antics of an occult maniac. It was comfortable compared to what I had been doing so far, and because I t a completely different person from , it was so absurd that in a way, it was new. But is this really such a light matter? Am I not seeing the essence?
Emanuel, who had been staring intently at my pupils with a tense expression, smiled when he didn't hear a grueso story as he had expected.
“Do you know why? Because everything in this world is made of one thing.”
I looked up at him. I hadn't told him what I was thinking about, but an answer ca. The shadow of his face cast under the light of the lamp made his playful smile seem not so playful anymore.
“Nothing happens without a reason.”
“……”
There was nothing more I could think of in this situation. For now, there was no choice but to move forward.
After that, we went over to 18th-century France the next day, and the day after that.
For the first two days, the French nobles asked about the international situation of the 19th century, but from the third day, they started to ask about the occult and magic studies.
‘So the international situation takes precedence over the occult, huh.’
I guess so. When people who know the fate of their family have co, who cares about the occult now? Still, from my perspective, who needs to start finding clues to the case, it's a welco developnt that their interest has returned to the occult.
“Your Highness Archduke Maria. It is a pleasure to et you again.”
“We saw each other yesterday.”
“Still.”
The youngest Old Human in this eting smiled and gave a light hug. It seems she wants to beco friends since we are of a similar age. I felt a pang of guilt for so reason, quickly greeted the others, and sat down.
It's not just that noble who has beco friendly to us. At first, they were just insulting us to our faces, saying we looked strange, but now they have all adapted. I'm grateful that they've accepted these beanpoles over 180 cm tall, who are hard to find even among male Old Humans of this era, without much suspicion—though Archduke Maria, I don't know which world he's living in, still thinks these nobles are very suspicious—but my conscience hurts.
‘I have to leave soon…’
Archduke Maria, as if his senses were sharp only at tis like this, grabbed my shoulder with a solemn expression. I asked the root cause of this whole affair with a blank face.
“What.”
The Archduke shook his head. He ant that I shouldn't think about my conscience. Since he's a New Human, he probably won't understand my guilt.
“Now, let's start today's research well. It was ti to talk about the Lion Duke in earnest.”
I let out a deep sigh at the Archduke and let the club president's words go in one ear and out the other.
Now, how can I aningfully narrow down the suspects from among the hundreds, perhaps even over a thousand, of descendants? I have to think about that. These are all nobles among nobles, and more than half of their descendants will have the sa status in the future, and crucially, they are French, beyond the reach of the German investigation bureau's influence.
In other words, since it's impossible to conduct a full investigation of those hundreds of people when I return to 1898, I have to narrow down the culprits here. So what should I do? What can I try?
Fortunately, it's not a difficult problem.
I gave Maria a hand signal and opened my mouth.
“Before we begin today's research, I would like to ask sothing first.”
Everyone's eyes turned to . I had already gotten Archduke Maria's permission, so it was okay to change the topic.
“Your descendants will beco mages like us.”
“……”
The mbers' faces hardened a little more. It was as if they were already feeling a sense of responsibility.
“Your magic research, unless you hide it, will be passed down through your family for generations. Magic as an occult practice may seem absurd, but I have often seen it being actually practiced in our world through this person.”
“Calling your older sister 'this person', people from the future are really seriously formal, aren't they?”
Soone asked questioningly as I pointed to Archduke Maria and spoke. I vaguely ignored those words and continued.
“Anyway, so I would like to ask this. If you were to beco a mage, what kind of magic formula would you like to develop?”
It seems they didn't expect such a topic to co up. They just looked at without a word.
Don't react like that. This question is the tool that will help achieve the real purpose of my coming here.
“What is the magic you desire most for? Personal desires are fine, and for the glory of your family is also fine.”
“If I tell you that?”
“I will help you. This eting today will be kept a secret forever, and you will have a magic formula that will be passed down to future generations. Even if you cannot use it right away, if an opportunity cos for you to have Magic Power like us soday, you can use it then.”
The president nodded. The initial caution in his eyes was gone, but there was a hint of curiosity as to why I was saying this.
“Why are you showing us such kindness? We are interested in magic studies, but we are not people who can use magic like you, we are just people who research the occult.”
“Please think of it as the kindness of a descendant. I cannot say more than this due to the principle of causality.”
Causality, what causality. I just blurted it out, but perhaps they felt the sincerity in my expression and tone, as they didn't argue further and just looked at with shining eyes. Looking at those eyes, it seems they have a lot to say, but for now, they are waiting for .
“So if you are honest, I will help you at least a little. Do not miss this once-in-a-lifeti opportunity.”
The once-in-a-lifeti opportunity has co to , but what does it matter? I looked at them and gave them a trustworthy smile.
And so, they said they wanted to think about it and would et again the next day. They needed ti to organize their respective research goals and the fields they wanted to study. It was strangely systematic, which made let out a dry laugh, but the more truthful they are, the closer it will be to the original history, so it was a good sign for .
The next day, I was sitting alone in the room. It feels awkward to sit alone at a table where ten people used to sit. As I was thinking that, a noble ca in and sat in front of .
“It seems the Duchess of Rohan is already prepared.”
“That is correct.”
He answered seriously, and then, without speaking first, he spoke with an intense look.
“What if I want to beco the King of France?”
“……”
“Why is there no answer?”
“…No…. Please wait a mont.”
Such an ambition from the start…
My brain is buffering. At a ti when Catherine the Great and Maria Theresa have not yet ascended the throne, there is a person with a similar goal? Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no history of the Rohan family staging a coup and overthrowing the Bourbon dynasty in my mory.
Anyway, the thought that I'm the only commoner here is making my mind go blank. I grabbed my fleeting sanity and asked.
“…What do you think needs to be done to beco the King of France?”
“For that, our family needs to gain power, and to do that, we must first suppress the minds of the other nobles. No one must know that they and we were originally in that position.”
“You are correct. I understand.”
That is the right thing to say. But to do sothing I can't even do?
If he did sothing like that, he would beco the worst mage in history. Why? Because unless he's going to use magic on all the billions of people on this continent and in Arica, there's no way he won't get caught. But now is not the ti to consider the feasibility. I briefly wrote down the Divine Power formula I rembered.
The request of the next person who ca in was relatively normal. Joséphine d'Orléans, the 20-sothing noble who I had first greeted. As soon as she saw , her face relaxed into a smile, and then she asked, slightly embarrassed.
“Is there a way to be with the person I love?”
After hearing the words of soone who was 200% ready for a coup, hearing this made my tension drain away. Right, I was expecting this much.
“So you're asking if it's possible to manipulate emotions. It's possible to succeed for a short ti, but it's not possible to permanently change emotions. Also, to succeed for a short ti, you have to use a magic potion, not a magic formula, and I cannot bring you a potion.”
“I see. Then…”
D'Orléans smiled disappointedly, then hesitated before blurting out the words she had thought of beforehand. Her expression was not that of soone who had just co up with the words.
“What about a spell that allows to stay by the side of the person I love without anyone knowing? Since he won't accept , I thought I should beco an invisible person… Haha. Is that possible?”
“…Well…”
It's a remark that reminds of soone. It's really fun to hear people's inner thoughts. I felt a chill in my head and suppressed a dry laugh.
“In what way exactly do you want to be by his side? Are you planning on breaking and entering? Or following him wherever he goes?”
“It's not necessarily like that, but…”
‘It's exactly like that, what do you an it's not…’
As my questioning continued, he finally answered that it was so. I've successfully heard the crazy idea of wanting to observe soone's every move.
The next person who ca in was a noble I hadn't had much interaction with in this eting, but this person was also from a powerful family that still existed in 1898, just like the previous two.
“You are the Duchess Victoire de Caulaincourt. First, what kind of magic did you want to research that brought you to this eting?”
“I ca here to resurrect my dead younger brother. I don't think it's possible, but… I'm giving it a try. Does His Highness Archduke Maria know of such a spell?”
“I am sorry, but that is not in the realm of normal magic even in our ti.”
“I see. But couldn't the future be changed? If I devote myself to magic studies, will it beco possible?”
“What do you an?”
“I am asking if the research on resurrection will also be advanced if the developnt of magic studies as a whole is advanced.”
He asked, fixing his gaze on my artifact parure. The fact that he didn't blink even once was eerie.
The words I heard after that were also diverse. There were two families who wanted to beco the King of France. One said she wanted to beco the king herself, and the other said she would make her husband the king. Whatever it is, it seems these nobles need to experience a citizen's revolution soon. I just hope the two families don't know about each other's ambitions.
“Why are you investigating like this?”
After today's eting ended, the real Archduke Maria asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. I tapped the Archduke's parure on my ear, changing my appearance, and answered.
“Aren't you curious about what everyone is so engrossed in magic studies for? I am curious. I'm also curious if this process can advance the magic studies of our history.”
“Hmm, right. Surprisingly, people's goals are not so clean, are they?”
“I didn't expect them to be.”
Maria von Österreich-Este's goal is on the very righteous side. He possessed nurous technologies that the magic academic world did not know of, yet he did not use them for his own profit. I had already thought that not everyone would be like him. Now the key is to find out who, and which family's descendant, is involved in the jewel theft case.
And I have found the answer.
* * *
“Peep!”
As soon as I ca out of the Extra Chapter, I heard an animal sound. Sothing is stuck between my neck and the bed. Before my vestibular system could function properly, I hurriedly got up and picked up Pai.
“When did you get here? You surprised .”
“Just now!”
Pai continued speaking, shooting sentences into my head just like the Archduke Maria and I had been doing in our soul state.
“Narce told you would be coming soon, and you really did co now~”
“…Can Insight even do that?”
I feel like I'm on the palm of Buddha's hand. I don't know if I'm allowed to use such a taphor for him.
Surprisingly, as soon as he said that, the door burst open.
“Ah, Lukas.”
“……”
Narce, who seed to have run, was panting and smiling. He took off his hat and sat on the edge of the bed. His hair was yellow, as if he had just co from the Hertische Gesellschaft. I had sothing to say to him and opened my mouth.
“You ca at a good ti.”
“Hmm?”
Narce, who seed not to have co to hear about my clue, raised his eyebrows and was flustered. He burst into laughter.
“Why.”
“No, we took a detour, but you found a straight path. Hmm, I was going to suggest we take a detour together…”
Narce shrugged. Then, with a relaxed smile, he said.
“If you've found a clue, then all's well that ends well. Tell .”
He's already read it with his ability.
Since I'm always telling him to stop reading my thoughts, he's telling to say it with my own mouth. I smiled lightly at Narce's relaxed expression and said it out loud so he could hear.
“We need to investigate the descendants of the House of Orléans. Focusing on the direct descendants of an Old Human nad Joséphine d'Orléans.”
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