The Marquis’ Eldest Son’s Lascivious Story

[By Orshian style, does Young Master mean a detection magic that can be used without repercussions even in a place with many Highlords?]

I nodded at the civil officer's question.

The events in the Royal Capital were compiled in a report, so it was obvious that my officials knew about it.

However, I didn't reveal much about my efforts to recreate Orshian style detection magic. It would be embarrassing if I failed to learn it.

[I believe that magic is one that the Archduchess invented on her own, right?]

The most important factor in the efficiency of learning existing magic is the number of teachers.

Magic is activated by fluctuating magic power. And the way that magic power is moved is an area where an individual's habits are strongly reflected. Even if y ou copy someone else's method exactly, it will not be activated as magic. You can only activate it by checking the magic of many casters, getting a sense of w hat they have in common, and moving your magic power in your own way. The more samples you have for comparison, the better.

Currently, learning purification magic is one of the important tasks for the Quordenze family, but it is proving to be extremely difficult. The biggest reason for t his is that Eve and Raeve are the only casters available. Even for an experienced mage, learning unknown magic from just these two is an extremely difficult ta sk.

Taking these circumstances into consideration, learning Orshian-style detection magic seems quite difficult. After all, there is only one teacher, and she does not give constant guidance.

However, the prerequisites for this are different to begin with.

[That's right. Princess Orshian said she invented it herself. ...Well, it was much easier to understand than learning from Lord-class or the elves. After all, with t hat amount of magical power.]

The fluctuations in magic power required to activate magic are actually very small. It is difficult to capture and recognize such minute movements using only m agic senses. Since a Lord-class basically plays the role of teacher, a severe magic sense is required.

And there was a trick here. It was a way to learn magic by using a Highlord as a teacher, instead of a Lord.

The Highlord's magic is on a scale that sets it apart from the Lord's. The fluctuations in magic power are correspondingly larger, and the magical characteristic s are emphasized and easier to grasp. As a result, it becomes easier to recognize with the magic senses.

The theory behind this trick also applies when the teacher is an Orshian. The magic she casts, using a superlative amount of magic power that far exceeds tha t of a Highlord, also fluctuates in an extraordinary way. I only had a short time to learn, but even so, I was able to grasp the general characteristics.

[Most of it was completely from intuition. I just moved my magic power around randomly to reproduce the sensations I remembered.]

There was so much trial and error, so I think it would be more accurate to say that I mastered it rather than learning it from Orshian.

[The report said that it had almost no commonalities with normal detection magic...]

[It wasn't that there were none, so I was able to use that as a starting point.]

There was another difference in the premise.

Orshian's detection magic required a fairly special magic power fluctuation, but it was a magic that had at least one foot in the category of detection magic. Th erefore, it did have some commonalities with known detection magic, although they were very slight.

In the reproduction experiment, I was able to move forward blindly, relying on those small commonalities. Like there were a few candles lying around that coul d light the dark path.

In contrast, purification magic is true darkness.

According to the report from our mages, it is different from any of the types of magic possessed by the Quordenze family. We couldn't use the method of iden tifying commonalities with known magic.

Eve and Raeve are invaluable in terms of learning purification magic. After all, in order to increase the number of teachers, it is urgent to find more of the Slade s, or rather the Fictions.

[...It's an impressive achievement. I don't think anyone other than Young Master could have done it.]

People around me say I have a talent for magic.

I'm aware that I'm a fast learner of magic, and I think I'm good at arranging magic I've already learned, so I don't think that assessment is completely wrong. Im proving magic is a feat that usually takes a mage years to complete.

However, this doesn't mean that I'm a magical genius.

A large amount of magic power is an advantage in magic in general. Not only does it naturally sharpen your magic sense, but with an abundance of magic pow er you can experiment and test as much as you want. I was able to do a certain amount of things even without divine inspiration. I don't mean to be modest, bu t my so-called talent comes from brute forcing things with my immense magic power.

The fact is that I have never invented a new magic. I've tried a few times, but I've failed every time. All I've been able to do is combine existing magic and modi fy it for fun. I never had the making of a genius mage.

What about Orsian, on the other hand?

It may seem like she's just brute forcing with her gargantuan magic power like I did, but she actually independently developed her own detection magic. To be honest, this is abnormal. Magic that has an effect similar to a living creature's instincts, such as body strengthening magic, is relatively easy to create even at t he level of a Lord, but to create a complex spell like detection magic from scratch is nothing short of genius.

Whether this is natural talent, or due to the difference in the quality of the magic power between the Highlord and the Progenitor, is difficult to judge.

As I was lost in thought, the civil officer called out to me in a slightly loud voice.

[I apologize for the trouble, but would Young Master be willing to share this new type of detection magic with me?]

Normally, it would be unthinkable to ask a noble to be a magic teacher, but this time is different. After all, I'm the only one who can use it.

[In the future, it'll be a necessary magic when moving around a place like the Royal Capital. I would like as many people as possible to learn it, including not on ly guards and military officers but also civil officers.]

I had just experienced the horror of a place that was crowded with Highlords back in May. The guards waiting in the room were also listening to our conversati on with interest.

Of course, I would feel relieved if they could use Orsian-style detection magic. It would be a relief, but...

[That's right. It would be useful if you guys learned it. It's not that there are no problems though...]

[Is it?]

[Probably, with the amount of magic power of a Lord-class, it won't be very useful. I think it can be activated with the bare minimum, but it's not the kind of ma gic that can be used many times.]

As expected of a magic created by Orshian, it consumes an incomparably large amount of magic power. It's so much so that you can almost sense the develo per's intention of not having to worry about the cost as long as it's effective.

[...It reminds me of the White Hand. It might be something similar.]

The White Hand, the salt-making magic that Rona used in the Royal Capital, was developed by Zeth and inherited by the Cattlearc family.

It was also a very expensive magic that was quite inefficient, but it was somehow similar to Orshian-style detection magic. Zeth may have developed it with th e idea that it would be fine as long as it had an effect.

[I realized after learning it that it was a magic with many rough spots. I'm impressed by how refined normal detection magic is compared to it.]

[I think that's inevitable. They've accumulated different things.]

The detection magic used by the Quordenze family is a type that is widely used by the general public. Like healing magic, it is a magic that has existed since a ncient times, and it is unknown when or who first developed it. It has a history of being shared and improved by countless mages, magic scholars, and namele ss volunteers.

Naturally, it is far more complete than the Orshian-style. It is very easy to recognize its effects and is very easy to use, not to mention its fuel efficiency. I felt t hat the refined magic was truly beautiful.

[However, I think it would be better to share it.]

[Yes. Even if the new style is useless to us, it may give us some ideas for improving existing detection magic.]

In theory, it is possible to upgrade Orshian detection magic to make it more energy efficient. However, this is not very realistic. It would be much more reasona ble to identify the essential elements and think of a way to incorporate them into existing detection magic.

At the moment, it is impossible to say how much of the elements can be extracted, or whether they can be incorporated in the first place. However, there is no harm in learning new magic. No one knows what will provide a hint for improvement.

[First, could Young Master give the people around you time to learn it? The mages are currently away from Newnelly.]

I would like to appoint a mage with a high learning ability to save time, but they have been sent to the polluted area of Arknoa and Nambonan City to learn purif ication magic. Rather than waiting for them to return, it would be quicker to have someone close to me learn it.

I have a lot of magic power, and unlike Orsian, I am willing to teach others. Considering that most of the officers have learned normal detection magic, it shoul dn't take that long. I feel that anyone with a sense for it could learn it in less than a month.

[Leave it to me. Give orders to everyone, and from now on we will set aside time every day to share it.]

[Understood.]

If a certain number of people become mages, they will spread it among the people related to Quordenze without my involvement. The longer I put it off, the m ore troublesome it becomes, so it's best to get this done quickly.

[And about Eve...]

Eve has been working on purification activities ever since Operation Snake's Jaw. She believes that if she works hard at the tasks she is given, the Quordenze family will do their best to find Raeve. She is such a cute girl.

By the way, what Eve is working hard on is the opening of a road that connects to the Misty Village under Weldburg City... the village where Lupetta is from. While Operation Snake's Jaw was in progress, Eve nearly collapsed while passing through the Contaminated Area of Arknoa on the Spierzeig side, and we had to enter the Weldburg Field partway through. As a result, the purified highway that stretches from the Quordenze territory is cut off halfway. Even now, when t he Quordenze army heads from the interior to Weldburg City, they have no choice but to temporarily enter the Field.

This is not a very good situation. There have been reports of soldiers being attacked by monsters several times, so it would be nice to extend the purified high way so that they can reach the Misty Village without entering the Field. That is, if it's even possible.

[It was reckless to open a path to an unexplored area of the Contaminated Area of Arknoa all alone. First of all, let's prioritize learning purification magic and st op this job for now.]

Currently, Eve does not have my mana-filled Manaral Crystal. There was a limit to the purification work she could do with her own magic power.

[Maybe we should reunite Eve with Raeve. As it is, the mages are divided in two places, the Contaminated Area of Arknoa and Nambonan City, and it is ineffici ent.]

I think the magicians have requested something like "I want to check the activation of purification magic with Eve and Rave side by side". That's just what I thin k, but I have never received any such report. This is because my people tend to try not to interfere with the movements of my concubines.

Luckily, Eve has become quite obedient recently. If she is reunited with Raeve now, there should be little chance of her running away. I decided that this is the time for me to act.

[Besides, Operation Jaw would not have been successful without Eve's efforts. We need to reward her for this achievement.]

The civil officers' reaction was not bad.

Eve's contribution to the victory of Quordenze during Operation Snake's Jaw was highly rated throughout the household. There's no harm in pampering her a I ittle.

[Who should we move, Miss Eve or Miss Raeve?]

[Move Eve to Nambonan City.]

I intend to be present at their reunion, so it would be inconvenient if the two reunite in Arknoa. I don't have plans to go there for a while. Also, I'm busy during t he New Year holidays and can't get out of the castle town as much as I would like, so I don't know if I'll be able to meet her even if she comes to Newnelly Cit y-

Taking these circumstances into consideration, it would be best to move her to Nambonan City, which I would stop by before going to Othelloria. There's also plenty of things to do there, such as retrieving Nambonan soldiers.

[I want Eve to move with me.]

[Understood. We'll proceed with caution.]

Apparently spies from other families had been sniffing around the Quordenze territory, Othelloria city, and the Contaminated Areas of Arknoa more than ever r ecently. The civil officer said he would be careful not to give out any unnecessary information.

[It's already been two and a half months since the ceasefire agreement in Nambonan city. The Levios family must have gathered some information, as they ha ve now made their move.]

[Is it about time for the other families to make their move?]

[Yes. I think so.]

The information that the Levios family has made a move is also a factor to consider. This will likely lead to an increase in the number of letters I receive.

It's just too much of a hassle, especially since the New Year is coming up.