Chapter 68 - Chapter 67: Low Gravity
【Leventein Cleiria's Perspective】
"I will leave that dress here. You likely won't have the chance to wear it in the Capital. Will the newly tailored ones arrive properly? Please check."
Giving instructions to the Ladies Maids, Cleiria was gradually making preparations for the move.
The Elementary Department of the Royal Capital's Magic Academy does not start for another two months, but I must enter the Leventein Marquis's villa in the Capital as soon as possible and prepare an environment where Cleiria can live comfortably.
Cleaning is naturally already done; the reason Cleiria is entering the villa so early is not because of that.
I must teach the servants in the Capital how to handle her daily needs, having them understand Cleiria's preferences.
I will bring a few people from Sarbengeal, but I need to ensure enough time for the Ladies Maids and Parlor Maids who are used to serving Cleiria to instruct the servants in the Capital.
I want to avoid being troubled by such matters once the Academy starts.
I have visited the villa in the Capital many times before, but never for such a long period.
At most, two or three weeks.
But now that I will be attending the Magic Academy in the Capital, I will be staying for six years.
The Academy has dormitories, but those are for commoners.
It is normal for nobles and the relatives of the wealthy to commute from their villas in the Capital.
Every year, towards the end of winter or the beginning of spring, my father, the Marquis Leventein, Rubalwarus, stays in the Capital for a few weeks.
He energetically attends audiences with His Majesty the King, meetings with ministers, and various conferences, and at night, he attends parties and social gatherings.
Although it is for border defense, Rubalwarus, a noble who possesses military forces far too large for just one nobleman, is doing his utmost to avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion from His Majesty the King and other nobles.
While this socializing is necessary, this year we decided to advance our schedule for entering the Capital.
This is because Cleiria said she wanted to go to the Capital early to get used to life there.
Since we would be going to the Capital around the same time anyway, Rubalwarus decided to go to the Capital with Cleiria and advanced various schedules.
This placed a tremendous burden on various departments within the Leventein Marquisate, and Cleiria was filled with a sense of guilt.
She had not thought even a little bit that her entry into the Capital would have such a massive impact on the Domain Army and government offices.
"You don't have to do that much; you could just go normally!"
She had overheard the escort knights whispering this and hurriedly told Rubalwarus, but it was already too late.
Rubalwarus was not the type to easily retract something he had already said.
Moreover, various things had already started moving under the new schedule.
Changing it now would only cause more confusion.
And so, currently, the officials throughout the Leventein Marquisate are busily running about.
It seems the impact on the Domain Army is also significant, but thanks to the efforts of Magnus, the Knight Commander, the damage has been kept to a minimum.
"Miss Cleiria."
Virone, the escort knight, stood beside Cleiria and spoke.
Virone's pink hair was neatly combed, beautiful to the point where one could not imagine she was a knight.
Cleiria was confident in her own honey-blonde beauty, but sometimes she found herself envious of Virone's hair.
"That's enough for today. Please prepare for the afternoon training soon."
Currently, Cleiria has no attendants.
She had abolished them following a terrifying incident one year ago.
Instead, Virone, the escort knight, serves in a role similar to an attendant.
Virone has been by Cleiria's side as her escort knight since long ago, so she is well aware of Cleiria's daily routine.
Following the incident, the escort knights were significantly increased, so Virone ended up in an ambiguous position, half-attendant, half-escort knight.
However, she does not seem to mind much, and there are signs that she is happier than ever to be by Cleiria's side.
She is even by Cleiria's side on days off, to the point where the Captain has offered sharp criticism.
Cleiria also feels a closeness toward Virone that goes beyond that of a mere escort knight.
When she was scolded by her father, who was far too strict, and felt down, Virone had always comforted her since back then.
When they were alone, Cleiria would call Virone by the nickname "Viene" and act spoiled.
"Is it already that time? Understood. I will change clothes."
Cleiria called out to a Lady Maid and stood in the center of the room.
Then, several Lady Maids helped her change into her afternoon riding outfit.
A very short time until the changing was finished.
"You're in a very good mood lately, Miss Cleiria."
"Oh? Why?"
Viene, who had been waiting intently for Cleiria to finish changing, spoke up.
"A smile is spilling out."
Saying that, Viene also smiled.
At Viene's remark, Cleiria was the one who was surprised.
"Oh, me? Was I smiling just now?"
"Yes, you looked very happy."
"I must not. I need to tighten my focus."
Cleiria put strength into her relaxed cheeks.
She was about to begin riding training.
If she did not take it seriously, it could lead to a serious injury.
But----.
I can go to the Capital soon. If I do...
There are still two months until the Academy in the Capital starts.
Even so, it is getting closer day by day.
I can meet you again... Mr. Mika Noisheim.
A boy who looked shorter than Cleiria, like a younger girl.
Even so, he possessed the strongest will and courage of anyone.
He had saved Cleiria from a nightmare-like terror and despair.
"We will meet again in the Capital."
Holding that promise from that day in her heart, she had worked hard until now.
She wanted him to see the current Cleiria soon.
She wanted him to say, "You're amazing. You worked hard."
Dreaming of the reunion that was about to come, Cleiria's cheeks relaxed once again.
■■■■■■
Day of the Sun, Week 1, Month 2 of Earth.
As usual, practicing "Stone Bullet" against a Sou-Labi in the forest, then collecting Red Lizard Stones at the rocky area.
Usually, after finishing the collection, I would return to Sarbengeal immediately, but today I am staying behind for an experiment.
"...To be honest, I only feel anxious."
There is no point in lying to myself.
I voiced my honest feelings and let out a sigh.
"I don't think it's worth risking my life, but even so, I must settle this soon..."
I thought and thought, and thought it through.
I continued to spin thoughts in my head until I reached a stage where I could not advance even a millimeter without a practical experiment.
Well, the extent of what Mika's head can come up with is limited, but even so, unless I experiment and find new clues, thinking further would be useless.
That is already just running away.
"It's true that there's nothing wrong with running away... but... it feels bad to just leave it like this."
Mika closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his heart.
His heart, tense, beat rapidly like a warning bell for the worst possible result that might occur next.
There was no way he wouldn't be nervous.
After all, his life was at stake.
Even so----.
"Alright!"
Mika slowly opened his eyes.
Then, with determination, he whispered.
"Low Gravity."
Gravity.
There was no need to think about it anymore; it was the force that worked on all things, the one discovered when an apple fell.
The story of universal gravitation discovered by the genius physicist Isaac Newton is famous, but in reality, Newton was not the only one to notice this force.
After all, he was not the only one to witness an apple falling.
He focused on something so ordinary that no one paid attention to it and organized it as a law.
That is the great achievement. One could say the essence of science as a field of study lies right here.
Currently, it is thought that this force of gravity is not due to a fundamental particle called the graviton.
However, even in my original world, the graviton had not been discovered, and the theory itself was not even complete.
To try to fly by touching such a thing would be a level of sanity that one would question if it were not for me.
...No, perhaps even I am questioning my own sanity.
If Mika tries to fly, it goes without saying that it would be easier without gravity.
However, a state where gravity does not work at all would lack balance.
It would not eliminate air resistance either, so it would be better than being in a tumbling state in outer space.
Still, since I am used to an environment where gravity is the norm, a zero-gravity state should be avoided if possible.
Suddenly having all gravity disappear would only be terrifying, so I first thought of reducing gravity.
Now, how does this graviton act on what to give us "weight"?
If I consider various definitions of gravity and weight, the discussion becomes too big, talking about mass and Higgs particles.
I do not want to become a scholar.
I just want to fly in the sky.
So, I will ignore the details and focus solely on the graviton.
The graviton is likely acting on other groups of fundamental particles.
I do not know if it acts on individual particles or on units like protons and neutrons to some extent.
Well, since gravity is defined as a force acting on particles as one of the "four forces," I think it is safe to assume it acts on individual particles.
So, this graviton.
What would happen if I removed it all from my body at once?
Would gravity completely disappear?
Yay!
Would it be that simple?
All the cells that make up my body.
The atoms that make up those cells.
The protons and neutrons that make up those atoms.
The gravitons acting on the fundamental particles that make up those protons and neutrons.
If those gravitons disappeared all at once, what would happen?
If anyone can logically answer this, they should go get five or six Nobel Prizes right now.
There is no way I could know what would happen.
That is why I have thought and thought, yet still hesitated.
This is not a matter of treating a burn.
If the connections between fundamental particles break carelessly, my existence as a person would return to fundamental particles.
That said, I also expect it won't be that terrible.
After all, humanity has gone to space and remained safely in a zero-gravity state.
Even in outer space, gravity is probably not completely zero, but it should be close to zero.
Without even such examples, I would not have had the courage to try this experiment.
Rather, what Mika feared most was interfering with the graviton and strangely interfering with other forces.
Since all forces were originally one, careless interference with gravity might interfere with other forces as well.
If the strong force is released, I would truly return to fundamental particles.
The power of magic that works just by imagining it.
I can only earnestly pray that it does not do anything unnecessary.
Mika looked at his own body.
No visible changes had occurred.
He did not even feel like his body had become lighter.
"...Did it fail?"
There was also the possibility that he could not interfere with the graviton at all.
Mika's "Stone Bullet" and "Waterball" floated in the air, and healing magic allowed him to interfere with his own body.
However, that did not mean he could interfere with his own gravity.
It was scary to suddenly eliminate all gravitons, so he decided to experiment first by trying to reduce gravity...
Mika jumped lightly in place, but he did not feel any increase in jumping power.
"Maybe the output was too small...?"
He might have been too timid.
Mika concentrated his mana and interfered a bit more strongly with his own gravity.
His mana was decreasing heavily, so it was certain that he was interfering with something.
"Here goes!"
He jumped a bit harder.
He jumped more than ten meters lightly.
"Whoa!?"
He lost his balance out of surprise.
His body rotated slowly in circles with slow movements.
"Huh!? Wait!? Th-th-th..."
He managed to twist his body to maintain balance, but he was about to fall headfirst.
"Th-there!"
He put his hands on the ground and rolled with the technique of a breakfall.
He sat on the ground and blinked his eyes.
His heart was pounding.
"...D-did it...?"
His body would not stop shaking.
Did he feel the danger to his life because he jumped too high, or was it the joy of "Low Gravity" succeeding?
"I did it!!!!!!!!!!!"
He involuntarily jumped up.
However, the impact caused Mika's body to float up again.
"Whoa... th-there."
If he moved clumsily, his feet would easily separate from the ground.
If that happened, his balance would collapse immediately.
He felt as if he had become a balloon.
"This is a bit too dangerous without practice."
That day, he practiced moving under low gravity at the rocky area until evening.
While changing the output, he learned by sensation how much gravity decreased with what amount of output.
Reducing his own weight would allow him to run faster.
However, if he reduced it too much, he would run less easily instead. He would bounce too much.
He tried everything he could think of, and within just a few hours, he became quite proficient at using it.
■■■■■■
Day of the Sun, Week 3, Month 2 of Earth.
Mika would also be staying in Sarbengeal until next week.
"Hello."
"There is nothing today. If you know, look, go home, go home."
The old woman of the Appraisal Shop, while keeping her eyes on what was in her hands, waved her hand as if shooing away a dog or cat.
...This treatment is getting excessive.
Mika looked at the old woman with a glare, but she did not care at all.
It seemed she was interested in what she was holding in her hands.
"...Today is not the usual matter. Or well, maybe it can be said to be the same matter."
"What is it? Did you come to see the 'Cursed Thing'? Or is it for appraisal?"
The old woman finally looked up at Mika.
"If you say you want an appraisal, I would do it, you know."
Saying that, Mika placed the box he was holding on the counter.
"This... is candy from that shop over there? You don't mean you want me to appraise this, do you?"
"No, this is like a souvenir. It's a thank you for everything, or rather, an apology for the trouble I caused."
"A souvenir...?"
The old woman looked at Mika with eyes that saw something suspicious.
How little do you trust me?
"What are you plotting this time? If it's something bad----."
"There is really nothing! Today seems to be the last time I can come here, so I just brought a souvenir!"
When Mika told her in one breath, the old woman looked bewildered.
"What do you mean, today is the last time? Are you going somewhere?"
"I am graduating from the Magic Academy in Sarbengeal. In the Month of Water, I will attend the Academy in the Capital."
"Oh... right, you were a student at the Magic Academy. I completely forgot."
You forgot!
I am starting to get tired just from this kind of exchange.
"Well, that being the case. As a thank you and apology for everything, please accept this. It seems to have quite a reputation here."
Since it was information from Messerite, I have never eaten it myself.
"You are quite thoughtful. If that is the case, I will accept it without hesitation. I have found a nice tea snack."
Saying that, the old woman smiled and put Mika's souvenir under the counter.
After confirming that the old woman had put away the box, Mika brought up the main purpose.
"And... this."
Mika took down the rough bag slung over his shoulder and placed various items from inside onto the counter.
Bracelets, necklaces, rings, brooches, knives, silver cups, coins, figurines, statues of gods, and so on.
Thirty-one items in total. Adding the talismans Mika had picked up as a bonus, bringing the total to thirty-two.
The old woman looked at the items Mika arranged with a surprised face.
"These are... the 'Cursed Things' I gave you. You came to return them properly? ...Well, I am a bit troubled even if you return them."
Saying that, the old woman smiled bitterly.
"I promised to return them when they were no longer needed. Thank you very much."
Mika bowed politely.
"Thanks to you, I learned a lot."
"I do not know what kind of study the 'Cursed Thing' was useful for, but well, it was a promise. I did receive them back."
Saying that, the old woman picked up a brooch that was nearby and immediately made a suspicious face.
She picked up rings and bracelets one after another, looking at the items that were once cursed with a dumbfounded expression.
"What is this...? Why... why."
The old woman's voice was trembling slightly.
Well, it was no wonder she was surprised.
It was none other than the old woman who had told Mika that the curse could not be lifted.
But, there really is such a thing as a Skill. She can tell the curse is gone just by touching it.
Thinking such things, he stared at the old woman frozen in surprise.
Now, a third party knew that Mika could lift curses.
Mika had no intention of breaking his promise with the old woman, claiming he needed to keep it a secret.
Mika was going to the Capital anyway, and eventually, someone would find out.
If that was the case, he should tell the old woman first to keep things straight.
"Thanks to Grandma, I can do this now."
When Mika smiled brightly, the old woman looked at him with an unbelievable face.
"...Did you do this? You...?"
When Mika nodded firmly, the old woman made a gesture of prayer to the Church of Light.
As expected, this old woman seemed to be a devout believer of the Church of Light.
"You are... ah, no, Your Excellency is... the power of a Saint...?"
"Wait, wait a minute. Stop it, please, don't do that!"
When the old woman seemed to start praying towards Mika, he hurriedly stopped her.
"It was a coincidence! I really just happened to be able to do this! Please calm down, okay?"
He was used to the old woman's usual sharp tongue to some extent, but he wanted to be spared from being prayed to or worshipped.
"But..."
"I told Grandma because I was taken care of by her. I cannot hide it while returning the 'Cursed Things'. But I am just a student. So, I would appreciate it if you treated me as usual."
When Mika conveyed this seriously, the old woman thought for a while and let out a big sigh.
"I understand. But now I finally know the real reason why you wanted the 'Cursed Things'. ...You were doing this, huh."
The old woman muttered deeply and smiled bitterly as if her strength had left her.
"No matter how much you tell the truth, it is hard to believe such things. You cannot speak the truth, yet you proceed straight to what you must do. That is not something many can do. You are quite something, you know."
The old woman's gaze at Mika had become very warm.
It was as if she had re-evaluated him.
...Well, until now, I was a weirdo who wanted 'Cursed Things'. It is no wonder her gaze turned cold.
He had bowed and begged to be allowed to take them every time a 'Cursed Thing' arrived.
It was understandable that her gaze would freeze below zero.
He wished she would welcome him a bit more warmly, but that would be a luxury wish.
"Then, I will be going now. Please take care of yourself from now on."
"Yes, you too. You will surely become an amazing mage, you know. If you have the chance, show your face anytime. Next time, I will at least serve you tea."
"Then, I will bring tea snacks next time."
Mika walked to the entrance of the shop, turned around, and straightened his posture.
Then, looking firmly at the old woman's figure, he bowed once.
The old woman nodded firmly and saw him off.
Mika visited Yaroibarov's inn and the old man's magic tool shop on that same day to finish his farewell greetings.
He also gave tea snacks to the dorm mother, Trilens, along with the maids.
With this, Mika's round of greetings was finished.
And so, the exams that started at the beginning of the week were finished successfully, and he finally graduated from the Leventein Marquisate's Magic Academy Junior Department.
He took off the bracelet on his left hand that he had worn for two years and became free for a brief moment.
"Well then, let's go home."
Carrying his luggage in a rough bag and a backpack, Mika slipped through the West Gate of the city wall.