NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 72.2
Stage 3-5. Dark Attribute Magic
Urged by Father, I sat next to him on the guest sofa.
I took out a bottle of chilled fruit juice from the refrigerator, powered by magical energy, and poured it into a glass.
Many items in the Vellet domain make use of knowledge from my past life.
The refrigerator is one of them, and so is the fruit juice, which I personally pitched to Father and helped develop.
The fruit juice, in particular, became a favorite among both nobles and commoners, and it has now become a specialty of the Vellet domain.
When I first reincarnated, there were few types of sweets… but thanks to the expanded menu, it has now become popular in other regions.
“Thank you very much.”
I expressed my gratitude and drank it all in one gulp.
The faint sweetness spread through my slightly dry mouth.
“Mashiro-kun and Karen-kun are here too, right? I would have liked to meet them again properly, but…”
“Do you have plans?”
“Yes, I must leave again soon. So, I’ll take care of everything that needs to be discussed here.”
“I see. That’s unfortunate.”
“…Perhaps I should cancel everything now.”
“Father, please don’t abandon your important work of protecting the country.”
I stopped Father, who was about to act like an indulgent parent, and quickly moved on to the main topic.
“So… have you been able to locate Frone of Thunder?”
“No, no luck. Every location that Reina provided turned out to be abandoned. I’m sorry, Reina. I ended up wasting the information you provided.”
“No, Father. When I joined Ouga-kun, I had already expected this.”
“So, what about the nobles who were supporting Frone?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk about too. Just as Reina said… most of the nobles who had dealings with Frone had lost all memory of her.”
“Just as I thought…”
A large number of people simultaneously forget specific memories about one person.
Such an event was impossible, even in a world where magic existed.
No matter how many books I read, there was no magic known to interfere with the human mind.
…That is, with the attributes we are aware of.
“…Does this mean?”
It was hard to believe at first, but Father slowly nodded.
“Frone Milfonty uses dark magic. It seems she, too, was someone with multiple magical affinities.”
Dark magic, is considered taboo and erased from existence by the world.
It is said to be the only attribute that touches upon the very essence of the human soul, threatening the dignity of humanity, and thus prohibited from being passed down throughout the world.
This was all I knew, from what Father had told me.
Even I, who had devoured countless magical texts day and night since childhood, knew only this much.
“If it weren’t for Reina’s information, we wouldn’t have known any of this. If we had gone after her blindly, we might have been wiped out without even being able to do anything. I truly appreciate the information you’ve provided.”
The truth was uncovered because Reina had once witnessed Frone using an unknown magic to brainwash people.
Reina’s testimony. The mysterious and incomprehensible events happening in reality.
From that, the kingdom concluded that Frone was using dark magic.
“However, this also makes sense of why Frone targeted Mashiro.”
She had been searching for him all along.
A young vessel capable of enduring her magical power, with multiple magical affinities.
However, that brings forth a new question.
Why did she call out to Mashiro, a newcomer, yet not use dark magic?
If I were in Frone’s shoes, I would have no doubt been using dark magic to create the strongest harem kingdom in the world.
But that didn’t happen. There may be conditions for its use.
…Tch, this is frustrating. There is too little information at hand.
“…Father. Is there any way we can learn more about dark magic?”
“Heh, I expected you’d say that, my son.”
Father smiled cynically and placed a piece of paper on the table.
It was about granting access to the underground magical forbidden archive.
And at the bottom, both my name and Reina’s were listed.
“The underground magical forbidden archive…?”
“I’ve never heard of it either.”
“Hahaha. Of course not. Only a select few trusted by the king know of it. Even the four great dukes don’t. Do you know why?”
“…Because they store information on dark magic?”
Father nodded in satisfaction at my answer.
“…W-wait a minute! Granting access means…?”
“That’s right, Ouga-kun. His Majesty the King has high hopes for you. Ouga Vellet is to be the one to defeat ‘Frone of Thunder’ and become the ‘Saint’ who will save the world.”
――Absolutely not!!
…If only I could shout that out, how much easier this would be.
Reacting in shock to the sudden turn of events, I was panicking inside.
How could this happen!?
Who could have imagined that the king would try to pit me against Frone in such a way?
I’m still a student, with less power than Alice!
How could I possibly face Frone, whom even Alice couldn’t defeat!?
And what the heck is this “Saint” title!?
If I’m called that, I won’t even be able to do anything fun!
If a problem arises in the kingdom, I’ll have to solve it immediately, and my free time will be severely limited.
What do you think I’ve been honing my magic and physical skills for!?
To live the comfortable, carefree life of a lord, doing whatever I want!
That dream is crumbling to pieces before my eyes.
“The king trusts you so much… I’m proud of you, Ouga. You’re my family.”
“Kukuku… Don’t praise me too much, Reina.”
I let Reina pat my head while I tried to maintain a calm demeanor.
Calm down, calm down, Ouga Vellet.
Now is the time to put my genius mind to use.
A crisis is an opportunity. This is the time for a reversal.
…That’s right. The king is trying to have me learn about dark magic so I can fight Frone.
In that case, I should turn the situation to my advantage.
I’ll learn dark magic thoroughly, and then, I’ll become the one who wields it.
That way, I can brainwash countless humans and increase my harem endlessly… I can use labor however I please!
Sure, I may not have magical affinity.
But this is an attribute magic that is barely known.
I can’t give up until I’ve at least tried, even if the chances are slim to none.
Kukuku… This is getting fun.
…I swear this is not an escape from reality. It’s not escape…!!