Chapter 189: The Changed Past (4)

“Marry me.”

“Pff—!”

The one who spat out the black tea he had been holding in his mouth was Raion.

Sitting across from him was Princess Diana Omtia of the Danas Federation.

Naturally, because of Raion’s completely unexpected reaction, the tea ended up splashing out.

“Ah… I’m sorry!”

Patrick moved before Raion did and took out a handkerchief.

Of course, Duke Meras Bladio, a noble from the Danas Federation’s delegation, also stepped in to help deal with the situation.

“It’s fine. You might be startled.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Is marriage not to your liking? This would mean forming a confirmed friendly alliance with the Danas Federation. Depending on how things go, an empire surpassing the Dior Empire might even be founded.”

“That sounds to me like you’re telling me to become the Danas Federation’s royal son-in-law, doesn’t it?”

A royal son-in-law was nothing more than the closest attendant of the person holding supreme authority, a mere scarecrow with no actual power.

Because of that, the atmosphere sharpened slightly.

Her words essentially meant that the Canel Kingdom should enter under the Danas Federation by using marriage as a medium.

“No matter how outstanding you are, do you really think you can manipulate matters on a national scale?”

“And why do you think it can’t be done?”

“I acknowledge that you’re someone who’s reached the extreme in swordsmanship. But you can’t surpass magic. And the Danas Federation is a kingdom that governs such magic.”

Even Duke Meras Bladio, who was beside her right now, was a 5th Circle mage.

Beyond him, countless mages existed within the Danas Federation.

Once a war began, such forces would become terrifying power. Naturally, even the Dior Empire couldn’t move easily against that, which was why a quiet relationship had been maintained for hundreds of years.

“I refuse.”

“Knowing the current situation and still insisting on pride? The Dior Empire has all but declared war.”

“It seems contact with your home country reached you faster than expected.”

Given the distance from the kingdom, delivering information by messenger hawk would have been extremely tight.

That meant there was another method.

“For the sake of our relationship, I’ll tell you something important. In fact, our kingdom has developed a communication magic tool using crystal balls in place of messenger hawks.”

“Something like that exists?”

In the past and future Raion knew, such a tool had never been revealed.

Raion deliberately showed a surprised reaction.

“By taking hints from monsters that communicate without sound, our kingdom’s mages created it. Thanks to that, we’re able to gather information between kingdoms faster than anywhere else.”

“That’s impressive. May I perhaps see it?”

“Normally I wouldn’t allow it, but I’ll show it to you specially.”

“Your Highness! That’s classified within the kingdom.”

Even though Duke Bladio tried to stop her from the side, it was useless.

“Please think of it as a gesture of trust.”

“But……”

“That’s enough.”

At Princess Diana’s command, one attendant moved and brought in a table with four wheels.

It was about the width of a human torso and stood as tall as an adult’s chest.

“We made one mobile unit, and fixed the rest in each kingdom. Since it’s a magic tool that was extremely difficult to create, the process wasn’t easy.”

It was a system very similar to the post Raion had created.

The attendant then removed the cloth covering the wheeled table.

On top of the table sat a massive crystal ball about one meter in diameter.

Beneath the crystal ball was an exquisitely carved stand.

At the same time, Jade, who had been standing behind Raion, reacted.

“Pff—!”

“…….”

It was a sound that completely shattered the brief silence.

“I-I’m sorry. I let out a cough because I saw such an amazing magic tool.”

“……It’s understandable to be surprised. This will bring about a revolution even among magic-operated tools.”

Indeed, it was impressive, as it surpassed the method of contacting one another using messenger hawks.

That was only true for those who hadn’t seen the post Raion had made.

Of course, Raion couldn’t say that, so he reacted separately.

“It really is amazing. But…… I feel like it might be inconvenient to carry around.”

The subspace bags that mages on the continent could create had limits to their size.

Naturally, the crystal ball before his eyes wouldn’t fit. That meant a wheeled cart was required just to transport it.

“There’s no helping it. If we reduce the size of the crystal ball, the output of mana decreases as well. That part is still under research.”

“I hope…… it goes well.”

Along with Princess Diana, he couldn’t yet grasp the Danas Federation’s true intentions.

Because of that, Raion was cautious about how many cards he should reveal.

“What do you think? Wouldn’t joining hands with our Danas Federation inevitably be a good thing for the Canel Kingdom as well?”

It was a statement thrown out while hoping for an immediate answer.

Naturally, Raion accepted it with that meaning.

“Sorry, but it didn’t seem to be a matter that could be decided immediately.”

“I showed proper courtesy, considering you are the crown prince. And yet you still don’t know what should be done?”

As she spoke, Meras Bladio, who had been standing slightly behind her, stepped forward.

Dense mana burst forth from the entire body of Duke Bladio.

It was intimidation using the pressure of mana. With the power of a 5th Circle duke, it could exert sufficient effect on anyone capable of sensing mana.

Of course, that was only against those of a lower level.

In response to that action, a blue curtain spread out around me.

A 4th Circle defensive spell, ‘Energy Curtain’.

It wasn’t me who cast it. Duke Bladio looked toward Caldein Flavan, who was standing behind me.

‘What is this? A mage on par with me?’

Duke Bladio had reached the realm of mastering the 5th Circle.

If someone were on an equal level, there was no way their name wouldn’t be known across the continent.

Moreover, for such a powerhouse to be in the Canel Kingdom rather than some other nation…

On top of that, the strongest mage of the Canel Kingdom was known to be Frace Therondia of the 5th Circle.

Since there had been a slight acquaintance between them, Duke Bladio’s doubts about who Caldein Flavan was only deepened.

“That’s enough, Flavan.”

“Yes, Master.”

The blue curtain faded away.

At that action, the expression of Duke Bladio, who had been thinking intensely, subtly changed.

“If you’re trying to intimidate with magic, do you think that level is enough?”

“Intimidation? That’s rather harsh wording.”

“You make nothing but absurd excuses….”

As I said that, I raised my palm.

The magic formula had already been drawn in advance while I had my arms crossed.

“Gravity Boom.”

With the chanting of the spell, a fist-sized translucent sphere formed above my palm and emitted a harsh sound like raging wind.

Shwaaaaaaak!

At the same time, the expressions of Princess Diana Omtia, Duke Bladio, and the others around them stiffened.

Since most people of the Danas Federation were mages, they could sense what kind of power was being emitted from what unfolded in my hand.

Moreover, it was the first time they had ever heard of a spell called ‘Gravity Boom’.

“Is it a spell that applies Wind? But the power I feel from that…!”

“Duke, what on earth is that?”

“I don’t know. However, if that manifests….”

I answered for him before he could finish.

“It’s magic powerful enough to swallow not just this place, but the entire palace. I created it by fusing Gravity and Light.”

“Light?”

A 5th Circle Gravity spell was understandable. But Light, a mere 1st Circle?

They couldn’t understand how magic of that magnitude could be created from spells at opposite extremes.

At the same time, from that explanation, Duke Bladio was able to roughly grasp the scale of ‘Gravity Boom’.

“If it’s magic fusion… then, the 6th Circle?”

Magic was categorized into manifestation, formation, application, amplification, and reconstruction.

A mage’s limit lay in enlarging or altering the form of an attribute.

From there, power differed according to the amount of mana.

Fusion, on the other hand, went beyond merely shaping attributes through magic and involved combining different attributes altogether.

Not only was it extremely dangerous, it was nearly impossible.

That was why even on the current continent, a mage’s limit was defined as reconstruction at the 5th Circle.

“You’ve understood correctly.”

“But you are… a Sword Master, are you not?!”

At that, I had been judged to be at least at the level of a Grand Master among Sword Masters.

And on top of that, a 6th Circle mage… Duke Bladio grew confused about just what it was he was witnessing.

“Can’t you believe it? Then shall I release this?”

In my hand, ‘Gravity Boom’ was still being held.

Even now, it stirred the mana in the air as if it could swallow everything around it at any moment, emitting an ominous wind.

“N-no! Please stop there. If that manifests, everyone will die!”

Since I myself was included in its range, there was the thought that I would never actually let it manifest.

But there was also the fear that I might fail to maintain it by mistake.

They were trying, by any means, to make me dispel the spell as quickly as possible.

Shwik—!

I clenched my fist and dispelled the magic.

The mana that had been raging just moments ago calmed down.

At the same time, everyone from the Danas Federation let out sighs of relief.

‘Were they not even afraid?’

Duke Bladio looked at Caldein, Jade, Negis, Patrick, Turklan, and the others standing behind me.

If they were truly skilled, they would certainly have felt the instability of the raging mana.

It wouldn’t have been strange if they had vanished along with the spot they were standing on.

Yet, they didn’t so much as flinch.

Instead, with even firmer expressions, they kept a sharp watch only on the people of the Danas Federation standing opposite them.

Exactly as their original purpose.

“Truly astonishing.”

“Your Highness….”

“I know. So you don’t need to say it.”

Duke Bladio had been worried that the princess might make some sort of mistake.

However, more than his concern, the princess had clearly realized what misunderstanding she herself had been under.

“A Grand Master and a 6th Circle mage… are you really human?”

“Do I not look human?”

“In ancient legends, it’s said that dragons would sometimes wander the continent for amusement. I wondered if the Crown Prince might be a dragon.”

“I am human.”

I showed a faint smile.

At that, Princess Diana let out a hollow laugh.

“Do you truly have no intention of marriage?”

“Is there even a need to think about it?”

“This time it’s different. It’s the condition under which I would become the queen of the Canel Kingdom. I’ll help ensure that the Danas Federation comes under the Canel Kingdom.”

The federation was a force that didn’t fall behind even when compared to an empire.

For such a place to acknowledge itself as being beneath a mere kingdom—

It was naturally shocking, yet several people nodded unconsciously.

After all, I had manifested tremendous magic through formulas alone, without even a long chant.

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