Silver armor . . . is that Mythril? No, that can"t be . . . after all, it didn"t look like it was very heavy . . .
When Ashley tried to lift up the cuira.s.s (breastplate) that had been placed on the floor, she was overcome with surprise.
What is up with this weight! The cuira.s.s alone is at least 15 kigrans . . . and yet, Ray wears this like it"s nothing . . .
Seeing Ray so lightly pick up the armor, Ashley had a.s.sumed that it was only some kind of ceremonial armor. However, upon taking a closer look, she could see that it was even thicker than typical steel armor and also seemed to have quite high defensive power.
Furthermore, when she peered into the inner side of the armor, she could also see magical formulas that had been delicately drawn in yellow paint.
What kind of magical formula is this? It"s painted onto the armor itself . . . maybe it increases the armor"s defensive power while decreasing its weight? If that"s actually the case, then just this piece of armor alone should be extraordinarily expensive . . .
The spaulders (shoulder guards) and rerebrace (armor for upper arms) both had different magical designs drawn onto them, supposedly to apply some kind of magic.
He really is an incomprehensible, that guy. I"ve been living independently from my father for what? One year I think? Just when I was starting to think that I"ve had enough of this kind of life, this amusing guy appears.
Ashley smiled to herself as she thought such things.
As for Ray, he had rushed into his own roof with his newly materialized clothes in hand.
When Ray used the storage magic, he did notice how a glimmering magical pattern had appeared on the back of his left hand. However, at the time, he felt that putting on the clothes was a more urgent matter and didn"t have the leisure to think too deeply about it.
The clothes in his hand consisted of a white tunic with a long hem and a pair of loose pants. The tunic was lavishly decorated in silver threading lavishly. Both gold and silver threading were st.i.tched onto the back into a coat of arms representing the sun. Seeing the design that should have belonged on something like a cosplay outfit, Ray sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time today.
Although he felt irritated, these were the only clothes he had to wear. Ray resignedly put his arms through the sleeves of the tunic. They seemed to be his own clothes after all. His body fit into the clothes so perfectly, it was as if they had been made to order. After he placed on his sword belt, Ray felt as if his outfit somehow fit him
After seeing that there was nothing strange, as far as he could see, Ray headed back towards Ashley"s room.
Just when he was about to knock on her door, Edward the butler appeared.
Following behind his back was a maid carrying blue-colored clothes in her hands. Seeing Ray, Edward made a slightly bewildered face as he said, "Oh? It seems like you already had clothes with you."
"That"s right, I changed when I arrived in my room . . . could it be . . . that you"ve prepared those blue clothes for me?"
The butler politely nods.
"Yes, I prepared them since you didn"t seem to have any baggage on you. I apologize for being so presumptuous, please excuse me."
What an observation butler. His keen insight would have been much appreciated if I hadn"t remembered to use the Item Box . . .
After leaving them a reminder that dinner would begin in thirty minutes, Edward took the maid along with him as he headed back towards the inner area of the mansion. Intending to recollect his armor, Ray once again entered Ashley"s room.
Inside the room, he found a serious looking Ashley gazing hard at the pieces of armor he had abandoned on the floor. Seeing Ray come back in, Ashley suddenly asked, "Could you try lifting up this armor?" While wondering what it was she wanted, Ray reached out for the piece of armor she pointed at, and lifted it up.
Ray slightly raised his eyebrow as he asked, "Like this?" However, Ashley didn"t directly answer him, and instead, placed her own armor on the floor near Ray"s feet. Without stating her objective, she then continued to say, "Next, try picking this up." Feeling even more bewildered, Ray tilted his head. However, he obediently picked up her breastplate.
"Which one do you think is heavier?"
"Well . . . it feels like your armor is heavier. Probably because it was designed for practical use. I suppose that means my own armor is only ceremonial then?"
"It"s as I thought . . . Ray, your armor is actually twice as heavy as mine. Could you show me the back of your left hand?"
He still didn"t really get what she wanted to say. However, when she asked him about the back of his left hand, he remembered how it had glimmered with a magical pattern earlier.
What is she trying to say? It"s obvious that her armor is heavier isn"t it? The back of my left hand she said? Maybe she wants to see the magical pattern from a while ago again? Although I didn"t really have a chance to have a good look at it, Ashley might know something about it . . .
He presented her his left hand and watched as she stared fixedly at his hand"s backside. An intricate magical design had been tattooed there. Ray asked,
"Do you know what it is?"
"No . . . magic is outside of my area of expertise. However, it seems to use colors that can respond to all eight elements . . ."
After thinking about it for a while longer, Ashley began to slowly state her best guess.
"Everything I"m telling from here is just a guess of mine, but, from what I"ve seen, you"ve never needed to chant any spells to use magic. The magical patterns imprinted here are probably used to call the spirits that are needed to use magics such as the storage magic you spoke of . . . when you take into the account the magical patterns imprinted on your armor, those probably combine with the one on your left hand to form a set. When that happens, the weight reduction magic will come into action . . . I think. Of course, like I said, all of this is just my guess. There"s no definite proof."
Hearing her conjecture, Ray remained silent as he gazed at his left hand.
Purification magic and storage magic. That spear of light I never got to see . . . the weight reduction magic on my armor and the magic that was applied to my spear . . . according to the setting I wrote, magic patterns are . . .
This world"s magic had eight elements: fire, light, wind, timber, water, darkness, soil, and ore. By borrowing the power of these elements" spirits, it was possible to invoke phenomena that corresponded to each element. To borrow this kind of power from the spirits, you must first give your own magical power and then, based on the quant.i.ty and amount of that power, there are differing levels of magic you can activate.
There are an infinite variety of magics that can be activated based on the image the pract.i.tioner thinks up. However, it"s highly interconnected with the element"s physical attributes. For example, the fire element corresponds with attack magic, the darkness element with psychic magic, and the ore element with bestowal magic.
It"s possible to activate magic without a chant. However, most of this world"s magicians chanted spells in order to have a clear image of the specific phenomenon they wanted to invoke.
On the other hand, the case is often different when carrying out large-scale magic or activating chantless magic. The magical formation is drawn in a pattern that is easy for the spirits to understand and then magical power is circulated through the formation. With those two steps, spirits would gather on the formation, allowing you to borrow their power.
Writing the magical formation directly onto the body should have been an idea of mine . . . however, since I can"t fully remember the story, I have no idea how or who it was intended to be used for . . . (TL: not sure about this part)
As Ray continued to ponder in silence, Ashley had also similarly sunken into a thoughtful silence.
I"ve never heard of something like drawing magical formations directly on the body. It can"t be something the worshipers of the Light G.o.d thought of, because their knights only use the light element . . . in Ray"s case, the colors of all eight elements were used, including the element of darkness that the Light Religion abhors so much. Due to his equipment and knight clothes, I thought that he was someone connected to the Light Religion. Unexpectedly however, it looks like there might be no relationship between them after all . . .
As the two indulged in their thoughts, the maid came to report that dinner had been prepared. Both of them paused their pondering and turned to follow the maid.
Ray and Ashley walked in silence towards the large dinner hall of Baron Atelier"s mansion.
They called it a dinner but . . . I don"t really know any formal dinner manners . . . I never really thought about that kind of thing much while writing my story . . . how were meals carried out in the story again?
He thought about such things while walking besides Ashley.
Ashley was also immersing herself in her own thoughts.
I wonder how the baron will react when he sees Ray"s outfit? I"ve never seen them before, but the baron has probably seen what a holy knight from Rooks looks like . . .
Within the grand dining hall, was a large table that seemed like it could fit more than 20 people at once, and a large bright glittering chandelier. It didn"t use candles, but instead, sparkled with the power of light elemental magic. The whole room was the epitome of splendor itself.
Today"s private dinner consisted of five members. Other than Ashley and Ray, there was only the baron"s family present, consisting of two people: a beautiful woman in the early thirties who seemed to be his wife, and his eldest daughter, Oliena, who looked to be around ten years old.
When Ray and Ashley arrived to their seats, the baron seemed startled by Ray"s attire. However, he immediately began to introduce his family, and then after once again conveying his grat.i.tude to Ray, commenced the dinner.
Many of the cuisines were made with the Lacus Kingdom"s famous freshwater trout and vegetables. Both quality and quant.i.ty were satisfying.
Ray had only eaten a light meal consisting of nothing but hard bread and cheese during the afternoon. Furthermore, when you add in the best type of seasoning called "hunger", then naturally, Ray felt that the meal was abnormally delicious.
However, the dinner also included a white wine and a low-malt beer that had a deep red color. Having never touched liquor before, Ray hesitated for a moment about what he should do. Aftering mustering his courage, he swirled a mouthful of white wine inside his mouth. The wine has an indistinct sweetness to it, coupled together with the weak pang of carbonic acid. It was quite flavorful, he thought.
And so, he continued to gulp down the wine at a considerably fast pace, and gradually began to reel a bit from the intoxication. It seemed like the manners he were so worried about weren"t anything particularly difficult. The dinner continued to advance without any problems as Ray occasionally stole glances at Ashley who was sitting beside him.
When the dinner approached its end, the baron inquired about Ray"s outfit,
"The knight clothes you"re wearing resembles those of the Holy Kingdom of Rooks" knights . . . you still haven"t remembered anything?"
Ashley curiously looked at Ray who was sitting beside her. Startled by the baron"s words, he answered,
"No, still nothing . . . Holy Kingdom, you said . . . if I remember correctly, they utilize magic of the light element. These clothes are the same ones Rooks" Holy Knights wear?"
"Although I don"t know the details, I don"t feel like the design of their emblem is as complicated as yours. However, the colors it uses and the atmosphere it exudes are unmistakably the same as the outfits their Holy Knights wear . . ."
After making a slightly displeased face, he added, "If that Bishop of the Light Religion were to ever spot you in these clothes, it would most likely become troublesome for you."
Ray doubtfully asked, "The Light Religion? Bishop? Why would something like that happen?"
In place of the baron, Ashley answered him,
"In our city, Azzaro is the bishop of the temple dedicated to the G.o.d of Light, Rukydous. He"s formally our chief priest. However, the problem is that he"s a religious fanatic. Despite the fact that Molton is located in Lacus, where the G.o.d of Water, Phonsu, is the most widely believed in, he continues to force the belief that Rukydous, the G.o.d of Light, is the absolute and only G.o.d. I"ve heard people say that it"s coming to be too much even at their own temple."
For a city of Molton"s scale, it was normal for there to be twelve temples for all eight of the elemental G.o.ds in addition to the three creation G.o.ds: the G.o.ds of the Heavens, Earth, and Humans. Although it"s not rare for there to only be a temple for Vita, the G.o.d of Humans, at small towns and villages, during things like festivals and special events it becomes necessary for everyone to a.s.semble in the major cities of their region. The Light Religion"s belief that there was only one supreme G.o.d and that this G.o.d was Rukydous was a fairly new way of thinking. However, this belief has never really managed to spread beyond the borders of the Holy Kingdom of Rooks.
Priests were renamed to archbishops, bishops, and pastors. The Light Religion went as far as trying to condemn all other temples in the Holy Kingdom. There was a growing movement to expel all the temples of the G.o.d of Darkness, Noctus, within the Holy Kingdom. They were accused of being heretics who believed in the devil.
Believers were dispatched from the Light Religion"s Grand Temple which was located in the Holy Kingdom of Rooks. However, the Bishop Azzaro was considered to be exceptionally fanatic about his religion, even among them.
"Basically, if he were to ever see you, Azzaro would probably make a big uproar accusing you of being an insolent b.a.s.t.a.r.d who"s trying to impersonate their holy knights."
Having come from j.a.pan, a country with loose religious views, the only religious fanatics Ray could think of were religious cults.
I don"t remember thinking of such a setting for the Light Religion . . . however, there"s no way I want a cult chasing me around. It would be better if I switch out my clothes . . . but there"s also the issue with my armor. The armor"s probably quite good, considering how much it caught Ashley"s attention, but the problem remains . . .
As Ray indulged himself in such thoughts, the baron signaled to Edward the butler who was standing behind him.
"Although it"s not too much, I would like you accept this as a reward for saving the lives of me and my daughter."
The baron proceeded to place a small and hefty looking leather bag onto the table.
Upon confirming its contents, Ray found twenty gold coins jingling inside.
One gold coin is one hundred Crona, or 10,000 yen (88 dollars). So . . . twenty coins is 2 million yen (17560 dollars) . . . this is more than enough to solve my money situation. However, is it really alright for me to accept this?
When he glanced in Ashley"s direction, she gave a small nod and whispered, "The gift represents Sir Atelier"s sincere feelings, you should accept it."
Returning a small nod to her, he lowered his head towards the baron and replied, "Thank you very much. It"s a great help."
The baron asked Ray and Ashley if they had any plans for tomorrow.
Apparently, it seemed like the Mercenary Guild"s Branch Chief had called for them and wanted to hear their account regarding the betrayal of the mercenaries. Ray naturally didn"t have anything to do tomorrow. As for Ashley, she also didn"t have any particular business tomorrow. And so, it was decided that they were to be at the baron"s mansion tomorrow morning.
With dinner over, Ray returned to the room he was given. He sprawled down onto his bed and thought over everything that happened in the long day today.
So, it looks like I"ve really gone to a different world after all? If I were to open my eyes tomorrow morning and find myself snugly wrapped in my room"s futon . . . well, if that were to really happen then I guess it can"t be helped. At any rate, I was able to see the corpses of people who had been slaughtered for the first time. People I supposedly slaughtered . . . there"s no way this is a dream, considering how real those corpses looked . . . it really is fortunate that there were no meat dishes at the dinner today . . .
He also harbored doubts about how closely this world resembled the world he thought up for his novel.
This place is eerily similar to the world in Trinitas Mundus. Although there"s no doubt that this kind of situation is convenient for me, why did this happen in the first place? Despite remembering things like the setting of the world, I can"t for the life me recall the main story . . . even the name of the protagonist has faded clean from my memory. It"s as if my memories are being blocked by something . . .