The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! Volume 1

by Gamei Hitsuji

  “I see. Then if you have any needs, simply say so. As long as it is something that I can do, I will grant you all that I can, though it may be naught but a meager offering to you.”

  In order to make sure he was free to do as he wished, the king offered Suimei his support. However, Suimei shook his head in return.

  “I thank you for your consideration, but please do not mind me.”

  “Why is that? You are about to venture forth into unknown lands. Do you not require some kind of aid?”

  Suimei was a human from another world. He was unused to the culture and customs of this land. And he would be alone. It seemed he should require some sort of assistance, but...

  “That’s quite alright. From here, unable to endure living in the castle, I will selfishly run away. And there is no way you could show leniency after such a disgrace, much less reward that kind of behavior. Rather than myself, please think of your own reputation, Your Majesty.”

  “However...”

  “After the uproar that came up last time and my shutting myself in my room, the rumors have only gotten worse. If you were to support me at your own discretion, there would undoubtedly be those who would praise your kindness, but the vast majority of people would decry such an act. That would be quite the inconvenience to Your Majesty.”

  It was just as Suimei said. If he left the castle, taking into consideration his public appearance up until now, things would go precisely as he surmised. Rumors of him running away would spread. There was no doubt about that. And if it was discovered that the king was supporting him after that, public dissatisfaction would be high. Why would the king go so far out of his way to be so generous with an ingrate?

  “And... if I said that I would do so regardless?”

  “I am grateful for your consideration, but you are being repetitious.”

  “Hmm...”

  The king was at a loss for words at the sudden bit of upbraiding. Suimei was obstinate. He didn’t mind. And he was telling the king not to mind. It could be taken as groundless confidence, but he was showing the right kind of spirit to back such a claim up.

  Just what were those black eyes directed at the king really looking at? Something far beyond. His was the gaze of someone who was to challenge whatever difficulty lay on the path ahead of him. His personality was unexpected for a boy his age; it had far more gravity to it than his years would suggest. And then...

  “To live in the world, one will always find themselves coming across walls that impede progress. No matter how broad or tall they may be, those who easily overstep such obstacles are known as magicians. I, Yakagi Suimei, am one of them. I leap over the walls known as the mysteries of the universe. And so, Your Majesty, I will say it once more. Just the consideration you’ve shown me is more than enough; I will graciously accept only that much.”

  Suimei’s declaration was serious, confident, and left no room for argument. All he had was strength, but it was the strength of a boy who earnestly pushed to break through the deadlock known as impossibility.

  In the end, he really was something else. This young man was definitely the kind of person who shouldn’t have been dragged into the hero summoning. The king held his breath as he gazed at him, but Suimei then broke his stern expression and spoke in a self-deprecating tone.

  “...Though I put on airs like that, it’s really not something a man who refuses to face a fight out of fear for his own life should say, huh?”

  “That wouldn’t be limited to just you. Those who, frightened by the threat of the Demon Lord, have forced everything onto innocent children could also be accused of the same thing. And would include me.”

  Really, who had the right to say that Suimei’s boasting was excessive? Only two people came to mind: those who were actually heading off to take part in the Demon Lord’s subjugation themselves. Those who hid in safety and put their own lives before all else were in no position to criticize him. Suimei was throwing in his lot to strike out on his own and stand against all difficulties that would come his way.

  Just how much had those who were all too ready to hurl insults obstructed this young man who was pushing forward towards his unfinished goal? How much had they held him back? The king had no way of knowing, but it must have been a serious blow. The cry he had unleashed in this very room that day had wounded the king’s heart.

  And what the king felt for him now was sympathy as much as anything else. Even though they were far enough apart in age to be parent and child, it wasn’t like he didn’t understand. And as he steeped in that strange impression, Suimei pushed the conversation forward.

  “Is there anything else you would like to ask me?”

  “If you don’t mind, then...”

  Taking him up on his offer, the king fired off several more questions, and about far more than just magicians. About him, about Reiji, about Mizuki, and even about the trivial foolishness between the three friends.

  ★

  A spell had passed since the king and Suimei had begun talking. When the conversation came to a natural lull, Suimei suddenly changed the topic.

  “Would it be alright for me to ask something small as well?”

  “What’s the matter?”

  When the king asked that, Suimei turned his gaze to the side.

  “No, not Your Majesty.”

  “You mean... me?”

  “Yeah. I mean you. If I remember right, at the time, you told me that you had no intention of killing me, didn’t you?”

  Just when had they talked about that? The king wasn’t aware, but Felmenia seemed to know.

  “Y-Yes, and it’s true. I swear to Goddess Alshuna.”

  Since Felmenia was willing to swear on her goddess, Suimei didn’t bother asking again. He simply nodded to himself.

  “I got a little curious when you said that, you see. After that, I did a bit of digging around, but I wound up stumbling across something even more interesting.”

  “Something... interesting?”

  “Yeah. It isn’t unrelated to you either—actually, you’re more like a victim. How ’bout it? Wanna come with me and take a look?”

  With the smile of a villain who had just concocted some sinister trick, Suimei began explaining the matter that he had thoroughly investigated.

  Chapter 4: For That Which I Aspire to Be

  On this particular day, in a large corridor of Royal Castle Camellia, somebody was in a hurry.

  It was a man in a splendid robe—the court mage who had reported to Felmenia on Suimei’s movements. After an emergency gathering in the audience chamber, he was now on his way back to his private quarters. His lean figure that looked like it might snap if he moved the wrong way was hustling down the hall with nimble steps. It was as if he was anticipating something, or perhaps like he was feeling high from an irrepressible joy, and that spurred him on.

  “Hmm...?”

  As he walked along in high spirits, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He came to a stop in the middle of the corridor, and then as he focused...

  “...Reiji-sama, Mizuki. Now is our chance. Quickly.”

  The man heard a familiar young woman’s voice and shifted his attention to it. At the end of the training ground on the edge of the wall, he spotted the figure of Princess Titania beckoning the hero and his friend while keeping her eyes out on her surroundings in a furtive manner.

  It was quite suspicious for them to be in such a place without actually doing any training. While the man was wondering what was going on, Reiji arrived and stood before the princess.

  “I-Is this really alright, Tia? Isn’t it bad to just sneak out of the castle on our own...?”

  Reiji questioned Titania in an anxious tone. From the obvious way he was trying to stay low and out of sight, he hardly looked like the heroic figure who could challenge the captain of the guard and the court mages on an everyday basis.

  “It is alright, Reiji-sama. This would not be the first time that I have slipped out of th
e castle without informing anyone, after all.”

  “No, that’s not really what I mean. It’s just...”

  “It is alright. Please leave everything to me. I am certain you will be able to make some fun memories before departing. Though it is regrettable that Suimei-sama is not coming...”

  As Titania said that, she cast her eyes down in disappointment. It seemed that they were planning to sneak out and go somewhere. Ever since the hero and his friends were summoned from another world, they had been confined to the castle. Knowing they must have felt stifled, this was most likely some considerate arrangement of the princess’s. Just as the court mage was making that deduction, Mizuki noticed his presence and panicked a little.

  “T-Tia, that...”

  “What is the matter, Mizuki? You look flustered.”

  “Th-That... That...”

  Titania didn’t realize what she meant at first, but she saw the man when Mizuki pointed him out. Reiji looked up at the sky with an “oh crap” expression, and Titania’s gaze started to swim around erratically.

  “This is, um...”

  Having been found by someone from the castle, she was shaken and unsure of what to do. Normally he would remonstrate her for her actions, but—to reiterate—right now, this man was truly in good humor. And so...

  “Now then, I thought I heard something, but was I mistaken?”

  Averting his gaze from the three teenagers, the man wondered loudly to himself if he’d imagined the whole scene. He’d let them go this time, and played the fool for their benefit. The three of them didn’t seem to grasp what was going on for a moment, but Titania quickly figured it out and rose to that farce of a stage.

  “Th-That’s right. It’s just your imagination. There is nobody here in the training ground.”

  “That must be it. There’s no way I could be hearing the voices of Her Royal Highness and Hero-dono in the training grounds on a day with no scheduled training. It seems it’s just my imagination after all.”

  With that, he snuck a quick glance and could see Titania sighing in relief. The other two seemed pleased as well. From what he could tell, they were all quite shaken at being caught, and had managed to calm down with this turn of events.

  “Now then, let us go while we have the chance.”

  “Mm, you’re right. Let’s go, Reiji-kun.”

  “Thank you very much.”

  Reiji bowed his head to the man, and the three of them then made use of enhancement magic to leap off the wall surrounding the training grounds. The image of the princess and the hero’s antics as they departed was most unusual and quite amusing.

  “Heh heh... Oh dear, me of all people.”

  Recalling Titania in a complete fluster, the court mage leaked out a stifled laugh. Because something good had happened, he had lost focus and was unable to pin down his emotions.

  “Heh heh...”

  Still in high spirits, the man once more picked up his pace. A glorious court mage could not allow anybody to see them reveling in such a place. At the very least, he’d return to his private quarters before really celebrating.

  Before long, the man arrived at his room and entered, shutting the door soundly behind him. He’d been using the same private quarters in Castle Camelia ever since taking up a position here, and his room was nice, tidy, and well organized.

  “Now then...”

  However, for some reason, he could smell an aroma wafting through his quarters that he’d never noticed before. It was likely that after one of the maids cleaned up, she’d burned some new incense to freshen up the place. It even seemed to be quite high-quality incense.

  “She must have good taste...”

  Thanks to the efforts of some unknown person, the man’s good mood only improved further. When he had some time later, he was thinking of returning the favor with a gift. In any case, the pleasant aroma went a long way to stimulating his mood. Just from smelling it, his spirit soared to near euphoria. Yes, it was just as if his joy had multiplied several times over.

  “Heh... heh heh...”

  Urged on by the intoxicating scent, the man was no longer able to control the sensation welling up inside him. The moment he found himself by the window, that dam called self-control burst, and his joy came flooding out in a fit of laughter.

  “Heh... HUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Stingray, you stupid little girl, did you learn your lesson?! White Flame, my ass! Don’t get carried away just because a stupid girl like you is a little good with magic! This is all your fault for making a fool of me in front of the hero and the princess! HAHAHAHAHA!”

  Yes, the reason this man was in such high spirits was because the court mages had just gathered to discuss Felmenia’s dismissal. Previously, when he was about to take on the role of being the hero’s magic instructor, Felmenia had swooped in to steal the position and embarrass him. It was all petty and unjustified resentment on his part, but now that he’d gotten some good news in the way of revenge, he was unable to stop laughing. And as he ran out of oxygen from laughing too much, he paused to take in a deep breath and began talking to himself once more.

  “Hmph. However, that stupid little girl... I never would have guessed she’d be deceived so easily. There’s no way that cowardly friend of the hero’s would even think of bringing harm to His Majesty. But to think with such simple magic and a little cajolery, she would end up doing exactly what I’d hoped and harming that youngster... It just goes to show it was far too hasty to appoint such a stupid little girl with zero insight as a court mage.”

  Indeed, on the surface, everything was just as he said. It was a hasty appointment and Felmenia was simply too immature for the job. That was what the court mages had discussed in the audience chamber earlier.

  The king explained that after seeing Suimei take zero interest in joining the subjugation mission, Felmenia had gone to give him a little motivation, but took it too far and ended up injuring him. But from what the man knew of the real situation, Felmenia hadn’t gone to motivate him. No, she’d gone to assassinate a young man with no power at all because of the glamor magic and lies he’d used to trick her.

  However, this man was being quite talkative on the matter. It was as if he was being forced to speak all of his thoughts on the real situation out loud. He himself didn’t know why he’d grown so passionate in his monologue, but it didn’t faze him.

  “Heh heh... And it wasn’t just a reprimand, but a full dismissal from the court mages. I would have been fine with just teaching her a lesson, but the king was quite strict in his judgment. He’s favored that stupid little Stingray girl up until now, so his indignation at her betrayal must have been that much greater.”

  The man continued to rant to himself. He had doubts as to why he was doing it, but in comparison to the joy he was feeling, it was a trivial concern. Nothing else mattered right now.

  “At any rate, nothing could have been better than that face she made in the audience chamber! Such utter despair when His Majesty dismissed her in front of all the court mages was just—”

  “Was just what?”

  “Was just the greatest thrill!”

  “Hahaha, the greatest, you say? She really was getting a little too carried away, wasn’t she?”

  “That’s right! In fact, ‘a little’ is being generous! She was completely carried away! But now, even that... Wahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!”

  “My, you seem to be enjoying yourself.”

  “Obviously! If this isn’t enjoyable, then just what is it?! That impudent and stupid little girl of a Stingray who didn’t know her place was knocked down from her seat as a court mage! Do you get it now? This feeling of joy that I... Ah?”

  The man had been completely swept up in his joy. That was why, just like that, he was happy to continue the conversation like he was chatting with a friend. When he finally realized how strange it was that he was talking to someone, however, he stopped and turned around with a dumbfounded look on his face.

  When he did, he spied an unfam
iliar man wearing black clothes sitting on the couch in his office. This man crossed his legs, and with a sarcastic and derisive tone, asked him a question.

  “Hmm? Aren’t you gonna continue? You still have plenty you want to say, don’t you? Right?”

  He spoke in a quite casual fashion, first sounding like a small child looking forward to the sequel of a story, and then like a crafty villain who’d laid an inescapable trap. The latter proved itself to be more accurate. Before long, the sunlight pouring into the window dispelled the shadow that had obscured the man’s face.

  “Wh-Who the hell...?”

  “Come on, no need to be so modest, mage. Or should I say Court Mage Sebastian Kran?”

  Yes, the man who addressed him was none other than...

  “S-Suimei Yakagi...?”

  Sebastian Kran stammered his name as he pointed a shaky finger in his direction. Being so recognized, Suimei stood up and took a theatrical bow before him.

  “The very one. It’s a pleasure to meet you. This would be the first time that we’ve spoken face to face, no?”

  “Wh-Why are you...? Since when were you there...? No, how did you get in?”

  “It’s not that exciting. I just opened the door and walked in normally. As for when, it was just a little before you came in yourself, I think? Yeah, that’s about right.”

  As Suimei rattled off an awfully casual response, Sebastian recalled when he had entered the room himself.

  Indeed, he’d entered the room with light footsteps and was so entranced in his mood that he was only looking ahead. He hadn’t bothered to scan the room, but even so, that large couch definitely would have been in his line of sight. Yet no matter how many times he thought back on it, Sebastian didn’t recall seeing anyone there.

  “Ridiculous. When I entered the room, there wasn’t...”

  “Anyone there, you mean? I’m sure you thought that. I made it so that, in a sense, you couldn’t see me. Really, I cast a spell on this room itself. There was no way you’d notice me like that.”

  “Wha... A-A spell? It couldn’t be. A bastard like you can’t...”