Raising Villains the Right Way

It had been a few weeks since Alon heard the story from Kylrus.

“Hmm~ I think we’ve more or less got it sorted now.”

“Right, this seems to be the limit.”

After systematizing the True Mage’s magic with Penia, it wasn’t perfect, but they had managed to organize it to some extent.

“Yeah. Still, I think we did it pretty fast considering it’s been less than two months. Well~ it’s thanks to Mr. Sparrow’s help too.”

As Penia spoke while looking at the red gem in Alon’s hand, Sparrow replied in a proud voice.

[Glad to hear I was of help.]

Watching Sparrow shrug his shoulders, Alon thought to himself.

Though they called it systematizing, to be honest—

All Alon and Penia had done over the past few weeks was to compile the phrases and seals usable by True Mages.

Some might think, ‘Did it really take that long just to do that?’

The reason Penia said they had finished quickly was none other than the amount.

“Sparrow.”

[What is it?]

“Are these really all the phrases that a True Mage is supposed to learn?”

[Yes, you could say they’re the very basics.]

“......”

Alon looked at the compiled book.

A book thicker than any heavy textbook.

………This was exactly why Penia had said she’d sorted the phrases quickly.

“Wow, I didn’t expect it to be this much.”

Penia marveled as she flipped through the phrases she had organized.

But Sparrow immediately added,

[This isn’t even that much.]

“Is that so?”

[Yes, most True Mages learn all of these basic phrases to begin with.]

“Just in case, let me ask—after learning all these, do you actually get to use them?”

Sparrow answered without hesitation.

[Of course.]

“......All of these?”

[Sure, there will be some you won’t end up using. In the end, once a True Mage fully inherits an Imprint, they settle on the phrases they use most.]

“Then doesn’t that mean you don’t really have to memorize them all?”

[What kind of nonsense is that?]

“......Is it?”

When Alon asked again, Sparrow let out a sigh.

[I think I’ve said this before, but fundamentally, True Mages are researchers, and at the same time, they receive an honorable duty from their predecessors who passed down the Imprint.]

“A duty?”

[Yes, to further develop the Imprint. That’s the duty and honor all True Mages who receive an Imprint must carry. And to do that, essential knowledge about magic must serve as the foundation.]

Sparrow continued.

[I told you before, but a True Mage’s foundation is divided into four parts. First is phrases. Once you memorize them, then come seals. Once you memorize those, you move on to Order. And after that, you enter the realm of Self-Realization.]

“Do the spell techniques come after that?”

[No, strictly speaking, spell techniques are both the beginning and the end. Every True Mage receives the spell techniques the moment they inherit an Imprint. Of course, even if you inherit them, it takes a long time to actually use them.]

He added that even among those who ascend a step through the Imprint, many never end up using spell techniques to the end.

[In any case, the conclusion is—knowledge is an indispensable part of developing an Imprint.]

“Then what about someone like me? How am I supposed to grow?”

[You?]

“Yeah. I can use spell techniques, but I don’t know any phrases or Order.”

[Then you’ll have to create your own Order.]

“I’ve already learned the spell techniques, though. Do I really need to?”

Sparrow responded without delay to Alon’s question.

[Of course you do. You seem to be misunderstanding something. Let me put it this way—it might be hard for you to understand otherwise. Give me a second.]

Like a teacher trying to explain something to a student, Sparrow pondered seriously, then suddenly exclaimed.

[To put it simply, a spell technique is like an awakened state.]

“Awakened state?”

[Yes. For example, the Thunder God type you’re using does originally have that effect. But when you’re using it in a spell technique state, its effect becomes completely different.]

“......Completely different?”

[Unfortunately, I don’t have a body right now so I can’t show you, but… yeah, ask Kylrus to show you. You’ll definitely feel the difference. Well, since it’s his spell technique, it’ll be different again, but still—]

Sparrow cleared his throat.

[Even if you can use spell techniques, it’s not the end—it’s only the beginning. You’ve just obtained a foothold to further develop your Imprint and eventually reach the ‘end.’ Although before that, you’ll need to reach the phase of ‘Realization.’]

“Realization?”

[That’s not something you need to worry about yet.]

At those words, Alon nodded.

Even if he didn’t yet know how to develop magic further, he now understood why he had to study magical theory.

As she listened to the conversation, Penia suddenly chimed in.

“By the way, I just got curious while listening—can I ask something?”

[What is it?]

“You said something about reaching a foothold toward the end—what exactly is that end?”

A question born of pure curiosity.

Sparrow paused in silence before answering.

[Unfortunately, I can’t explain the ‘end’ in detail either.

Because I’ve heard that the only True Mage to ever reach it was Primordial Mage.]

“I see.”

[Of course, we know what it is. Or rather, there’s no True Mage who doesn’t know. The ultimate goal for True Mages is to reach the end.]

“What is it?”

Alon grew curious as well.

After a moment of hesitation, Sparrow bluntly said,

[To become a god.]

“…A god?”

[Yes.]

That answer raised another question in Alon’s mind.

“Why would that be the goal? As far as I know, gods—”

[I know. Every True Mage’s Imprint begins from the birth of a god. But the ‘god’ we’re talking about here is not ‘that’ kind of god.]

“Then what kind?”

[A true god.]

“A true…?”

[Yes, all True Mages continue their pursuit with that as their goal. But as I said, we don’t really know what being a ‘true god’ even means. At best—]

After a short pause, Sparrow added an explanation.

[They say it’s like ‘the one who has ascended.’]

“……That sounds like nonsense.”

[What’s that supposed to mean?]

“It just means there is such a thing.”

“Hmm—sounds quite profound.”

Penia mumbled, lost in thought beside him.

Alon, who had been staring down at the thick book, said,

“Anyway, the fact that I need to learn this still stands.”

[Of course.]

He soon steeled his resolve.

After spending a short break, Alon remembered his upcoming appointment with Magrina and began preparing to leave.

“Is it time to get moving?”

“Yeah.”

Penia asked as Evan, who had just entered the office, spoke.

“Oh, you said you’re heading to the East this time, right?”

“Yeah, though I’ll have to check if I can actually get there.”

“Can I come along as well?”

“I was going to ask you to join me anyway.”

He didn’t want to interrupt his training with Kylrus.

At that, Penia smiled mischievously and stepped closer.

“So the Marquis does need me after all.”

“Well, you’ve been a great help in many ways.”

“In that case, would it be too much to ask for one more artifact for research?”

So that was her real goal… he thought briefly.

When Alon nodded, Penia squealed like a dolphin and vanished.

“Anyway, let’s start getting ready.”

“Understood. By the way, does that mean you’re not stopping by Raksas? Didn’t you say before you needed to talk to Radan about boarding a ship?”

“I did… but now that I think about it, Raksas and the East are quite far apart.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Nodding, Evan placed a neatly wrapped package on the desk.

“What’s this?”

“A gift… sent by Baron Christo, apparently.”

“Baron Christo?”

“A noble affiliated with Kalpha.”

At Evan’s words, Alon stared at the gift for a moment, then looked toward the corner of the office.

A space that should have been empty was now filled with presents.

[Kyuu—]

[Zzz—]

On top of the pile of gifts, Blackie and Basiliora lay napping lazily under the sunlight.

Watching the two, Alon called out to Evan.

“Evan.”

“Yes?”

“Haven’t the gifts been piling up lately?”

“I’ve been noticing that too.”

“……Is it some kind of special day?”

“A birthday… it’s not your birthday yet. That’s still some time away.”

No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t recall any specific day it might be.

Moreover—

‘If it were some special occasion, there’d probably be letters, but there aren’t any.’

A situation where gifts kept arriving with no letters.

He briefly felt something was off.

“Well, I’ll look into it. I haven’t been to the information guild recently anyway.”

“……Isn’t it a bit weird to ask the information guild about this kind of thing?”

“It is, but… we’ve got to check somewhere.”

After that decision, he departed for Greynifra the next day.

***

Hidan, unusually, used his head.

What this means is that, quite simply, ever since the rumor spread, he hadn’t gone to see Yutia and instead focused on gathering information.

Of course, most of the information Hidan collected wasn’t very useful.

He knew that too.

Even so, the reason he made that choice was simple: he was scared.

The moment he personally delivered the rumor, he had no idea how Yutia would react.

So he deliberately delayed things.

He had hoped she would hear the news from someone else, not from him.

Unfortunately, however, that hope was betrayed.

“You’ve been away for quite some time.”

“I had some things to take care of.”

Yutia, it seemed, had been busy the past two months and had no idea about the rumors.

Hidan was left with no choice but to deliver the news himself.

And—

“There’s a rumor going around… that the Great Moon is to become the Elf Queen’s consort…”

“Hmm…”

As Hidan carefully began to speak, “That so.”

“?”

He was bewildered by Yutia’s unexpectedly calm response.

“?”

He thought of the fear that had plagued him for the past two months.

“So that kind of rumor was spreading, huh.”

Hidan gave a hesitant nod.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, it’s just a rumor. No need to pay it any mind.”

Yutia continued to speak with a smile.

Hidan breathed a sigh of relief but also blamed himself.

‘Right, there’s no way Lady Red Moon would be shaken by such nonsense.’

His tension melted away in an instant.

He felt foolish for having worried so much.

A smile naturally formed on his lips.

Then, as he took a sip of water from a silver cup on the desk and saw Yutia pick up a pen to write something—

Crunch—

—Was he seeing this right?

“Oh dear, the pen bent. And the paper too—”

Yutia looked down at the warped pen tip with mild regret.

She pulled out a new pen and paper from the side of the desk and tried to write—

Crunch~!

—But she couldn’t.

“The pen… is a bit weak.”

Yutia muttered quietly.

At that moment, Hidan realized two things.

One, there wasn’t a hint of emotion in Yutia’s voice.

The other—

The silver cup she had just lifted, was now so dented it could hardly be used as a cup.

And the moment he realized that—

“Really, I wonder who started such a rumor.”

“Truly.”

Yutia’s voice rang out like a sheet of ice.

Hidan tightly shut his eyes.