Infinite as the Stars
At night, the Twilight Manor is like a tranquil pavilion in the sky, quietly exuding its presence under the moonlight.
After leaving Finn's office, Leo and Ais walked together in the sky corridor leading to the other towers, their footsteps rising and falling rhythmically.
Neither of them spoke; one looked ahead, the other kept his head down.
Soon, a corner appeared before them, causing them to stop simultaneously.
"I'll be going now." Leo stood in the direction leading to the boys' dormitory and said to Ais, who had her head down, "Remember to get some rest tonight."
Ais nodded slightly in response.
Seeing this, Leo was about to leave when Ais finally couldn't help but speak up.
"Would you...?"
Do you think I'm a strange person?
Ais wanted to ask that question, but she couldn't bring herself to say it, which made her look unusually timid.
Her appearance was nothing like that of the cold and powerful [Sword Princess]; she looked more like an ordinary little girl.
Perhaps this is Ais's truest self; who knows?
Leo looked at Ais, who was unable to speak, and laughed.
He reached out and gently patted Ais's head, saying something.
"Don't overthink it," Leo said with a smile in his eyes. "You are you, Ais Wallenstein, not some weirdo."
"Isn't she just the daughter of a great hero and Great Fairy from a thousand years ago?"
"This is absolutely not some shameful identity. In fact, everyone who knows your true identity should treat you with utmost respect. That would be perfectly reasonable, understand?"
Both the great hero Albert and the Great Fairy Aria are renowned figures in history.
As their daughter, Ais's status should have been noble, probably no less than that of Princess, or even more special.
In Leo's view, feeling inferior because of this identity and worrying about being seen as an abnormal being is itself a strange thing.
Therefore, Ais's worries and anxieties were completely unnecessary.
"Really, doesn't that seem strange?"
Ais raised her eyes, looked at Leo who had a smile in his eyes, and asked in a low voice.
"No, it won't."
Leo's voice was soft, but the strength and determination within it were clear to everyone.
This eased Ais's worries and anxieties somewhat.
"----Thanks."
The girl responded softly, and that rare timidity finally disappeared.
"Go back and get some rest," Leo said. "There's probably still a lot for us to do."
Ais knew what Leo meant, took a deep breath, and nodded heavily.
The two parted ways and headed in the direction of their respective dormitories.
Leo walked along, thinking to himself.
The seed has been planted; now we just have to wait for it to sprout.
With this thought in mind, Leo returned to his room.
--
The next day----
Leo had just gotten up and left his room when he encountered Raul, who had come looking for him.
"A guild member came to see you and Miss Ais, saying they have something to give you."
Raul revealed his purpose, leaving Leo stunned.
"Guild?"
Immediately afterward, as if remembering something, Leo thanked Raul and then arrived at the reception room one after the other with Ais, where they met the guild staff.
The other party handed a key to the two of them, saying that he was instructed by his superiors to bring it over and to pass on a message to them.
"This is the agreed-upon payment."
Upon hearing this, not only Leo but also Ais realized who had given it to them.
It was the man in black, or rather, the [Sage] Fels, who had entrusted the two of them to go to the 24th Floor of the Dungeon yesterday to resolve the unusual situation that had occurred there.
Clearly, the other party had learned everything that happened in the 24th Floor granary from the Hermes Familia and had fulfilled their previous promise by preparing a reward for them.
Leo had been looking forward to this for a long time, so he immediately pulled Ais along and they headed to the Earth Spirit's rent vault together.
This key is the key to the Earth Spirit's rent vault.
In the eastern district of Orario, Earth Spirit have set up a facility called "Safe Deposit Box." The main purpose of the facility is to provide a safe deposit box for people to keep their money safe; in other words, it's like a bank.
The universal currency in this world is, after all, gold coins. Ten thousand Valis can fill an entire money bag. If a person's personal assets exceed one million, then if they don't have a gold vault to store them, they'll have to drag around a large sack full of gold coins every day.
Therefore, the Earth Spirit's vault rental service is very popular, and many people have done business here and rented vaults.
The key that Fels gave to Leo and Ais could be used to open a small vault.
However, when Leo and Ais opened it, the small vault was filled with glittering precious gems, gold and silver jewelry, rare and artistically crafted items, and even several Grimoire —it was truly a treasure trove.
The dazzling array of goods stunned Ais, the city's strongest female swordsman, and even Leo was taken aback, unable to contain his excitement.
"This [sage] is a good person to deal with----"
This was the only thought in Leo's mind at that moment.
Although his request was treacherous and dangerous—if it weren't for him and Ais, the other Hermes Familia that accepted his request might have been completely wiped out in this incident—perhaps that's why Fels' reward was extremely generous, enough for a large Familia to have a good time.
This must have been an unprecedentedly large order for the Hermes Familia, who were used to handling business in various industries.
It was a bit dangerous, but with such a generous reward, I believe the other party would feel it was worth it.
So, after taking stock of the contents of the vault and calculating how much money they could get, Leo and Ais decided what to do with the money.
Ais decided to give all the money to the Familia who were preparing for the expedition. After all, the Familia's funds had run into trouble after the last accident and were almost depleted. Familia's main weapons, such as Tiona's, were still in debt.
Since she herself is not particularly short of money, it would be best to entrust this money to her family to manage.
Leo also plans to give most of his money to the Familia. The Familia has always taken care of him, and most of his equipment comes from the Familia, or rather, from the personal sponsorship of Loki, the Familia's Chief God. Now that he has money, he should naturally lend a helping hand when the Familia encounters difficulties.
However, considering that he would need to pay for the special weapons later, Leo did not hand over all the money like Ais did, but kept some for himself.
He didn't keep much, probably worth around two or three hundred million Valis, which, combined with his original savings, should be enough to pay for the upcoming special weapons.
In addition, Leo also left behind the Grimoire in the vault.
Whether his Third Magic will appear depends on these Grimoire.
Twilight Manor, Library----
In the quiet study, Leo sat in his usual spot.
Before him, on the desk, a Grimoire had been slowly opened.
This Grimoire is clearly the work of the [Sage] himself, and its contents are completely different from the Grimoire that Leo used last time, which came from a magical superpower.
The first chapter of the Grimoire that Leo used last time explained what magic is and some basic knowledge related to magic.
This time, the opening of the Grimoire created by the [Sage] himself discusses the classification and concepts of magic, as well as what they depend on, which adventurers discovered through Blessing of the Gods.
"The magic discovered by adventurers through Blessing of the Gods differs from magic in the traditional sense. Because it is influenced by unstable factors such as the individual's interests, nature, will, desires, and past experiences, its effects are incredibly diverse. Compared to magic in the traditional sense, it is undoubtedly more special, strange, and even unorthodox."
This is a summary made by the [Sage] himself, or perhaps it is a subconscious guidance he provides to those who read the Grimoire.
--
Leo is no longer a magic novice. Under the tutelage of Riveria Ljos Alf, the city's strongest Mage, although he can't be considered a master of magic yet, he already has a sufficient understanding and comprehension of magic.
Therefore, Leo could tell from the words of the [Sage] that he wanted to use this subconscious guidance to help those who read the Grimoire understand their own nature more deeply, and thus discover the magic most suitable for them.
If the Grimoire Leo used last time was just a mass-produced product with only the most basic functions, then this Grimoire is a masterpiece carefully crafted by the author, and the maker's dedication is clearly evident.
"This should increase the probability of the user learning new magic, right?"
Leo couldn't help but marvel, thinking to himself that as expected of a magic master who had lived for eight hundred years, the quality of the Grimoire he personally made was far superior to that of ordinary Grimoire.
However, as a Grimoire, its purpose remains to help others learn new magic.
Therefore, even within the pages of this Grimoire personally crafted by Fels, there are still those unusual, tiny characters.
Like a string of complex and strange symbols, tiny characters pulled Leo into a wondrous mental world, just as they had done before, leaving him somewhat dazed.
Under these circumstances, the contents of the book in front of Leo changed as before, gradually forming a mirror image of Leo's face, woven and outlined in completely black ink.
His three-dimensional face, with nothing above his forehead, simply stared at Leo with his eyes open.
"Ask if you need something, get answers if you need something, and observe closely if you desire something. A clear mirror that cannot tolerate hypocrisy and ugliness is already here."
These words, seemingly echoing in my heart, were exactly the same as last time.
What happened next was also the same.
What is magic to me?
What is magic to me?
What is magic to me?
What do I, "I," need from magic?
The four questions in a row were all interrogating Leo's heart, dissecting his essence, and exploring the potential hidden within him. They wanted to uncover as much as possible his interests, nature, will, wishes, and past experiences, transforming them into new power, into magic, and into Leo's new strength.
Whether it was due to Fels's opening guidance or because the situation was different this time, Leo's response was also different.
He thought of Riveria Ljos Alf, and he also thought of Lefiya Viridis.
Both of them are Mage have mastered all three types of magic, but their magic is so unique that they can use far more than three spells.
Riveria Ljos Alf's three major spells all possess a unique characteristic—"Chant Connection."
This is a magical characteristic that only a royal princess can possess. Its effect is to divide magic into three stages, changing the magic's effect and even its attributes depending on the amount of incantation required.
For example, Riveria Ljos Alf's First Magic is a wide-area annihilation spell with an extremely long incantation, but she could easily divide the incantation of this spell into three parts.
When only one verse is chanted, Riveria Ljos Alf casts a short, chant-based Ice Attribute magic spell – [Ecstasy: Fimbulwinter].
With only two verses chanted, Riveria Ljos Alf unleashed a long-chanted fire magic spell – [High-level Sword of Victory].
If Riveria Ljos Alf chants all three sections, she will unleash the most powerful spell of the extremely long chant type - [Weis Windheim].
This is why Riveria Ljos Alf is called [Nine Magic Princess].
Her three spells have offensive, defensive, and healing functions, but she can use the "Chant Connection" feature to flexibly use the different effects of each spell, treating one spell as three, so that she can use a total of nine spells.
Lefiya Viridis is even more monstrous. Her Third Magic, [Elf Ring], is a summoning magic, and it summons magic learned by her own kind. As long as it is a magic learned by an elf, she can use it through this magic.
In other words, Lefiya Viridis can use Riveria Ljos Alf's nine spells through the [Elf Ring]. As long as the user is an elf and Lefiya Viridis knows the activation conditions and incantation, she can also use other people's spells.
She is limited to any race, but not any number of spells, which is why she earned the title of "Thousand Elf," meaning that as long as the conditions are met, she can use even a thousand different spells.
In addition to her exceptional magical firepower, Lefiya Viridis was chosen as Riveria Ljos Alf's successor even though she was only at level 3.
So----
What about me?
Thinking of those two, Leo couldn't help but think this.
"And can I master more than three types of magic?"
Based on this idea, Leo gave a completely different answer than before.
1. What is magic?
"Universal and diverse, that is magic."
"What is magic?"
"Magic is miracles without limits."
1. What kind of thing is magic?
"It is something with Infinity possibilities, like the stars in the sky."
"What do you desire from magic?"
"It can help me overcome any difficulty and despair."
And so, new possibilities quietly began to emerge.
A new power was born.