Chapter 8

The Kingdom of Largoferi.

Located at the northernmost part of the Zoisalite continent, it is one of the great nations.

It possesses the Great Ice Mountain Range, where many ice spirits gather within its territory, and the period when ice spirits congregate, the Twilight Festival—meaning winter—becomes especially severe.

The seasons in this world change due to the influence of the spirits' power. When the power of the fire spirits grows, it becomes the Sun Festival—summer; when the power of the earth spirits grows, it becomes the Harvest Festival—autumn; and when the power of the wind spirits grows, it becomes the Ocean Festival—spring.

In the Great Kingdom of Largoferi, the Twilight Festival is long, and the Sun Festival is short due to the influence of the ice spirits gathering in the Great Ice Mountain Range.

Additionally, between the Twilight Festival and the Sun Festival is the Ocean Festival, and between the Sun Festival and the Twilight Festival is the Harvest Festival, which, though shorter than the Sun Festival, still exists.

The Twilight Festival, meaning winter, occupies half of the year. However, due to the vast expanse of the kingdom, a large amount of crops can be grown during the remaining seasons, so it is rare for people to starve to death even in the coldest villages.

Moreover, due to the heavy snowfall in winter, water is abundant, and the production of alcohol using this water is also thriving. Various wines from Largoferi are renowned as fine wines across the Zoisalite continent.

Additionally, it is also known for its formidable knight orders and armies, with knights and soldiers diligently training every day.

──And so, Tatsuhiko received explanations from Giuseppe and Celsedonia about the country they were in and the lives of the common people there. However, what most piqued Tatsuhiko's interest was magic.

He had thought that magic might exist in this world since he was summoned, and indeed, it seems that magic does exist here, and those who can use it are generally called "mages."

Not only Celsedonia, but Giuseppe is also a mage.

"The number of mages is not at all large. It is said that among every hundred people, only one or two have the potential to be a mage."

Furthermore, each mage has a particular type of magic they excel at. There are six basic types of magic systems—sometimes called attributes.

These are Light, Darkness, Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind. There are also higher-level systems and derived systems, and the actual number of systems is unknown.

"I have five aptitude systems: Holy, Flame, Sea, Tree, and Thunder. My grandfather has the Holy and Sea aptitude systems."

"Huh? Five? ...Is that really amazing?"

"Aye. Though it's hard for me to say, Cels is indeed a genius. Most mages have one aptitude system, and at most, like me, two. But Cels has five. There have been only one or two mages in history who possessed this many aptitude systems."

Incidentally, Holy is an upper-level system of Light, Flame is an upper-level system of Fire, and Sea, Tree, and Thunder are upper-level derived attributes of Water, Earth, and Wind, respectively.

"To activate magic, it is always necessary to chant a spell. Therefore, even the most skilled mage cannot use magic if they cannot speak."

When a mage commits a crime, they are always gagged to prevent them from using magic.

When using magic, the mage consumes the magic power stored within their body. Therefore, the type and number of aptitude systems and the amount of internal magic power are important factors for mages.

It is possible to activate magic even in systems outside of one's aptitude, but without an aptitude system, the effect and range of the magic are significantly reduced.

Correct spell chanting and magic power. These two elements are necessary for magic to be activated.

"So, um... Could I... maybe have one of those aptitude systems?"

With his excitement unhidden, Tatsuhiko asked Celsedonia and Giuseppe.

Perhaps, as in novels, Tatsuhiko, who came from another world, might have the potential to be a powerful mage. Or maybe he has a strong bonus from being from another world.

Moreover, if there is such a supernatural technology as magic, he would like to use it himself.

With such expectations, Tatsuhiko asked, but the faces of Giuseppe and Celsedonia were not very encouraging.

"W-well... It's very difficult to say, but, m-m-my lord..."

"At this point, I'll be blunt... My lord, you cannot use magic. I cannot sense any magic power from you, let alone any aptitude systems."

In this world, most living things, except for some insects, have a small amount of magic power. However, only a few can become mages. Without a certain amount of magic power, it is impossible to activate magic.

However, Tatsuhiko, who came from another world, has no magic power at all.

Thinking about it, in Tatsuhiko's world, magic power does not exist—generally speaking—so it is not surprising that he does not have any.

Moreover, mages with a certain level of skill, like Celsedonia and Giuseppe, can sense the magic power of others quite accurately. They have not sensed any magic power from Tatsuhiko since they first met.

Being told that he has no magic power at all and cannot use magic, Tatsuhiko visibly became dejected.

"Don't be so down, my lord. Indeed, everyone in this world has magic power, but it is minimal. It's not enough to even activate the simplest of basic magic."

"That's right, my lord! If you need any magic, I will use it for you!"

Thus, the two tried to comfort Tatsuhiko. However, the greater the hope that he might be able to use magic, the greater the shock Tatsuhiko felt.

"As I mentioned earlier, to use magic, spell chanting is essential. Therefore, the magic we use is also called 'incantation magic.'"

Perhaps to distract Tatsuhiko from his gloomy mood, Celsedonia changed the direction of the explanation about magic.

"Originally, the term 'magic' referred to incantation magic, but in recent years—about ten years ago—people who use a new type of magic have appeared. Therefore, to distinguish it from their magic, it is now called incantation magic."

"New magic...?"

"Aye. It is magic that borrows the power of the spirits, which are willful magic forces existing all over this world, and is called spirit magic in contrast to incantation magic. It seems that a woman from a distant foreign land introduced it."

"Hmm? Could it be that the woman also came from another world—different from mine...?"

"I don't know that much. I've never met her. But according to rumors, she is an incredible beauty. I would like to meet her at least once before I go to the presence of the gods."

And Giuseppe laughed his usual "hohoho" laugh.

"Well, well, we've been talking for quite a while."

Giuseppe, who had brought the conversation to a close, looked out the window to see the sky dyed a crimson color.

"By the way, you mentioned that you have a place in mind for where you and my lord will live together. Has it already been decided?"

"No, I have asked a real estate agent to find a few vacant houses, and I plan to decide after looking at them with my lord."

"I see. Then, for today, my lord should stay at this temple. This temple is the headquarters of the Survive Sect on the Zoisalite continent, so there are several guest rooms for pilgrims and traveling priests from various places. Or—"

Giuseppe raised one eyebrow.

"Would you prefer to stay in Cels' room? If my lord prefers that, I don't mind."

"N-no, no, no, no, no! The guest room is fine! Please, the guest room!"

Tatsuhiko, blushing furiously, desperately requested to stay in the guest room. Celsedonia looked at him with a somewhat disappointed expression.

"Hohoho, it's a joke. Cels' room is in the dormitory where unmarried female priests live. Even I cannot put a male, my lord, in there."

Regardless of gender, only unmarried people live in the priests' dormitories.

The god Survive, who is also the guardian of marriage, recommends marriage even for priests.

While there are some who dedicate their purity to the god, most priests end up having a family. And those who have a family move out of the temple and build a house in the city. In other words, when a priest moves out of the temple and lives in the city, it silently indicates that they are about to get married.

After marriage, living in the temple would be inconvenient in many ways, especially in terms of having children. The god Survive is also the god of fertility and encourages having children.

Therefore, it is not unnatural for Celsedonia to build a house to live with Tatsuhiko. The issue is the fact that "The Holy Maiden is building a house," but Tatsuhiko is unaware of this.

The next day, around midday by Tatsuhiko's sense of time.

Celsedonia, who had completed all her duties as a priest, was walking through the streets of Levanthis with Tatsuhiko.

Their destination was the person who handles the buying and selling of houses and estates, which Tatsuhiko thought of as a real estate agent in this world.

The two walked through the city, closely side by side, looking very affectionate.

Celsedonia had a very happy expression, occasionally pointing out various things and explaining the city to Tatsuhiko.

In contrast, Tatsuhiko was distracted, his face flushed, and his gaze wandering. If he didn't do that, he would inevitably be aware of it.

The two soft things he felt on his right arm, where Celsedonia was currently clinging to him.

In this world, women's upper body undergarments exist, but unlike the bras in Tatsuhiko's world, they are simple pieces of soft cloth wrapped around. Therefore, these undergarments, which do not have the same level of protection as bras, transmit the softness of the breasts they contain directly to Tatsuhiko's arm.

Thus, Tatsuhiko was desperately trying to ignore the sensation.

"Is something wrong, my lord?"

Celsedonia looked at Tatsuhiko's awkward attitude with a curious expression.

"N-no, it's just... I've never walked so close to a woman before... It's a bit... difficult to walk..."

Indeed, walking arm in arm with a woman of the same age was a first for Tatsuhiko, but his awkwardness was not just because of that. However, it was impossible for him to tell Celsedonia, "It's because your chest is touching my arm." After all, it felt good this way.

Unaware of Tatsuhiko's inner struggle, Celsedonia smiled even more brightly.

"Oh, what are you saying? Didn't we often go out together like this before?"

"N-no, Chico was much smaller back then!! And we didn't walk arm in arm; you just rode on my shoulder or head!!"

While having this conversation, the two walked happily—seemingly so—to an onlooker.

At this moment, Tatsuhiko, distracted by the conversation with Celsedonia and the soft sensation on his arm, did not notice the gazes of the city's residents directed at the two of them.

Celsedonia, known by the nickname "The Holy Maiden," is so famous in the city of Levanthis that there is no resident who has not heard her name.

The sight of her, a woman of the same age, walking arm in arm with a man and looking very happy, could not fail to attract the attention of the city's residents.

The people of the city were surprised to see Celsedonia's happy expression and then even more surprised to see the man walking with her.

A man with black hair, black eyes, and a light amber complexion, wearing clothes they had never seen before.

The hair color of the people living in this country is mostly light brown to reddish, and Celsedonia's platinum blonde hair is relatively rare. The skin color is mostly white.

In such a context, Tatsuhiko's appearance would have been noticeable even if he were walking alone.

Now, Tatsuhiko was walking arm in arm with the famous "Holy Maiden." The people of the city, surprised by this unusual pairing, watched the two with great interest as they passed by.

While this was happening, they seemed to have arrived at their destination, a real estate agent in this world, and Celsedonia stopped in front of a building.

"Is this it?"

"Yes, this is the residence of the person who handles houses and estates."

In front of Tatsuhiko was a large stone mansion.

On the way here, most of the buildings in the city were made of stone, mostly constructed with reddish-brown bricks. Therefore, the city was filled with a red hue.

However, the mansion in front of him was made of white stone, apparently cut from a quarry. The type of stone was unknown, but it was likely that only the wealthy could live in such a mansion.

Looking around, Tatsuhiko noticed that many of the surrounding mansions were similar white stone buildings. Thus, he speculated that they were in a high-end residential area.

"But it's just a regular mansion, isn't it?"

Looking up at the mansion again, Tatsuhiko muttered to himself.

But upon further thought, houses and mansions are not items that can be displayed in a store. Therefore, there was no need to have a storefront.

While Tatsuhiko was thinking about this, Celsedonia had approached the front door of the mansion and was calling out with her clear, bell-like voice.

"Excuse me, I am Celsedonia Chrysoberyl from the Survive Temple. Is the owner at home?"

After a while, the front door opened with a bang, and a middle-aged man rushed out.

He had a shiny bald spot in the middle of his head and a prominent belly. Despite this, he was shorter than both Tatsuhiko and Celsedonia.

His attire was more luxurious than the clothes of the people Tatsuhiko had seen on the way here, indicating that he was quite wealthy, as one would expect from the mansion.

"O-Oh, The Holy Maiden! I have been waiting for you! I am truly honored that you have come to me on this occasion!"

The man, who seemed to be the owner of the mansion, greeted Celsedonia with a greasy smile, rubbing his hands together.