Chapter 6

My current father gazes at me silently.

Blaze Lamproug.

The current head of the Lamproug family.

The Lamproug family, having been granted a noble title for their contributions to magic research, has produced many excellent magicians. Blaze, before inheriting the headship, was a frontline magic researcher and still frequently leaves home to visit various research institutions. He is also said to excel in magical combat and has been invited to become a court magician more than once.

However, I don’t really understand how impressive that is.

When I was a government official at the Yin-Yang Bureau in my previous life, I was a court magician, but my colleagues were often incompetent in divination and other skills.

“Hey Seika! What are you saying! What can you do here without any magic power!”

“It’s fine.”

“Eh, Father!?”

“However, you can only watch. If that’s acceptable, start preparing quickly.”

In front of the stunned Gurai, I smile.

“Thank you, Father. I’m already prepared.”

****

A little away from the mansion, there was a magic practice ground used by the Lamproug family.

It’s just a row of wooden stands with stone targets on them.

The Lamproug mansion itself is located at the foot of a small hill, a bit away from the town.

Gurai talks about eventually hunting monsters in the mountains to gain practical experience, but regardless, it’s true that here, making loud noises wouldn’t bother anyone.

“Luft, give it a try.”

“Yes, Father.”

The eldest brother, Luft, stands with a tense expression, holding his staff and pointing it at the stone target.

“Rising green! Spirits of the air, gather and turn your wrath into a blade!”

As he speaks, power flows into Luft’s staff.

“—Wind Razor!!”

The wind released from the staff strikes the stone target with a loud thud. Upon closer inspection, there are slight scratches on the surface of the stone.

“Stable. The power is also acceptable. You can now attempt to cast without incantation.”

“Y-Yes!”

Watching the delighted eldest brother, I think to myself.

Magic that directly manipulates matter. It’s indeed a very practical form of magic.

Starting with combat magic and assuming direct confrontation with an opponent is different from the magic in my previous life, where curses and divination were the main focus. It’s more akin to martial arts.

Somehow... it feels like a waste.

Another thing that caught my attention is that the incantations are in plain language.

The language itself doesn’t matter, so it’s not inherently wrong... but it feels embarrassing to hear. I wonder how they can be so calm about it.

“Next, Gurai, give it a try.”

“Yes!”

Gurai steps forward with enthusiasm, holding his staff in a casual manner.

“Burning red! Spirits of fire and sulfur, roar and turn your wrath into a fireball! —Fireball!!”

A bright red fireball is released from Gurai’s staff. It hits the stone with force and then scatters. The stone doesn’t burn, of course.

“How was that, Father!”

“Gurai, why didn’t you use wind magic like Luft?”

“W-Well...”

“You did well to learn a new magic, but it’s still rough. I told you to master one system first.”

“Yes...”

“Learn to strive like Luft. You have good potential. If you don’t slack off, you will eventually become a proficient magician in both wind and fire.”

“Yes! Father!”

Ignoring the unrepentant Gurai, I think to myself again.

Hmm...

Is he just burning pure magical power?

It’s inefficient and lacks physical power, and it’s hard to control the spread. Wouldn’t a fire arrow be better?

Well, it’s probably just that Gurai is bad at it. It must be more powerful in the hands of a skilled user.

“Hahaha... Right. Hey Seika! Why don’t you give it a try?”

Suddenly, the overconfident Gurai calls out to me.

“Hey, Gurai...”

“Standing there watching is boring, right? Since Father is watching, I’ll lend you my staff. Why don’t you show us something that looks like a Lamproug?”

Ignoring Luft’s attempt to stop him, Gurai walks over and thrusts his staff at me.

He’s trying to make a fool of me by showing that I can’t do it.

This guy really has a bad personality.

“...Alright. I’ll give it a try.”

Passing by the smirking Gurai, I stand in front of the target.

I don’t really want to show my curse right now.

Those who stand out are often targeted.

Therefore, in reality, the stronger one is, the more likely they are to die.

Even if you aim to be the strongest, you can’t escape this principle.

But the weak are always taken advantage of. That’s also a truth.

Being mocked is inconvenient. It’s a good idea to show at least some power here.

“...Huh, what are you doing, standing there so confidently? You don’t have any magic power.”

Ignoring Gurai’s taunt, I focus on my magical power.

Since I’m being watched, I can’t use mantras, seals, or talismans, but I should be able to manage.

I chant the mantra in my mind.

I form the seal in my consciousness.

I call upon fire and earth.

I utter the local name for the elements briefly.

“—Fireball”

《Fire and Earth—Ghost Fire Technique》

From the staff, or rather the space in front of it, a large fireball enveloped in blue-white flames is released.

The fireball hits the stone and explodes spectacularly.

The practice ground falls silent.

Everyone’s gaze is fixed on the stone, now reduced to half its size, and the white smoke and embers rising from it.

Oh no.

I overdid it.

“Was that... a fireball...?”

“No incantation... and that power... and the flames were blue...”

As my brothers murmur in shock, my face tightens.

My technique, based on the Yin-Yang Five Elements, involves manipulating the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, along with yin and yang, to freely call upon their energies.

The Ghost Fire technique, which I often used in my previous life, is a simple technique that involves igniting a lump of phosphorus with fire energy... but it seems I used too much phosphorus, and when the rock shattered, all the fragments ignited at once, causing an explosion. The quartz fragments I mixed in to maintain the shape of the core were shattered by the blast, further destroying the rock. I also forgot about the flame color reaction... if I had mixed in lime or salt, the color would have been more natural.

This is bad.

“Seika.”

My current father speaks calmly.

“Aim at the neighboring rock and try again.”

“...Yes, Father.”

Alright, I’ll try to control it this time.

“—Fireball”

Again, a large blue-white fireball is released—

With a loud noise, it destroys the target rock once more.

“Oh...?”

It’s a bit better than last time, but not much.

It seems the flow of magical power in this body is too good, making it hard to control the technique.

I need to fix this.

“Father... What’s going on? Seika has no magic power. He shouldn’t be able to use magic... Could it be that my strong magic power was left in the staff?”

Gurai asks his father, tilting his head.

No way, that’s not possible.

“There are examples of people using magic even without innate magic power. It’s also said that the quality of magic power can cause the flames to have distinctive colors.”

“Father.”

On a whim, I call out to my father.

“I want to learn magic like my brothers.”

There was a miscalculation, but this is a good opportunity. If they know I can use magic, they might teach me.

However, my father shakes his head.

“No.”

“...Why?”

“There are examples of people using magic without innate magic power, but there are no known cases of them becoming proficient magicians. It would be meaningless to learn.”

“...”

“Seika. Starting this year, you will have a private tutor like your brothers. Focus on that.”

“...Understood, Father.”

Father looks at the two brothers and says,

“Given this, the practice is over. We’ll arrange new targets. Until then, both of you should focus on your individual training.”

With the brothers’ responses, Father leaves. Luft follows him.

Gurai, on the other hand, snatches the staff from my hand as he leaves and spits out,

“Don’t get too cocky, you magic-less one.”

Then he follows his elder brother, leaving me alone.

It was a very productive time.

I learned about the magic in this world and my own challenges.

Having a private tutor is genuinely a good thing. My studies were limited to the books I could read.

The magic practice, well, it’s fine.

I can just watch the techniques being performed.

*Ghost Fire Technique

A technique that involves igniting easily flammable white phosphorus and firing it. The flame turns a pale blue due to the flame color reaction when phosphorus burns.