Love Letter From The Future
Chapter 430: Proof of Existence (18)

Chapter 430: Proof of Existence (18)

0% Mages study the hidden laws of the world.

According to myth, long ago, Arus was born with light—and as light emerged, so did darkness—bearing the name Omeros. From that moment on, the primordial order began to take shape.

Light and darkness are inextricably bound. Where there is light, there will inevitably be shadows. And just as light gives birth to fire, darkness, in turn, begets water.

Thus, in places brimming with heat and light, water disappears; while in dark, cold regions, fire naturally vanishes. These laws were woven together in a precise and intricate balance.

The only being fully aware of these secrets was the Heavenly God Arus.

The reason he symbolizes reason and wisdom lies here. For omniscience was the only path to omnipotence.

However, wisdom was not solely reserved for the divine.

When Omeros crafted the bodies of all living beings, Arus scattered fragments of his secret wisdom among them. Among these beings, some were especially favored by the god.

Those beings were dragons, who soon began their own search for truth. When thousands of years passed and the dragons faded from the world, it was humanity who inherited the fragments of those hidden truths.

And thus, magic was born.

Given such a background, the mages’ thirst for knowledge was terrifying. All unexplained phenomena became their subjects of research, and they frequently resorted to any means necessary to unravel the mysteries before them.

This was why common folk both revered and feared mages.

They were indeed scholars who knew everything, but on the other hand, everyone was equally aware that these people were monsters who could abandon morality at a whim for the sake of knowledge.

But sometimes, one must willingly step into a monster’s jaws.

Especially when it came to matters of magic, consulting a mage was the only way forward. After hearing my lengthy speech, Senior Elsie wore an incredulous look, while the Imperial Princess on the other side of the crystal ball was clearly flustered.

“Dear Master... Surely you don’t suspect me, right?”

“I-I second that! Sir Ian, I’m a thoroughly virtuous mage! Have you ever heard of a pet biting its owner? I can assure you, there’s no mage further removed from conspiracy than I am!”

Wait, the whole concept of a ‘pet’ is unfamiliar to me in the first place.

The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but for now, I figured it was more important to clear up the misunderstanding.

“No, no. I’m not accusing Senior Elsie or Her Highness at all. Just that... some mage out there might be. It’s a possibility, that’s all.”

For example—a mage who, in pursuit of forbidden knowledge, might have joined hands with the Dark Order.

The hypothesis was disturbingly plausible, and for a brief moment, Senior Elsie’s expression stiffened. It was common knowledge that even mages didn’t fully trust their own kind.

A moment passed before Senior Elsie, hesitating, finally muttered softly,

“Well, it’s certainly possible, but...”

“Then what could they have possibly gained in exchange?”

Unlike Senior Elsie, who was still making an effort to defend the honor of her peers, the princess’s deductions were utterly unrestrained. In fact, her pale gray eyes were now even sparkling with curiosity.

“Perhaps a new magical framework thought to be lost long ago? Or forbidden knowledge mankind was never meant to touch? Ah—maybe even a comprehensive study on the dark elemental reactions we’ve only ever heard about in rumors...”

“Your Highness, please stop there.”

Senior Elsie reprimanded her flatly. Only then did the princess flinch and begin to fret nervously.

From the way she started glancing nervously in my direction, she clearly knew she’d said something dangerous. If only her awareness had kicked in a bit earlier.

I let out a sigh and tried to salvage the moment by praising Senior Elsie.

“As expected, the only one I can truly rely on is Senior Elsie—”

“Dark-elemental reactions are pure speculation. They’ve been studied for millennia, and no one’s ever managed to put together a coherent theory. If anything, I’d be more inclined to believe it if they’d gotten help researching the light-to-lightning element transition.”

And just like that, Senior Elsie had no trouble betraying my expectations.

That was when it hit me—there wasn’t a single mage in this world worth trusting.

Still, weren’t we supposed to be a party tasked with saving humanity from Delphirem? And yet here we were—speculating about what someone might receive in return for cooperating with the Dark Order.

It was enough to make my head spin.

Not that it mattered—both of them were already too absorbed in their own heated debate.

“B-But that’s not fair! There’s no solid proof that the dark elemental reaction doesn’t exist! If we deny the very existence of dark elements, far too many things stop making sense!”

“Maybe when you look at it all together, it seems that way—but if you break it down, each piece can be explained within the framework of existing theories. The existence of dark-elements itself is questionable. Frankly, it makes more sense to define darkness as merely the absence of the light element.”

“Are you seriously insulting our Delos School right now?!”

As time passed, their argument only grew fiercer. To me, it was just pointless bickering, but Senior Elsie and the princess seemed more serious than ever.

The princess, in particular, had grown so worked up she was nearly shouting. She even stumbled over her last few words—likely from being too riled up.

On the other hand, Senior Elsie wore a nasty grin. While she tried to seem composed, the trembling corners of her lips betrayed her agitation.

“Insult? I’d appreciate it if you’d stop twisting objective facts. Then again, I suppose expecting any sort of theoretical breakthrough from an outdated group like the Delos school would be asking too much.”

“Excuse me—are you done running your mouth?! The Delos school is a mainstream academic body officially recognized by the Imperial Court—!”

“Alright, that’s enough.”

The atmosphere was growing overheated, and I had no choice but to step in and calm the princess. Even then, she kept fuming, visibly struggling to contain her anger—it had been quite a while since I’d seen her like that.

It reminded me of the very first time we met.

Where did that clever and cunning girl disappear to? I felt the pressing need to return to the main topic.

“Everyone, calm down. Let’s return to the matter at hand. Is there magic capable of instantly subduing a skilled knight? The victim also reported seeing a sudden ‘flash’ right before passing out.”

The new topic was enough to quiet the mages momentarily.

After all, solving mysteries was practically a sacred duty for those who called themselves seekers of truth. And just like that, a fresh debate began to unfold.

“If a knight was taken down instantly, how close was the caster?”

“Even at close range, subduing a knight outright would be difficult. It must’ve been an instant-cast spell—something that doesn’t even require a chant.”

“But instant-cast spells have limited power. Can one really take down a skilled knight in a single shot?”

“If the mage was vastly superior to the knight in skill, then perhaps. But then, even without bringing ‘magic’ into the equation, the possibility still stands.”

Eventually, the conclusion slipped from my lips.

“So in the end, it comes down to the type of magic. What sort of spell would produce a ‘flash’ right before your eyes?”

“It’s hard to say without testing.”

It was a clear yet annoyingly obvious answer.

Then again, there was no way the caster could’ve known what the victim experienced. Especially something as vague as a ‘flash’—hardly a notable detail.

In that case, there was only one solution left.

“......Looks like we’ll have to test it out ourselves.”

At my reluctant suggestion, silence settled over the room. Running an experiment wouldn’t be difficult—but finding a test subject was another matter.

After all, there aren’t many people who’d willingly volunteer to experience being blinded by a sudden flash and then knocked unconscious. I certainly wasn’t one of them, and I couldn’t quite bring myself to volunteer.

Senior Elsie seemed to read my hesitation perfectly. Then with a sweet knowing smile, the girl smoothly suggested an alternative.

“Should I go fetch a few orphans?”

“Is there something wrong with your sense of ethics?”

I stared at her in disbelief, but before I could say more, the princess chimed in with her own suggestion.

“Then... how about Dame Irene?”

At that point, I couldn’t hold out any longer. In the end, I raised my hands and gave in.

“Alright, alright. I’ll do it.”

Senior Elsie and the princess tilted their heads simultaneously, seemingly confused about why I’d suddenly stepped up.

They weren’t the kind of people who could be reasoned with anyway. So, I simply turned to the hesitant Senior Elsie and urged her on.

“Just adjust the power so it only knocks me out. This is your specialty, after all, isn’t it, Senior Elsie?”

To be exact, it was a technique she’d perfected while tormenting students at the academy. Senior Elsie didn’t seem inclined to deny it either.

Her hesitation stemmed from an entirely different concern.

“But still, how could I possibly harm Master...?”

“I’m asking you to.”

Faced with my firm insistence, Senior Elsie let out a resigned groan. Avoiding my eyes, a charge began to gather at the tip of her index finger.

“...Don’t blame me afterwards, okay?”

Thus began an endless cycle of suffering.

First spell—electric shock.

A sensation akin to needles violently stabbing through my veins crawled over me, and before I knew it, I fell unconscious.

It was a shock that bleached my vision white.

Then came the second spell—torrent of light.

As the charge surged up from the floor, my muscles spasmed uncontrollably. And the moment I hit the ground face-first, everything went blank.

It was a pain that bleached my vision in white.

And after that, I kept blacking out again and again.

Just when I began to grow numb to the jolting agony, I couldn’t help but shout in frustration.

“No matter what you do, everything just ends up flashing white!”

“Maybe that’s just a typical symptom that comes with electrocution.”

A faint groan escaped my lips. At this rate, there was no point in continuing the experiment.

Senior Elsie was a lightning mage, and aside from a handful of general spells, the very nature of her mana was electrically charged.

Naturally, no matter what kind of spell she used, the result would be the same.

So... did that mean we needed a new mage? I was just about to give in to discouragement when—

“Sir Ian, on the flip side, couldn’t Dame Irene or Miss Haster have been electrocuted as well?”

“I mean, that’s possible. But if that’s the case, we’re short on leads. There are way too many mages out there who use lightning magic.”

“I’m not so sure.”

The princess fell into thought, gently tapping her lips with her index finger. Her expression was openly troubled as she hummed softly with closed eyes.

“I think it’s worth reconsidering. Actually, there have been three sightings of the masked assailant, but only two witnesses mentioned a ‘flash’. Because, you see, I never revealed my presence that day.”

“Does that really change anything?”

“It does.”

With a triumphant grin, the princess lifted her finger high, evidently reaching a conclusion before us.

“Becoming a masked assailant is easy. Anyone can don a mask and play the part. Which means the masked assailant spotted in the North could very well be a different person from the one at the Percus Mansion and the Holy Nation.”

“But even if there were two—”

“There may be many lightning mages out there, but few are skilled enough to take down a knight in a single blow. It’s not like people of that caliber are just lying around. This narrows down the suspects significantly.”

The princess’s deduction was convincing. Before I knew it, I was thinking along the same lines as she was.

Right—mages of that skill level were rare. Even setting Celine aside, Dame Irene was a warrior who had reached the Expert level. To subdue someone like her, the attacker would need to be at least as equally skilled.

A mage capable of infiltrating both the Percus Mansion and the orphanage, exceptionally skilled, and adept at lightning magic.

Cold sweat began to trickle down my back.

Because I was starting to realize exactly what the princess was about to say.

I hastily tried to interrupt her.

“Your Highness, perhaps the rest of this discussion would be better—”

“Sir Reynold Rinella.”

Yet before I could even finish speaking, the princess cut me off with a self-satisfied grin.

I couldn’t help but cover my face with both hands.

“No matter how much I think about it, he’s the only one. We need to tail him before he catches wind of—”

“Hey.”

An eerie and cold voice cut through the air—hardly the tone one ought to use when speaking to imperial blood.

But there was no doubt where it had come from. While the princess froze, visibly flustered, I quietly turned my gaze away.

It was from Senior Elsie.

Her blue eyes, like sapphires, now held a chill similar to that of the polar regions. And her utterly expressionless face made it crystal clear that Senior Elsie had reached the absolute limit of her patience.

It was over. All I could do was shake my head.

“What kind of bullshit are you spouting?”

At last, the princess began to tremble, finally sensing the murderous mood.

In the end, it was her lack of awareness that doomed her.