Pen and Paper Translations

Episode 20: I Was the One Who Did That

“Then … what is that conjecture? You say you’ve devised a plausible idea to explain why the Mystical Realm has drifted away.”

“Ah, Lord Perseta here will explain that.”

Him again?

Of course, the headmaster and faculty of the Imperial Academy knew that Perseta was the very person who had offered the conjecture; they had read as much in the letter.

But the feeling now was wholly different.

Ever since, the great mage Salinelle—whom they themselves had acknowledged—kept stealing glances at Perseta.

They had judged him no more than an industrious assistant who had achieved a commendable result for Salinelle’s research, yet …

Now they too found themselves shrinking a little, peeking at Perseta’s expression.

Worse—

“You’re really going to say that?”

“Yes. I told you just now—at this forum we’ll announce it together.”

“Damn. The moment my technique is published it’ll be demoted to a mere auxiliary.”

Even that illustrious Salinelle asked Perseta something, only to slump with a face like he’d swallowed bitterness.

No matter how one looked, Perseta stood on the higher ground.

A tension impossible to name hung in the air.

At last Perseta opened his mouth.

“First we must explain why the Mystical Realm’s frequency rises for half the day and falls for the other half—a Doppler effect.”

He continued in an even flow: from deducing rotational motion of the dimension from the Doppler effect, to the conjecture that the rotational axis had recessed, throwing the coordinates of the Mystical Realm out of true.

Every word was clear and logical.

Headmaster Ignacio Rapiel and the attending senior professors all voiced admiration at the progression of reasoning.

“It is most plausible!”

“A brilliantly keen idea!”

“Yet … can it be proved?”

“Indeed … To say a dimension rotates, and that its axis shifts with the flow of time … intriguing, but rather speculative.”

Their appraisal differed little from what Arandria’s archivists had rendered:

Fascinating.
Plausible.
But unproven.
Can proof even be found?

Today, however, Perseta took one step further.

“So I performed the calculations.”

“Calculations?”

“Yes. I compared the frequencies of each Mystical Realm recorded in the Almagest with those measured now by the Mana-wave Meter, and from the difference I computed the tilt of the rotational axis.”

“Is that possible?”

“It is. Mana waves scatter as they pass through dimensions. By checking what wavelengths scatter in what proportion, and by determining how much more—or less—the present mana waves have scattered than in the past, one can work backward to find the angle by which the axis has twisted.”

When Perseta reached this point the other senior professors merely murmured, “Oh—then it is possible.”

But Headmaster Ignacio reacted vehemently.

Bang!

With a startle, he leapt up and slammed both palms on the table.

“Don’t tell me …! To compute that—surely you don’t mean …!”

Perseta smiled—he liked clever people.

“Yes. Once the degree of twist is known, we can reverse-calculate the warped coordinates of the Mystical Realm. In short, by finding the ecliptic of the Mana Sun once more and redrawing the heavens of the dimension, we can target the Mystical Realm as accurately as five hundred years ago. After that, even without help from the Mana-wave Meter, linking will become easy.”

Only then did the professors grasp what that meant.

“Th-then, could it be … we can restore the Almagest’s calculations, skewed beyond recognition, to their proper form?”

“Put simply …”

Perseta tapped the desk with a finger, drew out the pause—then, unable to suppress his delight, smiled.

Ah, how thrilling this is—the moment of presenting my discovery to those who can recognize its worth.

“It means we can bring magic, which was vanishing, wholly back to life. We can draw limitless mana from the Mana Sun again, link with the Mystical Realm, and produce every kind of miracle—equal to the golden age the Almagest opened, if not beyond.”

!!!

Gooseflesh spread like waves, leaping from person to person.

Ignacio asked in a trembling voice.

“Is that computation … truly feasible?”

Perseta tilted his head slightly.

“The computation is already finished. In experiments, we confirmed that connection with the Mana Sun and the Mystical Realm recovers to former levels. I’ll present the details step by step during the forum.”

“You—you already did it …? You have revived magic …? You solved the three-hundred-year desire of all mages …?”

Perseta nodded with perfect composure.

“Yes. I was the one who accomplished that.”

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Next day—the day of the forum.

Before the small magic school Perseta had built, a crowd of mages gathered.

“I didn’t sleep a wink last night!”

“Same here! What could be the greatest work since the Almagest?”

“Can it really strengthen our links to the Spirit Realm, the Phantasm Realm, the Fey Realm?”

“Surely, it must involve the Mystical Realm’s frequency?”

“Most likely.”

“How ever did they analyze it …?”

Everyone debated fervently, adding guesses about Salinelle’s discovery.

Yet in the midst of it, Headmaster Ignacio and several senior professors stood dazed, spirits gone.

Other mages approached to greet them, to strike up conversation, but they only bobbed their heads distractedly.

In their minds, one voice replayed over and over.

Yes. I was the one who accomplished that.

Could it be true?

Had he really solved magic’s three-century riddle?

If so, Salinelle’s announcement would amount to nothing.

Impressive, yes—but on a very different scale: at best a supporting role.

If Perseta spoke the truth, he would stand shoulder to shoulder with Ptolemaios of five hundred years ago—the greatest mage alive.

To carry the Almagest forward and perfect it differed entirely from achieving a feat equal to the Almagest itself.

While Ignacio stood thus bewitched, a lady appeared before him.

“Ah— you are …?”

At first he nearly failed to recognize her; he hadn’t expected to see her here, and her attire differed from usual.

But he forced himself—one must not fail to know that face.

As Ignacio hurried to salute, she bowed first with perfect courtesy.

“Headmaster, how are you? Do you remember me? Bianca Ash. It’s my first time seeing you since graduation.”

At her words Ignacio started and glanced around.

It seemed the other professors had not recognized her.

Clearing his throat, he nodded solemnly.

“Oh, yes. Bianca. It’s been a while. You came because of Arandria’s announcement as well?”

“No. My family estate is nearby. The Ash barony, sir—a tiny, nearly forgotten barony in eastern Dublanc.”

“Ah—ah … I see.”

“Even though our house has fallen, nobility is nobility! Since I study thaumaturgical magic diligently, I’ve always taken great interest in Lord Perseta.”

“H-hm. Granted … Even without that computation, he’s Master Bardente’s favored disciple. No wonder you watch him closely.”

“Exactly. But … that computation, you say? Do you know something?”

“Well…”

Ignacio glanced around and lowered his voice.

“I’m not certain yet. I’m half in doubt.”

“What is it?”

“I met Lord Perseta yesterday…”

Ignacio never noticed he had begun addressing Perseta with honorifics.

Sensing the mood, Bianca Ash too tensed, dropping her voice.

“You met him…?”

“He claimed … that he has solved magic’s three-century problem.”

“What?!”

Bianca’s shriek belied all effort to speak softly; every mage nearby turned to look.

Ignacio hastily calmed her, put a finger to his lips and whispered.

“For now—just keep it to yourself. Whether it is true must be seen. We needn’t stir chaos with premature excitement.”

“Ah, yes… But, could it … really be?”

He shook his head.

“I don’t know. We’ll watch. At least it gives us one more point of interest for this forum.”

Bianca, half-bewildered, nodded.

“Indeed … And I—I somehow feel it is true.”

“Do you have a reason?”

“No, just … he’s rather strange. I’ve watched ever since he came out of seclusion, and at the last party too—he runs on a track of his own …”

While Bianca frowned, trying to sort her thoughts about Perseta—

“There you were.”

Perseta himself appeared.

“Eeek?!”

Bianca squeaked like one caught bad-mouthing in secret.

Perseta turned to her.

“Ah? It’s you. We meet again, Lady Bianca Ash.”

At his gentle greeting Bianca managed to steady her pounding heart.

“You… remember me?”

“Of course. You are my first—and so far my last—dance partner.”

“What? Didn’t you dance plenty that night? I saw all the ladies flocking to you …”

“Ah, you left the hall early? No wonder you vanished. I refused them.”

“Refused? Isn’t that rather … impolite?”

“Impolite indeed, but I had little time. To dance with some and not with others would have been the greater discourtesy, so after polite farewells I slipped out.”

“I… I see.”

A faint blush tinted Bianca’s cheek. Being called his first and last partner felt embarrassing.

“By the way, I’m surprised that Headmaster Ignacio and Lady Bianca know each other.”

When Perseta asked, Ignacio answered, trying to hide his discomfiture.

“Ah-ha-ha. Bianca was a student of our school.”

“Was she?”

“Indeed! She graduated top of the Imperial Magic Academy at the age of nineteen—a prodigy among prodigies!”

The nearby professors cocked their heads in puzzlement.

Sensing it, Bianca shifted slightly to block Perseta’s gaze and whispered to Ignacio.

“Headmaster, please—you’ll embarrass me …”

Though she smiled, her silent pressure was strong enough that even Perseta, not yet skilled at reading such things, felt it plainly.

“H-ha-ha. Yes, yes. Age makes one indiscreet; I prattled uselessly.”

Perseta tilted his head.

Does the Empire follow different etiquette?

A grandee like Ignacio seemed to defer considerably to Bianca; it struck Perseta as a rather good custom.

Anyway—it was time for business.

“Well then, the forum is about to begin, so I came to escort you in. I kept good seats at the front—please take them.”

“Oh-oh! Excellent! Come, Bianca! We shall meet again inside!”

“Yes, Headmaster. I’ll greet you later.”

Mages gathered before the school streamed in twos and threes toward the hall.
Once most had gone in, Perseta himself headed for the auditorium.

Step.

Here, this place, he would take the first stride toward toppling the book that had ruled magic studies for five hundred years—the Almagest.

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