Volume 3 - CH 4.1

Act 3-4.1: The Hero’s Party’s 2nd Assembly Meeting

「Well then, I’ll start with a report of my findings.」

After finishing her investigation in Saria academy, Chiyuki went back to the Holy Republic of Lenaria. The way back was easier since she was allowed to use transfer magic, saving her a lot of time and effort. As soon as she had returned, Chiyuki had gathered her comrades.

「According to my investigation, there are three kinds of magic that can be used to manipulate people: charm magic, memory manipulation magic, and rule magic. Let me first start with rule magic. To put it simply, it’s a type of magic that allows someone to rule over someone else, creating a master-slave relationship. The demerit of this magic is that it lowers the target’s intelligence.」

「So basically it will turn the target into an idiot? Controlling an idiot would make it harder for the caster, isn’t that right?」

「Correct, Rino-san, which is why I think we can cross this one out.」

Chiyuki readily agreed with Rino. Rule magic was a spell that would turn a person into a robot. Though it didn’t affect the target’s knowledge and other basic abilities, it made them lose the ability to adapt in any kind of situation. This hindered the target as they wouldn’t move unless they were given a precise order, making the magic completely useless in most situations.

The experiment of this magic, which was conducted on a goblin, concluded that this spell was completely devoid of any degree of freedom since the target wouldn’t move unless they were given orders.

「That means it must be one of the other two spells.」

「That’s right, Nao-chan. Next is memory manipulation magic, it’s a magic that allows its user to rewrite the memory of their target as much as they like. The user can even tamper with the target’s memory to the point that the target will completely obey the user’s orders.」

「Then, Kuroki’s memories must have been…」

Shirone’s face paled upon hearing Chiyuki’s explanation.

「That’s only one of the possibilities, Shirone-san. Manipulating someone’s memories with this magic isn’t as easy as it sounds. Rewriting an unlikely memory with a true memory is pretty much impossible, and trying to forcefully plant contradicting memories might even bring about the mental collapse of the target.」

Chiyuki shook her head.

「Yeah. Since he’s just a normal Japanese according to Shirone-san, it’s pretty much impossible to make him think that he’s a citizen of this world.」

「That’s right, Nao-san. Rather than trying to plant false memories, it’ll be easier to just erase his entire memory and raise him up like a baby. But, doing that will take a LOT OF TIME.」

Everyone had a complex look on their face upon hearing Chiyuki’s explanation. They all crossed out this type of magic right away. The target’s memories wouldn’t come back if they got completely erased. It was like mentally killing someone, and if Kuroki’s memories were wiped clean, he wouldn’t be able to go back to his previous self even after they return to Japan. Shirone held back her tears, desperately praying that it wasn’t this magic that was used on Kuroki.

Chiyuki continued on.

「And the last one on the list is charm magic. Rino-san, you should be familiar with this magic, right?」

Chiyuki spoke as she looked at Rino. Rino excelled in using mental manipulation magic that would cause mental disorders. The targets of this magic could end up being charmed, confused, or sleepy. She had tried to use this magic on monsters before.

「Yeah, if it’s to manipulate people, this is the best type of magic. It can even make Goblin-san and Orc-san listen to my every word!」

Rino happily exclaimed, charm magic was her favorite as it forced the target to love the user. The target could move independently to protect the user even without detailed orders like in rule magic. However, since the target’s actions would become quite spontaneous, sometimes it would make the user’s life difficult. Not many wanted to deal with that.

「But, isn’t this magic useless on most monsters?」

「Yeah, that’s true Sahoko-san. I’m really happy when I can talk with Centaur-san, but it’s useless on Harpie-san.」

「Maybe it’s because of the difference in their genders. But that could be just one of the many weak points of this spell.」

Charm magic was a spell that would make the user look more attractive in the eyes of the target. If it was used on a target who originally hated the user, the most it could do was make the target more friendly towards the user. That’s why it was a rather unreliable spell with many uncertain factors.

「But, what do you think would happen if it was the Demon King who manipulated him with charm magic?」

Everyone couldn’t help but ponder upon hearing Nao’s remark.

「If he really is being manipulated with charm magic… then Shirone’s childhood friend might be charmed by the Demon King…」

「Sure enough, that might be true, Reiji-kun.」

Chiyuki nodded in response to Reiji’s remark.

「I-If that’s the case, are you saying that he’s… in love with the Demon King.」

Kaya suddenly cut into their conversation, her voice was a pitch higher than her usual flat tone.

「Seriously?! THAT Demon King?!」

Everyone flinched a bit when Nao spoke. They had seen the Demon King’s appearance before; his figure could only be described as ugly and atrocious. They all looked a bit unwell as they imagined all the X-rated scenes that could happen between Kuroki and the Demon King; Chiyuki included.

「That’s horrible…」

「Yup, it’s horrible indeed…」

Rino and Kyouka looked at each other with weary expressions.

「But, that’s strange. Charm magic shouldn’t work between people of the same sex, right?」

Kyouka voiced her doubt. The biggest weakness of charm magic was the fact that it didn’t work on same sex targets.

「Could it be that he is actually… THAT?」

Kyouka got flustered upon hearing Kaya’s remark. But, under the assumption that Kuroki was really THAT way, they thought that it was possible for him to get charmed by the Demon King.

「There are many forms of love, Chiyuki. If he really loves the Demon King, then that might be his kind of happiness.」

D*ckhead spoke with a serious look on his face, not even realizing that the one they suspected as gay had actually enjoyed a hot and passionate night with the one who summoned them. Reiji couldn’t care less about Kuroki though as he had zero interest in men. He would never go out of his way to save them.

「Reiji-sama!!」

Kaya suddenly spoke with a loud voice, breaking her usual cool beauty.

「W-…What’s the matter, Kaya?」

Even Reiji flinched a bit hearing Kaya’s unusual tone.

「AS EXPECTED OF REIJI-SAMA! TO THINK THAT YOU HAVE SUCH A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THAT PHILOSOPHY!! COULD IT BE THAT YOU’RE ACTUALLY THE SAME AS HIM?! THE SCENE OF REIJI-SAMA AND )(@&@^^#&*$((#))@(*&#^%@$$!!!」