CH 7

His voice was tinged with anxiety.

It was the same anxiety that flashed across Wisteria’s mind, and she shook her head.

“Let’s advance in our research to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Benjamin and the other man nodded and changed the subject.

“Miasma and magical elements are two sides of the same coin,” Wisteria said, and Benjamin took over.

“…If the miasma gets stronger, then the magical elements also get stronger. If the magical elements get stronger, then it becomes easier to use magic. That means that when the miasma gets thicker, it would become easier to use magic. That’s an advantage we can never ignore, though.”

Yes, Wisteria affirmed shortly.

It would become easier to use magic–those words reminded her of Bright’s melancholic expression from the other day.

Magic.

Creating flames in the dry darkness, bringing water to the barren earth, giving rise to the wind in the quiet air, making the earth stir as though it had a mind of its own, turning a small sprout into a big tree overnight–that supernatural power was often compared to weaving.

Using the threads called “magical elements,” one could change the way they were folded or the type of thread according to the picture one wished to draw, and create the textile called magic.

A magician was someone who could use these threads to create the textiles they wished in this world.

To weave this rare textile, one must first and foremost have personal qualities.

It wasn’t an art or martial art where one could learn the basics by training.

Because the first step in using magic was being able to detect magical elements.

It was the question of whether or not one had the sixth sense of perceiving magical elements.

This was an organ just like the senses of smell and hearing, and many, if not all of them, were inherited.

That was also the reason why many high-ranking nobles, including the Reunings, had the ability to use magic.

Wisteria shook her head, feeling her thoughts go off in an unintended direction.

She looked at the tubes filled with dancing black sand on the table.

——Miasma could take on several forms, but the most common was this black sand-like form.

It was said that the “Land of Grey Dawn” was filled with miasma, which was why it was dark.

(…Miasma and magical elements are two sides of the same coin.)

Wisteria repeated the words she had muttered earlier in her heart.

The “Land of Grey Dawn”–it was said to be a world of shadows, filled with miasma no ordinary person could bear and rife with monsters who had adapted to the miasma.

That hell existed in reality and usually didn’t interact with this world.

Just like the parallel tubes on the table that would never intersect with each other.

However, the miasma in the “Land of Grey Dawn” seeped into this world very faintly. In this world, the nature of the seeped-out miasma changed and became what were called “magical elements.” Only those who could sense it could use magic.

(…Performing magic is to detect and handle magical elements. And magical elements are the changed miasma of the “Land of Grey Dawn.”)

In other words, if they wanted to understand magic at its root, they must try to understand the miasma of the “Land of Grey Dawn.”

——It was inevitable that Wisteria came to research the “Land of Grey Dawn.”

(The inner workings of magic…the function of miasma. If we can figure them out…)

There were those who could use magic, but no one who could explain how to recreate it, and no one who knew the answer to why some people could sense magical elements but not be able to use them.

But just as music could be written down and reproduced by following a musical score, if magic could be reproduced by elucidating its mechanisms and imitating it, then—

Bright might be able to use magic.

Or, even if he couldn’t use it, if they could pinpoint the cause, then Bright might no longer be branded as a meaningless failure.

“…changes?”

Wisteria was about to sink into contemplation when a voice called out to her and she started in surprise. Flustered, she asked what was the question.

“We were asking about your physical condition. There aren’t any changes?”

Benjamin and the other man said nervously. Wisteria smiled wryly.

“Yes, everything is fine. No change, I would say. The test the other day showed that my resistance to the miasma had increased a little, but I don’t feel any different. I didn’t notice any change in my behavior or habits.”

“…I see. Interesting. Very interesting indeed.”

Benjamin’s and the other man’s eyes actually lit up, and Wisteria smiled wryly.

Then, playfully, she drew one of the bottles close at hand to herself. The bottle also contained a black, sand-like substance–miasma.

As soon as her hand touched the bottle, the miasma stuck to the inside of the bottle as though attracted by a magnet. As though attracted to the white hand on the other side.

While staring at that, Wisteria focused her attention on her hand and tried to activate her magic.

But as expected, there was no reaction.

“How curious…why can’t Lady Wisteria use magic even though she has resistance to the miasma?”

The man next to Benjamin tilted his head and spoke in a tone of deep wonderment or regret. Benjamin, looking flustered, nudged him with his elbow, and the man looked ashamed of his verbal slip.

“No, Lady Wisteria’s constitution is truly rare and will contribute greatly to our understanding of the ‘Land of Grey Dawn,’ and by extension, magical research.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say,” Wisteria smiled.

――Wisteria couldn’t use magic. That was the truth.

However, there weren’t many other examples of people who could sense magical elements but not use magic. Among those who could sense, there were those who couldn’t activate magic on their own but could cancel the magic directed at them. Wisteria was one of those people.

Her unique constitution was one of the reasons that drove her to research the “Land of Grey Dawn”–she was resistant to miasma.

The miasma that came from a world different from their own was completely hazardous to the people of this world. Unlike when it seeped into this world and became magical elements, it was filled with components that caused mental and physical abnormalities.

The miasma was the poisonous air that filled the “Land of Grey Dawn,” and magical elements were the detoxified form of the miasma.

Wisteria suddenly looked down at her hands. White palms, untainted by the sun. Since being taken in by the Lafferty family, these hands had rarely been damaged.

It wasn’t until an accident a few years ago that she realized her body was resistant to the miasma.