“These days, the world has really improved. I can easily buy a potion for bug bites anywhere.”
Luke looked at the bug bite potion that Shirud had bought from the store and slightly admired it.
Moreover, it seems to be more effective than his own saliva, at least for bug bites.
The potion-making techniques of this era apparently delve deeper into efficacy by classifying usage more specifically.
The shape of the potion bottle was quite fascinating too.
It was designed so that a large ball that doesn’t fall out of the bottle can be dipped in the medicine for easy application.
The potions at Yerna’s home were simply for dabbing.
“Well, of course, if Beriton couldn’t sell bug medicine, how would people live when they get bitten by bugs?”
“That’s true.”
Nodding at Shirud’s words, Luke acknowledged him.
Beriton has always been a town with many bugs in the past.
However, back then, the elves were still connected to spirits, and chasing away bugs with spirit magic was a simple task, so there was no need for separate medicines for bug bites.
“It’s a waste of both saliva and mana.”
Seeing Luke licking his lips as he thought that, Shirud shivered as if he had the chills and quickly left, feeling he had to escape for some reason.
“…”
The one who made Shirud tremble with just a single lick of his lips, Luke Irush, was completely unaware of Shirud’s state of mind and began to calmly look around with an unconcerned expression.
‘This is the third root of the World Tree…’
In fact, the number three has significant meaning in the study of magic.
Three is the sum of one and two.
Here, one represents independence, unity, and two represents difference, diversity.
The number three, which is the combination of the two, represents completeness through that combination.
That’s not all.
Three is also the minimum unit that can create a plane from a line, so even when drawing magic circles or circuits, three becomes the minimum unit.
Moreover, the major divisions of the world are classified into three categories: sky, land, and sea. Additionally, the changes of the moon are in three types: new moon, full moon, and waning moon.
Thus, the meaning of the number three is far from simple.
Furthermore, are not the three circles quietly rotating in his heart?
Somehow, it feels like a good place.
The concentration of mana in the air is also quite pleasant.
Indeed, the mana of the 5000-year-old World Tree is exceptionally rich.
As Luke stretched, feeling the true mana of the World Tree, a smile formed on his lips.
-You seem to be in a good mood!
Py, who had been flying around Luke’s shoulders, plopped his body on top of Luke’s head and lightly tapped his ears.
This was a playful act that Py often engaged in whenever Luke was in a good mood.
It was an act of enjoying the reaction when Luke reflexively folded and unfolded his ears when they were slightly tickled.
However, there had been instances where Py got scolded for bothering Luke when he was in a bad mood, so the joke was thoroughly considerate of Luke’s feelings.
Though one might think Py is pretty clever, Luke knows that Py doesn’t want to irritate him but just wants to play around a bit.
Therefore, Luke couldn’t bring himself to hate Py completely, and he smiled softly while covering his mouth.
At that moment, Mary suddenly peeked in and asked.
“Luke, you seem to be in a really good mood?”
“Does it really look that way?”
Mary nodded vigorously, as if it was obvious.
Looking around while flapping her ears and humming a tune, it would be foolish not to realize that she was in a good mood.
Passersby were even glancing at Luke with curious expressions, wondering just how good he must feel to be acting that way.
Luke, who had never particularly cared about the gazes of those around him, didn’t feel that it bothered him at all.
He merely thought that there were more people making eye contact than usual today.
Mary then questioned Luke with a puzzled look.
“What’s got you so happy? Is the museum that exciting?”
Luke nodded and replied.
“Right, it’s an opportunity to learn about history directly. Of course, I should be in a good mood.”
Those who forget the past have no future.
Such a person cannot use what they learned from past failures, and will end up repeating the same mistakes infinitely.
Forgetting is something inherited from the gods, who possess infinite life.
The gods are infinite beings.
The endless cycle of acting without remembering the past. Isn’t that a true reflection of the divine?
But we do not possess infinite grains of sand, so endlessly repeating the past signifies wasting our finite lives without meaning.
Thus, many scholars of this era have described the forgotten histories that vanished in a fleeting moment from various perspectives.
Yet, hearing Luke’s answer, Mary shook her head with a genuinely perplexed expression.
Liking the museum because ‘it’s a place to learn about history’?
It was an answer straight out of a textbook, but it was not something one would genuinely expect to come from a ten-year-old child.
Moreover, it didn’t seem likely that anyone had told Luke to say such a thing.
Even if someone had suggested it, it seemed clear that Luke genuinely believed and thought so.
Luke’s words conveyed a sense of authenticity that prompted her to think.
‘Luke is indeed strange; is studying really that good?’
It was a peculiar thought.
She herself wasn’t particularly fond of museums, but if she had to mention the reason she liked them, it was just that there were many things to see.
She had never really thought deeply about it beyond that.
If comparing a swimming pool and a museum, of course, she would choose the swimming pool.
————
A man was walking briskly down the corridor of the mansion.
Passing by a group of cleaning female elves dressed in peculiar outfits that modified the traditional maid uniforms with short skirts, they cast him a fleeting glance with indifferent expressions before returning to their cleaning.
The floor, which was so clean it reflected his feet, might have seemed uncomfortable for the women wearing short skirts, but they showed little reaction, as if they were already accustomed to it.
In fact, the man was no paragon of virtue either, yet the way he did not spare a glance at his own reflection on the marble suggested that his business was urgent.
Finally arriving at a massive door, he took a deep breath, clenched his fist, and lightly knocked twice.
Knock, knock.
“Dylan, I have something to report.”
“Come in.”
Upon opening the door, the man saw a middle-aged man with a gruff face and neatly combed back hair sitting on the couch, texting on his phone, showing little interest in him.
The man could not blame him for that attitude.
He imagined how terrifying it would be to upset him…
Hiding his trembling hands behind him, he opened his mouth.
“It seems a new organization has appeared in Aires.”
“A new organization? How big? Who is the leader? Is it something I need to know about?”
Trying not to show his surprise at the barrage of questions, the man spoke.
“It’s still small, and the leader doesn’t seem to be a notable person. However, they are growing quickly. They have nearly monopolized the drug distribution route and have already integrated three organizations.”
His report seemed to catch the man’s interest, as he briefly shifted his gaze from his phone to look at the reporter.
“What’s the scale? What about their funds?”
“It’s still at a regional level… But we haven’t grasped their funding yet.”
Hearing the report, the man swiftly shifted to an unimpressed look, scratching his nose.
“Well that’s not surprising then, is it? Just forget about it; it’s always like that in the beginning.”
“But their location is critical.”
“Location? Where is it?”
“That…”
————
Luke was gazing up at a large statue erected in front of the museum.
It was about 35 meters tall.
This giant bronze statue sitting atop a white marble pedestal held a crystal ball in one hand and a cloth in the other.
Luke naturally lowered his gaze to read the name embossed on the marble pedestal.
-Prophet. Baal Nier.
-Honoring the heroes who led modern magic society.
This was a figure he recognized from his textbooks.
The one who created class magic, laying the foundation for modern magic.
While many suffered under circle magic, he created class magic so that everyone could wield magic.
With the birth of numerous mages, they naturally led to the remarkable advancement of magical studies.
It was said that the magical theories established in her hands are still in use today.
‘What an incredible woman. If she were alive, I’d want to meet her and have a chat.’
Being a figure from a thousand years ago, she must have died a long time ago.
Luke looked up at Py, who was still wriggling on his head, and asked.
“Py, do you think she could have been guided to the afterlife?”
Since Py is an ancient spirit, he might know the answer.
-Hmm… Well…? That’s not my area of expertise.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
Luke shrugged his shoulders slightly.
He hadn’t expected much from the question in the first place.
After a brief moment, two children approached Luke and spoke.
“Luke! What are you doing here? Let’s go inside quickly!” It was Mary.
Shortly after, Shirud followed, grumbling.
“It’s just a statue of Baal Nier. It’s not even interesting.”
Only then did Luke pull his gaze away from the statue and turn halfway to look at the children.
“Ahaha, right. Baal Nier. What a fascinating name, isn’t it?”
“What’s so fascinating about it?”
“How odd it is to give a woman’s name to a demon king who was defeated in the past.”
A woman who had such a profound impact on modern magic is named after a demon king who was defeated 5000 years ago.
What a bizarre twist of fate it is.
At Luke’s words, Mary and Shirud scratched their heads with puzzled expressions.
“…Is that so?”
No, to find that amusing, how should they think of the person right in front of them, ‘Luke Irush’?
