By Zephyria 
It was impossible not to know that it was a word urging them to tacitly agree, but nevertheless, the two insisted on remaining silent.
As a subtle war of nerves went back and forth, creating a sense of tension, it was when Esili and Leshnold, who had only been watching the situation, turned to Maximilian and Luciel.
“A guy who can’t even use Magic properly….”
Maximilian muttered with a worried face, sighing. Of course, he didn’t know me at all.
“I can use it. Magic.”
“Don’t tell obvious lies. Magic in a state where you haven’t opened your Mana Circuit is dangerous and doesn’t activate properly. And you, you’ve just opened your Mana Circuit. You haven’t learned anything, so how can you say you can use Magic?”
I crossed my arms for a moment and fell into thought.
I could show them Magic right away. But just showing it would leave the question of ‘how?’
I didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble with them, so I wanted to go in a direction that would convince them as much as possible. To do that, I needed a ‘plausible’ excuse.
After a while, I… came up with a plausible excuse.
“Please show me a demonstration of anything.”
“Show you a demonstration?”
“I will learn and use it with my eyes right here.”
If he showed me Magic, I would just follow it. If I learned and followed it by eye, what could they say? It was a very appropriate excuse to convince them.
There was no Magic in this world that I couldn’t follow, so it wasn’t a difficult task.
Maximilian opened and closed his mouth. The others were the same. A subtle expression. It was an expression that didn’t believe a word I said.
But I was confident. Because I was sure of myself.
“…Okay. I’ll show you Necromancy from now on, so try to follow it as much as you can. Necromancy is Magic that anyone can use even with just 1 star, so if what you say is true, it should be possible enough.”
Maximilian got up from his seat. Come to think of it, this Valentasia family was also said to be a Necromancer family. I had never seen or used the Magic before, but it was no problem. As I nodded, Esili, who had been listening, suddenly intervened.
“No, Dad. It’s not even basic Magic, so how can Ray use Necromancy from the beginning? Saying ‘anyone can use it even with just 1 star’ is just a play on words. It’s like deliberately giving a problem that you know they can’t do.”
“It was that guy who stubbornly insisted with ridiculous lies first.”
“So, are you being stubborn too? Don’t be childish.”
Maximilian, who had been solemnly setting the mood until just now, acted like someone who was sulking. He was clearly an immature adult. Luciel, who let out a shallow sigh, put her hand on her cheek.
“Leave them be. Let’s see what they do.”
As that permission, which wasn’t really permission, was given, Maximilian, who had been pretending not to care, turned back to me. As I quietly watched, meaning for him to try, he made an expression that seemed complicated for a moment.
He soon picked up one of the wooden ornaments on the table and said. I thought he was going to show a demonstration right away, but that wasn’t the case.
“May the wandering spirits that roamed Hell Iron Mountain, unable to die, awaken from death and enjoy their fate once more…. This is the general Verbal Magic Phrase that is commonly used as the basis of Necromancy.”
Hmm. A phrase seems to mean a short sentence, but I’m hearing about Verbal Magic for the first time.
What is Verbal Magic?
“Netherworld Summoning. This is a compressed Verbal Magic Phrase that is an abbreviation of the aforementioned phrase in ancient Eastern language. The shorter it is, the faster the casting speed, so this is the one mainly used in actual combat. These phrases are called Magic Phrases… or ‘Magic Phrase’ for short. Do you understand?”
I didn’t understand perfectly, but I nodded because it was annoying. Fortunately, an easy-to-understand explanation followed.
“Here, Verbal Magic refers to Magic that weaves the Formula system into language instead of directly drawing complex Magic Circles. Anyone can learn the Magic just by acquiring the ‘Verbal Magic Record’…. Proficiency is a separate issue, though.”
‘Ah.’
In short, unlike my time when I had to draw Magic Circles one by one and understand the Formula system in order to use the Magic, nowadays there was a ‘language summary’ instead of Magic Circles, so even if you only knew that, you could somehow scratch the surface.
That language summary was the Magic Phrase.
Or ‘Magic Phrase’ for short.
Since Magic was woven into the form of language that could be heard and seen, it was certainly easier to learn.
‘The world has become a better place.’
While I was thinking that.
“Finally… the state of activating Magic without reciting the Magic Phrase to activate Magic is called Instant Cast.”
Around Maximilian, who added that, the Mana in the air fluctuated greatly. Maximilian’s Mana, which had passed through the Mana Circuit and came out, drew a Magic Circle and surged quickly, and the summoned Netherworld Spirit made the surroundings eerie.
At the same time, the wooden ornament he was holding in his hand began to change its appearance.
Creak….
The wooden ornament that had been dropped to the floor soon became the form of a human with only bones left. When the summoned Netherworld Spirit resided inside the skeleton, a moving skeleton was finally created.
The structure of the Formula was similar to the Soul Summoning Formula, but it was a high-level Magic with various modified Formulas woven into it. It was interesting.
“I have shown you a demonstration. Can you follow it?”
Maximilian passed the turn to me. Esili sighed. In the end, since what he showed as a demonstration was Instant Cast, I couldn’t know how the Magic Phrase worked in the Formula.
What he was asking me to ‘learn and follow with my eyes’ was Instant Cast Magic.
Of course, that point wasn’t a big obstacle for me.
I looked around and first took the hair tie that caught my eye from Esili’s hair. In the blink of an eye, the hair tie that was spinning on my finger fell to the floor.
Soon, my Mana began to draw the Formula faster and more precisely than Maximilian, and the form of the hair tie, which had become a medium, also changed.
Thus, the skeleton I created was perfect enough to be compared to the skeleton Maximilian had created without any inferiority. However, my skeleton collapsed not long after it was created. Maintaining the skeleton for a long time required a considerable amount of Mana.
“It’s only this much because I’m severely lacking in Mana right now.”
I pulled the hair tie out of the remaining handful of ashes and turned around. The faces staring back at me were all in shock.
“Isn’t this enough to change your mind?”
I smiled, holding out the hair tie towards Maximun.
☠
About a month had passed since then.
Today is May 1st.
The day of the academy entrance ceremony.
In the meantime, I had steadily circulated my Mana Circuit to accumulate Mana, achieving the rank of 2-Star in a short period.
This was definitely faster than average.
This was partly because I used efficient Mana storage methods based on my past life’s experience, but it was largely due to the characteristics of the Black Mana Heart, which absorbed Mana in the air more effectively.
Thanks to that characteristic, there was already a considerable amount of Mana generated on its own.
In addition, I took care of my body for a month by eating well, sleeping well, and exercising. At the age of twenty, physically at my peak, and having regained my health, I ate as much as I expended energy.
As a result, this frail body now had a decent amount of flesh and some muscle, making it presentable.
“Ray. Are you really going to be okay there?”
Suddenly, Leshnold, who was standing behind me, asked. I was diligently putting on the uniform they said I had to wear. I turned around, wearing a light navy blue uniform cloak, and snorted.
“Do you know that’s the tenth time you’ve asked that question? I don’t want to answer anymore, so don’t ask again, Leshnold.”
“Sigh. You used to be a cute little brother who called me ‘Hyung’… Now you don’t even call me that anymore. Your tone and personality have become strange too!”
That’s none of my business.
“By the way, that was amazing. I didn’t think you’d really change Father’s mind. To imitate Instant Cast… What trick did you use? Tell your Hyung secretly.”
“If you look at the flow of Mana, you can see what Formula the caster is drawing. I just watched it and imitated it on the spot. That’s the most basic thing in learning Magic, so why would I need to use tricks?”
“…Wow. You’re kind of annoying. If that’s true, then this is the wall of talent.”
Leshnold chuckled softly. It’s contradictory that he says I’m annoying but doesn’t look annoyed. He looks listless and relieved at the same time… A face I can’t read.
Human’s delicate emotional expressions are sometimes difficult to understand.
Is it because I was a Demon?
No.
Since I was born as a Demon, I was considered ‘peculiar’ because I was so bad at expressing emotions.
As an empty shell, I learned, understood, and acquired emotions as I grew up.
I empathized with and felt a sense of kinship with the grief and anger of my fellow Demons, who were oppressed by humans who were weak but also evil.
I think I understand other people’s emotions and my own emotions quite well now… Nevertheless, the form of emotions was still difficult.
“Ray. I’m glad you can bloom that talent. Really. And don’t think too badly of Father. He’s not trying to hinder you, he’s just worried and overprotective.”
Leshnold chuckled.
“Don’t you have any missing luggage? If you’re all dressed, let’s go to the living room. Everyone’s waiting.”
I watched Leshnold, who went out to the living room first, then fastened the Hyperspace pocket containing my luggage to my belt and took my admission notice.
When I went out to the living room connected to the hallway, the ‘family’ who had been talking turned to look at Leshnold and me.
“The uniform suits you well.”
Maximun and Luciel, who seemed a little surprised, smiled warmly. Luciel came over and hugged me tightly.
“Be careful and have a good time, son. I love you.”
And Maximun stroked my head.
“Did you bring the Communication Crystal Orb? Contact us often.”
Esili and Leshnold were waving their hands slightly.
I subtly avoided their gaze.
The affection they gave me was truly awkward.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
I slipped out of Luciel’s arms and unfolded my admission notice.
A notice stating that I had been officially admitted to Merzel Academy. It contained the date of the entrance ceremony and the way to get to the school… And next to it, ‘the easiest and fastest way to get there’ was written separately.