178 - Skills
We returned to Beim.
Today, we had entered the jewel.
Together with Mireia-san, I visited a room that could be called—no, the Room of Memories of the jewel.
Passing through the door, it was indeed a great city of long ago. I was able to observe the surroundings more calmly than before, and I noticed that there were very few people working around me.
Earth-clod Golems worked, sometimes supporting the humans.
However, many people did not work, drinking alcohol and gambling while the sun was still high.
In the center of the great city, a disproportionately modest mansion was visible. Amidst the many grand buildings, that place alone looked like a scene from the countryside.
There was a garden and fields surrounding it.
As I walked, I heard the voices of people.
"Honestly, that old witch of a mage is stubborn. She should just tear down that shack and let someone build a castle or something."
"It lowers the dignity of this city. I hear the old men have gone to complain, but it seems she won't listen to any of it. It would be better to build a grand castle so we could brag to other countries."
"They should just make it quickly with magic. She's just old."
The young men, letting out mocking laughter, had been drinking since morning. Cards were lined up on the table, and silver coins were scattered about.
The clothes they wore—their appearance was fine. Their skin was clear, and they seemed to take care of their hair. The women wore dress-like outfits and were accompanied by Golems to go shopping.
They had the Golems carry the large amount of luggage they had bought while they chatted among themselves.
"Hey, isn't this dress great?"
"It is. The materials for that are precious, right? I wish they'd make more of them."
"I heard there's no land. That's what Papa said."
"Why not just take some? Like from the neighboring country. Just crush it with Golems. Then, they can make plenty of materials! See, problem solved!"
Looking only at the scene, it was heartwarming, but the content was not laughable at all. A country destroyed for such a reason would be unbearable.
I thought for a moment—.
"No, I'm the same,"
As I muttered, Mireia-san, who was walking ahead of me, looked back.
"Oh, lost in thought?"
Her expression seemed to see right through me. What I was thinking and feeling as I looked at these scenes seemed completely transparent to Mireia-san.
"There's no way I wouldn't feel anything seeing this. I thought the story of the mage's village was a smaller-scale cautionary tale."
I felt something very frightening in the fact that a single mage was maintaining a great city.
Was no one among the people around them thinking about that problem?
"...Why didn't the people here think about what would happen after the mage, Septem-san, died?"
Mireia-san started walking again. Then, looking slightly upward.
"Perhaps they thought someone would do something about it? Well, if you ask who is at fault, both are. Septem-sama used that power to lend strength to the residents without limit. The residents accepted it, and the number of people who could do nothing only increased."
Hearing it, it sounded like a story with no salvation.
From my perspective, I think they should have had more of a sense of crisis. But was that something the people who lived in that era couldn't understand?
Walking through the scenes in the memory, we arrived at our destination, the mansion. The Golems cleared the path, welcoming us as we passed.
Golems of various sizes were working busily at the mansion. Tending the garden, cleaning, and guarding.
There were too few people in this mansion.
As I approached Septem-san's room, the door was open.
"Oh, we can see some interesting memories."
Mireia-san said this and entered the room. There, three guests had come to see the bedridden Septem-san. All of them were elderly, but a quite fat old man—.
"There aren't enough materials for the trading cloth. You have to assign more Golems to it."
Hearing this, Septem-san said.
"...I'm sorry. But I can't do any more. My power has faded."
A tall, thin man said.
"Lately, you haven't even been able to maintain the city functions. That's problematic. You need to pull yourself together."
The third, a relatively sturdy old man, said.
"More importantly, what happened to the talk of finding a successor? It's about time you prepared the next mage, or we'll be in trouble."
The old men were grumbling and complaining to Septem-san, who could not move from the bed. And once they finished complaining, they tried to leave the room.
"You're in the way, move!"
One of the old men looked at me and glared, telling me to move. While I was surprised, the other person, perhaps irritated, pushed me aside.
"Why... this is the Room of Memories, everything should be an illusion."
The one who answered my words was Septem-san.
Raising her upper body on the bed, she looked this way and smiled.
"That's because the jewel is something that writes records, but at the same time, it calculates everything. If it were this recorded person, the reaction would surely be like this. The action would be like this... that's how it continues to calculate. Long ago—the people of antiquity made many tools far superior to the jewel."
"Calculate?"
While I was unable to understand, Mireia-san prepared two chairs. She sat in one and pointed for me to sit in the other.
Sitting in the chair, I listened to Septem-san's story.
"Before, I explained that I was the one who made the jewel. And about Novem and the others... So, what should I convey today?"
To the pondering Septem-san, Mireia-san suggested.
"Then, Septem-sama. The original way to use the jewel."
"Ah, that is important."
Nodding, Septem-san opened her right hand, and three spheres appeared there. Spheres of three colors—blue, red, and yellow—glowed, and she showed the three to me.
"Liel, what do you think a skill originally is?"
Being asked that, I replied.
"...A weapon that humans possess against monsters? That the Seventh Goddess gave magic and skills so that humans could fight against demons."
Hearing that, Septem-san nodded but smiled troubledly.
"Yes. It also had that meaning. Then, why do you think there is only one skill per person?"
"...Because mastering one is already difficult?"
Septem-san shook her head.
"No. It's because the limit of skills a single person can handle is one type. Originally, a skill even remakes that person's body. To put it simply for you and the others, the person themselves becomes a kind of magic tool."
Hearing that, I tilted my head.
"To that extent?"
"There are many skills, but the original number was much smaller. Physical reinforcement is a good example. Whether it manifests in a support type or a vanguard type, it manifests. However, the effects are slightly different, right?"
Now that she mentioned it, the three types of skills were indeed vaguely categorized.
"Let's say there were three people. Even if the same skill manifested, the effects would not all be the same. Because there are individual differences between people. Individual differences inevitably emerge, and the skill cannot exert its full power. But conversely, there are cases where the ability is drawn out more strongly."
Physical characteristics. The effect differs between a person with a lot of muscle mass and a person with little.
The duration differs between a person with stamina and a person without. The quality and quantity of mana consumed when using a skill—everything has individual differences.
"Let's talk simply. There are individual differences in mana as well. Attribute magic—there are the Five Great and Two Heavenly (Attributes). It's the same. Depending on the person, they are good at the fire attribute. But they are bad at the water attribute. And there are people whose amount of mana is large, but the quality is thin. People whose quality is high, but the amount itself is small. Since the skill uses the person's mana as its driving force, there's no way it wouldn't have an effect."
I was convinced hearing that, but at the same time, a question arose. That is, whether there would be a problem with me or other people using other skills.
"Um, why is it that I can handle the skills of the successive heads? From what I've heard, I think one cannot handle them unless they have a body suited for the skill."
Septem-san looked at the three-colored spheres floating above her right palm.
"The magic tool made it possible to handle them. No, the spheres I developed. Due to their characteristics, I had no choice but to divide them into three. These were devices to support skills. Each had a skill it was good at supporting. From there, the division into vanguard, rearguard, and support types occurred. Because they affect the surroundings, the skills your ancestors manifested all became support types. Also, because they interfere strongly with the owner, spheres and magic tools have poor compatibility."
I understood the reason why magic tools cannot be used when holding a sphere. Because they interfere strongly to support the user, they hinder the activation of the magic tool's skill.
After asking various things about skills, I confirmed with Septem-san.
"Um, the one who gave skills was the Seventh Goddess, right? That she gave magic and skills to humans."
Septem-san nodded. However, she said it was slightly different.
"What I—no, the real Septem—gave was the means for humans to use mana. Magic and skills were what could be reproduced using mana. Originally, neither magic nor skills had a form. Therefore, Septem just gave them a certain form. Because she thought that if she didn't, humans would be unable to resist monsters and labyrinths."
"...There's a Septem-san in the jewel Celes has, right? Agrissa has Septem-san's memories, right? Then why did Celes become like that?"
The Septem-san before my eyes and the Septem-san who influenced Celes did not seem like the same person. No, they were probably different in reality, but I wondered why they were so different.
If this person had been recorded in the jewel, would Celes have become that terrible?
"...Agrissa had only a small amount of Septem's memories. But instead, she inherited our memories vividly. The previous Septem, and the one before that, and so on. Everyone inherited the memories of intense regret of the one called Septem—the Goddess. But Agrissa was different. She surely only saw how we were treated—the parts where we were oppressed by humans."
I asked Septem-san.
"Why did you devote yourself to this extent? To put it bluntly, you spoiled them too much, didn't you?"
When I said that, Mireia-san glared at me.
And then.
"Liel, you're being too blunt."
However, Septem-san was smiling.
"It's fine, Mireia. Liel, you might be kind in the true sense of the word. Yes, what I'm doing is self-satisfaction. Driven by intense regret and impatience, I lived this long and devoted myself. Humans just seemed so fragile. And so precious..."
Septem-san told me that this is what it means to inherit Septem's memories.
Smiling while looking at me.
"Liel, perhaps Septem's memories were lost in Agrissa's generation. The inheritance of memories for Nihil also ceased a long time ago. The same for Trace and the other children. I alone feel sorry for causing trouble. Therefore, I will continue to teach you various things. Before that—"
Septem-san made two of the three-colored spheres disappear, leaving only the blue sphere. As she handed it to me, the sphere was absorbed as if disappearing into the hand that received it.
While I was surprised, Septem-san had a serious expression.
"—Perhaps you really have a connection with the Goddesses. Be careful of the descendants of Unus and Duo. And also, Quinque. I wonder why, but Liel, you are attracting the descendants of the Goddesses. A connection is beginning to form."
"...No, um, sorry. I'd like you to forget the comment about being loved by the previous Goddess, or rather, how do you know? Also, does that mean Trace is perhaps..."
Septem-san had a serious expression, but after being slightly stunned.
"Oh, come to think of it, I did say something like that. But it's not a mistake, you know? Novem, Nihil, Trace, Quattuor... you attracted their descendants. And also, Liel."
What does that mean? While I was thinking that, Septem-san was gazing at me with a gentle smile.
"What is it?"
"Eventually, the time will come for you to face yourself. The other half sealed by Celes is already trying to awaken."
I didn't understand what she was talking about.
—At the port of Beim, there was a man in a suit waiting for The Vera Trace, which was scheduled to arrive.
Wearing a specially tailored suit, his guards were lined up around him.
A girl with long, straight red hair, drooping eyes, and a gentle air asked her father, Fidel.
"It's rare for Father to come to welcome Big Sister."
"Is it? I had some free time today. I wanted to spend time with the three of us as a family."
Fidel directed a smile toward his daughter, but to the man in the robe, he looked somewhat nervous.
The port was sticky with the sea breeze.
The scorching sun—the man, who felt like throwing off his robe and drinking some alcohol, complained in his heart.
(Damn it, I'm busy, yet the rich... Requests like 'my daughter or son is being deceived by bad people' are common, but most of the time it's just a misunderstanding. Even if they're charmed by a skill, it's because the person themselves had an opening. It'll wear off after a while anyway)
The man was an adventurer dispatched from the guild. He was an adventurer who could judge if the opponent was using a skill and what kind of skill they possessed.
As a holder of a detection-type skill, he was exclusive to the guild and his earnings were good. But the fact that he only took these pointless requests made him sad.
(Don't think mental-type skills are omnipotent. Why do I have to cut into my time off to investigate whether a rich man's daughter is being deceived by a man? And yet, even if I say she's not being deceived by a skill, they won't believe me. Damn it, I shouldn't have become exclusive to the guild!)
Adventurers with detection-type skills are prized, depending on their strengths and weaknesses. A type like the man, who can judge the opponent's skill, is an indispensable existence for the guild.
However, he worked for a guild that was in a weak position compared to merchants, so there were inevitably many requests like this.
Moreover, the opponent was one of the top merchants in Beim. Even if he told the truth, if the other party didn't like it and complained, it would be troublesome in various ways. It would make living in Beim difficult.
(Actually, this is the second time for the Trace family. Last time, they had me investigate if there was a possibility of a skill being used... and I was complained to then, too)
The man in the robe wore the robe in the heat to avoid showing his appearance.
Wearing a mask, he glanced at the young man standing near the red-haired girl, Gina Trace.
He was a fine young man in his late teens with short brown hair. His name was Roland.
He was a serious young man who had worked at the Trace Company since he was small. An information broker had thoroughly investigated him, and the man in the robe had also performed a skill appraisal.
Fidel glared at Roland and looked across the sea.
(Well, it's a love across social classes. But I think they suit each other)
Roland had a troubled face. Gina was speaking to such a Roland.
Fidel didn't seem to like that.
(Before she started liking him, I doted on him... why are fathers like this... oh, the ship is here)
As the mass of metal approached the port, it was battered, as if a battle had been fought. However, since there were rumors that they had defeated the Trident Sea Serpent, acquaintances waving their hands and onlookers gathered at the port, raising their voices.
When the ship arrived at the port, the crew began their work.
At the port, since the ship's owner was present, the crew's movements were different. They were waving toward them, looking excessively happy.
(Well, they returned after defeating a big one. No wonder they're elated)
The man in the robe waited for the target man and woman to disembark. The gangplank was prepared, and luggage was unloaded from the ship.
Then, after the crew disembarked, many women disembarked after a while. They looked like adventurers, but it was a typical harem party.
(Sigh, time to work)
As Fidel glared at the adventurer, the man in the robe used his skill to look at the man in the center.
Then, the man in the robe widened his eyes.
(W-what are these people. And the blue-haired man in the middle... this guy isn't normal. N-no, more importantly, the job... is there a mental-type among the skills... there is! There is one!)
The man hurriedly searched for Vera, the daughter of the Trace family. She was walking this way together with Liel. The girl holding a parasol was holding the hand of the man—Liel—with her other hand.
From that appearance, it was clear she was quite devoted.
(That face is the same as a female adventurer contributing to a pretty boy! No mistake! But the skill... ah, he's not using it)
As the man in the robe shook his head, Fidel's face had turned bright red. And he made gestures repeatedly, telling him to look closely.
But no matter how many times he looked, no skill was being used.
As he shook his head repeatedly, Liel and the others finally arrived in front of Fidel.
The man in the robe looked at Liel.
(...Is this guy perhaps maintaining a harem party without a skill? Sigh, I actually respect him. But he probably won't believe me)
The man in the robe slumped his shoulders.
A man accompanied by beautiful female adventurers had appeared before the parent, holding his daughter's hand.
Moreover, Liel's first words were.
"U-um... Father-in-law?"
"I have no reason to be called father-in-law by you!"
They were words that deliberately rubbed him the wrong way—.