“Magic enchantment?”
“Huh? You didn’t notice?”
The whole thing started with a single comment from Jude in the early afternoon.
It seems my hair ornament has some kind of magic enchanted into it. Naturally, I hadn’t noticed, since I’d never seen anything with magic enchantment back in Japan. That much should be obvious.
“What kind of effect does it have?”
“I can’t tell what the effect is, but I can sense that it’s enchanted with magic. It’s reacting to your mana, Sei.”
“Reacting? You can tell something like that?”
“Yeah, it depends on training, though.”
“I see.”
When I asked Jude for more details, he explained that to figure out the specifics of an enchanted magic, you need to use a spell called “Appraisal.” Apparently, this Appraisal magic is incredibly rare. In the common world, only major trading houses have someone who can use it, and even among court mages, only a handful can. Interestingly, if the magic level is high enough, Appraisal can be used on people too. However, when used on a person, it can be repelled unless they consent, and it’s almost guaranteed to fail if the target’s level is higher than the caster’s.
Then there’s magic enchantment itself. It’s the process of infusing magic into tools like weapons, armor, or accessories. For it to work, the item needs a core material, like a gemstone, and the magic is embedded into that core to create an enchanted item. Alternatively, you can embed the magic into a core and then set it into the item. These enchanted tools react to a person’s mana and activate their effects. While few people can use magic, it seems everyone has some amount of mana, however big or small. That’s why people trained in mana detection, like Jude, can tell if an item has been enchanted. He trained in it back when he attended the Royal Academy and still keeps up with it to help with his family’s business. Pretty diligent, huh?
“That sounds kind of interesting.”
“What does?”
“Magic enchantment.”
“Wait, don’t tell me you’re saying you want to try it?”
“Oh, you caught on quick.”
Jude gave me a slightly displeased look, so I flashed him a bright smile. What’s with that face? Magic enchantment isn’t something I could’ve done in Japan, so of course I’d want to give it a shot.
“Magic enchantment isn’t something you can just casually do, you know.”
“Really?”
“For one, the core materials are pretty expensive.”
There are various types of core materials, like gemstones or rare ores, but even small ones tend to carry a hefty price tag. Plus, enchanting requires the ability to use magic, so only a limited number of people can do it. That’s why there’s a huge gap in price between enchanted and unenchanted items. Yep, a massive gap, apparently. And my hair ornament? It’s enchanted. ……….
“What’s all the fuss about?”
I was lost in thought about the value of my hair ornament when the Director, passing by, called out to me.
“We were just talking about magic enchantment.”
“Magic enchantment?”
“I heard this hair ornament is enchanted, and it got me kind of interested in the whole process.”
“Hmm.”
The Director acted all calm and collected, but you noticed it too, didn’t you? I saw your eyes flicker slightly when I mentioned the hair ornament. Neither he nor Liz mentioned its price, but maybe by noble standards, it’s not considered that expensive? I don’t know if the one in the shop window was enchanted or not, but given the “huge gap” they keep talking about, it probably wasn’t. Thinking about how much my hair ornament might be worth is honestly terrifying. How am I supposed to repay this kind gesture…?
As I started to cradle my head in my hands again, the Director threw out an unexpected suggestion.
“Want to give it a try?”
“Huh?”
“Magic enchantment. You’re interested, right?”
Both Jude, who was listening nearby, and I were left dumbfounded by the Director’s suggestion. Wait, it’s that easy to do? I glanced at Jude beside me, and he shook his head slightly, as if he’d caught on to my question.
“I’ve got connections. So, what’ll it be?”
“I’ll do it.”
It’s a rare offer, so I decided to take it at face value. I was curious, after all.
And so, the Director brought me to the barracks of the Court Mage Corps. Uh, we’re here to do magic enchantment, right? Oh, it’s because it’s magic-related, isn’t it? As you’d expect from a mage corps, most people around here are wearing robes. The Director and I stick out a bit in this crowd. Now that I think about it, the people wearing these robes were also around when I was summoned. Maybe they were the ones involved in the ritual?
The Court Mage Corps barracks are pretty far from the research institute, so we rode here together in a carriage. It’s definitely farther than the Third Knight Corps barracks, so walking would’ve been tough. Jude stayed behind on the Director’s orders. He said work comes first, but is it okay for me to be here? The standards around here are a mystery.
“Sei, over here.”
“Yes.”
I was standing at the room’s entrance, looking around, when the Director beckoned me over. He’d gone ahead to a workbench in the middle of the room, which looked similar to the ones at the institute. On the other side of the workbench, facing the Director, stood a person in a robe—probably a mage. I bowed and said, “Nice to meet you,” and they hurriedly bowed back, looking a little tense. Huh? Are they scared of me or something?
“So, I’ll explain how enchantment works.”
The mage gave me a slightly strained smile as they started explaining. Why the strain? Well, no point in dwelling on it, I guess.
A partitioned box that had been pushed to the side of the workbench was placed in front of me. Inside were various small gemstones and ores, sorted by type. To enchant something, you hold one of these tiny cores in your hand, picture the effect you want to imbue, and channel mana into it. The effects you can enchant depend on the type of attribute magic you wield. For example, someone with fire-attribute magic can enchant an item to produce fire, while someone with water-attribute magic can make it produce water. To enchant support-type effects like boosting attack or defense, you need holy-attribute magic. Also, certain materials are better suited to specific effects, and the mage pointed out, “For support effects, these ones are recommended.”
“What kind of effect would you like to enchant?”
“Hmm…”
What should I go with? Support, support…
“Could you do something like nullifying attribute magic?”
“Nullifying magic, huh…”
I’d been thinking it over when I suddenly remembered the salamander that supposedly appeared in the western forest. It’s a lizard that breathes fire, apparently. I wondered if there was a way to make something that could fend off that fire. The mage thought for a moment and said, “Nullification might not be possible, but mitigation probably is.” Got it. In that case, maybe I’ll aim for mitigation.
“Then let’s go with that.”
“These stones might work well for that.”
I took the core material from the mage and cupped it in both hands. It’s only about three millimeters in diameter, so when I pressed my hands together, it disappeared from sight. In that state, I pictured the effect I wanted and channeled mana into it. Why not go big and make it mitigate all magic, not just fire? That’d mean boosting magic resistance, right? Yeah, I feel like I can manage that. With that image in mind, I directed my mana into the core.
Crack.
… … ….
Wait, it broke!?