NOVEL NEXT Chapter 221
Raul chuckled softly and shook his head. “I think you’re the only one who would speak of gods in such a manner.”
Oh
, did I say something wrong? As I blinked in surprise, Raul pinched my cheek gently.
“Why are you so surprised? It’s natural to want to meet your god. It’s just that you speak as if you want to be introduced to a good person, which sounds a bit odd.”
I awkwardly stroked my pinched cheek. Maybe Raul’s assumption was right. Being called the creator by others, it seems like I’ve subconsciously planted the idea that I’m the owner of this world.
That’s ridiculous.
Even though I receive creator’s privileges, that’s all there is to it. I’m not anything like a god. It would be shameful to think I’m special because of this.
As my cheeks grew hot with embarrassment, Raul patted my head. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. If the Demon God heard you, she would surely be delighted.”
He took off the signet ring from his pinky finger. “Watch closely.”
When he fitted the ring into a small notch at the corner of the book, the butterfly in the center flipped in the opposite direction with a click.
“…Is that it?”
Other than the butterfly turning upside down, there wasn’t any dramatic effect. It was quite different from when I touched the book, in which the engraved parts were all filled with magic, making for quite a spectacle.
Raul looked puzzled by my reaction as if it was strange. “What more did you expect? Did you think the book would flash with light?”
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘You Can’t Do This Here’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[It did shine though…]
Not only that, but it also sent me to another dimension.
When Raul turned the page, the dense text disappeared, revealing a butterfly drawing made of elegant lines.
The shape of these lines… Ah, I get it.
“It’s a magic circuit.”
“A magic circuit? I don’t see any runes.”
“The lines encapsulate all the information instead of runes. This breaks the limitations that come with using runes. It’s a method that allows stacking of multiple high-tier magics.” I pointed to the wing area. “Given the summoning formula here, it seems to enable the use of necromancy.”
Raul quietly followed my pointing, listening to the explanation.
“Drawing all these lines would be impossible with just any amount of magic. Perhaps this is why the Squire direct lineage has unusually high mana, Father?” As soon as I looked up from the butterfly, I met Raul’s eyes.
“…It’s impressive. It would have taken our family’s magicians a month to decipher this.”
“You’re giving me too much credit.”
“I’m speaking relative to a team of the finest magic scholars making a quick interpretation.”
Hmm, would it really be to that extent?
Ilya or Clyde would have understood the formula faster and more accurately than I did.
Raul insisted it was no exaggeration and explained further. “Let me put it simply. I assure you, no one could instantly understand which spells were used or how much mana was required just by looking at this butterfly. If such a being existed, it wouldn’t be human.”
Now that I think about it, neither Ilya nor Clyde were human.
“Do you understand what I mean now?”
“
Um
… you’re saying I’m smart?”
“It means you’re beyond human standards.”
It was an overwhelmingly high appraisal.
Did my intelligence change? Status Window.
▼
[Theresa Squire]
Description: Princess Squire
Age: 22
Magic Rate: S
Intelligence: S
Mana: A+ (200,000/200,000)
▲
[The Constellations is happy with BJ’s growth]
I was stunned as soon as I checked my status window. An S in intelligence. In game terms, it was as if I had already reached the max level.
Raul caught my gaze, which had drifted off while I was tapping the book. “What are you zoning out for? Try it already.”
“Me? I thought Father would do it.”
“How can I, without fully understanding the circuit? You try it.”
“Arcane magic is usually a family head’s legacy.”
When I expressed my disbelief, Raul dismissed it casually. “Others might create such petty rules to control their lineage. But our family is not.”
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Absolutely Protect Squire’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[Open-minded boomer]
“Alright. I’ll give it a try.”
I focused and began to draw the circuit with my magic. As expected, this spell required a huge amount of mana. But my mana was more than enough to perform this magic multiple times.
Once the spell was complete, I commanded, “Be born.”
This necromancy didn’t require a corpse. The souls I could summon borrowed the shape of butterflies to manifest.
It’s somewhat like the pet feature in MMORPG games.
They could fight alongside me and handle chores. Unlike the black butterflies that flitted away, Squire butterflies were truly supportive entities. The difference between black and Squire butterflies didn’t end there.
“Such a beautiful butterfly.”
Unlike the black butterfly that only I could see, the Squire butterfly was visible to others as well. Raul watched the butterfly with an expression like Giuseppe seeing a modern carriage for the first time. Then, with an excited voice, he called for the butler.
“Donovan! Prepare the largest banquet at once. The Squire family has reclaimed its arcane magic. Invite even the collateral family members!”
“Understood, Milord.”
I smiled faintly at the Squire butterfly perched on my finger. “I’m counting on you.”
As if responding, the Squire butterfly flapped its wings once.
* * *
Libby and Giuseppe stared intently at the Squire butterfly, like children observing a collected insect. The Squire butterfly was perched on a magical flower on the table alongside Libby’s white butterfly. With both butterflies side by side, the difference in their appearances was stark.
Since Giuseppe couldn’t see the white butterfly, he scrutinized only the Squire butterfly and commented, “Is this our family’s arcane magic? It looks weak.”
Libby disagreed with a look of disbelief. “The butterfly would be sad to hear that. How can something so beautiful look weak?”
“It’s neither an eagle nor a hawk, not even a mantis or a bee. How can a butterfly look strong?”
I corrected the misunderstanding. “It’s not a real butterfly but the soul of a human in butterfly form.”
Giuseppe retorted, “I know that. It’s a ghost, right?”
Well, strictly speaking, he wasn’t wrong. Libby, finding no respect or affection in his words, was about to argue, but I intervened. “Alright, break time’s over! Stop the chatter and start practicing drawing the circuit.”
I decided to teach Libby and Giuseppe how to use arcane magic. Both pouted in response. They were initially thrilled about learning arcane magic, but their enthusiasm waned when I told them to memorize the circuit.
“How are we supposed to memorize all this? There are five high-tier magics combined here! Is that even possible?”
…Why wouldn’t it be?
It might be a bit complex, but understanding the principle should suffice, shouldn’t it?
Frustrated by their complaints, Giuseppe grumbled, “Don’t give me that annoying look. It really pisses me off.”
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘The Chatty Has Change’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[He’s right. Who would follow after just being shown the circuit?]
Did I explain it too fast?
“Alright. I’ll show you again, so try to follow. We don’t have much time, so hurry.”
Raul declared that he would learn the magic by the banquet as well and demanded Libby and Giuseppe master it before then. And the banquet was scheduled for this evening.
“How are we supposed to memorize and master all this before tonight’s banquet?”
As Giuseppe sprawled on the sofa in defeat, Libby calmly continued drawing the circuit and replied, “Just do it. Father must have suffered a lot without arcane magic, so he must want to show it off proudly.”
“Fine. I’ll do it. If we just do it, it’ll work!”
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Relaxed Afternoon Tea Time’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[Peaceful day at the Squire duchy~^^]
* * *
I turned on the ceiling fan in my room to cool off from the heat.
“It’s already August. It feels like time is flying without much done.”
Eloise might feel like not much has been accomplished, but I didn’t feel the same.
A lot has happened.
Just a while ago, we celebrated finding the Squire’s arcane magic with a banquet. The banquet was a success. Raul and my siblings managed to master the arcane magic and summon butterflies before the banquet began. We greeted our guests with the butterflies, drawing curious glances. The attention was especially focused on me, but still.
I was asked about my relationship with the emperor more than twenty times.
Unexpectedly, the Kapento family did not attend the banquet. Ozworld was also absent. Except for Ilya, the Bernstein family attended in full. Essentially, all the men rumored to be involved with me were conspicuously absent from this banquet.
“Everyone is very excited about what will happen at tonight’s ball.” Eloise, who was helping me get ready, met my eyes in the mirror with an uplifted voice. “Milady is undoubtedly the star of this summer’s ball.”
I was a bit taken aback. “It seems everyone is more curious about which man I’m closer to than the Squire butterfly.”
“Don’t worry. The Wizard Association is more curious about your magical abilities than your relationships with men. You received invitations from various academic societies today, right?”
Eloise shuddered with a look of disdain. “Which lady would prefer a magic conference over the summer ball, the highlight of the social season!”
“…”
“Right, Milady?”
“
Ah
, yes. You’re right.”
I found the idea of attending a conference more appealing than the ball, though.
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Gambler’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[If it weren’t for the ‘Flower of the Social Season’ quest, I bet 100 million coins that you would have attended the conference instead.]