CH 43
“Phew, this is something…”
I reviewed the last video of Yuris that I had played yesterday.
The tiny sparks that appeared when Yuris reached her climax.
It felt as if sparkling fragments of light were falling from the sky.
In a way, it looked like a blessing from the gods, or perhaps a celebration of the current situation.
Thanks to that, Yuris was able to savor the moment of climax even more, but I know.
This isn’t just a simple spark.
“Noise phenomenon.”
The spark reaction that illusion mages refer to as the ‘noise phenomenon’ occurs due to sudden changes in circumstances or extreme fluctuations in the user’s emotions.
It was a phenomenon where the part of the magic circle calculating the user’s emotional changes experienced a temporary short due to information overload, and it was usually related to the durability of the magic circle.
It didn’t cause the magic circle to explode suddenly or mess up the user’s mind.
After all, illusion magic itself has no physical force.
However, the magic circle was more sensitive and finicky than one might think.
If a problem arose on one side, it could mess up the entire magic circle, so it was necessary to quickly check for such issues when they occurred.
‘I hope it’s just a durability issue.’
This incident was, in a way, like noise on a movie screen.
It was fortunate that the audience thought it was the director’s brilliant direction, but one couldn’t rely solely on coincidences forever.
‘You can’t keep benefiting from unintended phenomena.’
It needed to be addressed.
So, I replayed the video that the illusion magic circle had shown several times.
What exactly went wrong with the magic circle that caused the spark to burst?
Could it be that my handling, which awakened Yuris’s desires, was flawed?
I examined the magic circle’s reactions repeatedly, but no matter how much I looked, there was no problem with the magic circle itself.
At the moment Yuris felt her climax, there was only a slight overload.
As expected, it was a problem that arose from a slight overheating in the part that calculated Yuris’s emotions.
“Well, it’s not a bad reaction, but…”
If I just improve the durability, I could solve the immediate problem.
It would require a bit more money to make those improvements, but thanks to Yuris’s help, I had some extra income, so I wouldn’t be short on cash right now.
However, one concern was that the magic circle had a much weaker durability against changes in the user’s emotions than I had anticipated.
I’m addressing the durability now, but what if a situation arises where I have to demonstrate the video for a longer period?
What if a more intense climax and pleasure were to be felt, and suddenly a problem occurred?
The illusion video could suddenly cut off in the middle.
If the illusion were to cut off halfway…
‘The user who returns to reality would end up taking an unintended red pill.’
It was clear that troublesome situations would arise in various ways.
“I didn’t have such a strong reaction before; where did I miss it?”
Was it because of the part where I manipulated the sensory sensors to make the sensations more realistic?
If that’s the case, then it might be a problem that Yuris experienced such intense pleasure.
‘Should I adjust the level of pleasure?’
It would have been nice to ask my mentor, Meiko, for advice here.
She would surely have noticed the problem with the magic circle in an instant.
Of course, I couldn’t dare to ask her for advice.
After all, Meiko knew that this magic circle was simply a magic that observed the user’s desires.
– You’re going to show a video of desires in an illusion?
– Yes, if I do that, wouldn’t it prevent any foolish actions? And it would also earn some decent money.
– But would anyone want to watch such shameless videos?
To persuade Meiko, I had shown her a fake video of a woman in lingerie and a man in a thong striking a suggestive pose.
– S-stop it! I’ve seen enough!
That alone was enough to make Meiko’s face turn red.
It was a natural reaction for a devout believer of the goddess who didn’t know much about sex.
If she knew that it was a video that violated and tormented women while further inflating their desires…
‘She would probably try to smash the magic circle right away.’
It would be fortunate if that was all she did.
She might even excommunicate me.
Perhaps she would even try to destroy any records of her being my mentor?
She would surely drag me to the goddess’s church, saying I should repent.
– If you spend ten years as a monk, you’ll be able to drive out the demons in your head. Now go!
Would she send me to that boring and tedious goddess’s church where the only things to do were cleaning floors, reading scriptures, and praying?
That was absolutely unacceptable.
“I must hide the fact that I developed such a magic circle as much as possible.”
I must never get caught.
That aside, I could still ask for help as a disciple.
I wrote a letter to Meiko.
It included greetings about how she was doing, whether her research was progressing well, and a request for advice regarding the heating issue in the emotional calculation magic circle and the resulting durability problem.
– … I await the wise mentor’s advice. From your lacking disciple, Max.
Having written a letter that did not hide my respect for my mentor until the end, I sealed it in an envelope and opened the metal storage box where I kept the mail I used to send through the post office.
To send a letter through the imperial post office, it was necessary to attach a separate stamp depending on the distance.
To send it to the southeastern witch’s forest where my mentor was, I would need to attach a stamp worth about one gold coin.
‘I wonder if there are any stamps left.’
However, the storage box that should have contained the stamps was completely empty.
“Tsk, I knew this would happen.”
There were days when there were no customers at the shop for five days a week.
Due to the poor economic situation and my meager finances, I was even doing side jobs.
Buying expensive stamps in advance was almost a luxury.
A poor illusion mage is sad.
“…… I guess cash on delivery would be better.”
Since my mentor had sent it to me cash on delivery, I believed she would understand.
“Ahem, I’m sorry, mentor.”
Isn’t it the mentor’s heart to embrace the shortcomings of the disciple?
I placed the letter in the mailbox set up in front of the shop and checked today’s royal newspaper stuck in the mailbox.
– The Silent Saintess embarks on an expedition to the southern city of Ivrington to bestow blessings.
– The Imperial First Knight Order, led by the Goddess of Victory Yuris, provides escort.
– Glory to the saintess in victory.
“The Silent Saintess.”
I knew her as the saintess who defeated the demon king alongside the hero.
They said she gained immense power in exchange for her silence.
Wasn’t she said to possess a divinity stronger than any saintess to date?
It was said that very few had heard her voice.
Because of that, she was surrounded by all sorts of rumors.
– They say her voice is so beautiful that it could lead one to ascend.
– I heard that a demon who heard her voice turned into an angel.
– The reason the hero heard the saintess’s voice was that she called out when defeating the demon king.
– How beautiful must the hymns sung by the saintess be?
Honestly, I had no interest in what kind of voice she had.
I wasn’t a believer of the goddess, and my only concern was the magic circle I was working on and our customers.
If someone were to ask if I had no interest in the saintess at all, that wouldn’t be true.
‘There is one thing, though.’
The saintess’s preferences.
It certainly wasn’t about her taste in men.
Was it about her taste in food? No, that wasn’t it either.
It was the desires that the saintess held.
That was what I was most curious about.
What kind of desires could a saintess, who is noble, blessed by the gods, and has defeated the demon king, be hiding all alone?
Surely, a silent saintess who doesn’t tell anyone would not have ordinary desires.
Wouldn’t she imagine devouring the boy who came to confess to her?
If not, she might imagine being violated by a demon.
‘Perhaps the fact that she went to defeat the demon king could also be because she secretly wanted to be defeated by the demon king.’
She might have desired a forbidden relationship with the hero, who was in the same party.
I wanted to bring out the deep-seated desires she was hiding.
If the saintess became a customer of our shop, even those who were hesitant to come would surely visit.
‘I could also use the excuse of the saintess to claim that it’s a legitimate magic circle.’
If others heard it, they would probably scream blasphemy as I imagined reading the newspaper again.
“The First Knight Order… I wonder if Yuris went too.”
Thinking about it, most of the strong people in this world were women.
The goddess of victory of the empire, the undefeated knight Yuris, the Silent Saintess, and even the hero who defeated the demon king.
‘Wasn’t the entire hero party made up of women?’
Now that I think about it, even my mentor, Uris, is a woman, and Helen, who could become the next generation’s strongest, is also a woman.
Moreover, the current emperor ruling the empire is also an empress.
“How surprising.”
There are many strong men as well.
Draken, who first led me down the path of a mage, Beron Silvesta, the leader of the Imperial Second Knight Order, the Mercenary King Petrokhan, and the head of the Blaster School, among many others.
But among those at the top, the majority were women.
It’s a joke, but there’s a saying that the reason women can stand at the top like this is because of the goddess’s blessing.
Of course, it was an unproven story.
The only ones who have truly received the goddess’s blessing are the hero parties that defeated the demon king.
Since the hero parties have always been composed entirely of women, such jokes have spread.
“The hero party…”
Suddenly, I was curious about what kind of desires those who possess such noble power to defeat the demon king might have.
“I wonder if they will come to visit someday.”
Just as I was muttering to myself.
“Oh, there you are.”
A familiar voice was heard.
“Yuris? Didn’t you go to Ivrington with the saintess?”
“That was the vice commander who went instead.”
“Oh.”
Since the First Knight Order was providing support, I naturally thought Yuris would go.
“But what brings you here? Weren’t you satisfied enough yesterday?”
“Ah, well…”
Yuris, who was fidgeting with her hands, looked around and suddenly came closer to me.
The sweet scent of cosmetics tickled my nose.
“Oh, I want to experience the video again today, is that possible?”
“The illusion video, you mean?”
Yuris nodded her head slightly up and down.
What should I do?
“Today, I think it will be difficult due to repairs.”
“Oh, is that so…?”
Her expression was full of disappointment.
Her face, which had turned bright red, was dripping with regret.
Was what she felt yesterday that good?
Yuris seemed hesitant to leave right away, as if she couldn’t bear to go back.
“Since you’ve come all this way, it would be a shame to leave without doing anything. Would you like to come into the shop?”
“But you said the experience is impossible…”
Experiencing a new video was impossible.
It needed to be checked.
But.
“If you wish, it is possible to rewatch the previous video.”
“The previous video?”
“Yes. You can rewatch the moment when Yuris was gasping. At the point you desire, Yuris.”
“Didn’t you promise to keep it a secret?”
“That’s right. I am doing my utmost to ensure that customer information does not leak out. However, I need to retain some of the previous information to base the next experience on, so it can be better.”
At my words, Yuris bit her lower lip.
“There will be absolutely no leakage. The only person who can handle this illusion magic circle is me.”
“Hmm, now I’m intrigued.”
“Would you like to take a look?”
She nodded her head.