Chapter 1 - Disciple of the Last Hexe
1
A computer refer to ''one who computes'', before computers were invented. A human
calculator, if you will
2
A contractor is... let''s say you run a business. You require the services of, say an
electrician, but you don''t have one employed. Hence, you engage the services of a
electrician. He will then become a ''contractor''. A sub-contractor is someone the
contracted electrician (for example) contracts with, for support. All these are legal
definitions, just for the record.
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"You haven''t laid your hands on something that fine? Has your little stump
rotted away?"
"...... I''ve said this many times before. Don''t you think you ought to stop
saying that sort of thing?"
"I got it. Nobles have a reputation for liking dirty jokes, y''know. My ancestor
five generations ago once had a wise saying that went ''Men of nobility will
die if they are forbidden from touching elsewhere on a woman''s body except
3
Erbe Der Last Hexe is part-German, part-English. ''Erbe'' is an inheritance/legacy, so it
could be interpreted the Inheritance/Legacy of the Last Hexe (witch), as it might end up as
a wordplay in the end and have double meaning (Last means something else in German).
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"Leave me alone—and Maria too. Eventually, she''ll be married to a wealthy
noble financier. It would not do to mar her in any way."
"Is that noblewoman really so precious to you? Being ''ladylike'' is already an
old-fashioned conservative way of thinking. Rather, she''s the type you should
go stab with your sword head-on, y''know."
"......"
Lyle sipped his soup in silence, as he had already known that a long time ago.
"Come to think of it... do you know who Vilhelm Zest is?"
"That senior from the fifth year? Last year, at the age of eighteen, he
succeeded the military Zest family as a Margrave4
, an extraordinary man—
rumours of whom have spread so fast that even I''ve heard of them. That
Zest?"
"A really different kind of noble compared to me. Even in the academy, he''s
always surrounded by and bringing along younger nobles from prominent
families. A Margrave like that, for the sake of inviting Miss Maria to the ball
at the end of the holiday, had even made advances on her... how do you
think that turned out?"
Looking at the smiling, seemingly happy Hazel, Lyle had a rather unpleasant
premonition.
"She slapped that dandy right across the cheek, and told him, ''Did that quite
wake you up?''. It was an act of brilliance. There were more students who
were in admiration than in surprise."
"That happened, huh....."
Lyle resisted the dizziness that afflicted his head.
Though I already knew how her uncontrollable, reckless, and without-a-carefor-what-others-may-think
personality was like......
4
Margrave is a medieval title for a nobleman who had military responsibilities for a border
province of a kingdom. In this case, the kingdom is Ilsestein. The setting is influenced by
Germany, I guess, there are quite a few German words here and there.
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"... Even absurdity should have a limit."
"You''re the only person who can get along well with that noblewoman. So,
hurry up and make something happen already. In the first place, how are you
able to hold yourself back with such a perfect pair of breasts before you? Be
honest. Are there any guys who dislike breasts? None.Ain''t that right, my
brother?"
While cackling, Hazel moved both his hands in an extremely obscene manner.
"...... Hazel. If you''re going to be that persistent about it, I have something
that I want to say."
"Eh? What''s that?"
"I won''t lend you my notes at all, nor will I show you the way to the exam."
"Ngh! Th-That would be troubling! If I don''t have your notes, I''ll end up
dropping out of class! And to make matters worse, if I can''t sell the
transcriptions of your notes, I''ll starve to death in an instant!"
"Why is this guy putting food before his exams... wait, what was it that you
said?"
"Heheh, pardon me, Lord Lyle. Bestow upon this pitiable lamb your scriptures
and promises."
"Very well."
Looking down at Hazel who was prostrating himself on the ground, Lyle felt a
little better.
19
Part 3
After setting up a fire in the stove and taking a hot shower, Lyle changed into
his outdoor clothes. But to be exact, it was only the usual clothes, a shirt,
vest, slacks and an overcoat on top.
Though the standard black overcoat specified by the academy was
unfashionable and thus unpopular, Lyle saw it as a mage''s robes and hence it
was his favourite, comparatively.
"—Hm. I forgot something."
Lyle was just about to depart from the cramped dorm room (Hazel''s only
saving grace was that he was a neat freak) when he checked and did not feel
the usual sensation in his pocket. Hurriedly, he picked up the pocket watch
left on top of the desk. On the exterior cover that was adorned with delicate
silverwork, a polished amber was giving off a dull shine.
It was the watch that Erllua, Lyle''s teacher, had given him just before her
disappearance. Inserting amber which was indispensable for magi, into the
cover of the watch that was made with cutting-edge mechanisms, was truly
like something ?The Last Hexe? would do.
"One could even say that this is the <Erbe Der Last Hexe>.... Oops, gotta go,
gotta go."
When he opened the lid to check the time, he realised that a significant
amount of time had passed.
Stuffing the pocket watch deep into his pocket, Lyle flew out of the
dormitory.
The dormitory was located at the northern end of the vast academy. Lyle
rushed towards the western side of said vast academy''s interior.
A single horse carriage was stopped before the sturdy and old-fashioned
main gate made from iron. The young girl folded her arms in an imposing
stance and pouted as Lyle arrived panting and out of breath.
"—You''re late!"
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Though she was making a racket over Lyle first thing in the morning, still, she
did dress up rather seriously today. An elegant pale pink dress. Tapping on
the ground were precisely measured, custom-made boots. On her head was a
wide-brimmed sun hat. No matter how one looked at her, she was exactly
the image of a high-class noblewoman.
I would have no complaints if she were dressed like that all the time, sighed
Lyle.
"Weren''t you the one who suddenly called me out? Doing that and saying
that I''m late is rather unreasonable."
"Why do you say that, seeing as you''ve known me for so long? Haven''t I
always been that way since the past?"
"...... Now that you mention it, I guess I should have known."
Shaking his head exasperatedly, his gaze met with the girl sitting at the
coachman''s position on the carriage who was stretching her neck out. She
had large green eyes and light brown skin that gave one the impression of a
Southerner. Over her light blond hair, she wore a pure white headdress,
which was the symbol of maids.
"Good morning, Milla."
"Good morning to you, Master Lyle."
The maid serving under Maria, MillaGauche, returned with a smile
reminiscent of a sunflower.
Lyle knew her from when he was a child. One could say that she was Lyle''s
comrade in arms in being abused by Maria.
"Looook here, what are you waiting for, get on quickly."
Maria pushed Lyle towards the carriage. Once they had boarded the
passenger''s compartment, Milla started to move the horse carriage with a
crack of her whip.
The liveliness of the atmosphere grew as one travelled from the outskirts
towards the central area. Upon arriving at the street where government
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boards were located, they were caught up in an absurd disturbance. Food
stalls that were giving off sweet aromas were everywhere, and so were the
resounding sounds from ringing glasses of malt beer.
Much less a horse carriage, even the trams were not able to move, it seemed.
"We can''t proceed any further, eh."
"It looks like there''s still a fair distance to go... ah, I remembered. I''ve got
something here that''ll be good to kill some time with."
Saying that, Maria took out a single envelope from the bag beside her.
"It''s a report from the research institute that I''m financing... they seem to be
having a hard time with it. Could I get your opinion on this?"
"... Did you bring me all the way here into this crowded town centre for
that?"
"I wonder? Leaving that aside, won''t you do this for me, p-r-e-t-t-y-p-l-e-a-se??"
There was never an instance when he had refused Maria''s ''please''. Lyle
promptly gave in, took the envelope, and retrieved the contents inside.
"...... This is...... a communication device that uses radio waves? With that, it
is also possible to transmit sound......"
"If implemented practically, it would probably be referred to as a
[telephone]. We''re in no hurry, so take your time."
While buying mead that was mixed with soda from the carriage window,
Maria had said that carefreely, but Lyle was already concentrating on the
documents.
"A film to receive sound... Using pig''s intestines, that''s pretty classic... What if
there''s electrical resistance in that thin film... How about a carbon or metal
film? But that would mean direct contact... come to think of it, a little while
ago I did some calculations on the piezoelectric effect using crystals for the
professor who taught electricity. If I apply those principles, a no-contact
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approach could be possible, but... it''s overly delicate, so putting it to practical
use would be......"
Lyle was unconsciously moving his finger along the documents, holding out a
fountain pen and taking careful aim. Then, he promptly thrust it hard at the
documents.
Unifying the accumulated knowledge and repeating the counter-arguments,
his thoughts formed an idea according to the notations and equations
running through his head. Lyle moved his writing brush, with the likeness of a
baby who had just learned to write.
"...... It can be done."
Struck with an idea, he finished writing out the layout of his design as much
as he could.
Filled with a sense of accomplishment, he raised his head, and saw that Maria
was playing around with her hair in boredom. The scenery outside the horse
carriage had changed from the city central to that of the outskirts.
Upon taking out his pocket watch to check the time,
"—It''s already been an hour?"
"Honestly, your concentration is superb."
Although Maria was smiling bitterly as though she was amazed, but that
quickly changed to shock when she read his memo on the documents.
"...... This ought to have been only one hour. I doubt there was any need to
purposely take you through the town centre. In such a short time you''ve
raised three different methods one after the other and even pointed out our
problems... We''ll be able to start producing a prototype right away."
"I didn''t do that much. The part on the microphone that changes sound to
electrical signals was already made clear. What I did was something like
building a little house over a solid foundation."
"That must have been a really splendid little house then. If you like, I could
make you the chief-in-charge of that little house right away?"
23
"That''s absurd!"
Lyle shook his head hurriedly.
"The evaluation is based off accumulated results. Doing that for scrawls like
this is beyond what I deserve."
"That''s simply modesty, or rather, how should I put it....... I''d like you to rely
on me a little more."
Maria shrugged her shoulders, with an expression that seemed to say, ''I
understand, but...''
Shortly after, the horse carriage arrived at their destination.
At the western outskirts of the royal capital, there had once been a
shipbuilding factory directly under military control. Although it had been a
considerably large-scale facility, a sudden fire had destroyed everything three
years ago. The reconstruction of the factory was integrated as the expansion
of the second shipbuilding factory that was under construction at that time.
There were no practical plans that stood out for the remaining burnt area to
be used for, and thus it ended up as a so-called multi-purpose plaza that had
no distinct function.
That multi-purpose plaza at the western outskirts of the royal capital was, as
of now, filled with many multi-coloured tents with people going in and out.
The popularity of the place had surged to an extent that would not lose to
1
This master here refers to the head of the household.
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"Welcome. It''ll be seven coppers for three tries."
"Isn''t that a little pricey?"
"Please take a look at our prizes. There are perfumes famous in the
neighbouring country of Galea, quality hair ornaments produced in the
industrial city of Imata. They may be expensive, but there is a good reason for
that."
"I see. Well then—Lyle", as she was saying that, Maria passed over the toy
rifle over to Lyle.
"I want that earring."
"You can get it yourself, can''t you? Isn''t marksmanship your forte?"
"Lyle, I''m doing it for your benefit, y''know? It''s a girl''s responsibility to leave
the spotlight to the guy."
"So it''s that kind of reason......"
He could not understand it, but nevertheless, it was not like he did not have
an interest in such an unusual game.
Paying the copper coins and loading a cork bullet, Lyle prepared the toy rifle.
Aiming at the centre of the wooden tokens that represented the prizes, he
pulled the trigger. With a ''bon'', the cork bullet was fired, but it went wide off
its mark.
"Aah! Do it steadily, Lyle!"
Maria hit the back of his body, giving him a pep talk. Does she really like that
ornament so much? Aiming carefully, he fired the second round. Because he
got a little more used to it after the earlier try, the shot would not be as off as
the first time. Though he thought that it would hit, the bullet went in a totally
wrong direction.
"This is......"
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Because the parabola was totally different from earlier, Lyle noticed the trick
of the cork bullets. In order to make the shooter unable to grasp how to aim,
the centre of gravity had been purposely altered.
"Go on, don''t you have just one more shot left?"
At the words of the shopkeeper who was wearing a peaceful expression, Lyle
loaded his last round while feeling astonished.
(...... No other choice.)
Although I''m rather reluctant to do so, let me try a little something here as
well.
While preparing the toy gun, Lyle extended his hand to the watch in his
pocket, touching the amber that was inserted onto the cover with his
fingertip.
"———— That which exists at the end of light, the end of darkness. That
which denotes the origin of wind, the origin of fire.Of forgotten dusk, of
heretic gold.That which is the cradle of time. ————"
Lyle whispered in a soft voice that blended into the clamour of the
surroundings.
Exciting the magical power that was imprisoned within the amber, was the
incantation known as <Oracio>.
Before long, at the fingertip touching the amber on the cover of the pocket
watch in the pocket, a tiny warmth that could not be said to be heat was
born. It was the sensation of excited magical power.
The hidden amber resonating with his mind, Lyle started constructing the
''magic''.
(The acceleration due to gravity is fixed at 9.806m/s^2—the mass of the
bullet, the speed of the wind—grasped. Hypothesising ''magic''—)
Magecraft was a study of how one could, using magical power, interfere with
reality with ''magic'' that distorted the laws of said reality. For that reason, it
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was necessary for one to have a deep understanding of the underlying
principles of the cosmos. Without that, one would not understand what was
being distorted.
That is to say, turning the user''s knowledge into ''power''.
Although magic could distort even the laws of reality for the desired results,
it was not omnipotent. A practitioner would fail if they hypothesised
excessively unreasonable ''magic'', and receive the entire backlash of the
distortion.
However, what was being manipulated this time was the trajectory of the
cork bullet, which was a rather meagre thing.
In accordance to ''magic'', Lyle formed a mental image of the trajectory. That
image bearing a sense of reality, his belief reached its peak—
— *Pon*.
The fired cork bullet was corrected, following the trajectory of Lyle''s mental
image, and hit dead centre of its mark.
With a *batan*, the mark easily fell over.
"B-bull''s eye....", said the shopkeeper while ringing the bell, flabbergasted.
(...... That wasn''t very mature of me.)
Lyle contemplated a little.
''Magic must be kept secret. By no means should you expose it to the public
eye. They are but illusions made into fabrication.'' —that was an unspoken
rule of all magi, carried on since the Dark Ages, when the [Magus Hunters] of
the Church had been powerful.
Though he did not fear being exposed, it might have been somewhat rash of
him to use it at target practice stand in the festival.
However, when he saw how pleased Maria was as she took the earrings, Lyle
felt much better about it.
"Does it look good on me?"
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It was a high-grade item, but Maria already had as many of them as she
wanted. Although he felt it was a little inferior compared to her current
attire, he thought that the bead earrings which matched her emerald green
eyes looked good within her copper hair.
"Yep. It looks really good on you."
"Is that so? Then let''s go! —Wait, I forgot something."
With a clap, Maria took into her hands the toy rifle that was used for target
practice.
"Where was this made?"
"Huh? Oh, it''s just a little something that was made by a small factory
indebted to my family."
"I see. —Milla, this toy is pretty well made. Dispatch an envoy right away to
the factory that made this and obtain an exclusive contract."
"Understood."
The shopkeeper stared in wonder at the exchange between Maria and Milla.
Lyle too, was in admiration of the promptness of that decision.
Though the Highlines were just one household among others that were
blessed with business ability by nature, Maria was one who stood out from
the rest even amongst that. Both her grandfather and father had complained
that, ''it''s a waste to have that in a woman''.
—Then again, whether it was in a man or a woman, that had nothing to do
with Maria.
Within Lyle''s field of vision, Maria had turned her head back abruptly.
"Hm? What is it? Did you fall for me?"
"As if. I''m always seeing you around, so much that I get tired of it. I was
looking at the earrings."
29
"Oh? Well, let''s just leave it at that."
Smiling as though she had played a prank and twirling around, Maria
returned the toy gun, seemingly in high spirits.
30
Part 4
Wandering about in the day, Lyle and the others continued their sightseeing
as they bought foodstuffs like smoked meat and spit-roasted potato.
And then, what had caught their eyes was a performance stage that involved
knives and swords. That in itself was sure to attract an audience.
A man had his entire body up to his neck entirely covered in an oblong box,
and his partner was stabbing sword after sword into it.
"Whoa, doesn''t that pierce straight into the centre!"
"Aren''t they doing that right in front of an audience? It should be safe."
The master and servant pair Maria and Milla, and the surrounding spectators
raised their voices in surprise upon seeing the swords piercing into the box.
"Thrusting the sword in is part of their show, isn''t it?"
"Is that so?"
"I think that that guy is a contortionist. They''d be able to perform that kind of
stunt, right? When the audience sees the swords being stabbed inside, surely
that would play a trick on their minds, wouldn''t it?"
Lyle explained in a serious tone.
The spectators who heard that slowly started to spread the information, and
the audience gradually grew bored with the performance.
"P-Please wait a second, everyone! Since you''ve said that much, then we
cannot remain silent any longer. Let us present our grand finale—"
Upon saying that, the magician pushed in a wagon that a big box was placed
on.
"Now, we''ll split the body of the man inside the box into two—"
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"Ah, for that, a man will already be present in the box from the start with his
legs sticking out. They use a slanted mirror inside so the audience sees that
it''s empty."
The men on the stage hardened their business smiles.
The completely spoiled audience left the stage, one by one.
"L-Look at what you have done, you brat!"
The men got off the stage in a rage—while brandishing swords in their hands.
"Not good! Let''s run away!"
Maria and Milla immediately broke into a run, and Lyle followed suit in a
hurry.
Shoving their way through the tides of people through the curving path, the
sound of angry voices slowly receded. His hands on his knees, Lyle tried to
catch his breath.
"Oh dear...... Come to think of it, it''s been a while since I''ve been chased
around with Maria— ?"
Looking around, he saw neither shape nor shadow of either his copper-haired
childhood friend and her maid. It looked like he had been separated from
them while running away.
"I''m beat......"
Just as he was thinking of heading back to the horse carriage, he heard the
same angry voices of the men from earlier. Lyle then dived at the closest tent
nearby in a panic. Hiding himself behind the curtains, the passing angry men
disappeared into the distance.
"—Are you a customer?"
Turning around, he saw that a man who looked like the cashier, was looking
at Lyle suspiciously after he had suddenly entered the tent.
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"...... How much will this be?"
He would feel embarrassed if he had just left like that. Paying the admission
fee, Lyle went further into the tent.
Inside the tent, twenty or so spectators were sitting on benches. For some
reason, they were practically all males. With the addition of Lyle, it seemed
like the numbers were filled up. Before long, the tent was closed up.
A candlestick illuminated the stage, and with that, a man who seemed like
the host appeared on the stage and bowed his head.
"A good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. Who we have on stage now is our
beautiful, one-of-a-kind songstress, who will be gracing us with her heavenly
voice! The moment of a transient illusion, please enjoy it!"
Aah, no wonder. Lyle now understood the reason why there was an unusual
number of male customers. It looked like it was because they were drawn by
the ''beautiful songstress''.
As he was lightly regretting his choice due to the fact that it had not been his
original intention to participate, the illumination in the tent was
extinguished.
When the light was relit, the illumination revealed a massive birdcage in the
middle of the stage. What was imprisoned inside the birdcage was no bird,
but a lonesome small girl.
''Hoo...'', went the audience, leaking out a sigh.
It had not been a lie. The girl inside the birdcage was truly, extremely lovely
and beautiful.
Her pale silver hair was softly undulating as it reached down to her waist,
captivating the eyes of the audience.
Because of the repeatedly overlapping thin black cloth, the wings of a bird
could be seen at the hem of the dress in which her slender body was clad.
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From the openings of the dress were limbs so fine that they seemed like they
would break, so white they seemed like snow dissolving from the heat of a
candle''s flame. It might have been because of that, that the choker and lock
around her slim neck further emphasised the impression of her being
imprisoned. As though it was a play depicting an imprisoned nightingale.
The girl lifted her head.