Although I had already told Lucretia that I would take care of the Protagonist, I never explicitly stated until now that I would kill her.
Of course, regardless of if she knew or not, I would still do it. Because I had to, for one, and now, I also guess that would also serve as my birthday present to her. After all, morbid it might be, what else would be a more fitting birthday gift for the Antagonist than the Protagonist's fresh corpse?
Although, to that end, I would need to work hard to make accomplishing it possible.
'Librarian.'
[Certainly! What might be the matter?]
'Is there really no way for me to uncover what power the Protagonist is hiding without having her tell me outright?'
[A-ah... I'm afraid not, um, to my knowledge.... my apologies...]
'No, well-- I guess it wouldn't be a very 'hidden power' if it were that easy. Just means I have to figure it out myself, I guess. Don't worry about it.'
Contemplating for a moment, I prompted Lucretia.
"Can I ask something else?"
"Speak."
"Does magic exist in this world?"
Somehow, a moment of hesitation interrupted before she responded.
"...Your need to ask such a question surprises me."
"Does it?"
"It does. Enki, you claimed to have come over from another world. Might it be the case that this 'other world' does not possess magic? Not only according to the scholars, but even my own impression was that the presence of magic is rather a natural law of the universe, comparable to gravity. However, perhaps the truth known by our current expertise is in fact mistaken."
'So it does exist.'
"Maybe. Magic doesn't exist in every world, so I don't know."
Taking a momentary pause, I thought I could see a spark of intrigue ignite in the young lady's eyes.
"...The concept of other worlds is not something I have heard any philosopher or scholar explore until now. Not aside from within petty fiction. Is it only natural that some worlds are distinct in that manner, I wonder...?"
"I don't know if it's that simple, but it's possible."
"Oh? Please, enlighten me as to your theory. As someone with responsibility to maintain a certain level of up-to-date knowledge among a variety of fields, one subject I find particularly fascinating is magic theory; I am curious what someone of your position thinks about the matter."
'"Someone of my position"? It's not like I'm a magical genius, you know?'
In fact, my magical ability was already confirmed to be no more than Nonexistent! Although, that was only because my body is incapable of generating mana―definitely not because I had no talent for it.
"I wouldn't call it as grand as a theory or anything."
Just, think about it logically. For starters, let's take the world of the first Contract―in that world, magic existed. Now, I never stuck around long enough to find out how exactly it worked or anything like that, but I absolutely confirmed its existence first-hand with that healing prayer used during training.
In that world, at least with regards to the healing magic I witnessed, it was cast by first chanting a long, drawn-out incantation.
Of course, there may very well have been other things that went into it that I'm not aware of, and that's more likely the case than not, but to simplify things let's assume it was only the incantation for the moment.
Now, during the second Contract, I attended two days' worth of magic lessons, and even though I was unable to decipher most of it, I did learn that the magic they used in fact differed greatly from that of the first Illusory World.
In that academy, the magic used was more along the lines of a single word, or perhaps a string of words, rather than an entire verse. The effects of the magic changed drastically depending on which syllables were combined and spoken to create the spell, or something along those lines.
In the end, although they used the same incantation-based system, the fundamentals were drastically different.
Even if we stick with the incantation-only ruleset, then there was already a massive distinction between the two that didn't even factor in anything else.
With just these two examples, it was apparent.
Magic was not the same in every world. It even did not exist in some.
This was a self-evident truth because I came from Earth, which only came into the possession of something comparable to magic around two years ago. I had not even become a full adult when the Tower appeared, but I still remembered the times that preceded the supernatural present distinctly.
Meanwhile, in the worlds where magic did exist with certainty, as has been observed, it had the potential to exist in a variety of forms.
Thus, just because two worlds might have the same 'magic system', that didn't necessarily mean that the magic used by one is the same as the magic used by another. Even if the system used is the same, there are bound to be those that diverge at some point along the line, thereby establishing a new, original system of magic.
If every world that possessed magic had its own set of fundamental laws regarding its usage, it's inevitable that there would be conflicting points here and there.
Take what Lucretia used as an example: gravity.
According to what we currently know from theories surrounding general relativity, gravity exists as a constant, meaning it can't be different all throughout the universe, unlike magic.
Generally speaking, gravity always exists and is practically always the same everywhere throughout the universe. Magic isn't like that at all.
At the end of the day, it simply doesn't make sense for magic to also be a constant.
"It's not a complicated concept when you think it through like that, right?"
Needless to say, something like this shouldn't even be worthy of prolonged thought. Anyone who had so much as played a video game or read a fantasy novel could tell you this much.
After all, it was only natural that, for people who were exposed to an unlimited number of various fantasy worlds, there would end up being aspects of those worlds that were unique, even if the core concept remained the same.
Magic was a prime example of that. And because magic only exists thanks to that creativity and those stories, it is also bound to be different.
Of course, for someone like Lucretia, with no pre-established concept of other worlds or realms of fantasy, this isn't something that would come so naturally. Well, in her case, she lives in a fantasy world, so it wouldn't even be viewed as fantasy in the first place.
Magic, itself, to her――is more akin to science than fantasy.
Then, in her universe, in this Illusory World―the claim that magic was constant could indeed be made, and it wouldn't necessarily be incorrect.
It could also be explained in such a way that all these different kinds of magic only existed because all these worlds with different forms of magic existed, but I didn't think it was so simple.
To explain such a foreign concept to her; that's why I was going into such depth about a topic that should be relatively simple to a human of Earth like myself.
Perhaps, by attaining a deeper understanding of magic like this, it would be possible to figure out a way to use it even without mana.
"―Anyway, that's why magic isn't like gravity. It isn't constant."
A few years ago, this conversation would end here. No, it probably wouldn't have even begun in the first place.
"Obviously, dumbass. Magic exists in some fantasy worlds and not others. Are you fucking stupid?"―During a time where nothing like supernatural phenomena, mythical creatures, or magical powers existed on Earth, of course it'd be easy to take that kind of stance.
But, with the understanding that they were real, and that these Illusory Worlds were also, in a certain sense of the word, "real", wouldn't such a perception change?
Because I was born during a time when magic didn't exist, I don't have mana. That's what the Librarian told me. I was also unfortunate enough to not gain it whenever I Awakened. So, since I don't have it, I'm sure I won't be able to use many different kinds of magic.
But, I do know one thing.
In the future, I'm guaranteed to visit many different kinds of worlds.
In that case, there are bound to be at least a few in which I can learn how to use magic without requiring mana. If they weren't real, it might not have been possible, but since there is in fact a possibility where they are, I see no reason why it wouldn't be like that.
It might even be worth choosing Contracts with worlds in which magic is a core principle just so I could learn it. Or maybe that's a dumb idea.
Either way, I guess it was something worth thinking about.
"Magic isn't constant... Indeed, if there are worlds that can exist without magic, then what you say must be correct. Thereon, perhaps our fundamental understanding of the laws of magic... no, of nature and the universe itself is mistaken... I understand. Tell me, Enki. In your world, is there also not a confirmed existence of D--'"
"Say, that's quite the interesting discussion you two are having there!"
Interrupting Lucretia's final question which I didn't get to hear, an unfamiliar voice called out. Swivelling my head at the abrupt interference, my brows reflexively sagged.
"Pardon me. Do you mind if I partake?"
I didn't need an introduction to immediately realise his identity.
'Ugh. Again...?'
Another love interest had appeared.