The Inept Mage's Infinite Regression - Chapter 44

REAPER SCANS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Gorm

Discord: https://dsc.gg/reapercomics

◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 44

"Even if Yejoff is participating in the hunting competition, that doesn’t mean he’s completely absent from the academy," Linav said. "He voted and has met with friends. Also, just because Yejoff isn’t receiving votes doesn’t mean his friends have given up on voting. Yejoff’s friends and the students who admire him surely voted for Miul Sino. It doesn’t make sense that he only got sixteen votes."

Linav pressed her index finger to her temple and then shook her head.

"Keshen Dart getting more than ten votes on Miul is thanks to my efforts, but compared to the vote count, it’s strange. Keshen got nearly twice as many votes as Miul. There’s no way the gap between them should be that large. If anything, Keshen, who has no support, should be slightly lower than Miul. Miul still has Yejoff as a focal point, while Keshen has no such friend."

"Of course," Linav continued, "the strangest result is Jimonail’s. The numbers themselves aren’t impossible. Last year, Arca received even more votes… but Jimonail isn’t Arca. While they are both from great families, Jimonail can’t compare to Arca in terms of reputation, honor, or talent."

"Are you certain that Jimonail rigged the votes, Senior?" Ethan asked.

"Certain? I don’t have evidence, so I can’t say I’m certain… but I think it’s likely."

Boen interjected, "If that’s the case, there’s something we need to consider."

"What’s that?"

"If you’re right, why is Jimonail going to such lengths to play the role of Cario?"

That was a good point. Ultimately, rigging the votes did nothing but secure the role of Cario. While it might be an honorable achievement for a student, it wasn’t worth the significant risk involved.

‘Unless she too has a quest.’

Ethan turned to Linav and asked, "What do you think, Senior?"

"I’m not sure. Does Jimonail love the Empire?"

"She seemed unusually passionate about the Emperor."

"There’s nothing strange about having strong feelings for the ruler of your land. But the fact that automatons oversee the voting means security is somewhat lax. There aren’t many troublemakers like you who would mess with things just for fun."

"You think I was doing that for fun?"

"Are you getting paid by someone?" Linav asked.

"…No," Ethan replied.

"The only explanation remaining is that Jimonail didn’t want anyone else to take the role of Cario. The benefits of playing Cario aren’t insignificant: She receives the admiration of others. On the other hand, no one would risk losing everything just for that. Rigging votes won’t get her expelled, but it could certainly stain her reputation."

However, Ethan disagreed. ‘Because of the quest, I know Jimonail is planning something. This is not just about playing Cario.’

So Ethan waited until the second semester was almost over.

In Yurmus, where the Harvest Festival had taken place, someone committed arson, but no one was killed or seriously injured. Yejoff won the hunting competition, but since the hunting competition was more about showing humility and virtue than serious competition, that wasn’t significant.

Jimonail performed well as Cario. While she usually had a cold demeanor, she gave a passionate performance, and students remarked how different she seemed. The fact that she received more than 90 votes was obviously suspicious, but her performance was so impressive that no one raised any issues afterward.

Just as Ethan was beginning to think he’d have to wait until the end of the second semester and the winter break, a message appeared before his eyes.

[Main Quest: Calm Before the Storm (C) is nearing its end.]

Ethan asked Demi, <What does it mean that the quest is ending?>

<Yes. Some truths are revealed with time. If the problem is not resolved before the truth is revealed, the quest’s achievement becomes meaningless. Thus, it disappears.>

Ethan had to either solve the quest within three days or reload. Waiting until the end of the second semester was no longer an option.

He waited two more days, but there was no movement from Jimonail, so Ethan decided to confront her directly.

In the cloister hallway overlooking the central garden, Ethan ran into Jimonail. This time, though, she wasn’t accompanied by other students, and her usual threatening aura was absent.

"Ethan?" Jimonail asked.

Ethan said, "Why did you rig the votes?"

As the corners of Jimonail’s mouth turned up, her usual demeanor returned. "No greeting, just straight to the point?" she asked. "How rude."

"Are you going to deny it?"

Jimonail glanced around the hallway. "No."

"Then answer my question: Why did you rig the votes?"

Jimonail avoided Ethan’s gaze for a moment before placing her hand on the cloister railing and looking up at the sky with a longing expression.

"I told you, I like His Majesty. He’s a great hero who saved countless people and the world itself. Yumaha. The reclaimed land. He deserves to be respected and admired by everyone."

"But the Emperor oppresses many nations. Countless mages and witches have been expelled from the Mage Council under the 'heresy designation,' and no nation bordering the Empire has been spared from conflict. Even your family, Eurogia, was…"

Jimonail cut Ethan off, "…You know, Ethan, the feeling of admiration is indistinguishable from the desire to become that person. That’s why, even briefly becoming the person you admire is incredibly enjoyable."

"So you really just wanted the role?"

Jimonail looked at Ethan. Her neatly arranged white hair, tousled by the autumn wind, partially obscured her face. Yet her red eyes remained clear as she stared at Ethan.

"Why? Is that not allowed?" she asked.

Ethan realized something. It wasn’t perfectly clear yet, but he had an idea of what he was missing.

‘From the beginning, Jimonail was the most likely candidate. Even Linav predicted she’d get the role. And Jimonail didn’t suspect anyone else of rigging the votes. She just did it. Playing the role of Cario wasn’t the important part. She did it because she wanted to.’

In other words, ‘Jimonail getting the role was a side effect. What’s important is how she was able to rig the votes just because she wanted to.’

Ethan returned to his room and reloaded.

REAPER SCANS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Gorm

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/reapercomics

Ethan’s reload point was just before the first month of the second semester, right before he passed Basic Magic Exercises with primordial magic. He chose this point to give himself as much time as possible to prepare for what was to come. After passing the exam with "Fire Starting," Ethan told Boen that his patron needed to ensure Jimonail didn’t come in first in the vote for the role of Cario while also explaining that Jimonail would rig the votes to secure first place.

"How can Jimonail rig the votes?" Ethan asked. "Could she use the weather?"

"Unless it’s a localized effect, the situation you described doesn’t fit. That would fall under grand magic," Boen replied.

"But as a mage, she must have used magic."

"…Hmm, it would be better to consult an expert on this rather than rely on my word."

"An expert?"

Boen called over Linav, who had been reading a book in the corner of the workshop.

Ethan pointed at Linav. "This person is the expert?"

"I don’t know what this is about, but you’ve said something rude about me again, haven’t you, Boen?"

"Not at all. Not at all, President." Boen explained, "It’s a hypothetical situation. If Jimonail were to rig the votes to secure the role of Cario in Cario’s Heroic Tale, how would she do it?"

"Jimonail will come in first even if she doesn’t rig the votes, though?"

"It’s a hypothetical."

Linav looked puzzled but still considered Boen’s question carefully. "She’s a Eurogia, right? So how would she manipulate the automatons?"

"Eurogia specializes in necromancy," Ethan pointed out. "Is there a connection to automatons there?"

Linav smiled as if she had been waiting for this. "I knew Ethan would say something foolish like that."

"…All right, I’ll gladly play the fool. What’s the explanation?"

"Do you know the basics of necromancy, the fundamental form of necromantic magic?"

"No."

"It’s commonly called puppetry or control magic. In simple terms, it’s the magic of making things that can’t move, move. We have it in Basic Magic Practice, right?"

"Yes, as control magic."

Linav nodded. "If you consider necromancy to be 'making the dead move as if alive,' you can see how close it is to puppetry. Of course, necromancy is a much more complex system, but fundamentally, it’s included within the broader system of puppetry. And within puppetry, there’s a sibling art called 'puppetry magic.' "

Puppetry magic, or doll magic, according to Linav’s definition, was the magic of making human-like things move.

"Puppetry magic includes not only puppets controlled directly by the mage but also automatons that move on their own. While necromancy and puppetry magic generally follow different systems, they share commonalities, and some elements are entirely the same, rooted in puppetry. Recently, mages have been neglecting the study of necromancy, but given the Eurogia family’s legacy, Jimonail must have some expertise in puppetry. With a bit of study, she could easily interfere with the automatons."

If Jimonail could control the automatons overseeing the voting, then rigging the votes would be trivial.

As Ethan nodded, Boen pointed out, "But there must be someone managing the automatons. They wouldn’t just let that happen, right?"

"Ah, right. I have no idea how the academy’s automatons are managed."

Ethan decided to dig deeper into that.

Surprisingly, finding the automaton manager was tricky. Rivielton had no idea and suggested Ethan ask Rydel, who had been at the academy longer. Rydel had no idea where the automatons were managed either, though, and suggested he ask Aincher, the longest-serving faculty member.

Fortunately, Aincher knew who the manager was.

"…Who is Ru?"

"Where can I meet her?"

The branches of the bonsai tree that served as Aincher’s head swayed.

"Kasli Foklain? That’s the western edge, right?"

<Correct, Ethan. You’re well-informed. The eternal jungle of Kasli Foklain… It’ll be a miracle if she even arrives this year. Who knows if she’ll return by next year? She’s terrible with time and often doesn’t return from her trips on schedule.>

Ethan was stunned but then asked, "Then who’s managing the automatons?"

<I’m not entirely sure, but I’ve heard Ru has automatons that manage other automatons.>

"What if something happens to those automatons?"

<Fortunately, since the academy’s founding in 621, there has never been such an issue.>

"Have there been automatons since then?"

Naturally, Ethan couldn’t give up just because Aincher said it was fine. He knew for a fact that Jimonail would successfully rig the votes.

Ethan pressed Aincher for more information and learned that Ru’s mansion, where the automaton manager resided, was located in the mountains, far from both Yurmus City and the magic academy. He even managed to get a sealed letter of introduction to gain entry.

When Ethan arrived, he found that the mansion wasn’t particularly large. He estimated it had about thirty rooms, and the architecture was more modern than he’d expected. However, contrary to Aincher’s instructions, no automaton came to check Ethan’s letter of introduction at the gate. Ethan looked around and eventually climbed over the wall.

The garden was overgrown with weeds, having been neglected for months, and the path was muddy. Sensing something was off, Ethan decided against entering through the front door. Instead, he took out his Gespenst V and used it to peer through the windows. After passing by rooms with drawn curtains, dark rooms, and empty rooms, he spotted a messy room on the third floor. Inside, he saw what appeared to be a human arm lying on the floor.

Ethan had the Gespenst V grab a rope, pull it up, and thread it through the rooftop railing before tying a knot and pulling the rope taut, securing it to the railing. Then, using an ascender, he climbed up to the mansion.

The window to the room in question wasn’t locked. Ethan entered, and as he picked up the arm, he realized it was an automaton’s… and there was more than an arm. There were legs and a shattered torso scattered around also. A large bed indicated this was a bedroom, and in the center of the bed lay a head, placed neatly. It was so finely crafted that it was indistinguishable from a human’s, but the severed neck revealed distinctly inhuman anatomical features and a pinkish fluid.

The automaton’s head opened its eyes and suddenly said, "Oh, you’re not the white-haired kid?"

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/reapercomics