Chapter 59: Strange and Wondrous Magic
"Your name is Kazuma Yumesaki, right?"
Serie suddenly pointed in another direction, her face twisted in distaste. "What exactly is that city located on top of that red mountain range? Why are there so many creatures with such repulsive countenances there?"
Yumesaki immediately understood what she was talking about. It was no wonder she looked so disgusted. Anyone who knew the truth about the World Nobles knew exactly what kind of "creatures" the Celestial Dragons were.
"That place is the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. It is the residence of the world's aristocrats—the Celestial Dragons."
"Celestial Dragons? Are they more noble than emperors?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes. At least in this world, they are," Yumesaki nodded.
Serie withdrew her Clairvoyance magic and snapped her fingers. Several chairs materialized out of thin air on the deck. She sat cross-legged on one, resting her chin on her right hand.
"Yumesaki, tell me about this world. I wish to understand it."
Serie was deeply attracted to the unknown; it was a feeling she hadn't experienced in a very long time.
"Wait just a moment," Yumesaki said.
He stood up and opened a Door-Door, returning briefly to his own world. He went to his room, grabbed a complete set of the One Piece manga, and brought it back, placing the stack in front of Serie.
"If you want to understand this world, you can read this manga. All the information regarding this world is contained within these pages."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Serie raised her hand and flicked her wrist. The manga was caught by an invisible force, floating up to hover in front of her.
Levitation Magic—a spell capable of making objects float and guiding their movement slowly. It was perfect for transporting heavy loads or slowing one's descent during a fall. This spell appeared multiple times in the original series.
Following that, the pages of the manga began to flip at an incredible speed—a frantic blur of paper. In just a matter of seconds, Serie tossed the first volume aside and began on the second.
Ten minutes later, Serie had finished the entire One Piece collection Yumesaki had brought.
Yumesaki figured she must be using something like "Speed Reading Magic" or "Information Extraction Magic." Only a spell like that would allow someone to digest dozens of volumes of manga in ten minutes.
In the world of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, magic was divided into two main categories.
One was Combat Magic. This was self-explanatory; any spell used for fighting fell under this label.
The other category was simply... everything else.
The variety of these "lifestyle" spells was staggering—sometimes even bizarre. Aside from supportive spells like Levitation and Clairvoyance, there were spells to manifest hot tea, spells to turn sweet wine into sour wine, spells to turn red apples green, spells to make flower fields bloom, and spells to find lost jewelry.
There were even absurdly specific spells, like magic to remove stubborn oil stains, magic to scratch an itchy back, magic to prevent eggshells from falling in when cracking an egg, and even magic to ensure one would never trip over their tongue when reciting difficult tongue twisters.
In short, there was nothing you couldn't do as long as you could imagine it.
The primary reason for this was that the concept of magic in Serie's world was based on pure idealism. Many Mages there liked to explain it with a single sentence: Magic is the power of imagination.
As long as one's imagination was sufficient, magic could manifest unbelievable power. It was completely illogical, but then again, the existence of magic itself was illogical, so a little more absurdity didn't really hurt.
After finishing the manga, Serie looked up. "What about the rest of the story?"
"I don't know."
Yumesaki shook his head, pointing to the author's name on the cover. "Do you see this name? Eiichiro Oda. In our world, he is a manga artist. The rest of the story hasn't been drawn yet, so even I don't know the ending."
Serie paused. "So, you aren't from this world either."
"Of course not," Yumesaki said, gesturing toward Hashirama, Minato, and Kanae. "Not just me—none of us belong to this world. I am from Earth, and they are from the world of Naruto."
"The world of Naruto?" Serie scanned Hashirama and the others with interest. "So, their world is also a manga."
"Yes," Yumesaki nodded.
"And what about me?" Serie looked at Yumesaki seriously. "As someone from another world, you recognized my identity at first glance. That is very strange. It implies that I, too, am a character in a manga."
"Yes," Yumesaki continued to nod.
Serie didn't seem bothered by this revelation. Instead, she asked with genuine curiosity, "Then, what is the name of my world? Or rather, what is the title of my manga?"
"Frieren: Beyond Journey's End."
"Frieren?" Serie looked genuinely surprised, her mouth curling into the shape of a cat's.
"That's right. Frieren."
"Hahahaha...!"
Suddenly, Serie burst into a fit of laughter. "I truly didn't see that coming. To think the protagonist of my world's manga would be Frieren. If Flamme knew her student was a protagonist, she would surely be wearing a proud, smug smile."
She really hadn't expected it. That grand-disciple of hers, who had zero ambition, was actually the main character. It was a delightful surprise.
"So, what kind of story does Frieren: Beyond Journey's End tell?"
Serie rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I heard recently that Frieren and her party defeated the Demon King. Does the story cover their quest to slay him?"
"No, not at all."
Yumesaki shook his head. "In our world, the trope of a hero slaying a Demon King is far too old-fashioned. There are at least eight hundred to a thousand stories with that exact template. People aren't looking for that kind of tale anymore."
"Frieren: Beyond Journey's End tells the story of what happens after the death of the hero, Himmel."
"At the start of the story, Frieren and Himmel have already defeated the Demon King. Afterward, during a celebration, the party promises to meet again fifty years later to watch a meteor shower. But after that meteor shower, the hero Himmel passes away."
"Witnessing Himmel's death first-hand finally makes Frieren realize the vast difference between an elf's perception of time and a human's. She realizes, with profound depth, that she never truly understood humans."
"Consumed by regret, and with the help of journals left behind by Heiter and her master, Flamme, Frieren begins a journey toward the place where souls return—starting a brand-new adventure. That is the plot of your world's story. It's not about the battle against the Demon King, but about what happens after the victory."
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