SIAW Vol. 2 Chapter 15

Chapter 15  – Utter Idiocy!

Dorothea probably realized that I wasn’t following and started explaining.

In short:

Any document or script cannot be registered if it is more than 50% wrong.

If it is successfully registered, it then receives an evaluation:

“Authenticity” : how accurate, or correct, the registered content is.

SSS Faultless

SS 95% or more correct

S 90% or more correct

A 80% or more correct

B 70% or more correct

C 60% or more correct

D 50% or more correct

“Fulfillment” : how well the content matches the title of the document.

Not even Dorothea seemed to know for sure how the “Fulfillment” parameter was measured. It was evaluated in the same way as “Authenticity”, from a maximum of SSS to a minimum of D.

Her explanation of the system left me pretty surprised: nothing so advanced existed in my old world. Dorothea had kept the explanation short, so there might be other options or functions too.

I looked up, and saw Dorothea smiling at my surprised expression.

…crap, I feel like I lost.

Wait…couldn’t we have done this from the start?

If registering a document shows its “Authenticity” and “Fulfillment”…just do it. What was the point in asking to see my status?

I raised my right hand.

“Do you mind if I ask a question?”

“What is it, young one?”

“If registering a document shows how accurate its contents are, it is a lot more effective than seeing my status and skills, isn’t it?”

Zanvert looked almost miserable, while Dorothea looked the other way.

Why hadn’t she mentioned the registration process from the start?

I kept looking at Dorothea, waiting for her to clear my suspicions, and she started talking at super high speed.

“T-That is just because registration costs ten gold coins. I-It’s too expensive to just do willy-nilly, you see.”

Hmm, I can concede that I don’t have that much money on me, but…

“I see, I didn’t know about that fee. I suppose I’ll pass today.”

Something felt fishy about the whole thing, so I expressed my refusal and started to leave.

“Wai—”

“Could you please wait a moment, Tenma?”

Dorothea immediately protested, but Zanvert talked over her.

“No, that fee is a bit too much for me. As I said before, I don’t have any reason to register the documents no matter what.”

I clearly stated my opinion, then talked about what I found suspicious.

“Besides, even if there was the cost issue, it still feels unnatural that you tried to see my stats and skills first. Even if you do that, it can only prove so much of what’s written in the documents — if anything. I seriously doubt it can help speed up testing at all!”

Zanvert nodded, in agreement with my objections.

“I have the same opinion as Tenma. I thought that the discovery of a method to increase one’s own magic power had the potential to change the history of this world forever — that’s why I brought up this proposal. Because I thought that the method had to be registered, to keep ill-intentioned people from abusing it.”

Zanvert then turned towards Dorothea.

“This is an important matter, dear sister. Since it concerns magic, I asked the Magicians’ Guild to test it, but I see no reason to confirm Tenma’s status and skills for half a day’s worth of tests. Is there one?”

Pressed for an answer, Dorothea —

“I am really sorry—! After seeing that our magic power increased, I was sure that the method had to be mostly correct. I just wanted to see what kind of skills and stats one could achieve after using this method!!!”

Yep, I knew it! She’s an idiot!

“I will pay for this with my life!!!”

While Dorothea’s words sounded rather serious, all she had in her hands was a pen.

The two women sitting on her left and right immediately grabbed her before she could do anything hasty.

…the scene reminded me of a slapstick comedy I saw in my past life, so staying angry felt ridiculous at that point.

◇　　　◇　　　◇　　　◇

Three women were sitting on the ground before me, their heads bowed down in apology.

The woman in the center, eyes bright red and lips quivering, was Dorothea — obviously.

What a waste of good looks…I thought to myself.

Zanvert was pacing back and forth, lecturing them. After a pause, he looked at me.

“I’m really sorry for the trouble, Tenma. Never would I have imagined something like this would happen…my sister started as an adventurer and went as far as being appointed court magician, but her passion for anything related to magic is just too strong: when court politics started getting in the way of her magic experiments, she promptly left the position. What she had left was coming back to Ronda and taking the position of head of the Magicians’ Guild. That passion of hers is what caused her to lose control today.”

I see, she’s the type that values experimenting over anything and anyone…

I was almost convinced, when Zanvert turned towards Dorothea again.

“Anyway, sister, what is your own opinion about Tenma’s documents?”

“T-They’re excellent, of course. If we can test them thoroughly, they can bring a dramatic change to society.”

“And you are about to ruin this historical change, for the sake of your intellectual curiosity?”

“W-Well…I really want to know!! What else can I say!?”

Dorothea cried loudly.

Where has her poised, authoritative manner of speech disappeared to…?

Zanvert was left speechless for a moment, then opened his mouth again, an ominous air around him.

“I suppose there is no other way, Tenma. My sister is no longer part of this conversation. We will form a new contract: she will not be allowed to talk about the contents of the documents to anyone, nor will she be involved in related experiments or testing. Hahaha…!”

Zanvert laughed, but his eyes were not even smiling.

Dorothea surely realized that he was completely serious, as an anxious look appeared on her face.

“Zanv—”

“Dear sister, I’m afraid I will have to tell our brother Barrol about this.”

“Zan—”

“I’m really sorry for everything, Tenma. I will pay for the registration, so could you please let us do it?”

“Za—”

“I am going to pay for the new contract too, of course.”

Every time Dorothea tried saying something, Zanvert promptly interrupted her.

“Zaanvert!!! Pleeesee!! Forgive meeeeh!!”

Eventually, Dorothea started bawling like an infant, grasping at the hems of Zanvert’s trousers.

He simply cast her a cold glance, however, then looked away.

“Ignore the nuisance here. Let’s sit down, and resume our talks, shall we?”

Zanvert collected the documents Dorothea had dropped, then continued.

“As I said, all expenses for the registration will be on me. They will be registered anonymously, of course. In addition, it is possible to designate in detail their availability: you can make them available to only people you approve of, if you wish to.”

…this registration system is really amazing, huh.

“I personally would like for as many people as possible to know of these techniques, but we need time to test them first. In order for you not to stand out, and your techniques not to be used by unsavory people, I think limiting the availability is the best way. I’m sure it might be troublesome for you, but could you please do us this favor?”

Sure, if it means I can stay out of the spotlight.

Besides, I was more and more interested in knowing how exactly the registration process worked.

“That’s fine for me. Can I ask something first?”

“Go ahead, ask anything you want.”

Zanvert nodded, so I continued.

“Why does Dorothea look so young?”

Zanvert looked completely taken by surprise, but then started explaining seriously.

“People and races with great amounts of magic power age more slowly than others, and their lifespan is longer too. You didn’t know?”

Seriously—!?

Judging from Zanvert’s tone, was that common sense in this world?

Dorothea had over 80,000 magic power at level 50, a much higher value than anyone else I had met until now. I never would have imagined that was the secret behind her looks, though…

Her magic power was still less than mine, though…

The realization brought another interrogative to my mind.

Will I be able to grow older? How long will my lifespan be, in the end?