The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 51 (Patreon)

Chapter 51 – Catching Up

It had been two months since my trainees had proven themselves, and received the rank of Novice. Kinjo had returned to his shrine, and Makoto returned to his school, where they would spread what they knew to the others there. I did not doubt that they would continue training. My hope was that, now that they had a foundation to build from, new styles would rise, their newfound abilities mixing with their old skills to form new masteries and new ways of using magic.

Two weeks after he returned to the Hie Shrine, Kinjo sent a missive, asking whether I would be willing to spread the basic knowledge to the priests of some of the other shrines. I consented, but told him any who came would need to pay to replace the testing materials I used, and they would have a week to advance to the rank of Novice, or they would have to pay double, for wasting my time. Those who didn’t like this were welcome to train under Kinjo, until such time as they felt comfortable in the basics.

Despite the harsh tone in my reply, no less than twenty priests and shrine maidens from across the country came to me. My servants learned that the government was making a push to restore some of the old ways, the martial and spiritual ethos that had largely fallen away since the end of the Edo period, and the modernization that came with the rise of the Meiji period.

It was easy enough to figure out what the government’s goal was in pushing for this. They were not looking to drag the country back into the 1600s, or anything like that. No, they were hoping that I could train twenty, who could then train twenty more, and form a cadre.

Even if just the training for the Martial Path were to be spread, that would have a large impact on the country’s military and police. Not just the military. Everyone who could spend the time to cultivate their power would benefit, allowing people to become stronger, healthier, and so on. Even for the salarymen who struggled with overwork, that could lead to many benefits.

In other words, the government was trying to increase the base stock of the country. They couldn’t compete with the sheer manpower that China or the US had, so they decided to focus on quality over quantity. And increasing the base quality of the nation as a whole would, in turn, raise the quality of their military.

Moreover, they were doing this in such a way that they could build a foundation for themselves, so that they wouldn’t need to rely on me. For that, alone, I was happy to support them in this. After all, I wanted to see how far they could go, and where their training would take them.

The twenty students had proven up to the task, and had achieved Novice rank by the end of the allotted week. So, I sent them home, with my blessing, so that they could begin spreading what they had learned, and combine it with their own knowledge. It was my hope that, by doing this, I would be able to help start a whole new set of magic disciplines that I could learn and master, as they each went and formed their own schools.

And, of course, I did not neglect the training of my two disciples. Dai Ya’s scientific understanding of both the world and thaumaturgy had propelled her along the path of the Pyromancer. The attitudes and discipline that an Arcanist required for their magecraft were already instilled in her by her former masters in China.

That was another aspect that I was keeping an eye on. I knew that she was sending reports back to her government, sharing what she could of the training methods I had given her. My spies also heard her pass along the warning that I would not tolerate any Hero Summonings. Thankfully, it looked as though her contact was at least satisfied that no one would be able to use the ritual against them.

I understood that, of course. China had always had people in abundance that they could throw at problems, but a Hero could wipe away armies single-handedly, when they got powerful enough. Simply throwing numbers at the Hero only worked if you were willing to lose everything to stand against them. That is why there were Monsters and Elites in the other world, existences that required a Hero’s strength to withstand, much less overcome.

More importantly, for them, Heroes tended to be hard to control. By their nature, they were exceptional existences, and they knew it. If they summoned a Hero, then there was a good chance that they might turn on those who summoned them if they felt their efforts were not fairly compensated. Even those Heroes driven by Righteousness and Justice would turn on their summoners if they found them to be corrupt, or committing some injustice.

Of course, that same danger applied, to a lesser extent, when you considered those moving along the mage or martial paths. If China began instituting some kind of training regimen to increase the magical abilities of their military, then I predicted a change in government would happen sometime in the next couple decades, as traditional power structures clashed with magical ones. Whether or not it would become a magocracy would have to be seen, but I did not need a Seer’s gifts to know that there would be trouble, the more the magic spread.

Aeko was also showing great promise. The knowledge that pursuing this discipleship would make it harder for her to have children shook her, of course, but she didn’t let it stop her. With my guidance, and the fact that I did have Life mages in my undead army, there was a good chance that, even if she waited, she would be able to have a healthy child. For now, though, she thirsted for knowledge, and I was happy to help her.

As a Reaper, a Sorceress of Death, she could not just study her way to success, like an Arcanist could. Some study was necessary, of course. One could not easily purge an infection from someone’s body or lay a hex upon your enemies without having some idea of the mechanics, after all.

But a Sorcerer did not simply calculate results. For them, Magic was more of an art form than anything. Did it require knowledge and skill? Of course, it did! But painting a work of art required knowledge of techniques and types of paint, and there was a level of skill required for their application to the canvas. Yet, none would say that painting was a science, would they?

Aeko had the drive, and the willpower needed. My part, as her Mistress and mentor, was to teach her the techniques and the knowledge she’d need, and ensure that her skills did not outpace her ambition. Because that way led to disaster, either with spells running wild, or the mage accidentally burning out their own life force to power a spell beyond their measure. I had seen it happen before, and I would not allow my young apprentice to suffer that fate.

Things were going well at Athelian Arms, as well. In fact, all the master craftsmen I had gathered to work the shop had proven their skill and dedication many times over by now, and their knowledge of enchanting was progressing as well. They were still only doing simple enchantments, but each of them had already mastered the technique of imbuing mana into their creations while they worked, making their items stronger, and primed for power. And, to be honest, even simple enchantments, that could be wielded by anyone, were in high demand in the wider world.

Which is why I was spending today in the offices, rather than the workshop. I was the owner, after all, and while I had an office manager and secretary, I still had work to do, making sure that everything ran smoothly. Especially when it came to sourcing proper materials for my crafters to work with.

“Shachō, you have a visitor. A Ms. Melissa Roberts, from England, is here to see you, but she doesn’t have an appointment. What should I do with her?”

I looked up at Asari, my secretary, and sighed. “I could use a break from the paperwork, anyway. Send her in, Asari-san. And bring us some refreshments, if you will.”

While I acted like I wasn’t interested, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Melissa Roberts was the name of the agent that the British King had gone through in order to commission the work I’d delivered to him, a few months back. Back then, we had conversed through email and on the phone. If she was coming here, now, without any kind of appointment, then things were about to get quite interesting.

Ms. Roberts was an average height, with black hair in a bob cut, wearing a perfectly tailored black suit with a pencil skirt. All in all, she looked like a quintessential high-ranking businesswoman. I did notice that she didn’t carry any briefcase or other bag, so whatever she was here to discuss, it didn’t involve legal documents or forms.

She bowed in the appropriate style, and said, “Ms. Akagawa, thank you very much for seeing me on such short notice.”

I bowed my head slightly in return, and said, “Well, given all the excitement resulting from the last time we spoke, one could hardly blame me if I didn’t feel some manner of concern as to why you would come all this way. Surely, the King is not displeased with the item made for him?”

“Oh, no, His Majesty is more than pleased with the piece you made for him, and the shielding items that have been procured for His guards, and the military. Indeed, expanding the orders to cover more of the military is one of the reasons I came to Japan. I’ll be meeting with Phantomline to discuss further orders tomorrow.”

She paused, and then continued, “The reason I came to speak to you, however, is for another reason. The King and his advisors have seen the recordings of those lectures you gave in Seattle, and the implications of what you said there struck a chord with them. Especially with other forces gathering to meld religion and magic in the country.”

I shook my head slowly. “I hope you are not asking me to settle your conflicts for you. That is not my place in this world. And, after being summoned to the other world to solve everyone’s problems for them, that is not a role I would like to take on.”

“No, no,” Roberts shook her head. “That isn’t what I was implying at all. Indeed, having too much direct action on your part would both erode the Crown’s position, but would also serve as a rallying cry to the disruptive elements, and anyone killed in the crossfire would become martyrs, and only further inflame passions.”

“Then what is it you ask of me?”

“Instead of direct action, the King would ask if we could work out an arrangement where trainers could be sent to England, to teach these martial abilities related to magic you talked about. Ideally, these trainers would be able to teach enough of the military that a cadre could form and spread the teaching further on.”

Interesting. Very interesting. They were basically asking me to do the same thing that the Japanese were doing through the priests and priestesses I’d trained, but they were saying directly. I had to respect that, if nothing else.

“Well, while sending trainers to the United Kingdom would certainly be possible, you have to understand that, due to the nature of my forces, they would be some kind of undead. And I would like some assurances that the teachings would not be spread past those authorized to know it.”

“Meaning, what?”

“For instance, representatives from other countries. I would not like my teachings spread to countries that did not treat with me. This would mean you’d need to rebuff advances from your allies, at least until such time as they came to me directly. In addition to other compensation for this service.”

“Ah, I see. That could definitely prove problematic.”