[Melas] Chapter 142: Precedent (Patreon)

“I don’t care what Father says,” Aishat, the esteemed princess of the Taw Kingdom, said in a haughty voice. “She should not be allowed to use her magic in this kingdom.”

I watched the scene play out from the side, cross-armed and hoping that I could leave sometime soon. I was especially annoyed since Aniyar ditched me! He claimed that he had ‘important things to do’ or something like that!

So, he left me alone. All by myself to deal with the fallout which he technically caused.

…

Alright, I couldn’t put the blame on him. Sure, Aniyar had been the one to goad me on so that I could show him my levitation magic. But honestly I should’ve been more careful— I was just too used to using my magic whenever in the MTC, so I let my guard down. I didn’t think Princess Aishat would be here to cause trouble for something I hadn’t gotten in trouble over despite having been here for a few months.

That was just a testament to how relaxed I’d been while living here. And that was good. Stress off my back. It was way better than dealing with slavers and Monsters and plagues. I was happy, here.

Well, not here, here. I was getting pretty annoyed by Ms Karen over there.

“Please, princess, Melas has been granted asylum by King Adilet himself. And Bertrand has permitted ta use of her magic in the MTC.” A Dwarf guard pleaded with Aishat as she harrumphed.

“That is absolutely ridiculous!” She pointed accusingly at the guard. The man flinched as she continued, “The use of magic is forbidden in Taw. There is no precedent for such exceptions. I want to speak to Bertrand.”

I rolled my eyes at that. She was literally like a Karen. God, I felt like a minimum wage worker being harassed for doing my job.

“Actually, Princess Aishat,” a voice said, followed by the soft tapping of a walking stick, “there is precedent for such exceptions.”

“Bertrand?” I blinked and turned to face the elderly man as he hobbled his way over to me. “What are you doing here?”

“A little friend called my attention to your plight.” He chuckled, raising a hand to pat the black figure on his shoulder.

I stared at Luna as she licked Bertrand’s hand. “You.” My gaze turned to that of a glare, but she just gave me a sidelong glance.

I would’ve felt grateful to her for getting Bertrand, but technically, if it was anyone’s fault for my being in this situation, it would be hers.

“Princess Aishat, I must ask that you desist. Melas was in her right to cast magic. There has been no wrongdoing carried out here.” He bowed politely at the Dwarf woman.

She frowned, brows creasing. “Bertrand, why are you taking the side of this heretic?”

“I am simply enforcing the will of the king, Princess Aishat.”

“My Father is a fool for thinking that protecting this… girl is any good for us,” Aishat said, scowling. “All he’s doing is bringing trouble by directing the Church’s attention here.”

“Hm, perhaps.” Bertrand tapped a finger on his chin. “However, I would counter by saying that the Church is quite busy with other problems right now— the criticism they’ve received for keeping the Abomination threat a secret, before subsequently allowing it to spread out of control is a far more pressing matter for the Holy Xan Emperor.”

“That’s…” She hesitated. Then she clicked her tongue. “Regardless, there’s no point calling needless attention to our country.”

“Needless attention, you say?” He tilted his head slightly. “I guess the same could be the same of me, couldn’t it? Then I must apologize for what you think of me.”

And Aishat blinked. It took her a moment to understand what it meant. And when she finally got it, she flushed and waved her hands apologetically.

“I didn’t mean it that way!”

I chuckled at her immediate backtracking when her logic applied to someone she liked. She sent a glare my way before clearing her throat.

“What I meant was that even if it’s Father’s will, you shouldn’t bend the rules to adhere to him. Magic is not permitted in Jahar’taw. You cannot just let her cast her spells in the MTC! It is dangerous.”

Her eyes gleamed as she finished. As if she knew anything about magic. I scoffed, crossing my arms and speaking before Bertrand could.

“I apologize for any threat I may have imposed on you for casting a mundane levitation spell,” I said, bowing lightly. “However, as Bertrand mentioned earlier, there has been precedent for the use of magic in the MTC. In fact, it was quite prevalent here in the past.”

Aishat narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

I smiled, meeting her gaze. “The Heretic Corps was a group of spellcasters that operated within the MC, sanctioned not only by King Adilet, but the House of Or’taq as well. So, historically, this location has allowed the heretical act of spellcasting to be carried out without any consequence. As such, I don’t believe I have done anything that warrants my punishment. And I certainly don’t think that I am exceptional enough for the rules to be altered for my sake.”

She stared at me, dubious. But wrong. “You’re lying,” she said, indignant.

“Alas, Princess Aishat, she is telling the truth.” Bertrand lowered Luna who hopped off his hand and scampered up to me.

She nuzzled against my leg, but I avoided her gaze, focusing only on the conversation at hand.

“While I understand your concern— which I am certain comes in good faith— there has been no wrongdoing carried out here.”

“T-that’s…” Aishat trailed off. She looked over at the Dwarf guard she’d been pestering for confirmation, and he nodded.

“Tha’s right. Me pa used to work here, and he told me stories of ta Heretic Corps all ta time.”

She cast her gaze around the room, looking for someone to back her up. Unfortunately, all she found was my conceited, curled-lipped face. I wasn’t being smug. I was just smiling. Sure, some of my inner thoughts slipped out onto my expression, but it wasn’t my fault I wasn’t the best actress.

“I… this is not over,” she finally said. “The Heretic Corps is disbanded now. You’re not going to keep getting away with your magic.”

I could almost feel the vitriol in her voice when she said the last part of her sentence. Anyways, with that, she took her leave. I watched her go as Bertrand approached me.

“Are you alright, Melas?” he asked, giving me a kind look.

“Mhm. A bit annoyed that I had to deal with that, but otherwise I’m alive.” I shrugged. It wasn’t the biggest issue in the world. Not even close.

“I promise you, Aishat is a good person underneath, even if a little young and immature.” He shook his head, letting out a soft sigh.

“Are you sure about that?”

I narrowed my eyes as her butler, who had been waiting off to the side, hurried after the princess. She began hounding him with orders and complaints. Particularly, I picked out, “Why didn’t you tell me magic was allowed here?” and “You should’ve stopped me! Now I embarrassed myself in front of Bertrand!”

That was enough to make me doubt the veracity of Bertrand’s words. Still, he gave me a pat on the shoulder before hobbling away.

“I assure you, she has reasons for being the way she is. Perhaps I can tell you her story one day, for now, I am needed at the House of Or’taq.”

“See you, Bertrand.” I waved at him as he went. Trouble with the government, of course. Politics and the usual.

I didn’t care to deal with all that. What mattered to me was what happened to me. Even if it sounded selfish, I had to take care of myself above all. As always, I wasn’t just going to ignore a person who I saw was in need and I had the capacity to help— and I certainly wasn’t going to ignore my friend if they needed my help.

But realistically speaking, Bertrand didn’t need my help. I was a kid. I also, as evinced by Aishat, wasn’t the most liked person. So, if I supported his case in the House of Or’taq, all I'd do was earn him more enemies than allies.

Sighing, I was about to leave as well when I heard a soft purring. I looked down to see Luna staring up at me with round eyes. I pursed my lips.

“Is this your attempt at an apology? Because it’s not working.”

She licked my leg, and I felt my heart melt. I scowled, picking her up.

“Look, if you really want attention, I guess I can give you some.” Luna continued to lick me as I gently stroked her back. “...you’re really cute, aren’t you?”

I took a few steps forward, and I heard her stomach growl. I blinked. Stared down at her. She gave me an innocent look. I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not sharing my dinner with you.”

I made sure Luna had enough of her food to eat before I brought her back to my room. There, I slumped over my desk and got back to work. The black cat just watched me from the edge of the table.

Pieces of paper were strewn around in a mess. I looked over my notes— at everything I’d gathered for creating the experimental scrolls. I had studied book upon book upon book on Tinkering, cross-referencing with the scroll Elara had given me.

The comparisons between the runes etched onto the Shield of the Sentinel spell and the runes used for mana tools were uncanny. Yet, despite the similarities, I couldn’t get a scroll to work. Not in the same way mana tools worked.

“Not like it matters anyway…” I murmured to no one in particular.

Luna strutted over to me and laid herself down. She looked at me curiously, and I shook my head.

“It’s nothing. I just—”

I thought of Aishat— of the encounter today. When I came up with the idea of scrolls, I was already too acclimated to the environment of the MTC. I’d forgotten what the lay person would think of using magic. Even Aniyar had been apprehensive about the use of a scroll.

“I just realized that even if I worked this out, it’d be pretty much pointless.”

Whatever I created with magic, the common folk would denounce as the Devil’s work. Sure, the Devil was supposedly dead in this world— the Goddess of Light killed him, or something. I wasn’t really up to date on my theology. But I was a witch with a black cat, after all. The only thing else I needed other than to be associated with the Devil to complete my outfit was a flying broom.

“Seriously, people are always averse to what’s good for them.” That was how it worked in my world, and that would be how it worked in this world. Although, the nuance wasn’t technically right. “Or… they’re averse to change. And scrolls are a big change from mana tools.”

Although, people were probably opposed to mana tools when they were first introduced. It definitely took a while for mana tools to even be accepted in the first place. But now they were widespread purely because of convenience. And new technologies under the banner of Tinkering— such as planes or automated guards like Golems— were accepted with little hassle since they weren’t drastic changes.

Rather, they were advancements to readily available technology. There had been precedent to it. Something that threatened to upheave this entire system— without precedent—meanwhile, would be outright rejected. Or would have to go through the long and arduous process of being accepted over decades.

I honestly didn’t care for that. The reason why I was spending time thinking up these tools and inventions was solely for one reason: money.

I wasn’t greedy, per se. I just understood the necessity of having a stable income source. Plus, it might even prove my worth and help me get better accepted in Taw. I really wasn’t liked, not after Saintess Lilith’s arrival— Aishat was just one example of me being disliked.

Luna purred and got to her feet. She walked over to the mana crystal I’d placed on the table— it was for my Shock Pistol. I had been in the middle of swapping out its mana crystal.

The black cat took one look at the shiny object and knocked it off the table. I blinked and yanked the mana crystal before it could fall.

“Hey, watch it!” I crossed my arms as Luna gave me an innocent look. “I need that for my Shock Pistol, jerk.” After all, mana tools didn’t work without mana crystals—

I paused. I stared down at the mana crystal, then at the Shock Pistol. At the empty spot where the mana crystal went, intricately covered in runic patterns. And I had an epiphany.

I realized I’d been thinking about it wrong. I’d been trying to invent something brand new— scrolls for people to use. But that would never work. Everyone would have associated my scrolls with magic. If I wanted people to use it, it had to be revolutionary, but still conforming. I had to change its association. What was it with Thomas Edison being a businessman and not an inventor?

It was marketing. I wasn’t going to create scrolls that cast spells.

I was going to invent crystal-less mana tools.

Author's Note:

Is up! A little later than i wanted. But Tian chap next!

Gib thoughts!