Chapter 25: Lolita and the Lute

Another morning, Constantine sat as usual behind the large oak desk in his study. Before him lay a piece of parchment with crooked, scribbled writing, and Constantine was frowning while repeatedly chanting odd-sounding pronunciations.

“No, you’re pronouncing it wrong. The ‘Fo’ here should have a clear sound!” The Lich’s voice suddenly rang in his mind, interrupting the boy’s recitation.

“Damn it, I really wonder what kind of brain the guy who invented this language had. Why create such a complicated language just to compile spells?” The boy threw the parchment in his hand aside in annoyance, stood up, and stretched fiercely. Language learning was undoubtedly one of the things he disliked the most. Yet, to explore the mysteries of the world of spells, he had to master this very thing. The mere thought was enough to be disheartening.

“You can’t handle this little bit of content? You should know that the higher the level of a spell, the more terrifying its length becomes. If you can’t even handle a spell with just a few dozen phrases, how will you manage to use hand gestures simultaneously when actually casting?”

On the Soul Stone, the pupil-like stripes flickered slightly, emitting a scornful laugh.

Although Constantine could now use spells, from the Lich’s perspective, Constantine couldn’t be considered a true Arcane Arts spellcaster. The boy’s spells, while usable without hindrance, were limited to the first-level spell Magic Missile. Even with a magic book in hand, he couldn’t learn other spells. In fact, even for that tongue-twisting Magic Missile incantation, the boy relied entirely on his own memory to recite it without understanding its true meaning.

Therefore, for the past two days, Constantine’s main task had been learning this “Divine Script.” Although he had obtained permission from his father to go out, he hadn’t had a chance to use it. If he couldn’t master the basics, even if he stayed in the Magic Tower his whole life, he would be nothing more than an idle freeloader.

However, learning those script characters was quite difficult. They were unlike any writing Constantine knew and didn’t share common ground even with the languages of this world. Just the twisted letters alone numbered as many as one hundred and twenty-five. For an alphabetic language, this was almost unimaginable. Even more of a headache was that each letter in this “Divine Script” had five or six completely different pronunciations with no discernible pattern. How these “letters” should be pronounced depended entirely on their combinations with each other, which also followed no rules whatsoever.

Thus, for Constantine, mastering such a language system was far more difficult than simply memorizing disconnected sounds. But he still had to find a way to learn it. The attitude of knowing the how but not the why could only be applied to games. To survive in this cruel society, especially to live freely, a bit of cleverness alone was definitely not enough.

Fortunately, his current learning progress was much better than when he was learning the Common Tongue. The Lich’s spell knowledge made teaching these basics exceedingly simple. Moreover, the Soul Tongue was a hundred times better than clueless guessing for communication, and mistakes could be corrected immediately. So, in just two days, Constantine’s understanding of this Divine Script had become worthy of his apprentice status. But to achieve completely fluent use would probably take several more months.

Such monotonous learning was extremely easy to find tiresome. After reciting it a couple more times, Constantine casually tossed the materials aside, stretched, and stood up. Burying one’s head in study alone wasn’t the way to learn this stuff. Many examinees in the past who neglected sleep and food ended up failing, often due to a lack of balance between work and rest. The boy half-comforted, half-avoided by telling himself this.

He went to the corner of the room where a large basin sat, filled more than halfway with a liquid. The grayish-white liquid looked murky and thick and gave off a strange smell.

This room had now been set up by Constantine as a laboratory. Although he hadn’t acquired a set of strange experimental tools like those used by Archmages, the boy had started working on some things he had long wished to begin.

The boy picked up a wooden frame with a piece of transparent gauze embedded in it from the side, placed it into the wooden basin, shook it rhythmically with both hands a few times, then lifted the frame, drained the water, and carefully set it aside. In another corner, several such frames were already placed. Constantine picked up the first one and gently peeled off the top layer.

The thick, fringed material showed a rough yellow color. The boy shook it, listened to the somewhat low rustling friction sound, and let out an unsatisfied hum. There was still a considerable gap compared to what he remembered. Fibers not soaked for a long time remained very stiff, resulting in a product that was thick and brittle. Still, it was much better than the existing materials.

“What is that thing?” The voice of a curious kitten sounded in his ear.

“Something that will likely become commonly used as a writing medium in the future, if I’m lucky.”

Although the production of gunpowder had been shelved due to issues with obtaining saltpeter, at least this item, belonging to the same category as the Four Great Inventions, had finally succeeded. Constantine spread the real paper in his hand onto the desk and carefully cut it into squares, feeling a bit sentimental. Compared to gunpowder, the process of handmade paper was relatively much simpler. It mostly involved crushing materials like wood and linen into pulp and soaking them. But even this simplest process had consumed a considerable amount of Constantine’s time. Even though the boy didn’t have high requirements for quality, soaking time and production techniques presented various minor troubles.

The boy couldn’t help but sigh. In his memories, the protagonists of those novels seemed to invent new things effortlessly, from engine-magic hybrid objects and airplanes or cannons down to pots and pans. Why was it so difficult for him to make something?

Focusing intently, he drew a Magic Array on the paper, then copied the corresponding Runes onto it, infused Mental Power, and then… Constantine let out another long sigh. As expected, although the feeling of power draining remained, the paper didn’t show the usual spell fluctuations seen on previous scrolls. In other words, wood-paper couldn’t be used as a medium for crafting Magic Scrolls.

However, it seemed unaffected as a material for copying spellbooks?

“Your ideas always surprise me.” In terms of invention and creation, the Lich was clearly a good conversation partner. Perhaps it was because his soul connection with Constantine allowed him to sense some of the boy’s thoughts? Regardless, he perfectly catered to Constantine’s desire to show off. “Even a spellbook for an apprentice costs several hundred gold coins. And this… um, paper book you made is undoubtedly much lighter than parchment. A portable yet content-rich spellbook would clearly be worth several hundred or even up to a thousand gold coins for those noble Mage Apprentices.”

For the Undead, their way of viewing things was completely different from the living. Living beings have a lifespan of merely a hundred years, so they naturally act with haste, striving toward a set goal. But the lives of the Undead are almost infinite. So, they often appear extremely sluggish in their actions, with no specific aim. At the same time, however, their curiosity can manifest in any aspect.

“Especially after some exquisite crafting… they would have even higher value.” Constantine slightly narrowed his eyes. He seemed to see that the large basin no longer held pulp, but lumps of gold. Of course, we know paper books have pitifully low resistance to water and fire, making them a poor choice for traveling Mages who often face mud and adventure. But those noble magic apprentices likely wouldn’t care about that… In Constantine’s estimation, they probably never had a chance to encounter such environments in their entire lives.

Additionally, there was the use of ordinary books. The development of paper was an inevitable historical trend—Constantine absolutely believed this. If he could also develop block printing, that seemed like a good option too…

Two light taps on the door interrupted the boy’s train of thought and made his brow twitch. Whether due to distance or his status as a Spellcaster, since the Duchess moved in, the servants rarely approached his room. In fact, almost no one had come to find him recently. Except for the Old Steward Walter and the Blood Elf lady responsible for meals. But the former’s knocks were always rigid and patterned, and the latter, in his memory, had never once knocked on the door.

“Come in… hmm?”

The door slowly opened, as if timidly. The boy couldn’t help but rub his nose. The person entering was indeed unexpected.

Miss Caterina Rosa Flor Connarivis stood at the doorway, wearing a goose-yellow long dress tailored into a convenient style. The fabric at her waist was gathered into a floral pattern, enhancing the girl’s cuteness. As the door opened, her large eyes carefully scanned the room, as if trying to find something. Unfortunately, Constantine soon saw a look of disappointment on her face. Perhaps because, apart from a few rolls of Parchment and some quills on the desk, there was nothing remarkable in this room?

However, Constantine was not charmed by this adorable display.

In fact, his first thought was whether his stepmother had some ulterior motive. But regardless of what it was, having this little girl carry it out was certainly not a good idea. Not everyone had strange experiences like his, with a weathered heart hidden beneath a youthful appearance. If the innocent expression on her face could also be faked, then there would probably be nothing trustworthy left in this world. So, was it a test?

At that moment, the little girl seemed to finally remember her purpose. She took half a step back, smoothed her skirt with a very gentle motion, and performed a standard lady’s curtsy. Her clear, soft voice sounded very polite and reserved. “Brother Constantine.”

“What is it, Caterina?” The boy formed a gentle smile on his face and made a slight gesture of support. “No need for formalities.”

“This…” The little girl hesitated. After a long pause, she raised her head and looked at Constantine cautiously. “Brother Constantine… are you really a Spellcaster?”

“Well… sort of… I’m a Sorcerer, though just an apprentice. But I should count as a Spellcaster.” Constantine frowned, not understanding what she was getting at. Moreover, he didn’t like the look and tone in this girl, who should be considered his sister—as if she were looking at some monster, not a person.

“But a Spellcaster… don’t they always have pockets full of snakes, frogs, big ants, snails, and such? And a Mage’s laboratory… should have lots of crystal-clear crystal bottles with bubbling potions of various colors inside, or maybe skulls, specimens, and such things?” Stammering a bit, the little girl finally blurted out her questions all at once. Her small face flushed with a cute red from excitement, but her words gave Constantine a headache. “And, they point a finger and turn people into spiders…?”

“Hold on, hold on! What kind of nonsense is this? Who told you these strange rumors?”

“All the books say so. When Knights come before them, wizards turn into huge wolf-dogs, with cat tails and claws, eight Spider legs, really ugly, with hoarse voices… Will you turn into something like that too?”

“I thought there were no children’s books in this world meant to scare kids…”

Constantine rubbed his temples. He now understood what the little girl was here for. In this world, in the eyes of ordinary people, Spellcasters, especially Mages, always gave an impression of being lofty and mysterious. It should be said, that’s the impression most Mages wanted people to have of them. But people naturally feel fear toward things they don’t understand or cannot predict. Thus, high-ranking Mages with great power had already been regarded as Deity-like existences. Consequently, ordinary Mages became similar to monstrous creatures.

Societal prejudice against Mages combined with children’s curiosity about the outside world at this age. In this young lady’s mind, this suddenly appearing brother was probably similar to some unseen monster.

Constantine had never felt this way. Even though this world differed greatly from his memories, his mature thinking allowed him to quickly judge and find consistent, reasonable explanations. But clearly, not everyone had legendary experiences like his. As children grew up, they often increasingly wished to “interact with the outside world in a normal way.” This was the sorrow of the Nobility. In everyone’s eyes, noble children might have everything, but perhaps only they themselves clearly felt from life—they could only possess what their elders needed them to have.

“Hmm… How should I explain it?” Obviously, a simple “That’s all lies” would hardly satisfy the wide-eyed little Lolita. Finding a lame excuse like “Brother is busy now” and shooing her away? That seemed a bit cruel. Constantine always found it hard to be stern with girls. Although he was at odds with his stepmother and her son, matters between adults shouldn’t extend to this little girl.

“Well, alright then, Caterina, let brother perform some magic for you…” Shaking his head, Constantine took something from a shelf nearby.

It was an instrument with a pear-shaped body and a pegbox bent back at a right angle—a finely crafted Lute. Judging by the worn metal inlays and playing area, it had clearly been used for a long time.

In this world, this instrument was one of the most common. Due to being lightweight and portable, cheaper and easier to maintain than keyboard instruments, it had extremely wide use. It could play dance tunes, popular melodies, even polyphonic vocal pieces, and accompany songs. Most charming was its bell-like tone. Moreover, the instrument’s slender and elegant appearance often added charm to the player. So, whether in city street corners, noisy taverns, or accompanying the songs of various Bards, this instrument was frequently used.

However, due to its six-course design, very similar to a modern guitar, Constantine, feeling somewhat familiar with it, could, after some effort, play some simple tunes. Of course, the sound of this instrument was quite different from a guitar. Low-tension gut strings combined with the special resonance of the pear-shaped body created an incredibly rich and detailed soundscape that the guitar couldn’t replace.

“Dance with me, Lolita, the white sands by the sea. Should love continue, a long summer at seventeen. Like someone, Lolita, just for a day, alright? Maybe never loving him, just loving a fairytale…”

The unremarkable-looking boy gently brushed his slender fingers across the strings, and a soft melody began to drift in the air. An unknown tune accompanied his low voice. The magic within the music transcended time, space, and Planes, released once again into this world through Constantine’s fingers. A mix of joy and slight melancholy momentarily left the girl stunned.

This song was actually just an ordinary pop tune, but its arrangement incorporated parts of the melody from Uncle B’s famous “Für Elise.” Most importantly, it was relatively short, simple, yet had a unique lyrical structure not found in typical Bard songs.

Of course, choosing this song wasn’t entirely a whim; there was a connection. Facing a little girl occasionally awakened something of an “old soul” within. Just that the little girl before him certainly didn’t understand what the seemingly ordinary name in the song represented…

The lingering notes faded… followed by a few crisp clapping sounds.