There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 25

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a man.

The man had no parents or siblings, but he possessed a vast power that appeared perhaps once every thousand years.

People called his extraordinary magic, which could summon raging tidal waves with a flick of the wrist, change the weather, and slay dragons, ‘Estellion.’

Estellion elevated the man to the pinnacle of magic, but…

Perhaps as a price for wielding such immense power, the man lacked most of the emotions that ordinary people naturally possess.

He experienced fleeting interest or displeasure, but the only thing that consistently remained was curiosity and inquisitiveness about Estellion.

There were many mysterious aspects to this power that even its owner, the man, did not understand.

As the man immersed himself in research, he one day felt fear. If he were to die, the research to which he had dedicated his life would be for naught.

The man hoped that someone with Estellion, like himself, would appear and continue his research. The man, who had never needed a family in his life, now desired a child.

So, the man began an experiment.

The method involved injecting a seed, created by combining Estellion with bodily tissues, into a woman’s uterus using body-penetrating magic. It was a highly complex task, and there were precautions to take when cultivating the seed…

Ah, you want me to skip the details? Understood. I suppose I got too engrossed.

In any case, applicants from various backgrounds and with diverse physical characteristics were gathered from all over.

Although it was human experimentation, a large sum of money, which commoners could only dream of, was promised as compensation, attracting numerous applicants.

Enough to live and play for the rest of your life, as long as you didn’t indulge in extravagance? My mother is still traveling the world with the money she received back then.

She received additional payments for safely giving birth to me and raising me, and now she’s a wealthy woman, almost on par with a lower-ranking noble.

However, not everyone was like my mother. Many experiments ended in failure.

Whether it was because the act of artificially creating life defied the laws of God, because Estellion was a dangerous power, or because the experimental design itself was flawed, the reason remained unknown.

Most failed to even conceive, half of the remainder miscarried during pregnancy, and even those who were fortunate enough to be born mostly died in infancy. Well, the series of failures also led to the recruitment of many applicants.

The number of children who have survived to this day is three, including me.

Oh, that’s four now that you’re here.

The three of us grew up in the facility, so we know each other all too well.

Ah, the facility is a place established by Le Guin within the Magic Tower. It was created to gather the applicants in one place and effectively manage their health and well-being.

According to the records, your mother refused to enter the facility. There were a few applicants who didn’t want to leave their homes.

Those applicants would have been instructed to report the results of the experiment through letters, but I’m not sure why your mother didn’t do so.

Since there was no contact, we were completely unaware of your existence. Getting back to the topic of the experiment, it ultimately failed.

All three of us brothers are mages, and it may sound boastful to say it myself, but we each have outstanding talents.

However, we only inherited a fraction of Estellion’s power. It seems you don’t have much power either.

After that, Le Guin gave up on having a child who inherited Estellion. Instead, he shifted his focus to stopping his aging so he could live for a long, long time.

Even though he looks like that, his actual age is much older than his appearance. He will probably live for many years after everyone around him has died.

Personally, it seems like a lonely life, but… what does it matter? The person himself doesn’t even feel loneliness.

* * *

After listening to Lexion’s long story, Philomel asked.

“So? Are you saying that it can’t be helped that he’s a heartless father?”

“That wasn’t my intention to make excuses. I just wanted to say that it was also the first time he had a child like you, so he may have spoken without considering your feelings.”

“Like me…?”

“In fact, all three of us brothers are less emotional than Le Guin. Especially when it comes to affection.”

Lexion adjusted his glasses.

“Le Guin didn’t treat us like his children, and we didn’t particularly want him to play the role of a father. He provided us with food, clothing, and shelter, and taught us magic, but he was more like a teacher or a superior than a father.”

“I think I’m quite normal when it comes to emotions.”

“I think so too. That’s why I’m surprised. Le Guin probably didn’t expect you to be so disappointed.”

“……”

It was hard enough to sort out the turmoil within, but too much information had come in.

Estellion, experiments, things that sounded like stories from another country, so they didn’t really resonate.

The one thing that was certain… was that there was no affection in Philomel’s birth.

Moreover, unlike Lexion and his brothers, Philomel had almost no magical power. She was a complete failure.

The two walked quietly until they reached the entrance they had first entered.

“…I’ll be going now. Thank you for the guidance.”

“Phil.”

Lexion called Philomel by her nickname as she mechanically said goodbye and tried to leave.

“What?”

“If you need help, come find me anytime. You can meet me by grabbing anyone affiliated with the Magic Tower and asking them to call Lexion.”

“Why are you so concerned about me? Is it just because I’m your sister?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I said that was the only reason, would you? I just said that I’m less emotional.”

“That’s right. With how I feel right now, I wouldn’t believe it even if the sun rose in the west.”

She wasn’t a person who had deep trust in others in the first place, but it seemed like her distrust of humans would only deepen.

“Personally, I feel an academic interest in you. Why do we have half-hearted emotions while you are normal, even though we were born from the same experiment? I want to research this.”

“Isn’t it because I have so little Estellion?”

“Le Guin would think so… but I feel like there’s another reason. It’s just a hunch.”

Lexion was persistent.

“If you don’t like research, why don’t you just work as my assistant? I’ll give you a generous salary.”

“I don’t even know the ‘ma’ in magic [referring to the basics of magic]. I don’t think I’ll be of any help…”

“You can learn. You can learn it quickly if it’s you.”

Lexion seemed to rate Philomel higher than she rated herself.

“The Magic Tower is the perfect place to hide your identity. Even if your identity is revealed, the Magic Tower is a place that even the Emperor can’t easily touch.”

“…Okay. Give me some time to think.”

“Take all the time you need. Come to the Magic Tower whenever you change your mind.”

Lexion stood there until Philomel disappeared from sight, watching her back, which showed no signs of sadness or disappointment, walk straight on its path.

“Well, what should I do with that hopeless human?”

Lexion returned to Le Guin’s room. He found the man squatting behind his desk, just as he had been when he visited earlier.

A magic circle drawn with red paint was in the wide space where the clutter had been cleared away.

Le Guin was staring at the magic circle, which consisted of various symbols and hieroglyphs, with a brush in one hand.

“Le Guin, I’m back.”

Lexion announced, knowing that Le Guin knew he had entered, but without acknowledging him.

“Why did you come?”

“You’re the one who told me to stay because you had something to say to me.”

“I saw you glaring at me earlier as if you were going to kill me. Why didn’t you just go with her? You were singing ‘sister, sister,’ but you didn’t even care about your teacher.”

“It was Cardin, not me, who was singing about my sister.”

“You’re both the same.”

“Are you worried about Phil, that child?”

Le Guin answered curtly.

“No, I’m not.”

“Oh, you seem worried. The magic circle hasn’t changed at all from before.”

“……”

It took Lexion more than twenty minutes just to guide Philomel to the exit and return. It was time enough for Le Guin to have completed at least three more magic circles.

“Who cares? If she ran out because she didn’t like me, that’s the end of it.”

What a childish person.

Apart from being a talented magician, his father was worse than a child when it came to interpersonal relationships. Perhaps it was because he had no opportunity to form deep emotional relationships with others.

“I understand. If that’s what you say, Le Guin, I won’t worry about it anymore either. Still, it’s a pity. That child seemed to have nowhere to go. She’s not even an adult yet, how will she live in this harsh world…”

Lexion deliberately threw a small stone at Le Guin, with the aim of spreading the ripples that had already occurred.

“I happened to see her earlier, and she almost had all her money stolen by a pickpocket if Jeremiah hadn’t helped her. Oh, now that I think about it, I didn’t tell her that Jeremiah was her brother either.”

“…I don’t care.”

Listening to the listless answer, Lexion estimated when Le Guin would be honest.

Roughly a week? No. Judging from his strangely anxious reaction, it might be decided within two or three days.

A dozen hours later.

Lexion, who had gone to bed early for a magician, was awakened by the sound of the door being thrown open. Le Guin, with a sullen face, was standing at his bedside.

“What is it at this hour?”

Lexion asked, groping for his glasses on the bedside table.

“You, do you know where she’s staying?”

“She?”

A warm-colored hair brushed against his sleepy head.

“Ah, Phil? She’s probably staying at Angelium [likely a hotel or inn], I’m sure.”

“Contact her right away and tell her to come to the Magic Tower. I need to see her one more time.”

“Do you know what time it is? She’s probably asleep too. I’ll contact her as soon as it’s light, so go back to sleep.”

After appeasing Le Guin and sending him away, Lexion went back to sleep with a strangely cheerful feeling.

Thinking that he would be welcoming a new family member.

However, the next morning, Lexion, who went to Angelium to find Philomel, had no choice but to regret his choice last night.

He should have gone to find her right away yesterday, as Le Guin had said. Because Philomel had already left the city.

In the worst way possible.