I set conditions for being summoned to another world, but the Goddess still called me. - Chapter 8

Episode 8: Testing Magic and Divine Power

　
The next day, I slept until around noon.

　Nina had to prepare breakfast, so she went home while it was still dark. Well, once you awaken your magic, it’s not the time for that.

　As I was musing on such things, I received a summons from the Gods’ Realm.

【Ryuji, can you hear me?】

　Suddenly, Alice’s voice echoed in my head.

【That was so sudden. Isn’t there a doorbell or something?】

【Ding dong】

【That’s enough. So what? You’re not interested in small talk, are you?】

【That’s right, divine power.】

【Oh, has it recovered? Can I use it now?】

【Yeah, but it seems like it doesn’t work.】

【What do you mean?】

【My divine power returned right away, but when I tried to channel it into Ryuji, it just wouldn’t flow. It’s as if it’s clogged.】

【Don’t talk about people like they’re drains.】

【This call has finally been connected.】

【Huh? What, I can’t channel my divine power… Ah, maybe it’s because my magic has awakened? Is my magical power getting in the way?】

【Probably. That’s the only thing I can think of. I’ve asked Onee-sama and other gods, but it’s unheard of for an apostle to magically awaken, so we don’t know. On the contrary, they just ask me to give them more information.】

【Have I become a guinea pig?】

【So, how’s your magic? Are you using it? Has anything changed?】

【Ah, I didn’t use any magic because I thought my divine power would return. Would it have been better if I had used it?】

【I don’t know. This is just a hypothesis, but if you use up all your magic and then channel divine power into the area where you’re out of mana, it might return to normal.】

【Really? Well, I could try it, but I’m sure it’ll be okay.】

【So, I don’t know. If it doesn’t work, I won’t force it.】

【I’m a beginner.】

【That’s true. But for now, I can channel my divine power whenever I want.】

–【Anyway, I just need to run out of magic, right?】

【That’s right.】

【Okay. Do I need to contact you?】

【I’d be able to do it once my divine powers return, but that’s not possible right now.】

【Oh, I see. Then I’ll wait to hear from you.】

【Got it. I’ll try not to be a nuisance.】

【Shut up!】

　Anyway, I decided to try running out of magic power tomorrow.

　　•=•=•

　The next morning, Nina still hadn’t awakened her magic. Maybe it’s time to tell Nina to give up.

“Hey, isn’t it impossible to awaken magic now?”

　I said to Nina, who was still slightly dozing off in bed.

“Is that so…maybe? Maybe I’m missing something?”

“Well, I don’t know because it’s not clear how the magic was awakened.”

“Were there no wizards around?”

　There was a goddess whose divine power had depleted. Huh? Did she turn him into a magician under her influence? She said it was unheard of, so maybe not.

“I don’t remember. Anyway, I don’t remember having s*x.”

“Hey, not everyone is horny and aroused, so I just thought it would be more efficient.”

　Nina glared at him a little.

“Hahaha. I understand.”

　However, it’s unpleasant to experience something yourself and not understand why.

“I don’t know why my magic awakened, but once I became a wizard, that state continuedcontinues. Where do I get magical powers from?”

“It’s strange, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It’s like we’re living in symbiosis with magic.”

　If it’s symbiotic, it could be on the skin, in the mouth, or maybe intestinal bacteria? Maybe lactic acid bacteria.

“Ryuji?”

“Huh? Ah, humans keep beneficial microbes in their bodies. On the surface of their skin and stuff. It’s mutually beneficial. Maybe it’s one of those things.”

“Wow. So you know some difficult stuff. Ryuuji is impressive. Are you a scholar, perhaps?”

“Oh, well, I only heard a little about it. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Do microorganisms have any magical powers?”

“Microorganisms, huh?”

“It’s just a possibility.”

“Hmm. I don’t have any magical powers so I can’t really feel it. Do those microbes get their nutrients from the human body?”

“Maybe.”

“So, does that mean the reason we don’t awaken is because the microbes don’t like us?”

“Maybe. That’s why I think it’s necessary to give up.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s not easy. But I think there’s still a chance.”

　　•=•=•

　On this day, we decided to go outside the city and try out some magic.

　I need to use magic as much as I can to make myself run out of magic power. I don’t know what will happen then, so I’ve asked Nina to come with me.

　I prepared a carriage just in case. In the worst case scenario, I might need someone to carry me if I collapse.

　We decided to find a small open area among the rocks outside the city to conduct our experiment there.

“You’re still not very familiar with magic, are you?”

“Yeah, well, I have some experience.”

　Ah, I just learned magic so I don’t think I have any experience with it. I’ll just say I read it in a book.

“I read something in a book and tried it out in the sky.”

“By book?”

“Right. Ah, I’m going to try that rock, so step back a bit.”

“Uh, yeah. Got it.”

　Nina looked a bit confused, but I didn’t care and aimed at a large rock that looked good for shooting the heat ray. I don’t think it’s necessary to chant, just like divine power. However, I’m a bit worried because the list in my head doesn’t appear.

　Well, let’s try a light shot. Imagine putting up a defensive field and shooting a heat ray from beyond it.

“Energy Beam”

　Chudoon!

　It wasn’t light. The rock exploded with force. Whoa!

　This might not just be a heat ray. Nina’s mouth is wide open. The naming is not so good, but that thought was blown away somewhere.

“Huh? Why is it so powerful?”

“Master… that’s amazing. Wh–what is that? It’s too amazing. I’m scared. What is that?”

　Nina kept repeating the same thing, half-panicked.

“Oh, that’s true. I didn’t know that either.”

“Huh? Is that your first time shooting?”

“Yeah, that’s why I shot into the air so I didn’t notice. I thought the impact would be lighter. But it was more powerful than I thought.” Why am I making excuses?

“It’s amazing. Or rather, it’s scary. I’m trembling.”

“That’s true. But, it still seems like I can shoot with ease.”

“Ehh. If we go any further, it’s no good. Yes, absolutely not. Absolutely not forgivable. The world will be destroyed. Everyone will die.”

“No, it’s not that bad. But let’s stop the beam and try a different spell. Yes, let’s try flying.”

　I decided to stop using the dangerous offensive magic for the time being and try out a different power that I had experienced with divine power.

“First, float lightly.” My body floated up smoothly.

“S-so-so. That’s-amazing. I’m-floating. I’m floating.” Yeah, I know.

“Oh, you did it. Now I’ll create a defensive field and try flying.”

　I tried accelerating it in the same way as the divine power. No problem. It flew smoothly. For some reason, my hands came forward. This is because I want to support it with my hands when it falls, not because of the anime I used to watch. That’s right.

　I don’t put my hands on the floor to do chromakey. I can fly with one hand. To be honest, I can fly while standing on my hands, but I don’t do that because it’s not cool.

　When trying to deploy a defensive field forward, it feels somehow more reassuring to put your hands out first.

　When I swooped down next to Nina, she looked strange.

“Y-yes. This is just the best. If you can do this, I’ll give you something important!”

“Well, I think you got a lot of stuff.”

“Eh? Well then, please give it back.”

“Well, how am I going to pay it back?”

“A magical kiss would be fine.”

“Ah, if I do that now it looks like it’ll burst into flames.”

“Is that a kiss too hot?”

“Yeah, it’s better to let it cool a bit.”

“It’s like a tea kiss.”

“Afternoon tea before a kiss.”

“Why?”

“Eh? It’ll feel cold later, right?”

“But, that’s what you say.”

　　•=•=•

“But this is the first time I’ve seen such incredible magic. Usually, it’s hard to produce even a little fire or even water. But I never imagined you could produce such an incredible heat ray or even fly into the sky. I mean, you can do all this so suddenly. How can you do it all of a sudden? Master is a genius. You’re legendary, maybe even a god.”

　Oh, Nina, that’s kind of true.

“Huh? That’s an exaggeration. Well, it’s true that I had some prior knowledge of magic.”

　It seems that magic in this world isn’t that powerful. Actually, if you think about it, the idea of ​​cheating is strange.

　If so, this is probably the effect of divine power. Maybe my magic is changing to resist divine power. And maybe it can be handled in the same way as divine power. If that’s the case, then isn’t it dangerous? If it stays like this, I might not be able to recover my divine power.

　Ah, but if my magical power gets stronger I can cheat to a certain extent, and the Goddess’s divine power may be limited, but if my own magical power isn’t limited, would that be better for me? Would I be able to do what I want? Would I be able to live by my own rules and do whatever I want?

“At this rate, I might have to go a little further away to test my full strength.”

　I also felt the need to test out my own magical powers.

“Well, are you still going to do it?”

“Yeah, I just want to see how far I can go.”

“You’ll get in trouble if you try this around here.”

“Yeah, so I think we should get away for a bit. Nina, would you like to get in the carriage?”

“Eh? Yes,” Nina said, and got into the carriage.

“But what about Ryuji?”

“No, I’ll get in too. Like this, ah, hold on to Nina’s carriage.”

“Ah, yessssssss…”

　I lifted Nina off the carriage. Nina was making a big fuss, but the horses were even more upset. After all, they were suddenly lifted into the air without any explanation. Sorry, I can’t speak horse language.

　Still, I let it stand on the ground and it calmed down. I thought it might faint, but this horse is pretty calm. It had been watching us for a while, so maybe it was prepared. It couldn’t understand the heat rays, but it must have seen me fly. Was it satisfied with that?

　Well, maybe I just stopped thinking. It reminded me vaguely of a reindeer sled.

　But more importantly, it was Nina, who was clinging tightly to me from behind in the driver’s seat and refusing to let go.

“It hurts, Nina.”

“I can’t. I won’t let you go. Yes, I won’t let you go.”

　I had no choice but to fly as is.

“Huh? But you can still keep your eyes open, so that’s impressive.”

“Huh? Is that so? Come to think of it, I’m starting to get used to it. Wow, what an amazing view. You’d never see anything like this in your lifetime.”

“Both the horse and Nina adapted too quickly.”

“Don’t mix me with the horses.”

　　•=•=•

“Ah, there’s no one around there, so it looks like a good place.” A deep valley was carved into the barren land surrounded by rocky mountains.

“That’s right. That place is called Hell Valley, if I remember correctly.”

“Wow, Hell Valley is an amazing name. Is there any story behind it?”

“One might not come back alive from there. So no one dares to go there.”

“Seriously? Well then, let’s get off the carriage before we enter the valley so that we can return alive.”

“Let’s do that.”

　I got off the carriage onto a narrow road that branched off from the main road. Is this the road that leads to the Hell Valley?

“Okay, I’ll fire a heat ray at it with all my might from here.”

“There’s a small rock formation between us,” Nina said, still trembling a little.

“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter if we don’t reach the valley.”

“I agree”

“Hey, rocks might fly at us, so just stay in the carriage. I’ll put up a defensive field so there’ll be no problem.”

“I… I’m not sure, but I trust you, Master.”

“Well, let’s go.”

“yes”

“Maximum Energy Beam”

　I imagined a powerful heat ray and fired it.

　It was to use up all of my magical power. A thick, high-heat energy beam shot out from the end of my arm, just beyond the defensive field. The beam, accompanied by a thunderous roar, went straight ahead, shattering the rocky mountain, smashing the wall of Hell Valley, and even piercing the larger mountain ahead, stretching out into the sky on the other side of the mountain.

“Aaaaaaah. Shi, shiiiiii” Nina screamed.

“Oh my, this is amazing!”

“Ahhhhhhh, this is no time to say how amazing it is. The reverberations are still reverberating. This is at a disaster level. It’s bad. We’d better run away. We’ll definitely get caught. I don’t know anything about it. What are you going to do?”

“You’re saying some pretty harsh things. Anyway, the mountain isn’t on fire and the molten rocks will harden if we leave them alone, so it should be fine. While we’re at it, let’s fire a couple more shots.”

　Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch

“Oh, oh, oh. I can’t take it anymore,” Nina said, her voice a little hoarse as she screamed.

“Well, that’s about it. I think I can still shoot though.”

“It’s no good. The rock mountain in front has completely crumbled and become flat land.”

“It doesn’t really matter.”

“Hell Valley has collapsed and been filled up, so it’s no longer a valley.”

“The dangerous valley is gone, so I’m glad about that.”

“Is that so?”

“Let’s call it that. We filled the gap for everyone.”

“Master.”

“If asked, I’ll say so. They’ll know I have this power anyway.”

“That’s true. I don’t think there’s anyone who would make an enemy of someone like you.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Well then, let’s be bold.”

　We’ve decided to take a hard line, so that’s fine. The problem is that my magic isn’t running out.

“Your magic hasn’t run out yet.”

　It feels like my magical power has decreased a little, and my divine power has increased a little, but I’m not sure.

“Master, just how much of a cheat can you be? I’m already falling in love with you.”

“So even if you fall in love, you still do the same thing, right?”

“No, it’s not. I’ll add another dish.”

“Well, I’ll look forward to dinner tonight.”

“Yes, Master.”

　We suddenly decided to go home as a lovey-dovey couple. We felt sorry for the horse on the way back, and it would be troublesome if it ran out of power and fell off, so we went home in a normal carriage.

　Even so, the carriage is really slow. If it’s just me, I can fly, but it might be better to think about a vehicle to use when travellingtraveling with Nina or other people. I wouldn’t have to worry about running out of magic.