Study of Realm

Sofia and Hiroto sat face to face in a guest room of the estate. Sofia held a cup of tea, taking occasional sips. Hiroto, on the other hand, was sweating profusely. Everything had gone according to their plan—no, it went even better. It was more or less proven that Hiroto was innocent. Carl, however, was nowhere to be found.

Emma had also woken up a few hours later but wasn't in any state to tell what had happened. Doctors were looking after her. Fred was busy dealing with the aftermath of the incident. Nobles were leaving the estate; the marriage was officially canceled. The nobles, being busybodies, didn't have time for such trivial matters.

Sofia took another sip. It was evident that Hiroto was nervous. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Sofia was beautiful and had a fiery, charming personality. Not only that, but she was also the Princess of the country. When Hiroto had previously talked to her, he hadn't known anything about her. He also didn't know the reason she helped him.

Sofia placed the cup she was holding on the table. 

"Do you remember what we talked about last time?"

"...Spirits, shamans, mana?" Hiroto recounted everything.

Sofia nodded. 

"You also came up with a hypothesis that spirits might just be mana with consciousness."

Hiroto nodded.

"Well, I looked into it. I would say you are half correct." Sofia paused, picking her following words carefully. "First, spirits are not merely mana with consciousness."

"Then?" Hiroto asked, leaning forward.

"They are beings from the realm above us."

Hiroto didn't understand her words. Seeing his confusion, Sofia stopped. 

"Can you explain it in a way that I can understand? You see, I just started learning magic, and I am new to these terms."

Sofia thought for a while, then an idea clicked in her mind. She asked for paper and a pen. She drew a dot on the paper and showed it to Hiroto. 

"What do you see?"

"A dot?"

Sofia nodded. 

"Let's say the dot can't move anywhere. Not front, back, up, down, or anywhere." 

Hiroto still had a confused face. 

"That is the state of nothingness. A void where nothing exists." She paused, letting Hiroto digest what she just said. "Now, think, what if this dot can move back and forth? If the dot can do that, it would be a space two realms below our realm."

Hiroto nodded.

"Similarly, if the dot can move back and forth, right and left, that would be a space one realm below us. If we add up and down movements, that would be the realm in which we live. We can move back and forth, up and down, right and left. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Hiroto thought it was similar to dimension theory: how 2D, 3D worlds work. Where "space one realm below" can be called 2D, and "our realm" can be called 3D. Hiroto understood the general idea. 

"What if we move one realm above our current realm?" Sofia asked the question like a teacher.

Hiroto didn't know what would happen, so he just shrugged.

"That is the realm of mana. If we go one realm above that, it is the realm of spirits."

Hiroto was lost again. Seeing that, Sofia tried to explain in detail. 

"The beings from a higher realm can interact with things in a lower realm, but beings in a lower realm can't interact with things from a higher realm."

"So you mean..."

"Yes, because spirits live in one realm higher than the mana realm, they can easily interact with it."

"Then why can we humans interact with it?" Hiroto asked.

As Sofia said, humans are in a lower realm than mana. Then how could mages interact with it?

"According to what I know, humans at first were unable to sense mana," Hiroto listened intently. "A being from a higher realm came down to our realm. He had many sons and daughters here. Many think that mages are just descendants of that higher being."

Hiroto was surprised by this new knowledge. He thought maybe this realm theory was related to him coming here.

"So, back to the spirits. They are just beings from a higher realm, so normal people can't perceive them. But contracts can lift that limitation."

"So which part was I correct about?" Hiroto asked, assuming his hypothesis was entirely wrong.

"The part that said spirits have mana around them. Spirits are mana-friendly. They attract the mana they have affinity for. For example, a tree spirit will attract wood mana." Hiroto nodded in understanding.

"So, if a mage tries to sense spirits, they would only perceive them as balls of mana. But no mage observed that before. You were the first one to realize it. It's a groundbreaking discovery." Hiroto had a hesitant smile. "When I told the Court mages that a boy around my age came up with it, they were flabbergasted." She laughed.

"It's a good thing that you can find the reason behind it," Sofia continued, her expression more serious. "So, you know you will be coming with me to the capital."

"Yes, yes... Wait, what?" 

That came out of nowhere, taking Hiroto by surprise. But he could see the reasoning behind her words. It was a discovery, and the mages must have wanted to meet the person behind it. Hiroto remembered how every discovery on Earth was publicized for months before vanishing from people's minds. He thought the same thing would happen here. Still, he hesitated to go to the capital because he had no real reason to go. He just wanted to return home. But on second thought, he should go. Maybe the mages there would know something about his condition.

"I said you will be coming with me," Sofia repeated, her tone firm.

"Why?"

"Don't 'why' me now. You should already know that your discovery can change the magic we use today. Maybe the mages could also interact with spirits without any contract. It has opened countless new possibilities."

"But there's no need for me to go to the capital. The mages there can research all about it. I don't even need the credit for it. You can take all the credit." 

Hiroto wondered why he was saying all that when, deep inside, he had already decided he would go. Maybe he just wanted to see if that was the only reason he was called.

"It's not just that," Sofia added, her gaze softening. "Father and Mother also wanted to meet you."

Father and Mother? Does it mean King and Queen? Why? He looked at Sofia in disbelief.

"They said they would judge you themselves. I don't know what they meant by that." 

Sofia genuinely seemed not to understand. But Hiroto could clearly read the underlying message in those lines: 'We will see for ourselves who is eyeing our Sofia. I will tear him into pieces...'

Hiroto gulped. Suddenly, he didn't want to go anymore.