#1186 Commence Search  

We finally figured out who the world's enemy is. 

It would be none other than… Chantless Magic!!! 

Turns out, that forbidden spell is guilty of insulting and angering the spirits.  
It’s basically taboo magic. 

If we let chantless magic keep running rampant, things between humanity and the spirits will only get worse. 

As a human who takes some responsibility for this world, I can’t just stand by. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to solve this mess. 

“Such an insult cannot be forgiven!” 
“If you ‘insult’ us, we’ll wisk our very wives to fight back!” 
“You have ‘insulted the wife’ of the Spiwit King!” 
“Your bwain’s as dense as chocowate nougat!” 

The earth spirits, too, seem fired up, like the Spirit King’s rage is flowing right through them. 

This is probably the same phenomenon that happened earlier: the Spirit King’s feelings spread throughout all spirits and leaked out in random bursts. 

Anyway, time for action.  
Should I start by heading out somewhere to tackle thischantless magic problem? 

“Perhaps you should visit the Demon Kingdom,” Sensei suggests. “Alchemy typically comes from pacts with spirits, which is something the demon race has long dealt with. So, it’s only natural to think chantless magic originated among them. If you go see the Demon King and ask around, you might learn something.” 

I see. 
Sensei makes a good point. 

In that case, sorry for barging in unannounced, Demon King, but I’m coming over to talk. 

“Wait, human! Let this Spirit King accompany you as well!” 

Spluttering something or other, the Spirit King hurriedly chases after me. 
He’s coming on pretty strong right after losing that battle. 

“If you’re truly acting on behalf of all spirits, then the leader of the spirits—the Spirit King—can’t just sit this out! It seems I was wrong about humans. I never expected one to go this far for us!!!” 

The Spirit King looks quite overjoyed.  
Honestly, I do feel for the spirits and want to do something about this, so if that’s giving them some peace of mind, great. 

But traveling together could be… tricky. 
The Spirit King’s body is huge.  
We’re talking mecha-scale.  
If that giant form marched around the Demon Kingdom’s crowded capital city, it’d be a disaster. 

“That’s no problem. Spopopopopopopoooo!” 

With that odd chant, the Spirit King’s colossal body starts shrinking right before my eyes. Sort of like a reverse Ultr*man or something. 

Before I knew it, he’s down to about human size. 

“How’s this! Now we can walk side-by-side, no problem!!!” 

He lets out a hearty laugh.  
It seeme the perks of being a spiritual entity include shapeshifting at will. 

“I wonder if I might accompany you as well?” Sensei chimes in. “I’ve always taught my students that chantless magic is ill-advised. All that disrespect and disregard for proper forms will eventually come back to bite the caster. Now that it’s caused so much trouble for people who had nothing to do with it, I can’t just let it slide.” 

It was a bit roundabout, but Sensei was clearly displeased.  
A cold fury radiated off the Lifeless King, like a chill in the air. 

“I need to have a word with the perpetrators. And who better to do that than me, who knows ancient and modern magic inside out?” 
“As expected of the King of the Dead! So reliable!” 

After making peace, the Spirit King sure was quick to cozy up to Sensei.  
They’re acting like they’ve been BFFs for years. 

“Good wuck, Spiwit Kiiing!” 
“We’ll be cheewing for you fwom beyond the gwave!” 

The earth spirits saw the Spirit King off. 

 As for the other spirits, they can’t exactly leave this land without special measures. 
They only have physical bodies here because of the Underworld God Hades’s blessing on our farm. 

“I wish you all success and good fortune,” says the fire spirit. 

 “I’ll be staying here to help Lady Veil with her broth research,” says the water spirit, also sticking around. 

Then finally… 

“As for me…”  

It’s the bean spirit. 
He announces his plans… 

“…I’m gonna go grovel in apology to the wind spirit.” 

So, you do know your place, after all. 

*** 

Thus, with the Spirit King and Sensei in tow, we make our way to the Demon Kingdom—specifically the Demon Capital, which is crowned by the Demon King's castle. 

The Demon King is always willing to see me whenever I drop by.  
He’s gotta be swamped with duties, but he’ll still rearrange his schedule just for me. I feel kinda bad about that. 

“…Well, your visits usually end up being either really great news or really terrible news.” 
“The Demon King doesn’t wanna risk putting you on hold and then regretting it.” 

Huh?  
What was that, you two? 

After waiting in a drawing-room-ish area for a few minutes, I hear the sound of frantic footsteps. Soon enough, the Demon King bursts in. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Lord Saint!” 
“No, I’m the one who showed up without an appointment…” 

I should be the one apologizing here. 

But let’s get right down to business. 
There’s no need to hog the Demon King's jam-packed schedule. 

I finish explaining the basics, and… 

“I see…! So that’s the reason for your sudden visit. Indeed, I was right not to ignore your call. Your news tends to be either extremely good or extremely bad, after all.” 
“RIGHT?” 

Sensei and the Spirit King speak in unison. 

“So that gentleman with you must be the leader of the spirits...the Spirit King?” 
“It’s an honor to meet you.” 
“No, it is I who should be thanking you for everything…!” 

They both proceed to greet each other with the politest courtesies possible.  
So this is how adults do things...! 

“It’s true, though. The spirits keep the entire world running, but for us demons, it goes beyond that. They also lend their power for magic and spellcasting. In times of war, that power was everything to our people. We owe the spirits more than we can ever repay.” 

He bows his head, low and deep. 

“If the demon race is prospering now, it’s partly thanks to the spirits’ help. I’ve never forgotten that debt. I’m glad I finally have the chance to thank you in person.” 
“NnhooooooohhhhHHH!!!” 

The Spirit King lets out a weird squeal.  

The poor guy probably had his self-esteem shredded during this fiasco, but the Demon King's words of gratitude must’ve shot it right back up.  
Now, he’s practically delirious with joy. 

“That’s why I can’t turn a blind eye to something that would throw mud on the faces of the very spirits who helped us. As the leader of the demon race, I’ll commit this entire nation to solving the problem...to restore peace with the spirits.” 

The Demon King’s sincerity really calmed the Spirit King down.  

For a second, I thought this might be enough for a happy ending. But no, we have to see it through.  

I’ve already said I want to deal with chantless magic, so we need a proper resolution. 

“On that note, I have a pretty good idea where to start.” 

Apparently, the Demon King already has some valuable intel.  
So efficient. 

“There’s been a rumor going around town about a certain magic cram school that’s become quite the talk of the capital. Its biggest selling point is… chantless magic.” 

Bingo.  
That’s exactly the lead we need. 

Let’s go check out this magic cram school.