Vol 3 Chapter 1 – Childhood – Spring at Age Twelve ・Part 6

Eliza was very sad. It was because her requests had never been rejected so thoroughly before.

Yet, she never meant to be selfish.

She wanted to stay with her father, with her mother, did not want to be separated from Heinz nii-san and Mina Onee-chan, wanted to play with Mikhail nii-san and Hans nii-san, and longed to see everyone at the manor.

Was that such a bad request?

She cried in confusion. The thought of losing the life she had always known was unbearable and terrifying, and her tears would not stop.

It comforted her that her beloved Erich nii-san was with her, always promising to follow her and protect her as he held her close.

But that was something they could do at home too.

She hated the Magic Academy. She hated the person in the red outfit who spouted strange remarks. She had no interest in magic. All she wanted was to live together happily—in that wonderful home.

Her father was strong and kind, her mother beautiful and an excellent cook, her older brothers fun and entertaining, and lately there was even an older sister who knew a lot about fashion.

She did not want to be separated from the little red lizard lurking by the fireplace, the big dog that caught mice in the garden, the kind-looking girl who always watched over her in the corner of the room, or even the completely white old men she sometimes met in the barn.

After all, they had all been so kind to her.

Being separated from such a family was unbearable for Eliza. Even if her beloved Erich nii-san were with her, even if she were allowed to go to the city—a place her father had mentioned with interest—or even if she could ride in an impressive carriage she had never seen before, she still hated it.

But no matter how much Eliza cried and screamed, the day of departure had come.

Thus, even if she wore the pretty clothes her mother had so joyfully sewn for her, even if she ate the rare frozen treats she was given, or even if she received the comb from the much-admired Mina Onee-chan, it made no difference.

“Eliza, it’s going to be alright. I’ll be with you.”

“No, nii-san, I don’t want to go. I like it here.”

“It’s for your sake, Eliza.”

For your sake—the words repeated to her like a promise over the past few days—her brother, now dressed in travel attire she had never seen before, embraced her. The sturdy linen travel clothes were rough against her face, but it was his gentle warmth that she relied on.

But if it was truly for her sake, she could not understand why they were making her do something she hated so much.

“Someday, I promise we’ll be able to return here. Has Nii-san ever told a lie?”

And so, little Eliza could only cling to her brother and those words…………

【Tips】Beings with physical bodies, known as fairies or spirits, are different; though invisible, they exist worldwide.

While being a magician’s apprentice has appeal, becoming a magician’s lackey brings an overwhelming sense of disappointment with just a slight difference in title.

I thought this as I gently laid my tear-exhausted little sister—who had fallen asleep in my arms—onto a chair in a corner of our unnecessarily lavish room.

“Hmm, it’s strange, isn’t it? Normally, children should be thrilled, their eyes sparkling at the thought of learning magic.”

Observing this was Agrippina de Staal, clad in a splendid indigo robe. Even though my little sister was her own disciple, she remarked with an air of detachment.

“When seven children leave their parents’ home, isn’t it normal to feel anxious?”

“In the cities, it’s not uncommon for five of them to become merchants’ lackeys, right, nii-san?”

Teasingly, the magician sank into a heavily padded, ornate chair that clearly exuded luxury. That chair alone might have been worth as much as an entire house.

“…However, this is truly amazing.”

He shifted the topic to dodge the teasing, speaking of the feelings of a child who runs away from apprenticeship out of homesickness—a sentiment she could not understand at all.

Now, the room in which I found myself resembled a small salon. With white wallpaper, chic round glass windows, a long-pile carpet, and matching tables and chairs arranged neatly, it would be hard to believe if someone said, “This is inside a carriage.”

Not only were the ruts of the highway and the sound of wheels scraping absent, but even the unpleasant vibrations from riding over bumps were nowhere to be felt. Left unmentioned, who would suspect that this was actually the magistrate’s tea room?

“Well, obviously—it’s been done with great effort. Why must I lower my standard of living for mere fieldwork? Although, even this is quite a fall from grace.”

As if that were only natural, the long-lived one smirked. One can somewhat understand why she was disliked, really.

“The spell for spatial expansion is incredibly difficult to construct, and since hardly anyone can use it nowadays, learning it on my own was a real struggle. Well, I suppose the low maintenance costs show that our long-lived ancestors really knew what they were doing.”

Apparently, this carriage was handcrafted by Agrippina de Staal, who spoke of it with pride. It is said to house seven rooms within one carriage, switchable at a moment’s notice. Truly, magicians are fearsome beings. One can clearly see why they are so careful about preventing their techniques from scattering.

Well, my little sister is leaving home to learn that very technique, though.

On the day of departure, we boarded Agrippina de Staal’s mysterious carriage, separating ourselves from the caravan that was setting off to the provinces to procure goods—the caravan leader had desperately tried to hold onto his precious accompanying magician, but in the end, it was in vain—and headed straight for the imperial capital.

The imperial capital Bearin, regarded as the capital of the Line Triple Empire, is not the largest city in the Triple Empire.

It is true that the core institutions of the Triple Empire, such as the Imperial Castle and the Magic Academy, are concentrated there; however, due to the regular change of the reigning emperor, industries other than commerce and finance are weak. This is because most of the population consists of nobles—who reside in separate estates to attend court—and their servants, as well as merchants catering to the staff of the Magic Academy.

In the Triple Empire, politics is driven by the Three Imperial House and the Seven Chosen Elector Families, who wield great power. Naturally, if each possesses its own territorial holdings, one can easily imagine that a centralized city is unnecessary.

If the cities in each province are specialized according to the lord’s preferences and the characteristics of the land, then there is no need for a single, centralized metropolis that might undermine those interests. The imperial capital was most likely built for unsavory political reasons meant to avoid diminishing any individual’s power, and it still towers today.

And so we press onward, moving against the merchant caravan that spreads out to the provinces for supplies, headed toward the Magic Academy in that imperial capital. Because our journey requires forced overnight stops at inns along the way, there are days when hardly any progress is made. Damn it—it’s said to take as long as three months to arrive.

The thought that by the time we get there it might already be summer only weighed on my heart.

“Well, it’s cramped, but bear with it. I’ve put up with this for years.”

To complain about cramped conditions when I had to sleep in a four-person room on a bed that barely fit us—truly, the absurdity of one’s birth is something else.

“Well then… Erich, right?”

“…Yes.”

It was the fourth day since we first met face-to-face, yet it took quite a while for her to remember my name. She had claimed that she wasn’t good at remembering faces and names, but perhaps it was simply that she fundamentally had no interest in others.

“I’m going to have you work as an apprentice, but I think it will be quite inconvenient if you continue as you are.”

“…Sigh.”

“So, come over here for a moment.”

When I approached after her intermittent beckoning, I saw her exhale onto her cupped right hand and begin mumbling something.

Now that I think about it, unlike humans, long-lived races do not need a magical focusing device to use magic.

Apparently, according to one of the few magical books in the chapel, there exist beings with an internal organ that releases magical power and those without; humans belong to the latter, and therefore require a device—known as a focusing tool—to draw out their magic. In contrast, long-lived races are of the former type, able to release magic through speech or exhalation, enabling them to use magic without such a device.

The breath she exhaled onto her palm began to swirl and shine as she murmured, and just when it seemed to converge, it gathered into particles of light around her index finger.

“Well then, it might hurt a little, so bear with it, okay? You’re a boy, after all.”

Before I could think something foolish like “Oh, how sparkly and beautiful,” those words made my heart skip a beat. Before I could even ask what she meant, a finger touched my forehead…

The world shattered.

To put it bluntly, it was hell.

I have lived as Erich and have endured my fair share of pain—being struck with a mock iron sword, falling from tall trees, being kicked by a cantankerous Holter—and most of the kinds of pain a farm boy might experience. I still vividly remember the searing pain of having my earlobe punctured with a tooth.

But this pain felt as insignificant as that of a mosquito bite.

Instead of the sensation of metal fittings forcefully inserted into and expanding my skull, a pain as if my brain were being squeezed and compressed by a vise attacked me. At the same time, the depths of my eyes burned red, and an unpleasant sensation—like my dormant nerve fibers being tangled—set in.

The world spun, the pain pulsed, and my senses twisted. It felt as if my very being were simultaneously thrown into a blender and a press, and then scattered across the world by a compressor—something that hardly can even be called pain anymore.

I felt as though I would be tormented by it for an eternity, yet in reality, not even a moment passed. Perhaps my Lightning Reflex malfunctioned from the excruciating pain, because Agrippina de Staal’s blinking before my eyes seemed astonishingly slow.

Then, after what seemed like a blink that condensed all the time in the world, all the sensations that tormented me vanished.

“Ah…!?”

However, in the aftermath my body convulsed and my stomach churned as if it were about to disgorge its contents. Not wanting to soil the floor of someone else’s carriage, I forced myself to swallow—just in time before reuniting with the breakfast my mother had prepared with such care before our parting.

“Alright, congratulations—you’ve opened your eyes, haven’t you?”

Just as the pain began to subside and I was about to protest, a pop-up appeared at the edge of my vision in sync with her words.

It read: “Magical aptitude awakened.”

“Eh…? Wh-what is this…?”

When I hurriedly checked my status, I saw that both my Magical Storage and Instantaneous Magical Output had been marked as awakened, and many of the magical traits that had remained dormant until now were suddenly unlocked. Although many of the skills required for use remained locked, even those had been activated.

This is, this is really…

“You have awakened your magical power. Welcome to the world of Mage Magia.”

With her chest puffed out and a smug look—as if to say “Now, praise me”—Agrippina de Staal declared it.

“…Eh, wait a minute… is this really okay…?”

【Tips】As one accumulates proficiency through training, one’s traits and skills may also be unlocked by the hands of others, and in doing so, that proficiency is not consumed.

Now, addressing me—who still did not quite understand the lingering pain or what had just happened—Agrippina de Staal began to explain, as if it were entirely natural, matters concerning the world of magic.

Originally, this was not something to be taught to outsiders, but as an apprentice, you must know it, of course.

The term “Magic User Tsao Bara Hexe” is merely what the common folk call them, and is not their proper title. Formally, they refer to themselves as “Mage Magia.” As those who study extraordinary arts, all who belong to the Triple Empire’s Magic Academy call themselves this.

This is because, if necessary, they differentiate between magic and sorcery according to the situation. The title “magic user” implies that they can only use magic—a notion that infuriated those who had rebranded themselves as mages.

Furthermore, although magic and sorcery should be treated as esoteric means, they are by no means unknown in the world. It is said that the aptitude to use magic often awakens automatically once one possesses a certain amount of magical power. Moreover, they often develop their own methods of control, making it not uncommon for them to use such skills in commerce.

For example, there exist magic-user apothecaries distinct from healers. These individuals work as herbalists who use magic, are prized as physicians capable of creating remedies far more effective than ordinary herbs, and reside in manors, cities, and sometimes even in forests or ancient towers—garnering great respect. In other words, they are the so-called witch doctors.

Also, there are those who use magic in business. They are the type who might, for instance, use a bit of magic to make and sell frozen treats at a merchant caravan’s stall.

Within their classification, those who use magic in everyday life rather than for research are called magic users. However, since explaining the difference to the general public is difficult, they have resigned themselves to being called magic users.

“…Huh? So that means, in other words…”

“It’s not as if you’re forbidden from using magic for business unless it’s officially sanctioned by the Magic Academy. Besides, if we were to lock up every person capable of using that level of magic, it would never end; and we certainly can’t charge everyone 30 drachma a year for lectures and force them into slave labor.”

“Do you think that every magic user who follows the merchant caravan is affiliated with the Magic Academy?” she chided as she tapped my forehead, and I felt ashamed—realizing that even though I was well over forty, I remained naive. Of course, not everyone can be expected to afford paying a year’s tuition by scraping together a farmer’s twenty years of disposable income.

“Graduating from the Magic Academy and displaying your license is only necessary for people like your little sister or when you set up a proper workshop in town to do business. Oh, and you can also register with the Magic Academy and pay a fee to become an official disciple. Otherwise, unless you have a severely flawed magical ability, you’re pretty much free.”

There are few humans who awaken to magic, but the means to learn it exist—albeit thinly and broadly. That’s all there is to it. In short, the magic users of the “self-taught” category—whom I had given up on as inefficient—are active among the common people.

And only those with an aptitude so dangerous that, if left untrained, they would put everyone around them in danger—like Eliza—resort to such forceful methods.

After all, there was no falsehood in the words of the old man I met: if you truly want to learn, you must become a disciple of a mage—which means that old man was a mage—because there is no official way other than to go to the Magic Academy.

Which means that I…

“Because you are my apprentice. I intend to train you sufficiently without the need for tuition so that you can handle various tasks.”

“Ah, I see… that’s what it means.”

Thus, I was made a magic user in the proper sense—not a mage who explores the depths of magic, but rather a practitioner who simply uses magic as a skill.

“So, read this.”

Before I had time to be surprised by the book that appeared in her hand with a snapping sound, I let out a heavy sigh like lead.

What were these five years and the event flag set by that old man all about…?

【Tips】The difference between a “magic user” and a “mage” is far greater than what the common people perceive. Just as self-proclaimed “diet therapy specialists” or “XYZ therapy specialists” do not require credentials to call themselves magic users, mages are a nationally certified qualification recognized by the Magic Academy—akin to doctors or lawyers, who must possess a status above that of mere researchers. It is the latter who are typically directly commissioned by the magistrate, and only mages are permitted to display the word “magic” in their trade names.