novelraw Chapter 194 : Chapter 194
Chapter 194 : Chapter 194
Chapter 194: Studying Magic (3)
‘There really are intelligent knights.’
And more of them than one might expect.
That assumption was more accurate than he had thought. More than half of the knights Harad remembered were intelligent.
Of course, the standard of “intelligent” was quite low compared to what Harad demanded of mages, but still.
‘At minimum, below the continental average. At maximum, below the Intelligence Bureau.’
Measured by continental standards, they ranged from dullards at the low end to not-quite-geniuses at the high end.
In the North, that meant at least gifted.
Which meant the North was not a honey badger. It was merely a self-proclaimed honey badger.
In his previous life and in this one, those damned knights only pretended to be ignorant. In the North, ignorance had long been considered a virtue.
‘Those bastards….’
Memories from his previous life flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern. In every scene, the knights of the Wall were snickering.
They had no desire to learn, and whenever magic came up, they dumped everything onto Harad without hesitation.
‘Of course, I never tried to fix them either….’
They scoffed at “mere magic,” then died to that very “mere magic.”
Which meant that, in truth, they could have been fixed. If things had gone well, they did not have to die.
And Elaine of his previous life had found that sight amusing, cheering it on as if it were a joke….
“…What are you doing?”
Ellen, standing beside him, flinched.
“You are on fire, dear.”
Sparks were scattering from Harad’s entire body. His Origin had responded to his emotions.
Even those tiny sparks each resembled the sun. Their actual firepower was intense as well. It was proof that Harad’s anger had completely boiled over.
Still, Harad thought of it as evidence that he had reached the 5th Rank. The more mana increased, the higher the Rank climbed, the stronger the Origin became. Naturally, the ignition point could only grow lower.
‘Has the fire itself changed?’
It was as if his traits had changed. If his former temperament had been fire-like, now it was like the sun. Even more fire-like than before.
That was because Harad had stepped upon the same path as the King of the past. That path wished for Harad to become simpler.
‘So this is what is normal.’
In his previous life, he had misunderstood it and ended up being less fiery than he should have been.
‘I see. So this is how the King of the past lived.’
That King must have been a far simpler mage than expected.
Harad had no intention of copying him completely. Even if the path was the same, its use would differ. In the end, an Origin was just a tool.
“Oh. It is warmer than before.”
“I agree. This is nice.”
“…?”
Hearing the murmuring, Harad looked around. At some point, knights had gathered and were warming themselves on the fire rising from his body.
“Ellen.”
“Yes?”
“Now is the time.”
“The time for what?”
Ellen tilted her head.
“Get angry for me. So much that I feel embarrassed.”
“…”
Harad was serious, but Ellen did not draw her sword.
Just like Elaine in his previous life, Ellen also loved knights.
***
The Shura who had once seemed mature was gradually becoming younger. By now, she seemed to have returned to her actual age.
Still, traces of maturity remained. Just as when she had reached out to Jis without prejudice.
‘She seems like a child, yet also mature.’
That must be Shura’s own individuality.
She was a child Harad would not have known in his previous life. It was the reward of regression, and someday he wanted to introduce Shura to the village of witches.
Though Shura had a mature side, her eating habits were picky like any other child’s. No one scolded her. It was a freedom permitted only at that age.
“Eat this too.”
“I do not like mushrooms.”
Jis’s menu was the same as Shura’s.
“Eat.”
“Why do you not tell Shura to eat them?”
“Shura can do that.”
“Then I will do that too.”
Jis clenched his teeth, dodging the mushroom Ellen tried to feed him, only to fail. Though he had grown as a mage, Jis behaved exactly like a real thirteen-year-old.
Harad watched Jis chewing mushrooms with a miserable expression and Ellen trying to feed him more. At that moment, Kubel offered something.
It was a lunchbox. Ellen’s eyes lit up, but it was not for her.
“Did he not come out again this evening?”
“Yes. He does not listen very well when I tell him.”
“He has more guts than he looks.”
Harad glanced over Kubel again as he spoke. Those muscles were impressive no matter how many times he saw them.
“I will deliver it. And scold him too.”
“Thank you.”
Kubel smiled faintly.
Harad waited until Ellen finished dinner, then left together with her toward Kubel’s annex.
Their destination, however, was Harad’s annex. It was a two-story building without a basement.
But a few days ago, a basement had appeared.
“It looks similar.”
“Same person’s work.”
The entrance was hidden beneath the living room floor on the first floor. The stairs leading underground felt familiar. The smooth walls on either side were familiar as well.
‘You could call it individuality.’
The mage called Rick the Tunnel-Digger had his own beliefs. If not beliefs, then aesthetics.
After descending for a short while, the path turned. It headed north and grew narrower with each step. This path itself was a single tunnel.
Since Serzila had approved it, there was no need for complexity. And since Jis was present, there was no need for width.
The passage grew so low that they had to stoop. Harad stopped there and spoke toward the darkness beyond.
“Rick!”
From afar came a rustling sound. Then it grew bright.
-PEEP!
Fireball flew from within, landed in Harad’s arms, then jumped into Ellen’s.
“Fireball!”
Ellen grabbed and kneaded Fireball with both hands. Though he was made of fire, that fire did not harm her.
After enjoying herself for a while, Ellen touched Fireball’s legs and tilted her head.
“What is wrong with him?”
Fireball let out a peep. He had two legs.
“Has he not fully recovered yet?”
Ellen asked while looking at Harad. She meant that Harad had recovered long ago, so why was Fireball still like this.
“He is a Divine Beast.”
-PEEP!
Fireball affirmed it.
Like Harad, he had already recovered. Even so, he had two legs and kept peeping because Ellen liked him better that way.
-PEE. PEE.
When Harad was about to speak, Fireball shook his head. It seemed to mean that Harad should not reveal the truth and make Ellen self-conscious.
“Is it not something bad?”
“He is too healthy, if anything.”
“Then that is fine.”
Only then did Ellen relax and continue playing with Fireball. Fireball chirped softly in delight.
“Lord Harad, Lady Ellen.”
After some time, Rick walked out from beyond the passage.
Rick looked remarkably refreshed. Due to the side effects of the mask, his voice still sounded like that of an old man, but otherwise he was no different from a young man of his age. His once-bent back had straightened completely.
“This is your meal.”
Harad handed Rick the lunchbox Kubel had prepared.
“Thank you very much!”
Rick accepted it with reverence. He still found Harad and Ellen intimidating.
However, he was quite close with Kubel. The same was true of the relocated Liberation Faction. A kind of mage community had formed in Serzila.
“Kubel told me to make sure you come out and eat on time.”
“Ah.”
Rick smiled awkwardly.
“I am sorry. I lost track of time… I will do so from now on.”
“You should. Otherwise, Kubel said he would fold your waist in half again.”
“……”
Rick swallowed hard. No matter how close they were, Kubel’s build was terrifying.
“Is the tunneling going well?”
“Yes, yes. This fellow has been a great help.”
Rick laughed and pointed at Fireball. Peep! Fireball proudly placed his wing-like limbs on his waist.
The colder the ground, the harder it became. The ground of the North was harder than the continent’s soil, and the land at the Boundary was several times harder even than that.
Rick advanced by digging through the ground melted by Fireball. Thanks to that, his speed was several times faster than when he had dug tunnels before.
“Speed is good, but there is no need to rush. You are doing more than well enough.”
At this rate, the tunnel connecting the village and Serzila would be completed before the month ended.
“H-however…”
Rick hesitated. Harad knew well why Rick skipped meals and dug so desperately. He felt impatient.
“Even if it has faded, credit is still credit.”
It was because of Jis. After Rick had worked so hard to widen the tunnels, a new mage named Jis had rendered that achievement seemingly meaningless.
“The widened tunnels will surely be useful someday. Jis is only one person.”
Jis’s shadow was an excellent means of transport, but it was ultimately only one.
In contrast, there were thirteen tunnels, and soon fourteen once the new one was completed. Someday, a moment would come when the tunnels were used simultaneously. When that time came, Rick’s contribution would be reevaluated.
“If there is anything you want, say it without holding back. This one or Arika will listen.”
Harad tapped Ellen’s shoulder, and she nodded.
Rick spoke cautiously.
“Then, perhaps… could you give me money…?”
“Are you short on living expenses?”
“N-no! I have more than enough!”
Rick flailed in denial at Ellen’s question.
“Then why do you need money?”
“Well… I have been sponsoring something lately.”
“Sponsoring?”
Ellen’s eyes widened.
“Yes, yes. Recently, a vagrant settlement formed near the territory…”
Come to think of it, Rick had been a vagrant from a small city himself.
“It reminded me of my past….”
Harad let out a hollow laugh.
Why were continental mages’ wishes always this modest?
***
After watching Rick finish his meal and returning to the surface, Harad found 1st Knights Commander Toremot and Gullen sitting in the living room.
He had summoned them when he visited the 1st Knights earlier.
Toremot sat on the sofa, while Gullen sat on the floor.
“Why are you on the floor?”
Gullen glared at Toremot instead of answering. It could not be helped. That father and son sometimes seemed close, yet sometimes not.
Gullen’s hair had grown long enough to be styled. Toremot wanted to shave it all off.
The fact that Gullen kept his hair long meant he was successfully resisting Toremot.
The longer his hair grew, the stronger Gullen became.
‘It will be easy to tell them apart.’
Long hair would be unpleasant to look at, but as an indicator, it was quite convenient.
“How was it?”
Harad asked Toremot. His gaze was as hot as ever.
“It does not interfere with patrols, so it is acceptable. But it is not acceptable.”
It was his impression of the newly introduced magic education.
“It is hard to explain. It feels unnecessary, yet necessary.”
Toremot was not good at explaining things. That was how intuition worked. And among Superhumans, Toremot’s sense of smell was exceptional.
“Which one feels more uncomfortable?”
Harad asked, lowering himself to Toremot’s eye level.
“Not doing it feels more uncomfortable. As long as it does not interfere with patrols, we should do it.”
Toremot said with a slight frown.
The idea that knights had to study magic displeased him, yet his sense of smell insisted it was necessary.
And Toremot tended to trust that sense. More precisely, he could not escape it. To escape it would weaken him.
That was the essence of a Sword Master. It was individuality, belief, and sometimes something close to law.
“Is that all for the matter at hand?”
Toremot spoke as if it were anticlimactic. However, his gaze remained hot. His sense of smell had already guessed this was not the end.
“Sir Toremot, you must take the examination as well.”
“So be it.”
Despite being unable to go on patrol, Toremot accepted readily.
That was the position of the 1st Knights Commander. He had to be an example to the knights.
“However, instead of an examination, I intend it to be study. You too, Gullen.”
“And why must I?”
“If you dislike it, you may go take the examination.”
“……”
Gullen pretended not to hear. He had been the same in Harad’s previous life. Despite his appearance, Gullen was curious about magic. Unconsciously, he followed his essence.
Harad went up to the second floor, returned with a stack of papers from his room, and set them down. They were about a handspan thick.
“Tower of Storms?”
Toremot muttered as he looked at the first page.
“All the knowledge of the Tower of Storms that I possess.”
Within the limits permitted by regression, Harad had personally transcribed everything he knew about that wind.
It was for Toremot and his son Gullen.
“I will not ask you to understand it. Memorization will suffice.”
Toremot looked displeased. Still, his nostrils flared.
“I do not know what it is, but it feels like something I must do.”
Once again, Toremot’s sense of smell had picked up something.
The regressed Harad smiled silently. Toremot of his previous life had died. This time, he would not. That handspan of information was preparation for him.
“This is homework. I will check it when I return.”
“Where are you going?”
Gullen asked while pretending to skim the pages.
“I am going to the 5th Knights.”
As far as Harad knew, there was a very promising old maid there.
“Check it? In the end, that is still an examination, is it not?”
Toremot pointed out.
‘As expected of a Sword Master.’
A Sword Master could never be ignorant.