Chapter 7: Cultural Festival Day One
Morning came, and I was summoned to Glen’s office.
Since all lectures are suspended during the cultural festival, all faculty members except those giving presentations should have the day off.
Feeling somewhat irritated by this thought, I entered Glen’s room, only to be met with a troubled look.
“Don’t be so angry with me.”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
When I replied, Glen chuckled and nodded with a wry smile.
“You haven’t said anything, but it’s clearly written on your face. Good morning, Aoi-kun.”
“Good morning, Glen-headmaster.”
We exchanged belated morning greetings. Then, saying “Sorry for calling you so early,” Glen produced some kind of letter.
“Rumors about you, Aoi-kun, have already spread to various countries. Particularly to the six major nations. However, it seems the rumors have reached the most distant Dwarf nation, the Kingdom of Grandsands, in a somewhat vague form.”
“The Kingdom of Grandsands? Eliza-san’s homeland?”
When I tilted my head and responded while Glen spread out the letter, he gave an ambiguous nod.
“Indeed. Well, Grandsands is the slowest among the six major nations in terms of magical development, but instead they invent various tools. Their lack of interest might be one reason for that… Ah, here it is.”
After thoroughly examining the letter’s contents, Glen pointed to a particular spot while looking at me.
“The King of Grandsands has taken an interest in you, Aoi-kun. He wants to see for himself whether you truly have the abilities that would warrant such rumors. Despite his age, he’s as curious as a child. When I became headmaster, he also insisted on seeing my abilities firsthand. Since this involves joint funding from the six major nations, it’s probably to convince himself of that as well.”
Glen said this with a bitter smile.
“Showing my abilities… isn’t just watching my presentation enough?”
When I asked, Glen stroked his beard and nodded.
“The Kingdom of Grandsands is famous for crafting the finest weapons and armor. Mysteriously, the mithril shields made there are masterpieces that can deflect various forms of magic. If someone wore full body armor, they wouldn’t easily die even if engulfed in flames. The King of Grandsands probably intends to test your magic using the strongest weapons and armor.”
“That means… he would actually receive my magic attacks?”
Is he serious? I found myself looking at Glen with skeptical eyes. He sighed and shook his head from side to side.
“As you may have heard, Aoi-kun, the value of mages in Grandsands is not as high as in other countries. This is because they’ve confronted even magical superpowers head-on using the power of their mighty weapons. Given this historical background, they probably want to use the rumors about you, Aoi-kun, to their advantage.”
“Use me?”
When I asked, Glen nodded deeply.
“If they could completely defend against your magic, which all nations are paying attention to…”
“It would serve as advertising for their weapons and armor to other countries?”
“Exactly.”
Answering with a “good grief” expression, Glen shrugged his shoulders. I smiled, lifting the corners of my mouth.
“Weapons with such confidence… how very interesting. I’m intrigued.”
When I muttered this like talking to myself, Glen made a sound like “Geh” – similar to a frog’s croak.
“W-wait, Aoi-kun! As I said earlier, only vague rumors about you have reached Grandsands! They don’t think you’re a more dangerous mage than the rumors suggest!”
“The expression ‘dangerous’ is misleading.”
“My apologies!”
Glen apologized and stood up, placing the letter on his desk.
“Every king prioritizes their country’s interests above all else. The King of Grandsands wanting to advertise to various nations through the academy’s events is understandable.”
“That’s the king’s convenience. In that case, there should be no problem if I test the capabilities of Grandsands Kingdom’s masterpiece.”
“I feel like there would be problems…!?”
Glen’s face showed shock at my opinion.
“…I’m joking. Now, setting aside the King of Grandsands’ matter, Speyside-san’s presentation is this afternoon. I’ll go check on the preparations.”
“There’s still quite a bit of time.”
“Knowing Speyside-san, he’s probably double-checking his materials.”
“How diligent.”
After this exchange, I left the headmaster’s office. If I recall correctly, one of the faculty members I advised should be giving a presentation this morning.
It’s going to be unexpectedly busy.
With such thoughts, I quickened my pace slightly.
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The academy’s scenery had changed.
This was probably because the academy gates were opened for the cultural festival. Many visitors were walking around inside the academy, wanting to see the interior that was normally accessible only to authorized personnel.
Even on busy days with many students, it’s noisy, but this was a completely different kind of noise. Men and women of various ages and attire were walking around, commenting on the academy’s courtyard and buildings.
Due to the vast grounds, I had expected that even with a fair number of visitors, it wouldn’t be too crowded. However, the situation exceeded even yesterday’s liveliness in town.
Hearing particularly energetic voices echoing from the garden area, I went to look and found food stalls set up everywhere. It was more like a festival than an academy event. The fact that people of all ages were coming and going made it even more so.
“Wow…! This is my first time inside the magic academy!”
A child’s voice rang out, and I turned to look. There was a boy around five years old with tied-up hair. The boy’s eyes were sparkling as he looked around the academy grounds. I wanted to tell him that the academy was usually much quieter, but he seemed excited by the festival-like scenery, so I said nothing.
“Can I enter the magic academy too?”
To the boy’s joyful question, a bearded, portly man smiled with a troubled expression.
“If you have magical talent, you might be able to enter.”
“Talent?”
The boy tilted his head and asked back, but the man just smiled wryly without answering. I thought about teaching him some basic magic, but then a high-pitched laugh rang out.
“How foolish. If you had talent, you’d already be able to use basic magic, wouldn’t you? I could use two beginner-level spells when I was five. What can you do?”
The one who appeared was a girl with wavy blonde hair. She looked about six or seven years old, slightly older than the boy. She probably just said what came to mind, as children do, but those were harsh words for a boy dreaming of his future.
It was too pitiful for someone who had come to the cultural festival. I was about to speak up to say something that wouldn’t crush the boy’s dreams.
However, before I could say anything, the boy’s face scrunched up angrily as he spoke up.
“I-I don’t know. Maybe I could too…”
He started speaking boldly, but then the boy’s expression became somewhat intimidated as he tried to argue back. Then a man in a white cloak appeared. He was a man with blonde hair slicked back. The man looked at the boy’s face and clothes and laughed with a snorting breath.
“A commoner’s child, isn’t he? A merchant’s son or something… Pity. Stop bullying the weak. Bloodline is also important for becoming a mage. It would be cruel to thrust reality at him too harshly.”
When the man said this, the girl laughed with a snorting breath similar to the man’s gesture.
“Yes, Father. But it’s good that he learned reality early, isn’t it?”
“Well, that’s true too. Ha ha ha!”
The man laughed out loud at the girl’s words. The boy, perhaps instinctively understanding that his opponents held higher status, looked back at the portly man with a tearful expression. However, the man probably couldn’t oppose someone who was clearly a noble in aristocratic society.
The portly man bowed his head and silently pressed down on the boy’s head.
“Wait just a moment.”
I couldn’t help but speak up. Not only the four people in front of me, but also other people around who had been watching the situation turned to look at me.
“…And you are? Do you have some opinion?”
The blonde man asked with a gentlemanly smile. The portly man was frantically trying to communicate something to me with his eyes, but more than that, I was pushed forward by the boy’s sad expression as he clung to something like hope.
I looked at the blonde man and the girl called Pity, then opened my mouth.
“If it’s just about becoming a mage, talent is unnecessary. There is no one who cannot become a mage.”
When I answered this, the boy’s eyes opened wide. Just seeing the boy’s expression regain its sparkle made me very happy.
However, conversely, the blonde man and Pity’s expressions became stern. The man sighed and shook his head dramatically.
“Did you lie because you felt sorry for that child? That choice may seem like salvation and feel good, but realistically it’s very cruel. The boy might desperately try to become a mage without knowing he’s been deceived. After wasting time and effort, when he finally realizes that he absolutely cannot become a mage, what will the boy think? Don’t you have that much imagination? I could never inflict such cruel treatment.”
When the man said this, Pity also snorted and shrugged her shoulders.
“Father is right! All nobles have mage blood, so they have talent as mages. People who aren’t nobles and didn’t awaken to magical power as children have no talent as mages. Don’t you even know such common sense?”
Being told this mockingly, I tilted my head and responded.
“That is not common sense. It’s simply ignorance.”
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