“That is not common sense. It’s simply ignorance.”
The moment I clearly uttered words of denial, the portly man ran toward me with a desperate expression. He quickly placed his hand on my shoulder and brought his face close.
“Y-y-young lady…! I’m telling you this for your own good, so please say that what you said was wrong! I’ll apologize with you… no, if you can’t accept that, just bow your head! I’ll apologize!”
The man said this with a pale face, then put his hand on my back and turned toward the blonde man. He bowed deeply.
“I-I’m terribly sorry! After all, mages are the admiration of commoners…! No, I too admired mages as a child and desperately practiced mimicking incantations! However, being of such lowly blood, this was completely…! Indeed, without noble bloodline like yours…!”
He apologized while forcing a smile and tried to appease the noble by talking rapidly. He was probably a merchant, as Glen had surmised. He was skilled at conversation and creating atmosphere, and both the noble man and Pity seemed somewhat less inclined to anger.
However, at the same time, the boy’s face darkened. Normally, this would be aristocratic society, class society at its finest. If you displease those above you, you never know what might happen to those below. Though unreasonable, this becomes common sense.
However, I couldn’t accept this.
“No, while I appreciate your consideration, that common sense is wrong. I don’t know which country’s common sense the gentleman over there is referring to, but…”
“You’d better not say any more.”
As I was about to educate them about magical common sense, the blonde man interrupted my words. His eyes were as cold as ice, with no trace of composure. Pity’s face had turned completely red.
“I should have introduced myself earlier, but I am Vic Daftau, holding the rank of Count in the Kingdom of Carvan. I’m sometimes called the Central Magic Count, but my family has produced many court mages. Not only as magic users, but we’re also skilled at collecting knowledge. I’m confident that I wouldn’t lose even against faculty members of Fidic Academy.”
The man who introduced himself as Vic spoke at length about his family. I understood that he was introducing himself as knowledgeable about magic, but so what?
“That’s impressive, but wouldn’t it be embarrassing to show off incorrect knowledge, especially now? Particularly since dignitaries from various countries are visiting the academy. You might literally be exposing shame to the entire world.”
I advised him out of concern for his family’s reputation. But at this, Vic finally lost his temper.
“…Your rudeness goes too far, woman! If you’re going to say that much, you’ll prove your so-called common sense, won’t you!? If you claim you can do it, then make that brat use magic right now!”
“You’ll regret it later, ugly.”
Words of complaint poured out with an unrefined quality unbefitting a noble. While I’m not particularly confident about my appearance, being called ugly did irritate me a little.
“Well then, let’s have a short field study session. The student will be… attending Fidic Magic Academy from next year… may I ask your name?”
When I turned my gaze to him, the boy’s shoulders trembled with a start, and he immediately nodded.
“M-Martin!”
“Yes, thank you. Now then, let’s give Martin-kun here a simple introduction to the basics of magic…”
Saying this, I turned to face Martin.
“First, regarding the statement that whether one can become a mage depends on talent, that is incorrect. More precisely, the first step is whether you can sense magical power or feel the magical power within your body. So the simplest method is using magical tools.”
After this preamble, I took out a small pen-shaped magical tool.
“This has a magic circle carved into it to manifest the Light spell, which consumes little magical power. Martin-kun, please hold this and say ‘Light.'”
When I handed it to him, Martin took the magical tool without hesitation and chanted the spell name.
This magical tool was something I created, maximized for efficiency within my capabilities. Its magical power consumption was so low that even a rabbit hopping around nearby would have sufficient power, and it shone several times brighter than a light created through incantation.
Therefore, when Martin, who didn’t know how to manipulate magical power, simply chanted the spell name, light bright enough to illuminate the surroundings in white manifested.
“Wh-what is this light…!?”
“It’s magic! He really used magic!”
The area suddenly became noisy, and Martin stared at the light with a surprised expression. I wondered if the brightness wasn’t bothering him, but the light gradually settled down.
“Did you feel the magical power?”
When I asked, he nodded and looked up.
“Yes!”
His response was good, but his focus wasn’t quite right. He had probably temporarily lost his vision.
However, the person himself searched for the portly man with his blurred vision and opened his mouth happily.
“Father! I can go to the magic academy!”
At those words, his father nodded happily despite his surprise.
“Amazing, Martin. The first mage from the James family.”
“Yeah!”
The people gathering around naturally smiled at this conversation between the two, then looked at Vic and his group.
Perhaps feeling those gazes, Vic shouted angrily.
“That’s cheating! Anyone can use magic with magical tools! Trying to deceive people with such ridiculous methods…!”
Vic declared that using magical tools was not acceptable.
“Cheating? First of all, magical tools won’t activate without magical power. Conversely, anyone with magical power can use magic. Martin, shall we try an incantation? Imagine a small flame.”
Saying this, I taught Martin a simple incantation. Martin rubbed his eyes while nodding deeply, then opened his mouth.
And he activated magic through incantation.
“…Light.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
The incantation was three measures. I tried making it efficiency-focused and energy-saving, and it seemed to work well. Martin’s first incantation magic was momentarily even brighter than the previous magical tool’s light.
“Im-impossible…!”
Seeing the light Martin emitted, Vic was astonished. But that surprise was drowned out by the cheers from the surroundings.
Turning back to Vic, who had become speechless from shock, I pointed out once more as a mage.
“…I’ll say this one more time, but whether someone can become a mage has nothing to do with talent. Of course, if we’re talking about becoming a world-class mage, talent and methods of effort might be relevant.”
When I said this, Vic ground his teeth audibly. Then Pity barked as if biting.
“Ugly! I won’t forget that you defied Father! Do you understand what will happen!?”
To Pity, who was so angry she was nearly in tears and spitting threatening words, I tilted my head and spoke.
“Well, what will happen, I wonder. I look forward to finding out. Incidentally, I’ll also remember being called ugly and ‘you’ in such a manner.”
When I said this, Pity was about to open her mouth to complain further, but Vic, noticing the surrounding gazes, stopped her.
“Enough, Pity. Wasting time on such lowly people is pointless. We’re leaving.”
“…Yes, Father.”
Though delayed in responding to Vic’s words, Pity also noticed the gathering gazes and obediently followed. Despite her youth, her ability to sense how she was being viewed showed she had received proper noble education.
However, the way she clicked her tongue loudly as they left raised questions about that educational approach.
After confirming that the two had left, the gallery that had gathered around burst into cheers.
“That was amazing, miss!”
“C-can I become a mage too!?”
“That was satisfying to watch!”
“The boy was amazing too! He’ll become a great mage!”
People gathered around making noise, and it quickly became a crowd.
“Please let me through. A colleague is preparing for a magic presentation.”
I tried to leave saying this, but couldn’t move easily. While wondering how to reach my destination, someone who saw my face spoke up.
“Ah! You’re the rumored amazing new teacher!”
“I see! From Fidic Academy! Fidic Academy faculty really are amazing!”
It seemed someone knew about me. The situation became even noisier when I was wondering what to do, and Martin and James from earlier approached nearby.
“Please, this way.”
When James said this, Martin took my hand and moved toward the academy buildings.
“Excuse us! We’re in a hurry!”
James spoke apologetic words while parting the crowd. Grateful, I obediently followed the two.
We successfully completed our move and reached the shade of trees in the courtyard.
“Thank you for earlier.”
When I said this, James shook his head left and right as if embarrassed.
“No, no, please let us thank you! Our Martin has always admired mages, but no one in my family line has ever been a mage… I thought it would probably be impossible. Thank you so much. However, I’m worried that you might have earned Lord Vic’s resentment…”
I returned a smile to James, who said this worriedly, and nodded lightly.
“It’s fine. Status and power don’t matter at Fidic Academy. Glen-headmaster will take care of it. Please don’t worry.”
I mentioned Glen-headmaster’s name to reassure them. Using Glen’s name, which is known throughout various countries, would be convincing.
“I see. They say Glen-headmaster has connections even with royalty from various countries. Fidic Academy truly is special.”
As expected, James muttered this with relief. Then Martin, fidgeting a bit, opened his mouth.
“U-um! Can I also… enter Fidic Magic Academy…?”
Looking into Martin’s eyes as he asked this question anxiously while looking down, I nodded deeply in return.
“Yes, of course. If you’d like, please come visit the magic academy sometime. I’ll speak with Glen-headmaster about it.”
“Really!?”
When I answered, Martin’s eyes lit up as he raised his face. After nodding once more to that, I next turned my attention to James.
“This is unrelated to our conversation, but I’d like to increase the total population of mages, so it would be helpful if you could introduce me to a good merchant. Someone who does individual sales would be preferable, but do you know anyone like that?”
When I asked, James lifted the corners of his mouth and narrowed his eyes. Instead of his previous good-natured smile, he was showing a somewhat wild, powerful grin.
“Please leave that to me. Though it’s not very large yet, I run a trading company. It’s called James Trading Company, and we have decent distribution channels around this town. If I can repay you even a little, I’d like to cooperate with all my might, humble though my abilities may be…”
“Is that so? That’s reassuring. Well then, I’m sorry to ask, but I’d like you to sell the Light magical tools from earlier… If those become widespread among the general public, the total population of mages will definitely increase. Eventually, voices seeking those magical tools will be heard from other countries as well.”
“W-wait a moment!”
Perhaps thinking of something from my words, James suddenly put both hands forward and interrupted.
“Um, are there many of those wonderful magical tools from earlier? Or would this be rental-based sales? Either way, it’s not something ordinary citizens could easily afford…”
To James, who seemed somewhat flustered, I raised one hand and waved it left and right.
“No, I’ll be creating them, so material costs will be sufficient. Let’s see… about the price of five meat skewers from that stall over there.”
When I answered this, James’s eyes widened and he froze. After several seconds, when he finally started moving again, James began laughing loudly.
“Ha ha ha! No, excuse me! However, we certainly can’t make absolutely no profit. We’ll prepare materials as cheaply as possible on our end. We’ll reduce raw material costs and add profit. Our trading company will take ten percent of that profit, so please accept the remainder.”
Hearing James’s words, I realized that only very simple magical tools had become widespread. Most things that could be called magical tools were ancient artifacts and the like, making them precious items.
I thought I might have made a mistake in my approach, but in any case, it would be a necessary means to increase the number of mages. Convincing myself of this, I gave James a brief self-introduction and left the scene.
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