The Grass Is Always Greener (2)
The arrival of a bumbling wizard and a spiritist in the tiny island village didn’t turn daily life into some grand drama. A lone 2-Circle Wizard in exile and a novice spiritist who had only just contracted with the lowest-grade spirit were still far too insignificant to shake the world.
“Begin!”
“Waterball! Waterball! Waterball!”
“Please, could you sprinkle water over there?”
At Elina’s command, Patrick and Ben each called forth magic and spirit. Whoosh!
“Ah, Teacher! I told you not to do it like that! You have to spread it evenly!”
“I told you I don’t know how!”
When Patrick’s Waterball burst in midair and poured down over the newly sprouted crops, the children’s scolding began at once.
“If you give too much water to one spot, they might die!”
“That’s right! You’re supposed to give it little by little over a wide area! Look at this—the ridge has already collapsed. Let’s rebuild it!”
“Okay!”
Meanwhile, cheers erupted from Ben’s section.
“Can you spread the water wide and gentle so the plants can grow well?”
[Yeah! Yeah!]
The spirit Ben had summoned created tiny droplets like mist and sprinkled them over the plants. The crops, caught in an unexpected drizzle, didn’t wilt; instead, they seemed to radiate freshness, as if delighted.
Patrick and Ben were watering the garden so vigorously because the evening’s bet hinged on their results. The children had each chosen a side and formed teams.
—The loser makes pizza!
—Yay!
It was all because Patrick had woken up craving pizza and dragged the children into it. But things weren’t going as expected.
At this rate, I might lose.
He glanced sideways and saw Ben chatting comfortably with his spirit while gently watering the plants. Watching his disciple look so relaxed while he himself was desperately chanting spells and yanking out mana made Patrick’s temper flare.
“We’re going to lose at this rate! I bet on Teacher, so do it properly!”
“Just wait, I’m trying! This isn’t working—Waterball! Waterball!”
“Aack! That’s not the right spot!”
“I’ve got a plan! Do you kids think you can understand an adult’s deep thoughts?”
“What are you even saying?!”
Whether it was encouragement or pressure from his own team, Patrick’s spell missed the field entirely and struck a wooden basin sitting in the corner. The basin, meant to catch rainwater, wasn’t very large, and it quickly filled halfway, sloshing with water.
Thud-thud-thud!
When Patrick suddenly abandoned the field to fill the basin and then dashed toward it, cheers erupted from the children who had been rooting for Ben’s victory.
“Whoa! Teacher gave up!”
“Teacher’s going to make the pizza!”
“Hey, guys. Should we just make it ourselves…? I don’t trust Teacher’s pizza…”
But Patrick hadn’t given up like the children thought.
“This is an adult’s wisdom, you brats! Wind!”
Patrick scooped a ladleful of water from the sloshing basin, flung it into the air, and cast a new spell. A strong wind swept in from somewhere, struck the floating mass of water, and shattered it into countless tiny droplets that rained back down onto the field with a soft whoosh.
“Whoa! That’s our teacher! Master of shortcuts!”
“It’s not a shortcut, it’s wisdom!”
“Either way, it’s the best!”
Unable to layer spells, Patrick had found the best solution he could. Of course, it was far too physical and chaotic for proper wizardry.
Ding—
“Huh…?”
Patrick, who had been cackling in anticipation of victory, suddenly staggered. His mana was depleted.
“Ugh!”
“Teacher!”
Once again, Patrick was only a 2-Circle Wizard. He couldn’t fire off spells endlessly. Still, thanks to constantly pushing his limits while playing with the children, his capacity had grown considerably compared to when he first arrived on the island, when twenty casts had been his absolute maximum.
“I guess this is my limit…”
“Teacher! Open your eyes! Why do you always faint?!”
“……I’m not done yet, you little brat.”
“Ah, so you’re not fainting today?”
Having fainted so often, Patrick had developed the practical wisdom to stop just short of actually passing out.
Just as Patrick’s defeat seemed certain, Ben also began to stagger. Like Patrick’s mana running dry, Ben couldn’t keep summoning his spirit indefinitely either.
—The winner is…… huh? Teacher? Teacher won?
—What? Why?
—It’s true! Teacher won!
—Really? For real? Huh? You’re right! I won!
……This is the power of a teacher, you brats!
—……You didn’t even know yourself……
Though some ridges had collapsed here and there, Waterball wasn’t a particularly powerful spell to begin with, so the children’s small hands quickly repaired the damage. In the end, Patrick was declared the winner. The match itself had been a mess, but the final victor was Patrick.
“Hurry up and knead the dough, you brats!”
“Could you light the fire first?”
“Why? You haven’t even finished the dough yet.”
“We need to heat the oven evenly in advance.”
“Really?”
While Ben and his losing team busied themselves making dough and tomato sauce, Patrick headed toward the oven that had been left abandoned in the yard. The oven had been there from the beginning, but this was the first time anyone was using it. After fixing the roof, he had cleaned around the house whenever he had time, but he had never mustered the courage to use it alone. That was why he had coaxed the children into making pizza with him today—he felt uneasy doing it by himself.
I haven’t even used the built-in oven, and now it’s a traditional stone oven.
It wasn’t difficult, just unfamiliar. Remembering scenes from variety shows where people made pizza, he neatly stacked firewood on the left side of the oven and lit it.
“Should I go pick some basil?”
“Sure!”
“Arugula too?”
“Sounds good!”
“I brought ham from home!”
“Let’s put that on after it’s baked!”
“We’re putting cheese powder on last too, right?”
“Of course!”
As Patrick was about to boast about how perfectly the firewood had caught, he felt something off in the children’s chatter.
Wait, what are they talking about?
He hurried to check the kitchen situation and saw the children preparing to make wood-fired pizza. They were rolling out the well-fermented dough thin and insisting on adding the prosciutto after the bread was baked!
“Hold on—everyone stop what you’re doing!”
At Patrick’s urgent shout, the children froze and turned to look at him.
“Why?”
“What’s wrong?”
Ah—Italian wood-fired pizza? Sure, that’s nice. I like that too.
But that’s not what I wanted to eat this morning!
The moment he woke up today, what he had craved wasn’t some light and refined authentic wood-fired pizza, but the Korean-style pizza with cheese oozing out, toppings piled like mountains, and all sorts of tricks stuffed inside the crust—sweet potato, cheese, you name it!
My favorite is Wild Wild Steak with Black Tiger Shrimp half-and-half plus double cheese edge and oven spaghetti on the side, but that’s realistically impossible.
After mentally reciting his favorite menu, which was more complicated than most magic incantations, Patrick smacked his lips and compromised with reality.
“Teacher will show you a whole new level of pizza.”
He rolled up his sleeves and began kneading the dough himself.
We would’ve been fine if you just left it to us……
Then why did we even make the bet?
The displaced children grumbled inwardly, exchanged glances, and quietly slipped outside. Since things had turned out this way, they decided to just go play.
“Go on, go.”
Patrick paid them no mind and focused on his work. Fortunately, the ingredients the children had prepared were quite plentiful.
“Boil the sweet potatoes first.”
Thanks to selling oysters, the village had a bit more leeway, and the quantity and quality of cheese the children brought had improved noticeably lately. Still, for eating with kids, sweet potato in the crust was unbeatable.
“Get rid of the arugula. Where’s the potato~ Ah, there’s bacon too. ……Should I use it? It’s a waste. No, why be stingy? They say even a ghost who dies after eating looks good.”
He briefly considered saving it for when he was alone, but figured the kids wouldn’t eat that much anyway, so he decided to use the bacon too.
Where was that pan?
Planning to make American-style pan pizza, he took out a wide pan, carefully greased it, and finished his preparations. He spread the dough thick, then piled on tomato sauce, cheese, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions—every topping he could find in his kitchen.
This is how a proper combination is done!
Now came the waiting.
As expected, Patrick’s pizza received rave reviews from the children. The overflowing toppings and the surprise of sweet potato mousse hidden inside the crust! The children, who had never imagined pizza could taste sweet, sparkled with delight, and Patrick-style loaded pizza became a specialty of Dunbrook Island.
“So this is the pizza that wizard made?”
“Heh heh. Yes. The toppings vary from house to house, but it’s quite fun, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. Haha.”
The village chief chatted pleasantly with Oren, the merchant who had returned to the island for trade, while serving him the newly made pizza. Dunbrook Island’s oysters apparently had many repeat customers. They were large and had a rich aroma, or so they said. Every time the merchant visited, the villagers’ pockets grew fuller, and the quality and quantity of goods they ordered from him increased as well.
“Ah, and about the item you requested.”
After devouring four slices of pizza in an instant, Oren pulled several books from his robe and handed them to the village chief.
“Ah! Are these spellbooks?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, they’re only 1st and 2nd Circle spellbooks. Higher-level ones are hard to obtain even with money. If I ever have reason to visit a larger city, I’ll look around……”
“Thank you, Oren.”
The village chief carefully accepted the spellbooks. He had heard that wizards were beings who constantly researched and studied. That was how they reached higher realms, or so the rumors went. Those who neglected study and practice supposedly saw their skills decline instead. Though he didn’t know for sure, he suspected their teacher must be quite troubled about it.
He hadn’t been asked by Patrick. That only made the village chief feel more indebted.
He always works so hard for our village……
From Patrick’s perspective, it was the kind of thing he would have replied to with “Huh? Me?” but since the recipient believed he had received a favor, there was no need to correct it.
“Now that he can resume his studies, he’ll be so happy. As expected, Village Chief, you always know exactly what the residents need!”
“Haha, you flatter me!”
The two men showered each other with praise that would have made Patrick grimace if he heard it.
“So you’re telling me to…… study?”
“Yes, Teacher. I hope they’re helpful.”
Seeing the village chief’s pleased expression and Patrick’s awkward face, Ben clutched his stomach and rolled around on the floor, laughing as if he were about to die.
“Does this look like someone else’s problem to you? You have to study too.”
“Spiritists don’t need to study like wizards, you know?”
Haa— Damn it. That spirit should’ve been mine.