Coming-of-Age Ceremony
As time passed, the weather grew colder still.
Even though winter was supposed to be drawing to a close.
I let out a sigh and stared at the grimoire.
Throwing it away felt wasteful. Using it felt ominous. Selling it somewhere else would probably get me mistaken for a black mage.
In the end, my choice was to dump the whole problem on future me.
I shoved the grimoire deep into my bag.
After days of holing up in my room and fretting over it, my body was stiff and aching.
I walked over to the window and rested my hand on the frame.
"Ugh!"
Rattle—! Rattle—!
The window, frozen solid from the bitter winter cold, refused to budge. Only after several hard yanks did it finally give way and open.
The wind that rushed in from outside was bitterly cold.
I leaned out into that wind, sticking my face into the open air.
Even in the depths of winter, the streets below were packed with people.
Most of them were children.
"A coming-of-age ceremony…?"
I murmured blankly.
One of the Karuma Empire's greatest festivals—the coming-of-age ceremony—was right around the corner.
People had prepared countless flower decorations for the occasion, and the children raced through the streets with bright, carefree smiles, clearly looking forward to the festival that was about to begin for them.
The Karuma Empire had always drawn plenty of tourists.
Lately, though, their numbers had surged even higher—every one of them here to enjoy the festival.
I watched the crowds below and let out another sigh.
Time flowed on, and the appointed day arrived. I needed to go out and collect my gear, but I couldn't bring myself to step outside right away.
By pure coincidence, the day my equipment was finished was the same day the coming-of-age ceremony was being held, so the streets were flooded with an enormous crowd.
"Haa…"
How was there not a single gap to set my foot down?
I rose onto my tiptoes and peered across the sea of people.
Not that it changed anything.
The fact remained that I still had to push through this throng to reach my destination.
I steeled my legs and forced my way into the crowd.
"Hup…"
I slipped into the gaps between bodies and was jostled every which way.
It was like riding a wave—once I got mixed into the press of people and was tossed about without a moment to think, I would suddenly find myself somewhere completely wrong, often in the exact opposite direction from the leather workshop I was aiming for.
"Haa…"
"Oh my…"
I had just been spat out of the crowd and was catching my breath when a woman approached me.
She carried a small basket filled to the brim with pure white roses.
"What are you doing standing here? The ceremony has already started, you know."
"Pardon?"
"And where on earth did you lose your flower this time…"
I tilted my head at her words.
I couldn't make sense of them at all.
The woman stepped closer and tucked a pure white rose into my hair.
"Wait… this is…"
"Hurry!"
She suddenly shoved me from behind.
Caught off guard, I stumbled forward under the force of her hand.
And then something astonishing happened. The same people who had refused to make way for me earlier now parted like a curtain just for me.
Some of them even waved as I passed.
"Everyone, make way!"
The woman kept pushing my back while shouting toward the distance.
As if answering her call, even more people opened a path.
What in the world was going on?
I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head. What did it matter? If a path had opened, I would simply head for my destination.
I started running along the corridor the crowd had cleared for me.
How long did I run like that?
Suddenly the people who had been making way for me blocked my path instead.
They stretched their arms urgently to the side, faces anxious, as if insisting I had to go that way.
"Not this way!"
"Over there!"
"That way!"
"No… I need to go this way, though…"
Even after hearing me, they refused to listen.
In the end I had no choice but to follow the direction they pointed.
That was how I arrived at the city's central square.
"Ah…"
My mouth fell open.
In the middle of the square, children who looked about my age were dancing in time with a song.
They were the ones undergoing the coming-of-age ceremony.
Every single one of them wore a pure white rose in their hair—the same kind of flower that had filled the woman's basket earlier.
Only then did I understand what had happened.
That woman had mistaken me for a child who was late for the ceremony.
That was why she had stuck a flower in my hair.
I stood there blankly, fingering the rose on my head, when a woman in pure white ceremonial robes approached me.
"You made it just in time!"
"No, I—"
"Come on! This way!"
"Ah…"
She took my hand and led me straight into the circle of children.
Upon arriving in the capital of the Karuma Empire, Leoniss went straight to the guard station.
He needed their cooperation to track down the fraud who had been impersonating a mage.
His request was refused, however—for the simple reason that they were short-handed.
During the coming-of-age ceremony, every guard in the capital was assigned to crowd control for residents and tourists alike.
As a result, there was no one left who could spare the time to help Leoniss.
"I'm sorry… the ceremony is underway, so…"
"Mm… I can't very well ruin an important festival."
Leoniss sighed and left the station.
The endless sea of people grated on his nerves.
But what choice did he have? He brushed the irritation aside with another sigh.
He pulled out his notebook and began asking around about places a person named Ceris might frequent.
His first stop was the Adventurers' Guild.
"Hmm…"
Leoniss frowned at the tightly shut door.
The guild staff had taken the day off to enjoy the ceremony as well.
Unaware of that fact, Leoniss simply stared at the closed door for a long while.
Staring, of course, did not make it open.
In the end he gave up and set off for the next location on his list.
Along the way he passed a large square where countless children were dancing.
Leoniss watched them and allowed himself a small smile.
Those children would grow up to become the pillars of this nation.
He had always liked children—beings full of infinite possibility.
Just then the song that had been playing came to an end, and the children's dance finished with it.
But the festival was only beginning. The children immediately bustled about, preparing for the next dance.
In that moment a brilliant flash of gold streaked into Leoniss's field of vision.
While the children were getting ready for the next number, a young girl came dashing past him at full speed.
She looked up at him and gave an awkward little smile.
Her movements looked for all the world like someone being chased.
"Ah! Over there!"
"Eep…!"
The one pursuing the girl was a woman in pure white ceremonial robes.
She came running after the golden-haired girl, gasping for breath, but the girl nimbly dodged her and fled for all she was worth.
Quite the lively game of tag.
Leoniss chuckled softly and turned away.
"Whew…"
Late that evening.
I finally managed to slip out of the square while the priestess's watch was lax.
I could have escaped much faster if I had used magic, but I couldn't bring myself to ruin a major national festival.
I plucked the rose from my hair and headed for the leather workshop.
With the highlight of the ceremony over, the streets had grown quiet.
In front of the workshop a familiar man was packing things away.
One of the shop's employees.
"Oh, Mage. Perfect timing."
"Is my order finished?"
"Of course!"
Recognizing me, the employee hurried inside and brought out the goods.
It was a full set of armor made to the exact same design as the one I had worn before.
"Would you like to try it on?"
Was there any reason to refuse?
I went straight into the changing room and put it on.
When I stepped back out and glanced around, the employee approached.
"Fits well, doesn't it?"
"It's good."
I paid him and left the workshop.
My next stop was the blacksmith's.
The street of smiths, which was always filled with the ringing of hammers, was utterly silent.
This was a place where the forge fires never went out even into the small hours of the morning, yet today seemed to be the exception.
The door that was always wide open was shut tight, and the interior of the shop was pitch-black.
Apparently the blacksmith was out.
"Ah…"
I was just sighing at the thought of having to come back tomorrow when a man came staggering toward me from a distance, clearly drunk.
I squinted—and recognized a familiar face.
It was the blacksmith I had commissioned.
"Oho… a customer?"
The blacksmith lurched closer and dragged a massive hand down his face.
His unfocused eyes made it plain he had drunk himself past the point of clear judgment.
The reek of alcohol rolling off him was so strong I instinctively pinched my nose.
"Heh heh. If it isn't that mage from before!"
He jabbed a finger at me in recognition.
I folded my arms and nodded.
"Is the sword finished?"
"Ah, of course~"
He nodded at my question and staggered over to unlock the shop door.
Every time his huge frame swayed, the door creaked and groaned in protest.
"Come on in~"
I watched the reeling blacksmith with uneasy eyes.
I half expected him to fall—and sure enough, he did.
He tripped over his own feet, crashed into a display of swords, and rolled across the floor with them in his arms.
Crash!
"Uwaaah~"
"Are you all right…?"
"Ah, I'm fine~"
The blacksmith sprang back up and half-crawled deeper into the shop.
After a while he returned carrying a sword that was a little shorter than an ordinary longsword.
"Check it out."
I took the blade and examined it.
It settled into my hand with a perfect, natural grip, and the weight was light and easy.
The small socket in the center of the blade was clearly meant for a magic stone.
I fitted the magic stone I had brought with me into the slot.
Click—!
The moment the stone seated, a sharp click sounded from inside the blade, and the magic stone locked firmly into place.
I immediately began swinging the sword. Its light weight let the tension drain from my shoulders.
Whoosh—!
As the blade carved through the air in a wide arc, a faint starlight bloomed from its tip.
The long trail of starlight painted the dark night sky in beautiful strokes, and as time passed it began to take on a blue, icy chill.
Every swing sent a cool breeze swirling around me, scattering frosty white powder.
Then the mana shifted its nature once more.
Fwoosh—!
What burst forth alongside the glittering starlight was a roaring blaze.
The flames stretched toward the heavens, radiating fierce heat before scattering into the night.