Chapter 20
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 020
Chapter Title: Respect
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The enemies' figures gradually receded into the distance.
Thud thud thud...
At first, there had been nearly ten enemy cavalrymen, but now only five remained as they fled. The cavalrymen's backs grew smaller and smaller until they finally vanished completely.
Only then did the boy let out the breath he'd been holding in a massive gasp.
"Hoo..."
Splat.
Andy collapsed to the ground as his legs gave out. With the intense tension released, a belated wave of exhaustion washed over his entire body.
He felt true relief from the bottom of his heart.
'I barely survived.'
He had come that close to losing his life just moments ago.
The cavalrymen had been fast and powerful. For Andy, who hadn't even managed to form a single circle, they were opponents far beyond his capabilities.
And yet, the reason he had somehow survived.
"Thanks for the help, Kurt. I owe you my life."
It was all thanks to Kurt, who had appeared at the critical moment.
If Kurt hadn't intervened, Andy would be dead by now. He would have been skewered by the cavalrymen's spears and swords, his cold corpse rolling on the ground.
Andy stroked the wolf's head, pouring his gratitude into the gesture.
-Woof.
In response to Andy's thanks, Kurt merely rubbed his head against him, as always.
As the two, reunited after just a few days, expressed their joy at seeing each other again...
"...Andy?"
Tom called out to the boy in a low voice, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.
Andy turned to look at Tom.
Tom couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.
Andy. The orphan from the inn.
The boy he had always bullied in the past, and now helped with inn chores alongside as an adult.
'Andy used magic.'
He had used magic.
It was almost impossible to believe. An orphan of all people wielding magic?
But Tom had seen it clearly.
The sight of the boy conjuring blue lightning from his hand and cutting down the Empire's cavalry one by one.
The light of his lightning was blindingly intense, and the noise tore through the air like thunder. It was unmistakably a powerful magical attack.
Was he seeing things?
Tom considered it, but the evidence was too clear for that.
'The bodies...'
Tom lowered his gaze to the ground.
Scattered here and there were horse corpses mingled with human ones. They were the Empire soldiers Andy had felled.
Bodies charred black and red from high-voltage electrocution, in a gruesome state...
It was as if the corpses themselves were testifying: what he had seen was no illusion, and Andy being a mage was undeniable fact.
Andy had wielded magic.
And with it, he had single-handedly taken down regular Empire troops—not mere infantry, but cavalry.
There was another astonishing fact.
'Magic beast... no, spirit beast.'
Tom raised his eyes to look beside Andy.
A white wolf stood there, rubbing its head affectionately against Andy's body. It looked like a massive dog fawning over its owner.
This had to be the spirit beast said to live in the Wolf Forest. It matched the descriptions from the villagers perfectly.
A massive build that dwarfed horses, a horn protruding from its forehead, glossy white fur.
Fearsome and intimidating, yet wrapped in a dreamlike, mystical aura.
'The spirit beast protected Andy.'
The moment Andy was in danger, the white wolf had appeared and saved him. Not content with that, it had guarded him, circling Andy and blocking any approaching cavalry.
And now, they were nuzzling each other intimately, as if showing off their bond.
Tom was bewildered.
How could a mere orphan like Andy use magic?
And what was his connection to that spirit beast?
He couldn't comprehend the situation at all.
So he had no choice but to ask.
"...Andy?"
"Tom."
As Tom called his name, the boy turned to look at him.
Tom hesitated for a moment before finally asking his question.
"Andy. Are you a mage?"
"Andy. Are you a mage?"
The question Tom posed to the boy.
Andy slowly looked at his face—more precisely, his expression.
Shock and confusion were thick on it, but there was another emotion present as well.
'Fear. And... respect.'
Respect.
A gaze reserved for those high and noble.
Right now, Tom wasn't looking at Andy as a mere orphan boy. He was seeing him clearly as someone of higher status.
And it wasn't just Tom.
Andy turned his gaze to survey his surroundings. He could see the villagers watching him.
All of them with surprise and fear. Eyes that beheld someone more noble than themselves, staring intently.
'A gaze I've never seen before.'
It was a look the boy had never received in his life.
He was nothing but a lowly orphan without a single place to lean on. So he had faced far more looks of contempt, treating him as worthless.
However, the villagers who had witnessed his magic could no longer regard him that way.
A mage. A superhuman who wielded mana alongside knights.
People feared the superhumans' immense power while revering their abilities.
Having seen Andy fight Empire soldiers with magic firsthand, they could no longer mock him.
They simply watched him warily, recognizing his elevated status.
"..."
It was a strange feeling.
For the villagers who had once looked down on him to now gaze at him like this.
Andy nodded and answered Tom's question.
"Yeah. I'm a mage. I've learned magic. My skill isn't that high yet, but..."
"...!"
As Andy confirmed it outright, Tom's eyes widened in shock.
The one everyone in the village had dismissed as a worthless orphan had been revealed as a mage.
Andy sensed that many things would change from now on.
The people were burying the bodies.
"Waaah... Mommy!"
"Grandpa. Thank you for everything."
They dug pits in the nearby field and interred the corpses.
Those who had lost family wept or mourned. Those whose families survived helped bury the bodies with utmost sincerity.
Of course, not everyone had died.
"Ugh... My arm, it's broken."
"I'll treat it. Hang on just a bit. It might hurt a little."
There were villagers with broken arms or legs as well.
The village herbalist Dario bustled about, treating people. Splinting limbs, crushing herbs to make poultices—he was busy as could be.
This raid had claimed twenty-one lives and left over a dozen seriously injured.
The Empire cavalry had inflicted heavy casualties in a short time. They were that powerful.
If Andy hadn't been there. If spirit beast Kurt hadn't arrived in time.
There would be over a hundred corpses littering this place by now.
Thanks to Andy and Kurt, the death toll had been limited to around twenty.
The people hurried with the aftermath.
Watching the scene, the boy murmured softly.
"Guess we can't move out right away, huh?"
With over twenty dead in that brief moment and numerous injured, they couldn't leave while burying bodies and treating wounds.
In truth, this was dangerous.
They had already suffered one Empire raid.
There was no guarantee the enemy wouldn't return. They could strike again at any moment.
Logically, they should postpone burials and treatments and hurry to the small city.
But the people didn't.
They lingered on the roadside, burying bodies and tending wounded, unafraid of external threats.
The reason they could handle the aftermath so安心 in this perilous spot?
It was all thanks to Andy.
"Kurt. Keep watch around us."
-Grr.
At Andy's request, Kurt lumbered off toward the outskirts of the road.
Now the white wolf would patrol, wary of any approaching threats.
Andy. And the spirit beast white wolf at his command. With them there, the villagers felt safe.
Even if Empire soldiers or wild beasts appeared, they would protect everyone—that was the expectation. Free from worry of attack, the villagers focused on cleanup.
As Andy sat resting...
"Um... Mage-nim."
"...Village Chief?"
Someone called for Andy. It was none other than Village Chief Patrick.
The chief approached and offered something: freshly roasted meat, steaming hot.
"Here, meat from the horse you felled, Mage-nim. Please, have the first share."
It was from one of the horses that had fallen with the cavalry.
The chief had helped butcher it with the others, roast it carefully, and brought the first portion to Andy.
Andy took the meat and said,
"Thank you, Village Chief. But... why the sudden formal speech..."
"You're a mage, aren't you? A mere village chief from the countryside can't dare speak informally to you."
"..."
Andy fell silent.
Village Chief Patrick's attitude felt unfamiliar. And it wasn't just him—the majority of the villagers were keeping their distance.
They clearly saw him as superior and treated him with caution.
It was an odd sensation.
Being respected and handled with care by others.
He was used to constant disdain, not this respect. It was only natural for Andy to feel out of place.
'Is this what status is like?'
Come to think of it, it made perfect sense.
Mages and knights, alongside nobles, were the ruling class that led the world. Commoners couldn't treat them lightly.
Even young Andy was no exception.
His power might not be great yet, but if he grew, he would surely become a full-fledged mage.
He would gain the might to wipe out a rural village like this with ease. No matter that he was an orphan without connections—they couldn't take him lightly.
Besides, weren't these the people who had oppressed him as an orphan?
They worried he might harbor grudges from past slights and torment them.
Thus, they treated Andy with the utmost courtesy they could muster.
The chief's extreme deference stemmed from inner guilt over past wrongs.
The boy let out a hollow laugh.
'How ridiculous people are.'
Their attitudes shifting so drastically the moment they learned he was a mage.
The chief's sudden change felt utterly repulsive.
Were humans this selfish and hypocritical?
Disappointment surged.
But Andy managed not to be too disillusioned with humanity.
"Andy. You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Mr. Dario."
From his lowly orphan days to now, when his identity as a mage was revealed—one person had always treated him consistently.
Herbalist Dario. The noble man who had given so much to a worthless orphan boy.
Even knowing Andy was a mage, Dario hadn't changed how he treated him.
He neither looked down on him as an orphan nor showed excessive deference as a mage.
He simply treated him as Andy, one human being.
The boy smiled faintly and replied,
"I'm not hurt. Thanks for worrying, Mr. Dario."
"Good to hear. Still, if anything hurts, tell me. I have plenty of herbs left... Well, rest well. Watch out for the night chill."
"Yes. Good night, Mr. Dario."
Dario, having checked on the boy, departed. Only then could Andy finally lie down comfortably.
He murmured blankly,
"We'll reach the small city soon."
Before long, they would enter the small city. A place teeming with far more people than his village.
Andy grew curious.
'I wonder what'll happen next.'
Having revealed himself as a mage, he could no longer live as an ordinary orphan. He would live as a mage.
Excitement mingled with worry.
Excitement at finally escaping his oppressed orphan life to live as a mage.
Worry that others might find his circle-less magic use suspicious.
His mind grew tangled.
In the end, he tossed and turned all night in thought before falling into late sleep.
It was his first day living not as an orphan, but as a mage.