14
Chapter 14 Circuit Diagram.
Dawn breaks, slowly.
Yurik woke before morning call and, with a thin blanket draped over his shoulders, walked several large laps around the clearing. The night watchman, prodding the nearly-dead campfire with a poker, watched him with mild curiosity.
After clearing his head, Yurik returned and sat beside the watchman. The man muttered, almost to himself:
"You must have to be something special to become a mage."
"Starting the day with a clear mind."
"Fancy words for a mage."
The dim predawn sky had, before he knew it, bloomed with crimson-gold. Clouds scattered like wisps of smoke drifted leisurely overhead, unbothered by last night's urgency.
Clang—!
The watchmen roused the subjugation party at the top of their lungs. Groggy mercenaries groaned and cursed.
The knights' faces were heavy with fatigue, yet underneath it sat the satisfaction of having taken down a demonic beast.
The subjugation commander issued orders with urgency.
Even with the beast slain, the work was not done.
They were obligated to pass through the forest road and assess the extent of the damage.
The problem was one wagon, completely wrecked. He had no choice but to cut the cargo down to the minimum and pack people into the remaining wagons as tightly as possible. Still, each wagon had a few empty seats, so it was no great issue.
After an early meal, the subjugation party set off without pause. It would take over a full day to clear the entire forest road, and then they had to return the same way—there was no time to spare.
The mercenary company riding with Yurik learned that he planned to head south immediately once they cleared the forest road, without returning to the city.
"Right away? Without going back to the city?"
"Yes, straight there. That was the arrangement in the contract, too."
The leader seemed deeply disappointed. He had, in fact, been devising a grand scheme to use this acquaintance as a pretext to recruit Yurik into the mercenary company—but that plan was now ruined entirely. Among the schemes had even been a honey trap courtesy of the buck-toothed female mercenary. …Not that it was likely to work, of course.
As the subjugation party rode through the forest road, they discovered another scene that appeared to have fallen victim to demonic beasts. The commander ordered the debris cleared, as before. With the beast now slain, the mercenaries, unconcerned with superstitions about bad omens, quietly pocketed any money or valuables they found.
The subjugation commander pushed them on with almost no rest. Getting out of the forest road before nightfall was the best possible outcome.
In the end, it was only after the sun had fully set that the subjugation party finally reached the end of the forest road. The mercenaries, whose backsides felt ready to rot from sitting in wagons all day, leaped out and broke into cheers.
"We can finally breathe!"
Without a trace of embarrassment, they stripped off their clothes and bolted for a nearby stream, plunging in. They traded crude jokes about each other's bodies without restraint.
Having at last completed the commission, Yurik took out paper for the first time in a while and began to draw. Then, someone quietly approached his side. The figure who drew near was none other than Court Mage Dunmer.
"You can draw, too?"
"It's been a hobby since I was young."
"You must come from a refined household."
"A woodcutter's household, actually."
He had assumed Yurik was some fair-faced young lord from a well-to-do family—a woodcutter's household was beyond his expectations.
Honestly, neither his looks nor his manner bore any resemblance to a woodcutter's background.
"Still, I was blessed with good brothers and a good teacher. It's thanks to them that I learned magic."
"Is that so... Your teacher doesn't appear to be affiliated with the Magic Tower?"
"No, neither my teacher nor I are from the Magic Tower. She did her research in a small cabin in the forest. That's where I learned as well."
The court mage had no way of knowing that the forest was Eldrover in Arpenheim—he was simply astonished that such talent had emerged from those circumstances.
He was certain that even among the Magic Tower, which was said to be teeming with geniuses, someone like Yurik would be hard to find.
Among peers his age, even less so.
"Frankly, I covet your talent. Would you consider working at the baron's castle? I'd hand over my position to you."
Even at a baron's castle, a court mage was in a different class from an ordinary wandering mage.
Holding the rank of Quasi-Baron, a court mage was one of the power figures of the domain, serving directly at the lord's side.
An extraordinary rise that a woodcutter's family in a remote village could scarcely dare to imagine.
…But Yurik politely declined.
"There is much I still lack in learning. I set out on this journey to see and hear and learn more. My apologies, sir."
"...What a pity."
In any other setting, he would have tried every trick in the book to tempt Yurik—but unfortunately, neither the timing nor the circumstances were right.
I want to hold onto him. I want to make him mine, no matter what—.
But the seasoned court mage knew there were times when one had to step back, even when tempted.
Knowing when to retreat gracefully was, in its own way, one of the best methods for keeping a connection alive.
"Do be sure to visit the baron's castle sometime. I'll welcome you anytime."
"I will, without fail."
Court Mage Dunmer returned to his place, and Yurik turned his attention back to drawing.
Mercenaries laughing and chattering in their underclothes, gathered around the campfire.
A stream where fireflies drifted.
A vast sky spread with countless stars beyond counting.
Yurik captured the scenery of his first commission in a single drawing.
Someday, I hope there comes a day when I look back on this and remember….
* * *
The Southern City, [Eldesroza]—arrived at after more than ten days of travel from the forest road.
Yurik's gaze lingered for some time on this vast, beautiful city backed by white-capped mountains.
After the considerable effort it had taken to get here, he first looked for a room to stay in.
But most inns were full due to the mercenaries who had flooded south chasing the scent of money, and the ones with rooms were far too expensive.
After a long search on foot, he finally secured one of the cheaper rooms, dropped his travel bag, and lay down on the bed.
There was a musty smell, but now was not the time to be picky.
After a brief rest, Yurik came back out of the inn and took in the city.
At the center of Eldesroza stood a pristine, elegant white count's castle—its silhouette harmonizing with the clock tower in the plaza was a sight to behold.
They had said Eldesroza was one of the wealthiest cities in the south, and a single look at the city made that immediately clear.
Yurik sat on the stone floor in a corner of the plaza and captured that beautiful cityscape in a drawing.
The wide plaza, the towering clock tower, the elegant count's castle, the endless stream of passersby.
His older brother would surely be astonished to see this.
Once the drawing was done, Yurik strolled through the market stalls lining the side of the plaza.
Yurik, who loved mysterious things, became completely absorbed in browsing goods brought in from all manner of regions.
The glib stallholders in particular were selling peculiar trinkets to the superstitious mercenaries, one by one—talismans said to bring good fortune to whoever carried them.
Even Yurik was tempted for a moment, but held himself back.
Not far from the plaza was said to be the southern branch of the Magic Tower, so Yurik decided to pay it a visit.
The grounds of the southern branch were large enough to fit five or six massive buildings.
Those unaffiliated with the Magic Tower were only permitted access to the Third and Fourth Zones, where shops selling various magical goods, materials, and books were located.
Inside the shops were many who appeared to be wandering mages like Yurik.
Their eyes were tinged with reverence for the Magic Tower.
The handsome mage spent a good while in the bookstore, searching for something worth reading. Any spellbook fit to be a companion for the long road ahead was more than welcome.
Having spent ample time there, Yurik left the bookstore and walked along the long corridor connecting the two large adjacent buildings, browsing the rest of the Third and Fourth Zones.
The layout—two big buildings linked by a single corridor—meant there was no risk of getting lost even in an unfamiliar place. Fittingly rational architecture for mages, one might say.
He browsed the mages' shops, observed the young Magic Tower-affiliated mages in their assorted cloaks, and admired the well-tended garden—until he stopped before the corridor bulletin board, densely covered with notices in neat rows.
There were Magic Tower guidelines, recruitment notices from various affiliations seeking mages, and announcements about meetings.
But what caught Yurik's eye was a single circuit diagram.
This circuit diagram, taking up half the bulletin board, was enormous and complex enough to be near-impossible to memorize.
'...It's a barrier magic circuit.'
The note explained that the reason for posting the circuit diagram was to gather diverse perspectives on how it could be improved further.
Apparently, even a wandering mage might have a good idea—it was an open invitation to look it over and think.
At a glance, it was clearly a challenging problem.
Even for Yurik, who had studied for eight years under Great Witch Hene, a master of barrier magic, this would require a solid three or four days of deliberation.
Still, something faint was beginning to take shape in his mind. Of course, to be certain, he would have to go through multiple rounds of trial, error, and verification.
And so Yurik copied the circuit diagram onto paper and kept it.
With his scholarly passion reignited for the first time in a while, he shut himself in the inn room and, with the circuit diagram spread out beneath his energy orb, spent three days and nights pondering, researching, and verifying.
The number of sheets of paper he used just writing and erasing new circuit diagrams easily exceeded thirty.
Then, on the third night, Yurik at last produced a result he was satisfied with.
The effectiveness of the existing barrier magic had been modestly enhanced, and the mana consumed by the spell had been reduced by as much as one-tenth.
Someone who knew nothing about it might ask what the big deal was about one-tenth—but to a mage, that figure was staggering.
Especially in a circuit diagram this complex, saving that much was unthinkable without fairly substantial improvements.
In truth, even before the improvements, he had felt it could be used just fine as-is.
Clearly, this was a spell that had been refined over a long time.
Of course, that didn't mean it was without flaws.
But because the circuit was so organically interlocked, touching one part threw off another, and fixing that threw off yet another still—an endlessly repeating chain.
Deciphering all of it and correcting it appropriately was mind-bendingly difficult.
'But that's precisely the appeal of improving a circuit…!'
It may have been a peculiar sort of pleasure, but Yurik found it enjoyable.
When you improved the circuit and created more efficient magic, it felt as though you had left a mark on history, in a way.
And the following morning.
Yurik returned to the corridor where the circuit diagram had been posted and, in the blank space left beneath it, drew the improved version of the circuit diagram—and left.
Hoping it would be of help to the researchers who walked the same path.
"Senior—!"
A young mage affiliated with the southern branch came rushing into the research building, looking for a middle-aged mage.
The man had, as always, been dissecting the circuit diagram with eyes and hands.
"What's all this commotion?"
"P—please, you need to come and see."
"Now? Is it urgent? What's going on?"
"Just—just come and see it yourself. Quickly!"
The middle-aged mage rose from his seat with an annoyed expression and trailed slowly after the young mage.
He silently vowed to himself that if it was nothing, he'd give the junior a thorough scolding.
The two left the research building and made their way to the Fourth Zone. The corridor was already crowded with mages.
"Excuse me! Excuse me!"
The junior pushed his way forcibly through the onlookers. In front of the bulletin board, even some of the southern branch's most distinguished mages had gathered in a cluster.
Upon seeing the middle-aged mage the junior had dragged over, they stepped aside without even offering a greeting, as if to say: just look at this.
"What's going on? What is all this?"
The middle-aged mage stroked his shaggy beard and studied the circuit diagram someone had drawn.
As time passed, the expression on his face shifted moment by moment, until his eyes and mouth had opened as wide as they could go.
Then he grabbed the junior's face and pulled it close enough to almost touch his own.
"This—who drew this?!"
"I don't know who drew it. When it was discovered, it was already drawn like this."
The middle-aged mage bellowed on the spot, spittle flying:
"We have to find them. The person who drew this! Right no—oow!"