How a Wizard Survives (7)
How a Wizard Survives (7)
The plate-armored Katrina stepped into the Inquisition Branch's garden and, once we were well clear of the building, turned to me.
"I realize I don't even know your name."
"I am Jaeger."
"Right, Jaeger. About what just happened..."
She'd spared my life, but having revealed her magic seemed to weigh on her.
I jumped in before she had second thoughts.
"Didn't those wicked mages get what they deserved? Divine punishment, or something like that?"
"You're sharp. Go home for today and report here tomorrow morning. As for what happened..."
"Don't worry. I won't breathe a word of it."
The trial earlier had been so brutal that my caution wouldn't draw suspicion.
I said it with absolute conviction, and Katrina's expression relaxed with relief.
I bowed politely, then dashed back to the smithy and told my teacher.
"Teacher, that plate armor from earlier was a Wizardvein!"
"Yes, I know."
Ulysses nodded with an unusually grave expression.
He must have gone to the scene after hearing the news.
Ash poked her head up from the basement, looking suspicious.
"What the—? How did you come back alive? I was ready to storm the Inquisition Branch."
"Whoa, you'd go that far for me? I didn't use magic. And that woman says she'll make me her squire!"
"What? Why?"
"I don't know. Maybe she's a good person... for an Inquisitor."
Obviously, I had zero intention of actually reporting to work at the Inquisition Branch.
Ash, having heard the gist of it, breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Ulysses.
"We have to run. Now."
"...No."
"What? What do you mean, no?"
Ash's face hardened at his answer.
But Ulysses shook his head again, a calculating look on his face.
"We absolutely cannot abandon this base in Reshutal. You know that. We've invested too much here."
"Even so..."
"Besides, Jaeger is already a Wizardvein's squire. With that status, he'll pass most inspections without trouble. If he keeps his mana sealed properly, there's no reason he'd get caught."
Ulysses's voice grew brighter.
My ominous suspicion was dead-on.
"Jaeger. Just serve as her squire."
"T-Teacher? Are you serious?"
"You live nearby, so I'll have you commute. If you slept in the dormitory, you might turn up dead the next morning... This way, you can keep an eye on the Inquisitors' movements."
Ash shut her eyes tight, as if she'd heard all she could take.
For the first time since coming here, I protested to my teacher.
"Then when will I train my magic?"
"You know you don't need formal training. Your magic will develop on its own as you chase down other mages."
Good lord, he's serious.
He gripped my shoulder and pressed his point.
"Think about it logically. If you don't show up tomorrow, we're all fugitives from that point on."
"I'm sorry, Teacher. I shouldn't have..."
"No. If we're assigning blame, it was my fault for sending you there in the first place. You handled yourself well. So? Can you do it?"
Let me think this through.
He's right. If I don't show up tomorrow, we'd have to leave Reshutal entirely.
We wouldn't be able to enter any city in the kingdom either.
A wanted poster would probably go up the minute I missed my shift.
I'm not keen on having Teacher reshape my face again either.
Teacher clearly had no intention of leaving Reshutal, either.
'At this point I really don't have a choice, do I?'
Why did the mages have to attack the transport just when I was there, and why did a Wizardvein have to show up?
Lamenting my rotten luck, I finally nodded in resignation.
If I'm exposed as a mage, I'll die. But if I'm not, there's a lot to gain.
This is a textbook high-risk, high-reward situation.
"I'll do it. I'll become the Wizardvein's squire."
"Not 'I'll try,' but 'I'll do it'..."
"See, this is why I like you, Jaeger. No wishy-washiness with you. Anyway, how's your body holding up?"
"I got hit by magic here and there... Ah, it's a mess."
Only then, as I took off my clothes, did I see my body, mottled with ugly bruises.
No wonder. I had taken hits strong enough to send a person flying.
Still, it was a miracle my bones weren't broken.
Ash finished climbing the stairs and asked with concern.
"First time killing a person, right?"
"Yes. Though it turned out to be nothing, really. They attacked first, after all."
"Yeah, it's easier if you think of it that way. So how many did you take down?"
"Ulysses..."
Teacher asked with a strange gleam of expectation, and Ash scolded him for it.
I searched my memory.
"Three... no, four?"
"Four Destruction Mages? Without using your own magic?"
"Yes. They didn't have proper armor, so..."
Ash listened and then suddenly heaved a deep sigh.
"Jaeger, this is why you became a squire... If I saw a blacksmith's apprentice cut down four mages, I'd want to make him my squire, too."
"Oh. Was that it? I didn't really have a choice, it was kill or be killed."
Ash gave me a look that said she couldn't believe me, while Ulysses laughed like a madman.
My audacious master promptly dragged me out of the smithy.
The place he'd decided on for this sudden outing was none other than the neighboring smithy.
"T-Teacher?"
"Seeing how things have turned out, let's get you a gift."
The solid, stocky blacksmith Smith knocked on the door, and the neighboring smiths all stopped work at once.
These were artisans specializing in plate armor.
Even as fellow guild members, they had to worry about leaking trade secrets.
But Smith's honest reputation was solid enough that they didn't immediately throw us out.
"Mr. Smith, what brings you here? We heard there was an incident downtown earlier... Are you all right?"
"I'd like to order a set of plate armor."
Teacher stated his business without hesitation, in a tone completely different from his usual one.
The other smith immediately scowled.
"Plate armor? Mr. Smith, I don't care if we're guild brothers, you can't just barge in here like this..."
"This boy will be working at the Inquisition Branch starting tomorrow. He's been made a squire to a Holy Knight."
"Th-The Inquisition?"
No further explanation was needed.
The artisans of the neighboring smithy immediately began measuring me.
"We can't have an Inquisitor from a blacksmith's background walking around in chainmail."
"And Mr. Smith isn't one to lie about something like this..."
"What about a sword? Mace? Spear?"
I'd only known them for a year, yet they were clamoring to help me.
The power of the Inquisitor title sank in once more, and I clicked my tongue.
If a regular Inquisitor got this treatment, what kind of status did Katrina of the Wizardvein Family hold?
'This puts me on a knife's edge.'
If Katrina hadn't vouched for me, my head would have rolled by now.
As soon as the armor order was placed, Teacher returned to the smithy and launched into a special lecture.
"You won't be able to avoid magic entirely as a squire. If you must use it, keep it as weak and unobtrusive as possible. The mana traces from weak magic disappear quickly."
"Weak magic... Understood."
"And never use it in front of a Wizardvein. Mages recognize each other at a glance. Be especially careful around that woman Katrina."
I nodded vigorously, recalling the image of Katrina casually crushing those Destruction Mages.
"By the way, what magic does the Wizardvein Family use?"
"Rejection Magic. They're especially strong against other mages. There's a reason they're at the top of the Inquisition."
"Rejection..."
The name alone told me little about how the magic worked.
But if it belonged to the top figures of the Inquisition, it had to be powerful.
Teacher's special lecture continued all night... but I was actually grateful.
If I went to bed now, I would only lie awake.
After lying awake through the night, I headed for the Inquisition Branch early the next morning.
"Jaeger, be careful. If things go sideways, just send your puppet in your place and run..."
"Thank you, Ash."
Ash wanted to heal my injuries with magic, but I refused, afraid it would arouse unnecessary suspicion.
I hugged Teacher as if I were leaving this world, then forced my unwilling feet to move.
The problem was, that wasn't far from the truth.
Taking care to avoid the alley where yesterday's incident occurred, I arrived at the outrageously grandiose temple.
The guards at the entrance eyed me strangely before letting me in.
Since I hadn't been taught anything yet, I went looking for Katrina first.
Fortunately, finding her was incredibly easy.
The Wizardvein lady I now served was already swinging her sword in the training yard from early morning.
Seeing her all armored up as if it were the most natural thing in the world gave me a headache.
'Does she walk around like that inside the Inquisition Branch too...'
She seemed like a terribly exhausting person to serve as a superior, but... unfortunately, I had no choice.
"Lady Katrina. Good morning."
"Inspect my equipment."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Her voice echoed faintly, muffled and humming inside her helm.
I'd never met anyone who used words so sparingly before.
I collected her equipment and headed for the armory.
I couldn't touch her armor since she was wearing it, but the longsword was a different matter.
I found the armory without difficulty, gave a light greeting to the workers inside, and borrowed a whetstone.
"Good morning. I'll be using this."
"You're Lady Katrina's squire, right? You can leave that kind of work to us..."
"I know how to do it anyway."
I hadn't even received my uniform yet, and they already knew who I was.
My appointment really must have been that unprecedented.
The armory workers watched me hone the blade and let out quiet murmurs of admiration.
"You're skilled. Newcomers usually ruin the blade out of overzealousness."
"I can't just ruin an expensive-looking sword like this. By the way, do you know where I can get my uniform?"
"We'll bring it to you."
Unlike the guards at the entrance, these were common laborers, so they didn't give me any strange looks.
Soon, I was holding a white uniform.
I sighed inwardly. Never in my life had I thought I'd end up wearing an Inquisitor's uniform.
Sure, my life had been a bit dull up until now... but wasn't this changing too fast?
After donning the uniform and chainmail, I used my experience as a blacksmith to help out with odd jobs in the armory.
The workers' casual chatter proved very helpful.
"So Lady Katrina is the Holy Knight Captain? But what exactly is a Holy Knight?"
"This fellow really doesn't know anything... Just how did you become an Inquisitor?"
"I killed four mages yesterday."
"...Well then, Inquisitor you are. Usually, Inquisitors of noble birth become Holy Knights."
Ah-ha. So that's how it works.
This was a place where people lived, too; of course there'd be a class divide.
Even a raw recruit could see Katrina had an exceptionally high status.
The position of Holy Knight Captain was probably just a stepping stone for her.
"By the way, sir squire, have you ever seen Lady Katrina's face..."
"Hey now. You're talking nonsense."
"Ah! I'm sorry. I must have lost my senses."
It seemed even the workers here had never properly seen Katrina's face.
I smiled bitterly, picked up the longsword, and returned to the training yard.
Walking around the Inquisition's grounds in uniform like everyone else, I felt the hostile stares from all sides intensify.
Of course they'd resent me. Some nobody becomes a Wizardvein's squire? They'd be jealous beyond words.
Katrina, who was still training, inspected the freshly serviced sword and nodded with satisfaction.
She said nothing resembling a compliment, but the gazes boring into the back of my head intensified further.
Just as I was about to ask what I should do next, a messenger on horseback came galloping urgently from the entrance of the Inquisition Branch.
"Deployment request! Request for deployment from Bearville!"
"Bearville? Where's that hole-in-the-wall village?"
"Forget that, grab your gear! Everyone, move out!"
The Inquisitors swarmed towards the stables, each retrieving their own horse.
It looked like even the regular soldiers, not just the Holy Knights, rode horses.
Mobility was crucial for hunting mages, but even so, this was a ridiculously wealthy organization.
My knight Katrina's horse was a healthy, pure-white mare.
According to tradition, managing a knight's horse was also a squire's duty.
As I was carefully memorizing the animal's features, Katrina tilted her head.
'Does this guy even know how to ride?'
That's roughly what her look implied.
She paused for a moment, then mounted the saddle and extended her hand to me.
"Get on."
"C-Captain!"
"Thank you."
Katrina's horse was exceptionally large and sturdy, easily carrying two adults.
The other Holy Knights were aghast, but Katrina paid them no mind.
Soon the mobilization order was given, and everyone except Katrina let out a war cry.
The armored Inquisitors shouting in unison from horseback made an imposing sight.
"Let's go! Bearville awaits!"
"Death to mages!"
I raised my voice along with them.
Keeping silent here might arouse suspicion.
"A mage hunt!"
"..."
Katrina, who had silently been holding onto my waist, gripped the reins and slowly spurred her horse onward.
The thunder of countless hoofbeats followed close behind us.