How a Wizard Survives (9)
How a Wizard Survives (9)
The mage's execution by fire was a great success.
On the platform, the bastard once again put on a show of turning into a wolf.
Fortunately, the Heretic Inquisitors had him securely restrained, so nothing serious happened.
The citizens screamed like they'd seen a demon and clutched their crosses as they watched him burn.
"O-oh my God."
"To think such monsters walk among us..."
With the show successfully concluded, it was finally time for my own welcoming ceremony.
It was no celebration. This was the examination every Heretic Inquisitor had to undergo.
Instead of taking her leave, Katrina stuck close behind me and followed me all the way to the testing hall.
Apparently, she was worried the other inquisitors might try something.
"Katrina, the examination will be over soon..."
"Don't mind me."
Well, that figured. The senior inquisitors here would probably want to have me dealt with, even if they had to tamper with the results.
The examiner, with a member of the Wizardvein family right in front of him, proceeded with the test, his hands trembling.
"Then let us begin."
Heretic Inquisitors had three main methods for identifying mages.
The first was the Mana Trace Examination my teacher had recently explained.
However, mana traces only appear when magic is used, so routine examinations like this one did not check for them.
So the inquisitor first employed the second method.
"Mana Detection Test... no reaction."
Just as Ulysses had done back in the village, he held a cross out before me.
The Inquisitors' crosses were made of a rare metal that reacted to mana, and by using it, they could detect a subject's mana.
But something like that was not enough to reveal me as a mage.
I already knew how to seal my own mana, after all.
It wasn't just me; almost no mage, unless a complete beginner, would get caught by this test.
In this day and age, any mage who couldn't fool a test like this was already dead.
But the third and final method was different.
Mages who tried to infiltrate the Inquisition branch were usually rooted out at this stage.
The examiner drew a small, deep breath and gave me an order.
"Now, step onto the testing panel."
"Understood."
As Katrina watched me anxiously, arms crossed...
I stepped onto the marble testing panel.
The third method to root out mages was the Contractor Test!
Using a much more complex device than before, it checked whether one had made a contract with a demon.
Most mages were not Awakened Ones but Contractors.
Therefore, to use magic, they absolutely had to form a contract with a demon.
And a demon would never release the contract until either the mage or the demon itself perished.
It was such a foolproof method that even my teacher, Ulysses, would be caught if subjected to it.
However...
"Contractor Test, no reaction. The squire is clean."
"Of course I am."
I cheered inwardly as I calmly stepped down from the panel.
If you haven't made a contract with a demon, you obviously won't be caught by a Contractor Test.
This was exactly why my teacher had urged me to infiltrate.
Katrina, visibly relieved in an odd sort of way, led me away from the spot.
"Katrina, what should I do now? If you need your armor maintained..."
"No, I've already left my armor at the armory."
Ah. So that's why she was in her uniform for once.
As I was processing that, she asked a question I hadn't expected.
"Jaeger. How many prayers have you learned?"
"P-prayers? The Lord's Prayer and the Angelus, at least..."
"You've barely learned the most basic ones... You're a cleric now, so memorize the Divine Office at least."
That's right, I was technically a cleric now, wasn't I?
I had completely forgotten because Heretic Inquisitors were remarkably pragmatic for clerics.
Even during that night battle, they'd skipped the prayer before combat last time.
Like a beaten puppy, I fled to the library and borrowed a booklet containing the prayers.
Katrina, who had followed me that far, said, surprised.
"You can read?"
"Yes, and a little arithmetic..."
"You've learned well. Once you've memorized the entire Divine Office, you may go home."
"Aah..."
At this rate, I had no idea if I'd be able to leave today.
While I was fretting, Katrina turned and handed me a heavy leather pouch.
I took it and looked inside to find it full of gleaming silver coins.
"Ka-Katrina? This is..."
"You may accept it. Squires are paid by their knights. Use it to buy a shield and have new armor fitted."
"I see. Thank you."
I had occasionally received an allowance from Ulysses, too...
A Holy Knight's squire earned quite a bit.
Could this be my true calling?
Even as I thought such things, Katrina added quietly.
"You truly worked hard last time. I look forward to working with you from now on."
"The same to you, Katrina."
I bowed my head politely, and as soon as she left, I clung to the book and desperately memorized the prayers.
Fortunately, my brain wasn't completely rigid, and I was able to leave only a little later than the official end of the day.
At the smithy, Ash heaved a deep sigh of relief when I returned safe and sound.
My teacher, as if he'd been monitoring the Inquisition branch all along, showed no sign of surprise.
"I told you I'd be fine, didn't I?"
"Jaeger, what took you so long to get back?"
"Sorry, I was injured by the mages... By the way, Teacher, you've got the highest bounty among all mages?"
"Yeah. I didn't mention it because it might sound like I was bragging."
I burst out laughing with Ulysses, then immediately plunged into magic training.
The 'training' was nothing elaborate.
I recalled what I had seen during the last sortie and took off my clothes.
The smithy was warded with powerful, discreet magic, making it completely safe from outside eyes and ears.
"Alright, let's try... Uwoah!"
As I mimicked the magic I'd seen before, my body instantly swelled up.
Coarse, bristly fur grew all over my body, and hook-like claws sprouted.
The sudden rise in my viewpoint felt surprisingly good, but...
Ulysses, watching my magic, clicked his tongue in displeasure.
"Wolf Transformation, is it? That's quite unpleasant, so don't use it. The demon the other mage contracted must have been Low-Rank. Though that's only natural for trash who make Additional Contracts..."
"W-wait. You can really imitate it after seeing it only once?"
Ash, who had been watching, was horrified, and Ulysses smirked.
"He's not like dullards like us. He's my disciple, so don't get any ideas."
"W-who's envious..."
I trained magic until late at night, then went to work early the next morning.
I'd been lazing around for a few days anyway, so I wasn't very tired.
To waste the Inquisitors' finances at least a little, I ate breakfast at the branch, and on my way past the stables...
I saw a crowd of inquisitors gathered in front of the stables.
I blended in among them.
Ever since the last sortie, the other inquisitors' gazes had softened considerably.
"What's going on?"
"Ah, Squire. A new horse is arriving at the stables today."
"A new horse? Where was it bought from?"
"No, it came from the temple's own stock. The handlers trained it themselves."
They have so many horses that they breed them themselves?
These bastards are disgustingly wealthy.
From now on, I'll have to get twice the snacks.
"But aren't most of the branch's horses for common use?"
No matter how wealthy the branch might be...
Horses were such a staggeringly expensive resource that they were rotated among the personnel deploying.
Though occasionally high-ranking inquisitors like Katrina had personal horses.
Only after seeing the horse in question did I grasp the rough situation.
"It'd be a shame to use a beast like that as a common mount."
"Aha. It definitely looks bigger and more handsome than the others."
"At this rate, one of the Holy Knights will probably claim it."
As everyone said, the black horse that had just arrived was an impressive specimen even at a glance.
It probably wouldn't pale in comparison to Katrina's horse.
Thanks to that, the Holy Knights each licked their lips and eyed the beast with hawk-like gazes.
They might be clerics, but as knights, it was impossible not to covet weapons, armor, and horses.
Heretic Inquisitors were, to begin with, extraordinarily worldly for clerics.
The Holy Knights only calmed down after Katrina arrived on the scene.
But then, Katrina glanced back and forth between the horse and me before tossing out a brief statement.
"Give it to Jaeger."
"Pardon? B-but, Captain Katrina, at a time when even full-fledged Holy Knights don't have their own horses..."
One of the Holy Knights mustered all his courage to protest, but...
His resolve was crushed the moment he met Katrina's cold gaze.
As if she wouldn't say it a third time, Katrina repeated curtly.
"Give it to Jaeger."
"Ah, understood."
The Holy Knights, though indignant, had no choice but to accept it.
While I was still dazed, the stable keeper approached and placed the reins in my hands.
"Whicker..."
Even the black horse was looking at me with a slightly disapproving eye.
After a quick ride, I examined Katrina's horse and then returned to her.
"Katrina, am I really allowed to take the horse..."
"What would I do if my squire can't keep up with me?"
"That's true."
"Then raise your sword."
The day's routine began with a simple spar.
I got to cross swords with Katrina for the first time.
For a woman, her strength was no joke, and her technique was high-level... but it fell short compared to Ulysses.
"Come at me properly, Jaeger."
"Even if you say that..."
If I injured her, the Holy Knights would kill me, wouldn't they?
I expressed reluctance outwardly, but I laughed inwardly.
'I could never beat my teacher, but...'
My teacher was my greatest benefactor.
But Katrina had also accumulated a great deal of goodwill by now.
Even if it was the branch's property, I never expected she'd just hand me a horse like that.
She was a bit blunt, but for a Heretic Inquisitor, she was a remarkably good person.
'After all, a mage's true enemy isn't the Heretic Inquisitors but the demons...'
Did she read my idle thoughts?
Katrina ended the spar with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
The change was too subtle for most people to notice, but after spending so much time with her, I could read it to some extent.
'Oh, did I mess up?'
She seemed to be in a bad mood, but she was so quiet normally that I couldn't tell for sure.
As I stood there awkwardly, Katrina gradually prepared for a city patrol.
The other Holy Knights insisted she didn't have to, but she ignored them completely.
Still, without her usual armor, no one would recognize her.
"You really must go out?"
"Then we have no choice. Everyone, hurry out and secure the area!"
In the end, the Holy Knights decided to hastily dispatch ordinary inquisitors and deploy them to every alley.
I smiled wryly, gathered my equipment, and stood beside Katrina.
Katrina left the branch at a fairly leisurely pace and headed straight for the square.
In the street lined with smithies, she said something I hadn't expected.
"Jaeger. It's about time you prepared some plate armor..."
"Ah, I've already ordered a set."
"R-really? That's good then..."
She was not only giving me a horse but readily offering to gift me plate armor as well.
Maybe because she was a young lady from a noble family, her sense of money was a mess.
Well, if she shakes down merchants, is it free?
I even entertained such wicked thoughts while firmly declining.
Katrina, who had taken on a strangely gloomy expression, bought simple snacks at the market and shared them with me.
An unexpected snack here, huh.
This gift, I could accept.
"You eat stuff like this too."
"Keep it a secret from the other inquisitors."
Katrina, who had spoken with an extremely serious expression, suddenly let out a deep sigh and slowly began walking.
From her, as she pretended to check the alleyway, came a voice so faint it was barely audible.
"To be honest, I never really intended to make you my squire."
"What? Th-then why..."
"Because you would have died if I left you alone. You never needed to get involved in this kind of fight..."
Katrina complained, as if suddenly regretting it now.
She was feeling guilt in a truly strange place.
Having been a mage since birth, I comforted her with complete sincerity.
"It's fine. Like you just said, if you hadn't stepped in, Katrina, I would have died."
"..."
"And what a privilege it is to serve someone like you. Other inquisitors would love to, but can't."
There wasn't a shred of a lie in that.
Wasn't Katrina the kind of superior whose mere sight was motivating?
She laughed as if she found it absurd, and then her expression became much more relaxed than before.
"Don't come crying to me if you regret it."
We made a circuit of the city just like that and returned to the branch.
However, the atmosphere from the guards stationed at the entrance was unusual.
Katrina approached quickly and asked, and they replied while standing at attention.
"Something happen?"
"They say an extremely important piece of intelligence just came in."
"Intelligence?"
"They say it seems one of the worst mages recorded on the Wall of Shame has infiltrated Reshutal..."
"What?"
Surely my teacher and Ash haven't been discovered?
I suppressed the urge to shout and moved along with Katrina.