The White Mage (6)
“I did it!”
When I returned to the Children of Mutarat with my mental state completely shattered, Franc greeted me with those words. I stared at the robe spread out before me with an exhausted face and let out a sigh of admiration.
“Ooh… That looks amazing…”
“Hehe.”
My reply was weak and drained after I’d spent time scrubbing myself clean in the bathhouse while cursing up a storm, then washing the clothes at our inn. But Franc seemed satisfied. After all, it was a robe impressive enough to make anyone want to claim it as their own.
“It looked too plain just like that, so I embroidered it with thread! Since it’s black thread, it won’t stand out even if you walk around in the dark!”
Just as Franc said, the black robe that had once looked like nothing more than a bathrobe was now divided into a long cloak and the robe itself. She’d added sharp folded accents to give it flair and decorated various spots with black thread embroidery. At a glance it was simply an elegant robe, but if you looked closely, you could tell it was made with genuine care and affection.
“Thank you, Franc. I really love it.”
“I worked extra hard because I kept thinking it was something Nord would wear.”
I pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek in gratitude. Franc smiled shyly.
“Oh, and I made gloves with the leftover fabric. Try these on too. Apparently there are people in this world who can identify someone just by the shape of their hands.”
“Heh heh. Even if that weren’t the case, I’d still have to wear gloves because of my skin color.”
I accepted the black gloves she offered and slipped them on. They fit my hands perfectly.
“Whoa, they fit like a glove. How did you know my hand size?”
“How? I’ve touched them plenty of times, haven’t I?”
Wait, how the hell do you figure that out just from touching? I’ve groped her breasts as much as I wanted and I still can’t even guess her size. While I was internally awarding the Dwarf Cheat Ability yet another championship banner, Franc examined my outfit and asked,
“Didn’t you bring any armor? I made this robe so it could be worn over armor. I wanted to see you try it on.”
“The smell hadn’t come out yet. I’ll have to buy some deodorizer or learn a cleaning spell later.”
“Huh? Nord, are you planning to learn magic too?”
“If I can.”
Anyway, I tried on the finished outfit. Franc helped me put it on, though it wasn’t difficult to wear alone. Once I was fully dressed, I stood in front of the mirror. The mirror in Franc’s inn room was made of metal—a common item in this world.
“It suits you so well, Nord!”
“Heh heh. Of course it does. Who made it, after all? By the way, what about the mask?”
“Ah, can you wait just a little longer for the mask? It’s my first time carving one, so it took me a while to get the feel for it.”
“…Isn’t that it?”
I pointed at the cloth spread across the bed. Next to the sawdust and carving knife lay a wooden mask that was already nearly complete in shape.
“Yes! Now I just need to paint it, let it dry, attach the cloth so you can wear it on your head, and add a bit more embroidery! Still, drying takes time, so you probably won’t be able to try it on until tomorrow morning.”
“Wait, when you said it would take a day, that included drying time?”
“Hehe. I left myself a little extra time. I’ve never applied dye to a mask before, so I wasn’t sure how long it would take to dry completely.”
Repairing the robe and making the mask in just half a day. At this point, Franc’s craftsmanship was nothing short of astonishing.
“Put on the robe and move around. Tell me if anything feels uncomfortable.”
“Got it.”
I pulled up the robe’s hood and checked myself from different angles in the bronze mirror. It had a slight cosplay vibe, but the high quality made it look genuinely cool.
“Vector—Speak with Solemn Dignity.”
I activated one of the Earth Hero’s secret techniques. This was a higher-level skill than Vector—Voice Drop. With this voice that could rival a professional narrator, the dark hero in the mirror radiated overwhelming presence.
Fuck, if I filmed a tokusatsu show in this other world with this getup, I could rake in money with a rake. Damn this world’s information and communication technology. What the hell kind of high-speed comms is a flying letter?
“Hmm. Maybe I should pick a pseudonym too… How about Arthur Wayne?”
“Arthur Wayne?”
Franc, who had been wearing work gloves and applying dye to the mask, muttered the name a few times before bursting into quiet giggles.
“Arthur Wayne. It has a nice ring to it. It suits Nord really well.”
I spent a long moment wondering whether that was a compliment or not. It had to be a compliment, right?
“Then Arthur it is. What do you think of the mask with this?”
Franc said as she finished painting and attached a handle to the back of the mask. The beast mask, painted pure white, exuded an untouchable charisma.
“Perfect.”
“I’m glad you like it. Shall I finish it like this?”
“Please do. How much longer will it take?”
“Hmm, let’s see… After it dries I have to attach the cloth so the dye doesn’t rub off… Once I finish painting this, I can complete the rest tomorrow… so…”
Franc’s words gradually trailed off as she explained. The reason was that I had started taking off my clothes.
—*Whoosh.*
“I’ll wait. Take your time.”
“…I-I’ll finish quickly.”
Despite her words, Franc kept stealing glances at my naked body, which slowed her work. Still, she managed to finish everything that same day. We also thoroughly enjoyed the sex we’d left unfinished earlier that afternoon.
The next day, fully equipped in my new costume, I arrived at the Mage Guild.
“I assumed it would be in the shape of a tower, as is the national rule in this industry.”
I deliberately spoke out loud to raise the proficiency of Vector—Speak with Solemn Dignity. Just hearing the name “Mage Guild” had made me expect something magical and tower-like. But the actual Mage Guild I visited was surprisingly normal-looking.
It looks so much like a university campus that I feel PTSD flaring up.
Armed guards stood at the iron-barred guild entrance, and beyond them stretched a green lawn. They were using an entire fairly large plot of land as the guild grounds.
Whoooosh—
A sudden gust of wind made my robe’s cloak flutter dramatically. The imposing sight caused several passing adventurers to gulp audibly.
—Hey. You see that black guy over there? He looks scary as hell.
—You idiot! Shut up! What if he hears you!
“Why though.”
I muttered quietly in my solemn voice. No matter how I looked at it, I only seemed cool. I hadn’t expected to give off a scary impression.
Is it better than being looked down on?
I decided to think of it that way. A robe’s appearance could range from high-end suit to cheap padded jacket depending on its quality. A robe made with care and fine fabric looked like a tailored suit, while a poorly made one looked like a puffy jacket. If you wore just any robe, you might end up looking like someone who threw on whatever was handy because they couldn’t be bothered to change before going to the convenience store. As long as I didn’t look like trash, it was fine.
I checked that my brooch was properly fastened and approached the guards standing in front of the guild.
“Pardon me. I am such-and-such a person—”
The moment I held out my brooch and tried to state my business—
“This bastard’s a thief!! Surrender quietly and accept your bonds!! Kiyaaah!!”
“Huh?”
With a battle cry, the guard’s spear came flying at me. Shushushuk!! A rapid triple thrust! There was no spearhead, but it was a merciless assault aimed at my throat, solar plexus, and balls!! If I got hit by that, I’d end up with breathing problems and a broken dick!
It was such an utterly unexpected attack that I nearly lost my mind, but my reflexes—honed through repeated real battles—kicked in at full power.
“Shadow Heaven Style—Blue Stream!!!!”
Clang!!
I drew my sword at lightning speed and knocked the spear away. Triple thrust my ass—there’s still only one spear! If I smack it aside, the consecutive strikes lose all meaning!
“Ugh! He’s got strength that doesn’t match a thief, just like the rumors!”
“But can he win against the three of us?!”
“Consider yourself lucky we don’t have permission to kill! Thief!”
When I blocked the attack, the other guard bastards came running over and leveled their spears at me. I was utterly dumbfounded by their behavior.
“You fucking knee-damaged morons, who the hell are you calling a thief!”
I had no idea what delusion these assholes were under, but the only thing I’d ever stolen in my life was the Zeti my elementary school desk mate brought to class! I’d been the victim of theft, never the perpetrator!! The Digivice I’d taken to the school sports day when I was little flashed through my mind! The legendary golden Digivice! The miraculous item that turned an ugly Guilmon into Dukemon! The face of my desk mate—the prime suspect who stole it—overlapped with theirs. Feeling like my old trauma was resurfacing, I desperately pleaded!
“Guards! I am most certainly not a thief!”
“Hah! As if any thief would admit to being one!”
“To know that we injured our knees—you’ve got excellent intelligence!”
“Receive the secret technique of Sargadis guards—Three Men, One Spear!!”
“Aaaand scene.”
There was clearly no room for conversation. Did they not do personality tests when hiring these guards or something?
“Stop right there, you city guard scumbags!!”
I had no choice but to prepare to activate Beast Regression. No matter what, three against one—especially against guards who made their living with blades—without using magic would basically be suicide! If I fought, I’d end up being treated like a real thief, so I’d just subdue them at the level of legitimate self-defense. Because of these shameless pricks, my anaconda was about to turn into King Ghidorah!
“To the God of the Sky (yáǵeswō)──”
“That’s enough.”
The one who stopped the imminent clash was a mage who had been inside the guild. He was a gray-haired man wearing a shabby robe, with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
“What? Mage, sir?”
“This gentleman is probably a guest. You’re an archaeologist, correct?”
The mage said after looking at the brooch I was wearing. This brooch was like a graduation badge—anyone who didn’t recognize it was an idiot. In other words, these guards were indeed idiots.
“Excuse me? A thief, you say?”
“Thief archaeologist… grave robber?”
The three idiots displayed a fatal blue screen in their brain cells. Like a program throwing an error, they were stuck on How can a thief be an archaeologist??
“Thank you for your help. These friends here seem to have spent so much time training their bodies that their heads are a bit lacking.”
I used the passive skill of an otherworlder who had attended university—Disregard the Uneducated. The guards’ faces immediately soured. The effect was instant. As expected, people who did physical labor often had a hidden complex about academic background. I normally didn’t treat people this way, but these three idiots deserved it. And in this kind of situation, Vector—Speak with Solemn Dignity was extremely effective.
“Why are your faces so sour? Did I hit a nerve? If you’re upset, try me. Come to Carmine. I’ll knock your teeth out. And also, I’ll pay a generous settlement fee.”
“…Please go inside, scholar.”
Idiots. I didn’t know why they’d randomly accused an innocent person of being a thief, but since they attacked with spears without warning, they had no right to complain about being treated like morons. No, seriously—throat and solar plexus I can understand as restraint, but the balls? The balls?! Just because their own brains are impotent doesn’t mean they should make others the same.
“Anyway, I’ll file a formal complaint about this later, so be prepared for a pay cut.”
“…Yes.”
“Tsk tsk.”
I clicked my tongue and entered the Mage Guild grounds. After my identity was verified and I went inside, the mage who had helped me disappeared somewhere. I’d wanted to at least thank him properly. What a shame. Left alone, I stood there for a moment unsure where to go before heading into the nearest building. It looked like some kind of reception area.
“Welcome.”
A glasses-wearing, hysterically nerdy man sat at the counter. He looked exactly like someone who had spent his entire life studying, only to end up working as a teaching assistant because of tuition debt. The reason I was already mentally cursing him was because the moment he saw me, he openly made a face that screamed Ah fuck, more work. This son of a bitch, frowning like that. Well, I had no desire to chat for long with someone who acted like an asshole either. The moment I reached the counter, I got straight to the point.
“I am an archaeologist affiliated with Carmine University. I have come today to seek advice from the Mage Guild.”
“…Carmine University, you say?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, none at all.”
The glasses guy straightened his posture slightly after hearing my affiliation. It wasn’t that he was intimidated by the university’s name—he was just making sure no sparks flew in his direction. As expected, mages really are smart.
“May I see your identification?”
“Here.”
He took the brooch, placed it on some kind of magic tool, and verified it. The glasses guy cleared his throat and returned the brooch.
“Confirmed. What is your business today?”
“I wish to consult about the history and symptoms of a magic discovered in ruins. It appears to be magic on par with that of the Erin era or even earlier prehistoric times.”
“Understood. I’ll call the person in charge.”
I waited a short while in the waiting room. Before long, a mage who appeared to be a guide appeared.
“I will show you the way. Please follow me.”