The Merchant's Request

Contrary to Joseph's expectations, Seymo did not get straight to the point. He had summoned Joseph the moment the mage set foot in the village, yet now that Joseph had actually arrived, the merchant seemed in no hurry whatsoever — as if he were taking Joseph's measure before the real conversation began.

"So then… you're truly traveling alone?"

"Yes. This village just happened to be along ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my route."

"Remarkable. Most mages don't seem the type to enjoy travel — and certainly not by themselves."

"Spending all my time locked in a room researching magic was getting me nowhere. I figured I needed some new experiences."

Joseph could feel Seymo studying him with a peculiar look. The merchant clearly found his manner different from that of a typical mage.

Go on, then. Imagine whatever you like.

Most of what Joseph was saying had been fabricated the night before. Right now, he was playing the part of a country mage who'd set out on a journey from the far west.

"So, why did you invite me here today?"

Joseph raised an eyebrow as he asked first. The expression came across as friendly, yet at the same time rather casual — almost flippant.

Seymo hesitated a moment before carefully opening his mouth.

"…The reason I wished to see you today, Mage, is that I have a request to make of you."

"A request? Of me?"

Seymo nodded.

"Before I explain, however… might I ask one more thing?"

He glanced at Joseph, gauging his reaction.

"What is it?"

"I heard from the guards that they witnessed a truly remarkable display of your magic."

"And?"

"Would it be possible for me to see even a glimpse of it myself? I've simply never had the fortune of such a rare experience…"

"…"

Joseph understood exactly what Seymo was after.

This bastard. He's testing me after all.

Before laying out the real reason he'd called Joseph here, the merchant wanted to know what level of mage he was dealing with. As if there would be no point in even bringing it up if Joseph turned out to be some half-baked pretender.

Joseph's face hardened, and he said nothing. At the same time, he furrowed his brow — slightly, but distinctly enough to be seen. Enough to look thoroughly displeased.

As Joseph held his silence, Seymo too fell quiet.

I thought long and hard after I got that invitation.

How to keep from being exposed as an amateur. The answer, as it turned out, was to use the fact that he was a "mage."

They were all afraid of me yesterday.

The residents of a backwater village like this might go their entire lives without ever meeting a mage. Even the hardened mercenaries — men who had surely seen their share of ugly business — had gone perfectly meek the moment they learned what he was. They feared him. They bent over backward not to give offense.

Every last mage in this world must have been an eccentric lunatic.

It wasn't hard to understand. If you were born with that kind of power in a world like this, you could behave however you pleased and no one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around you would be able to do a thing about it.

But Joseph was nowhere near the level of properly realized magic. Not yet.

This one doesn't know that.

And that was precisely what he intended to use.

Joseph dropped his voice low, almost a murmur.

"I beg your pardon? Ah — n-no, that's not what I meant at all…!"

"That's exactly what you just said!"

"…!"

The corner of Seymo's mouth twitched. Joseph watched him swallow. The merchant was tense now — he would be thinking he'd made a terrible mistake.

The atmosphere in the old house was shifting. I thought he was an easy mark… but a mage is still a mage! That was the look on Seymo's face.

In truth, Joseph was just as tense. Even if he'd wanted to put on a show, he didn't have many spells he could actually demonstrate. But the initiative was clearly beginning to tilt in his favor.

"First you doubt a mage, and now you want me to cast magic for no reason whatsoever…"

"No, it isn't like that! I was only envious that the guards had gotten to witness something so precious…!"

"And how is that any different from asking me to do a little song and dance?"

"Th-that's…"

Joseph kept pressing him. The composure drained from Seymo's face by degrees.

Joseph drew up his mana. From here on, he would have to overwhelm the man with sheer presence.

Seymo tried to get another word out, but Joseph was faster. He produced a Mana Orb.

Joseph poured more mana into the orb, swelling it larger, then stretched his hand toward Seymo in an unmistakable threat.

"Hiek!"

Seymo lurched to his feet in alarm. His chair toppled backward and hit the floor with a thud.

There was no suspicion left on his face, no calculation of any kind. All that remained was the terror of a man whose luck had just run out. When a life is on the line, every other thought simply vanishes.

Joseph quietly recited the incantation, and the great orb transformed into flame. Naturally, the fire did not last long — it scattered into the empty air. But for now, that was enough.

When the flame formed properly, Joseph let out a heavy sigh without meaning to. To Seymo, however, it looked as though the mage were barely holding his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠temper in check.

"Will that suffice?"

Seymo stared at him, dazed, then nodded with violent enthusiasm.

"Y-yes, of course! Thank you!"

Relief had flooded his face so completely that it drowned out everything else. The sheer gratitude of still being alive entirely overshadowed the fact that the magic he had just witnessed was, in truth, nothing particularly impressive.

…That did it.

Joseph did not consider himself to have overreacted. If he had been a real mage, crippling a man for asking a question like that would not have been the least bit strange. By that standard, this was downright charitable.

"If your little test is over, then tell me why you called me here. If you've summoned me over something worthless, you'd best be prepared."

Joseph spoke with his arms folded. Seymo stared at him, startled — he clearly hadn't expected Joseph to call out the so-called viewing for the test that it was.

"Well? Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Ah — y-yes! I'll explain at once."

At Joseph's prompting, Seymo scrambled up from the floor and sat back down.

"…M-Mage, are you aware of the war currently underway in the north?"

Joseph's eyes widened at the word that had come out of nowhere.

A war? All of a sudden?

"I've heard of it, yes."

The moment Joseph answered, Seymo pressed on, his voice trembling.

"W-well, you see, our merchant guild will soon be departing on a caravan to the northern battlefield."

"…Is that so."

"Yes. Before long, a certain shipment will be coming up from the south. We'll take possession of it and transport it north."

That was why the Roph Merchant Guild had made camp on the outskirts of the village instead of moving on.

"But the road to the front is extremely dangerous. With most of the soldiers drawn off to the battlefield, law and order in Count Valois's territory has gone to pieces. Bandits are everywhere."

Wait. Don't tell me…

Joseph's expression began to sour. He had a feeling he knew exactly what Seymo was about to ask.

Seymo glanced at that look on Joseph's face, then carefully laid out his real purpose.

"…And so. If you would be willing, I would like to request your assistance on this caravan, Mage."

You've got to be kidding me.

Joseph tried to keep his face under control, but he could not hide the way it stiffened.

That's why he called me here?

He had expected Seymo's request wouldn't be easy. He'd even been prepared to push himself a little. There were things he needed to extract from this meeting, even if it meant putting on an act. But a battlefield — that, he had not seen coming. No: it wasn't that he hadn't anticipated it. He had simply never included it in his calculations. He had never had the slightest intention of going anywhere near a war.

War isn't some children's game.

It had been only yesterday that he'd heard of mages who rained fire from the sky, and Knights who carved through men as if they were made of tofu.

"…I'm not particularly inclined to head toward a battlefield."

Joseph offered a measured refusal, and Seymo rushed to add more.

"Th-the compensation will be more than generous! And until we depart, we'll provide you with lodging and meals as well. It will be far more comfortable than that rundown inn."

Joseph flinched in spite of himself.

Room and board…?

He found himself thinking of the inn where he'd stayed the night before. It had been better ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than the house he'd lived in back in Bari Village, but by any objective standard it was hardly a pleasant place. This town only looked large compared to Bari Village — in the end, it was a small village just the same.

Food and shelter were the most urgent problems, I'll give him that.

Never mind the money he'd save — he'd have a proper place to stay. For a man who had been sleeping outdoors as a matter of routine, there was no more welcome news than that.

More than anything, Joseph needed a place where he could train his magic. Traveling alone, he hadn't even finished reading the spellbook he'd taken off those bandits. He'd rented a room at the inn, but concentrating on study and practice there was proving difficult.

Hah. The terms are good, I'll admit.

While Joseph turned it over in his mind, Seymo pressed on, piling on still more.

"I-if there's anything that gives you pause, please, just say the word!"

"Frankly… getting mixed up in a nobles' war is a bit of a burden."

Joseph laid it out honestly. The merchant's eyes went round, and he all but shouted his reply.

"I'm not asking you to go to the battlefield with us! I only need you to accompany us as far as a safe location near Valois Castle! Just that far — nothing more!"

"…That's all?"

Joseph's answer carried a note of genuine interest. If it wasn't the front itself — if they were only going near it — it didn't sound nearly as bad as he'd thought.

"When is the caravan scheduled to leave?"

"In a month's time. Until then, you may rest comfortably in the lodgings we provide!"

"Hmm…"

They're offering all this for a single caravan run?

Being a mage really did have its perks. Joseph organized his thoughts for a moment, then studied Seymo's face. The merchant was waiting for his answer with an expression of barely contained anxiety.

"Does the compensation have to be in coin?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I'd like to request something other than money."

Joseph's words sounded as though he were on the verge of accepting, and Seymo's face brightened at once.

"Of course! Is there something in particular you're looking for?"

This is the real point.

Tempting as all those fine conditions were, they weren't what mattered to Joseph right now. There was a reason he had accepted this invitation while hiding the fact that he was a two-bit mage. Frankly, he was almost curious to see how Seymo would have reacted if he'd known Joseph could barely cast anything at all.

"I need spellbooks. The type doesn't matter. Does the guild have any on hand?"

"Spellbooks… you say?"

At the word spellbook, Seymo's eyebrows lifted in a look of mild difficulty. He would have known without being told that Joseph wasn't talking about the cheap kind the village chief of Bari Village had managed to scrape together. Indeed, the moment he heard Joseph's request, Seymo's eyes began darting rapidly as he calculated.

He hummed to himself for a moment, then answered.

"We don't have any at present, but I will most certainly procure some."

Judging by his manner, they wouldn't be easy to come by. But having a merchant guild put its resources toward the search was nothing to sneeze at.

"Very well. If you obtain the spellbooks for me, I'll join the caravan as you've asked."

And just like that, Joseph had secured new spellbooks and full room and board in exchange for joining a single caravan. Compared to wandering around on his own with no plan, it was a deal with nothing but upside.

What followed did not take long. Seymo pulled a sheet of parchment from a drawer and drafted a contract on the spot, saying he would take it to a notary as soon as day broke.

"Then I'll be counting on you."

"Yes. Likewise."

Seymo said it with a look of deep satisfaction. From his perspective, he had achieved his goal regardless — he had hired a mage. One with a bit of a nasty temper, perhaps, but far easier to talk to than other mages. Now that his head had cooled, he seemed to be in better spirits. There was even a look of relief on his face.

…It went according to plan, somehow.

And that was true for Joseph as well. The Roph Merchant Guild was larger than he'd expected. If anything had gone even slightly wrong, the mercenaries outside would have come pouring in. There had been no way not to be tense.

Now I can spend a month living comfortably and training Fire.

Joseph let out a small sigh of relief as he looked at Seymo, who was beaming, his face sheened with sweat. He even found himself considering the possibility of running off before the caravan departed — assuming they delivered the spellbook within the month.