Quest (5): The Village of Shade Grafton
Shade Grafton was a fairly large village. In terms of scale, it was roughly five times the size of my hometown—the fake one. It sat somewhere between a city and a village, and that description fit it perfectly.
I asked the innkeeper for bathwater and stared into the flame flickering inside the lantern. After a short wait, the staff member approached me.
“It’s ready.”
“Please bring some wine as well.”
“Understood.”
I made my way to the inn’s backyard. The area was completely enclosed by walls, and because access was strictly controlled, only one person could enter at a time. Steam rose gently from the large wooden tub. I shed my clothes, set the lantern down beside me, and slipped into the hot water. A deep sigh escaped my lips.
Haa. This is heaven.
“Excuse me.”
“Come in.”
The moment I gave permission, the female staff member entered cautiously. This was exactly why inns hired women for the job. A female attendant could enter situations like this regardless of the guest’s gender. She placed the wine on a floating wooden tray and quietly withdrew.
I poured myself a glass. Drinking while bathing—if only it were snowing, it would have been perfect. Unfortunately it was September, so snow was still a long way off.
Alcohol in the bath speeds up blood circulation and makes you drunk at an alarming rate. It isn’t good for the body, so decent people really shouldn’t copy me. For the record, I am a decent person. My body is simply sturdy enough that it doesn’t matter.
I enjoyed the wine’s fragrance first, then took a slow sip.
Mmm. That exquisite astringency.
I emptied the glass in one go and muttered to myself.
“The wine is just… average.”
Honey wine had reached divine territory, and while I was sampling every type of alcohol this world had to offer, none of them could threaten its supremacy. The wine had flavor, of course, but it was ordinary. Setting aside my general dislike of wine, it simply wasn’t exceptional. The gap between it and the special honey wine I had never encountered in the modern world was simply too vast.
Why was only the honey wine so uniquely outstanding? The question fascinated me. I swirled the wine in my glass, observing it, then drank the rest. Strange things were strange, but drinking was drinking.
Once I finished bathing, I changed into fresh clothes and returned to the inn’s common room. I sat down, raised my hand, and called out.
“Two glasses of honey wine, please!”
“Didn’t you already drink wine while bathing earlier?”
Leon, who had been sitting at the table ahead of me, spoke with a faintly dumbfounded expression. I picked up my pipe and answered.
“I haven’t had any for a while. The craving for honey wine must be satisfied. Where’s Chris?”
Chris had decided to stay with us for the duration of the festival. She said it would feel too abrupt to part ways after growing close over fifteen days. In response to my question, Leon explained while sipping his milk.
“It seems she went to meet some people.”
Made sense. She was a peddler, after all. To sell the wine she had brought, she needed to understand the village’s current situation first.
I exhaled the acrid smoke toward the ceiling and set the lantern on the table.
Fwoosh.
A mouth formed within the lantern’s flame. Leon, having seen it, set down his glass of milk.
“The more I see it, the more amazing that magic seems.”
“Magic is amazing by nature.”
This spell belonged to the applied elemental category rather than pure elemental magic. It swallowed sound before it could spread. I had discovered the trait of Balance within the fire element, then dug into that aspect until I grasped the principles of rules and restrictions, allowing me to reach the third rank. So was this sound-nullifying magic cast through Balance’s flame? Half correct, half incorrect. It was indeed activated in conjunction with Balance, but the fundamental root of the spell was something else.
Flame devours everything—wood, stone, animals, herbs, people, emotions, memories—without discrimination and with violent hunger. It is a born predator. And that was the new trait I had discovered in the fire element: Predation.
About six months ago, while staring at a flame, the realization had struck me. Discovering new traits while deepening one’s understanding of an element was perfectly natural. Kelton had found more than ten such traits. The increase in the number of traits one could perceive was called the broadening of elemental understanding. The broader the understanding, the more magic became available. That was why we called it broadening.
Conversely, digging deeply into a single trait and uncovering multiple principles was called deepening of understanding. Of the two, deepening was what correlated with rising in rank. For that reason, most mages tended to focus intensely on a single trait. They only explored others when they hit a wall. Normally, they pursued deep understanding of just one.
I replaced the tobacco in my pipe and asked.
“Where will you begin your investigation?”
“I originally planned to examine the vineyards.”
“You wanted to confirm whether the land could sustain continuous bountiful harvests?”
“Correct.”
“But it turned out to have been suffering poor yields for years?”
From the moment it became clear the land was not fertile, Leon’s plan had been blocked from the outset. A rather bewildering situation.
Leon nodded and continued.
“Still, while high-quality grapes aren’t appearing, the overall grape harvest itself seems decent. I intend to look into it properly.”
“Fighting.”
“What do you plan to do, Lady Ruina?”
“Me? I need to buy a dagger.”
I had been neglecting the magic I had gone to such lengths to obtain. Until I resolved this issue, I couldn’t even drink a single drop of water.
“You drank plenty of honey wine, though.”
“That’s not water, it’s alcohol.”
I neatly emptied the honey wine the staff had brought, then stood up.
“See you this evening.”
“Understood.”
When I stepped outside the inn, the wind made my robe flutter. A signboard swayed above the entrance. I glanced up and read the letters.
The Place Where the Wind Lingers
You again, WindStay. Are you sure there are no franchises in this world? This won’t do. I’ll have to ask the innkeeper when I return later.
The streets were packed. The festival period had drawn a huge influx of outsiders. I wove through the crowd and headed for the building I had scouted earlier. The first thing to catch my eye was the gray slate roof darkened by wind and rain. Black smoke rose continuously from the chimney, and light leaked through the slightly ajar door.
The moment I opened the door, a wave of intense heat struck my face. I pulled my hood lower and looked around. Weapons of all kinds decorated the walls. Their gleaming edges showed craftsmanship far above average. Truthfully, I couldn’t judge well. What I had learned was magic, not sword appraisal.
I called out carefully.
“Is anyone here?”
Clang. Clang. Clang. The regular sound of iron being struck filled the forge. Could they not hear me? Or were they too focused on their work?
“Is anyone here?”
I called louder, but still received no answer. With no other choice, I stepped deeper into the forge. A large furnace dominated the interior. Before it stood a man, hammer in hand, silently staring at the anvil. The hammer fell. It met the red-hot iron on the anvil, producing a cheerful ring.
When the blacksmith pressed the bellows, the flames roared higher. I stared at them in a daze. Each methodical press of the bellows caused the flames to rise in perfect rhythm. I was thoroughly admiring the flickering, captivating blaze when—
“This area is off-limits to unauthorized people.”
The blacksmith spoke without lifting his gaze from the anvil. So he hadn’t failed to hear me; he had simply ignored me.
“There was no answer, so I came in.”
“Wait outside.”
Following his instruction, I waited obediently in the storefront area. A short while later, the blacksmith emerged, wiping sweat from his brow.
“What do you want?”
“I’d like to buy a dagger.”
“For what purpose?”
“My dream is to become a knight.”
“For Refinement magic, then.”
The blacksmith immediately took one of the displayed daggers and handed it to me.
“This should suit you.”
The weapon was what people commonly called a dagger. Total length around forty centimeters, with a twenty-five-centimeter blade and a fifteen-centimeter hilt. Most had a fuller running down the center, but this one lacked it. As the most basic form of dagger, it was certainly appropriate for a knight aspirant.
“Fifty silver coins.”
“Here you are.”
The money I had earned escorting for fifteen days vanished for a single dagger, but it was fine. If I could activate Refinement magic with it, the deal was more than worth it.
I fastened the dagger at my waist, drew it with a flourish, and chanted.
"Shine."
"Blue Night."
⟨ Refinement ⟩
A blue blade flickered into existence, overlaying the dagger. The beautiful sight nearly brought tears to my eyes. Even the blacksmith seemed moved.
“In all my years, you’re the first person I’ve seen activate Refinement magic that way.”
“Am I really the first?”
That couldn’t be right. If I truly was the first, it would mean the people of this world lacked hearts, and that was far too horrifying. I still chose to believe in people. The blacksmith had probably just been shut away in his forge and hadn’t witnessed it before. I sheathed the dagger.
“I like it very much. I’ll give you five extra silver coins.”
“If you need a longsword later, come back. I’ll give you a good price.”
“I will.”
Vowing inwardly that I would obtain even better Refinement magic next time, I left the forge.
The streets were loud. The festival hadn’t even properly begun, yet everyone was already pleasantly drunk. Seeing them made me want to drink too. So I would.
I entered the nearest pub, sat at the counter, and ordered immediately.
“Five glasses of honey wine.”
“Are you with a larger party?”
“No? It’s just me.”
“…Please wait a moment.”
While waiting for the drinks, I turned my head slightly to observe the pub. People of all kinds were laughing, chatting, and drinking. It was then that a conversation drifted past my ears.
“I will evolve the knight into a dragon knight. Checkmate.”
“Whoa. Young master, what family only taught you Arcana Chess? That’s no joke.”
“That can’t be. Besides, I’m the son of an ordinary farmer. I’m not a noble.”
“Right. Son of a farmer.”
I blinked. Arcana Chess? I couldn’t let that slide.