The City of Mages (2)

The blond, blue-eyed man’s name was Alex. It reeked of a fake name, but I didn’t bother calling him out on it. After all, we’d be parting ways soon—what did it matter whether he used an alias or his real name?

“So why are you using a fake name?” I asked instead. I was curious.

At my question, Alex looked flustered as he answered.

“Fake name? What are you talking about?”

“Judging by the imperial gold mixed into your hair, you must come from quite an old noble house. Where are you from?”

“…….”

“Want me to guess?”

“…I am from the Reihartel County.”

I glanced at Chris. The moment my eyes met hers, she rattled off the information.

“It’s a noble family based in the imperial capital. Long history, and they run a large trading company.”

“Thank you, Chris. Alright then, Lord Reihartel?”

“…My name is Ferant Reihartel.”

“Lord Ferant. So why did you leave behind a letter that said, ‘Father, how can I possibly practice noblesse oblige without knowing the world? I shall go out and see it for myself,’ and run off on a journey of self-discovery?”

“Did Father send you?” Ferant jumped in surprise. Looked like I’d hit the bullseye.

I shook my head. “No.”

“Then how did you….”

“Just a logical guess based on the circumstances.”

How many sons of a count would wander the world without any escorts? There weren’t many other possibilities.

Ferant’s shoulders slumped as he muttered, “Is it that obvious?”

“Very.”

“Honestly, it’s extremely obvious, Lord Ferant.”

“…It really is that obvious.”

At the combined answer from me, Chris, and Muran, Ferant let out a long sigh.

“I thought I had a decent grasp of the world by now, but it seems I still have a long way to go. I wanted to raise my family on my own like you did, Lady Ruina—earn recognition through my own power.”

“You know me?”

I hadn’t even introduced myself, so I was surprised he knew my name. Ferant nodded.

“You’re the One-Woman Army, Lady Ruina. I recognized you the moment I saw the wooden giant.”

“So I’ve picked up another nickname.”

Just how far were my nicknames going to spread? Anyway.

“Raise your family? What do you mean by that?”

“Huh? Isn’t it true?”

“I’m asking what you mean.”

“Didn’t you perform great deeds in suppressing the recent rebel army and receive a peerage as a reward?”

“I didn’t.”

On top of having flowers for brains, he also suffered from delusions. The future of Reihartel County looked bleak.

Ferant looked shocked. “You mean after accomplishing such feats, you only received a small bounty and that was it? I naturally assumed you’d been granted a title.”

“I never received any reward in the first place.”

“No reward at all…?”

Disbelief, anxiety, and fear flashed across his face before finally settling into utter dejection.

“I see… The world really is….”

“Let’s set aside that irrelevant topic.”

“This is the irrelevant topic? Understood. That kind of mindset is exactly—”

“Are you a mage?”

I could sense the faint lingering traces of mana, so I asked. Ferant answered cautiously.

“I am, but… why do you ask?”

“That’s fortunate.”

I held my hand out to Ferant. He stared at it for a long moment, then moved his lips.

“May I ask what this means?”

“Hand over your magic.”

“I knew it!”

Ferant shot to his feet and pointed at me. He shouted,

“So the rumors that the Witch of Robbery steals people’s magic were true!”

“So I’ve picked up another nickname.”

Just how far were my nicknames going to go, really?

“The rumor that the Full-Body Burn Mage spares her opponents’ lives in exchange for taking their magic has spread all over the imperial capital.”

“I think I know who started it.”

It had to be that mercenary I once attacked. The one who survived by handing over his Refinement magic. No matter how I thought about it, he was the culprit. What was his name again? Haze? Ah, right—Wilson. If that guy survived, he should’ve kept quiet instead of spreading rumors everywhere. What a rotten seed.

I said, “It might not have been me, you know.”

“Ruina. Give it up. There can’t possibly be two Full-Body Burn Mages.”

“I feel so wronged I could cry.”

I really needed to fix these burns soon. Walking around with burn scars made it way too easy to identify me. Or maybe I should just create more Full-Body Burn Mages? Just kidding.

Ferant asked quietly, “Can you truly steal magic?”

“I don’t steal it. I trade for it.”

“I see.”

“So, will you give me your magic?”

“…Magic is the only power I have ever achieved on my own. I’m grateful you saved my life, but I cannot give it to you.”

“What circle are you?”

“Second circle.”

“What a shame.”

If he didn’t want to, I had no intention of forcing him. That would be unfair to the magic itself. Magic was happiest when it was brought over through fair, proper compensation. Just look at the evidence.

I drew my sword and activated the magic. A blue aura overlaid the blade, and as the magic half-covered the longsword, I let out a cheer.

“Leon! Look! Cheongya has grown another 1mm!”

“Congratulations.”

“We must throw a celebration party today. Chris?”

“Got it.”

I asked Chris to prepare a grand dinner and gently stroked the sword. Seeing Cheongya ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grow so steadily proved just how important it was to offer proper compensation. Imagine if I had forcibly taken it. It would have been too scared to grow at all.

“In other words, I cannot do anything that would negatively affect a magic’s emotional education.”

“Chris. What on earth is Master talking about?”

“Noa. As I’ve always said, Lady Ruina is simply Lady Ruina. Don’t try to imitate her.”

These kids were using me as a negative example. Anyway.

“Let’s go back to the original question. Why did you leave home?”

“To experience the world firsthand, and based on that—”

“Wrong question. Where are you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠headed?”

“…I am on my way to Arginel.”

So his destination was the magic city of Arginel. The moment I heard it, the only thought that came to mind was ‘a rich young master touring famous tourist spots,’ but everyone had their own circumstances. I decided not to pay it any mind.

“We’re also heading to Arginel. Would you like to travel with us?”

“I would be truly grateful if you would allow it.”

Ferant let out a sigh of relief. It seemed he had learned firsthand just how dangerous solo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠travel could be. Meeting an ogre near a main road was something that only happened with exceptionally bad luck, but regardless of reality, Ferant’s mental image of the world had already transformed into a place crawling with ogres. I wouldn’t be surprised if, once he returned to his family and told his friends about his adventures, ogre stories became a permanent fixture. After all, in the flow of time, even pain eventually becomes a memory.

“If you’re going to sell my story, make sure to mention that I’m currently recruiting magic.”

“Pardon?”

I gave Ferant that instruction and focused my mind.

Currently, I possessed five elemental aptitudes: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Wood. Excluding the Fire aptitude I was born with, the rest had been gained as additional effects from Balance. Perhaps because of that, the others felt quite lacking. My Fire aptitude wasn’t outstanding either, but the rest were basically just for show. They clearly carried the stench of being forcibly obtained.

I narrowed my eyes at the clump of earth gathering above my palm.

When I gained the Water aptitude, deep contemplation had come first. The Wind aptitude had also been acquired after continuous contemplation of the element. There had been proper cause and effect, so there was no sense of dissonance when I obtained them. But this time was different.

The Wood and Earth aptitudes had come so suddenly, so casually. Right in the middle of battle. As far as I knew, the Wood element was a fusion of Earth, Water, and Fire. So if I forced an interpretation, it wasn’t completely impossible. I had already grown familiar with Wood magic through constant use, and after acquiring Earth magic on top of that, the support and Wood aptitudes had manifested simultaneously. Didn’t that sound somewhat reasonable?

Yet for some reason, I couldn’t fully accept it.

I toyed with the wind I had created by applying the characteristics of Connection, then released all my magic. After sorting through everything, I realized once again just how much I had gained in such a short time.

It was far too diverse and powerful a repertoire for a mere third-circle mage to possess. Especially the two unique magics—if another mage saw this, they would probably cry out asking if this even made sense. I understood their feelings, but what could I do? I simply had a good teacher.

I shook my head to clear away the thoughts. Things were going so smoothly; there was no need for pointless worries. As if anything bad would happen now.

I licked my lips and leisurely scanned the road ahead. I hoped I could obtain quite a lot of magic in Arginel.

*

“Lady Ruina! Look over there! It’s the Golden Tower!”

I gazed up in admiration at the majestic golden magic tower standing tall in the center of the city.

About a month after leaving Elera’s house, we had finally arrived in Arginel.