Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 45
>Chapter Title: The Wyvern is White
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We wandered around the academy, munching on all sorts of snacks and trying out the festival stalls to pass the time.
Today, even I leisurely followed Damian and Chenbi around.
"Pick one, pick one. One of three. One of three. Guess right, you double your money. Guess wrong, bust. Give it a shot!"
"What if I smash your face with this fist of mine instead?"
"......"
We even roughed up a gambler using sleight-of-hand at a shell game booth.
"Step right up, shoot the arrows and win a doll! Ten arrows for one silver. Student, wanna give it a try!"
"Me! Me!"
Boom!
Damian fired off a magic arrow shaped like an arrow instead of real ones, demolishing the stall.
At least Chenbi acted somewhat normally.
"Uh, um... If I break fifty of these slabs, you really give back ten times the entry fee, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, that's right. But kid, you're not a martial artist, are you? Martial artists have to wear ether control bands over there."
"Hmm, no mana control bands?"
"Uh, well, yeah, that's how it is."
Fifty stone slabs to shatter.
Not easy for anyone but a martial artist.
That's why the stall owner was willing to pay out ten times the entry fee.
Chenbi handed over one silver to the merchant, took the gloves, and positioned himself in front of the slabs.
"Uh, okay, here I go."
"Sure thing. Just a heads-up, if you break your wrist, I'm not covering the bill. Got it? Keep that in mind."
"Ah, yes."
Fifty slabs might sound doable, but stacked up, they reached nearly up to Chenbi's chest.
Then, something unexpected happened.
"Hup!"
Chenbi let out a pointless shout as he psyched himself up.
Crack-crack!
The fifty-slab stack cracked and crumbled away like sand.
No, looking closely, it wasn't exactly crumbling.
Shattering would mean blowing them apart in one impact, but Chenbi had crushed the fifty slabs like kneading sand with his hand.
'......That bastard.'
A total con artist.
'Using quality transmutation like that?'
He seemed to have gained some enlightenment after the last ordeal.
And he was using that enlightenment to turn one silver into ten.
Of course, the merchant didn't go down without a fight.
"Th-this is cheating! Cheating!"
"There's nothing saying no magic... haha."
As the merchant bellowed about fraud, Chenbi scratched his head sheepishly.
In the end, they dramatically compromised at five silver.
[No Ether Use. No Magic Use]
Next to the "No Ether Use" sign, "No Magic Use" was added.
"Tch."
Chenbi smacked his lips in disappointment.
"......"
I eyed him with narrowed eyes.
What had turned this kid into such a monster? He used to be so innocent.
Anyway, it was a pretty laid-back time.
Damian kept causing incidents without getting bored, and I went around fleecing the shady stall owners.
Chenbi prowled stalls that blurred the line between games and money-making schemes, filling his pockets.
[No Magic Use]
Every spot he left behind had that sign added—no need to mention it.
The festival seemed hastily thrown together, with more stalls geared toward commoners.
Chenbi especially sought those out.
Most people would play by the rules, but Chenbi wasn't most people.
Of course, whatever...
Even if they lost money, the academy handed out plenty of compensation cases, so it didn't matter.
As evening fell and the sun set.
Bang! Boom!
Fireworks exploded across the academy grounds.
Rockets streaked into the sky with long tails, bursting at the peak and scattering embers that each detonated again.
"Whoa......"
"Cool."
Damian and Chenbi, who had been scouting their next targets, gaped at the sight along with everyone else.
Even I lost myself in it for a moment.
Gorgeous fireworks painting the sky.
'Money......'
Going up in smoke.
The material costs for a fireworks show like that were insane.
Gunpowder was state-controlled, and launching fireworks on that scale cost a fortune.
Hiring mages would've been the same.
Pure extravagance.
Extravagance, but...
'Damn impressive.'
No denying it.
I gazed at the fireworks embroidering the sky for a bit, and before I knew it, a tower stood amid them in my mind.
Not a real tower, of course—just an image in my head.
Anyway, dazzling fireworks bloomed around the tower piercing the clouds.
Below, the sponsors funding the tower watched with smiles, each wearing an armband. And I was at the very top......
'The peak would be too cloudy to see the ground.'
Right, the highest floor with a ground view, enjoying fireworks exploding right in front of me.
The show didn't end quickly.
'Probably runs a full week.'
For a milestone day.
And below that, yeah.
A festival like today's.
Even the shell game scammers could prep properly, gather gamblers, and run their games. Not a bad setup.
Skim a commission off the top, and it'd be quite the haul.
And for the finale—
'The Sage Ascension Ceremony.'
Not just any sage.
Great Sage Aster.
The archmage who rode a wyvern and ushered in a new era for the continent.
'A white wyvern would be perfect.'
A white horse is prized above all, and a white tiger is holier than the regular kind.
Of course, white would be ideal, but I wasn't picky about color.
And so, the first day of the Pistineke Festival drew to a close.
* * *
The next day.
I stepped out of my room and strolled a quiet path on the academy grounds.
"Yawn."
Early morning—dawn, really—and the academy was already bustling.
Employees rushed about preparing for day two of the Pistineke Festival, while stall merchants set up one by one.
Even on this secluded path, I could faintly hear the commotion.
Watching the scene, a thought crossed my mind.
'Early bird gets the worm, huh.'
So, were those merchants the worms or the birds?
Birds, and they'd deserve praise for their diligence. Worms, and it was downright tragic.
But not every early-rising bird catches a worm.
Exhibit A: this guy.
Coo-roo! Crook.
The damn owl perched squarely on my head.
Why an owl all of a sudden?
Flash back about thirty minutes.
I'd just finished my Crimson Breath breathing exercise.
Knock knock!
A sudden tapping at the window.
It pecked like it wanted in, so I thought breakfast had walked right to me—but no.
A letter tied neatly to its ankle.
"To our usual meeting spot."
No sender or recipient listed.
But guessing the sender wasn't hard.
Familiars resemble their masters, they say.
The owl's unlucky glare and crooked gaze matched someone I knew perfectly.
'Senior.'
It was her.
So, here I was, heading to the summons.
Coo-roo! Crook!
The owl on my head annoyed the hell out of me, but I kept a straight face.
Truth be told, it was pitiable—not me, dragged out at dawn, but this bird up early and still wormless.
So.
"Here."
I plucked a bug off a leaf and offered it.
Peck peck!
"Y-you little shit......"
It ignored the bug I fed it and pecked my hand with its uppity beak.
I considered grabbing it for breakfast, but it probably tasted awful, so I held back.
Not scared of senior's backlash or anything.
Really.
Anyway.
My destination with this exploited avian laborer: a corner of the academy.
An abandoned warehouse.
The same spot the Troubleshooters had used as a hideout before.
Remote, forgotten even by the academy—perfect for a discreet chat with senior.
I'd visited a few times in the interim.
Creak.
"Senior, it's me."
As the rusty hinges groaned, wingbeats filled the space.
Whoosh.
It recognized its master and flew eagerly over—then came senior's voice.
"You're here."
"Yes. But......"
I stood frozen at the door, staring into the warehouse.
"What the hell is all this?"
"Oh, we'll be using this place a lot from now on. Figured I'd tidy it up while waiting. Not bad, right?"
"......It's fine, but."
Tidied up?
That was an understatement.
This was a full remodel, no exaggeration.
The junk strewn everywhere was gone, old shelves lining the walls vanished.
No idea how, but it gleamed—not a speck of dust.
And that's not all.
In the center sat a grand table straight out of a noble house, flanked by sofas that screamed luxury at a glance.
Shelves, a tea set, even a kettle that looked like an artifact.
And there was senior, lounging on the sofa with tea time.
"Why not just set up an office?"
Overkill for a dump like this.
But.
"Hmm, I considered it, but tradition and all that. Gotta stay in the Sage Tower, they say."
She answered dead serious.
I almost snorted, but the owl's sharp glare shut me up as I sat.
"Tea?"
"Expensive stuff?"
"Not sure. Snagged it from the dean's office. Nobles raved over it, so probably pricey."
"Then yes, please."
I sank into the plush sofa, took the cup senior offered, and savored the aroma.
Honestly, no clue if it was good or not.
'Would know if I'd tried it before.'
But expensive? Good enough.
Anyway.
"What's up? This early?"
"Why, didn't I mention? Need a favor."
Oh yeah, almost forgot.
She'd asked one in exchange for the Rapiter Library pass.
"The letter delivery?"
"Yeah, that. Had one last thing to confirm, and it's done now."
Senior's request was simple: deliver a letter to her friend. Nothing special.
No secrets, no shady factions sniffing around.
'Why entrust something this basic to me?' I'd wondered.
Worked for me, though.
But confirmation.
"What kind were you confirming?"
I squinted at her.
Something smelled off.
Trouble.
The owl next to her glared, but I glared back—senior, owl, alternating.
Her words, though, weren't so alarming.
"Wasn't sure where the guy was. Had guesses, but couldn't send you on a wild goose chase."
"Fair."
I might've grabbed her by the collar otherwise.
I'd lose, but intent counts.
Anyway, touched—just a tiny bit—by senior's uncharacteristically thoughtful side.
"But I asked around old colleagues and pinned down his spot."
"Nice. Where to?"
That tiny touch shattered.
"Hamern Great Forest."
"......Pardon?"
"Hmm, never heard? Hamern Great Forest. Origin of all magic ingredients. Every mage knows it."
"......"
Who wouldn't?
I knew.
Hamern Great Forest.
Ancient preserved wilderness.
Domain of monsters galore, yet a blessed land yielding priceless magic materials.
But my reaction soured for a reason.
"Find him in Hamern Great Forest?"
"Yeah. Shouldn't be too hard. It's got people, and a few base camps—you'll spot him quick."
"What......"
"People" meant a handful of base camps on the outskirts.
'Tour all those?'
Rapiter access was tempting, but the math didn't add up.
"Senior, sorry, but......"
"Oh, right. Forgot to mention."
As I started refusing, she pulled a parchment from her bosom.
"......?"
"A little something for my hardworking junior. Oh, what was that? 'Sorry, but' something?"
"......"
I read the parchment on the table.
[Top-Grade Elixirs x2]
[High-Grade Elixirs x5]
[Mid-Grade Elixirs x10]
......
This......
Way too generous to refuse.
"Junior, weren't you about to say something after 'sorry, but'? I'm listening. Out with it."
"......Sorry, but, well. Sorry, but......"
I stared holes through the parchment, smiling ear to ear.
"I could even drop out of the academy!"
"Haha, willing to go that far for my request?"
"That's what senior-junior bonds are for, Senior!"
"You materialistic punk."
"All thanks to you, Senior."
Hahaha.
Warm air filled the warehouse.
Who was it that said?
Even the incorruptible Troubleshooter moves for the right material incentive.
Senior's offer would sway even the purest soul.