Chapter 5: I Want to Learn Magic
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 5: I Want to Learn Magic
After spending a night at the inn, we made our way to the Mage's Association, located in the heart of the city.
The association building was teeming with people in robes, wide-brimmed pointed hats, and staffs. Their outfits practically screamed, "I'm a scholar."
When Mirabelle, in her maid outfit, and I walked in, all eyes turned to us. Mirabelle, with her timid nature, shrank under the sudden flood of attention.
I took the lead, and she scurried behind me, hiding in my shadow. As I approached the counter, a female scholar flashed a customer-service smile brimming with practiced hospitality.
“Welcome. What brings you to the Mage's Association?”
“I’m here to see if I have an aptitude for magic.”
“You mean for the cute maid behind you, right?”
“Haha, what a kidder. No, it’s for me.”
That was a lie.
I was, of course, here to test Mirabelle’s aptitude for magic.
Project: Make Mirabelle a Great Witch.
Confirming she had a talent for magic was the first step.
Of course, I already knew Mirabelle possessed magical talent without needing any test. And not just any ordinary talent, but that of a Great Witch, the kind of prodigy born once in a millennium.
But I had no way of explaining how I knew that. If I just suddenly told her, "You should become a witch," what would she think?
She’d be suspicious, obviously. She already found me shady because of my name.
So, the plan was to pretend I was here to get my own aptitude tested and have Mirabelle, who was with me, get tested as well. That way, we would "discover" her talent, and she would set foot on the path of magic.
“We can perform the test, but it isn't free. It will be 50 silver. Is that acceptable?”
“Of course.”
The clerk gave me a dubious look, asking for confirmation again. A mage’s talent must be honed from a young age to truly blossom. At my age, in my mid-twenties, I was far too late.
But you never know.
I was transmigrated into another world, after all. Maybe I had some kind of hidden perk.
I handed her a gold coin. When the clerk tried to give me change, I told her to give it to me after the test was over. It would just be a hassle since Mirabelle had to be tested anyway.
The clerk brought out a crystal orb the size of a human head. It was the kind of magic tool that often serves as a power-level scouter in fiction—the kind that always shatters when the protagonist touches it, prompting exclamations of, "What, this much mana?" or "All seven elements at once?"
“Place both hands around the orb, as if you’re cradling it. Then, pour your mana into it.”
I did as the clerk instructed. Straining as if I were trying to take a dump, I felt my mana begin to move.
The orb, having consumed my mana, flickered for a moment.
Oh, a reaction?
Could this be it?
“Did you see that flash just now? This has to be talent.”
“No, it’s the exact opposite. It flashed because there was no reaction after a long wait. It’s a feature to show that the device isn’t broken.”
“Excuse me?”
What kind of useless feature was that?
“You don’t have a speck of talent. It’s not easy to be this untalented. You’re talented at having no talent.”
The clerk’s deadpan, scathing critique shot a magic missile straight through my heart. Right, what was I thinking? I should just stick to what I know.
“Since you’re here, why don’t we have Miss Mirabelle give it a try?”
“Huh?”
“I’d like to have this child tested as well, please.”
“Very well. We’ll use the gold coin you already paid to cover the cost.”
With the clerk and I playing our parts, Mirabelle, who could never assert herself, was swept along like a buoy. Before she knew it, her hands were resting on the crystal orb.
“Now, try putting your mana into it, dear.”
Guided by the clerk’s much gentler tone, Mirabelle channeled her mana as if carried by a current. The orb was quiet for a moment, but then it began to fill with a vibrant, five-colored light.
“Oh, my?”
Ignoring the clerk’s puzzled sound, Mirabelle continued to pour her mana into the orb. The light didn’t just fill the sphere; it erupted outward, bathing the area in a dazzling radiance.
CRACK!
“Aah!”
Finally, the orb exploded, sending shards flying in every direction.
Just as I expected.
Mirabelle was the real deal, the makings of a Great Witch.
I couldn't let on that I knew, so I had to play dumb.
“What just happened? The orb exploded. Was it defective? See, doesn’t this mean I actually do have talent?”
“Not in a million years. This… on the contrary, it seems her magical talent was so immense the orb couldn’t handle it. I’ve never seen a case like this…! Please wait a moment. I must inform the Association Head.”
The clerk scurried off somewhere in a panic.
Mirabelle looked just as surprised as anyone, unable to hide her anxiety. She fidgeted, her hands unable to stay still.
I offered a word of encouragement, hoping to tell her, You’re an incredible person, so stop cowering and stand tall.
“So talented it broke the orb. This might be worth more than a thousand gold coins.”
“……”
The clerk returned as quickly as she had disappeared.
“The Association Head wishes to see you himself. Please follow me this way.”
We followed the clerk to the Association Head’s office on the second floor. A middle-aged scholar with a benevolent face and round glasses was waiting for us. Mirabelle and I sat side-by-side on the sofa.
“Welcome. I’ve heard the story from my clerk. This cute young lady shattered a mana-measuring orb, did she?”
“It seems that’s what happened. I hear our Mirabelle has a talent for magic. Is that true?”
“We’ll need to conduct more detailed tests to be certain, but it’s clear she has talent. Which is why I have a proposal for you. I would like to teach the child magic.”
“Hmm?”
Everything was going according to plan, but I pretended to think it over. As a merchant, just accepting an offer gratefully is the worst possible move. In any situation, one must first play for time and negotiate.
“Even so, teaching magic to a slave is a bit…”
“A s-slave? I thought she was an ordinary maid…”
“The shackles are bad for aesthetics.”
The Association Head’s face fell, as if the thought of Mirabelle being a slave had never crossed his mind. This was a golden opportunity to produce a world-shaking mage from his very own association.
Later, when Mirabelle became a Great Mage, he could take the position of her mentor, boasting, "I was the one who raised that child."
But Mirabelle was a slave. She couldn't learn magic without my permission.
Still, it was an opportunity he couldn't let slip by. The Association Head composed himself and began to persuade me.
“Young Master, there are more people who keep mages as slaves than you might think. They can serve as guards, or you can send them into dungeons to earn money.”
“I’m well aware. Just knowing how to use magic makes them trade for a high price.”
“Therefore, if this child learns to wield magic, it will be of great benefit to you, Young Master. You’ll have a mage slave without having to pay a hefty price.”
“Hmm… now that you mention it, that’s true. What do you think, Miss Mirabelle? Do you want to learn magic?”
I asked for Mirabelle’s opinion.
Her answer was, naturally…
“N-No… I d-don’t want to.”
It was a no.
*
Mirabelle’s heart pounded so hard it hurt. She felt like a criminal on the run who had just come face-to-face with a city guard.
A cold sweat trickled down her skin.
She couldn’t control her expression.
Learn magic?
Mirabelle knew better than anyone that she was a witch. For her, that fact was the starting point of all her tragedies.
So she didn’t want to learn magic. She didn’t want to nurture the seed of tragedy that had stolen her mother’s life with her own hands.
That’s why she said no.
She was a slave, so if Karami ordered her to learn, she would have no choice. But since he had asked for her opinion, she answered honestly.
“Hmm, she says she doesn’t want to. I may not look it, but I care for my slaves a great deal. I don’t want to force her to do something she dislikes.”
“Young Master, can’t you persuade her somehow?”
“Persuade her…”
Karami’s narrow, unreadable eyes fell upon Mirabelle. She flinched, her small body trembling as she lowered her gaze.
“Miss Mirabelle, I don’t know what you’ve been through in the past, but I do know that you were abandoned by your father. He sold his own adorable daughter, didn’t he? What a wretched man.”
“……”
“Miss Mirabelle, don’t you want to get revenge on the man who abandoned you?”
“…What?”
The suggestion came out of nowhere.
Mirabelle’s head snapped up.
Her eyes met Karami’s.
“You learn magic and go find him with your head held high. You ask him why he abandoned you that day. You tell him you lived a life of hell because of him. And then, you pay him back in kind.”
Mirabelle’s ears twitched. She wasn’t sure what Karami was saying, but one word from his sentence pierced her eardrums like a dagger.
Revenge?
Revenge on my father?
I can get revenge on the man who, despite being my father, sold his own daughter into slavery just because she was a witch?
I can get revenge on the man who rendered my mother’s sacrifice a worthless, futile act?
“Is that… really okay?”
“Of course. I, your master, permit it. If you agree to learn magic, Miss Mirabelle, I will find that man for you.”
In that moment, life returned to Mirabelle’s dead eyes.
The eyes of a person with a clear purpose in life are bound to shine brighter than anything else in the world, and Mirabelle’s were no exception.
With newfound resolve, Mirabelle declared,
“I… I want to learn magic.”
And I will become a witch.
I’ll become a witch, just like my mother, and get revenge on the father who abandoned me. Deep within her, Mirabelle’s dormant magic began to stir.