The Trial of Nistrond and the Naked Half-Elf

The day after I safely completed the Trial of Nistrond.

Morning came, and I found myself meeting with Temple Master Lawrence again.

When I visited Odin's shrine, Lawrence welcomed me exactly as he had when we first met.

"Luke. We meet again after a fortnight. I heard the news that you passed the Trial of the Quarterstaff. Clearing the trial in a mere fourteen days is the first such record among our Rune Mages. Congratulations on setting a new record."

Word that I had passed the trial last night seemed to have already spread among the members as a rumor.

On my way to the shrine where Lawrence resided, every member I passed stared at me with an expression of wonder.

Temple Master Lawrence also regarded my accomplishment with keen interest.

After greeting Lawrence, I opened my mouth.

"Thank you for the congratulations. But I heard that you called for me because of your daughter, Delia. Just what is it you want to tell me about her?"

"Ahh, I heard that my daughter apologized to you in the middle of the temple. And in front of the watching members, no less."

I immediately realized which apology Lawrence was talking about.

A fortnight ago, Delia had apologized to me when I entered the temple.

At the time, it wasn't a naked dogeza, but Delia had apologized to me with the members watching.

For the heir of an organization, that amounted to a disgrace.

"In other words, my successor's face was dragged through the mud. There has been considerable talk among the members about her bowing her head to a mere Incubus. Delia was already a child who received harsh evaluations from the members for being immature."

"She did seem to have a bit of a childish side."

"I suppose indulging her as her parent has come back to bite us. At any rate, the reason I called you here was to ask that you put that apology out of mind. I have also ordered the members who were making a fuss to keep silent. I wish to prevent a stain from forming on my daughter."

In short, Lawrence called me here to keep my mouth shut.

He was telling me to keep quiet about the fact that Delia apologized in the middle of the temple.

If I went outside and blabbed to the whole neighborhood about receiving an apology, the organization's prestige would be severely damaged.

'So the daughter of Nain Gard's Temple Master actually bowed her head to an Incubus?'

'How humiliating.'

Delia's already rock-bottom honor would plummet all the way to the planet's core.

A blemish forming on the half-elf meant to become the organization's leader would be a serious matter.

Of course, it wasn't any of my business.

I had no intention of joining Nain Gard anyway.

"Will you grant this old man's request?"

"You don't have to request it. I received the apology properly. And I already promised Delia that we would treat that incident as if it never happened. I've long since shaken off any hard feelings."

"Thank you. That is all I wished to discuss. However, I can no longer simply let you leave today. I cannot allow a Rune Mage who set a new record for passing the trial to waste his time on mere adventurer's work."

"Excuse me?"

Mere adventurer's work?

Was he looking down on adventurers just now?

I was slightly nettled, but you can't exactly get angry in front of an old monster who has lived as a mage for two hundred years.

I kept ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my mouth shut and sat still, whereupon Lawrence held out a high-quality piece of parchment to me.

"Read it carefully. I shall give you an opportunity to become a member of our Nain Gard."

What he wanted me to read were the parchment's contents.

Taking the parchment, I realized it was a contract used when recruiting new members.

On the tough parchment, the conditions for recruiting me as a member and the compensation to be paid by Nain Gard were densely written.

"Hmm."

I slowly read the contract.

Certainly, the compensation provided to members was so splendid that he could call adventurer work 'mere.'

If you were injured while conducting magic research, proper insurance would cover it, and after retirement, a pension would be paid out regularly.

Above all, the monthly salary was so tremendous it made your eyes pop.

If I judged purely by pay, I'd quit being an adventurer right now and live as a magic drone here.

But a critical clause meant I couldn't become a member.

"Work even on holidays? Does that make any sense?"

"As you are aware, there are no holidays at Nain Gard. It is because we devote ourselves to research three hundred sixty-five days a year to restore the legacy left by the progenitors of magic. I understand the members' hardship, but there are unavoidable circumstances. For us Rune Mages, 'time' is rather short."

"What do you mean by 'time is rather short'?"

"......."

Lawrence closed his mouth for a moment and looked at me with a calm smile.

I couldn't figure out just why these people devoted their lives to magic research.

"That, I cannot tell you. If you serve as a member for a long time, I may be able to give you a hint."

"How long would I have to serve?"

"Nine years."

It was absurd.

In the end, it meant he couldn't even properly tell me why I had to live as a magic drone.

Anyway, even without hearing the reason, I hated the idea of being exploited as a researcher.

"I'm sorry, but I'll just continue my adventurer work. The money I earn is less than here, but at least I get holidays. And there's a lady boss at the guild who takes good care of me."

"I hope you will make a wise choice. To grow as a Rune Mage, you must eventually borrow the strength of an organization. All Ancient Magic on the continent has been monopolized by Nain Gard since ancient times. The mere fact that you can never obtain a quarterstaff anywhere else should illustrate that."

Lawrence seemed determined to recruit a talent like me by any means necessary.

He was trying to bind me to him, even mentioning the monopoly on ancient knowledge.

Any other Rune Mage with a desire for growth would have no choice but to be swayed.

Nain Gard is the only place that seriously researches Ancient Magic.

For a full five hundred years since its founding, research into Ancient Magic has been conducted here. As a Rune Mage, you can't help but covet an organization's research materials or teachings on magic.

"What will you do? If you leave the temple now, there will be no mage to guide you. It means you must live as a half-baked Rune Mage who knows no Ancient Magic."

Lawrence asked me whether I would stay at the temple or leave.

The contract Lawrence had handed over was still in my hand.

"I don't need a mage to guide me. Self-study alone is sufficient for me, Temple Master."

"Self-study, you say...?"

I returned the contract to Lawrence.

Having received the parchment contract back, Lawrence stared at me with an expression of incomprehension.

Even the Archmage who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had lived two hundred fifty years seemed unable to understand my current action.

Of course, I didn't want to be understood either.

If I revealed the magic book Rumi I was carrying, every Rune Mage in this temple might suddenly turn into a thief.

To a mage, Rumi was that much of an irreplaceable treasure.

"I plan to look at the book and study on my own. And it's not just ordinary self-study."

"You are taking Ancient Magic too lightly. The Ancient Magic left by the Aesir is a discipline that surpasses human wisdom and insight. Learning it through self-study is an impossibility for a human."

"Where in this world does anything impossible exist?"

I rejected Lawrence's recruitment offer to the very end.

However, this old man's greed for talent pierced the heavens, and he kept on persuading me.

During the persuasion, the offered compensation kept increasing.

For a full hour, I conversed with Lawrence.

After talking for an hour, my mouth was dry and my throat was sore.

Finally, as if understanding that I would rather die than live as a magic drone, Lawrence released me.

"In the end, it means you would rather die than become a member. You may leave the temple. Of course, do know that Nain Gard will always welcome your joining."

It was the first time the word 'welcome' gave me the creeps.

Actually, I had noticed after reading the contract carefully.

This was a terrible organization that was easy to enter but not so easy to leave.

There were dozens of confidentiality clauses attached to the contract, so even if you resigned, you would live under surveillance.

I instinctively realized I'd be fucked if I set foot in here just for the money.

So I made my refusal perfectly clear now.

"Thank you for granting me access to Nistrond. I will now take my leave for the port city. My party is waiting for me there."

"Ah, you mean Bellatrix. She is an old friend of my daughter. Please convey my apologies to that child for refusing the contract."

"Yes."

I bid farewell to Lawrence and exited the shrine.

I had arrived in the morning and conversed, but before I knew it, time had passed and the sun was high in the sky.

"Incubus! Are you really just leaving?"

As I opened the temple's main gate and stepped outside, Delia called out to me.

Having heard the news that I was leaving and chased after me, Delia's body was drenched in sweat. She seemed to have run urgently all the way to the main gate.

"Yeah, I'm going now."

"Didn't the Temple Master make you a recruitment offer? Don't tell me my father just let a mage who passed the trial in record time leave like that?"

"Your father did make a recruitment offer. But I refused. I'll be continuing adventurer work."

"R-Refused?!"

Delia stared at me as if she were looking at a madman.

"So you're going to live as a wandering mage your whole life? How can you live as a mage without a proper teacher! Self-studying Ancient Magic is impossible!"

"I'll do that impossible thing myself."

"Stop talking nonsense and get back in here!"

Delia and I faced each other with the threshold of the open gate between us.

Delia waved her hands, gesturing for me to come in, but I ignored her outright.

Then Delia opened her mouth with a disgruntled expression.

"I-Is it because you hate me? Are you leaving this place because you can't stand the sight of me?! I even apologized to you naked!"

"It's not that."

I stared blankly at Delia as she jumped to conclusions about my reason for leaving.

In her hand was a neatly laundered handkerchief. It seemed she had washed the handkerchief I told her to keep cleanly and brought it.

"I- I'll return this handkerchief too...."

"You can keep it. I told you, it's a cheap handkerchief, so I don't need it."

There was no more time to talk.

I had to return to Bella's side as soon as possible and carry out the escort quest.

I turned my back and descended the long staircase leading below the temple's main gate.

It was the moment I arrived on the long road stretching out below the stairs.

"Hey! Blonde Incubus!!"

Delia's voice came from above the stairs.

Delia, watching me leave the temple, waved the handkerchief.

"Forget the cheap handkerchief—! I'll come return it in person later, so wait! I'll bring one a hundred times more expensive to trade!"

I tried to say she didn't have to return it, but it was useless.

In the blink of an eye, Delia vanished from the top of the stairs and went back inside the temple.

The sound of the main gate slamming shut, hard enough to break it — BOOM! — could be heard all the way down here.

'A handkerchief a hundred times more expensive, huh.'

Since she said she'd bring it personally, I'll probably end up meeting that half-elf again.

When we meet again, I hope she refrains from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠running wild like a beagle.

'If she picks a fight when we meet again, I'll make her take a naked stroll then.'

Making a firm resolution, I walked along the road leading to the port city.

The temple wasn't that far from the port city.

Even on foot, I'd probably arrive in about three hours.

It was after I had walked for a long while, when the temple was no longer in sight.

After confirming there was no one around, I spoke to Rumi for the first time in a long while.

"Rumi."

[What is it, Master Mage?]

After visiting the temple, there was something I wanted to ask Rumi.

It was a question that arose because of the statue of Odin I saw in the shrine.

Because its impression perfectly matched the old man who gave me the magic book.

I wanted to know what kind of relationship the old man had with Odin, but I held it in until I left the temple.

If I asked a question about the old man, it seemed like I'd end up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠conversing with Rumi for quite a long time.

Now there was no one around, so I could ask.

"I want to know about the elder who gifted you to me."