Voice Magic #4
Voice Magic #4
I woke up in the morning, skipped breakfast, and headed straight out of the inn. I was going to meet Grace at the magic shop. There was something I wanted to ask her.
"Water—."
As I walked through the city, I tried creating a droplet. A droplet identical to the one I'd formed with the hand seal. But even with identical output, the spell's casting speed wasn't as fast as I'd hoped.
'It wasn't as if just chanting the incantation would cast the spell. You needed the preparatory step of drawing up mana first.'
You picture rune letters in your mind and let mana flow. That preparatory work was the time-consuming factor when casting Voice Magic. But at the magic shop, Grace had summoned a droplet almost instantly without even seeming to concentrate. This meant her casting speed was far faster than mine.
Was it simply a difference in experience?
Or was there some secret to speed up casting?
I really wanted to hear Grace's answer to that question. Even if it meant paying extra, I wanted to know. And I planned to convert other spells I'd learned to use voice as a medium.
The time remaining until the promotion match was now five days.
I could upgrade maybe one spell to Voice Magic in that time. The one to choose would be Liquid Magic. After all, it was the most crucial spell in the chain for creating the Water Whip.
However, when I arrived at the magic shop—
I heard some devastating news from Lili, who was working there.
"The manager? She left the city this morning. Said she had business in the trade city."
"When will she be back?"
"Well, maybe within a week? Could be longer than that. Our manager is the type who really loves to wander around outside."
Speaking of the trade city, I'd been there once for a quest.
A round trip on foot from Yoen-su to the trade city took a week alone.
Of all times to be away, why did it have to be now!
Could the person who'd promised to teach me magic just up and disappear so easily?
Thinking of Grace, who had vanished without a trace, I couldn't help but feel a bit angry. Of course, our lessons were only supposed to go on until I succeeded in Voice Magic, so I couldn't exactly blame Grace.
"What's the matter? You don't look so good."
"It's nothing. But is it true that you're managing the entire shop, Lili? That's what the manager said."
"Aunt Grace said that? I don't know how you heard it, but it's true. I manage almost everything—the inventory and the employees. Thanks to that, I'm so busy I feel like dying every day."
"Isn't that just exploiting her niece? That's straight-up child abuse—."
"It's not exploitation. In exchange, I get 30 percent of the shop's income. So I'm working in proportion to what I receive."
So she wasn't just being worked without pay.
That cleared up my misunderstanding about Grace.
Of course, that didn't change the fact that the opportunity to learn magic for a few days was gone.
"By any chance, do you know about rune letters, Lili?"
"I haven't learned about rune letters at the Magic Tower yet. Lectures related to rune letters are incredibly popular. It's really hard to register for them."
From the look of things, Lili hadn't learned about rune letters. Naturally, I couldn't expect a novice like her to perform the same techniques as the manager.
I had no choice but to walk out of the shop empty-handed.
I didn't buy a new spellbook.
Rather than learning a new basic spell in the remaining five days, I wanted to polish the magic I'd already acquired.
"Maybe the speed would increase if I kept using it."
Especially for Water Magic that used voice as a medium.
I wanted to practice it repeatedly until there was improvement.
*
Immersed in magic training, the five days flew by in the blink of an eye.
Over those five days preparing for the promotion match, I realized that my casting speed for Water Magic was gradually getting faster.
Because the knack of circulating mana through my body was improving the more I used magic.
"So, as expected, continuous practice was the answer."
That afternoon.
With Rebecca seeing me off, I set out for the Adventurer's Guild. Today was the day I'd be briefed on the promotion quest.
"Come back safe, Luke! And don't forget to buy a strawberry pie on your way back—."
Not a Melona bar, but she wanted a strawberry pie? I decided to happily grant Rebecca's request. For the past ten days, Rebecca had taken care of me to a burdensome degree. Bringing me meals, listening to my grumbling when I was tired from magic training.
It was the kind of care a girlfriend would give a guy prepping for a major exam, back in my old world.
Compared to her efforts, buying a strawberry pie was easy.
A little later, I arrived at the Adventurer's Guild.
Wendy, sitting at the reception desk, called out my name as soon as she saw me.
"Luke! You're here!"
"Today's the day I get the promotion quest, right? Should I just head to the annex?"
"Perfect timing! Let's head to the annex together. Follow me."
Wendy got up from her seat and walked out from behind the counter. Seeing her rise from her chair, I was taken aback. She didn't need to personally guide me to the annex; I knew where it was.
"You could just sit and do your work."
"Going to the annex is part of my job right now, Luke. Introducing the promotion quest is handled by the most senior receptionist."
The most experienced receptionist in the guild!
That undoubtedly meant Wendy. The years she'd put in within this guild building alone would put any other receptionist to shame.
"You're the one doing the briefing, Wendy? That's a relief."
"Why are you relieved? You don't even know the faces of your party members yet."
"True."
Wendy was right that it wasn't the time to relax yet.
I couldn't let my guard down until I confirmed the party members' information. If there was a troll mixed in among them, I'd need to come up with a countermeasure. If someone was a serious nutcase, I'd have to be ready to hit the escape button.
"Let's go, Luke!"
I followed Wendy toward the guild's annex. Unlike the main hall where quests were received, the annex was a building used solely for events. You could think of it as a sort of hall of fame. In fact, statues of famous adventurers stood at the annex entrance.
Wendy passed through a lavishly decorated corridor and led me to the annex's reception room. It was the room used to introduce promotion quests, she said.
As I stepped into the reception room, I was finally able to look over the party members who were waiting.
'A lizardman and a halfling?'
There were two people sitting in the guest seats.
A lizardman holding a spear.
A female halfling wearing a sword and shield.
Including me, that made three adventurers gathered in the room. Was I seriously supposed to tackle the promotion quest with just the three of us? No matter how I looked, neither of those two seemed to be a healer.
"Oh, one more person hasn't arrived yet—. There are a total of four adventurers undertaking this promotion match. Lizardman spearman Brut, halfling swordswoman Ally, incubus mage Luke, and finally!"
It was the moment Wendy was about to name the last party member. Right then, the reception room door burst open and someone rushed in. The instant I saw that person, I realized that a healer had finally appeared.
"Sister Kate—! You're right on time."
"I'm not late, am I? You didn't start the explanation without me, did you?"
"Of course not! Please take a seat. You can sit right there next to Luke."
"Huh? Luke?"
A familiar blonde-haired nun appeared in the reception room.
What I'd only imagined in my head had just become reality.
The Bronze-tier nun Kate had shown up for this promotion match.
I knew something felt off!
"Whoa!"
Kate, who had been panting and turning her head, soon locked eyes with me where I sat. In that moment, Kate froze like a statue. She turned to stone even though no one had cast petrification magic.
"Heh, heheh. It's Mongma-nim!"
"Sister Kate? Please take a seat. The others are waiting. You're not pulling rank here, are you?"
"I'm nooot."
Creaking like a doll with loose screws, Kate approached and sat beside me. Regrettably, there were exactly four chairs in the reception room, so she had no choice but to take the seat next to mine.
"Nice to see you."
"Yes, Mongma-nim."
Kate sat down while glancing at me nervously.
Fanning herself with her hand, Kate awkwardly struck up a conversation.
"So Mongma-nim is also doing a promotion match, I see. And to think we'd be moving together like this? Life really is a sideshow!"
"You're telling me."
Ever since the subjugation quest, running into Kate by chance had been frequent. It was as if an invisible hand was pulling us together.
"W-well, I'll be in your care."
I bowed my head in response to Kate's greeting. After that, no further conversation passed between us. After all, before we parted last time, Kate had said something that bordered on a confession. I still hadn't decided how to respond to her words.
Time passed, and Wendy's voice rang out before us.
I decided to focus on Wendy's briefing of the quest.
"One week ago, a group of orcs appeared in a village near Yoen-su. The orcs had illegally crossed the border and got into a fight with the villagers. The orcs killed the villagers and fled outside the village."
"Murder? The orcs killed people? They're not the type you can't communicate with at all."
Unlike giants, who were treated as monsters, orcs were clearly classified as a demi-human race on the continent. A race with green skin and boar's heads. As rough as their nature was, orcs didn't just go around committing murder.
"Our guild side has also gathered information on the orc group. They're criminals who committed crimes within their own tribe and fled. There's a bounty of 9 silver per orc on them. Fortunately, we managed to contact the orc tribe, so we can secure the reward for you."
"How many are there in total?"
"Five."
Five orcs meant a total bounty of 45 silver. We'd have to split it among party members, but having extra pay wasn't bad.
"Currently, the orc group is hiding in an abandoned mine near the village of Kunbilia. I've heard they occasionally come down to the village to pillage food. Your job is to eliminate the orcs hiding in the abandoned mine. That is the objective of this promotion quest."
"Is there anything special we need to watch out for? Like any particularly strong individuals among the orcs."
"We haven't received info on each individual orc. However, if a battle breaks out in the abandoned mine, there is something you all need to be careful about. The abandoned mine near Kunbilia Village used to function as a dungeon long ago. If you're really unlucky, you might get caught in a trap and find yourself in trouble. Please focus on observing the terrain and features inside the mine."
The abandoned mine had once served as a dungeon. Hearing that naturally made me wary. As far as I knew, dungeons in this world generated traps inside themselves like living creatures. While the mine was in operation, it must have been maintained, but after being abandoned, the traps might have started reappearing. I could only pray the fight with the orcs would happen outside the mine.
"Well then, I'll take my leave. Adventurers, please gather at the guild tomorrow morning and set out. And don't forget to report to me when you depart."
After conveying a few more precautions, Wendy left the reception room. Inside, only the four adventurers remained. The Bronze ranks who'd be taking the promotion match together!
"Shall we take a short break and then meet back up? We're all probably tired from focusing on the quest briefing. Let's regroup and talk about each other."
The lizardman and the halfling agreed to my suggestion. They nodded silently and left the reception room. They probably planned to get some fresh air and come back.
However, for some reason, Kate didn't leave her seat. She just sat quietly next to me.
"You're not going out, Kate?"
"M-me?"
"You can go rest outside for a bit. I'm just going to sit here."
"Then I'll just sit here quietly, too."
"Why?"
Kate fidgeted with her fingers and murmured.
"Because I want to stay by Mongma-nim's side...."