Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Experiment Arc (8)
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Three months had passed, and it was a certain day as autumn set in.
"Maggot, Bark is looking for you. Head back to the laundry room."
I stopped what I was doing at Dregs' message and returned to the laundry room, where Bark was waiting.
Screeech—
"You wanted to see me?"
He stood in front of my bundle of bedding that doubled as a pillow, beneath the ventilation window.
As I greeted him, he turned his head to look at me.
"You settling in okay here?"
Why was he suddenly curious about that?
"I never thought I'd get used to sleeping on a hard floor. But I'm fine now."
"You don't have to talk so stiffly with me."
"I'm just glad I don't have to worry about slipping up."
Like last time, Bark's manner of speaking didn't match his appearance at all.
Would he look younger without the mask? Other than Mere treating him like a limb, I knew nothing about him.
"Well, anyway. The reason I called you today is new developments. Someone's coming to Vera to teach you intermediate blue magic."
He'd finally found someone.
It had been three months since I'd reached the intermediate level of mana.
About nine months remained until the two-year deadline for learning magic.
To receive Mere's reward, I needed to master the intermediate blue magics 'Dirt Clear' and 'Preserve' within that time.
"Thank you. I'm looking forward to finally learning some magic."
"It's not something to be that grateful for. I'm just doing my job, so don't blame me later."
What did that mean? Was there something bad about it?
"Is there any reason I should?"
"Well, Preserve aside, Dirt Clear might feel like a waste. Anyway, it's not like saying it changes anything... Just come to Trading Post Room 3 by two tomorrow."
Bark, sparing his words, seemed unwilling to say more. He waved me off and left.
'The nuance of Dirt Clear suggests it's related to cleaning.'
Maybe because you can't unlearn a spell once taught, he thought it was a poor choice to use one of his five intermediate magic slots on a cleaning spell.
But I wasn't the protagonist or a side character in this novel world.
I had to scrape by day by day, knowing only the prologue.
While the silver-haired youth protagonist enjoyed academy life surrounded by his harem, I'd probably still be doing laundry here.
'I wonder what the protagonist's up to right now. I'm twenty, so is he twenty too...? By the time the story ends, I'll be lucky if all my limbs are still attached.'
So I felt no resistance. I was just satisfied with anything that let me gain even one more thing of my own.
The next day, I informed Dregs of the situation and headed to Trading Post Room 3 at the promised time of two in the afternoon.
It was right next to the room where I'd met old man Karon last time.
—Knock, knock
A clear woman's voice from inside said, "Come in."
I opened the door and entered. Bark caught my eye first, and on the sofa opposite him sat an unfamiliar woman.
She appeared to be a lively woman in her mid-twenties.
Like me, she had black hair and apricot-toned skin, and her eyes were a deep blue similar to Mere's.
She looked at me with sparkling interest.
"You're the one I'm teaching today? Nice to meet you. My name's Karashi."
Bark stood beside her, still expressionless, holding a notepad and pen.
I bowed in greeting, and Karashi leaned forward to ask,
"By the way, are you from Mercia? Your hair and skin tone are just like mine."
Before I could respond, Bark stepped in.
"Karashi, please refrain from questions unrelated to the deal."
His tone was polite but firm.
Karashi shrugged it off lightly.
"Got it, got it. I was just curious."
'I really shouldn't talk carelessly about my origins.'
I stood quietly with my mouth shut.
From her words, Mercians looked similar to me.
My eyes were dark brown, hers deep blue—a slight difference, but both dark enough not to stand out.
"Mm, first I should check your skill level? Show me any one of the spells you've learned."
I focused mana at my fingertips as instructed.
Since reaching intermediate, the mana flow felt much smoother.
"Prompt to Magic Cast— Cooling."
⟨ Cooling ⟩
A blue glow bloomed at my fingertips, encircled by a ring as the spell activated.
"When did you first learn magic? Your mana control is quick and clean."
"I started at age ten."
Karashi's eyes widened.
She seemed surprised but not particularly pleased.
No one had taught me magic after I first learned it at ten, so I'd wasted ten years.
"But I'm curious—why 'Dirt Clear' of all things? There are way cooler and more useful intermediate blue magics."
Once again, Bark cut her off.
"Karashi, that's enough questions."
"Ugh, again? Fine. I'll do it since it's work, but it's a spell I regret learning myself."
Karashi grumbled but stood and extended her hand to me, just like with old man Karon.
Her palm overlaid mine.
—Flash
"Prompt to Imaginal Circuit— Preserve."
⟨ Preserve ⟩
—Flash
Two new magic circuits surfaced in my mind's eye one after another.
At that moment, a voice Bark couldn't hear rang directly in my head.
Startled, I looked at Karashi, who winked lightly.
I hesitated briefly but nodded slowly.
A satisfied smile spread across her lips.
She raised her hand again, and I placed mine beneath it.
「Prompt to Imaginal Circuit— Balance.」
⟨ Balance ⟩
—Flash, flash, flash
Three more magic circuits poured into my mind in succession.
At that instant, Bark, who had been watching, furrowed his brow.
"What was that just now?"
Karashi replied nonchalantly, as if it were nothing.
"Huh? I passed on the spells, like you saw. All five intermediate blue magics."
"That's not part of the deal. The agreement was only for Dirt Clear and Preserve..."
"She seemed like she was from my neck of the woods, so I threw in some goodwill service. He probably loves learning magic, right? You should've said something if it wasn't allowed."
'Not from the same region, but I'm really grateful for the magic.'
Karashi was utterly unapologetic.
Bark stared at her for a moment before sighing and jotting everything down in his notepad.
I bowed deeply to her.
"...Thank you."
She nodded with a smile, no words needed.
I was stunned.
It was forced learning of designated spells with no choices, but as she said, I really was lucky.
Combining the beginner spells from Karon and these intermediates from Karashi, I'd probably made up for about five years of the ten wasted.
She patted my shoulder.
Afterward, she confirmed her return transport with Bark and clicked her tongue.
"It was my condition, but a high-speed magic carriage round trip must cost a fortune. Shadow Merchant Guild really has money to burn."
'High-speed magic carriage? A magic tool carriage that goes fast, literally?'
They must have arranged it quickly to accommodate her condition.
Even as I left the room, she waved goodbye.
She was a very kind and cheerful young lady. I hoped someday I'd be able to repay her.
And so my second magic lesson ended.
After finishing my remaining tasks, I returned to the laundry room at eight in the evening.
I'd kept calm all day, but inside I was a bit excited about learning intermediate magic.
Now it was time to let that excitement loose.
I sat on the floor and first summoned the 'Dirt Clear' circuit in my mind.
A magic circuit twice the size of beginner ones.
Examining it from the start, it didn't feel particularly special—just 'different.' But new connections between concepts emerged.
'If beginner is addition and subtraction, intermediate is multiplication and division of concepts?'
Following this pattern, advanced or special-grade might not be so hard.
Of course, that might be underestimating it.
I couldn't judge based on just the first intermediate spell, so I focused on the present.
'It's harder than I thought. If I could use a pen, drawing it out might help me feel it better.'
True to intermediate level, I couldn't achieve results in a single day like with beginners. But wrestling with the circuit each night brought small triumphs as I broke through stuck points one by one.
Slow but steady progress built up every night.
Time passed, and the day came to return to the lab.