A Talent Worth Coveting
Honestly speaking, I knew almost nothing about Escaide. There had been no mention of the Escaide family in any of the books I'd read back in my hometown, and the same went for every other noble house. The name itself was something I'd only heard after arriving here, thanks to that bastard Sibil. Everything I knew came from scraps of conversation I'd overheard among the mages at the tower over the past day. 'One of the Five Great Families. A ducal house. High nobility.'
I didn't know the details, but the way the mages reacted whenever Escaide's name came up made it obvious the family was both powerful and prestigious. The head of one of the kingdom's top five houses wanted to meet me?
"If it's the family head... that would be Lord Sibil's father, correct?"
"That is correct."
Hyde, the butler, pushed his glasses up and gave a slight nod.
Is this because of what happened in the library?
I've come to avenge my son! How dare you lay hands on him? Prepare to die!
The image of someone grabbing me by the collar came naturally to mind. That would have been the normal reaction from any ordinary father, but the man in question wasn't some commoner. He was the head of one of the great houses, nobility among nobles. If ordinary nobles valued honor and dignity as much as their own lives, then a high noble standing at the very peak of the power structure would value them even more.
There was no way someone of that stature would personally show up at his son's workplace over a petty children's squabble just to exact some petty, small-minded revenge. That would be far too undignified. If he'd intended to harm me, he would have sent someone else to quietly slit my throat. He's not here for some petty revenge. So what does he want from the guy who beat up his son?
Why go out of his way to meet me? I had no connection to Escaide whatsoever. I stopped trying to guess his motives. Whatever his reason, I doubted we'd be sitting down for a friendly chat. What was there to talk about with the father of that ill-mannered brat who'd picked a fight with me? I'd already said it before—I had no interest in anything outside my own field of study, and I erased anything irrelevant from my mind entirely. Other people might be thrilled at the prospect, but to me it just felt like a pointless waste of time.
After some thought, I decided to refuse as politely as possible while still respecting the family head's dignity.
"I am deeply honored that someone of your esteemed position has sought me out. However, I am merely an apprentice mage."
"......"
"How could someone as insignificant as myself possibly meet the noble and legendary hero of Escaide? The fact that you came all this way is already more than I deserve."
That line was something I'd learned from Altrong. Back when the lord of our territory was about to hold a birthday banquet and planned to invite some of the locals to hand out money and food, he'd taught me a few pointers on etiquette just in case. The way to speak in front of a lord is simple. Talk like a sycophant! Remember, the key is flattery. Always elevate the lord! In the end, I hadn't been invited to the banquet, but who would've thought I'd get to use that little lesson someday?
"Oh?"
I'd just squeezed every fancy word I could think of out of my head and activated my sycophant wording skill, but Hyde's eyes lit up with interest as he looked at me.
"For someone so young, your manners and dignity are quite impressive."
"......"
"This may be a burdensome position for an apprentice like you, but there's no need to worry. The family head did not come here to argue over what happened with Young Master Sibil. He came to offer you sponsorship."
Sponsorship? He was going to give me money?
"Where is the family head right now?"
* * *
The place the butler led me to was a café inside the tower. When I went up to the second floor, I saw a middle-aged man sitting at a table with a good view.
He's a mage.
I knew it instinctively the moment I saw him. It wasn't because of any special effects or unusual phenomena around him. He was simply sitting there quietly drinking tea, and nothing out of the ordinary was happening nearby. What was happening was inside me. It wasn't so much a matter of the senses as it was my body recognizing, through some ingrained system, that the other person and I shared the same "mage DNA."
How should I put it? It felt like instinctively recognizing another fish of the same species living in the same ocean. Mages were beings who lived in the hidden world called [Space]. [Space] was the true world where mages lived, their true homeland. In that sense, mages could be considered fellow countrymen sharing the same nationality called [Space]. That was probably why I could instinctively tell he was a mage.
"It is an honor to meet the head of Escaide."
I bowed politely, as befitting someone from the Eastern Kingdom of Courtesy. That greeting was also something I'd learned from Altrong. When greeting a lord for the first time, always add 'it is an honor'!
Whether he liked my polite attitude or not, a hint of satisfaction appeared on the man's face as he accepted my greeting.
"Thank you for coming. Have a seat."
I sat down across from him, and the butler poured tea into the cup in front of me. After the butler withdrew, the man gestured lightly toward the tea.
"Drink."
"Yes."
I took a sip from the steaming cup. Silence filled the room. It was so quiet that I could hear my own breathing—there wasn't a single other customer around. Come to think of it, I didn't see a single ant either. Had he rented out the entire café?
"My name is Kanef. I rule over the Escaide territory."
After I'd swallowed a mouthful, the man spoke up.
"I'll be direct. Are you currently receiving sponsorship from anyone, or have you been promised support from any other house?"
"No, I haven't."
"Then this would be the first time you've received an offer. You probably heard from the butler already, but I've come here to formally sponsor you in the name of Escaide."
He was a straightforward man. Kanef had sharp features and a massive, muscular build. An axe would have suited him better than a magic staff. If I had to compare him to a game character, he'd be like a barbarian warrior who went shirtless, got dressed in fancy noble clothes, studied hard, and grew into a civilized build. People really did live up to their appearances—he seemed as refreshingly straightforward as a warrior.
If the father's this decent, why is the son such a mess?
Honestly, I'd expected the father to be just like the son. Since Sibil had been so rude, I'd assumed his father would be just as arrogant and overbearing. But the man sitting in front of me was unexpectedly refined and carried himself with proper noble dignity. I couldn't understand how someone like this had ended up with a son like Sibil.
"But why would you want to sponsor me? Don't you dislike me, my lord?"
Common sense said this didn't make any sense. Giving money and favors to the guy who'd beaten up your son? What kind of parent in their right mind would do that? If anything, they'd be trying to squeeze money out of me instead.
"I heard about what happened last night. My son brought it on himself by failing to act like a proper warrior."
I let out an internal gasp of admiration. Unlike a certain stubborn old man (Altrong), this guy was incredibly magnanimous.
"Rather, I was impressed by your warrior-like courage. Even though you were in the weaker position as a young boy, you neither feared nor backed down from your senior's tyranny. You fought without submitting, protected yourself, and defended what was yours."
"When you decided to fight, you must have had a strong conviction not to yield to injustice. Am I wrong?"
"......?"
I hadn't had any grand conviction or anything. I'd just been pissed off and beat him up.
"I liked that warrior-like quality of yours. And from what I've heard, the talent you displayed far surpasses that of ordinary apprentices. There's more than enough reason and value in sponsoring you."
He'd gone on at length, but it all boiled down to one thing: Beating up my son made a good impression on me!
That's how that incident gets interpreted?
I'd wondered why he wanted to sponsor me, but he'd fixated on the most unexpected point. It was a mindset I couldn't understand with my normal way of thinking.
"Then, my lord, if I accept your sponsorship, will I have to work under Escaide later on?"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Kanef's mouth at my question.
"It would be ideal for me if you did, but it's not mandatory. There's no condition requiring you to swear loyalty to our house or follow our orders. The butler will show you the contract, but it contains no compensation or performance requirements. It's purely a sponsorship, so don't worry."
"Really? No compensation at all?"
"You seem to find that hard to believe. Have you only ever been deceived?"
......Yes, by a certain old mage.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Wherever money and resources flow, there are always strings attached."
Kanef looked at me with admiration after my clever remark, then let out a small chuckle as if amused.
"At your age, you already understand how the world works. You're a sharp one. As the head of Escaide, I swear on my name that I won't make any demands of you under the pretext of sponsorship. Does that put you at ease?"
Well, a chaebol chairman probably wouldn't lie to a kid while putting his name on the line. I'd still want to check the contract, though.
Kanef took a sip of tea and continued.
"My family has long supported talented mage aspirants and capable young mages. While some factions use sponsorship money to put a leash on people, Escaide doesn't engage in such cowardly tactics."
"......"
"As a legitimate house that has preserved the lineage of magic, we believe we have a duty to contribute to the development of the magical academic community. Investing in people is investing in the future. You can think of my decision to sponsor you as part of that house-wide sponsorship initiative. Of course, that aside......"
Kanef's eyes flashed with a dangerous glint as he looked at me.
"Honestly, I simply covet a talent like you."
* * *
After carefully reading through the sponsorship contract and receiving additional explanations from the butler, I signed it. The document was simple. Just as Kanef had promised, there were no special clauses beyond the fact that I would simply receive the sponsorship funds.
Only an idiot would turn this down.
I wasn't stupid enough to kick away a blessing that had rolled right to my feet. And this wasn't some ordinary noble house—it was one of the Five Great Houses. A great house, and a magical one at that, was offering to invest in me out of goodwill. What mage in the world would refuse that? They'd be prostrating themselves to accept.
What a windfall! Free money!
It was sweet as honey. Becoming a mage required a lot of money. If I wanted to study magic and, beyond that, conduct research and activities, I'd need funds and resources. I planned to greedily take whatever benefits came my way.
Beating up that thug paid off pretty well.
Fifteen days passed after that. During that time, I learned the next level of magic from Natasha. I spent my days reading, training on my own, and focusing on mastering magic. Even to my own eyes, my skills were visibly improving day by day, and the more I trained, the more insanely fun it became.
With the support funds from the tower, the sponsorship money from Escaide, and the assets I'd brought from home, I had a financially stable environment. I could devote myself entirely to magic without worrying about money.
Whoa! Dopamine overload!
But holing up in the library and training room could only last so long. I had duties to fulfill as an apprentice mage. After hearing Natasha's explanation of the various departments in the tower and taking some time to think, the department I chose was—
"Hello. Starting today, I'm Juno, the apprentice mage assigned to Exploration Team 3! I look forward to working with you!"
It was the Exploration Department, the number one most avoided department among mages and the undisputed champion of grueling work.