10 – Episode 10
# 10
“Mr. Wizard! Did you enjoy your meal?”
After he made it known that he was a wizard.
Ian had been ostracized.
There seemed to be an invisible barrier, blocking the approach of people around him. No one dared to approach Ian.
‘It’s peculiar.’
Ian felt slightly hurt by the gazes of people who looked at him as if he were a monster.
If Ian had been complacent, they might have yelled, ‘Eek! A monster! Get out of our trade association!’
But there was no one here bold enough to openly reject Ian.
In fact, there was not even a single person trying to confirm if Ian was indeed a wizard.
From Noble mtl dot com
As soon as Ian said, ‘I’m a wizard,’ he became a wizard.
There was one reason for this.
When someone claims to be a noble, there are specific individuals who confirm if it’s true. Among commoners, it’s the intellectuals. Among nobility, it’s other nobles, or clergy.
But questioning someone’s status is regarded as rude and disgraceful.
For example, if someone says ‘I am a knight.’
To reply with ‘Are you really a knight?’ is likely to be received as an intense insult that questions their claims of being a knight.
It’s an immediate duel…
So nobles memorize other noble families exhaustively.
At least they have heard their names, in order not to rudely question someone who claims to be a noble.
Even though there are numerous noble families, it’s impossible to remember them all…
But in a low-life party made up of hucksters and thugs, there is no such thing as a noble detector.
So the moment Ian declared himself a wizard, he became a wizard.
No one can object because no one can refute it!
“Please give me your empty dishes. I’ll wash them for you.”
A woman flutters to Ian with a seductive voice.
Her name was Emily.
She uses the expression ‘wash’ instead of ‘rinse,’ as if to prove she’s not a prostitute. Who in the world rinses dishes?
Ian had no disgust for prostitutes, but Emily was burdensome.
It was all too obvious what Emily wanted.
She hoped to remediate her circumstances by overlapping bodies with the naive wizard!
The end goal for a prostitute is marriage. Given this ambition, it was normal for Emily to pursue Ian.
“It’s okay. I’ll do it.”
“No way~ How can a prestigious wizard like you do something as mundane as dishwashing~ Dishwashing is women’s work~”
Watching Emily wink at him sends shivers down his spine.
Ian had no intention of sharing a bed with Emily.
Primarily, it was for psychological reasons. s*x without affection was burdensome. Secondarily, it was for hygienic reasons. Because he was afraid of catching some disease.
He wasn’t sure if there was a magic to cure diseases, he hadn’t learned it.
He didn’t want to die from a venereal disease after all the hard work of becoming a magician.
“Since it’s done, give it to me.”
Ian liked to take care of his own belongings.
He had to believe in the hygiene level of these human beings.
He saw a clean well nearby. Ian picked up his bowl and stood up from his seat.
He heard a mocking laughter from behind.
“The wizard is really kind. He even does the dishes so Emily doesn’t have to.”
“Let it be. He seems to like doing the dishes.”
Ian glanced back easily.
Some punk kids dared to laugh at a magician? But the opponents were really punk kids.
The mercenaries.
People who lived day by day eating a diet of steel, they were the ones who would only tremble when a knife was in front of them, even if Ian was a magician, they were the kind who would rudely retort, “So what?”
Besides, they held the core power of this party, so he couldn’t simply disregard them.
“…”
Ian thought seriously.
Should he have Emily do the dishes in order to save his face?
But it seemed like showing weakness in one thing after another seemed even worse.
Ian shrugged his shoulders.
What’s the point in looking good to the mercenaries?
He decided to just ignore them.
Ian, carrying the dish, went off in search of water in a carefree manner.
#
Individual actions usually are forbidden, but this rule does not apply to Ian, the wizard.
He discovers a pool of water in a rock crevice and whistles.
“[Rise.]”
At Ian’s magic command, the puddle bubbled up and swelled.
The water slipped into the dish as he held it.
“[Move.]”
The water rotated by itself and automatically cleaned the dish. To manipulate a handful of water is as easy as pie.
Someone would ask: “Did you learn magic just to wash dishes?”
Ian would respond like this:
“hahahaha, this is why I learnt magic.
The water cleans the dishes automagically? How could I resist this!
If this isn’t magic, then what is!”
It was during this time, with a contented smile on his face.
“Are you really a wizard?”
A voice called out from behind out of the blue.
“Ahh! You scared me! I startled!”
Ian spun around and faltered.
Was her name Cassie? One of three travelers. Unlike the cheap feeling Emily, she has a refined aura.
But why was she here?
“Wizards get scared too?”
“First time you’ve seen a wizard get scared?”
“Well. This is my first time seeing a wizard. I’m not sure.”
Cassie took off her hood. Her beautiful dark blue hair cascaded down her like a waterfall.
She is as beautiful as an elf, a race known for its beauty.
But unlike her face, her manner of speaking was quite tactless.
“You’re nothing like I thought,” she said.
“What is?”
Taken aback by how bluntly Cash spoke, Ian was rendered speechless.
He wasn’t some character in other people’s fantasies who existed to fulfill their expectations. What did it matter if he didn’t align with what they had in mind?
“You’re saying that me following surreptitiously and then speaking out loud, doesn’t match what you thought?”
“You were just pretending, I thought.”
“… Why?”
That was a question he genuinely wanted to know the answer to.
What criteria were these fantasy folk using to judge a sorcerer?
“You’re too ordinary.”
Until then, he had been okay.
“Too kind too.”
That was the problem.
“Being kind is an issue? What kind of absurdity is that?”
Surprised by his reaction, Ian’s voice rose.
Cash’s response was even more surprising.
“Oh.”
She just fell for his ‘oh’ nonsense.
“That was a little sorcerer-like just now.”
“…what on earth do you think a sorcerer is?”
“An eccentric cranky entity.”
Speechless, Ian was left frustrated with the prejudiced views of these bizarre fantasy folks.
A sorcerer wasn’t some cranky old granny. He neither liked nor enjoyed cursing! What on earth did they even think a sorcerer was!
“You’re still too weak though.”
Cash furrowed his eyebrows slightly. Even that look was endearing.
“Do you not typically swear?”
“…Of course not.”
“I thought so. Live a little. What have you done all the way up to becoming a wizard if not even learning to curse?”
It was a comment that irritably scraped at Ian’s insides.
He felt so wronged that he wanted to introduce Erethis to the conversation.
“Do you know that the mercenaries are ignoring you?”
“Somewhat.”
Cash lightly tapped Ian’s shoulder. As his hand touched, Ian’s shoulder trembled a little.
“Go on, go act a fool. Show them a bit of backbone.”
“Why?”
In truth, the disdain of the mercenaries wasn’t crucial to Ian. As long as he passes through here unscathed, that was all that mattered.
He likely won’t see them ever again, so what does it matter if these ephemeral folks the likes of which come and go are bad mouthing him.
However, he had no choice but to lend his ear to Cash’s following words.
“When the time comes, the mercenaries will protect you.”
“…”
That was surely sound advice.
#
Ian admitted that he was mistaken about something.
Merchants like Rick naturally feared Ian. Wizards have connections with nobility and merchants cannot survive without catering to their nobles.
However, the mercenaries were different. They were loyal only to their employer, one could even say they betray them frequently.
Should the party’s situation get tough, would the mercenaries fight at the risk of their lives? Or would they run?
They would definitely run. Even if Ian’s life were at stake, the mercenaries would surely run. They are a force, but an uncontrollable one.
And Ian is the only one who can control the mercenaries here.
‘Yes. Let’s act a fool… Let’s act a fool…’
Cash’s advice was straightforward.
Instill fear in the mercenaries with violent behavior. If they fear Ian more than the enemy, they will have no choice but to fight for him.
“Mr. Wizard, did you enjoy your meal?”
Countless times she had been whimpered, yet Emily never gave up on Ian. She clung on relentlessly. It was a great chance to plant the seeds of fear into people. Ian made up his mind to act bullish. “Hey. Dish. Go wash this.” He even threw the damn dish! Emily’s eyes widened in surprise. Not because she was impressed by Ian’s charismatic behavior… but because of his sudden, bizarre behavior. She noticed Casey sneakily turning his head from afar. Ian couldn’t understand. Why? I’m doing great. And why is my face red? Am I embarrassed? Yet Ian remained confident. He threw a bowl in front of everyone! Good God, that’s merciless! This could lead to a murder! …Absolutely not. Emily, well accustomed to her superior’s abuses, felt that Ian’s behavior was natural. That’s right! Now he looks like a real mage! “Yes! Sir Mage! Leave it to me!”
“…?” Ian couldn’t understand her cringe-free reaction, completely unaffected by his actions. Does she have no pride? Is this really okay? Ian, not at all a medieval man, didn’t understand the horrors of a caste system yet. Just how beautifully varying degrees of violence melt into this society that clearly differentiates the lowly and the noble. Hee hee. The wizard ordered me to do a task. Must be nice, Emily. The mercenaries didn’t flicker their eyes. They still did not fear Ian. ‘Oh god. What to do?’ If he wanted to solve this problem, he had to pull the anger deep inside him. If he really got angry, he could go ballistic.
“But why would I be angry now? I perfectly know I’m the one in power here.” INFP Ian found it overwhelming to vent his anger. However, a clue was found in an unexpected place.
“Thoo…”
“…?”
Ian doubted his eyes.
What… what did I just see?
Emily, who had taken Ian’s bowl, locked eyes with him and spewed sticky saliva into the dish. She put in a leaf with a seductive smile.
And then, she rubbed the bowl thoroughly… Ian’s eyes rolled back.
That… that mad woman!
She spat in my bowl!
“Ah! What the hell! You damned b*tch!”
“Wh…What?”
“I told you to wash the dishes, not ruin my eating bowl!”
Grrr…
From the deepest depths of his body, Ian drew up energy and roared unsettlingly.
Scold! This mad woman!
When Ian, the wizard, shows his real anger, nature seems to resonate, revealing his emotions.
Grrr…
“Ugh!”
“What… what’s going on?”
The wind howled, the ground trembled, and falling leaves howled similar to screams.
“Mr…Mr. Wizard! I’m sorry! I made a mistake!”
Emily, taken aback, fell flat on the ground.
In truth, she had no idea what she had done wrong. When the wizard got angry, she could only beg for her life out of reflex!
“Who spit in my bowl?!”
“But, but! To clean the bowl, we need moisture…”
“Then use water! You wench!”
“But, water is dirty!”
Suddenly, Ian collapsed, clutching the back of his head.
From Noble mtl dot com
He fell due to his chronic illness, the ‘Medieval Concept of Hygiene’.
The mercenaries who were watching were terrifed.
‘What, what happened?’
Her ability to provoke him even while she was simply washing the dishes was something else!
‘This wizard is damn weird!’