24 – Episode 24
# 24
‘A bath? They said they’re taking a bath?’
Now that the empire has collapsed, the only ones who take baths are the northerners. It’s not particularly influenced by the empire, but originally a custom of the northerners is to take a bath. Northern warriors considered it a virtue to wash themselves in the river every weekend.
However, the originator of the bath was, of course, the Golden Empire. The ancient imperial people also enjoyed baths. As befitting of civilized nations before the post-apocalypse, they supplied clean water to the bathing waters through an over-technology known as aqueducts. Their dimension was different from the primitive northerners who washed with cold water from the river. But the current imperial people of the Sacred Empire did not particularly enjoy bathing. Although it has the same name as the empire, in fact, the Sacred Empire is a completely different country from the ancient Golden Empire. They had a different race and a different history. The Pope simply acknowledged the emperor. Unless it’s a special day, Lucius doesn’t bath very much. Therefore, it took a long time for Bernard, the young lord, to understand the situation in front of him. ‘There’s chaos around, and there is a mysteriously close relation between the knights and the wizards.’ The wizard simply ended the explanation with the word, ‘They take a bath,’ but there was undoubtedly something more. Bernard is the young lord of River Ville. If there was an event, he had the right to receive a report. Even if the tourist isn’t a territory resident, that was the case. The lord had judicial rights. “Wizard! Report in more detail!” Bernard exclaimed confidently. Bernard had the right to do so. The wizard Ian responded calmly. “Sir, I’d like you to explain instead.” “Well then.” Bernard felt absurd as the old man who contradicted stepped forward. ‘What?’ I’m sure… I commanded the wizard to report? But in front of the young lord, an old man ignored me and asked someone else? Insult! This is an insult! It was the first time in his 15-year life to be treated like this! ‘How dare! Is he ignoring me?’ There are things you can and can’t do in front of a noble.
The actions of that wizard clearly crossed a line.
The nobility do not tolerate insults. Anyone who insults the nobility must pay the price in blood.
“Now, young lord, how did this…”
“Who are you?”
In response to Bernard’s question, the old man calmly bowed and spoke.
“Please, call me Elder. In my heyday, I scraped a living as a mercenary, now I am retired and help young friends with their chores.”
“Elder…”
Surely a nickname, or alias. Elder means old man. Or an elder. But how can a person’s name be old man?
In Korean style, it was a ridiculous alias like ‘Kim Old Man’.
“Elder is it?”
“Yes, young lord. So, the reason that friend is in the bath water is…”
“Why are you answering my question?”
When Bernard interrupted, Elder squeezed his eyes slightly. He didn’t show it outright, but it was an uncomfortable expression.
“I was asking that wizard.”
“I am not a wizard. I was standing in…”
“No! I will hear the answer directly from the wizard!”
When Bernard shouted, Elder tilted his head as if in thought.
But soon, he guessed what Bernard wanted.
The nobleman wants to speak directly to the wizard…?
“Aha. Is that so?”
Elder grinned.
At the same time, Sir Hanson whispered urgently.
“Young lord, leave the wizard alone and question that mercenary.”
“Quiet!”
When Bernard yelled, Sir Hanson felt pain in his chest as if a skull logo was flying at it.
No, it’s more like irritation.
Does this kid even know what he’s babbling about!
The idea that a nobleman is instigating a confrontation with a wizard …!
“Wizard! I am the rightful heir of the Kaltz family, destined to inherit the River Ville! And you dare to greet a ruler whilst naked! Get out of the water immediately, put on some clothes and start showing some respect!”
“…”
Elder chuckled lightly, while Lord Hanson covered his face with his hand.
Oh dear, that guy. Has he overstepped…?
Ian glanced at Bernard sheepishly and threw out a casual remark.
“Right now?”
“…”
Bernard wore a look of disbelief.
Everyone except Bernard was wearing a look that said, ‘well, if that’s what he wants.’
“Yes! Right this instant!”
“I don’t want to.”
Elder murmured in a small voice.
“This is just the beginning.”
A wizard who’s eccentric tends to receive high evaluations.
And there’s only one occasion when a nobleman picks a fight with a wizard: to assess the degree to which the wizard is ‘eccentric.’
From Noble mtl dot com
When a nobleman picks a fight, and a wizard shows his true colors…
It’s referred to as ‘Summoning the Wizard,’ an ancient imperial culture of the aristocrats.
#
Lucy Talian is a nobleman.
He frequently behaves somewhat unintelligently, but regardless, he is someone who was raised receiving various forms of noble education from his parents.
It was not at all surprising that among the education she received, there was a guide on ‘How to behave when meeting a wizard’. Lucy dissected what she knew about dealing with wizards and in turn, taught Ian the ‘Guide for a wizard when meeting a noble’. When a noble and a wizard meet, they perform a show called ‘Calling out a wizard’.
“Calling out a wizard?”
“Yep. To put it simply, ‘calling out a wizard’ is a process of identifying a wizard.”
The origin of ‘calling out a wizard’ is uncertain, but it’s believed it began around the era of Maronious, the Grand Wizard (yes, the same person who invented Maronious Earl). In times when magic was still unfamiliar, there were many fake wizards in the world who pretended to master intimidating magic, threatened nobles, and ripped them off.
So the nobles devised a procedure to provoke the wizard and test their magical prowess. It’s called ‘Calling out a wizard’. A noble who meets an unfamiliar wizard publicly insults them to disgrace them. Then the wizard either quietly leaves or displays their magic skill to chastise them.
A wizard who quietly leaves may be either weak or a fraud. If a wizard shows their skills, the noble apologizes for their mistake and treats the wizard with great respect.
Because this ‘show’ was popular during the Golden Empire period, ‘Calling out a wizard’ became a sort of custom among the nobles. Reversely, not doing so was taken as not treating the wizard properly.
Even commoners, as ‘Calling out a wizard’ became too well-known, came to think that a quiet and gentle wizard is unskilled.
“That’s why I thought you were a worthless wizard when I first saw you.”
“…”
From Ian’s perspective, this was an exhausting tradition.
Nevertheless, now.
When Bernard grumbled and raised his voice, Ian thought ‘the tradition’ had started.
‘That must be… definitely calling out a wizard, right?’
“Wizard! I am the rightful heir of the Caltz family, destined to inherit River Ville! You have the audacity to greet a ruler in your bare state! Come out of the water and change your clothes right now!”
A brat who looked no older than middle school was shouting, and irritation poured over.
For the record, Bernard is now going through puberty. The awfulness of a boy’s voice during puberty is difficult to describe with any justice. Their inherent oddness bursts forth spontaneously.
“Now?”
“… Yes! Right now!”
“I don’t want to.”
As Bernard puts on a shocked face, Ian admires him. Oh, his acting is quite good? There’s no way he can lose this. Impressed by Bernard’s performance, Ian puts his all into playing a quirky magician.
“Why me, noble lord. Am I your servant?”
“Ho, how, how dare you? Who, who do you think you’re speaking to?”
“I’m speaking to you, young master. Who are you to order me to rise and fall, young master?”
Ha, ha, ha!
The spectators burst into laughter.
‘Summoning a magician’ is not a spectacle that people can see every day, especially when the nobleman is legally abused. So, the nobles usually summoned magicians in a special area where only nobles could go – all because it was embarrassing. Only a mental masochist likes being insulted in front of others.
However, Bernard started ‘Summoning a magician’ in the backyard of an inn where everyone could see. These were not the kind of people to miss such an exciting spectacle.
Bystanders sat down in groups to watch the ‘Summoning of a magician’. The number of people who gathered because of the recent commotion was staggering.
As the laughter of the lowly citizens echoed, Bernard’s face turned bright red.
‘Have, have these people collectively gone mad!’
“How can you laugh when your Lordship is being insulted? Hmm? Do you all wish to be executed?”
Sir Hanson sighed deeply, looking at Bernard, whose face was turning red.
‘What an idiot…’
On a busy street crowded with people, it was quite predictable what would happen if a noble insulted a wizard.
Did the noble think that if they raised their voice, the wizard would say ‘Oh, my apologies!’ And lower his head?
‘Ah! So you’re calling out the wizard!’ The wizard would retaliate!
In the calling of a wizard, the noble always ended up being humiliated. This was an unwritten rule that could not be changed, even by an emperor.
In any case, if a noble called out a wizard first and one party broke the rule, the news spread immediately among the wizard community. ‘That impudent person!’ they’d call him.
A noble who was disliked by a wizard had no future.
Ever since the birth of magic, this was an immutable truth.
“Sir Hanson! Drag that arrogant wizard here at once! Make him kneel before me!”
“…”
The expressions on the faces of the laughing spectators turned sour. The previous statement had clearly crossed the line.
This was not what the people wanted to see.
‘Calling out the wizard’ was a sort of show, and the public’s opinion inevitably affected it, which in turn directly linked to a noble’s reputation.
Sir Hanson began attempts to manage the situation before it got worse.
“Young Lord.”
“What is it!”
“That’s not the way to do it.”
“…?”
“Calling out the wizard. That’s not the way.”
“Ca, calling out the wizard?”
As expected, unfortunately.
Bernard didn’t know how to summon a magician.
No, he didn’t even know that he was in the act of summoning a magician…
Sir Hanson heaved a deep sigh and stepped forward. It was distasteful to become a spectacle in front of others, but it was a common rule that employees had to clean up the messes made by their bosses.
Well, what can one do. If it’s too complicated, you should just become the boss.
Sir Hanson loosened his collar and stepped forward.
“Ahem. Magician, hear me out! Judging from your monstrous appearance, it seems you’re not the proper magician we anticipated! It’s not too late, retreat before the young master orders you to leave!”
A conventional, neat, and perfect comment.
At Sir Hanson’s mediation, the onlookers burst into smiles, as did the knights, Lucy, and Ian.
Oh wow, he knows how to have fun.
There are rules to follow in every show. Depending on how well these rules are adhered to, it can either become a masterpiece or a failure.
To put it bluntly, it’s scary how good he is.
The taste of Hanson’s comment was certainly that of knowledge.
That’s why it was so delicious.
“What? Are you calling me a fraud right now!”
Ian cried out, recalling his childhood memories.
Thinking about it, as soon as he met his mentor, he said, ‘I don’t think you’re a real magician.’ Did I actually summon a mini magician? Suddenly feeling guilty, Ian reflected.
“[Rampage!]”
As Ian uttered the magic phrase, the surrounding mysteries shuddered without mercy.
The wind blew ruthlessly, the fireplace exploded, and the sand crawled about.
“Oh!”
“The magician is enraged!”
As if they had all agreed ahead of time, the spectators simultaneously broke into applause. This was the climax of the show.
The angry magician had shown his powers, and now it was time for the nobleman to show respect.
“Enough! I acknowledge your ability! I apologize for our rudeness!”
As Sir Hanson shouted, Ian stopped the magic.
There wasn’t particularly any anger, nor was there a particular feeling of remorse, but one side offered an apology and the other accepted it. The summoning of the mage had ended.
“I must apologize again for failing to recognize a splendid mage like yourself.”
“It’s okay, you recognized it now at least.”
Ian spoke in a rather wizardly manner.
It seemed rude, but given the atmosphere around her—laughter and exclamations of, ‘Ah! That’s a real mage, isn’t it! Kekeke!’—Ian just nodded by himself.
Thinking about it, everyone here seemed to have gone mad.
“… Sir Soyoungju.”
Duke Hanson poked the back of Bernard, who was standing still.
“Uh, huh?”
For the first time in his life, Bernard had witnessed magic and was in a state of shock.
How shocking it must have been to see nature moving at the will of humans.
‘What’s this? Still not satisfied?’
Ian tilted his head at Bernard’s lukewarm reaction.
The summoning of the mage, hadn’t it ended?
Ah, I see. You want to see more of my magic!
“Hey, you brat!”
“Me, is it me?”
“Yes, it’s you! Why are you standing there stupidly? Do you want to experience my magic?”
Ian summoned pure darkness, holding it in his fingertips. His intention was clear: let’s wrap this up now.
It briefly appeared to be magic harboring a terrifying curse…but to anyone who had seen Ian’s shadow magic, they knew this was just plain darkness.
However, Bernard, who was exposed to magic for the first time, felt chills run down his spine and experienced tremendous fear.
That darkness looked so malevolent, as if it would rot flesh upon contact!
Overwhelmed by fear, Bernard looked at Ian.
His hair and pupils were pitch black, giving the impression of an evil magician writhing in nefarious flames.
“I, I am Bernard, the young master! If you, if you dare touch me, my father will not let it pass…”
“A man your age still hiding behind his father. Aren’t you ashamed? Or do you not care because you’re just a kid?”
hahahahaha!
Jeers from the common folk poured out. Bernard’s face turned bright red.
He is a sensitive adolescent, unable to control his emotions.
“… Huh..”
“??”
“Waaa…”
Overwhelmed by surging sorrow, Bernard burst into tears.
Ian was truly taken aback.
‘Why the hell is this kid crying?’
He hadn’t accounted for Bernard crying.
By his side, an old man named Elder burst out laughing.
“You’re really odd! Even if you are as you are! How could you make the young master cry in public! Ha ha ha!”
“You stupid old man. Is this a laughing matter?”
Ian swallowed hard.
Oh, hell. This ain’t good.
Am I about to be executed by the furious Count Kaltz?
Wkwk