35 – Episode 35.
# 35
Ian watched the Manticore’s substantial body burn away and let out a yawn. No matter how large the monster, it was burned and died without a fight. Its muscles melted and the respiratory system crippled, leaving it without any power to resist.
Fire, indeed, is something terrifying, so let’s all be mindful and cautious.
“Aigo! Thank you, sirs!”
The knights busily went around, taking care of the farmers. The farmers, who had had a brush with death, shed tears of gratitude.
Mani, too, had done a great job, neutralizing the poison of the Manticore. As Mani was a neighbor to some of the farmers, they were not stingy with their thanks.
But… no one approached Ian.
Only one person did.
“Uh… Thank you for your help, Wizard.”
“… Ah. Yeah. Whatever.”
But Ian, being an INFP, didn’t enjoy meeting strangers. As Ian’s response was cold, the farmer was intimidated.
To be honest, Ian’s appearance was that of a perfect wizard.
The suspicious staff, the crow on his shoulder, not to mention his jet-black hair as dark as a crow’s!
“Ah. Oberon. Get down. You’re heavy.”
[How could you say that! How could a little bird like me be heavy!]
“You’re far from light. You’re as big as a chicken.”
… And that strange sight of him having a conversation with a crow!
The farmer hurriedly dodged out of the way before Ian’s mood worsened. Didn’t that wizard just incinerate the Manticore? The farmer was honestly scared he might get torched too if he annoyed the wizard.
For that reason, Ian didn’t receive gratitude from the farmers.
But he didn’t seem to mind.
It wasn’t like he started all this to receive thanks anyways.
“Ian, lad. You did well.”
“Ah, I didn’t do a thing. It was you who did all the hard work, sir.”
At that elder’s remark, Ian giggled.
He knew it was the knights’ job to do the heavy lifting but Ian, who’d just sat back and enjoyed the show, was totally high on the sweetness of being a wizard.
Man, it sucked learning it. But it’s so sweet once you’ve mastered it.
Become a wizard, guys. You’ll love it twice as much.
“If you hadn’t helped, we would still be looking for the Manticore,” he said.
The elder bowed his head.
Ian, startled, stood up from his seat. As a follower of Confucianism from a city of scholars, Ian was not used to seeing an elder bow his head.
“Well, I just followed because Mani told me to.”
“hahahaha, if you say so,” the Elder smiled happily at the flustered wizard in front of him.
The words wizard and humility did not go together, just as words and horns didn’t, but like unicorns, humble wizards did exist. Ian was just such a humble wizard.
Tremendous ability and humble personality…
Both were qualities to be admired by nobles.
‘He will become a great man someday.’
The Elder was certain that Ian would become a famous wizard.
If he met a good ruler, he could be as influential as a noble.
“Now that things have turned out well, stay in the village tonight. I’m sure the Earl will send someone soon.”
The knights of St. James and two wizards stayed in a nearby farmer’s village.
As the elder had predicted, an envoy from the earl came to confirm the body of the Manticore.
“The Earl has ordered that the distinguished guests be taken to the castle!”
“hahahaha, when asked directly, there’s no way to refuse, right?”
Ian and his party moved towards the Earl’s castle.
The earl and his followers, priests, and… even Lucy Tallian were already there to greet Ian’s party.
“Welcome, brave warriors!”
Count Katina welcomed the party with a warm smile.
#
In honor of the warriors who successfully hunted the monster, the Earl hosted a grand feast.
The servants sweated as they roasted a whole pig barbecue, and the knights laughed and feasted on meat and drinks.
The atmosphere of the feast was bound to be good.
Firstly, Count Katina.
He had managed to get rid of the monster that had been a nuisance to his territory at virtually no cost. When considering the fact that the hunters sent previously had failed, this was a remarkable achievement.
Again, the priests of the territory.
As the ones who recommended the Knights of Saint James, the priests were in a position of increased importance. They were more than pleased, having protected the Count’s pocket and vanquished the monster.
Finally, the Knights of Saint James.
Risking their lives to slay the monster, they must have been thrilled at the prospect of being rewarded in kind.
“To stand against a monster in the name of Heaven! What virtuous men! hahahahaha!”
“You flatter us, Count!”
Among the Knights of Saint James, those of secular concern were settled beside the Count, exchanging drinks.
“Ah. Hearing of your heroic efforts truly astonishes me.”
Count Katrina, boosted by the spirit in his own cup, lavished compliments on the knights.
Who in the world dislikes praise? The knights contentedly accepted the Count’s hosannas.
“It’s truly regrettable. If I had brave knights like you by my side… it would truly reassure me…”
“…”
“But how could I condemn knights following Heaven’s will to this sinful world!”
The Count, having prepared his speech, took in the knights’ expressions.
Praising the knights under the guise of drunkenness, feigning regret, it was all part of his plan.
Not all knight monks are devoted solely to faith.
Being human, they also seek power, wealth, and women.
The Count smirked at the swaying knights. Some of them, close to tipping over. There was no need to push everything now, so the Count changed the subject.
“Wizard Mani, thank you for helping our brave knights. I will take responsibility for ruining the farmers’ barley crops.”
“It’s not like I did it for your sake, Count. If you had shown some concern from the start, there would have been no need for me to step in!”
Forced to join the hunt because of the priests, Mani was not in a particularly good mood.
Aware of this, the Count did not attempt to provoke the wizard any further.
“Now that we’ve caught it, it’s all done, isn’t it?”
“Anyway, as I was saying…”
The Earl, glancing at Eian who was sitting next to Mani, rose from his seat.
A clearly unfamiliar magician.
It was time to initiate ‘that tradition.’
“But I see a stranger who has dared to step into my castle without my permission?”
The Earl stared at Eian.
Now it’s your turn, magician.
But Eian… was so focused on eating his meal that he didn’t even pay attention to what the Earl was saying.
Oberon cawed loudly.
[Is that chap calling my master?]
“What?”
Eian was responding to Oberon, but to those who couldn’t hear the crow’s voice, it naturally appeared he was responding to the Earl.
‘Oh, such a direct tone.’
‘So bold! That magician!’
The Earl was slightly taken aback by the audacity of the young lad’s disregard for formality. However, he collected himself, thinking this, too, was part of their tradition.
“…I never invited you as my guest, so begone, crow.”
“Hey, Oberon. You heard him tell you to scram?”
[Surely he was telling you, master!]
“Ah. You seriously think he’s telling me to scram?”
The knights seemed familiar with this dynamic, but to the earl and the courtiers, this was an odd sight.
A magician conversing with a crow!
To anyone watching, he might simply appeared to be a madman mumbling to a bird.
‘Why is that magician acting like this?’
‘He’s talking to the crow.’
‘Talking? To a bird?’
‘You are a magician, aren’t you.’
‘Hmm. Right…’
The knights who saw Ian command a bird to track a Manticore understood his strange conversation. However, the nobles, led by the Count, had no understanding of Ian’s magic at all.
Particularly, the Count was puzzled.
“Uh. Hmm. Brilliant magic.”
Well… The magic that Ian showed, didn’t seem much like magic at all!
Clearly, Ian had shown his magic in accordance with the customs of ‘Calling a Magician’… It seemed like!
What the hell kind of magic is this? Animal husbandry?
Certainly, the ability to communicate with animals is indeed magic. That’s why the magician showed his talent.
But… Only with such a vague appearance, there was no way to tell if the author was a fraud or not.
Considering that the purpose of calling a magician is to distinguish fraudsters clinging to the nobility, this was not a successful invocation of a magician.
Common sense would dictate that one should stop here.
Whether Ian is a fraud or not, what does it matter? He had been traveling with the Santiago Knights and occupying the seat next to Magician Mani.
But there always were idiots who lost their minds at times like these.
“Your Excellency, such a fraudster should be severely punished and driven away!”
” …?”
Both Ian and the Count looked at the noble with stunned expressions.
One of the nobles had decided that ‘magic calling’ was not yet sufficient.
Carelessly, this could be a great offense to a magician. What kind of mood will he be in if he is still treated as a fraud even after showing his magic?
But the Count did not stop the noble.
Why… because the Count was also curious!
Even considering what the Count thought, Ian seemed that he should show more impressive magic (that’s why ignorant people are not good).
Since there’s nothing immediately visible, Ian felt like a nondescript magician.
“Hmm. You’re right. I don’t really know whether he’s actually talking with a crow, or just pretending to. Also, if it’s just magic of the level of talking with a crow, it’s certainly worthless and insignificant magic.”
“…”
Ian, who had been listening to the story quietly, began to feel more and more annoyed.
Granted, he hadn’t demonstrated any particular talent, but he still believed that summoning magic didn’t deserve such scorn.
Were they looking down on summoning magic?
Was magic a joke to them? Was summoning magic an easy target because he was dealing with crows and scraps?
If Ian were to show them real magic here…
‘No, why should I?’
He suddenly thought to himself. After some thought, he realized it. Why does Ian have to perform like a clown in front of the count?
What could Ian possibly be lacking?
After all, as long as Ian gets his payment from Lucy, he didn’t owe them anything else. The only person Ian needed to be concerned about was Lucy.
“Hmm. I see.”
He wasn’t particularly keen on using his magic just to become a spectacle, like a monkey in a zoo.
So Ian stood up.
“It’s clear that you find my tricks underwhelming. Seeing as I have no other skills to showcase, I think it’s time for me to step back.”
“…?”
Everyone present in the banquet hall was taken aback by Ian’s abrupt action.
The ones most surprised were the Count and others, who had demeaned Ian.
“Oh, no! The magician!”
But it was too late.
When Ian showed signs of leaving the banquet, the first to react was the magician, Mani.
“I can’t stand it anymore!”
Thud!
“Seeing how mediocre my skills are, I ought to return to the woods!”
“Why must you say that!”
“If you hate a magician’s poor skills, how can I dare set foot on this land!”
Mani got up with a sudden whack and shouted in his hoarse voice. Ian tilted his head, looking at Mani.
‘Why is he…?’
Ian, who was belittled for his magic, could not quite grasp why Mani rose from his seat.
But such was the enduring tradition of magicians.
When a magician is disdained, he rises indignantly, an exquisite habit of all magicians!
‘How dare…they belittle a student of Eredis?’
In Mani’s heart, the Count’s esteem had already dropped a notch.
“Count, your words were too harsh.”
Elder scowled at the Count.
It was unusual for a retired mercenary to dare glare at a Count, but Elder could do so with his overpowering aura. An aura that was clearly not of an ordinary man!
From Noble mtl dot com
“If it weren’t for Ian’s magic, even the Manticore hunt would not have been possible. Was it necessary to belittle him so much?”
Lastly, the Dehitri brothers from the Knight Order stood up and spoke.
“Ian’s magic is absolutely not mediocre. Ian used the power of the heavens to heal my injuries. It’s a testament to his deep understanding and faith in the divine will.”
The clergy were taken aback by Dehitri’s statement.
“Are you suggesting the magician Ian is also a cleric?”
Then, the Knights of St. Santiago scrambled to testify about Ian’s sacred magic.
How devout he was in studying the holy scriptures, how attentively he listens to the word of the sky, and the miracles he’d performed…
And so, the clergy completely changed their attitudes.
“Ahem… I wonder if I have offended the one who studied the will of the heavens…”
Although priests and wizards generally do not get along, Ian was an exception.
Having studied the scriptures, he even witnessed the mystery known as ‘the divine’ based on that knowledge!
Count Katina realized how serious the situation was and went pale.
‘Damn it…!’
The Count had no idea the wizard would be the first to abandon the ‘summon wizard’ tactic. Regret came late.
Just how much did the Count’s attitude upset the wizard, for him to give up on summoning a wizard first!
The Count bitterly felt his careless actions were a mistake.
Damn, I should have started with Chapter 1!
Count Katina looked at Ian for atonement.
There are two ways to handle a mistake.
One is to apologize. The other is to commit suicide.
Lately, the latter choice has been overflowing on the internet, causing the misguided common knowledge to spread that ‘Ah. It’s better to die rather than apologize!’…
But this was still a medieval fantasy world where common sense hadn’t died yet.
Even as a count, Count Katina knew how to bow his head for political gain.
“Wizard Ian! It’s my fault! It was all my foolish mistake, so please let go of your anger and forgive me!”
The Count’s waist bent at a 90-degree angle. The fact that people could bow that much, not being a flip phone, was amazing in many ways.
As the Count bodily bent his waist, Ian could not just overlook it.
“Okay, get up.”
“But…!”
“If you don’t rise within three seconds, I’m just going home.”
As the Count lifted his head, Ian slowly sat down.
Only then did the Count breathe a sigh of relief.
By sacrificing his waist… he changed the future…!
With the summoning of the wizard roughly finished, the paused banquet continued. Throughout the feast, the Count and the nobles were unable to take their eyes off Ian with tense expressions.
With the thought that the whim of a wizard is terrifying…