65 – Episode 65
# 65
Kira Laventa. 19 years old. Unemployed.
That’s how the magician’s specs appeared before Ian.
But unemployed? Isn’t she a magician?
No, she wasn’t.
Strictly speaking, Kira Laventa… was a swindler.
Kira Laventa. 19 years old. Swindler.
That was her true spec.
She was an orphan of war.
In an era where war was everyday life, war orphans were widespread. Most war orphans would perish before becoming adults.
If they were lucky, they would meet kind-hearted neighbors or people associated with monasteries who would save their lives.
But nine out of ten, they would starve to death or become food for beasts.
Kira, who had no parents, was also destined to die like an ordinary war orphan.
However, a passing vagabond traveler changed her fate.
“No, this little thief!”
“I-I’m sorry! Please spare me!”
Right before the incident, Kira, filled with desperation, saw the traveler on the road and, quite literally, went crazy and attempted to steal.
She had no skills or anything, but she was on the verge of starving to death with no other choice.
And thus, the first pickpocketing of young Kira’s life, a life-or-death situation for a seven-year-old…
He returned in disgraceful failure.
“Who dares to do such a brazen theft-like thing!”
“I’m sorry…! I won’t do it again…!”
“A young child like you should naturally beg!”
“…Begging!”
The person who attempted the theft was a clown who had come from the south.
He was a foreigner, a follower of a different religion, a wanderer, and a good-for-nothing who didn’t know the first thing about productive work.
“It won’t do. Come with me! I’ll show you the essence of begging!”
“Yes… yes!”
I don’t know what kind of wind blew, but the clown took Kira and taught her his skills little by little.
Perhaps he pitied the orphaned child, followed the customs of his religion, or simply grew bored of wandering alone and raised Kira as a pastime.
But that wasn’t the issue.
Kira had an interesting talent that prevented her from being abandoned by the clown.
“Oh! You have quite a knack for sleight of hand!”
“hehehehe.”
Kira’s hands were incredibly fast and precise.
They were faster than the eye could see.
If she had fallen into the dark path of cheating and gambling, she would have become a skilled gambler who could surpass even a professional gambler. But the person who taught her was a kind-hearted religious clown.
The religious clown focused on teaching Kira “the art of begging for food.”
Boldly shouting in front of others, pretending to be cool, exaggerating even the simplest things, and so on…
The masses rejoiced, gladly learning ways to offer food.
Kira and the clown traveled the empire, showcasing their astounding skills and earning their meals.
Though their earnings were meager, and they often went hungry more than they were satiated…
On the road, Kira was happy.
Unlike her days as an orphan, waiting for a day to die while being pelted by cold rain. This was because there was someone warm by her side, guarding her seat.
Of course, Kira, being a person herself, had envied others’ lives at times.
“Sir, that person’s clothing is similar to ours. Why do people bow their heads to them?”
“Shh! That person is a magician!”
“A magician?”
“Yes. Unlike us, the miracles they show are real. It’s not a trick like us!”
Kira gazed at the existence called [magician] with sparkling eyes.
Their appearance was similar, as was their vagabond status.
However, the clown and the magician received completely different treatment.
The clown was met with contempt, only receiving a meal if they performed exceptionally well.
The magician, on the other hand, garnered fear and respect simply by revealing their status.
“Sir, should we try imitating magicians?”
“Kira!”
“Since our appearances are similar, if we deceive others well enough, we could also enjoy delicious meals…”
“Quiet! Someone might overhear!”
That day, for the first time, the clown handed Kira a small dagger.
The clown who struck the child in a hurry, and the child who received the blow.
It was a shock to both of them.
But the message was undoubtedly conveyed.
Imitating a magician was forbidden.
“We must never… pretend to be a magician.”
“Sorry, I just…”
“If we get caught, we’ll be horribly killed. No, we might even be grateful for being killed…”
The clown calmly explained the fate that awaited those who were caught pretending to be a magician.
Kira understood the danger of imitating a magician. She also understood why the clown reacted so impulsively.
But…
In a corner of her heart, a small suspicion was growing.
Can’t I just close my eyes and pretend to be a magician? If I deceive everyone, there shouldn’t be any problem.
Don’t I want to obtain the fear that comes from the authority, power, and name of a magician?
To Kira, who had lived a vagabond life.
The name [Magician] was a dream, an ideal that sparkled like a star in the night sky.
If she could become a magician too…!
After that day, Kira practiced pretending to be a magician secretly, all by herself.
It was an innocent rebellion.
When she pretended to be a magician, she felt happy.
Because it made her feel like she wielded immense power that the clown could never obtain.
One day.
Something shook Kira’s life to its core.
On a rainy night, Kira and the clown were attacked by thieves.
“Sir!”
“R-run, Kira!”
The mud engulfed the clown’s dirty performance tools.
The thieves kicked and destroyed the clown’s tools, spewing curses.
“What’s this? These trash?”
“Tch. They’re useless! Just a wandering beggar!”
“Let’s catch that woman and sell her.”
The clown tried to buy some time by holding onto one of the thieves barehanded.
But what use was buying time?
The thieves casually stabbed the clown with their knives. They could kill a foreign-born clown without any remorse.
The clown was dying.
As Kira watched the dying clown… she was consumed by a strange thought.
If we had power, would we have ended up like this?
If we had pretended to be magicians and saved money… would the future have been different?
Kira thought that her first mentor and father figure, the clown, had been mistaken.
We should have pretended to be magicians from the start.
That thought surged up, in that exact moment.
Kira was captivated by a powerful emotion.
The name of the emotion that dominated her was… anger.
She vividly remembered the clown’s demise.
The sadness of losing someone precious turned into anger, then madness.
Kira recalled the group of mercenaries she had encountered not long ago and ran in their direction without thinking.
“The girl is running away!”
“Chase her!”
As she was hit by the cold rain, Kira gritted her teeth.
Memories of her pretending to be a magician all by herself came to mind one after another.
The performance she had prepared was flawless.
The clown would be so impressed that he would acknowledge her talent with a proud smile. After all, she was an exceptional actress.
“Huh?”
“Hey, what’s that coming over there?”
When she came face to face with a group of mercenaries like that.
Her madness exploded.
“Hey, you bastards!”
“What, what’s wrong?”
“Is she insane?”
The mercenaries froze upon seeing Kira screaming out of nowhere.
In a world where all sorts of monsters and supernatural beings roamed, it was only natural to be on edge when encountering an irrational being.
Kira shouted, the rainwater dripping down.
“I am a sorcerer! Sorcerer Kira Raventa!”
“A sorcerer…?”
Kira displayed a petty illusion she learned from a clown.
It was the manual firecracker technique, sprinkling gunpowder in the air and making it explode.
“Whoa!”
“I-It’s a sorcerer!”
The mercenaries immediately understood Kira as a sorcerer.
An appearance that could pass for a twelve-year-old, explosions emanating from his fingertips.
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And eyes tainted with rage and madness!
Anyone could see that Kira was a fearsome sorcerer!
“The thieves will be here soon! Help me and fight them!”
“What? Erm, even if you suddenly say that…”
“Stop dawdling and draw your weapons!”
“Ah, damn it, I don’t get it! Guys, get ready!”
The ensuing battle ended with a trivial victory for the mercenaries.
The “thieves” that the sorcerer mentioned were only four in number.
It was incomprehensible why the sorcerer was so agitated.
“… Thank you for helping.”
Kira looked down at the cold corpses of the thieves.
Just that much.
They were nothing more than that…
“It wasn’t anything special, really.”
The fight was over, and she survived.
She had managed to prolong her life with the clown’s cheap acting skills and lies.
“Well then…”
Now that the stage was over, she had to follow the clown’s intentions and stop pretending to be a magician.
In her own opinion, this was an incredibly dangerous gamble.
If she failed, she would die.
It was a performance that risked her life.
But Kira couldn’t bring herself to stop acting.
“Oh! Mr. Magician! Won’t you come with us?”
“… Huh?”
She was a little taken aback by the sudden respect she received for the first time in her life.
When she was with the clown, she was just an ordinary girl.
But Kira, the mysterious teenage girl who wandered this harsh world alone, performing strange magic…
She was an intimidating magician that no one dared to touch.
The name “Magician” was so sweet to young Kira.
“… Just for a moment.”
“Yay! Thank you, Mr. Magician!”
Just a little bit more.
Let’s try acting a little more.
That’s what Kira thought.
Until she could adapt to this harsh world. Until she could deliver a flawless performance as an actress…
Until then, let’s continue this sweet lie.
That’s how Kira became a magician.
…Even though she was a con artist.
#
Kira’s magician cosplay surprisingly lasted a long time.
It was a combination of rich acting skills learned from a clown and quick sleight of hand.
She deliberately avoided busy cities and traveled only to sparsely populated rural areas.
The reason, of course… was to avoid being exposed as a fraud.
During the ancient Golden Empire, there were many fake magicians like Kira.
How many fake magicians were there for strange customs like “Summoning a Magician” to be created?
Even now, if you go somewhere and say, “I’m a magician~,” suspicion is the default response.
Are you a real magician? Not a con artist?
Kira also faced countless suspicious glances, but she safely passed through with her outstanding acting skills and sleight of hand.
However, she never stayed in one place for long because when the moment truly came where magic was needed, she had no way to handle it.
This is her seventh year.
Kira, who was becoming a professional con artist, discreetly took refuge in the mountains when things around her became suspicious.
A magician is another name for war.
Where there is war, there are magicians, and the battlefield is where magicians are most feared.
But recently, there has been a commotion in the area.
The news of the death of Viscount Talian was decisive.
“This is… a twist!”
What kind of twist? A crimson twist.
If you’re just someone who knows how to shoot fireworks or play dress-up, as soon as you’re dragged into the battlefield, your true colors are revealed.
When it was revealed that Kira was a fraud, describe the feelings of the nobles who had revered her up until now (4 points).
So, Kira ran faster than the speed of light.
Where to? To the countryside.
But the countryside she escaped to…
It was the hideout of a thief calling himself the Daman Viscount…
“…Damn it.”
The young lady who walked into the thief’s hideout with her own two feet couldn’t just turn around and say, “Oops, sorry, I came to the wrong place.”
“Enough… I should stop now…”
Kira naturally began her magician cosplay.
It was an unavoidable choice for survival.
“A magician? hahahahaha! This is very lucky!”
“…”
“Since we’ve met like this, please work for our territory!”
Kira is not a suppressed existence as a magician, so you should know better than to threaten a magician like this! … She couldn’t shout those words.
Her opponent was an ignorant thief. One wrong move and a dagger might come flying.
Above all, she wasn’t a real magician. She had no magic powerful enough to overturn a decisive moment.
That’s why Kira chose to persevere.
She had planned to escape if the right opportunity came.
But the situation had gone completely awry.
Lord Damon had brought Kira, claiming to collect taxes…
And of all the travelers, there had to be a magician among them!
“A magician! If you’re a real magician, then you must be acquainted with my friend, right?”
“I don’t know, you lunatic!”
Ian Eredis? Who is that? You.
If you’re a real magician, don’t mess with lowly thieves!
Kira seemed anxious, but she couldn’t stop playing the role of a magician at this point.
The show had to go on.
It’s Kira time.
She walked out with a haughty expression and said,
“Ian? Ian, you say? I’ve never heard such a ridiculous name before!”
“Oh, Kira-sama!”
“Indeed, she’s the Grand Magician!”
As Kira shouted triumphantly, the thieves cheered in excitement.
Behold our amazing magician! With just a word, he turned Ian into a pair of donkey ears!
Kira dissed Ian out of nowhere.
Those who followed Ian were filled with unease…
“Ian.”
Belanka frowned as she looked at the slender, red-haired magician.
“He doesn’t seem like an ordinary opponent.”
Belanka’s reaction was completely normal.
Although Ian found it repulsive, the more eccentric the magician, the higher the evaluation.
A magician who disses right from the start?
Wow… His skills must be incredible!
There was plenty of room to think that way.
“Yeah. That magician seems quite cocky, don’t you think?”
Ian also had a high opinion of the magician named Kira.
Although he didn’t know much else, he was surprised that Kira didn’t seem to care even when he heard the name Eredis.
It’s not something to brag about, but Eredis is a fairly famous magician.
And not just any magician, but a fire mage who is most active on the battlefield.
Just hearing the name Eredis was enough to make soldiers with PTSD complain.
But to reveal that he was Eredis’s disciple and be so nonchalant…
It was confirmed that the opponent was not to be taken lightly.
However, Ian had no intention of surrendering willingly.
No matter how overwhelmed they were by the flood, they had to demonstrate their magical skills to receive even the minimum treatment.
They showed that they were competent wizards and prepared to negotiate.
It was the perfect timing for the beautiful custom of respecting each other as wizards to be displayed.
“It’s still too bright for shadow magic.”
Ian thought as he looked at the bright sun.
If he forcefully summoned darkness, it would eventually come out, but he was likely to ignore Ian’s words for a few days because he was in a bad mood.
The price for showing off was expensive.
Instead, the air was warm, and it was a steep mountainous terrain…
“[Wind.]”
Ian extended his staff and uttered the magic language.
“[Come to me!]”
Choosing the most appropriate magic to use is also a wizard’s ability.
Ian chose atmospheric magic, and his choice was appropriate.
“Oh…!”
“It’s a whirlwind!”
As Ian called the wind, a fierce whirlwind began to swirl around Ian and his companions.
The thieves opened their mouths wide and stared at Ian’s atmospheric magic.
“Wow…”
“That wizard is amazing!”
Most of the thieves had never seen large-scale magic since they were born.
It was only natural that Kira had never shown any large-scale magic before.
“How about it, you scoundrels!”
“This is the famous magician Raven!”
The mercenaries of Talian shouted in excitement.
Ian’s impressive magic wasn’t just a recent development. They had strong faith in him.
When the mercenaries of Talian provoked them, the thieves flinched.
They felt a mixture of fear and a sense of losing for no reason…!
“Heh, how ridiculous! You call that magic!”
One of the impatient thieves shouted.
It was a matter of momentum and pride.
It was also a response to the provocation of the Talian mercenaries, saying, “We have an amazing magician, what about you? Are you up for a match?”
“Wow!”
“That’s right! We have Kira!”
“Kira! Kira! Kira!”
“Go and show us what you’ve got!”
The cheers echoed, shaking the ground.
Amidst the massive support.
The swindler, Kira Laventa, took a confident step forward…!
“Please shut up…! You bastards!”
No one knew her desperate true intentions.